With all the different options for smartphones out there these days, it’s hard to know which model is the best or most liked. What your friends like might not be what you like, and if you’re anything like me, then your phone needs to be tied in with your music library. Over the past week, I have interviewed some of the SNU student population to find out what their preferred type of cellphone is. Here are my results:
I interviewed 1 freshman, 5 sophomores, 8 juniors, and 2 seniors. Out of the 16 people interviewed, 8 preferred the IPhone, 2 liked the Android, 4 wanted a phone not classified as “smart,” 1 used a different type of smartphone and 1 did not care what type of phone he/she carried.
But what do these results really mean? If 50% of those polled preferred the IPhone, does that mean the IPhone is better than all the other smartphones? Susanna Marston, sophomore, gave me some insight into why this might be.
“Apple is easy to use,” Marston said. “That’s what makes iPhones so attractive—it doesn’t take much to figure out how to operate it.”
Marston, a smartphone owner herself, does not use Apple. Instead, she has a Windows Phone, or WP for short. Like the Android, it includes a SIM card, as well as a feature similar to “Siri” called “Cortana.” The similarities end there, however.
“WP is unique,” Marston said. “You can easily customize your home screen, which means no one else has the same setup as you.”
While Marston agrees that the reason she likes WP better than the IPhone has something to do with growing up on PC products, she also believes that the WP is a better smartphone because of its wider range of capabilities.
“I think which operating system you prefer depends on what brand you buy into first,” Marston said. “However, I prefer WP. It takes more time to learn how to use it, but it does things that iPhone doesn’t even remotely know how to do.”
Even IPhone users who love their phone like aspects of other smartphones.
“Androids have free music downloads and SIM cards,” said Heather Finch, junior. “I like the idea of the SIM card better than the Cloud because it’s more convenient to me, and who doesn’t like free music?”
Whether you are loyal to the iPhone, Android or WP, one thing is for certain—not everyone prefers a smartphone.
“I want a phone that is reliable,” said Samantha Carter, sophomore. “I never have problems with calls or texts going through on my “dumb phone” unless the reception is bad. With smartphones you don’t have that certainty.”
What do you think? Are iPhones, Androids, Windows Phones, or the good old “dumb” phones the best? Comment below if you have an opinion.
[author image=”https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=0BzUPfa-vNtHwN2RXSGN1NDRxYjA&authuser=0&v=1409347068124&sz=w1248-h559″ ]Summer Howard is a sophomore English Education major and Christian romance author from Yukon, Oklahoma. Her first book, No Matter What, was published in September of last year. She is currently working on her next book while attending Southern Nazarene University. [/author]