In case it wasn't plainly obvious, several Engadget staffers took the plunge in the past few days, buying an iPhone (or iPhones, as the case may be) and making the fateful switch from Brand X to Apple. Of course, migrating to the Dark Side isn't without its pitfalls; functionality is sometimes lost, apps are no longer usable, and data speeds go down, just to name a few. What did our iSwitchers give up for the iPhone, and how'd they justify it? On the flipside, what was it that our iReturner just couldn't give up? Read on to find out, and be sure to add your own iSwitcher / iReturner stories in comments, yeah?

So it seems that the oft-rumored handset from Google has taken that final leap into the "confirmed" column, though it may not be quite the be-all, end-all device we were expecting. Isabel Aguilera, Google's chief executive in Spain and Portugal, has admitted that the searchmeisters have some mobile goodness in the works but appeared to play down the project, noting that the phone is just one of 18 R&D initiatives the company currently has underway. Furthermore, she mentioned that Google's mobile skunkworks were designed to make their way into developing countries, suggesting that this may not be the Samsung sourced, iPhone-killing monster we'd been getting an earful about as of late. But hey, if Apple intends to turn the iPhone into a multi-device franchise, Google's entitled to do the same, is it not?

[Via Gizmóvil, thanks Juan D.]

Yes, this would be pretty easy to fake -- and even if it's real, it's just a survey, which means it's sorta fake by design -- but a questionnaire allegedly received by a Mobileburn forum member hints at specs and a rather fascinating concept design for Google's probably-in-the-works cellphone. Everything seems believable enough, though it seems like they flip-open QWERTY keypad could be a bit tricky to access from the right side thanks to the permanently-affixed nav buttons; features are said to include 3G data, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera, not to mention a rather striking Samsung-penned chassis. Typical test-marketing survey mumbo jumbo suggests that the phone would offer "all the exciting Google services from the PC" and -- thanks largely to targeted advertising -- affordable (as it's been suggested) flat-rate data service and a three-month trial. Could it be that Apple's going to see a legitimate competitor in the "pretty, giant-screened cellphone with tight Google integration" market right out of the gate (and with 3G, no less)?

[Via GODMODE]

Color us skeptics on this one, but we've got a tipster claiming to have the scoop on Google Switch. This version of the mythical Googlephone is said to be the result of a collaboration with Samsung -- not Alpha Networks or HTC. Of course, it's a button-less touchscreen device as is the rage these days only this time with GPS built-in for pinpoint navigation around Google Maps. What's pictured in that all too familiar blur (Photoshopped?) is the phone's contact program said to be an extended version of Gtalk combining Gmail, text and instant messaging. According to our tipster, the device doesn't have any on-board storage. That's right, all your applications are served up over the network with new apps "attached" to your account via a web interface. So what is it... the real deal or engorged fanboy fantasy? Check the gallery below for biggie pics suitable for dissection.