One-time Apple fanboy explains why he dumped his iPhone for a Moto X

It’s always entertaining to read what
happens when longtime iPhone devotees
switch to another platform, regardless
of whether they like their new platform
of choice
or absolutely hate everything about it .

CNN’s David Goldman, however, is a
somewhat unusual case
— he’s a self-described former “big
Apple fan” who dropped his iPhone last
year in favor of the Moto X, Motorola’s
little-bought Android phone that came
in with lesser specifications than other
Android heavyweights released last year
such as the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

However, if you’re expecting Goldman to
talk about how he ran screaming from
the Moto X and never looked back, then
you should prepare to be surprised —
Goldman is completely in love with
Motorola’s last flagship phone.
“It’s by far the most useful gadget I’ve
ever owned,” Goldman gushes. “I can
check the time just by taking the phone
out of my pocket. When I want to
change directions while I’m driving, I
don’t hit any buttons — I literally just
speak to my phone, ‘OK Google Now,
navigate to…’ When there’s traffic,
and I’ll miss my meeting if I don’t leave
soon, my Moto X will tell me to get going.

An app called Trigger automatically puts
my phone in vibrate mode the second I
step into my newsroom… Android’s
widgets are better and more convenient
than the iPhone’s badge notifications.
Google is far, far superior at backing up
photos than Apple. iCloud in general is a
confusing mess.”

This is certainly different from the
impressions we wrote about earlier this
week from design expert Hillel
Cooperman, who described Android’s
notification bar as “ always oozing like
an open sore” that leaves a “pile of tiny
incomprehensible turds appear at the
top of my screen, uglifying it to no
end.”

In large part, this boils down to what
you want to have from your
smartphone. The iPhone provides a
smoother, more consistent user
experience than many Android devices,
but the way that Google’s services are
so tightly integrated into Android makes
Android phones more useful for some
people. Despite the wailings of fanboys
who want to declare that one is
objectively better than the other, it
turns out that both platforms have
something valuable to offer to
different sets of users.

The same goes for Goldman’s love of
Microsoft’s Surface Pro, which he says
has essentially replaced his iPad as his
go-to tablet because of its ability to
double as a laptop. He says he doesn’t
love everything about Windows 8 but
he’s gotten used to it and besides that
he says, “there is nothing better for
watching Netflix in bed than the
Surface, with its kickstand and screen
optimized for HD videos.”

Are Goldman’s tastes for everyone?
Sales numbers suggest they certainly
aren’t but that doesn’t mean that
they’re wrong. Different users want
different things from their technology
and we should be glad that there are so
many incredible gadgets out there right
now that are competing like crazy for
our business.