I started with a Samsung Galaxy 1 and was very impressed, which led to me getting my Samsung Galaxy 2 (I was saddened to see the very nice metal backing plate with solid locking mechanism from the S1 disappear in the following versions and the build quality going towards predominantly plastic.) I skipped the S3 because it really didn't seem like a worthwhile upgrade hardware wise and didn't feel as great as my S2 at the time. By the time the S4 rolled around I was very impressed by the specs and it felt very much like an upgraded S2, which is what I had hoped. As of the beginning of this year my S4 is somewhere out on the side of Mt. Bachelor; so I begrudgingly picked up an S5 Active (I wasn't all that impressed with the S5 to be honest, but the Active model really felt better to me than the standard unit.)

I was eagerly awaiting the S6, but now that it's out and that it seems that even the Active model will not have a removable battery and SD slot (though it will have a larger battery than the current S6 offerings) I felt somewhat insulted and am conflicted on whether I will pick up an S6 Active when it comes out.

I've played with a few different phones from friends to see the competition, currently have looked a bit over my friend's new Chinese brand (not a knockoff, some new company I guess?) and it seem interesting.

As for the OS, I have been far happier with Android than with iOS, every single person's iPhone I have had the displeasure of having to use has been a pain and I just don't like how things are set-up. That combined with the malicious updates from Apple, the tyrannical chokehold they have on their software and the need to basically be forced to jail break the phone to do much of anything with just turns me off. Not to mention the fact that almost 2/3 of all iPhones I see are shattered to hell and back from apparently dropping it off a desk (all my Galaxies have been flung, bounced, skidded, and dropped in the shop regularly from my clumsiness and my S4 broke after being dropped over a dozen times and finally just hitting a rock just right to crack the screen.) I also am not partial to the design of the phone either, I prefer Android's 3 Button layout to Apples mono-button. Granted I am running Samsung's bloated version of Android (the S1 and S2 didn't seem to be as bad as the S3-S5 phones in terms of them really laying their custom Samsung overlay on it.) But there's enough functionality when tweaked that it is enjoyable to use without having to root it to a standard Android build... so far.

All in all, ever since I stopped drinking the Mac kool-aid back when I finally went from a Macbook to a quality Laptop running Windows 7 64-Bit I really haven't seen any reason to have to pay a subscription fee to Mac's coffers (because that's all it is really, you end up buying their stuff so regularly you might as well just pay their stock yearly.) So much of the Mac craze when the iPod, iPhone, and iTakeYourMoney products came out felt more or less like disposable products hampered by Apple's dictator-like need to strangle their software and release new versions on a cycle that almost makes Call of Duty's development cycle look glacial.

I am my cell phone, it's my life.

Well my G4 arrived and I can honestly say the battery performance is still awesome. I am still at 78% after a full day of normal usage. Which includes GPS tracking with my Runkeeper app, regular texting and emails, checking the weather, and a few phone calls thrown in the mix.

It feels significantly lighter than the G2 and because both phones are LG I used the LG backup app which transfered all my pics, music, docs, contacts, texts, etc to the new phone in less than 15 minutes by peer to peer wireless. So awesome.

It doesn't feel faster but it is quick to launch apps and the screen is super responsive. Throw in the bonus of LG giving me a new extra battery, charging cradle and 32 GB microSD because I bought it before the end of the month for free and I can honestly say that I think I am off to a great start.

Sure, the S6 has better specs and if you run a lot of graphic intensive apps the G4 may not be the phone for you. But if you want a phone that will last a 24 hour day on a single charge, has a microSD port, a removable battery, and pretty damn good performance on most regular apps then this is definitely a phone to consider.

And it launched with Android Lollipop 5.1.

Congrats! Sounds like a great phone! Seemingly water resistant too!

It will be interesting to see which phone (S6/Edge vs. G4) will get Android M first.

I'm not sure about the water resistant part since the shell on the back is easy to open and I wouldn't want to field test that to see what the results would be. Lol. Maybe the Ballistic case I ordered will help out a touch there.

I just looked up to Andriod M and am also intrigued when it will start launching (still in dev mode right now). Some of the features are already integrated into my G4 (tap on/off) but I really like the feature about limiting permissions on apps that M will offer. It seems ridiculous what app devs feel their app should be allowed to do and it's only getting worse.

Why does every app need to be allowed to use my camera, view my contacts, etc? Privacy is a thing of the past with a smart phone. Maybe M will help bring some of that back.

Check Youtube! At least one guy tested it and found to be water resistant/proof x 2 hours!

I am big into privacy and encryption...so, Android M will be important.

I just saw that video. Wow. Not that I plan on field testing that but good to know.

And I hear you on the privacy and encryption.

I've been an Apple guy since my first smartphone, a 3GS, I've had a 4, and now a 5. The 5 I'm not impressed with, primarily with battery life. The aluminum back acts as a heat sink, and we have winter here about half the year, resulting in the phone getting cold and shutting off very easily. Now that the weather has warmed up, I'm still often unable to get through a day without charging, and I'm not what I would consider to be a "heavy user".

I'm now faced with an decision, do I get the iphone 6, or seriously look into some of the Android options? The 6 doesn't really do anything different, outside of lasting the full day (hopefully), and I'm honestly not a fan of the increased size. The size is an issue with the Android offerings as well though, it needs to fit comfortably in my pocket, I don't really game on my phone. I've always hated that I can't get the torque app on my iphone, but I don't really care about all the customization options that come with the Android, I never bothered jailbreaking any of my iphones.

If someone like me was to consider Android options, what phones should I be looking at? I'd like something closer in size to my iphone5, great battery life, not flimsy construction.

Your battery is shot. $75 fix your iPhone problem at Apple Store...if you want to keep it. Li-ion battery wears out. (Thus, i am weary of Li-ion powered hybrids.)

For most iPhone owners, the best Android alternative is Samsung Galaxy phones. Maybe HTC too...but i am not sure how long HTC will remain afloat. LG is a good alternative too esp if you value micro-SD and removable battery.

However, if you're deep into Apple Ecosystem (apps, movies, music), then you are stuck with Apple. Privacy and encryption currently favor Apple...so, it depends on your priorities.

I have done my best to avoid using iTunes, basically only for some of the IOS updates, backup to the cloud. That's another gripe, I have an ipad as well, and my cloud storage is too full to back up my phone, even after dumping all the pics off the devices. I don't see a lot of benefit to having an ipad and iphone really, the ipad will continue to work for everything I currently use it for after the iphone is gone.

Then you are quite open to switching. Go for it.

They are only NOW getting into limiting Permission?! Was doing that back in 2009.

I had the early iPhone and then took a leap for the galaxy 2 and was very pleased. Then the iPhone 4 and it was meh. HTC one was a very good phone. Current phone is the Note 4 and WOW! Battery life is superb. Camera, camera, camera is excellent. So good that I would text a photo and people would ask me "is that from your dslr"? Everything else is great especially being able to black list phone numbers and texts. Not sure if you can do that now with iPhone.

Yes.

Samsung Note series are really the Samsung to get (if you don't mind size). They are usually better than the S series because they are released later in the year. They are also unique with the pen and unique software that can be practical. Biggest problem with Note (other than size) is that it generally gets software updates slower than S-series because it requires additional tweaking (due to the pen and associated software apps for it) of Android. It is generally 2-4 months behind S-series in software updates.

Biggest negative against Samsung is whether your privacy is preserved. We had Samsung TVs that listens to you behind your back. Backdoor security issues with Samsung software. etc.

Yep I heard about that. I typical root/jailbreak all my devices. Nothing is safe nowadays. We are doomed! lol