http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/apple-htc-google/
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Apple filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against HTC this week in an indirect attack against Google’s Android platform.
That got us to wondering: If Apple wins this lawsuit, just what would a Google phone, such as the HTC-built Nexus One, look like?
Realistically, Apple and HTC are going to reach a settlement outside of court, and the impacts on actual hardware are unpredictable. But we thought that rather than barrage you with boring patents to explain the suit, we’d illustrate the suit’s potential implications by describing a Google phone in the hypothetical situation where Apple won — a phone stripped of every feature that Apple’s patents lay claim to.
The patents listed in Apple’s complaints are related to touchscreens, multitouch gestures, graphical user interfaces, signal processing and other technologies Apple pioneered for the iPhone. Here’s a hint: If Apple had its way, a Google phone wouldn’t be pretty.
(A hat tip to Engadget’s Nilay Patel, a former attorney, for his fantastic work rounding up and explaining the patents to help guide our analysis.)
Out of the 20 patents in question, there are a few that stand out as the most noteworthy: Patents related to the way icons automatically rearrange themselves, scrolling behavior, the “unlock” mechanism, how phones sleep and multitasking.
App Rearrangement
The patent titled “Time-based, non-constant translation of user interface objects between states” describes the way a row of icons automatically rearrange when icons are added or removed. When you delete an icon, for example, Apple’s iPhone springboard automatically shifts icons to fill an empty spot to keep rows in order.
How a Google phone would look without it
Without this ability, an Android phone’s main screen would revert to the behavior of traditional PC desktops. On your Windows or Mac desktop, when you delete an icon, it leaves an empty space; you must either manually move your icons or choose a command to fill in any gaps between icons. So an Android phone’s screen would look like a cluttered mess with gaps in between icons after you deleted apps. You’d either have to manually drag and rearrange your apps or a tap a button to automatically sort the screen.
Unlock Mechanism
The “Unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image” (.pdf) patent attempts to grant Apple the exclusive rights to using gestures for moving an unlock image to perform an unlock. (With the iPhone, for example, you swipe the “Slide to unlock” tab to access the Home screen.) Given the broadness of the patent, this could apply to any manner of touching buttons or making swiping gestures on a touchscreen to perform an unlock.
How a Google phone would look without it
Google would be forced to work around the gestural unlock mechanism. Manufacturers would have to add an extra physical button to unlock the phone, or you’d have to press a combination of physical buttons to perform the unlock, as you do with many older candy-bar phones. Or perhaps to unlock the phone you would shake it, or, even sillier, speak a unique phrase into the microphone. Worst and least likely, Google could do away with the locked screen altogether and go straight to your menu, giving thieves easy access to your apps and personal data.
Scrolling
The patent titled “Touch screen device, method and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics” relates to scroll behavior on a touchscreen. If you start scrolling in a certain direction it locks you in that direction to spare you any wobbly chaos. And if you swipe at an angle you can pan freely.
How a Google phone would look without it
Google could either allow scrolling to be a bumpy mess, or it could again revert to the old PC desktop metaphor in which windows can be navigated with arrows (as illustrated above). Or it could require every manufacturer making an Android phone to add a scroll wheel, like the one on the Nexus One.
Notifications
The patent “Method and apparatus for distributing events in an operating system” relates to notifications changing behavior of apps, such as in the event of a power failure.
How a Google phone would look without it
An Android phone currently notifies you when your battery is running low, and then it shuts off the GPS to conserve power. So say goodbye to that.
Multitasking
The patent “Message protocol for controlling a user interface from an inactive program” addresses the act of a foreground application remaining active while an application running in the background is also processing. So yes, multitasking. Many believe the iPhone doesn’t have multitasking capability, but technically it does run some of Apple’s built-in apps in the background, such as the phone and the iPod.
How a Google phone would look without it
If you’re typing an e-mail on a Google phone and you get a phone call, the phone app would immediately close the e-mail, or the call would go straight to your voicemail box. Listening to your Android phone and want to browse the web? Tough beans: You can only do one at a time. It’ll be a familiar feeling with videogame consoles, which only let you run one game at a time.
Sleep Mode
The patent “Conserving power by reducing voltage supplied to an instruction-processing portion of a process” is filled with a flurry of technical jargon, but it most likely refers to a process of reducing power consumption, or minimizing power leakage, when a device is put to sleep.
How a Google phone would look without it
Manufacturers would have to draw up alternative methods to conserve battery life in sleep mode (which they most likely already have done). Or they could foolishly let the processor run at full power even when the phone is “asleep,” which would get phones pretty hot in your pocket. And if all else failed, manufacturers could ship phones with a battery extender to keep the phone up and running, like the modest example we’ve fashioned above.
Summary
Put it all together and what do we get? Something like the admittedly hyperbolic mock-up above. Picture an HTC Google phone whose desktop shows a grid of icons with gaps. Arrows on the screen help you navigate your windows. A physical unlock button on the phone gets you past the lock screen. Battery life could potentially be poor in sleep mode, which could be addressed with a free battery extender — or even better, a hand-crank charger — as shown in the illustration above.
Illustration: Dennis Crothers/Wired.com
Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/apple-htc-google/#ixzz0hR5E7IJ2
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t4tav said:
At least that mockup still looks better than an iPhone
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But such an impartial article author should be taken seriously... http://www.denniscrothers.com/wired_iphone.html
wow I'm diggin that unlock button!
What Google should have done is use a Finger Print Scanner for an unlocker! uh? did I just give an idea for an app? I only want 10%.
I'm sure the unlock screen will be safe, Google developed it long before they had a patent. The rest is just BS and I'm hoping HTC and Google will take them to court and show the justice system how bogus our patent system is these days.
I'm sure many of the patents Apple are aiming for were already invented?
Weren't many Winmo phones using the multitasking and sleep mode...etc?
Also regarding the desktop icons, you have to manually move them anyway? The Android desktop is completely different from the iPhone.
If I delete an app shortcut, the gap stays there on one of my many screens until I fill it again.
Apple seem to be clutching at straws I think.
just because apple has the patents doesn't mean they aren't in use by others. They just haven't sued.... Though if a patent can be shown to be already in use before thier filing that would be great. Also, the iphone is using every major patent in the phone world already and has to own that fact as well. if you invent a better version of a patented product you STILL have to pay fees to use the first patent so that you can produce the second improved version. Apple won't get anywhere with this for years at best and in the end it will only cost us the consumer more money and time. Who really thinks that the "auto reargange' funciton of the desktop is worth something as a patent? a large number of these patents could be overlooked if you apply them to another application (ie desktop/laptop computers!) who is to say my 1ghz smart phone isn't a portable laptop with a built in cell phone
Patent law is messy and this should just end up being a silly contest to see who squeals first.
SiNJiN76 said:
What Google should have done is use a Finger Print Scanner for an unlocker! uh? did I just give an idea for an app? I only want 10%.
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It was featured in the movie 2012.
Apple probably saw it then filed for patent so noone can use there thumb for anything.
Apple is pathetic.
ericc191 said:
Apple is pathetic.
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Not So much so there sire..
It's a Scared thing.. Google was never a threat when they came out as a search engine.. But, neither was it a threat when Jobs, Eric E. Schmidt, And Bill Gates all sat at the same conference table for the same company, not even mention school, same.
So, the time has come to be that Apple won the war with Microsoft and dominates on the Music and Film/Photo scene's but Microsoft has always had their footprint well planted in the Government and well the Public.. After years of passing, Google grew, and Grew, and Grew...
They took scraps from others that didn't want it anymore and moved it into better foroms, I.E. Grand Central, Google Voice, and it goes on.. So with this, Apple now see's a potential threat, but why now, Why after so many years, well this gets explained by Cockiness, all by Jobs doing.. Apple has always been on top, had the latest tech and some dumb crazy developers and engineers.. If others ran Apple, and had all that power, There would be no Google, or it would have merged a long time ago...
But... Google is a standalone company.. Everything is free for them.. Just about, the only thing I have ever had to pay for that Had GOOGLE written on it was a SmartPhone.. Which now leads me to my Point..!
Apple is afraid cause all they have LEFT is the Iphone and the Newly launched but soon to fail, IPad. The Mac's will forever be on top, so this doesn't count, Until, lets say Chrome OS is official and crazy, which we all know it will be.. Then Apple midaswell **** their pants..
See, the Android system debuted Sept. 23, 2008:
Apple Iphone: 2007
Android Came last in all this mess. Microsoft Mobile, Iphone, **** the PDA. See, it gave a chance for Android and Google to think and apply all these things into one.. Give a soft launch on SPONSORED "With Google" devices and watch it Grow.. Personally the 80,000 sold on the Nexus One is perfectly fine with Google, they never charged anyone for anything before anyway.. So, let it be, The Nexus Hold's it's own Title, as Google now holds "ALL" titles, and Steve Jobs is afraid of that.. You don't see Microsoft messing with Google Do You, no they learned, Get money.. Thats It.. Not ***** and bicker..
So, I say, Honestly, Lay back and enjoy the war, for us Phone Geeks, wait, Androidians, this is nothing but Good, and Google knows this..
See, what sucks is this.. Eric is on the Board of Administrative Staff for our President, and Steve is a Free Mason.. What a "political" war this is..
My two cents!
SiNJiN76 said:
What Google should have done is use a Finger Print Scanner for an unlocker! uh? did I just give an idea for an app? I only want 10%.
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You should file a patent and sit on it for years until someone with money develops a product with that integrated, and then you can sue them to leech money from their hard work.
Patent law is a double-edged sword. Most often it is useful in protecting what is genuinely unique to your product, but when it is allowed to be so broad as the claims Apple is making, it is anti-competitive at best.
Most of these things wm6.5.x have as well. Like the lock mechanism, icon arrangement and so on. Why don't they go and try to sue Microsoft?
JHPadu said:
Most of these things wm6.5.x have as well. Like the lock mechanism, icon arrangement and so on. Why don't they go and try to sue Microsoft?
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They already finished with Microsoft....
They want the Bigger THREATENING fish..
Just because you file a patent, doesn't mean you actually get it.
If Apple wants to play that game....Google should take away google maps and search and email. then iphone would be nothing but a dumb phone.
jp_macaroni said:
If Apple wants to play that game....Google should take away google maps and search and email. then iphone would be nothing but a dumb phone.
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Jesus, that is the best I have ever heard it.. Now, i wonder, If we could start a Petition, But, I love Apple too.. I use my MacBook Pro, And have the 27inch Imac, I will roll over in hell, before I go back to a windows machine, ugghh.. Jesus.. Uggghh.. They're like alien like to me.. I learned mac before I could speak, Speak I tell you.. I looked at windows in school, and started carrying a mac laptop to do my schoolwork, I even bought the programs the school used, just to be able to stay with my Mac-Baby...
So take aways all you want.. Just not the Company..
jp_macaroni said:
If Apple wants to play that game....Google should take away google maps and search and email. then iphone would be nothing but a dumb phone.
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Google could. And if they wanted to have a major shift towards android they would.
But the traffic usage and Ad revenue from iphone users using google apps is too significant still.
I do see Google pulling out at some point. But I think apple will have its search/map ducks in line before that happens.
I believe having google search / gmail / gmaps available and used by as many people as possible is more important to google then android/android based phones.
After all, nearly all of google's revenue comes from those apps.
They will, of course, keep pushing android, and it will keep getting adopted by more and more phones and developers and increasing in market share - but until android smartphones have a considerably larger market share then any other smartphone developer, there is no way google will pull any of their apps from other phones (and even then, they will still want other people to start / keep using their apps and eventually decide to go the android way since it integrates all those apps much better then other phones).
Interestingly, part of patent and trademark law is protecting those patents and trademarks.
This means that if someone can show a company to have not protected their patents and trademarks from known, widespread infringement, they can potentially lose the exclusive rights.
I'm no patent attorney, but since so many of these items have already been in use on various other devices, I wonder what will come out of this lawsuit? Will Apple, in their haste to damage a strong competitor, lose some of these patent rights?
Related
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/01/09/google-android-personal-thoughts/
Simply pathetic.
i like how he said the fact that iPhone's OS is more human and less analytical than that of the android. What a ****ing joke.
Multitasking? Ok, we’ll have that with iPhone 4.0. What else? App Store limitations? Come on. Plus there’s a chance iPhone 4.0 will be announced in literally weeks away (Apple will up their screen resolution on the iPhone to probably double, and have a new resolution for their “slate”) — you can be sure Apple is going to come out swinging.
LOL! Apple fanboys are really getting scared! I love my iPhone but come on man up and admit Android is coming up pretty fast and could even show Apple how **** should be done!
Gonna love got the comments!
Given that iphone os been around for about 3 years now and andriod maybe 1.5? Iphone didnt even have mms until 3.0 so some one should tell them that. Also did anyone read a pathetic post on engadget about flash on android? Sounds like the guy is piss that his iphone prob wont get flash anytime soon.
I don't know if all these sites writers use iPhones and their world is crumbling around them or what but it's pretty damn crazy out there right now.
"you still will almost always lose that charm and that amazing feeling of connecting to something. People would die for their iPhones, people would die for their BlackBerrys – and they feel like their lives are in there. People feel connected to their BlackBerrys. Some sleep with them next to their pillow. No one gives a crap about their Android phone, there’s zero emotional attachment."
lol not so true! i slept part of the night with mine next to my pillow hahahaha! but yeah he is seriously hating right now like this quote makes no ****ing sense. In the past 2 years i have had
a blackberry Pearl to blackberry Curse 8320 to G1 back Pearl to Curve to MT3G to BOLD 9700 to Nexus one and so far BY FAR my favorit is the N1 it does have plenty of "emotions" and lil cool quirks
ONE THING i did notice though is that every review out there by a non Android website as been less then exciting, i feel like Gizmodo gave the MT3G a way better review to the MT3G then Nexus One in comparaison.
"you still will almost always lose that charm and that amazing feeling of connecting to something. People would die for their iPhones, people would die for their BlackBerrys – and they feel like their lives are in there. People feel connected to their BlackBerrys. Some sleep with them next to their pillow. No one gives a crap about their Android phone, there’s zero emotional attachment."
WTF? Ok first of all, if you are that much emotional attach to your iphone or bb, you need help, get out and meet some ppl and maybe sleep with ppl and not phones. And what is he talking about ppl would die for their bb? More like the bb die on their ppl more often then not. I love all my phones, I got too many of them but none I have emotional attachment to it, if I'm bored with it and if it can still fetch me a nice price, bye bye phone, doesnt matter if it iphone, android, winmo or bb.
he makes some intriguing points but most of what he wrote is rubbish...
"People would die for their iPhones"
Uhmm.... I wonder if someone said your iPhone or your life, what would that reviewer choose.
duncan888 said:
"People would die for their iPhones"
Uhmm.... I wonder if someone said your iPhone or your life, what would that reviewer choose.
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Prob their life? Fanboys are true extremist
I'm not sure I've met anyone who ever loved their BlackBerry..
kozm0naut said:
I'm not sure I've met anyone who ever loved their BlackBerry..
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Haha, I was thinking the same thing. Everyone I know that has Blackberries got them because they were free, either upgrade or corporate users and they all hate them.
JoshHart said:
I don't know if all these sites writers use iPhones and their world is crumbling around them or what but it's pretty damn crazy out there right now.
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Its baffling.
Every reviews filled with anger and massively biased opinion.
What kills me is that they arent upset about the price , or plan restrictions , or lack of a specific feature. They all seem to randomly pick things ((most of which arent even accurate)) and rant on about it while mentioning Iphone every other sentence.
Its pretty pathetic.
First of all, I do sleep with my phone but mostly because I like to read my email when I wake up. I've had three Android devices (G1, myTouch and now the N1) and would rather have a broken G1 than an iPhone. Okay, maybe not quite to that extreme but the writer's review is tremendously flawed. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but to say the N1 is a bad phone is just plain hating. If I was an iPhone lover I'd at least admit that the N1 is nice. I mean seriously, it's such a beautiful phone and worth every penny I paid. And PS, people aren't going to run out and get an Apple tablet thingy like they did the iPhone. Remember, the iPhone is subsidized. Tablet devices will not be. So even if the Apple tablet is the greatest device ever, Apple will have a hard time selling a non-essential device with such a high price tag.
Good article in my opinion.
The iPhone's shortfalls are commonly known. It's nice to see someone list Android's for a change rather than pretending that all is fine and dandy. A lack of polish. That is pretty much what it boils down to. It's something that I've noticed from watching videos of Android devices, there isn't much consistency in the UI. When I first saw pictures of 2.1 and heard about the "Google Phone" I was hoping this would be solved. Sadly it hasn't been, but you can tell Google are working on it. The home screen, program tray and gallery all tie in together now and they just need to tie the rest together.
Personally I'm happy to see someone speaking their mind about Android and putting it in quite a good way. I'm in the process of choosing a new handset and it's opinions like these that I like reading, better than getting a nasty surprise when I try out the handset.
I have issues with the iPhone and Apple’s approach to it. I think it’s an amazing concept — people holding hands, skipping down sugar-encrusted roads with pink ponies and colorful rainbows — but the execution falls flat in many ways if you’re a hardcore phone user, and Apple has constantly missed the mark in almost every area.
Part of my main issue with the iPhone, and this applies slightly less to iPod Touch, is that there’s practically no logical sense with Apple when it comes to technology. Everything is touchy-feely and emotional . While you could argue that being this way is way superior to “statistical” and “analytical”– it might be 95% of the time — you still will almost always lose that logic and that amazing feeling of connecting to your network. People would be crazy to die for their android phones, but people would die for their BlackBerrys – and they feel like their lives are in there. People feel connected to their BlackBerrys. Some sleep with them next to their pillow. No one gives a crap what people think about their Android phone, there’s zero zombified worship like you see with Apple fanboys. The closest example would be Palm’s webOS. A great concept, besides Google’s android OS, it’s the fairly polished, the most friendly, and the most useful. Do you see that?
Hello. ****ing. Humans. If you’re going to use that line, at least have the sense to actually make it make sense. Plus, isn’t the point of all this technology to make everything feel more natural and more useful? I mean, that’s why we have robotic dogs that learn (shout out to Just Blaze and I for having Sony AIBOs), that’s why our car remembers our personal settings when we enter the cockpit, that’s why our TiVos know exactly what program we want to watch. And yet, with everything moving forward in the technology space, iPhone's continues to feel pretty but useless.
Andy Rubin is brilliant. To this day, I still compare things to the Sidekick OS because it was so ahead of its time in every way, and it made sense. But the iPhone still feels half baked even after three years. And you can’t prance around smiling without raising the bar. You can take your non-multi-app running device and shove it — it’s inexcusable.
There are so many fundamental issues with iPhone’s OS that still haven’t been addressed and it really makes my head spin. Functionality is not a word you’ll find in the iPhone’s dictionary. How about the fact that all the application icons are the same size. Uh, why? Since there’s transparent padding around the icons — you know, something that takes up space — I have no where to put widgits if Apple even saw fit to ever include them. It’s a small, but very important point that really reflects how poorly the iPhone is designed in some areas.
Other issues that I can’t live with day to day? Why can't I just click on text such as addresses and phone numbers from like an email, webpage, or SMS, or even a 3rd party application and have it take me to Google maps or call that person? Oh, I can’t. The iPhone didn't even have copy and paste for two years — a joke!
iPhone vs iPod even doesn’t make sense as a whole. It’s fragmented, poorly executed, the Apple's Market for apps is a mess, and developers still have their apps pending approval for weeks. There’s not one single good IM program that I could rely on day to day (I don’t use Google Talk), the browser is decent at best. It’s faster now, sure, there’s a undisclosed 3gs CPU under its ass, but it’s not intuitive, and there’s always erroneous touch events; when I want to hit something I hit another link, button or app by accident.
For a company that’s so smart, and makes so much sense, it’s unbelievable how little sense iPhone OS makes in most places. I just can’t see why you’d want to run iPhone over the Android? Multitouch? Ok, we’ll enable that in a matter of days! What else? App Store limitations? Come on. Plus there’s a chance Android 2.5 will be announced in literally weeks away (Google will up their screen resolution on the Nexus Two to probably double, and have a new resolution for their “slate”) — you can be sure Google is going to come out swinging. iPhone isn’t a game changer. It’s a decent OS, dreamed up by an incredibly smart man, with unlimited resources and unlimited access. That’s why even in iPhone OS 3.0, it’s so disheartening to see an operating system that I can’t use daily.
I apologize for comparing this to the Android OS so much, I really didn’t set out to. But I’ve used an android phone every day of my life since it first came out in addition to every BlackBerry ever available simultaneously, and I actually had an open mind about the Nexus One possibly replacing everyone's iPhone. I felt like maybe they will want more “freedom” and “flexibility” and not have to deal with Apple’s ridiculous train of thought sometimes. Some people are too plugged into the Apple ecosystem. Willing to paid out the ass to upgrade an entire library to non-DRM status, they can even use Exchange and Gmail, both are supported on the Nexus One — nothing is holding anyone back.
In the end, I found that the lack of any meaningful applications for the iPhone really made it a no go from the beginning. I’m talking about quality — re-read the word quality — applications, here. The best VNC and RDP applications on the iPhone are a joke. There’s not a single enjoyable Twitter application, and any application that’s on iPhone that is available on the Android pales in comparison. If you can find an application on the iPhone platform that’s better than the Android counterpart, I’ll send you a BGR Ninja hat.
Seriously Apple, you take no responsibility for the actual “experience” of this phone, yet you tout it as your tag line. Applications in Apple Market don’t work for all devices. They have to be updated, they might not work with a new resolution, or all touch screen display — try using one of those NES/SNES emulators on the iPhone since Apple baned them! — the comments and “reviews” on apps are worse than Sidekick user’s AIM screen names, there’s Apple is GOD like authority and accountability in Market, and outside of people that know what they’re doing, you’re basically leading the rest into a forest with wolves in the dark, while they’re bleeding and blindfolded. Why does the VNC application I bought and paid for crash on the iPhone with a Java.IO error? Because your entire OS is rarely gets updated, poorly driven, overly policed, and because in typical Apple fashion, you’re sitting on to the 2 year old devices while everyone else comes out with new technowlogy. What happened to ferociously making sure the absolute core applications in your package were 100% perfect before shipping? BlackBerry’s email application is flawless. Google's web browser is flawless. But there’s not a single application on iPhone that doesn’t have a fart or soundboard copy of its self.
Here’s another issue on why for the foreseeable future iPhone OS won’t be anything like what Google or another company can offer: coders are free to be designers. It’s really as simple as that and anyone in the business will know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why Google's entire developer ecosystem is different, because believe it or not, Apple’s developers are amazing designers that make beautiful things, and they happen to know how to code.. but boy oh boy do they take their sweet time about it. That’s entirely different from someone who’s the best coder in the world and doesn't even have the choice to create something that looks, works, and feels great. And so, this is my issue with iPhone OS and why you won’t see applications of Android-quality on iPhone aside from any SDK and programming hurdles.
If an app like twidroid existed on iPhone, I think the Apple Market would literally crash, die, burn, and hang itself by how natural, beautiful, and thoughtful that application is. Now, multiply something like that 5,000 times and you’ll have an idea of why all this Apple iPhone hype amounts to very little. We have the best Android device ever made in the history of the world, finally! Oh wait, Apple’s event is in 2 weeks, maybe they'll finally allow multiple apps to run at the same time. Until Android 2.2 launches adding multitouch for the US as a simple software update. Then I’ll write another review.
...Holy shipwreck that was hard, I want to puch that guy in the face now...
BTW, I've always thought the iPhone was a good solid phone, I've just liked android better due to the high level of integration and sync-ability with my gmail and cal, etc, etc. I dunno why the iphone boys gotta have so much hate.
satchef1 said:
Good article in my opinion.
The iPhone's shortfalls are commonly known. It's nice to see someone list Android's for a change rather than pretending that all is fine and dandy. A lack of polish. That is pretty much what it boils down to. It's something that I've noticed from watching videos of Android devices, there isn't much consistency in the UI. When I first saw pictures of 2.1 and heard about the "Google Phone" I was hoping this would be solved. Sadly it hasn't been, but you can tell Google are working on it. The home screen, program tray and gallery all tie in together now and they just need to tie the rest together.
Personally I'm happy to see someone speaking their mind about Android and putting it in quite a good way. I'm in the process of choosing a new handset and it's opinions like these that I like reading, better than getting a nasty surprise when I try out the handset.
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LOL, putting it in quite a good way? Half the things in there aren't even true and then he compares the N1 to future devices that aren't even out yet haha. See this is exactly the worst part of this slanderish garbage, people believe it as fact.
satchef1 said:
Good article in my opinion.
The iPhone's shortfalls are commonly known. It's nice to see someone list Android's for a change rather than pretending that all is fine and dandy. A lack of polish. That is pretty much what it boils down to. It's something that I've noticed from watching videos of Android devices, there isn't much consistency in the UI. When I first saw pictures of 2.1 and heard about the "Google Phone" I was hoping this would be solved. Sadly it hasn't been, but you can tell Google are working on it. The home screen, program tray and gallery all tie in together now and they just need to tie the rest together.
Personally I'm happy to see someone speaking their mind about Android and putting it in quite a good way. I'm in the process of choosing a new handset and it's opinions like these that I like reading, better than getting a nasty surprise when I try out the handset.
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Totally agree.
And he doesn't even touch on some of the biggest issues with Android IMO.
I would add Google's "Big Brother is watching you approach" to the OS/phone and the lacking/poorly executed exchange support as additional problems with Android as a platform.
As far as the app market is concerned he really hits the nail on the head. Although the large majority of iphone apps is also crap, the small minority of useful apps really stands out. there is nothing that comes even close on WM or android and the developer support on these platforms is ... non-existent.
Good article and some good points. I wish Google would address them.
bofslime said:
I have issues with the iPhone and Apple’s approach to it. I think it’s an amazing concept — people holding hands, skipping down sugar-encrusted roads with pink ponies and colorful rainbows — but the execution falls flat in many ways if you’re a hardcore phone user, and Apple has constantly missed the mark in almost every area.
<snip>
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One internets for you sir.
http://www.slate.com/id/2244165/
What's Wrong With Android
If Google fixes one simple thing, its operating system will surpass the iPhone's.
By Farhad Manjoo
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at 5:48 PM ET
Nexus One. Click image to expand.Nexus One When Google launched the Nexus One in January, the company hit on an odd bit of marketing to distinguish the new phone from its rivals. This was a "superphone," Google said—every other cellular device on the market was merely "smart." The designation didn't make much sense—despite what Google would have you believe, the Nexus One doesn't have any major features that set it apart from other top-of-the-line phones. It makes calls, does e-mail, and browses the Web; so do the iPhone, the Palm Pre, various BlackBerrys, and every other Android phone. All top-end smartphones have Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS. They've all got app stores that can give you access to a wide variety of third-party programs. And though smartphones come in two distinct hardware flavors—either with or without a physical keyboard—they are all very pretty to look at.
If you're looking to buy a new smartphone, then, the most important thing to ask isn't "What does it do?" Instead, it's "How does it do it?" Phones that seem identical on paper turn out to be wildly different once you turn them on. The most important feature on any phone is one rarely mentioned in a spec list: the operating system. If the OS is clunky and overstuffed, like what you'll find on the BlackBerry, you'll have a devil of a time doing everything on your device. If it's stylish and intuitive, like the iPhone's, you'll find your phone a pleasure.
So where does the Nexus One fall in that range? Right near the top. I've been using Google's new phone for a month, more or less as a replacement for my own phone, the iPhone 3GS. Google has described the Nexus One as a kind of concept car for its open-source Android platform—the company designed the phone from top-to-bottom in order to show off how awesome an Android phone can really be. To that end, the Nexus One succeeds. If I were forced to give up my iPhone, I'd replace it with a Nexus One.
But I hope that doesn't come to pass. I like the Nexus One, I really do—but it has a long way to go to catch up with Apple's device.
The essential problem is that Android's interface is much less intuitive than the iPhone's. Much of the OS's functionality is hidden—Android can do a lot, but unlike the iPhone it keeps many of its options stuffed in menu bars. As a result, the Nexus One asks new users to climb a steeper learning curve. You've got to poke around every program to find out how to do its most basic tasks. Even once you've learned the easy stuff, the OS is still a struggle—it takes several steps to do something on Android that you can do in one step on the iPhone.
To illustrate my point, look at both phones' calendar programs. Here are shots of each phone's "month view"—the Nexus One is on the left, and the iPhone on the right:*
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As you can see, the Nexus One's screen offers a bit more detail than the iPhone's. It gives you a little indicator bar next to each day of the month to show how much of the day has been booked up, while the iPhone adds only a small bold dot on any day with an appointment—which doesn't tell you much in a quick glance.
But say you want to change your calendar—if you need to add an appointment or switch to a daily view, for instance. Even if you've never used one before, it's obvious how you'd do so on the iPhone—every button is right on the screen. To add an appointment, just click the plus sign in the top right corner. To switch to a daily view, hit "Day." To look at another calendar, tap the "Calendars" button.
Doing those same things on the Nexus One isn't as obvious, because many of its functions are hidden in a list of options that require you to hit an additional button first—the phone's universal Menu button, which is not on the screen but under it, one of four built-in buttons below the screen. To add an appointment, you've got to hit Menu first, then click the Plus icon. To switch to the weekly view, do the same thing—first hit Menu, then choose the weekly option. But that's not all: There's another menu button hidden under this menu. When you hit this menu-within-menu, you'll get another list of options, including one to adjust which of your calendars is displayed—an option that, on the iPhone, is presented on the calendar's main screen.
This problem is not confined to the calendar app—it's everywhere on Android, in Google's built-in apps as well as third-party programs you download from the app store. To search for an address in the iPhone's map program, you click the search bar at the top of your screen; to do the same thing in Android's map program, you hit Menu first, then Search. To load a bookmarked Web page in the iPhone's browser, you hit the bookmark icon. To do so in Android, you've got to—you guessed it—hit Menu first, then Bookmark.
Android partisans might counter that you need to learn only one thing to use the phone: When in doubt, hit Menu and everything will be revealed. That's true; after using the Nexus One for some time, I eventually learned to click this universal button when an option wasn't immediately visible. But the constant menu hunting isn't ideal. First, it's a hurdle to new users—it's not obvious that you've got to keep clicking this button to look for features that ought to be highlighted on a single screen. What's more, the hidden menus slow you down. The whole point of loading up the maps program is to look up an address; why would you hide that option under a menu bar?
I think the answer comes down to a philosophical difference between the Apple and Google user interface teams. With the iPhone, Apple is clearly trying to make a complete break with desktop operating systems. The iPhone's Human Interface Guidelines—Apple's instructions for developers creating iPhone apps—are clear on this point, stressing that every iPhone app should highlight its main functions on its main screen, using icons that are easy to understand. "Make it obvious," the guidelines chide developers: "You can't assume that users have the time (or can spare the attention) to figure out how your application works. Therefore, you should strive to make your application instantly understandable to users."
The Android platform is much looser in this regard. Its interface guidelines don't discourage hidden menus: "All but the simplest applications have menus," the interface guide tells developers. In other words, under Android's design philosophy, menus are a natural consequence of complexity—and the more powerful a program, the more likely it is to be stuffed with hidden menus. That's a familiar view of computing, one deeply tied to the interface on the standard PC—after all, every program on your laptop or desktop hides much of its functionality under menus, too.
But that philosophy feels outmoded. We're increasingly abandoning desktop programs for most of our computing needs, and we're replacing them with Web apps or mobile apps that are much more straightforward to use. I rarely reach for menu bars anymore; the programs I use most often these days—Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Microsoft Office 2007, and nearly everything on my iPhone—present most of their functions on the main screen.
So come on, Android team— join the menu-free bandwagon! You've got a great OS—with a little work, it could be the best mobile operating system on the market. Wouldn't that be more obvious if you didn't keep everything hidden?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you guys think?
I'll hold my comments/rage in order to start this off objectively...
Basically, he's saying that Android needs to be dumbed down so that, just like the iPhone, it too can be useable by five-year-olds.
No thanks. Having intellectually developed beyond the age of five, I for one am capable of telling four soft buttons apart. A feat one can only expect of mental giants, I know, which I'm sure is asking too much of Apple fansheep.
"You can't assume that users have the time (or can spare the attention) to figure out how your application works. Therefore, you should strive to make your application instantly understandable to users."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Translation: assume everyone is a retard and develop accordingly. Sweet. Seriously, a more intuitive interface is good, but I feel that Android's plenty intuitive as it is. It just happens to offer more options to the end user (and presumably to developers too), which can't just all be vomited onto the app's main screen. I'll go with a greater range of options and customization over a one-button, idiot-proof UI, please.
grainysand said:
Basically, he's saying that Android needs to be dumbed down so that, just like the iPhone, it too can be useable by five-year-olds.
No thanks. Having intellectually developed beyond the age of five, I for one am capable of telling four soft buttons apart. A feat one can only expect of mental giants, I know, which I'm sure is asking too much of Apple fansheep.
Translation: assume everyone is a retard and develop accordingly. Sweet. Seriously, a more intuitive interface is good, but I feel that Android's plenty intuitive as it is. It just happens to offer more options to the end user (and presumably to developers too), which can't just all be vomited onto the app's main screen. I'll go with a greater range of options and customization over a one-button, idiot-proof UI, please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotta agree! I read this article last night, and was biting my tongue the whole time. I can't believe the guy had the balls to claim it takes too many key presses to do things on Android compared to the iPhone... Hmmm, lets check that:
He is wrong about making an appointment, in Android you can long press the day and it pops up a short list of options for that day, new event being one of them. I don't see how hard that is, or how it takes too many key presses, and actually it is the same # as the iPhone.
Lets make a phone call... on an iPhone you gotta find the dialer, then search the contact, yada yada yada.... on Android, just tap the contact short cut, or start typing a name in the search bar, or really hard here folks, hold down the search key until voice command turns on, then say "Call John Doe"...
And it goes on and on... Sure, Android has menus giving the user more options, but what is wrong with that? The only thing I agree with is that Android could be a bit prettier, well the 3rd party apps, and it will blow the iPhone out of the water given a little more refinement, especially considering as is it already is better.
pjcforpres said:
He is wrong about making an appointment, in Android you can long press the day and it pops up a short list of options for that day, new event being one of them. I don't see how hard that is, or how it takes too many key presses, and actually it is the same # as the iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****, since I use a grid calendar widget, I don't even have to load up the calendar app to add new events. I swipe to the homescreen with said widget, press the desire date and voila: a dialog box pops up for me to enter the event name, more or less like the quick add in the full google calendar.
on Android, just tap the contact short cut, or start typing a name in the search bar, or really hard here folks, hold down the search key until voice command turns on, then say "Call John Doe"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPhone users might finally get contact shortcuts on their homescreen in the next iPhone--after three whole years! Revolutionary really, just like copy-and-paste and sending MMS were.
The essential problem is that Android's interface is much less intuitive than the iPhone's. Much of the OS's functionality is hidden—Android can do a lot, but unlike the iPhone it keeps many of its options stuffed in menu bars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a load of crap. Seriously. Android is much quicker to use than apple's toy, probably the worst thing about the iPhone is that you have to open an app for EVERYTHING, even to read a tiny little SMS that was just sent to you. Opening apps = time, and is not at all as intuitive as having a custom living screen with the information you want displayed on it.
You're 100% right, pjcforpres. Dumbing devices down does not make them better. There are plenty ways to have an intuitive interface without cutting off options. I'd say the only thing really missing in android at the moment is not a dumb-phone-like drilling of limited options on the main screen, but a dumb-phone-like music player, or at least one with a simple five-band eq... I hope google don't take notice of idiots like the one who wrote that article and work on ADDING functionality to our devices, rather than taking it away.
First he was wrong on two points forgot what they were ((read this yesterday)).
Its amazing how only iphone people want there UI to be simpler. Hitting a Fn menu key is destroying the experience for you ?
Secondly
because many of its functions are hidden in a list of options that require you to hit an additional button first—the phone's universal Menu button,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How the hell is "MENU" something hidden.
His knock is a major plus in UI developing. When you can have a single dedicated button to sub menu options it makes UI creation ALOT easier. Your app will have more real estate to display relevant info and your interface will be less cluttered because of it.
From an OS standpoint the Menu button provides uniformity the Apple OS lacks. Every apps sub menus can be reached by the same button. Iphone the menus and options are often all over the place on apps.
N1 interface took a major leap forward IMO. The news genie app is a prototype to how simple and extremly functional an App can be.
What Android needs is better visual designers. They suck. Almost by default Iapps will have better visual appeal because many of the best graphic designers are already in the Apple ecosystem. They have a better talent pool.
Most apps on Android have the visuals seem almost like an afterthought. Heck even on XDA all the tons of useful apps that people have come up with few if any are actually visually well done. ((PURE apps being one of them)) and frankly even those are barely cracking "good" looking.
The fact they went to cooliris for the gallery , and rumored to be working with coreplayer guys for media player. At least makes me think Google acknowledge there visual appeal shortcomings.
Bottom line Iphone is Mcdonalds , Android is a nice restaurant.
Crying out for in your face menus and narrowed options makes me think you should just get up and go to the fastfood joint down the street.
To be fair this guy is just like me, a clearly longer term iPhone user who when faced with the differences is struggling. In the calendar app for example, yes you have to press an extra button, but in return you get more on the screen, a decent trade off in my opinion (as basically an iPhone fanboy).
It comes down to preference, and to be fair to the guy, he does say that if he had to get rid of the iPhone the N1 would be his pick.
I am trying to hold back on comments while I try to get to grips with Android after a good year plus on the iPhone, and today I used the N1 exclusively, left the 3GS at home.
What I found is that voice dialing is not as good as 3GS version, unless I am doing something wrong which is quite possible, and don't underestimate how useful Universal Search is on iPhone. From the First Home screen, (never more that 2 keypresses away), a single press always give a search function, which allows you to type anything and the list narrows down with each letter. It can be set to search in as many or as few catagories as you want, and in most cases you find what you need within a few letters.
When I saw the tittle of this post, I assumed this was the one thing he was talking about.
grainysand is right about one thing, Apple do take their sweet time to add stuff, but when they do, i.e Cut and Paste and Universal Search, it is class leading.
Kev
Kev
jay_zhead said:
even to read a tiny little SMS that was just sent to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now come on, if you are gonna pick on something, surely not this?
I have both phones here, so, I sent an SMS from my 3GS to my Nexus One, and made sure the screen was off. OK, so I get the noise and the flashing trackball. The screen does not come on. To read the message I have to Slide the lock over, and then I have to sweep the notifications bar down, and then I can see what the message is.
So I sent an SMS back to my 3GS from the N1, again, I made sure the iPhone screen was off.
I got my alert, it automatically turns my screen on, and the SMS is right there, on the screen, I do not have to OPEN anything at all. If I was away from my 3GS at the time, the message would still be right there when I next turn it on.
So, completely the opposite to what you are claiming. Wanna try again?
Kev
kevwright said:
To be fair this guy is just like me, a clearly longer term iPhone user who when faced with the differences is struggling. In the calendar app for example, yes you have to press an extra button, but in return you get more on the screen, a decent trade off in my opinion (as basically an iPhone fanboy).
It comes down to preference, and to be fair to the guy, he does say that if he had to get rid of the iPhone the N1 would be his pick.
I am trying to hold back on comments while I try to get to grips with Android after a good year plus on the iPhone, and today I used the N1 exclusively, left the 3GS at home.
What I found is that voice dialing is not as good as 3GS version, unless I am doing something wrong which is quite possible, and don't underestimate how useful Universal Search is on iPhone. From the First Home screen, (never more that 2 keypresses away), a single press always give a search function, which allows you to type anything and the list narrows down with each letter. It can be set to search in as many or as few catagories as you want, and in most cases you find what you need within a few letters.
When I saw the tittle of this post, I assumed this was the one thing he was talking about.
grainysand is right about one thing, Apple do take their sweet time to add stuff, but when they do, i.e Cut and Paste and Universal Search, it is class leading.
Kev
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My problem is that there seems to be know comprehension of what a learning curve is.
Going form a nintendo wii to an xbox 360 is going to be daunting the first few days/weeks...why ? because you can do more. The less you can do the easier you can make things.
You seem to have a grasp of this curve..the writer and many others dont.
My issue is that these guys write blogs posts etc that may get Googles attention. Thus Google starts paying attention to things it doesnt need to change and takes attention from what DOES need changing.
As for you specifically Im glad youre giving it a shot and hope you enjoy it..
The universal search can be customized in the settings menu contacts/apps/songs/web even specific to certain apps.....
It can also be activated with one touch ((magnifying glass button on lower right))
Tap once for quick search , long press for voice search.
I think his whole reasoning just points out how GOOD the menu button is.
When he talks about having ALL of the buttons you need on the screen it just points out that you can have much MORE options with a menu button, the opposite to what he says. Also, when you put ALL of the buttons you need on the screen, you immediately lose a third of the screen.
To search for an address in the iPhone's map program, you click the search bar at the top of your screen; to do the same thing in Android's map program, you hit Menu first, then Search. To load a bookmarked Web page in the iPhone's browser, you hit the bookmark icon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
erm, no thanks. When I open my maps application I don't want to see a thousand options and a huge search bar, I want to see the MAP.
To do so in Android, you've got to—you guessed it—hit Menu first, then Bookmark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong again... just press the search button. I know 4 buttons gets complicated for the long time iPhone users but even my 4 year old niece can use my sister's G1. (she plays coloroid; opens it herself too).
Edit: I read a post somewhere from an iPhone user using the nexus one saying he couldn't figure out which button to use to complete a task, he found it confusing... What has Jobs done ¬¬
kevwright said:
I got my alert, it automatically turns my screen on, and the SMS is right there, on the screen, I do not have to OPEN anything at all. If I was away from my 3GS at the time, the message would still be right there when I next turn it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Handcent sms allows you to customize this. You can make your screen turn on and pop up appear , or just in the notification bar.
kevwright said:
grainysand is right about one thing, Apple do take their sweet time to add stuff, but when they do, i.e Cut and Paste and Universal Search, it is class leading.
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing, though, is that such things should have been there from the start. Apple's the king of limiting functions, so that when they finally release basic crap that should never have been left out in later versions, people will cough up money for it and dance for joy--whereas anyone sane would have been fed up with that lack in the first place and ditched Apple a long time ago. Everyone is trying to maximize profits, obviously, but none does it so brazenly and shamelessly as Apple. Their products aren't tools that function. They are status symbols, mostly informing the world that you have more money than sense (or have no understanding of finance management--I've seen tech-illiterate people who aren't exactly loaded go for a Mac because they buy into the advertising campaigns and that "it just works" bull, even though buying a Windows PC with equivalent/better hardware will cost them half the money).
Heck, the iPhone 3GS is still more expensive than an N1 even though it's running on horrifyingly outdated hardware.
I think everyone -who chose a phone with android OS- has enough IQ to hit the menu button for executing off-screen functions. Android offers more than it can show, you can't force-fit everything on the screen.
grainysand said:
Basically, he's saying that Android needs to be dumbed down so that, just like the iPhone, it too can be useable by five-year-olds.
No thanks. Having intellectually developed beyond the age of five, I for one am capable of telling four soft buttons apart. A feat one can only expect of mental giants, I know, which I'm sure is asking too much of Apple fansheep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't disagree that the menu button is an easy, and intuitive way to use the OS. I also feel it's a benefit because it reduces clutter on the screen. I am able to have the full view of Google Maps at once, as opposed to it being partially covered with a search menu always on the screen.
That being said, your reaction to his comments are indicative of one issue with Android. You're calling people who use iPhones retarded 5 year olds, and you, as a brilliant geek savant, are too elite and exclusive to appeal to the lowly iPhone users. Unfortunately for you, in order for Android to become a successful operating system, it needs to appeal to all walks of life, and make the experience as easy as possible.
The reason most people are afraid of computers is because they are difficult to use, and they don't understand it. More and more people are using Macs, because they feel Macs are easier to use than PC's. The entire reason Linux hasn't taken off as a main stream OS, aside from a lack of push from any one source, is because it's one of the most confusing programs ever created.
Google should do everything it can to make Android as easy and intuitive to use for consumers of all walks of life. If they don't, Android will never succeed, and it will just become a niche OS for geeks just like Linux is.
Unfortunately, just taking this step isn't everything that's needed to make Android successful.
Side note: The author should point out you can long press almost anything in Android to get a menu of options without hitting the menu soft button. That's very intuitive.
xManMythLegend said:
Handcent sms allows you to customize this. You can make your screen turn on and pop up appear , or just in the notification bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure thing, I totally appreciate your can change it for Android, just pointing out a frustration of people slagging the iPhone for not having something which is so clearly does have.
I have both an iPhone and the Nexus One, and I feel that a huge number of iPhone haters on here have never ever used one.
Kev
xSiraris said:
You're calling people who use iPhones retarded 5 year olds, and you, as a brilliant geek savant, are too elite and exclusive to appeal to the lowly iPhone users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the contrary; the brilliant geek savants are the people who develop and mess with the code. I'm a peon much like anyone else, but you don't need to be a brilliant savant to understand, utilize, and distinguish four buttons. The iPhone OS is useable by toddlers--literally--which is fantastic for toddlers, but it also means you can't do jack-squat with it. Why should everyone be forced to the same level of non-customizable, closed, boring UI? Android's appeal is its options.
Unfortunately for you, in order for Android to become a successful operating system, it needs to appeal to all walks of life, and make the experience as easy as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At which point do you stop? Does Android need to cater to the lowest common denominator, or does it merely need to gain enough market-share or mindshare to have staying power? Beyond a certain point, you get dumbed-down garbage with no options for anyone: hence non-JB iPhone homescreens all looking identical (and even with themes/backgrounds, they still look essentially the same). If Android's dumbed down to the level where it'll no longer "scare" away people with attention span so short and intellect so limited they can't do anything but interact with a one-button device, where does that leave people who are fine with being able to customize their homescreens how they like, install whatever app they like, and enjoy the extra screen real estate thanks to the presence of buttons?
FYI, my mother's computer-illiterate. She tried my N1 and found it incredibly intuitive. So which breed of utterly, absolutely hopeless morons exactly find Android too complicated to use? Apart from the tool that wrote this article, I mean.
The reason most people are afraid of computers is because they are difficult to use, and they don't understand it. More and more people are using Macs, because they feel Macs are easier to use than PC's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fantastic. They deserve to pay Apple's stupidity tax.
kevwright said:
I have both an iPhone and the Nexus One, and I feel that a huge number of iPhone haters on here have never ever used one.
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a coincidence, because most Apple fanboys have never used anything but Macs and iPhones, but that doesn't stop them from showing up to troll Windows/Android users: anything from "Windows blue-screens five times a day and you need to format a Windows PC every week" or "I used to use Windows but, being retarded beyond belief, got it infected with fifty varieties of malware within five minutes of Internet use. MICROSOFT SUCKS." Not speaking of you specifically (although, haha), but just take a look at any popular tech blog. For every sensible Apple user, you will get twelve more singing panegyrics to the might of Steve Jobs and how Apple devices are the best ever and will never, ever lose their dominance. Uh, apart from the fact that they still don't have a majority market share in the PC sector, but you know. Facts and logic don't feature in fanboy-vision.
xSiraris said:
I don't disagree that the menu button is an easy, and intuitive way to use the OS. I also feel it's a benefit because it reduces clutter on the screen. I am able to have the full view of Google Maps at once, as opposed to it being partially covered with a search menu always on the screen.
That being said, your reaction to his comments are indicative of one issue with Android. You're calling people who use iPhones retarded 5 year olds, and you, as a brilliant geek savant, are too elite and exclusive to appeal to the lowly iPhone users. Unfortunately for you, in order for Android to become a successful operating system, it needs to appeal to all walks of life, and make the experience as easy as possible.
The reason most people are afraid of computers is because they are difficult to use, and they don't understand it. More and more people are using Macs, because they feel Macs are easier to use than PC's. The entire reason Linux hasn't taken off as a main stream OS, aside from a lack of push from any one source, is because it's one of the most confusing programs ever created.
Google should do everything it can to make Android as easy and intuitive to use for consumers of all walks of life. If they don't, Android will never succeed, and it will just become a niche OS for geeks just like Linux is.
Unfortunately, just taking this step isn't everything that's needed to make Android successful.
Side note: The author should point out you can long press almost anything in Android to get a menu of options without hitting the menu soft button. That's very intuitive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im sorry but if a person cant spend a few minutes to learn a phone , or the Android OS is too complicated perhaps a smartphone isnt the right purchase.
Its a basic philosophical difference. Android can be retard simple. It just wont be able to do anything. It cant read ones mind. (yet). So long as there is choice there will be options and a learning curve.
The reason most people are afraid of computers is because they are difficult to use, and they don't understand it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its 2010. If people are afraid of computers theyre in for a complicated frustrating existence.((OR a really easy one ))
The reason Macs are gaining popularity ((as if a 1-2% growth in a 20 year old market is anything to brag about)) is because of PERCEIVED ease.
I cant fathom what kind of human being wouldnt be able to turn on a PC and check there email , play there music , or look at photos.
I have 6 yr old nephews , 43 yr old super computer boob parents , and elderly family members readily and easily using PCs.
The dumbing down of technology to the lowest common denominator is not a good thing.
Fact of the matter is at the end of the day its all about $$$$$
We can argue till the cows come home but at the end of the day theres simply no way for people to know what to do or what they can do on there new phone without someone showing them or them having seen a million commercials showing them what can be done.
THATS why iPhone is so successful $$$$ advertising , plugging your device into peoples heads via tv and print ads.
The Android OS needs to pretty itself up a bit more. But face it VZ proved what a few ads can do for a phone reputation and sales.
grainysand said:
The thing, though, is that such things should have been there from the start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure they should, I had the original iPhone and hated it, sold it right away.
Then I got the 3G and it was OK, but still not really great.
The 3GS however is just a different tool, it really is. The speed of changing apps, and the ease with which devs seem to have mastered the resume functions really do mitigate the lack of Multitasking in an stock 3GS.
But how about this. Have we all forgotten what phones were about in 2007 when the original iPhone launched? Apart from the Nokia N95 8GB, there were some real stinkers back then.
Also, what do you think about the updates that Apple do deliver? There are not many companies that deliver updates that completely change the experience, and you do not have to upgrade hardware to benefit. Look at Android, only lately have we seen a real effort to update the OS, I think the Hero in the UK still comes with 1.5
grainysand said:
Heck, the iPhone 3GS is still more expensive than an N1 even though it's running on horrifyingly outdated hardware.
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Click to collapse
In the UK they are around that same price. a 16GB 3GS is now £449 without a contract, and £10 more to unlock it. If you are prepared to run it on our O2 network for the first year, the buying price of £449 includes unlimited (real not capped) data on both 3G and wi-fi for the 12 months. O2 is an OK network, I would say much better than AT&T from what I read.
The N1 I just bought was £430 with VAT, and a 16GB memory card is about £30, so a very similar price. I don't think there is anyway you can say 3GS is outdated, after all, how many decent 3D games and FPS do you see on Android?
Please note I do not play games, so don't care about it, just pointing out that the 3GS hardware is not that far behind the N1
Kev
This pisses me off every time I hear "not as intuitive as the iphone."
Intuitive? It's a screen with a bunch of ICONS. It's like having your desktop screen on your computer covered with icons.
And it can't multi-task so how is it easier to do stuff?
The only reason I liked my 3gs was because I had backgrounder + proswitcher (or kirikae) and widgets on my lockscreen and homescreen.
But it was a ***** to set-up the widgets with all the iblanks I had to do.
The Iphone is NOT intuitive, it's just simple. Freaking apple fanboys. *ROAR!*
I'm not going to argue with people who refuse to see another perspective, in particular because they believe anyone who doesn't agree with their perspective is some sort of lesser human being.
I guess the only thing I'd point out is that Apple has sold over 40 million iPhones to date. Android has sold maybe 3-4 million.
This is a thread to show hack-a-day what a unprofessional and outright dumb move they made by posting that article. I think it would be a great idea if everyone dropped a comment on the hackaday site for the 10 missing things for Android / 10 things for Gingerbread article and post the screenshot here. I have attached mine below along with the link to the article.
And yes I am really angered by their dumb approach. How do you not know that Android has folders, I mean co'mmon.
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"lightbox_next": "Next",
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"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
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"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
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http://hackaday.com/2010/07/10/top-10-features-wed-like-to-see-in-android-3-0/
Per cxdist, just to show I am not trying to drive hits, Article Below
Top 10 features we’d like to see in Android 3.0
posted Jul 10th 2010 8:00am by Jacob Nahin
filed under: android hacks, rants
Poor Google. Despite its numerous capabilities with smartphones spread across a variety of carriers, Android still struggles to garner the prestige and positive perceptions of iOS 4. Sales continue to rise, but at the end of the day, the average person is still left lusting for an iPhone. Well, here are 10 features that should be added to Android 3.0 that could change the tide.
1. A no-brainer task manager.
Google says Android doesn’t need a task manager, that it closes programs efficiently without any user-intervention, substandard apps often suck memory dry. Because of this, Android users are forced to download complicated task-managers, each with its own odd UI, and weigh which one works the best. Google, please fess up to the problem and put something in there a computer novice could use. Something with big buttons would be nice.
2. Stable Multitasking
Speaking of crashes, multitasking on Android is a mess. A little optimization here wouldn’t hurt. Better yet, while this may run counter-productive to us power-users, why not release a lite version of Android 3.0 that doesn’t support multitasking? Not every user needs it and lower-end phones would appreciate it
3. Swype
Google, your Android keyboard sucks. That’s why the fine folks at Swype Inc developed their product. Sure, some of the newer Android phones like the Droid X are releasing with it built in, but it would be a boon for the OS to come packaged with this software.
4. IR- sender support
On the hardware side of things, an IR-sender support is a “duh.” Imagine a next generation of remotes running on Android. Better yet, how would you like to control your lights and home-entertainment center with your phone without the sometimes-complicated mess of configuring through a network?
5. Universal pinch-to-zoom
Some apps have it. Some apps don’t. C’mon, this should be standard by now.
6. Folders
Google, you copied iOS’s homescreen UI, why not do it again? Many of users have outgrown their limited pages and would like a way to add some organization to their mobile lives.
7. SD-Card support for app-storage
If users are going to download a ton of apps from the Android Market, they need somewhere to put them. Users with rooted phones can already do this, but expandable storage should be standard in app-filled world with insatiable memory lust.
8. Built-in syncing
If the Android is going to succeed as a user-friendly platform, it needs to make it easy for people to add their music, photos, and video to their phones. It’s simple Google. Develop some web-based software and launch it as a beta. You do it for everything else…
9. Standardized UI for all apps
I’m all for artistic interpretation, but the reason so many functional apps get low scores is because they work differently than the rest of the OS. Once again, do what Apple did and come up with better UI guidelines.
10. Better market
Why can’t I queue downloads from the web? That would be awesome. How about a better way to navigate the store from my laptop? Despite the thousands of apps the Android Market hosts, it is stuck with the same problems as Apple’s iOS4. More importantly than any of the above, Google needs to innovate here. Change the way mobile markets work Google and you could win this war.
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They got you driving up site hits. Sounds like a great move to me.
cxdist said:
They got you driving up site hits. Sounds like a great move to me.
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Oh no dude, I cant stand hackaday, there just punks because they deleted the comment i left on the site. I mean an alternative would be just to post the article here and comment here. F&#K their hits.
I can't agree more that the article was written by a bumbling idiot, but how is this remotely related to development. Don't be a fool too, post in the right section.
isolated_epidemic said:
I can't agree more that the article was written by a bumbling idiot, but how is this remotely related to development. Don't be a fool too, post in the right section.
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Dude your right. Mod please post in the General Nexus One section. Thanks, Its 4:00am here so my bad.
flak0 said:
Dude your right. Mod please post in the General Nexus One section. Thanks, Its 4:00am here so my bad.
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Great find though, I always enjoy a solid chuckle before bed. Just like Fox News that guy apparently did zero research on his subject matter.
isolated_epidemic said:
Great find though, I always enjoy a solid chuckle before bed. Just like Fox News that guy apparently did zero research on his subject matter.
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lol true. i hate fanboys that don't know shiznit!
1. A no-brainer task manager.
Just because Google hasn't integrated it itself doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The article is right that Google hasn't released their own, but a task manager like ATK works perfectly fine. There are plenty of missing things in iOS4 that customers have relied on third party developers to fill the void.
2. Stable Multitasking
I lol'ed. Multitasking on my N1 works wonders compared to the "multitasking" on my iOS4 iPod Touch.
3. Swype
The default keyboard doesn't suck (I personally prefer it over Swype). But it is retarded to not acknowledge that Swype's closed-beta situation right now and limited manufacturer partners is probably the reason. Not Google.
4. IR- sender support
I couldn't care less about IR at this point. Haven't had it on a phone in years and don't miss it one bit. I'd rather have the ability to control devices over WiFi. Devices still relying on IR need to catch up as opposed to Google going backwards.
5. Universal pinch-to-zoom
Has anyone been able to pinch-to-zoom yet on their iOS4 homescreens? 'nuff said.
6. Folders
I didn't realize that the organized folders I have on my stock Android homescreens are figments of my imagination or have been magically created in my sleep by anally organized unicorns.
7. SD-Card support for app-storage
Really? Hi Froyo. Oh and I wish I could move apps to SD on my iPod Touch... (as most know, "storage capacity on an iDevice does not equal the amount of app RAM).
8. Built-in syncing
For media, I will say I do agree. A 1st party sync tool for media would be nice. But for PIM functionality, I much prefer the OTA syncing as opposed to having to remember to tether to my MacBook when I need to move info (except for those on Exchange which doesn't really count in this case because it goes without saying).
9. Standardized UI for all apps
God forbid developers have the right to design their apps the way they see fit instead of being told they all have to look a certain way!! I'm a unique and creative guy. I like my apps the same way.
10. Better market
iOS4's walled garden approach makes sense in many ways and doesn't make sense in many others. Android's approach leaves more of a possibility for trouble. But crap apps fill most of Apple's app store (not saying there isn't tons of crap in Android's market though) and clearly the walled garden approach isn't in place to give users only apps worth needing/buying. My one Android suggestion in this category? Buy AppBrain.
The One feature needed on Iphone 5...
The ability to hold a telephone conversation. Seriously Apple, fix that $***
How hard is it to get a non-biased article? Or at least one that respects the pros and cons of both operating systems. Anyhow I wrote the following, can't see it getting posted though
Seriously? This is the most impressive piece of fan boy horse **** I’ve read in a long time. Both operating systems have their pros and cons but to put zero research into an article is simply embarassing.
1 is nonsense as you can end each application through the settings – applications menu.
2 and 3 are purely subjective and as android is *OPEN* you can replace/hack the default keyboard in mere seconds.
4 While I would like this feature, I can’t see how it’s a DUH! feature. It’s obvious this will be integrated with the release of Google TV and similar.
5 makes zero sense as not all applications need pinch to zoom. Would p2z really be necessary in the calendar application or the music application? No. Also where is iOS’s p2z on the home screen? Oh its missing….
6 Now this is my favorite part, android has had folders since 1.5. That’s right, before iOS 3.
7 Froyo supports this perfectly, nuff said.
8 I agree with this point, a better *MEDIA* syncing experience is necessary. However application and data syncing even after a factory reset is perfect at the moment, I simply sign into my google account and everything is restored.
9 Please don’t restrict Android like iOS, we like originality and uniqueness. Demanding system wide standardization pretty much gives up on any significant advancements in the future.
10 This day in age no-one needs to queue downloads. If you’re using a connection which needs to queue sub 1mb downloads then Android vs iOS is the least of your worries. Admittedly I would like a way to access the marketplace on my laptop.
All in all, there was zero subjectivity in this article. Even on the areas that any Android user would agree to, the attitude used is that of an iOS fan boy. Poor show hackaday.
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adambenjamin said:
The One feature needed on Iphone 5...
The ability to hold a telephone conversation. Seriously Apple, fix that $***
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hold down the mute button for a couple of second and it'll change to hold.
mtl171 said:
hold down the mute button for a couple of second and it'll change to hold.
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I'm pretty sure they were referring to the high rate of call dropping and call failures that many people use as a target of insult towards the iPhone crowd. Not the ability to put the call on hold.
obstacles can kill said:
I'm pretty sure they were referring to the high rate of call dropping and call failures that many people use as a target of insult towards the iPhone crowd. Not the ability to put the call on hold.
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supposedly the new iphone fixes it. though you lose bars when you hold it(messed up reception algorithm)
We seriously need a new blog site to respond to all of those biased, ignorant, uneducated, and lack of research articles posted in many blog sites (even sometimes the big sites make mistakes too). I think a site like this would be fun to read
ohh, I mean hold, as in not drop the call actually. My iphone could not hold on to a call.
NexusDro said:
We seriously need a new blog site to respond to all of those biased, ignorant, uneducated, and lack of research articles posted in many blog sites (even sometimes the big sites make mistakes too). I think a site like this would be fun to read
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Well I turned my rebuttal to it into a blog post on my site. If anyone supports my response to the article, you are more than welcome to share it.
Oh and if linking to my site for this reason is against policy (I don't think it is because I've seen external linking previously), I fully apologize and will remove the link or will understand if a mod does it.
And here is the pic I used for the article:
http://www.erictate.com/2010/07/11/hack-a-day-loses-their-cred-outside-of-ifanboys/
Thanks Everyone for your Input & responses. I agree with building the blog site against this article. Hackaday will not only lose credibility but they will also lose readers. Thats like Engadget saying that Android needs Adobe Flash in 3.0. I mean really, okay I will go back to work now.
The posting: http://hackaday.com/2010/07/10/top-10-features-wed-like-to-see-in-android-3-0/
They have since admitted that the article is not very accurate.
Hello HaD readers,
Sorry for the delay in updating this. I was on probation while the editors worked with Jason to figure out some things.
Clearly, for my recent debut article, I didn’t research Android OS well enough. After reading each of your comments, I realize that the article fell short of HaD’s and its readers standards for high-quality writing and reporting. Every point I made in the article were problems I noticed in my experience with Android, but I should have done more research on others’ experiences and the capabilities of each version of the OS. To each reader, I am sorry and will do better by you in future posts.
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1. A no-brainer task manager.
Google says Android doesn’t need a task manager, that it closes programs efficiently without any user-intervention, substandard apps often suck memory dry. Because of this, Android users are forced to download complicated task-managers, each with its own odd UI, and weigh which one works the best. Google, please fess up to the problem and put something in there a computer novice could use. Something with big buttons would be nice.
Included in a OS thats designed to take care of this?
2. Stable Multitasking
Speaking of crashes, multitasking on Android is a mess. A little optimization here wouldn’t hurt. Better yet, while this may run counter-productive to us power-users, why not release a lite version of Android 3.0 that doesn’t support multitasking? Not every user needs it and lower-end phones would appreciate it
Is there anything more stable than the linux kernel? brainwashed by apple?
3. Swype
Google, your Android keyboard sucks. That’s why the fine folks at Swype Inc developed their product. Sure, some of the newer Android phones like the Droid X are releasing with it built in, but it would be a boon for the OS to come packaged with this software.
It does not suck. Again the door is open to install any number of keyboards and choose!
4. IR- sender support
On the hardware side of things, an IR-sender support is a “duh.” Imagine a next generation of remotes running on Android. Better yet, how would you like to control your lights and home-entertainment center with your phone without the sometimes-complicated mess of configuring through a network?
heard of Google TV? You can control it using the network/wifi. An IR sender would be nice and geeky, but not required in a phone.
5. Universal pinch-to-zoom
Some apps have it. Some apps don’t. C’mon, this should be standard by now.
(and again) The OS supports it. Apps that need it can incorporate it.
6. Folders
Google, you copied iOS’s homescreen UI, why not do it again? Many of users have outgrown their limited pages and would like a way to add some organization to their mobile lives.
thats a nice big rock you got there
7. SD-Card support for app-storage
If users are going to download a ton of apps from the Android Market, they need somewhere to put them. Users with rooted phones can already do this, but expandable storage should be standard in app-filled world with insatiable memory lust.
thats a nice big rock you got there
8. Built-in syncing
If the Android is going to succeed as a user-friendly platform, it needs to make it easy for people to add their music, photos, and video to their phones. It’s simple Google. Develop some web-based software and launch it as a beta. You do it for everything else…
best sync in the industry. No need to isntall iToons bloatware. More anti-google statements. Their betas are excellent!
9. Standardized UI for all apps
I’m all for artistic interpretation, but the reason so many functional apps get low scores is because they work differently than the rest of the OS. Once again, do what Apple did and come up with better UI guidelines.
The default UI is standardized, the SDK provides so much scope for customizing . If you want a shiny UI wait for gingerbread.
10. Better market
Why can’t I queue downloads from the web? That would be awesome. How about a better way to navigate the store from my laptop? Despite the thousands of apps the Android Market hosts, it is stuck with the same problems as Apple’s iOS4. More importantly than any of the above, Google needs to innovate here. Change the way mobile markets work Google and you could win this war.
Desktop market browsing is about to be released. (get out from that rock and watch GoogleIO 2010). Downloads DO get queued
So I was looking at the iPad 2 conference on my Engadget app, and at 10:10am he mentioned that Honeycomb only has 100 apps compared to the iPad apps. And before that talked about the Galaxy S tabs. Check it out
http://m.engadget.com/default/artic...les-ipad-2-event/&category=classic&postPage=1
Ps...why is he back...
Sent from MYN EVOlutionary cellular....uh....mini tablet?
Is it 'disrespect' or just 'fact?'
I mean, you'd expect iPod to have a larger ecosystem -- right now.
I'm not an Android nor Apple fan boy; both entities are contributing to the forward movement of technology, which can only benefit us in the long run. Let's not get caught up on his words. In fact, they may stir the Android community to develop more and better apps for Android tablets to come.
Let's face it: No tablet is ever going to come close to the iPad or Apple, because big corps. just don't get it.
Hrshycro said:
Let's face it: No tablet is ever going to come close to the iPad or Apple, because big corps. just don't get it.
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Apple is not a big corp?!
I was talking about the other big corps trying to make tablets. Not saying apple gets everything right, they don't, but they understand the majority and have a pretty good business model.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Ruki_Uki said:
So I was looking at the iPad 2 conference on my Engadget app, and at 10:10am he mentioned that Honeycomb only has 100 apps compared to the iPad apps. And before that talked about the Galaxy S tabs. Check it out
http://m.engadget.com/default/artic...les-ipad-2-event/&category=classic&postPage=1
Ps...why is he back...
Sent from MYN EVOlutionary cellular....uh....mini tablet?
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I've owned a iPhone 3G then moved to the EVO because android was more open and it supported flash.
I was going to attempt to make a reasonable post on how moronic it sounds to try and downplay the impact the iPad2 will have.
But I rather just say this: Nothing will come close to beating the iPad2 in terms of an market ecosystem/product design/buzz/fanboyism/price point within a reasonable competitive time frame.
The Xoom is more expensive and does not even currently support flash. One of the sharpest points Android has against iOS. HTC forth coming tablet is basically an EVO with a larger screen.
And lets not forget the iOS is way more flexible once you jailbroke it, which in itself is not terribly hard to do compared to when the first iPhone's came out.
I'm going to purchase a tablet this year, and had my heart set on an android tablet. The iPad2 made that choice a lot harder. HC still has a way to go begin to penetrate that tablet space.
IPad 2 is sexy. I love honeycomb but, android needs to work with the device manufacturers closer to be able to match apples software/hardware synergy. Everything the iPad2 does has been crafted so beautifully while something like the xoom still don't compare. Even the original iPad looks better and move smoother than the xoom. Based on the video on Engadget the iPad2 takes that to another level. **** the iPad2 cover is also amazing. Don't get me wrong my phone will most likely will always be an Android because of widgets but I think I want an iPad2.
if apple knew anything about what their customers wanted they'd of included flash on their devices by now...
How in the hell can they still not have flash on the ipad 2? where is the logic in that? Tablets are supposed to be replacements for netbooks/laptops, you would think the most basic thing to have would be flash....
I think the flash (non)support is adobe's choosing. Some battle between Apple and Adobe.
Regardless on your feelings for Steve Jobs and Apple, If it weren't for Steve Jobs, the Evo probably wouldn't even exist. Neither would Android, at least not in their current forms.
The iPhone is what brought about this cellular "reniassance". Try to remember the smartphone scene before the iPhone. It was pretty much non existant unless you it was your hobby, or you needed one for work. And remember the choices? The old Palm OS, Blackberrys, which did absolutely nothing but messaging, and Windows Mobile. Palm OS and Windows Mobile were little more than PDA's with celluar radios. Apple put the smartphone in the eyes and hands of the average person.
Of course he's going to trash talk Android, it's finally a legit competitor to iOS. WebOS, while a nice OS, has absolute trash for hardware. WindowsPhone7 will stay around I think, it has promise, but it launched on last years hardware missing features from last years smartphones, so it has some catching up to do. Blackberry might be ok if the new QNX based platform comes out, but QNX was developed for terminals and what not, and not meant to rely on a battery, so battery life was not a concern.
Anyway you look at it, it's a good time if you like smartphones, and you have Apple to thank for it.
dbonbass said:
I think the flash (non)support is adobe's choosing. Some battle between Apple and Adobe.
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Click to collapse
Nope. Apple won't allow third party dev platforms on their devices. Adobe even made it so you could build a Flash application and then compile for iOS or whatever so Apple made it against the TOS to even develop on any other platform.
The thing is, so many iOS apps are fancy frontends for websites or things you can do in Flash/Air. If you could run Flash apps in a browser or Flash player app, you immediately have access to a ton of the things iOS apps can do...but without Apple getting their cut of every sale. It undermines their control over a closed ecosystem which has kept their devices both relatively stable and incredibly lucrative.
Adobe has been pissed at Apple ever since they screwed them over when they dropped Carbon64 for Cocoa, wasting years of Adobe development for OSX. Since Windows was a riper market and more open for developers, they started to put a lot more effort into their Windows ports. Jobs got pissed about that and has held a grudge since. Between that and the desire for complete control, they have a pretty uneasy relationship with Adobe.
dbonbass said:
The iPhone is what brought about this cellular "reniassance". Try to remember the smartphone scene before the iPhone. It was pretty much non existant unless you it was your hobby, or you needed one for work. And remember the choices? The old Palm OS, Blackberrys, which did absolutely nothing but messaging, and Windows Mobile. Palm OS and Windows Mobile were little more than PDA's with celluar radios. Apple put the smartphone in the eyes and hands of the average person.
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Click to collapse
There were some pretty good smart phones before the iPhone. I had Treos and Pocket PCs and they had GPS, copy/paste, 3rd party apps, touch screens, etc. long before the iPhone existed. Even when the iPhone came out it didn't have most of the features of a smart phone.
What it *did* have was a bigger/more responsive screen and a great mobile browser. That was the contribution of the iPhone. It was a great contribution and one I totally appreciate but it was an evolution, not a revolution. The other big contribution was putting the Apple marketing machine behind it. Apple doesn't screw around when it comes to marketing whereas Palm and Microsoft and RIM never seemed interested in marketing direct to consumer instead of to business. Aside from the Palm Centro, you wouldn't really see ads for these things so people kept buying RAZRs and such for the most part.
The whole market has been evolving long before the iPhone. They didn't start it but rather let others break ground as they usually do, and then once a lot of the roadblocks were out of the way, they put out a device that was missing a lot of common smart phone features but which was very attractive to a wide market which wasn't being addressed and was not aware of what they were missing.
I'm glad this happened because it helped to popularize big screens and good mobile browsers. Other platforms and devices likewise influenced Apple to add things like GPS, copy/paste, third party apps, multitasking, changeable wallpapers, etc.
It's win-win for us since we have better options to choose from.
People keep harping on flash but skyfire works on IOS and shows flash just fine. I mean its been out since like last November.
cdszoke said:
IPad 2 is sexy. I love honeycomb but, android needs to work with the device manufacturers closer to be able to match apples software/hardware synergy. Everything the iPad2 does has been crafted so beautifully while something like the xoom still don't compare. Even the original iPad looks better and move smoother than the xoom. Based on the video on Engadget the iPad2 takes that to another level. **** the iPad2 cover is also amazing. Don't get me wrong my phone will most likely will always be an Android because of widgets but I think I want an iPad2.
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Except the fact remains is iOS sucks horribly at multi-tasking.
LOL I read the title of this thread and thought of the first Fast and Furious movie where the guy says SWAT came into his house and disrespected his family.
splmonster said:
Except the fact remains is iOS sucks horribly at multi-tasking.
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Explain. Why would I want a calculator app running in the background taking up memory? Or having rouge apps cause wake lock problems? iOS has background processing for things that make sense, push notifications for updates, and save states for everything else. That frees up memory, CPU time, and battery life.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I will be the first one to say I hate Steve jobs out of all my friends. Ipad 2 just gave every tablet a run for its money even the ones that aren't out yet that will launch thus year. Flash doesn't really mean crap 1 its still slow on the evos browser and html 5 will eventually be that standard I believe. I finally bought my first macbook pro this year 2 weeks ago. I have always been a windows user and could have purchased a windows comp with better specs than my macbook pro for half the price. Wanna know why I hate steve jobs/apple do much; because APPLE has the market by the balls. I don't know how else to explain it but they do.
Sent from my Evo in your sisters closet using Tapatalk
It is what it is... I don't get caught up in the wars between smartphone/tablet makers. I just let them battle it out because in the end.. competition is good for the consumer.
Like it or not, Apple puts out quality products... can't deny that. It's easier for them to perfect what they have because they use their own hardware/software where as android is on a lot of different hardware.
A lot of these so called "mid-range" android phones are garbage and really gives them a bad name. I'll call out the samsung acclaim... I know 3 people with that phone and it is their first android phone..and it is total junk. Between all 3 of them they random reboots, horrible battery, unresponsive screens, lag and hang ups out the rear.
I'm all for making yourself available.. but when you put products like that out that people are foced to keep for the duration of their contract, then you'll lose customers. The 3 people I know are definitely going iphone next.
I think that is just one of the ways Apple keeps their place among the top of the line.. by not putting their software on crap hardware that ultimately results in a bad rep for your product.
Just remember. Good marketing beats a good product all day long.
At the end of the day, this is just another rerun of 1984. Apple doesn't want to license their hardware nor software. Along comes IBM (In this case Android) and the clones which eventually let way to Windows which can be run on any IBM compatible (Android devices). Sound familiar?
Saw this article over at Pocketnow; what do you guys think? http://pocketnow.com/2013/01/30/bb10-vs-wp8-video
sinister1 said:
Saw this article over at Pocketnow; what do you guys think? http://pocketnow.com/2013/01/30/bb10-vs-wp8-video
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From a recent android to WP8 user, I will put in my two cents worth.
Lockscreen - Yea, I have to hit the button on my 8X, but I would be worried about accidental unlocks on the BB. Also, battery life knowing the screen is looking for that touch. Its a nice touch, but I am hesitant. The animation is nice, that faded edge is a cool touch, but I like the bounce the WP8 gives, and I am always trying to see how little I have to slide to get the unlock to happen, or how slow I can make it go.
Notificaitons - Ok, why is everyone complaining about the notificaitons? I don't have any problem, and I am getting texts all day, as well as emails to two accounts, and other notifications. Yea, there is no blinking light to tell me I have them, but since I keep my phone with me all the time, I know when it vibrates or makes a sound, I have a notificaiton. I remember as well if I have or have not checked what that notification is.
Local search - The video corrected it. So thats a wash.
Launching an app - Live tiles just rock. The static view on the BB is too reminiscent of Android. I think its neat that you can have the most recent apps shown, but only 4? I use about 8 to 10 a day, so scrolling up and down as I go about isn't that intuitive when I can set my screen on the WP8 to have those 10 in the first page.
Multitasking - Ok, BB got it easy here, the click on corner to completely close is nice.
My observations:
Its still too static, and I think its actually a cross between iPhone's all icons and Androids customization (most recent apps shown). I didn't see any widgets, so assuming there are none, it makes it more bland to me. That tells me its much more business orientated. I thought they would have gone personal this time, but guess not.
The keyboard - I don't like that line between rows, seems like they just wanted to make it different than other OS's, so the only thing left was to add a line instead of increasing the size of the keys or adding a gap between them.
Screen - didn't seem as crisp as the WP they were using, but not seeing it in person, cant really make that a definitive claim on my part.
Responsiveness - Seemed just as snappy as any good smart phone out there.
Build and design - It seemed a little simple, which isn't a bad thing. With this being a lifeline to RIM (or Blackberry) I thought they would have come out a little more 'radical'. But the quality seems there, and its a simple phone with some pleasing lines.
Over all, I think its going to appeal to the working force, but the trick is going to be making it affordable and easy to set up for the corporate officer. Personally, I don't think it will go well, but I am not a power user nor a reporter.
I think the WP8 platform still has it beat, and at least the 8X is much more visually appealing.
My two cents. For what its worth now a days!
http://pocketnow.com/2013/01/31/bla...nderdog?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
sinister1 said:
what do you guys think?
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The reviewer really seems to be avoiding talking about how things are done on WP8, and why they're done that way, he even misses a lot of points for WP8, possibly because he hasn't even used it for a long enough time - at least this is the impression he leaves me with.
The Lock Screen - BB has notifications on the lock-screen on the left, possibly if any app has something to say, it will show up there, plus the calendar is showing appointments in the middle. WP8 has only 5 notification icons, customizable(point BB), but there is a main and secondary app that can show info as well - one for the lock-screen background, and one for under the time/date zone.(point WP8)
I agree with the power drain issue, when constantly looking for a touch-slide from the bottom vs physical button.
Notifications - This Notifications fetish comes from Android(I think), and it's a useful feature for Android. WP7&8 has Live Tiles. Different concept. A pencil and a pen are both used to write, but don't blame your pencil for not using ink. If we count the steps on BB to know what happened last - say you received an email - it takes you a complex swipe(from bottom to middle to the right), a swipe to the right(to get rid of Twitter), a tap on the Unified center, and a tap on the email itself, and you're done(if that tap opened the actual email and not just the email app). On WP8 it's a tap on the home screen(if you're not already there), a tap on the email tile(because you see it flashing with a 1 on it), a tap on the conversation and you're done. OR maybe you can omit the last two, if your email tile is set to large - then you see the whole email without even entering the email app.
Lets do a recap:
BB: Complex swipe -> Optional Simple Swipe(if say Twitter is open) -> Tap on Unified Center -> Tap on email | That's 1 complex step, 2 simple steps and 1 optional simple step.
WP8: Optional tap on start -> Optional [Tap on email -> Tap on conversation] because if tile is maxed, then you can already read it. That's 3 optional simple steps.
The Windows Phone method may not have the bling you like to see on your BB, but you have to admit, its faster.
jerrya said:
I think its neat that you can have the most recent apps shown, but only 4? I use about 8 to 10 a day
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Actually he scrolled down to show a total of 8. Its nice to have a list of recently used apps. But if you want that I guess you can just place them toward the top of your home screen on WP8 for easy access.
jerrya said:
Multitasking - Ok, BB got it easy here, the click on corner to completely close is nice.
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I have to agree with you. WP8 is nice with the frozen app states for non-active apps, but spamming the back button to keep my navigation list clean kinda sucks.
About the notification light - My phone is in my pocket - in this case the light is useless. Even when it leaves my pocket it goes on my night stand. In the morning, the first thing i do is check if I have anything new and place it back home - into my pocket. If I wouldn't check it for new stuff, I'd probably forget it there for the whole day...
And of course while RIM is a dying company ATM, solely producing both software and hardware, compared to Microsoft - not a dying company - producing software(and hardware rumored), with HTC, Samsung, Nokia, ZTE, Huawei, ASUS, LG, etc backing it with hardware, I believe WP8 has a very strong chance to keep the 3rd place for now.
- My opinion.
jerrya said:
The keyboard - I don't like that line between rows, seems like they just wanted to make it different than other OS's, so the only thing left was to add a line instead of increasing the size of the keys or adding a gap between them.
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Current BB devices with physical keyboards have gaps between the keys, they are trying to replicate that look and feel with the silver spacing.
It's a good idea but doesn't necessarily mean it's a good implementation.
I've had it just about to here with the notifications moaning. The majority of men carry their phones on a belt holster/case and the majority of women carry their phones in a purse. Based on this, how can you see a blinking light? Isn't a vibrate notification better? Or even a ringtone/alert? I can understand (a little) if you're stuck behind a desk all day, but even then I'm sure employers insist on keeping phones on vibrate or off altogether. You certainly can't see a blinking light if you're driving. For those that do, kindly tell me what city and state you're in so I can stay away.
Looneytoon98 said:
I've had it just about to here with the notifications moaning. The majority of men carry their phones on a belt holster/case and the majority of women carry their phones in a purse. Based on this, how can you see a blinking light? Isn't a vibrate notification better? Or even a ringtone/alert? I can understand (a little) if you're stuck behind a desk all day, but even then I'm sure employers insist on keeping phones on vibrate or off altogether. You certainly can't see a blinking light if you're driving. For those that do, kindly tell me what city and state you're in so I can stay away.
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A notification light is just as handy as vibrate. Surely it cant be that hard to believe that people take their phones out of their pocket or purse...Such as placing it on a dresser before bathing or to do a task where you dont want to bang your phone around. Coming into the room to glance at whether their is communication waiting is apparent with color coded notifications. I dont even have to pick up my phone. For the record, I'm not one of those types that incessantly has to be toying with my smart phone.
Understand now? Samsung learned this too, as most of their latest flagship phones now incorporate this. Geewhiz, maybe thats why their the topdog android handset maker now? They know whats good.
UrbanConquest said:
A notification light is just as handy as vibrate. Surely it cant be that hard to believe that people take their phones out of their pocket or purse...Such as placing it on a dresser before bathing or to do a task where you dont want to bang your phone around. Coming into the room to glance at whether their is communication waiting is apparent with color coded notifications. I dont even have to pick up my phone. For the record, I'm not one of those types that incessantly has to be toying with my smart phone.
Understand now? Samsung learned this too, as most of their latest flagship phones now incorporate this. Geewhiz, maybe thats why their the topdog android handset maker now? They know whats good.
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Would you rather have to go into a room and glance to see if there's a notification, or would you rather be alerted when one comes in? I know I don't have that much energy to burn.
Looneytoon98 said:
Would you rather have to go into a room and glance to see if there's a notification, or would you rather be alerted when one comes in? I know I don't have that much energy to burn.
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Keep in mind, not everyone enjoys being tethered to their coveted smartphone as if it were a ball and chain. When I go to watch a movie or something for my own leisure while at home I leave my phone in my bedroom, as I'm sure many other people do as well who get tired of tending to it. Thus its a handy feature at times. Very reminiscent of the blinking light on answering machines in the old days...
Thread related opinion. BB, much like Microsoft has a long way to go in catching up with the integration and functionality of Android and iOS. BB10 demos look gimicky at best showing off UI features that wont sway consumers. If their lucky they can finally get the diehard BB users / holdouts to upgrade from their dinosaur qwerty devices.
^ every app can fully integrate into BB10. not a long way to go at all.
The notification hub alone is more than enough to sway users away from this platform.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express
UrbanConquest said:
Keep in mind, not everyone enjoys being tethered to their coveted smartphone as if it were a ball and chain. When I go to watch a movie or something for my own leisure while at home I leave my phone in my bedroom, as I'm sure many other people do as well who get tired of tending to it. Thus its a handy feature at times. Very reminiscent of the blinking light on answering machines in the old days...
Thread related opinion. BB, much like Microsoft has a long way to go in catching up with the integration and functionality of Android and iOS. BB10 demos look gimicky at best showing off UI features that wont sway consumers. If their lucky they can finally get the diehard BB users / holdouts to upgrade from their dinosaur qwerty devices.
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Your contradiction is funny. You want to walk into a room to see if you have a notification and I want to stay as far away from the electronic leash. I'll take a sound alert any day, at least I can hear it from across my house. You are the one who sounds like they are tethered with a ball and chain.
Being a dinosaur myself, I happen to like physical keyboards. You can't "feel" your way across a virtual kb. Maybe someone will make a Jitterbug smartphone one day.
vetvito said:
^ every app can fully integrate into BB10. not a long way to go at all.
The notification hub alone is more than enough to sway users away from this platform.
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What I mean by integration is more geared towards seamless user experiences between desktop (or laptop), tablet, smartphone, and even web based applications. Features and services that create a unified and synchronized ecosystem. Granted all platforms struggle in this regard and all could benefit from further development and refinement. I somehow feel as though Microsoft and Apple have the major advantage by offering BOTH a desktop / laptop and tablet operating system in addition to a smartphone platform.
Canonical understands this with the recent development of Ubuntu for smartphones. They now have a multi-device compatible OS that strives to create a similar experience across all major computing devices.
The biggest dilemma still for a lot of novice users with their smartphones is keeping data, settings preferences, etc synchronized across all their devices without having to spend money on third party applications. These features should be baked into the smartphones stock OS. IMO, Android has great services integration w. gmaps, youtube, etc and iOS is pretty solid in regard to integration with their desktop OS and itunes.
If I wasn't on a contract I'd look at both.
Blackberry has the best push email system. It uses the lowest amount of battery out of any phone, they have a patent that stops anyone else doing push email the same way.
Multitasking is better on BB10, the peek option is handy.
Personally I think Microsoft needs to release a huge 8.5 upgrade in 2013 add lots of things or BB10 is going to slaughter the WP marketshare.
Looneytoon98 said:
Your contradiction is funny. You want to walk into a room to see if you have a notification and I want to stay as far away from the electronic leash. I'll take a sound alert any day, at least I can hear it from across my house. You are the one who sounds like they are tethered with a ball and chain.
Being a dinosaur myself, I happen to like physical keyboards. You can't "feel" your way across a virtual kb. Maybe someone will make a Jitterbug smartphone one day.
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It's not a contradiction. I don't actively interrupt my activities to go check my phone repeatedly when I don't want to be bothered by communication. After all, our smartphones are predominately for...communication. It's about unplugging from technology and constant socializing that these devices tend to overwhelm us with. Which is the whole point of not having the device in your pocket or the same room.
Example, when I'm watching a movie I don't want to have to hear other peoples or my phone(s) go off, worry about spilling a drink on it or damage it in some way, or have an annoying brick bulging in my pocket. I want to be comfortable and uninhibited. Do you get it yet?
So if there's another reason to enter the room where my phone is, it's convenient to be able to just quickly glance over at the device and see a notification light telling you that you have a message.
To each their own as far as preferences go I guess? I can understand if some people don't mind having a phone around all the time and the convenience it gives. But don't call it a worthless feature that Android users are making a fuss about. Gosh maybe their are even people that shower with their phones these days, perhaps Sony employees who have access to the new Sony Xperia waterproof phones that were recently announced?
My phone goes in my pocket when I leave the house. Period.
I think it looks a little too familiar shape wise Some cool features but think it will confuse many non technical users, A very biased opinion from the host who seriously needs to take his tongue out of BBs trousers,
It reminded me a bit of the meego OS on my old N9 with the swiping so not really groundbreaking there, Like everything else it will have its die hard fans
BB10 as far as I have seen it in their presentation doesn't bring too many new things to the table. The keyboard was one thing that was particularly interesting (especially as it allows to mix languages in the text easily). As for "the Hub" - it seems like the people hub in WP with the added benefit of third party app integration. Although - we have already seen something similar in WebOS already. I really hope there are additional filtering capabilities for it (aside from drilling down to the App level). In the demo it looked like the mess the Notification Bar on my GS2 sometimes looks like (e.g. loads of notifications I don't care about so I don't see the stuff that actually interests me).
The minimized view of running Apps is the closest thing to Live Tiles or Widgets but as you can't pin them they die together with the Apps (e.g. 9th opened App closes the least recently used along with it's "tile"). So for "glanceable" information that is quite a deficiency in BB10.
BBM is not as relevant as it used to be. This can also be seen in the fact that they proudly anounced Skype and WhatsApp Support. Those are the Apps used for Video-Chat and Text Messaging nowadays.
As for superior push: either they changed that model (which might rid us of the Blackberry Tax that People had to pay to Operators for supporting Blackberry push) or they royally screwed up it's implementation because in several tests battery life was merely mediocre and in no way superior to the competition.
vetvito said:
^ every app can fully integrate into BB10. not a long way to go at all.
The notification hub alone is more than enough to sway users away from this platform.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express
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Maybe it's me but, I see no need for a notification hub with Windows phone 7/8. I do like the idea of a blinking light for new email, SMS, txt etc just to pull my phone out and get an idea if it's worth turning on my phone at that second (HTC does some of this).
Live tiles update, notification hubs are for phones that do not have live updates so you can see when you have new messages etc. My live tiles give me updates for everything I need, if I had a notification "hub" I would never use it and I still dont see the demand for it...
Isn't that what live tiles are for (so you dont need a notification hub) ????? If it's not working for you, maybe you need to setup your tiles so you have the important stuff so you can view it all with out scrooling...
About the only thing I think I would like is shortcuts to NFC, Wifi, bluetooth etc but, it's not worth taking up a tile for...
DavidinCT said:
Maybe it's me but, I see no need for a notification hub with Windows phone 7/8. I do like the idea of a blinking light for new email, SMS, txt etc just to pull my phone out and get an idea if it's worth turning on my phone at that second (HTC does some of this).
Live tiles update, notification hubs are for phones that do not have live updates so you can see when you have new messages etc. My live tiles give me updates for everything I need, if I had a notification "hub" I would never use it and I still dont see the demand for it...
Isn't that what live tiles are for (so you dont need a notification hub) ????? If it's not working for you, maybe you need to setup your tiles so you have the important stuff so you can view it all with out scrooling...
About the only thing I think I would like is shortcuts to NFC, Wifi, bluetooth etc but, it's not worth taking up a tile for...
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Phones that don't support live updates? What phone does t?
Polling tiles can not and will never compete with a real notification hub. Every notification in one place trumps scrolling in efficiency.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express
Android - ecosystem = bbos
Looks like the people hath spoken anyway. BlackBerry now has doubled WP8 for smart phone marketshare since the z10 came out. Sorry guys, better luck next season / WP9.