FELICIA EMMANUEL|

ST. CROIX – It was a peaceful afternoon outside the cafeteria, as students gathered around the tables for small banter. However, casual conversation shifted when debate started on whether or not the Samsung Galaxy or the Apple iPhone was the best phone of all time.

As teams Galaxy and iPhone defended their respective sides, specs such as affordability, durability and personalization came up, equally influencing the user’s phone choice.

According to Forbes list, Samsung rose through the ranks in 2012, eventually dominating the current cellphone market. This is due largely to its success within markets outside the U.S., good relationships with carriers and varied price ranges for their Android products.

The Galaxy offers a level of personalization that iPhone does not, easily becoming a popular device among students.

Yessenia Sued, a 20-year-old biology major on the St. Thomas campus owned an iPhone prior to switching to a Galaxy.

“Androids have better quality,” she said. “With iPhones the pictures used to come out blurry, especially at night.”

She also believed in order for her to enjoy the Apple experience, she had to purchase additional supplies and that was a big turn off for her. However, she doesn’t write off the company completely.

“I wouldn’t mind any other apple products besides the phone,” she said.
Another reason why consumers like Androids is due to its ability to manage work schedules.

St. Croix Business major, Denver Mike,  works with a local construction company and views his phone as being an asset to his job.

“It’s vital,” he said. “That is how I am able to track orders and keep in contact with my boss and vendors.”

On the other hand, Rhys Barzey, a 19-year-old applied math major, uses his phone to access Instagram, Facebook and play music and games.

Barzey owns an iPhone 4s. He likes his phone because, “First it’s a phone. Second, already had an iPhone 3 so made sense- music, apps, contacts were all transferred.”

Although he rates the display and camera quality at a six and eight, respectively, he likes that the phone does what it is supposed to do.

“Pretty straight forward,” Barzey said. ” Music brings up music, phone brings up the phone.”

20-year-old accounting major, Juanita Almestica also owns an iPhone 4s. Unlike Rhys,  she believes the picture and photo quality of her phone is good.

“The small size and design allows the iPhone to fit easily in my pocket without fear of cracking the screen,” Almestica said. Which is a downside to the Galaxy.

Another feature that comes with the iPhone is Siri.

“Siri sends texts, does searches, and even remembers who your family members are,” Almestica said.

Despite the rising popularity of the Galaxy, when it comes to choosing a phone, personal preference typically wins over marketing and financial aspects.