The iPhone is on Verizon and Android will be just fine.

photo 2010 jfingas | more info (via: Wylio)The day finally came, with all of the fanfare andhooplathat we knew it would hold. The often-coveted iPhone has finally come to the largest of US mobile carriers, Verizon Wireless. With many of my friends and colleagues knowing my penchant for Apple hardware, the questions invariably came up when would I be making the switch?

The short answer? I wont. The longer answer, I feel, is like the same as many Android devotees but here are the fine points for those who have yet to understand:

Apples Favor to Android

The single biggest favor that Apple (and/or Verizon) ever did to the Android platform was in waiting so long to bring the iPhone 4 to the largest carrier in the US. Had the iPhone rolled out from day one with a GSM and CDMA version, I would venture to say that Android would still be clawing to gain ground.

Instead what happened is that Android had time to become viable. Those who settled for an Android phone because of carrier restrictions or those hardcore Android fanatics who dealt with the OS when it sucked (and Im not talking all that long ago) managed to stick it out long enough for Android development to! really get a firm grasp of what the platform should be.

Think Im wrong? Look around at all of the people who are claiming how great of a phone the Nexus S is. Take a quick glance at how many Motorola Droid models have been sold. Theres a reason, folks Android has gotten good, and Applestendencyto take its sweet time with releases is likely a major factor in that.

Fundamentally Different

photo 2010 | more info (via: Wylio)There are differences in the platforms that exist for far more reasons than the risk of patent infringement. Not too long ago I talked about the thought of market domination and what it really means, and these markers of domination are thanks in part to those differences.

The hard fact for iPhone owners to swallow here is that some of us really enjoy the Android platform. We tend to be the ones who want a fully-featured smartphone, but perhaps were not as apps-centric as iOS users. I love it when Android gets good apps, and I really do use them. But for the majority of my exposure to my phone, Im using it for notifications and email. For me, Android is by far the bette! r platfo rm in both of those arenas.

Now heres something that will really blow your mind Im not only a fan of Android, Im also a Mac user. A die-hard Mac user, at that. I honestly think that OS X is superior to Windows in so many ways that I cant even begin to count them. But that simplicity that I love in my desktop OS does not carry over to what I want from my mobile device. I want more options and I get them via Android OS.

The Global Scenario

photo 2008 woodley wonderworks | more info (via: Wylio)There is a point to be made that I think a lot of people are missing. Call it typical US-centric vision by US residents, but I think that people have skipped over the fact that there are a few other countries in the world as well. Lets take the UK for instance, where some of our own staff live and choose to carry Android devices.

Now, why does this matter? Simply put, it matters because the entire argument against the iPhone in the US surrounds the carrier. AT&T has been the most crippling factor in the entire iPhone system. But in other parts of the world, the iPhone works just fine. Its slick, its fast and it doesnt drop calls nearly as often as it does here. And yet there are people who live in areas where the iPhone works just fine who continue to choose Android. Amazing, isnt it? Apparently there is more to the market than just a single phone.

! While th e iPhone did indeed set the standard (as the iPad has for tablet devices), the rest of the market has had a really good opportunity to catch up and in some cases even surpass the gold standard device.

So stop the shouting. Stop the crying out about the death of Android. As Ive said in the past, not every product kills another. If the death were going to happen, wed be digging up bones by now and thats simply not the case.

Now, if youll excuse me, Im going to use TweetDeck for Android to watch the conversation about this post. Why? Because its still better on Android than the iPhone.