I have a jailbroken iPhone 4 running 5.1.1 (winterboard, gba emulator etc etc)
If anyone has experience with what I have now, but also with Android phones, such as the S3 -
Do you think it is worth the switch over with the S3 or wait for an S4 this year?
I like to fiddle with the way my phone works, 5 column rows, barrel etc
I'm not much of a App Store "freemium" fan, and tend to instead play older gba games on an emulator
I, too, have an iPhone 4 running 5.1.1 that is jail-broken. I have also had an Android phone before (one of the LG Optimus phones)
The difference between the two devices comes down to what YOU want.
If you want a bigger screen and fancy stuff such as NFC, wireless charging etc., Androids are the way to go. This is because wireless charging wont be made available until the iPhone after the next one.
If you want lots of apps and the freedom to customize, stay with the iPhone 4. Some argue that Androids are more customizable but they aren't taking into account the fact that there are thousands (maybe more) of jailbreak tweaks available for iOS devices.
Also, before you go with the S3, know that if you break the screen, it'll cost you a heap.
I prefer my iPhone 4 a lot more than the Android. Jailbreaking it really allows you to do a lot more than Android phones can offer. Think about what you want from the device and then choose one that would work best for that purpose. Don't choose a phone that gives you rubbish that you don't want.
I'd stick with the iPhone 4.
rooting an android gives you a lot more freedom than a jailbroken iphone
I prefer my iPhone 4 a lot more than the Android. Jailbreaking it really allows you to do a lot more than Android phones can offer.
Not to start an iOS vs Android battle here, but in a fair fight, the jail-breaking capabilities of the iPhone would definitely be countered by the amount of custom ROM variety on Android.
Edit: beaten
That is not my intention either :)
With regards to the extent to which "jail-breaking capabilities of the iPhone would definitely be countered by the amount of custom ROM variety on Android", it just comes down to which device you have and which ROMs are available for it.
With iOS devices, any developer who develops for an iPhone 4 is essentially also developing for an iPhone 4S. All tweaks that work on the iPhone 4 is almost guaranteed to work on the 4S.
However, if there is a root or ROM for an S2, it may not work with the S3. An app that works on the former may not work on the latter. All developers that are developing for an iPhone is basically developing for EVERY iPhone. On the other hand, there are thousands of variations of Android phones and not all programs work on all Android devices.
This is what allows more tweaks on iOS. Yes, Android is a LOT more customizable out of the box, but if you really compare the number of options made available after a jailbreak, I think it severely outnumbers that of Android.
Android. It's matured a lot in the last couple of years in particular and Google just seem to be investing more in further improving their platform than Apple. Apple have demonstrated that they will happily sacrifice the end user experience to suit their own needs (eg. Maps fiasco, draconian tactics to try to limit competition on their platform).
I agree that "Apple have demonstrated that they will happily sacrifice the end user experience to suit their own needs". However, its not Google or Apple who are doing all the work when they make tweaks and mods available for the consumers who like to play around with their devices. Its the developers who put their stuff up on Cydia or on XDA. If it weren't for those guys, neither of the platforms would be as good as they are today.
The developers on Android have it harder because they have to cater to a much larger number of devices. They have to make sure that their program works on a tablet that's 7" and also a tablet that's 10". They also need that program to work on all phones that have a screen that ranges from 3" to 5.5"
This is a lot harder than it is for the iOS developers who only have to cater for the 10" and 8" iPads and the 3.5" and 4.0' iPhones. The lower number of variations means that they can do their work quicker and yet rest assured that it will work on all devices.
And yes, Android is growing much faster than iOS at the moment and there is no one to blame other than Apple, who refuse to make changes for the better. I guess their mindset is based on recycling the same things over and over and over.
iOS had a good run but now its time for it to be laid to rest.
I updated to an S3 from a jailbroken 3GS. From my experience you can theme almost anything, but without the need to root. But if software updates are important to you, I suggest holding off on purchasing an S3. Unfortunately Australia is one of the last countries to receive updates from Samsung (from my experience), and then 2 or so weeks are needed for Optus or Telstra to optimise it for their networks. E.g. I didn't receive the Jelly Bean update (4.1.1) until mid December. But this only really matters if you are not going to root.
The best tweaking phone is not the S3 but the Google Nexus (single product, very little variation in models across countries), and since the updates all come live OTA from Google it also means you get the latest versions of Android without having to wait on the Telco to customize the firmware and load all sorts of bloat on it.
I have a samsung galaxy nexus on a custom ROM CM10. They do nigntly builds of the rom, so you can d/l and update the rom daily if you so choose. I do this on average every week, takes about 5-10mins to d/l and dirty flash.
It really does come down to what you want in a phone. I upgraded to the nexus from a nokia e71. My main things I wanted where good reception, good battery life, push email, push IM, turn by turn speech navigation, free apps (have never paid for one, and never plan to), DLNA, integrated VoIP, cloud contact sync, and good/large support community. Sadly, I had most of this on the E71, just a bit painful surfing the net.
Make a list of what you want, then find a phone that best matches your list.
Android - no question. I've owned both and it is a no brainer for me. Happy to start a long list of reasons why, but I'm actually getting very tired of the actual Android -vs- iOS debates and arguments. If you need some genuine reasons, PM me.
android is really good for playing gba games, there are plenty of emulator apps available on the play store