APPS: Android has all the same apps as iPhone, right?

Before I ever decided to make the switch to Android there were lots of things I was worried about dealing with, but apps was never one of them. I think a lot of iPhone users claim app exclusivity as the main reason why they don't want to switch. They already have their apps and are comfortable with knowing which app to use for all their needs. Having to find an alternative would suck!

My main homescreen, featuring my dog, Starbuck!

But I never worried about this. I knew that in 2013 Android has versions of all the same apps that iPhone has, right? Well, wrong. For the most part, yes, all the major apps are available on both iOS and Android. What do I use the most? Facebook, check (although, coming soon, a whole post on how much Facebook sucks compared to Facebook on iPhone...). I'm addicted and it still exists so that's good. Gmail. In case you forgot that stands for Google email, a Google product, so, yeah, there is Gmail on Android, and it's pretty fantastic. I'm impressed with how smoothly it works and how much better it is than on iPhone, and I didn't expect it to be so different. That was a pleasant surprise. Calendar. It's way different from the iPhone version, but it's there and it works- I'm still getting used to it. Pinterest: it's basically the old version on Android. iPhone has awesome updates that haven't come to Android yet, and I miss that, but at least it's still there!

So what doesn't Android have? Well, in no particular order:

• The Stanford Daily app. Not that I used it that often, but I was sad to suddenly lose it.
• Stanford Football app. Also didn't use it hardly ever, but now I feel like I could possibly be missing out on something exclusive. I hate missing out, especially when it comes to anything Stanford!
• THX Tuneup app. I had such lofty goals to use this app to tune my TV and sound system to have AWESOME sound. When I did the switch and was clearing out my iPhone I decided to finally try it out, only to learn that you need a special dongle to connect your iPhone to your TV before the app can do its thing. So whatever, didn't need that app, anyway!
• Plants vs. Zombies- FREE app. So this is probably nit picky, but the only reason I ever played this game was because for awhile it was free in the app store, and I only "buy" free apps. I'm cheap. Despite being a gamer and hearing so much hype when this game first came out, I never got it, but once it was free on my iPhone I really enjoyed it! Again, I didn't play it THAT often, but when I switched to Android and I couldn't get it again for free I was a little sad. Does the Play Store ever have apps that are free for a limited time thing also? 
• Happy Houred app. Well, I never really used this, but the concept was sound! Guess I'll never know if I liked it because there is no Android version.
• Beauty Box app. I only got this because I was in a hotel room with my mom who happened to be watching Good Morning America or the Today Show or something like that which I would never watch otherwise, and they had their "favorite apps to get" or something. From what I could tell this is a super basic air brushing app to make photos of yourself look better. There are SO many better photo apps I was fine with deleting this off my old iPhone. No wonder there is not an Android version. I should never listen to those silly shows when it comes to apps.
• Gorillacam app. I AM SUPER SAD ABOUT THIS. I loved this app because it had a timer on it and lots of different modes and it just WORKED. As soon as I discovered there was no Android version of this app I searched and searched for a replacement. I haven't had a chance to test it out but what I settled on, for now, is Self-Timer Cam...(I have a huge family and we takes lots of group pics so I need something that can quickly and easily capture us all together! I'll have to have a separate post on my issues with the Moto X camera, but this makes me think of something else- the phone is so thin I won't be able to stand it up on its own like I could with the iPhone, which will make said group pics with self timer that much harder...).
• Yelp app. Ok, yes, there is an Android version of Yelp, but in the last couple of months they FINALLY made it able to actually WRITE reviews on mobile now! This made using Yelp SO much more interesting on a regular level, as opposed to just using it while traveling and not knowing where to go eat. Just when I was getting in the habit of writing reviews, I find out that's only available on the iPhone version. Just like Pinterest, the Android version is the old, less good version. -sigh- I hate going backwards in tech.

Overall, not that many apps that are iPhone exclusive, and most of these I never really used to begin with, so I'm not really missing them. And here's hoping that software updates come soon so that Android can fully catch up to iOS, cause let's face it, even if most things are equal, it's still true that iOS comes first.