Alright guys, I need opinions. I'm getting a new phone in two weeks (and switching providers) and I have NO idea what I want to get. I thought I wanted an android, but after thinking about it for a long time, I just don't know.

I've always had an iPhone, (had a 3G and a 4S, the two of which have lasted me almost 6 years), so I have no way to compare them to androids or Windows phones because I've never really used them before.

Please help me! I like the iPhone's ease of use, but I feel like its a bit TOO simple, I can't really customize it at all, and I feel like I need a change. And the battery life SUCKS but I don't know if thats just because mine is old. I'd prefer to keep my iTunes music (iPhone and Windows phone allows me to do that, apparently) but I will consider not using iTunes if Android has an easy-to-use alternative. I want something nice visually but not huge, the Galaxy S5 is absolutely the biggest I want but even that is a tad big.

Shatter-resistance and water-resistance is ALWAYS a plus too.

I'm intrigued by the thought of a Windows phone, I imagine it could be great or terrible, but I don't really know anything about them, I know far more about the iphone/android so if you have one/know anything about them, please enlighten me!

So, friends, please share your thoughts on what phone is best, and WHY, please no just "iPhone SUCKS" or "Android rocks!" I need reasons!!

Thank you in advance! :D

If I were you, I'd stick with the iPhone. I just got myself an iPhone 6 about a month ago and I am in love with it. Granted, it's my first smartphone, so of course I'm going to go nuts over it, but I've messed around with friends' androids/windows phones and I just don't like how they function. I feel like Apple's 'works' are just cleaner and less frustrating than the other OS. Plus, I'm planning on buying a Mac soon and I already use iTunes extensively, so it'll be nice to have everything 'on the same page' so to speak. I also really like the size of the 6. It fits perfectly in my hand (normal girl-size hands I suppose? lol) and the screen is so bright and clear. The camera is actually one of the best you can get in a smartphone too and the speaker is actually good enough to listen to music to without buying an extra bluetooth speaker. I've also heard that like Mac computers, the phones get hacked a lot less that windows/androids. And as far as shatter/water-resistance, I recommend a case like tech21 or otterbox, combined with a glass-type screen protector like...I think the one I got was called invisibleSHIELD.

My last phone was the iPhone 4S and it was alright, but I immediately liked using my Samsung Galaxy S4 much more. It is far more customizable. Heck, you can even download the ios7 theme if it makes you more comfortable. There are also more free apps. I love the way my screen looks now that I've set it up with the theme and keyboard I like.

I prefer to simply use Windows Media Player to transfer music, but as you may know, iTunes makes it very nearly impossible to extract your music to anywhere, so that's something to consider. At the time I switched phones I was able to take most of the music files and get them on my new phone but I do recall it being a headache. You may have to do some research. Apple does not want you to do it and I think I ended up using an external program. To me this was a disadvantage to Apple products - when you plug in your Android you see a file system just like anywhere else on your computer, it's easy to navigate, and there's no arbitrary iTunes trying to "keep" the files that you paid for from you.

I use an Otterbox or LifeProof case with all of my phones, so I can't speak to the waterproof/shatter resistance of either.

One thing that I will say is they are launching the Galaxy S6 very soon (think around Apri) so if I were you I would hold off until then. My only gripe about the S6 is the lack of removal battery and external SD card, but if you are used to an iPhone that might not matter to you. Also you get used to the size of it very quickly and it is quite nice for streaming Netflix.

I rarely use my cell phone for music, and for the most part don't keep music on my cell, but android is a lot better if adding music is a feature you're looking for. I use an iPod for any music that I've downloaded since I only really listen to music when I'm driving mostly. You can also use whole song ringtones, versus the 30 some odd seconds that iTunes allows. Android uses a standard file sharing system via usb so it's pretty straightforward. iPhone, everything has to go through iTunes which can sometimes be a pain in the butt though.

That said, I have an iPhone 5S and I actually like it quite a bit. I prefer smaller phones though, so fit wise, I just liked the look of the iPhone better than android. I think most of the current android phones are simply too big.

My last phone before that was a samsung sII that I've since given to my dad.

It really just depends on preferences: I sometimes find android a bit cumbersome to use and when I had the sII it constantly crashed. I've never had that issue with any iPhone I've owned. That was with gingerbread though and I'm sure the current android OS is probably a lot better than it was back then, so probably runs a lot smoother.

Also, with an iPhone, whatever space you have is whatever space you have permanently. You can save stuff stuff to the sim and sd card and transfer that to your computer if you get a new phone, as well as free up space, but you can't do that in an iPhone. The only option once you run out of space in an iPhone is to delete, but admittedly I've never had an issue with space in my iPhone and I'm on a 16G.

My first smartphone was a 3Gs and I liked it well enough, so when I upgraded I went for a 4s. I jailbroke the 4s and was very happy with the extra functionality and customization it gave me, but after a couple years Cydia crashed and I couldn't access it, or any of the tweaks I'd installed (stupid me, made no back-up), there was no jailbreak for the current iOS at that point, so I was back to the standard iPhone system, and I hated it.

I switched to Android quickly after that, and I'm very happy with it. I have a HTC One M8 and with a with a good case and a tempered glass screen protector it's pretty hard to break. I was tossing up between that and a Sony Xperia, with is very water resistant. I went for the HTC because I preferred the larger size, but the Xperia is a very good phone too.

As for music, there's a massive selection of music players for android phones, and you're bound to find one you like if you look around. I also use iSyncr, which let's me transfer music to my phone from iTunes, because I got sick of HTC's Sync Manager.

Basically, long story short, Android has so many options you could probably find a phone you like and install apps you like with a little research, and you've opened up the opportunity for a lot more customization than you'd get with iPhone.

Plus, with Android I get to screen what the apps I download will have access to, which is very reassuring.

Thanks for the info!!
Is the Xperia smaller than the S5? I like the look of the S5 but its just a little too large, it wouldn't even fit into some of my pockets... I'm definitely leaning more towards android if I can find something similar to an S5 that's just a tad smaller.

Thanks for the info! Do you know on Android, can you make your own ringtones/text tones from your own music? Or do you have to buy them?

Thanks for the info!! I'm very pleased to hear that there IS a way to get my iTunes music on there... most of it I don't care too much but I have a few soundtracks on there I'd really love to have on my phone haha.

And I would wait till april but I can't because my contract expires March 16th and I am switching to a different company :(

Thanks!! Question,is the iphone 6 as fragile as it seemed? I heard a lot about the whole bending-in-people's-pockets thing.

You can make your own ringtones. I've done that with pretty much every cell phone I've ever owned. Also, in regards to the iPhone 5 and up bending; I had an iPhone 5 before I switched to an iPhone 5S and have yet to have either phone bend and I've stuck both in my pocket plenty of times. I did have a case on it though, just because I find the metal of the phone too slippery to hold without one. I think that if you case it it's very unlikely it'll bend though.

Also, likewise, my mother owns an iPhone 6 currently and it's never bended, but she also has a heavy duty otter box on hers because she's very drop prone though.

I think the Xperia is pretty much the same size as the S5 actually, so no good.

I feel you on the size, I have big, big pockets but my M8 still takes up a lot of room. I wanted something big because I use it as my internet browser in class, but it's definitely bulky.

The guy at Best Buy, where I got my phone, told me that the Apple people had fixed that issue, and from what I read online, that seems to be true. It is definitely one of the thinner phones, so if you're a person who doesn't like to use a case/cover for your phone, I guess I'd probably not recommend it. I mean, I think it's perfectly fine without a protective case, but I'm paranoid about my tech stuff and I always buy the protective stuff for it. I would definitely say that if you go with the 6, buy a good case for it. The tech21 case I bought was about $35 and the otterbox that I chose not to get was about $45. Then the invisiSHIELD glass cover was another $30. A bit to spend up front, but all worth it I think. I feel pretty confident about my phone holding up.