Back to the OP's question...
Firstly, be careful with questions like this because amongst the general users on here who will give you a simple opinion are also Nokia devotees who will get upset when you question Symbian
The main difference that I think people notice between Android and Symbian in general is down to the user interfaces on both. Your average user doesn't care about the difference between multitasking, power management to the Nth degree and so on. Most people tend to go for the 'prettiest' device initially. And this is where Symbian really falls down compared to Android.
The interface on Symbian powered Nokias at the moment is feeling very dated when put alongside Android. Even more so when you put it next to an Android phone running HTC Sense. This appears to be a common opinion that rears it's head over and over again.
I'm not suggesting Symbian is hard to use, especially when we have 2 year olds tweeting 70 year olds from their handsets

In fact most smartphones these days are relatively easy to use if you have the basic grasp of modern technology.
So to answer your question, as a 'non-techie' you are very likely to notice the feel of Android being a better day to day user experience than Symbian due to the graphic user interface. Have a play with one of the modern HTC handsets like the Desire or Desire HD and then have a go on an N8, you'll see exactly what I mean. While both will provide what a lot of people are looking for in smartphones the HTC device will do it a lot nicer.
Think of it this way, Symbian is Subo and Android is Katy Perry. Which one are you going to take home with you?