From Android to iPhone

Today's tutorial is going to deal with turning your coveted Android phone (be it an HTC Desire Z  or a Samsung Galaxy Note), into an iPhone.  We're not talking literally of course, as installing iOS on Android is currently impossible, but we have lined up 11 applications that will make your Android look and feel like the real deal - from Android to iPhone! This isn't a hack per say, as it's just installing a bunch of Android applications from the Market, but with all the time spent finding them, it might as well be a hack.

Why would someone want to do this? Many people enjoy the iPhone's clean, easy to use interface. Some people just hate Android that much. A few might even like Apple, who knows? Sometimes, it's just worth doing it for the bragging rights. In any case, by the end of this tutorial, your Android device will be sparkling with the simplistic dazzle of iOS.

Most tutorials you can find online will only tell you to download one or two applications and expect you to believe that it's convincing enough. Sure your messaging app or even your Android home screens may be like an iPhone, but rest assured all those other applications you use all the time will have you sighing in discontent because, well, they're still Android.

There is no way to make every Android app look like its iPhone equivalent. However, with this tutorial, you can get your launcher (aka home screens), messaging app, keyboard, lock screen, music player and notifications all doing it the iPhone way. Best of all, there is no root required! No, I take that back. Best of all, it's free!

Please note that all links below go to Market Applications. Cheers!

Now, let's get to it! The first thing you're going to need to change is your launcher. Before now, the only way to get a real iPhone looking launcher was to root your phone and install a ROM known as MIUI. However, now there is an alternative that does not require root access or installing closed source (read: untrustworthy) firmware. So instead, I'm going to recommend installing Espier Launcher from the Android Market. This unique launcher looks, feels and acts just like the real deal. If you long press an icon and hit the X that appears, it'll uninstall the app and swiping to the left will get you to a search page just like a real iPhone.

Next, let's do your Android lock screen. First you're going to have to install a free application called Magic Locker Main. This is an application that will change your lock screen without root access. Next, download the iPhone Theme for it. Once that's done, apply it within the Magic Locker app and activate it. Now you've got an iPhone lockscreen.

The next is the messaging application, which is among the easiest steps. Simply download the well known and super popular Handcent application. It has a native iPhone theme built in. Open it up, choose its iPhone theme and you're done.

What is a messaging app when you've still got that Android keyboard hanging around? We'll fix that as well. First, download GO Keyboard from the Market. Once installed, grab its iPhone Theme, also in the Market. Open up GO Keyboard and simply apply the theme. Don't forget to enable it under Settings. It's not perfect, but it's close enough to be believable and really, isn't that all we're going for here?

With text messaging out of the way, let's get some notification goodness in there as well. For that, you're going to download iPhone Notifications Lite. This app actually looks pretty darn close to how the iPhone does it. Open it, activate it and prepare for those transparent blue boxes.

Hang in there, we've only got a few more applications to go. The contacts application will come next. First, you must grab GO Contacts EX and then, if you hadn't guess by now, go pick up its iPhone Theme. Open up GO Contacts EX and apply the iPhone theme and you'll be able to browse through your contacts just like an iPhone user.

Finally, we have come to our last app and, ironically, our first conundrum. The music app. There are two good options for emulating the iPhone music experience. One of them is free and is called Player3D Music Player. The other is a paid application and is called btunes. They're both adequate, but it really depends on if you're spending money on this or not. Personally, I prefer Player3D because it has my favorite feature; it's free.

There you have it. An Android phone that for most intensive purposes will look and act just like a real iPhone and, unlike iPhone owners, you spent very little to no money on it whatsoever. You can now stop your Market downloading marathon, place your phone mildly on the desk and bask in the glory of being able to pretend like you're a barista at Starbucks.

Now, the next time someone with iPhone walks up and tries to give you a hard time for not owning an iPhone, you can show them your near iPhone device and claim you own one. Nine out of 10 iPhone owners will most likely believe you.