IOS to Android move

My mobile contract is due to run out in mid May and having had iPhone 4, 4S and then iPhone 5 over the last two, 24 month contracts I am seriously considering moving from IOS across to Android in the next couple of weeks.

Writing a post on this in one go is going to be possible to I'll write, train of thought and see how we go.

What are the issues that are driving me to consider a change ?

1) Bored with both IOS and the iPhone form factor.

I've had an iPhone since the launch of the 4 in 2010 (?) - as above I've had three and although had no problems I fancy a change. The interesting thing is that I originally had an 'armoured' case on my iPhone 5 to protect it and when I took it off over Christmas it was literally like having a new phone and I think that prevented me upgrading to a 5S. Similarly when IOS 7 landed it was new and different and gave the iPhone longevity for me.

I think that android and it's foibles will catch my imagination and give me a bit of a challenge to get to grips with it. IOS does everything I need so moving to a new phone and OS and having to get my entire workflow transferred is going to give me an intellectual challenge if nothing else. That said, I've used my sons Nexus 7 on a semi regular basis for 12 months so it's not as if I come in to the OS from the cold.

2) Screen size

The eternal controversy and actually a bit of a query for me (see below on phone choice). When I moved from a 4S to the 5 I found the screen real estate increase a massive boon. Over time though I've found the size of the 5 for browsing, reading comics and even sat nag just a bit small. I never watch movies or Netflix on the phone but will regularly throw on an episode of 24 onto my iPad 4.

I'm also getting a bit frustrated flicking between devices in the evening from this MacBook to finish work, to the iPhone to check e-mail but the iPad for evening e-mailing. I wonder, idly, if having a 4.7 or 5.5 inch phone might minimise this device switching and save seem time and effort.

The other thing for me to consider though is overall device size. I take my iPhone with me everywhere. It 'lives' in my left hand back jeans pocket or occasionally in the inside right pocket of a jacket. This means that any phone/phablet that didn't fit in that jeans pocketing particular kind of won't work for my use case.

3) Which phone

As an early adopter you cry, wait for the iPhone 6 later in the year. That's fine but I think I want a change. As an early adopter that means I need a top of the line Android handset. That leaves me with (in my mind) the following options :

HTC One M8
Galaxy Note 3
Galaxy S 5

I have removed the S 5 from the list because I just don't like the look of the device over much and I'm  now weighing up the pro's and cons of the M8 and the Note 3.

In the next section of this IOS to Android epic (probably sometime next week) I'll go into the choice between the phones and which network/package I'm going to go for and then in Part 3 in late May/early June I'll discuss the ramifications of the change and how I'm getting on - more to follow.