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I just want to start out by saying that this is in no way a knock at any developers, or Google, it's just a question I had. I'd figure it out myself, but I haven't had a chance to delve into Android development yet (too busy with other work) so I thought I'd ask some experts.
I love my Nexus One, and I'm a big fan of Android. I'm blown away how far it's come in such a short time, and how much potential I see in its future. One of the only areas I feel the phone is lacking, is in attractiveness of the OS and apps. I feel that people are drawn to pretty things, and it's one of the reasons that the iPhone is so popular. Apple puts a tremendous amount of effort into aesthetic design of their software, and it shows. From what I've seen so far, I feel like a lot of Android apps (or at least third party apps) are lacking in that design and polish, and in many cases seem to indicate that developers are taking the path of least resistance.
I don't think that Android is ugly whatsoever, but I do feel that most of the apps I've seen are not as pretty as they could be. Sure, the HTC widgets add a lot, but I'm talking more on a fundamental level of design, and I actually have a great example to illustrate where I think things should go.
The Gallery app. This is a beautiful work of design in my opinion. The design of the entire application is simple, yet elegant. I love the rounded, clean look of the icons, and the menus, and the way the pictures are displayed and how you traverse the application. To give a contrast, if I go into one of my favorite apps functionality-wise (Last.fm - who has a gorgeous website and 360 app), I'm totally turned off by the appearance. It's plain, and gray, and drab. It's just got those arrowed clickable areas, and that's about it. Seesmic, another great app, is also extremely drab and unappealing. It gives me a feeling of looking at an application created in Visual Basic 6 (if anyone has experience with this ha!). Heck, they just implemented multiple accounts, and instead of having a slick screen, it's just a list of accounts that probably took 3 minutes to implement. The moment I looked at the screen I thought to myself how this would be the perfect place for a Windows 7ish login screen; an enlarged view of your portrait with your info underneath that allows you to swipe back and forth to choose which account you want to use.
I know this is a long post, but I just wanted to illustrate my feelings. My question; is this a matter of Google not providing the proper toolsets, an abundance of armchair developers who don't have the resources to make pretty UI's/lack of professional developers, or just plain lazy developers?
Any insight would be appreciated. I feel that this is one huge component Google needs to focus on to be able to properly compete with Apple. I can understand in the past allowing the TPM's to customize their builds how they want them to look, but with the launch of the Nexus, I feel it's time for Google to step up to the plate and really focus on the design of their OS.
xSiraris said:
I just want to start out by saying that this is in no way a knock at any developers, or Google, it's just a question I had. I'd figure it out myself, but I haven't had a chance to delve into Android development yet (too busy with other work) so I thought I'd ask some experts.
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Click to collapse
i think you said it yourself, "too busy with other work"
well in terms of Google, one thing I've never regarded them for is design. look at their online presence. it's not all that attractive. functional and optimizable, yes. slick looking, no. but that's their business. Apple really concentrates on the 'feel' of total UX, but at the expense of personalization. Google is more about providing service, but at the expense of design.
that being said, the iPhone OS desktop is looking more and more boring to me all the time. I genuinely like the how Android desktop looks (except for maybe the notification bar).
as for apps, I think the rough edges around Android apps will disappear as Android gains market share. right now, devs don't have all that much incentive to concentrate on Android while iPhone is king. I'm sure inthe next few years it will even out (although I do expect the iPhone to dominate for a good while to come).
j.books said:
well in terms of Google, one thing I've never regarded them for is design. look at their online presence. it's not all that attractive. functional and optimizable, yes. slick looking, no. but that's their business. Apple really concentrates on the 'feel' of total UX, but at the expense of personalization. Google is more about providing service, but at the expense of design.
that being said, the iPhone OS desktop is looking more and more boring to me all the time. I genuinely like the how Android desktop looks (except for maybe the notification bar).
as for apps, I think the rough edges around Android apps will disappear as Android gains market share. right now, devs don't have all that much incentive to concentrate on Android while iPhone is king. I'm sure inthe next few years it will even out (although I do expect the iPhone to dominate for a good while to come).
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The OS itself isn't really the issue. I'm talking more the controls provided. I think they could be improved, and I feel they ARE improved in the Gallery app. I'd like to see that kind of design in more apps, as opposed to what I'm seeing in most now. There's certain standards of design that just are not found in most apps outside of the first party ones (I think maps, finance, gallery and the browser are all great looking apps, while Calendar, and Translate could use some work).
And Google may not have had to focus on design to this point, but if they want to go up against Apple, I think they will have to.
I think app wise, its due to Android being open & no one is saying yes or no to apps. Developers can slap a few sounds together & call it a soundboard, there's a new app in the market.
Apple, on the other hand, has the final say. If it doesn't look the way they want or up to their standards, they can turn it down. I bet if Apple just let anyone submit apps at any time, you'd see a lot of crap there too.
Its just a matter of having standards... no one is forcing Android developers to make a pretty app. As cool as it is having an open market, it would be that much better to have some sort of standards.
This just being my opinion of course... I have an iPod touch & ever since Android came out, I haven't bought an app from the app store. If Apple let go of the reigns a little, I think they would be so much better. But I don't like being told what I can & can't have on my phone, which is why my iPod is jailbroken.
Google could do a lot just by making their notification bar/widgets/etc black. This (imho) goes a long way to making android look more like a competitor in the smartphone arena.
Doesn't it also have to do with the "default" button style in Android? This might make no sense so sorry if it doesn't.
Go into calendar and choose New Event from the menu. There you see the "default" buttons for Android which are used throughout - the buttons for the time and date. The little grey ones with the slight gradient. I think that the Android SDK just has very limited built in design tools / default buttons to choose from that just make it uglier. I feel like I saw a demo of the iPhone SDK once and they had like a design screen where you could graphically design the UI and they had a bunch of objects to choose from that you could customize but they were all really nice looking.
Android doesn't seem to have anything like this - no "design" view or anything in the SDK and very limited built in design tools or default objects.
Part of the difference you're noticing is in he two SDKs. The iPhone app design is really locked down in a lot of ways. When building a GUI for the iPhone, you start out with Apple's default set of super shiny buttons so it's difficult to make an app that doesn't look pretty and cohesive. If you do manage to do so, your app isn't approved.
With Android, Google gives developers just a framework. Everything is minimalist and bare. This of course gives developers more freedom to build unique GUIs but like you said most don't and like others said, there is no moderation. Making a truly great GUI is a LOT of work and most devs are just engineers. Only the teams with lots of money hire designers and graphics artists. Both methods have their pros and cons
cboy007 said:
Doesn't it also have to do with the "default" button style in Android? This might make no sense so sorry if it doesn't.
Go into calendar and choose New Event from the menu. There you see the "default" buttons for Android which are used throughout - the buttons for the time and date. The little grey ones with the slight gradient. I think that the Android SDK just has very limited built in design tools / default buttons to choose from that just make it uglier. I feel like I saw a demo of the iPhone SDK once and they had like a design screen where you could graphically design the UI and they had a bunch of objects to choose from that you could customize but they were all really nice looking.
Android doesn't seem to have anything like this - no "design" view or anything in the SDK and very limited built in design tools or default objects.
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No one has commented on the Gallery buttons I referenced. I think these are much better looking than the controls found in other apps. If they were to use something more along those lines in other apps, I'd be much happier.
But I understand what is being said, and I hope Google does something about it. I appreciate the freedom they are giving to developers, but appearance counts, and if developers don't have the time or resources to make the pretty GUI's, then Google should provide the tools to help them do so.
I just had an idea that may actually help. One of the things third party developers are complaining about (I'm talking about the professionals here, not armchair) is that their apps aren't being seen, or bought, and getting lost in the shuffle. What if Google created an authorized/registered developer program, where a third party developer could register with Google. At this point, they would be held up to higher standards and practices, but Google would create a separate place on the marketplace, or some way to filter by registered/authorized developers.
The way it is now, everything is getting lost in the shuffle. This method would give the exposure the professionals want, it would improve the quality of apps on the marketplace, all while leaving the open market that exists today.
I agree. Sounds like a good idea--right now, even the most polished, best apps can easily get overlooked if they aren't spammed up on several tech/Android blogs. It's why it took me so long to discover, say, Home++
desktop app browser
also, an online desktop app catalogue would help, simply because there is not enough space on a small screen to display a lot of variety. I guess they want to keep everything on-phone, as opposed to iTunes where you have to be plugged-in to install apps, but they could do something where you choose an app from your desktop browser and it pushes a notification to your phone. then when you go to the notification, it brings you to the app in the market, where you can DL and install it.
this would preserve the ability to get apps on the go if you need them with the expanded view of a desktop, creating more visibility for the apps, without compelling you to connect your phone to your desktop.
S
j.books said:
also, an online desktop app catalogue would help, simply because there is not enough space on a small screen to display a lot of variety. I guess they want to keep everything on-phone, as opposed to iTunes where you have to be plugged-in to install apps, but they could do something where you choose an app from your desktop browser and it pushes a notification to your phone. then when you go to the notification, it brings you to the app in the market, where you can DL and install it.
this would preserve the ability to get apps on the go if you need them with the expanded view of a desktop, creating more visibility for the apps, without compelling you to connect your phone to your desktop.
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Orrr you can just go to AndroLib.com, scan the app, and donwload it in the market!
Several reasons...
1. Google simply doesnt have a good visual design team or a good visual design lead.
The gallery app looks wonderful becuase it was made by cooliris. Not google.
I admit they have gotten better. The transition to home/apps and live wallpapers are great and have great visual appeal.Standard N1 UI w/a live wallpaper is better looking than iphone and just slightly behind a palm pre. Where as it was way behind in 1.6
So they obviously have tried to focus more on there visuals.
They still have some improvements to make but its always iffy since they dont have a track record for great visuals.
2. The visualtools arent uniform. Thats a good thing for Devs not needing to get "approved" for everything... But it does mean that Iphone apps are drawing from a pool of buttons/icons/layouts that were made by some of the visual people in the business.
3. Even without that the visual people on the Mac/Apple side of things are more talented. To be long winded theres a world of designers and coders. Few VERY few can do both well. Its become clear to me in a short time just how good Android devs are on addressing needs and issues. Heck even the OS experience changes becuase of there talents.
But they cant visually design worth a damned.
Very few apps on iphone even from the jailbreak community seemed as well made or intuitive. Even there hallmark cydia was utter crap. It could be apples closed system of course but just got a sense of clunkiness and low level winmo app making.
4. $$$$$$$
At the end of the day a company or App dev can make beautiful apps on iPhone with little gambling. Its easier to make money in the Apple store thus easier to hire quality visual people to give coders great layouts pieces to work with.
Not much incentive to go hire out some UI designer when you can slap together some easy photoshop stuff yourself.
If Fandango or Directv (just examples) hire some visual dudes to help make its app for iphone..then 6 months later for android the chances are really high hes going to see the lack of Apple given/mandated visuals and realize he has to do everything himself. Unless hes really dedicated hes not going to max out that potential hes going to slap together the best look alike he can.
This has and is happening regularly from what I understand.
Thats it in a nutshell.
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:*
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
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?
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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."
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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.
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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.
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****, 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"...
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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.
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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,
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
When I first got my EVO on launch day a year ago, I fell in love with Android (coming from an iPhone 3GS) and the EVO hardware, but the apps were complete crap; I hoped they'd get better, and to some extent, they have. A very small percentage of the apps do look and work better, but the selection is still really lackluster. The apps still aren't even close to the iOS apps I left over a year ago; they're nothing close in terms of selection or quality when compared.
Troll and flame away! Just kidding. I would actually like to conduct a half-way decent thread about the state of Android apps.
Hrshycro said:
When I first got my EVO on launch day a year ago, I fell in love with Android (coming from an iPhone 3GS) and the EVO hardware, but the apps were complete crap; I hoped they'd get better, and to some extent, they have. A very small percentage of the apps do look and work better, but the selection is still really lackluster. The apps still aren't even close to the iOS apps I left over a year ago; they're nothing close in terms of selection or quality when compared.
Troll and flame away! Just kidding. I would actually like to conduct a half-way decent thread about the state of Android apps.
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In my opinion all the apps I used are getting "more professional looking" as time moves on. Certainly since Gingerbread's release.
Are they all up to "iPhone app standards"? No. But they're getting there.
mattykinsx said:
In my opinion all the apps I used are getting "more professional looking" as time moves on. Certainly since Gingerbread's release.
Are they all up to "iPhone app standards"? No. But they're getting there.
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I agree...the 5 I use are getting better, but still a good half away from an iOS app. Still, no real selection of 'good' apps. They kind of remind me of Windows apps compared to OS X apps.
Let's keep in mind that the Android Marketplace is a full year or so younger than Apple's app store.
The platform is younger, in terms of public use, and the style is more open ended.
That is positive for some reasons and negative for others.
I can definitely agree with that. While there are certainly some amazing apps (Tasker, looking at you!) they tend to be few and far between. And the inconsistencies can be more than glaring. Even a killer app may have a horrid UI (Tasker, again, looking at you!). I suppose that so long as the job gets done, I can't really complain much.
But that is one thing I can get behind with iOS; the uniformity. Sure, worthless apps exist, but in terms of the look and feel? For the most part it's very consistent. I know that with Android you have so many people that are able to create and release an app, but that also lends to a bunch of half-ass applications that either barely get the job done or just look down right ugly. Or are just completely useless.
The multitude of choice is both good and bad. Even such things as a goofy application icon gets to me. Sure, I change my icons ... but, dayum. That's not even important, it's that it just adds to the madness at times.
There are definitely some amazing applications out there, and over time you find the ones you really need and appreciate, like a decent calendar. But that still requires some hunting and experimenting, which isn't necessarily bad unless you're trying to find a solid app that simply looks and acts the way you want.
I love the Android platform, but this is one of the things that can add to the frustrations of it. It has gotten better, and will get better. Just like Android as a whole.
I think that will change once ice cream sandwich comes out, all of the honeycomb apps have a very consistent and sexy looking UI
psych2l said:
I think that will change once ice cream sandwich comes out, all of the honeycomb apps have a very consistent and sexy looking UI
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Indeed. I'm really banking on this next shift.
mattykinsx said:
Let's keep in mind that the Android Marketplace is a full year or so younger than Apple's app store.
The platform is younger, in terms of public use, and the style is more open ended.
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/\This.
Apple has been around for a fair amount of time now. Android Market is younger, and I think had a somewhat slow start, before taking over the smartphone market, like it has today. I would say, all things considered, it's not half bad, and yes it definitely keeps getting better. Two of my fav apps, Pageonce and PhonemyPC, have gotten exponentially better just in the short time I've been using them.
*edit* sorry this got a little longer than I had planned I got going and couldn't stop till I had made my point which as it turns out is kind of big.
I also love the platform we have BUT iPhone apps have been and will likely always be better. Think of it like art. There are plenty of painters in the world, but most are average. They would all like to hang their pictures in a gallery, but really at best .0001% are good enough to warrant this. The Apple Appstore is like a gallery. It takes only the best looking, best working, most efficient apps and rejects the rest. Therefore when you walk in, you are blown away. All you see is the best.
The Android Market is more like a city wall. Sure you could paint a masterpiece on one, but who'd notice with all the graffiti everywhere? Everyone who can use a paintbrush is painting all over everything and it's a damned clusterf**k. Just finding the good paintings is luck at best, and there is almost no incentive to paint a masterpiece there for just that reason.
The best Devs develop for iPhones. They prefer the walled garden because it helps keep their app from getting lost in the shuffle(tho the average devs hate it because it keeps rejecting their poorly coded barely functional apps). Also Devs love that when making an iPhone app, you know exactly what type of OS and Phone it will run on. There's only one iPhone. There's only one iOS. There are thousands of android phones, some with keyboards, some with touch-screens, some with Android 2.3, some with 2.3, some with 2.1, plenty with even older versions, some with one resolution, some with other resolutions, some with 3g some with 4g, some without either even. Some are smart phones some are *dumb* phones. Some are flip phones some are sliders. Some have touchwiz some have Sense. Some have Motoblur. Some have...well you get where I'm going with this.
Historically, if you look at apps for Mac computers, while few in number compared to PC apps, they were usually superior and more user friendly. And more polished. The apple and android phone conflict is not a new war, it's a mobile version of the same war that has raged since the early 80s:
On one side there is Apple, saying that "this is our Hardware and this is our OS. You can use it if you but you can't change it. Can't put it on your hardware. You can't put your own spin on it. Our stuff will "just work" because from a Devs standpoint, all variables are known, and we don't allow them access to anything important enough to make your phone stop working at any rate."
On the other side there is Android(taking the place of windows). They say "Here is our software, we don't make hardware so knock yourselves out. Make phones form $50 to $700 dollars for all we care. Also we don't mind if you change our code and make our OS your own. But beware because there will be billions of possible hardware/software combinations due to this and the truly best Devs will just make apps for Mac because it's easier by far. And those Devs who brave our water will produce apps which are buggy and largely untested on most devices... but we will allow them to do many times more with those apps than the simple, easy to use Mac software."
So in the end it will come down to exactly the same argument as had been used for the PC/MAC war for decades. If all you need to do is basic things(email phone calls texts etc) get an iphone(A Mac). If you want to be able to do more but at the expense of user-friendliness and stability, get a android(PC)."
I like to tinker, I use Android. Would NEVER get my girlfriend an android phone tho if she wanted a smartphone. Like ever. Or my parents. Or my daughter.
When all is said and done, Android will win the war for Quantity. There will be far more Android phones and apps. The cell providers love android. And due to the multiple price points and variable there is one for everybody.
But just like in the PC/Mac wars, the iPhone will still have a place. And it's apps will likely always be a cut above.
So we've all been there: trying to explain to an Apple fan why Android is better.
Well here I've compiled a list of the reasons why Android is better, while I'm open to any suggestions or corrections.
I'm not an Android fanboy, I'm a fan of technology and I own Apple devices, so this is pretty objective.
I'm leaving out my personal preferences and opinions, only putting my examples into cases the average user will find himself in.
1. IOS Crashes more than Android http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/02/02/does-ios-crash-more-than-android-a-data-dive/
2. IOS has fake multitasking where you can't download while doing anything else and apps are put into suspension when you leave them and stop running.
3. Google apps are much better on Android with better interfaces(e.g. YouTube) and more functionality (e.g. Chrome, Navigation)
4. There is no Flash player on IOS
5. Sharing is very limited on IOS where you simply don't get the choices you get on Android
6. File Management on IOS simply isn't there so you can't attach anything to emails or messages
7. The Appstore may have more apps and "better" games but it doesn't have the functionality and productivity the Play Store has. Simply because Android gives you the option if you want to give a life-saving app like Cerberus, administrator permissions
8. Flexibility and customization - Android is capable of beautiful things while still not rooted. e.g. Shortcuts that take you into specific parts of an app, Notificiation Toggles, widgets, multiple launchers etc.
9. Notifications- IOS users may miss a call, but unless they manually check the notifications bar, they've got no clue about it.
10. The small screen on the iPhone is up to personal preferences, but it has 4:3 aspect ratio which is old technology and makes watching videos terrible
11. The hardware is really fragile as it takes one drop to ruin everything, while the buttons often don't work after a (long) period of time with the phone
12. Jailbreaking an IOS device gives less freedom than rooting does. People may have to downgrade to jailbreak or may lose their apps when updating to new software. How annoying is that?
13. IOS devices don't have external memory
14. IOS devices don't have fm radio
15. IOS devices don't have a smartdialer
16. IPhone has lesser specs than high-end Android devices e.g. NFC thus less features( Wallet)
17. The contacts integration is much weaker on IOS
18. You don't have the freedom to select default app for a specific action on IOS, so you can't get e.g. Swype Keyboard
19. Emulation on Android is much wider and way better while still not rooted
20. Connectivity with devices of a different brand is unheard of at Apple- whilst on Android you can wirelessy connect to PS3, XBOX, TV, PC, controllers etc
I left my opinion for the very end. I believe that IOS devices are overpriced, overrated and mainstream. This is the reason that overrules all for me because People buy IOS devices just because it has the Apple logo on it. This disgusts me ( and I'm sure most Android users) as it shows ineffable ignorance.
So there are all these (incredibly) annoying gripes on IOS, yet people still buy iPhones which is something really incomprehensible.
Android isn't perfect: it suffers from some ecosystem issues, slow updates(which is going to be fixed with the coming of Jelly bean), bloatware (removable when rooted), fragmentation etc.
However Android has progressed at such a rapid pace compared to IOS these past years, that it simply is much more promising and full of potential.
P.S IOS6 was announced after I wrote this. Since we don't know what Jellybean is going to be like, there shouldn't be any comparison until both are running. However, it is clear that Apple is trying to catch up with Android with the release of IOS6, as most features have been working on Android phones in one way or another.
Well most is correct but I think belongs in the android section. Not the Xperia PLAY section.
And whats the point on this thread? :S if you want something simple go with iOS if you want custom roms, themes and moding go with Android, Some say that iOS are better for woman, because they usualy like simple and easier things, I have a iPhone and the Xperia Play, they are both great but I perfer the Xperia Play because I can mod it and use custom roms, but that doesnt make the Android Better, it depends much of the point of view of the person, please Remember that iOS and Android are aimed for diferent things! If I dint care about Hacks, mods, themes, tweaks, etc, I'll probably be better with just a iPhone.
iOS is good for people who want a phone OS that hides the options and multitasking from the user. I prefer the iOS for my tablets because I like the large screen for 1.5 apps at a time (music and web browsing for example). On my phone I prefer customizing it to exactly what I like. That for me is why I have an Xperia Play. I get exactly what I want. Long live choices for phones!
Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk 2
Thread needs to be deleted as it has NOTHING to do with xperia play. Good job reading the rules before posting.
agraceful said:
Thread needs to be deleted as it has NOTHING to do with xperia play. Good job reading the rules before posting.
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Pfft whatever buddy it has something to do with the play. ANDROID is the os he's just making some key comparisons
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thatsupnow said:
Pfft whatever buddy it has something to do with the play. ANDROID is the os he's just making some key comparisons
Sent from my R800a using XDA App
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I guess you're another genius that doesn't know the order of things at xda. If you can't go by the rules then there's no need for you to be at xda. There is an android general forum for bs like this. THIS specific division is pertaining to xperia plays NOT android os. Read and learn.
agraceful said:
I guess you're another genius that doesn't know the order of things at xda. If you can't go by the rules then there's no need for you to be at xda. There is an android general forum for bs like this. THIS specific division is pertaining to xperia plays NOT android os. Read and learn.
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Pfft..... Sent you a pm have a nice read
Sent from my R800a using XDA App
I have to agree with you (the OP) on apple vs. Android.
I've had an itouch for 2 years now ( 1st year it was a 1st gen and 2nd and on.it is 4th gen) and ever since I got my play my itouch sits in my speaker dock on I heart radio with Air1 radio.....it hasn't left the dock in months.
My two android devices though ( my cm7 nook color and my play), I use constantly. I use my nook if I want a bigger screen for gaming emulators while using my ps3 controller and stand/case I got from best buy, and my play for everything else, even emulators when I'm on the go and don't have a need to carry my nook color around....plus we can.change roms whenever we want, where as with apple products we have to do the tidious jailbreaking to even do any some of good stuff.
Thanks for this thread.
Sent from my R800x using XDA
agraceful said:
Thread needs to be deleted as it has NOTHING to do with xperia play. Good job reading the rules before posting.
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Click to collapse
Sorry man, I know this is the wrong section. I was in a hurry when I was posting this and it ended up here by accident. I'm pretty new here, so I'm not sure what I have to do to put things right though.
I own both and both are good.
It's really a personal opinion on which is better. So this is a pointless thread which is also posted in the wrong section. And exactly what are you trying to achieve with this? You expect all Apple users to abandon ship over this post? Everyone knows the difference, flaws and positives of each device and choose accordingly to their needs. So why do you need to explain to an Apple user why android is better? Sh*ts and giggles? You say you're not a fan boy but this thread pretty much confirms you are. Sell your Apple products and stick with android, no one cares. I share with my wife and son an Xplay, GNex, and 4s for our phones + an iPad2, Kindle Fire and Asus Transformer prime for our tablets and we feel none of them are better than another. It's up to the user, your fan boy rage is wasting space.
1. IOS Crashes more than Android
-my iOS devices never "crash" unlike my android devices that from time to time freeze up or force close, requiring a shutdown or battery pull. and that article you mentioned aboved is talking about apps crashing not the OS itself. FAIL
2. IOS has fake multitasking where you can't download while doing anything else and apps are put into suspension when you leave them and stop running.
-this may be true but multitasking on most android devices causes lag and force closes. Some apps are actually terminated by the android OS automatically to free memory.
3. Google apps are much better on Android with better interfaces(e.g. YouTube) and more functionality (e.g. Chrome, Navigation)
-well of course Google would pay attention to their apps for their OS more. but theres really nothing wrong with the youtube app on iOS
4. There is no Flash player on IOS
-everyone knows flash on android is pretty bad, laggy and not really reliable as watching it in the video app.
5. Sharing is very limited on IOS where you simply don't get the choices you get on Android
-this may be true but this also opens up the risk of malicious files being transmitted through the devices.
6. File Management on IOS simply isn't there so you can't attach anything to emails or messages
-theres ways around that actually. anyattach, ifile, and probably many more. but still risks of malicious attacks.
7. The Appstore may have more apps and "better" games but it doesn't have the functionality and productivity the Play Store has. Simply because Android gives you the option if you want to give a life-saving app like Cerberus, administrator permissions
-iOS does have the newer and "better" apps. We can get them months or years before android users do. I find being on android you have to wait at times for an app to be made specifically for your hardware. Also apps similar to cerberus can be obtained on iOS but can be pointless if people can google how to restore iOS or android devices rendering those apps useless when stolen.
8. Flexibility and customization - Android is capable of beautiful things while still not rooted. e.g. Shortcuts that take you into specific parts of an app, Notificiation Toggles, widgets, multiple launchers etc.
-you can customize iOS too, but its up to personal preference, not everyone wants to replace all their icons and have a bunch of widgets, which by the way drain battery and cause lag issues on android
9. Notifications- IOS users may miss a call, but unless they manually check the notifications bar, they've got no clue about it.
-i dont know what youre talking about because anything i miss is displayed in the lockscreen or has counters over the app icon in the homescreen, again you FAIL.
10. The small screen on the iPhone is up to personal preferences, but it has 4:3 aspect ratio which is old technology and makes watching videos terrible
- it is a smaller screen but to say that watching videos is terrible is just an android fan boy bash comment towards apple devices. makes you look stupid and childish quite frankly.
11. The hardware is really fragile as it takes one drop to ruin everything, while the buttons often don't work after a (long) period of time with the phone
-i think the same can be said for most android devices as well, ive dropped my iphone a few times and only got some knicks here and there same with my SGSII but it never ruined everything like you said, and ive havent had buttons stop working on my 3g 3gs or 4s, and i press them like 1000 times a day... fail
12. Jailbreaking an IOS device gives less freedom than rooting does. People may have to downgrade to jailbreak or may lose their apps when updating to new software. How annoying is that?
-you back up apps using titanium when flashing and similar modding activities? same can be done on iOS with for example ifunbox or similar apps and programs. FAIL
13. IOS devices don't have external memory
-this is true but not all of us need a 64gig external my 32gb internal is more than enough
14. IOS devices don't have fm radio
- true but its not a big deal, really
15. IOS devices don't have a smartdialer
-true but not a big deal since most people use contacts apps on both ios and android
16. IPhone has lesser specs than high-end Android devices e.g. NFC thus less features( Wallet)
-their specs may not be "high end" but its more than enough for most users. and NFC is not even mainstream enough to use it all the time. only place ive ever used it is at certain gas stations and jack in the box.
17. The contacts integration is much weaker on IOS
-what does "weaker" even mean? thats a vague term and you sound like an idiot. theres an app for that.
18. You don't have the freedom to select default app for a specific action on IOS, so you can't get e.g. Swype Keyboard
-this may be true but again its up to personal preference if you want those kinds of extra mods, stock apps and functions on the iOS are perfectly fine for most users.
19. Emulation on Android is much wider and way better while still not rooted
-emulation? you mean snes and stuff? iOS can do that too....
20. Connectivity with devices of a different brand is unheard of at Apple- whilst on Android you can wirelessy connect to PS3, XBOX, TV, PC, controllers etc
- i can connect my iphone to a wide array of different brand electronics.....
so long story short its up to the user, your fan boy rant is ridiculous and pointless like so many other people have stated, this needs to be deleted, and if you ban him from xda as well, no one will miss him.
mr40kalz said:
1. IOS Crashes more than Android
-my iOS devices never "crash" unlike my android devices that from time to time freeze up or force close, requiring a shutdown or battery pull. and that article you mentioned aboved is talking about apps crashing not the OS itself. FAIL
2. IOS has fake multitasking where you can't download while doing anything else and apps are put into suspension when you leave them and stop running.
-this may be true but multitasking on most android devices causes lag and force closes. Some apps are actually terminated by the android OS automatically to free memory.
3. Google apps are much better on Android with better interfaces(e.g. YouTube) and more functionality (e.g. Chrome, Navigation)
-well of course Google would pay attention to their apps for their OS more. but theres really nothing wrong with the youtube app on iOS
4. There is no Flash player on IOS
-everyone knows flash on android is pretty bad, laggy and not really reliable as watching it in the video app.
5. Sharing is very limited on IOS where you simply don't get the choices you get on Android
-this may be true but this also opens up the risk of malicious files being transmitted through the devices.
6. File Management on IOS simply isn't there so you can't attach anything to emails or messages
-theres ways around that actually. anyattach, ifile, and probably many more. but still risks of malicious attacks.
7. The Appstore may have more apps and "better" games but it doesn't have the functionality and productivity the Play Store has. Simply because Android gives you the option if you want to give a life-saving app like Cerberus, administrator permissions
-iOS does have the newer and "better" apps. We can get them months or years before android users do. I find being on android you have to wait at times for an app to be made specifically for your hardware. Also apps similar to cerberus can be obtained on iOS but can be pointless if people can google how to restore iOS or android devices rendering those apps useless when stolen.
8. Flexibility and customization - Android is capable of beautiful things while still not rooted. e.g. Shortcuts that take you into specific parts of an app, Notificiation Toggles, widgets, multiple launchers etc.
-you can customize iOS too, but its up to personal preference, not everyone wants to replace all their icons and have a bunch of widgets, which by the way drain battery and cause lag issues on android
9. Notifications- IOS users may miss a call, but unless they manually check the notifications bar, they've got no clue about it.
-i dont know what youre talking about because anything i miss is displayed in the lockscreen or has counters over the app icon in the homescreen, again you FAIL.
10. The small screen on the iPhone is up to personal preferences, but it has 4:3 aspect ratio which is old technology and makes watching videos terrible
- it is a smaller screen but to say that watching videos is terrible is just an android fan boy bash comment towards apple devices. makes you look stupid and childish quite frankly.
11. The hardware is really fragile as it takes one drop to ruin everything, while the buttons often don't work after a (long) period of time with the phone
-i think the same can be said for most android devices as well, ive dropped my iphone a few times and only got some knicks here and there same with my SGSII but it never ruined everything like you said, and ive havent had buttons stop working on my 3g 3gs or 4s, and i press them like 1000 times a day... fail
12. Jailbreaking an IOS device gives less freedom than rooting does. People may have to downgrade to jailbreak or may lose their apps when updating to new software. How annoying is that?
-you back up apps using titanium when flashing and similar modding activities? same can be done on iOS with for example ifunbox or similar apps and programs. FAIL
13. IOS devices don't have external memory
-this is true but not all of us need a 64gig external my 32gb internal is more than enough
14. IOS devices don't have fm radio
- true but its not a big deal, really
15. IOS devices don't have a smartdialer
-true but not a big deal since most people use contacts apps on both ios and android
16. IPhone has lesser specs than high-end Android devices e.g. NFC thus less features( Wallet)
-their specs may not be "high end" but its more than enough for most users. and NFC is not even mainstream enough to use it all the time. only place ive ever used it is at certain gas stations and jack in the box.
17. The contacts integration is much weaker on IOS
-what does "weaker" even mean? thats a vague term and you sound like an idiot. theres an app for that.
18. You don't have the freedom to select default app for a specific action on IOS, so you can't get e.g. Swype Keyboard
-this may be true but again its up to personal preference if you want those kinds of extra mods, stock apps and functions on the iOS are perfectly fine for most users.
19. Emulation on Android is much wider and way better while still not rooted
-emulation? you mean snes and stuff? iOS can do that too....
20. Connectivity with devices of a different brand is unheard of at Apple- whilst on Android you can wirelessy connect to PS3, XBOX, TV, PC, controllers etc
- i can connect my iphone to a wide array of different brand electronics.....
so long story short its up to the user, your fan boy rant is ridiculous and pointless like so many other people have stated, this needs to be deleted, and if you ban him from xda as well, no one will miss him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you know android. They are specialy made. Like the xpria play is for gamers and the HTC chacha is for Facebook geeks and the htc wildfire s is for teens. We all have our own android.
Lets just agree that blackberry is worst then android or iPhone.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using XDA
Ok, you may be right, but this is a general thing and has nothing to do with the Xperia Play section.
Also, you may start a flame war.
mr40kalz said:
1. IOS Crashes more than Android
-my iOS devices never "crash" unlike my android devices that from time to time freeze up or force close, requiring a shutdown or battery pull. and that article you mentioned aboved is talking about apps crashing not the OS itself. FAIL
My Android only once crashed.
2. IOS has fake multitasking where you can't download while doing anything else and apps are put into suspension when you leave them and stop running.
-this may be true but multitasking on most android devices causes lag and force closes. Some apps are actually terminated by the android OS automatically to free memory.
Still better than no multitasking.
3. Google apps are much better on Android with better interfaces(e.g. YouTube) and more functionality (e.g. Chrome, Navigation)
-well of course Google would pay attention to their apps for their OS more. but theres really nothing wrong with the youtube app on iOS
They pay more attention to their OS like you said, so they're probably better.
4. There is no Flash player on IOS
-everyone knows flash on android is pretty bad, laggy and not really reliable as watching it in the video app.
It isn't laggy at all for me, just sayin'.
5. Sharing is very limited on IOS where you simply don't get the choices you get on Android
-this may be true but this also opens up the risk of malicious files being transmitted through the devices.
Do you know anyone who got a virus on their Android? Didn't think so.
6. File Management on IOS simply isn't there so you can't attach anything to emails or messages
-theres ways around that actually. anyattach, ifile, and probably many more. but still risks of malicious attacks.
So you need an app for that? Weak.
7. The Appstore may have more apps and "better" games but it doesn't have the functionality and productivity the Play Store has. Simply because Android gives you the option if you want to give a life-saving app like Cerberus, administrator permissions
-iOS does have the newer and "better" apps. We can get them months or years before android users do. I find being on android you have to wait at times for an app to be made specifically for your hardware. Also apps similar to cerberus can be obtained on iOS but can be pointless if people can google how to restore iOS or android devices rendering those apps useless when stolen.
There might be more apps for iPhone, but you can't really give them something like root permission.
8. Flexibility and customization - Android is capable of beautiful things while still not rooted. e.g. Shortcuts that take you into specific parts of an app, Notificiation Toggles, widgets, multiple launchers etc.
-you can customize iOS too, but its up to personal preference, not everyone wants to replace all their icons and have a bunch of widgets, which by the way drain battery and cause lag issues on android
You can change almost everything on Android. And I don't really think widgets cause that much lag.
9. Notifications- IOS users may miss a call, but unless they manually check the notifications bar, they've got no clue about it.
-i dont know what youre talking about because anything i miss is displayed in the lockscreen or has counters over the app icon in the homescreen, again you FAIL.
Yea, that was kinda a fail indeed.
10. The small screen on the iPhone is up to personal preferences, but it has 4:3 aspect ratio which is old technology and makes watching videos terrible
- it is a smaller screen but to say that watching videos is terrible is just an android fan boy bash comment towards apple devices. makes you look stupid and childish quite frankly.
No, if you want to watch widescreen movies you have big black borders and a smaller screen.
11. The hardware is really fragile as it takes one drop to ruin everything, while the buttons often don't work after a (long) period of time with the phone
-i think the same can be said for most android devices as well, ive dropped my iphone a few times and only got some knicks here and there same with my SGSII but it never ruined everything like you said, and ive havent had buttons stop working on my 3g 3gs or 4s, and i press them like 1000 times a day... fail
iPhones break quicker because of the glass, and explode sometimes.
12. Jailbreaking an IOS device gives less freedom than rooting does. People may have to downgrade to jailbreak or may lose their apps when updating to new software. How annoying is that?
-you back up apps using titanium when flashing and similar modding activities? same can be done on iOS with for example ifunbox or similar apps and programs. FAIL
But can you overclock an iPhone?
13. IOS devices don't have external memory
-this is true but not all of us need a 64gig external my 32gb internal is more than enough
"Most of us".
14. IOS devices don't have fm radio
- true but its not a big deal, really
Or is it?
15. IOS devices don't have a smartdialer
-true but not a big deal since most people use contacts apps on both ios and android
Agreed, I don't use it.
16. IPhone has lesser specs than high-end Android devices e.g. NFC thus less features( Wallet)
-their specs may not be "high end" but its more than enough for most users. and NFC is not even mainstream enough to use it all the time. only place ive ever used it is at certain gas stations and jack in the box.
Maybe for now, but that might, and will, change.
17. The contacts integration is much weaker on IOS
-what does "weaker" even mean? thats a vague term and you sound like an idiot. theres an app for that.
Depends on your defenition.
18. You don't have the freedom to select default app for a specific action on IOS, so you can't get e.g. Swype Keyboard
-this may be true but again its up to personal preference if you want those kinds of extra mods, stock apps and functions on the iOS are perfectly fine for most users.
"For most users."
19. Emulation on Android is much wider and way better while still not rooted
-emulation? you mean snes and stuff? iOS can do that too....
Not without jailbreaking. 'Nuff said.
20. Connectivity with devices of a different brand is unheard of at Apple- whilst on Android you can wirelessy connect to PS3, XBOX, TV, PC, controllers etc
- i can connect my iphone to a wide array of different brand electronics.....
Probably not to a PS3 controller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...
Trading Places
Seriously
Do they get this type of post on the Apple forums?
@ridder215215 I don't believe the person you are replying to was trying to say that iOS is better than android, he's right it's up to personal preference. So you replying to him still trying to make a point that android is better with your childish comments, makes you sound/look like an even bigger moron, "Just sayin".
If you want to battle on which platform is better take it to another damn forum. You guys sound like old ladies going through menopause. "Just sayin" and "Nuff said"
Why comment?
Sent from my R800x using XDA
Thread closed, wrong place & pointless discussion.
Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk 2
I recently got myself a Nexus 4, my first Android phone, and had been using it as my main phone for the past five days. I come from the iOS world (keen jailbreaker) and my initial reactions were very positive:
Love widgets and how convenient they can be
Love the extent of customisation
Love the big screen and clean UI in general
Love the hardware (camera and speed)
Love Google service integration (maps, contact, calendar) = just works
However, there is one aspect that really bothers me and I wanted to hear what other people think.
APPS.
iOS apps are often more polished than their Android equivalent, in another word they contain less bugs. I find Android apps crash more often and some of the functions don’t always work. Example: I found a bug in Skype that the ringing tone continues to sound even after the call is connected. Skype has been around for so many years and yet there is a bug?
.
Android don’t always get the newest or most updated apps because it is easier for developers to create apps on iOS. This can lead to some core function of an apps missing compare to their equivalent on iOS. Example: I have a Synology NAS at home that acts as my media hub, which can be remotely accessed by Synology-made streaming apps on the iOS. On Android, the video app isn’t available and the music app is very buggy and lacks some very core functions.
.
Due to the ever increasing range of Android devices, that is at a pace faster than iOS devices, I feel there is a greater chance of an Android device becoming unsupported by an app than an iOS device. This means potentially one has to upgrade to a new Android device sooner than they can afford or wish to.
.
There is a greater range of apps, including games, on iOS. Example: I really would like a decent photo editing app, such as Snapseed, on my Android but can’t seem to find one that I like. Official Simplenotes app is also unavailable on Android.
I suspect the defragmentation of the Android ecosystem is, in part, responsible for the problems I mentioned and it’s something I don’t see Google can do much about anytime soon. Therefore, in my mind, the situation is likely to remain the same for a while which makes Android less appealing to me. Understandably, it is a complex and widespread issue that is inherent in the Android world.
Sorry about my boring post but I have two days left to refund my Nexus 4. Should I keep it or refund it?
Thanks guys
hankdu said:
I recently got myself a Nexus 4, my first Android phone, and had been using it as my main phone for the past five days. I come from the iOS world (keen jailbreaker) and my initial reactions were very positive:
Love widgets and how convenient they can be
Love the extent of customisation
Love the big screen and clean UI in general
Love the hardware (camera and speed)
Love Google service integration (maps, contact, calendar) = just works
However, there is one aspect that really bothers me and I wanted to hear what other people think.
APPS.
iOS apps are often more polished than their Android equivalent, in another word they contain less bugs. I find Android apps crash more often and some of the functions don’t always work. Example: I found a bug in Skype that the ringing tone continues to sound even after the call is connected. Skype has been around for so many years and yet there is a bug?
.
Android don’t always get the newest or most updated apps because it is easier for developers to create apps on iOS. This can lead to some core function of an apps missing compare to their equivalent on iOS. Example: I have a Synology NAS at home that acts as my media hub, which can be remotely accessed by Synology-made streaming apps on the iOS. On Android, the video app isn’t available and the music app is very buggy and lacks some very core functions.
.
Due to the ever increasing range of Android devices, that is at a pace faster than iOS devices, I feel there is a greater chance of an Android device becoming unsupported by an app than an iOS device. This means potentially one has to upgrade to a new Android device sooner than they can afford or wish to.
.
There is a greater range of apps, including games, on iOS. Example: I really would like a decent photo editing app, such as Snapseed, on my Android but can’t seem to find one that I like. Official Simplenotes app is also unavailable on Android.
I suspect the defragmentation of the Android ecosystem is, in part, responsible for the problems I mentioned and it’s something I don’t see Google can do much about anytime soon. Therefore, in my mind, the situation is likely to remain the same for a while which makes Android less appealing to me. Understandably, it is a complex and widespread issue that is inherent in the Android world.
Sorry about my boring post but I have two days left to refund my Nexus 4. Should I keep it or refund it?
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, it's easy to develop a "polished" app with no bugs when your consumer audience is using a handful of IOS-based devices. The reason Android apps SEEM more buggy is that there are hundreds of different devices that use the Android OS. Problems are going to arise due to differences in hardware, but a good developer nails these problems and their app will evolve into a polished, bug-free work of art.
---------- Post added at 01:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 PM ----------
hankdu said:
Sorry about my boring post but I have two days left to refund my Nexus 4. Should I keep it or refund it?
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer your question, though, you should keep it. There's not a WHOLE lot going on with the nexus yet because of availability issues, but bugs will be squashed. Have patience. As more devs get their hands on it, it will get a lot better.
Refund it - that is one more device available for us on the play store ?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I won't tell you that you're a fan boy, or that you're stupid for thinking the way you do. It's clear.
Ask yourself this: are apps what you need to make your phone productive and useful?
I asked myself this question and found out, no. I use core apps like chrome, power amp, twitter and they're all well polished apps.
The freedom of the OS matters more to me than the apps, then again android apps are that bad.
Good luck
Return it. You want to just use the phone, as a phone.
ios is for you.
Photo apps
hankdu said:
I recently got myself a Nexus 4, my first Android phone, and had been using it as my main phone for the past five days. I come from the iOS world (keen jailbreaker) and my initial reactions were very positive:
Love widgets and how convenient they can be
Love the extent of customisation
Love the big screen and clean UI in general
Love the hardware (camera and speed)
Love Google service integration (maps, contact, calendar) = just works
However, there is one aspect that really bothers me and I wanted to hear what other people think.
APPS.
iOS apps are often more polished than their Android equivalent, in another word they contain less bugs. I find Android apps crash more often and some of the functions don’t always work. Example: I found a bug in Skype that the ringing tone continues to sound even after the call is connected. Skype has been around for so many years and yet there is a bug?
.
Android don’t always get the newest or most updated apps because it is easier for developers to create apps on iOS. This can lead to some core function of an apps missing compare to their equivalent on iOS. Example: I have a Synology NAS at home that acts as my media hub, which can be remotely accessed by Synology-made streaming apps on the iOS. On Android, the video app isn’t available and the music app is very buggy and lacks some very core functions.
.
Due to the ever increasing range of Android devices, that is at a pace faster than iOS devices, I feel there is a greater chance of an Android device becoming unsupported by an app than an iOS device. This means potentially one has to upgrade to a new Android device sooner than they can afford or wish to.
.
There is a greater range of apps, including games, on iOS. Example: I really would like a decent photo editing app, such as Snapseed, on my Android but can’t seem to find one that I like. Official Simplenotes app is also unavailable on Android.
I suspect the defragmentation of the Android ecosystem is, in part, responsible for the problems I mentioned and it’s something I don’t see Google can do much about anytime soon. Therefore, in my mind, the situation is likely to remain the same for a while which makes Android less appealing to me. Understandably, it is a complex and widespread issue that is inherent in the Android world.
Sorry about my boring post but I have two days left to refund my Nexus 4. Should I keep it or refund it?
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here comes a list of photo apps I hope you will like. I have them all installed on my Note 2 and am often forced to use more than one of them to get the results i wish. This does not however bother me. Nor does it bother me that some cost over a whole $1 to buy.
PicsPlayPro + great for making basic adjustments - no sharpness or fine rotation
Pixlr - this is brand new and very promising. Has both fine rotation and sharpness - no historgram or curves like PicsPlayPro
TouchRetouch +fantastic at removing annoying objects or people from plain backgrounds - you must know it's limits
Afterfocus + the best I know of for getting that shallow portrait depth of field.
Aviary
SketchBookPro - this is more of an art program but you can import pictures add layers, text and paint to retouch. - you need the S-Pen
PicSayPro: lots of gimmicky filters and effect +++layer masks!!
The following are a collection that are both camera and filters or just cameras
Vignette
LittlePhoto
MagicHour
HDRPro ProHDR? +++very good for landscapes, interior architecture -don't try photo people
Picturesque + some amazing effects can be achieved with this app. Check out #picturesque on Instagram
Lastly Cymera needs to be mention for its 5 different cameras, its fun filters
Hope this helps. Welcome to android.
Oh, I almost forgot my favourite camera FV-5. Silly name great camera.
I would never get an Android tablet because of the lack of premium quality apps. I would want apps like Garage Band which Android has nothing remotely close to. Like on a PC the app selection for a tablet is the most important aspect of the device, and iOS crushes Android in that department.
I can live with the limited premium app selection for a phone because I dont use my phone as a computer or for doing serious tasks.
dankoman said:
Sure, it's easy to develop a "polished" app with no bugs when your consumer audience is using a handful of IOS-based devices. The reason Android apps SEEM more buggy is that there are hundreds of different devices that use the Android OS. Problems are going to arise due to differences in hardware, but a good developer nails these problems and their app will evolve into a polished, bug-free work of art.
---------- Post added at 01:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 PM ----------
To answer your question, though, you should keep it. There's not a WHOLE lot going on with the nexus yet because of availability issues, but bugs will be squashed. Have patience. As more devs get their hands on it, it will get a lot better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After some thoughts and insightful opinions from other android users - I have decided to keep the device. You are right, the availability is an issue at the moment and I believe android apps are only going to be come more polished as time pasts.
qwahchees said:
I won't tell you that you're a fan boy, or that you're stupid for thinking the way you do. It's clear.
Ask yourself this: are apps what you need to make your phone productive and useful?
I asked myself this question and found out, no. I use core apps like chrome, power amp, twitter and they're all well polished apps.
The freedom of the OS matters more to me than the apps, then again android apps are that bad.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've made some very good points and I seemed to have forgotten the key here is how I intend to use the device. All the core apps I use are all very polished on Android and, in fact, I like them more than on iOS because of all the available customization options. iOS at the moment has no jailbreak for many of their new devices and I foresee jailbreaking becoming more and more difficult. I enjoy the freedom on Android. Thanks for your advice :good:
Dmwitz said:
Here comes a list of photo apps I hope you will like. I have them all installed on my Note 2 and am often forced to use more than one of them to get the results i wish. This does not however bother me. Nor does it bother me that some cost over a whole $1 to buy.
PicsPlayPro + great for making basic adjustments - no sharpness or fine rotation
Pixlr - this is brand new and very promising. Has both fine rotation and sharpness - no historgram or curves like PicsPlayPro
TouchRetouch +fantastic at removing annoying objects or people from plain backgrounds - you must know it's limits
Afterfocus + the best I know of for getting that shallow portrait depth of field.
Aviary
SketchBookPro - this is more of an art program but you can import pictures add layers, text and paint to retouch. - you need the S-Pen
PicSayPro: lots of gimmicky filters and effect +++layer masks!!
The following are a collection that are both camera and filters or just cameras
Vignette
LittlePhoto
MagicHour
HDRPro ProHDR? +++very good for landscapes, interior architecture -don't try photo people
Picturesque + some amazing effects can be achieved with this app. Check out #picturesque on Instagram
Lastly Cymera needs to be mention for its 5 different cameras, its fun filters
Hope this helps. Welcome to android.
Oh, I almost forgot my favourite camera FV-5. Silly name great camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW! THANK YOU! That has saved me so much time and they all look very intriguing! One of the positive things about Android is that there seems to always be a lite version to try out before one decides to upgrade to the full version. I may be wrong with what I said earlier about couldn't find a good photo editing app. Again, much appreciated for your recommendations :good:
idividebyzero said:
I would never get an Android tablet because of the lack of premium quality apps. I would want apps like Garage Band which Android has nothing remotely close to. Like on a PC the app selection for a tablet is the most important aspect of the device, and iOS crushes Android in that department.
I can live with the limited premium app selection for a phone because I dont use my phone as a computer or for doing serious tasks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean - i got an ipad and that is what I use if there is an iOS app that I really want to try out. Its very hard to give up ios completely.
After reading the responses I got from this thread, I have decided not to return my N4. Here goes why:
None of the android apps is buggy to the extent that they are unusable. I suspect since JB has only just been released, bugs will be ironed out gradually. Android apps may not have all the functions as their iOS equivalent but the missing functions are not absolutely vital to me. There are usually some work around for the missing feature, such as use another app or just simply use a laptop. Many of the core apps I regularly use on my phone are polished on Android. In fact, I actually prefer the experience of these core apps on Android more than on iOS. The amount of tweaking I can do is simply too much to give up after having enjoyed the freedom of doing so. When I first unzipped a file on the N4, oh my, I was like “sweet!”.
I had forgotten that the key to my choice between iOS and Android was how I intended to use my phone. Having recognized this the choice between the two systems was an easy one - Android was clearly better (for me):
gmail and youtube apps were both better
video playback supported more format
reading experience was amazing thanks to the amazing screen
web browsing was wayyyyy smoother
apps were better integrated into each other
Looks like the N4 is here to stay
Thanks everyone for your input!
idividebyzero said:
I would never get an Android tablet because of the lack of premium quality apps. I would want apps like Garage Band which Android has nothing remotely close to. Like on a PC the app selection for a tablet is the most important aspect of the device, and iOS crushes Android in that department.
I can live with the limited premium app selection for a phone because I dont use my phone as a computer or for doing serious tasks.
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I am exactly the opposite. I can't really do anything on iPad since what I do need jailbreak at least. I need a Tab that could run Linux, or access one. I'm waiting for the day it comes to some Android Tablet and then buy 1. I now have an iPad that is sitting somewhere. Ever since I received my Nexus 4 I have never touched the iPad again. I don't have an Android tab to compare, but my friend's tab are pretty bland. It's pretty much a blown up version of the phone.
You can run Ubuntu on N7.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
I would defiantly agree with you. iOS apps are more polished on the whole. While this isn't 100% true, I feel like many apps on iOS are more trustworthy and more likely to just work. Android on the other hand you have to filter through a ton of crap...
But then a polished Android app is just as functional as a polished iOS app. There is no reason why a well made app for iOS would be better than a well made Android app.
hankdu said:
I
[*]Due to the ever increasing range of Android devices, that is at a pace faster than iOS devices, I feel there is a greater chance of an Android device becoming unsupported by an app than an iOS device. This means potentially one has to upgrade to a new Android device sooner than they can afford or wish to.
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I think you feel this way because you come from the Apple ecosystem. As a quick and dirty Apple developer I find myself getting increasingly frustrated with our newer OS updates breaking things. Even pulling sysinfo seems to be different with every OS they release.
Google as well as their app developers are both well aware that most of the android community is still running on Gingerbread, so I don't think you'll see your Nexus 4 go out of style anytime soon. Keep in mind that you also have a Nexus device, and will in all likeliness be one of the first to taste Key Lime Pie whenever it's released.
Warrior1975 said:
You can run Ubuntu on N7.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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I know. Thats why i said that. Wait until the day you can run Ubuntu on iPad.
sent from my straight out of limbo 2 Nexus 4 using XDA-premium
wngmv said:
I know. Thats why i said that. Wait until the day you can run Ubuntu on iPad.
sent from my straight out of limbo 2 Nexus 4 using XDA-premium
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I must have misunderstood your post. It seemed like you were waiting for Ubuntu to come to an android tab from the way you worded it.
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You chose well. I had every iPhone from the original to the 4s and I do agree with you that apps seem more polished, but that's not everything. I've actually read articles where iOS apps crash more than android, but apple's way of programming will hold a still of the last image on the screen until the app restarts, all without the user knowing... Now, I have no proof of this, it's just something I read.
As for android, there's just more that can be done even without rooting. I was so tired of the jailbreak cat and mouse game with apple, but everything that I couldn't get on iOS, is all right there on android.
My last point in beating this dead horse I'd that this entire response was easily written by using Google's stock swiping keyboard! Nothing like that with apple....
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I consider myself lucky to have a jail broken ipad 3. Jailbreak is declining and it's a pity.
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