Related
Annoying things samsung was lazy about in the release/build of the vibrant's software:
HTC Sense UI makes Samsung's touchwiz Interface seem like a fail sorta.
I'm being sincere and want to know if you guys agree or disagree with the below. I hope Samsung can address these issues with the Froyo release. This can make up for the cheap quality hardware build. I love the phone though. seriously. ok here we go:
Issues:
1. Switching from edge to 3g takes a lifetime
2. Slight lag in the standard software going from screen to screen (i shouldn't have to use a home replacement like adw or launcher pro for smooth scrolling)
3. The market is horribly slow to load and often says retry-connection error
4. When going into the photo gallery, old pics show first. (annoying because I have many pictures and have to go through them to get to the newest ones)
5. In the feeds and updates widget, someone may load a picture, u click on it and a tiny pic is shown (u can't *like* it or enlarge it) *Facebook action*
6. If you click on a contact, go to the media tab, let it load then click on an album, it takes you to the browser (why not fetch it within the app?)
7. When you reply to a twitter/Facebook/Myspace status update, it automatically refreshes the feed (i don't need another refresh if i didn't request it by pressing the refresh button) it should take you back to the feed
8. ACCOUNTS AND SYNC have been horrid. They work when it wants to. Always receive an error more often than not. facebook/twitter/myspace
9. Battery take 2 lifetimes to charge
I don't agree with the Sense UI making Touchwiz3 look like a fail, there are issues that it has within itself that others dislike. However, please be aware that Samsung is quite new to the game and is still developing.
The only problem I have in common with yours is the market issue which is pretty irritable.
None of those bug me.... sgs ftw
Wow dude,
maybe you got a defective device?
mine works great
ElahC said:
I don't agree with the Sense UI making Touchwiz3 look like a fail, there are issues that it has within itself that others dislike. However, please be aware that Samsung is quite new to the game and is still developing.
The only problem I have in common with yours is the market issue which is pretty irritable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i understand, that's why i am just giving my outlook on it. Hopefully it doesn't seem like im attacking Samsung... I like their interface... it's just clearly missing a few things. I'm anxious for some upgrades
stepinmyworld said:
Annoying things samsung was lazy about in the release/build of the vibrant's software:
HTC Sense UI makes Samsung's touchwiz Interface seem like a fail sorta.
I'm being sincere and want to know if you guys agree or disagree with the below. I hope Samsung can address these issues with the Froyo release. This can make up for the cheap quality hardware build. I love the phone though. seriously. ok here we go:
Issues:
1. Switching from edge to 3g takes a lifetime
2. Slight lag in the standard software going from screen to screen (i shouldn't have to use a home replacement like adw or launcher pro for smooth scrolling)
3. The market is horribly slow to load and often says retry-connection error
4. When going into the photo gallery, old pics show first. (annoying because I have many pictures and have to go through them to get to the newest ones)
5. In the feeds and updates widget, someone may load a picture, u click on it and a tiny pic is shown (u can't *like* it or enlarge it) *Facebook action*
6. If you click on a contact, go to the media tab, let it load then click on an album, it takes you to the browser (why not fetch it within the app?)
7. When you reply to a twitter/Facebook/Myspace status update, it automatically refreshes the feed (i don't need another refresh if i didn't request it by pressing the refresh button) it should take you back to the feed
8. ACCOUNTS AND SYNC have been horrid. They work when it wants to. Always receive an error more often than not. facebook/twitter/myspace
9. Battery take 2 lifetimes to charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Doesn't for me, and this is the first I'm hearing of that. Perhaps you are in an area with poor reception or have a defective device.
2. I have no lag at all. Are you running any intensive widgets? Live wallpapers? A million things running in the background?
3. Again, that's a sign of being in a poor reception area which isn't the phone's fault. If you haven't already, I would try activating and swapping out the SIM card out for a new one if you are using an older one from a previous phone. That has solved some people's problems.
4. There should be a setting to sort by date. If there isn't, *shrug*. There are other good picture viewing apps in the market. I find the Gallery app to be very helpful in sharing pictures though.
5. Facebook makes an official app. Same goes for Twitter and Myspace. Some specific social networking actions, such as "liking" can't be done with the widget or in the contacts menu. I find the widget is good for a quick updating of statuses or tweeting.
6. If it gets you to the same point, then? The browser is speedy enough on this phone that you shouldn't need to worry about using it as opposed to the built-in apps that take you there.
7. Again, there are tons of other software in the market to use if you wish to not use the ones provided.
8. This is the social networks fault, not the phones. Facebook sync in particular works when it wants to for me. But it's Facebook's fault. Something awry with their server connections. Twitter always syncs for me.
9. Mine takes 4-5 hours from dry to charge fully. That's the downfall of having a bigger battery, you get more usage out of it but it takes longer to charge. Make sure you are using the wall charger and not a USB port on your computer (USB charging any device takes a lifetime as USB ports don't draw a lot of power anyway). If possible, turn the device off as it charges. It will charge much quicker this way. Perhaps leave the device off overnight and charge it up?
These seem like general smartphone complaints and really not much to do with the Vibrant specifically. Most of these phones have the same general minor annoyances or glitches. Sense is OK, nothing special. It's all personal taste but after using Sense for a month and then TouchWiz for 2 weeks, I much prefer TW. The Launcher and the Samsung specific apps really integrate services, social features, and Android very nicely. If you don't like the Launcher you can always use the other two big ones in the market, they work just as well. You can also use any messaging app you wish.
The hardware feels light for a reason. The heavier the device is, the harder it falls when you drop it. If you've seen all of the quality tests of people dropping the phone, trying to scratch it, etc, you would see that the build quality is amazing. The metal-looking plastic on the rim will take the most damage. Screen is scratch-resistant, not scratch-proof.
stepinmyworld said:
Annoying things samsung was lazy about in the release/build of the vibrant's software:
HTC Sense UI makes Samsung's touchwiz Interface seem like a fail sorta.
I'm being sincere and want to know if you guys agree or disagree with the below. I hope Samsung can address these issues with the Froyo release. This can make up for the cheap quality hardware build. I love the phone though. seriously. ok here we go:
Issues:
1. Switching from edge to 3g takes a lifetime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is a network issue, not Samsung's fault.
3. The market is horribly slow to load and often says retry-connection error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, a network issue.
4. When going into the photo gallery, old pics show first. (annoying because I have many pictures and have to go through them to get to the newest ones)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This I agree with.
6. If you click on a contact, go to the media tab, let it load then click on an album, it takes you to the browser (why not fetch it within the app?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand what this means. Could you elaborate?
@MMcCraryNJ
Ive had 3 vibrants already.. returned two for different issues.
thanks for your reply: I have been a smart phone user for a long time and im pretty intuitive when it comes to devices and their flaws.. I mention these issues because they trully exist. I have ran into many people from different sites whom experience the same things.. i just wanted to converse with the xda family about it. You advised that i use alternate applications via the market to fulfill my desires but that's not what I want to do or feel that needs to be done. Just like the iphone, don't tell me i have to get a rubber case to enjoy the phone because of bad reception/antenna build. The perks within the widgets could be added and indirectly im asking for some extra features in which would be attainable by Samsung. if you don't speak on it, things wont ever get done because people try to make this phone seem as if its flawless and it's not.. it's ok to admit to certain issues and not sugar coat them lol. The phone has treated me very well though besides the few annoyances just like everyone has their own preferences ya know?
Originally Posted by stepinmyworld
Annoying things samsung was lazy about in the release/build of the vibrant's software:
HTC Sense UI makes Samsung's touchwiz Interface seem like a fail sorta.
I'm being sincere and want to know if you guys agree or disagree with the below. I hope Samsung can address these issues with the Froyo release. This can make up for the cheap quality hardware build. I love the phone though. seriously. ok here we go:
Issues:
1. Switching from edge to 3g takes a lifetime
you said:[B said:
I think this is a network issue, not Samsung's fault.[/B]
my response:this is samsungs fault.. no other phone has done this.. i've had about 20 phones. I have the mytouch slide and it doesn't take more than about 10 seconds to change.. the vibrant takes about 20 to 30 seconds
3. The market is horribly slow to load and often says retry-connection error
you said: Once again, a network issue.
My response: why ddidn't my nexus one or mytouch slide do this often? it's a samsung issue
4. When going into the photo gallery, old pics show first. (annoying because I have many pictures and have to go through them to get to the newest ones)
This I agree with.
6. If you click on a contact, go to the media tab, let it load then click on an album, it takes you to the browser (why not fetch it within the app?)
u said: I don't understand what this means. Could you elaborate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My response: when i say fetch it within the app, i mean for it to load the exta pics right in the same area and allowing me to preview them instead of pushing me to the browser to look at the pics via facebook that way. I hope im clear
ElahC said:
I don't agree with the Sense UI making Touchwiz3 look like a fail, there are issues that it has within itself that others dislike. However, please be aware that Samsung is quite new to the game and is still developing.
The only problem I have in common with yours is the market issue which is pretty irritable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Market issue and app lag in general is easy to fix. look up vibrant stalling thread, lag is due to how slow the storage is. By moving app storage to nand, you fix the issue, there are only a few side effects which most of us wont run into anyways.
I've had nexus one and ran desire rom with sense, I've had evo4g with sense, and older android phones with sense. I skipped Samsung phone, whatever it was called on Tmobile, the first Samsung android due to touch wiz. Hated it, was super slow, retarded looking, and buggy. When I heard about the vibrant, I was hesitant as I did not want touch wiz, I hated how it was in the past. Still got the phone, and wow.... I love it! I replaced launcher with adw because I Just like the way it looks more, but everything else is great. I actually prefer touch wiz to sense, it looks more modern, has some neat features.
Although, I do agree with you that it still does have issues, so does sense, specially espresso version of it on the slide. My girl has it, omg, I'd throw that phone out of the window... lol
My biggest issue with touch wiz now is the messaging. It lags, specially if you're texting several people at once. It also refuses to scroll up in the thread sometimes, just bounces back down. Despite it, I still love it, makes an already good looking OS, look better. I do prefer the visuals of touch wiz to sense, personal preference. Sense feels like a a fancy limo to me. Over the top classy visuals, with too much bloat, and overall is rather slow. Touch wiz is like a BMW, looks superb, just enough flare to make it look modern, still runs fast.
The lag in sense is mostly graphical, just feels choppy. My guess is that it is mostly related to devices themselves, as they are not as powerful as the vibrant. Like, oncrhe nexus one, 3d gallery loads just as fast, but animations feel a little choppy, on vibrant it is very smooth. And your issue with gallery, I think it is more android related and not touch wiz. Nexus is full stock and it uses same 3d gallery as the vibrant, it does the same thing when it comes to ordering.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
MMcCraryNJ said:
1. Doesn't for me, and this is the first I'm hearing of that. Perhaps you are in an area with poor reception or have a defective device.
2. I have no lag at all. Are you running any intensive widgets? Live wallpapers? A million things running in the background?
3. Again, that's a sign of being in a poor reception area which isn't the phone's fault. If you haven't already, I would try activating and swapping out the SIM card out for a new one if you are using an older one from a previous phone. That has solved some people's problems.
4. There should be a setting to sort by date. If there isn't, *shrug*. There are other good picture viewing apps in the market. I find the Gallery app to be very helpful in sharing pictures though.
5. Facebook makes an official app. Same goes for Twitter and Myspace. Some specific social networking actions, such as "liking" can't be done with the widget or in the contacts menu. I find the widget is good for a quick updating of statuses or tweeting.
6. If it gets you to the same point, then? The browser is speedy enough on this phone that you shouldn't need to worry about using it as opposed to the built-in apps that take you there.
7. Again, there are tons of other software in the market to use if you wish to not use the ones provided.
8. This is the social networks fault, not the phones. Facebook sync in particular works when it wants to for me. But it's Facebook's fault. Something awry with their server connections. Twitter always syncs for me.
9. Mine takes 4-5 hours from dry to charge fully. That's the downfall of having a bigger battery, you get more usage out of it but it takes longer to charge. Make sure you are using the wall charger and not a USB port on your computer (USB charging any device takes a lifetime as USB ports don't draw a lot of power anyway). If possible, turn the device off as it charges. It will charge much quicker this way. Perhaps leave the device off overnight and charge it up?
These seem like general smartphone complaints and really not much to do with the Vibrant specifically. Most of these phones have the same general minor annoyances or glitches. Sense is OK, nothing special. It's all personal taste but after using Sense for a month and then TouchWiz for 2 weeks, I much prefer TW. The Launcher and the Samsung specific apps really integrate services, social features, and Android very nicely. If you don't like the Launcher you can always use the other two big ones in the market, they work just as well. You can also use any messaging app you wish.
The hardware feels light for a reason. The heavier the device is, the harder it falls when you drop it. If you've seen all of the quality tests of people dropping the phone, trying to scratch it, etc, you would see that the build quality is amazing. The metal-looking plastic on the rim will take the most damage. Screen is scratch-resistant, not scratch-proof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To number 9 specifically. He's right about charging, I think its mostly done by Samsung to preserve the battery. Nexus one has 1400mah battery, I also threw a 1500mah right before I sold it. I noticed slow charging immediately on the vibrant, nexus one charged way faster. I'm used to it now though, I always leave it on the charger over night anyway. So, the issue is not with higher capacity battery, but Samsung improving the battery life, at least I think.
And op, android is not like apple, very open sourced. It is very easy to customize and there are a ton of replacement apps on the market which could help. Like launchers, very useful and don't even waste memory as default launcher gets disabled if you run an alternate one. Point is, nothing wrong with voicing opinions and hoping that Samsung will fix or improve things. But, That will take ages, and it is a long shot. Why discredit aftermarket apps? They do no harm and could really help You enjoy your phone more.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
stepinmyworld said:
@MMcCraryNJ
Ive had 3 vibrants already.. returned two for different issues.
thanks for your reply: I have been a smart phone user for a long time and im pretty intuitive when it comes to devices and their flaws.. I mention these issues because they trully exist. I have ran into many people from different sites whom experience the same things.. i just wanted to converse with the xda family about it. You advised that i use alternate applications via the market to fulfill my desires but that's not what I want to do or feel that needs to be done. Just like the iphone, don't tell me i have to get a rubber case to enjoy the phone because of bad reception/antenna build. The perks within the widgets could be added and indirectly im asking for some extra features in which would be attainable by Samsung. if you don't speak on it, things wont ever get done because people try to make this phone seem as if its flawless and it's not.. it's ok to admit to certain issues and not sugar coat them lol. The phone has treated me very well though besides the few annoyances just like everyone has their own preferences ya know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a shame you are comparing a hardware issue(iphone) with software issue that you are having. The iphone fails because it is hardware and there are pretty much no other options but to fix it with a case however with your phone you can install different apps. You can use other apps than stock, i keep Twitter installed due to the integration with TW however i use Twidroid im sorry Twidroyd for my day to day twitter client. This phone is far from flawless i would relate the lock/power button to the iphones reception problem however with ours there is no case fix. I think it was a poor oversight on Samsung's part to put the button on the side of a rounded housing at that!
stepinmyworld said:
Annoying things samsung was lazy about in the release/build of the vibrant's software:
Issues:
1. Switching from edge to 3g takes a lifetime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a netowrk parameter setting. By increasing the time between scans your local T-mobile market is increasing your battery life and reducing the paging load on the network. Everytime you ping pong between 2G and 3G you have to do a location area update so the network knows where to find you. EVeryone doing that would overload the system and some calls would not be delivered. Aka, they are probably doing a good thing.
hurrpancakes said:
I think this is a network issue, not Samsung's fault.
Once again, a network issue.
This I agree with.
I don't understand what this means. Could you elaborate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shane_pcs said:
This is a netowrk parameter setting. By increasing the time between scans your local T-mobile market is increasing your battery life and reducing the paging load on the network. Everytime you ping pong between 2G and 3G you have to do a location area update so the network knows where to find you. EVeryone doing that would overload the system and some calls would not be delivered. Aka, they are probably doing a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
o ok... i just wonder why alll of the other phones i've owned didn't do this.... (take such a long time to switch?)
stepinmyworld said:
o ok... i just wonder why alll of the other phones i've owned didn't do this.... (take such a long time to switch?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't speak for markets I don't work on, but from time to time corporate changes the recommended settings. There have been a few changes specifically to the 2G and 3G interaction lately. There are also different "release classes" of handsets and they don't always support the newest "features". So sometimes a parameter change only affects certain handsets and not others.
Hi XDA, longtime lurker, first time poster. Love the forum, thanks for taking my post...*laff*
I have had a smartphone back to when they weren't phones (Motorola PageWriter). I remember the bad old days of the Pocket PC phones, how good Blackberries were with email when they hit the market and a charter G1 owner.
I can say without hesitation that the Vibrant is the best smartphone I have ever owned.
My only qualm at this point is the whole phone/google contact thing in the TouchWiz contacts app, I hate that I can't set custom ring tones or use the "groups" function for Google contacts and can't sync the "phone" contacts...I hate that, with a passion.
Seems like Samsung is treating Google contacts like an LDAP server instead of the seamless integration I had with my G1.
Other than that, I really like TouchWiz.
A work colleague came and asked me to explain a few things about her new S3 today, since she knows I have one and she upgraded to it after having a little look at mine last week. She had an iPhone before.
1. Play Store default setting is to dump app icons all over your homescreens - she had about 30 icons dotted across her home screens, and she couldn't understand why they were duplicated there and in her app drawer.
2. The Touchwiz launcher default is not to alphabetically organise your apps, and she said she had a hard time finding each app when she wanted to use it
3. Some of the cool features are not turned on by default, and are buried in menus which a novice user is not going to find. Case in point, voice control of apps is under Settings in S Voice. First off there is no indication that Settings is even there unless you know to pres the menu button (not intuitive at all). If these features were turned on in the first place then the popup notifications you get when using the apps would've told her about their existence, and hence she could've been using them on her own.
4. Disabling built in apps - first off she had no idea that it could be done, she just knew that she couldn't uninstall them via Play Store like her downloaded apps, and there lots she wanted rid of. When I showed her the Applications Manager this caused confusion on three counts:
A) why is there two places to get rid of/disable apps,
B) why do you have to uninstall updates to some built in apps before the disable button is shown,
C) she didn't feel comfortable messing around in a menu which clearly has essential system apps with weird (to a novice) names such as Certificate Installer, Factory Test, Security Storage and com.android.smspush
5. She didn't really understand what a Widget was and why there was a list of them at the end of her app drawer, and how to use them. I can't remember whether the setup wizard covers widgets or not, but suffice to say if it did then she had not understood it, and dismissed it. She was scrolling to the end of the apps into her widgets and saying "I don't understand these funny looking apps - they don't do anything when I press them"... She did not see the tab at the top which detotes the difference between apps and widgets, and there is no other indication when you get into the widgets.
6. She says the battery life is not good compared to her old iPhone. After having a quick look at her Battery stats (unplugged after full charge, 7.5hrs off the charger 1.5hrs screen on time, 25% battery left) there was nothing in particular acting up, however her cell reception was burning a lot of the battery. She said that her reception (measured by the number of bars - I know, I know!) was not as good as her iPhone. So the 2 issues here are that her battery is objectively not as good, and her reception is subjectively not as good as her old iPhone.
7. She does like the camera, but was unaware of features such as panorama and shooting stills whilst recording video (and I'll mention again, the possibility of voice control). However she WAS aware that the new iPhone does these things (minus the voice control).
8. She didn't understand why she needed multiple accounts for things, Google, Samsung, Dropbox - she was unaware of what these accounts were even used for, and she thought it confusing to have them all on her phone. I didn't check, but it wouldn't surprise me if she was saving all her contacts to her phone rather than her Google account and thus negating a large benefit of having an Android phone.
All these things are minor to the likes of us who are used to Android, but she felt confused and out of her depth with the phone. I tried to show her stuff and reassure her, and she has said she will give it a few more days - but she isn't comfortable with it and may return it for another iPhone...
Admittedly she is not a techie sort of person, but I do feel that Samsung (and Google) could do a bit more to simplify things for the likes of her, because ultimately they are competing against Apple the masters of simple and making people feel at home with their devices.
My discussion with her has really opened my eyes as to why so many people love the iPhone, despite it being inferior in many ways to the S3. I guess you can sell a Ferrari at Ford prices, but not everyone has the skills to drive and park such a machine...
Opinions?
Literally dude I am surprised you wrote this long problem stats. First half of the things you asked are solved in settings for ex. your first problem is solved in playstore settings and similarly same with touchwiz go in menu press option button and u get grid view choose your type and your many other problems would be solved by reading whats written in plain english and smart phones are to bug around and learn about it not to keep in showcase
Nikhil'Da Devil said:
How did you last this long on this forum...................head bang
Literally dude I am surprised you wrote this long problem stats. First half of the things you asked are solved i settings for ex. your first problem is solved in playstore settings and similarly same with touchwiz go in menu prss option button and u get grid view choose your type and your many other problems would be solved by reading whats written in plain english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's ironic, because you clearly didn't read the beginning of his post.
For point 1, you can disable the shortcut creation in the home screen so that it will create only in the app drawer.
I expect Google having its own findmylostphone service..... Samsung drive is useless.
The one big issue that I see in S3 is the lag that is in the home screen after returning back from another app. Samsung was pathetic there. Also inside the. App drawer lags inside the widgets tab. Even though S3 is a power horse Samsung has failed in many places....
No phone is perfect to fulfil everyone's need but the features that are released shouldn't be as half baked as the TW home screen. Disappointed.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Well you typed an essay...
Sent from my epic amaze 4g
The only thing that this post proves is that most people are stupid and don't take the time to learn things that they use everyday. Why have a smartphone of u don't take the time to learn how to use it?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Get her to go Windows. It's just two rows but more customization than IOS.
What Samsung should do is make a Galaxy S4 and a Galaxy SW. Make the hardware exactly the same but market the S4 to intermediate to advance user and market the SW with Windows Phone 9 to beginner to intermediate users.
The reason I say that this is how they should approach it is because Android is like what you described inherently. It gives you a lot of ways to do things from every screen. Samsung can't really dumb it down anymore or there is no point using Android. So Windows for beginners is how Samsung should approach it but instead of fragmenting their market just call the next Ativ S a Galaxy SW and watch the money come in from the beginners.
IPhone for girls and soccer moms. Android is for advanced users. I understand what you're getting at.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
I have a couple of friends who got the S3 just about the same time as myself. They both were ex iphone users and were both using BB torch prior to the S3. After a month, I was quite familiar with all the functions such as smart stay, direct call, swipe capture... etc. They were quite surprised that those features existed when i showed them, despite the fact there are pop up tutorials when you first use the phone. That's how i knew those features existed.
I dont think i'm any smarter than the average person, I think they are just too lazy and can't be bothered. Or maybe they are just living life and not sitting down with a computer, hitting the refresh button to see if the link to the latest JB leak have been posted up.
Nikhil'Da Devil said:
How did you last this long on this forum...................head bang
Literally dude I am surprised you wrote this long problem stats. First half of the things you asked are solved in settings for ex. your first problem is solved in playstore settings and similarly same with touchwiz go in menu press option button and u get grid view choose your type and your many other problems would be solved by reading whats written in plain english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You apparently have a reading comprehension disability. He was pointing out that these things are not as obvious to others as they are to us, as in the case of his colleague.
This has been obvious to me since I first got an android. I have had no issues, though I have missed some options till reading about them a time or two or just forgot where they were.
That's why there will always be a need for the iPhone, for those who cannot figure **** out on their own.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
I m gs3 USEr and GS3 is really failed phone bcoz....
wt the hell this time apple really make awesome work look at the picture...
http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/344/6674/original.jpg
lol hahahaha
setspeed said:
A work colleague came and asked me to explain a few things about her new S3 today, since she knows I have one and she upgraded to it after having a little look at mine last week. She had an iPhone before.
1. Play Store default setting is to dump app icons all over your homescreens - she had about 30 icons dotted across her home screens, and she couldn't understand why they were duplicated there and in her app drawer.
2. The Touchwiz launcher default is not to alphabetically organise your apps, and she said she had a hard time finding each app when she wanted to use it
3. Some of the cool features are not turned on by default, and are buried in menus which a novice user is not going to find. Case in point, voice control of apps is under Settings in S Voice. First off there is no indication that Settings is even there unless you know to pres the menu button (not intuitive at all). If these features were turned on in the first place then the popup notifications you get when using the apps would've told her about their existence, and hence she could've been using them on her own.
4. Disabling built in apps - first off she had no idea that it could be done, she just knew that she couldn't uninstall them via Play Store like her downloaded apps, and there lots she wanted rid of. When I showed her the Applications Manager this caused confusion on three counts:
A) why is there two places to get rid of/disable apps,
B) why do you have to uninstall updates to some built in apps before the disable button is shown,
C) she didn't feel comfortable messing around in a menu which clearly has essential system apps with weird (to a novice) names such as Certificate Installer, Factory Test, Security Storage and com.android.smspush
5. She didn't really understand what a Widget was and why there was a list of them at the end of her app drawer, and how to use them. I can't remember whether the setup wizard covers widgets or not, but suffice to say if it did then she had not understood it, and dismissed it. She was scrolling to the end of the apps into her widgets and saying "I don't understand these funny looking apps - they don't do anything when I press them"... She did not see the tab at the top which detotes the difference between apps and widgets, and there is no other indication when you get into the widgets.
6. She says the battery life is not good compared to her old iPhone. After having a quick look at her Battery stats (unplugged after full charge, 7.5hrs off the charger 1.5hrs screen on time, 25% battery left) there was nothing in particular acting up, however her cell reception was burning a lot of the battery. She said that her reception (measured by the number of bars - I know, I know!) was not as good as her iPhone. So the 2 issues here are that her battery is objectively not as good, and her reception is subjectively not as good as her old iPhone.
7. She does like the camera, but was unaware of features such as panorama and shooting stills whilst recording video (and I'll mention again, the possibility of voice control). However she WAS aware that the new iPhone does these things (minus the voice control).
8. She didn't understand why she needed multiple accounts for things, Google, Samsung, Dropbox - she was unaware of what these accounts were even used for, and she thought it confusing to have them all on her phone. I didn't check, but it wouldn't surprise me if she was saving all her contacts to her phone rather than her Google account and thus negating a large benefit of having an Android phone.
All these things are minor to the likes of us who are used to Android, but she felt confused and out of her depth with the phone. I tried to show her stuff and reassure her, and she has said she will give it a few more days - but she isn't comfortable with it and may return it for another iPhone...
Admittedly she is not a techie sort of person, but I do feel that Samsung (and Google) could do a bit more to simplify things for the likes of her, because ultimately they are competing against Apple the masters of simple and making people feel at home with their devices.
My discussion with her has really opened my eyes as to why so many people love the iPhone, despite it being inferior in many ways to the S3. I guess you can sell a Ferrari at Ford prices, but not everyone has the skills to drive and park such a machine...
Opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
help her see the light, guide her.
2ndaccord said:
The only thing that this post proves is that most people are stupid and don't take the time to learn things that they use everyday. Why have a smartphone of u don't take the time to learn how to use it?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the reason most people don't like android phones. They find it complicated. Those who know something about technology and open source or wants more from their phone they switch to android.
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I can't understand the reason of this thread, most of the "problems" are just caused by the inexperience. Logically android it's not iOS and i don't get why she spent her money in a phone that don't wanna learn to use
Inviato dal mio GT-I9300 con Tapatalk 2
Thank you for your replies regarding on how to "fix" her issues, perhaps I didn't make it clear enough - I was able to sort all of her issues out for her as I am well versed with Android. The point is that many of her issues require digging down into menus that a novice could not know existed, or they are issues caused by thoughtless defaults on the part of the manufacturer.
Many people (iPhone users especially I think) pick up a device and learn how it works by using it, they don't want or have time to read manuals or dig through settings menus trying to guess what might or might not be in there. For instance my colleague couldn't make the mental link between installing a new app and having it appear in two different places (seemingly randomly arranged, because it would just go to the first empty space on her home screen, and her app drawer was not alphabetically organised).
If she couldn't make that mental stretch, how would you then expect her to think "Ah, this behaviour might be adjustable - where would I adjust it? Oh of course, in the Play Store settings, where if I press the Menu button (with no indicator that there is a menu underneath that button on that screen) and de-tick auto-add widgets"
And they aren't even widgets, they're app icons! So even if she had got there by some stroke of luck, she probably wouldn't have understood it anyway, because widgets are something else!
My point is that Android and Samsung have a long way to go in the usability stakes for novices.
Nosterius said:
I can't understand the reason of this thread, most of the "problems" are just caused by the inexperience. Logically android it's not iOS and i don't get why she spent her money in a phone that don't wanna learn to use
Inviato dal mio GT-I9300 con Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She got the phone because she was impressed with it's physical characteristics, big screen & nice camera. But using it has been far more difficult for her than her old phone, and hence she doesn't feel comfortable with it unfortunately.
Man I gave up long ago trying to convert iPhone users.
I tried to convert 3 at my work, and all 3 times it backfired on me. They could not grasp Android after using iOS for so long and you become the ASSHOLE that ruins their life. iOS is a perfect operating system for most people, you don't really have to think much to use it. It's just so beautifully easy to use and intuitive that you could just pick it up and master it within 10 minutes.
On that note, I could NEVER EVER go back to iOS, ever. When I use an iOS device, it feels like I'm using a phone. When I use my Android device, it feels like I'm using a computer.
So basically OP, she doesn't know how to use the phone yet?
Why the hell did she buy a phone thinking she would instantly know how to use it?
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---------- Post added at 03:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 AM ----------
Dan37tz said:
On that note, I could NEVER EVER go back to iOS, ever. When I use an iOS device, it feels like I'm using a phone. When I use my Android device, it feels like I'm using a computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly how it is!
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setspeed said:
Thank you for your replies regarding on how to "fix" her issues, perhaps I didn't make it clear enough - I was able to sort all of her issues out for her as I am well versed with Android. The point is that many of her issues require digging down into menus that a novice could not know existed, or they are issues caused by thoughtless defaults on the part of the manufacturer.
Many people (iPhone users especially I think) pick up a device and learn how it works by using it, they don't want or have time to read manuals or dig through settings menus trying to guess what might or might not be in there. For instance my colleague couldn't make the mental link between installing a new app and having it appear in two different places (seemingly randomly arranged, because it would just go to the first empty space on her home screen, and her app drawer was not alphabetically organised).
If she couldn't make that mental stretch, how would you then expect her to think "Ah, this behaviour might be adjustable - where would I adjust it? Oh of course, in the Play Store settings, where if I press the Menu button (with no indicator that there is a menu underneath that button on that screen) and de-tick auto-add widgets"
And they aren't even widgets, they're app icons! So even if she had got there by some stroke of luck, she probably wouldn't have understood it anyway, because widgets are something else!
My point is that Android and Samsung have a long way to go in the usability stakes for novices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I edited my reply with more thoughts. Basically, I don't see Android going that route of simplifying because that is just not in the Android genetics. All android manufacturers should follow HTC and Samsung and make idiot proof Window phones to supplement their advance android devices. Because let's face it, if they dumb down Android some more most of us are gone once we get bored of Jelly Bean. No one here wants Android 4.2 to be simple like IOS.
Don't understand it either. I jumped on a Mac the other day and was lost in iOS. Problem IMHO Mac holds your hand does it for you, whether you like it or not.
Android, less hand holding and many ways to do the same task. Can see that being confusing. It's like a prisoner being let free, all those new options are so confusing.
Like comparing a new Honda with automatic everything. To a Ferrari or Porsche that surrounds you with options of how you want everything to operate.
As I say in IT, to most plebes RTFM.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I have an Android app on the market for college students called Degree Planner. When people do leave reviews, they are almost always positive. My problem is I get a lot of uninstalls. Lately I am getting more uninstalls per day than installs. Since no one is leaving negative feedback I cannot improve whatever it is they do not like. I have tried for months to improve anything I can think of, but still it has not fixed this issue. I was wondering if someone would not mind looking over it and giving me some criticism on improvements.
Emrys_90 said:
I have an Android app on the market for college students called Degree Planner. When people do leave reviews, they are almost always positive. My problem is I get a lot of uninstalls. Lately I am getting more uninstalls per day than installs. Since no one is leaving negative feedback I cannot improve whatever it is they do not like. I have tried for months to improve anything I can think of, but still it has not fixed this issue. I was wondering if someone would not mind looking over it and giving me some criticism on improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How big is your app? Size is always one of the most important uninstall reasons.
It's pretty small. Only a couple megabytes.
Well, If there are no ratings in Google Play, you can add a "tell me your opinion" form inside the app and as allways make sure the users can contact you... hope it helps
[Q] [App][2.3+] thesaurus word map - is my app really that bad it gets < 30 downloads
Heres the link https:// play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.valeonom.wordmap
I'm working on a cool way to do a dictionary in the app along with it being a thesaurus in it's current design. But with less than 30 downloads I feel like I want to do something else. When I first thought of the idea I thought of how cool it was all the way to finishing the app. And still think it's cool. Is the app bad? or is there something else that I'm missing for the so low downloads? Or maybe I just have too high of expectations?
Thank you
over_optimistic said:
Heres the link https:// play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.valeonom.wordmap
I'm working on a cool way to do a dictionary in the app along with it being a thesaurus in it's current design. But with less than 30 downloads I feel like I want to do something else. When I first thought of the idea I thought of how cool it was all the way to finishing the app. And still think it's cool. Is the app bad? or is there something else that I'm missing for the so low downloads? Or maybe I just have too high of expectations?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So apparently since this post 2 days ago you've grown to over 1000 downloads! Any tips on where you've been advertising?
Edit: Your app description looks a little short on words so it probably doesn't perform amazingly in the search results. Buffing out your description with keywords while avoiding looking too obvious will probably help boost your download count considerably.
dentedent said:
So apparently since this post 2 days ago you've grown to over 1000 downloads! Any tips on where you've been advertising?
Edit: Your app description looks a little short on words so it probably doesn't perform amazingly in the search results. Buffing out your description with keywords while avoiding looking too obvious will probably help boost your download count considerably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My app isn't new, its been around for almost 1 year. It had accumulated all those downloads very slowly. And the description, I played around with all sorts of different descriptions for a few weeks. Even playing around with the name of the app. No matter what I set as the description, or title it had no effect on downloads. If you looked at the download stats, you wouldn't be able to tell when any of the changes have occurred. I tried having creative descriptions like poetry. No effect.
I tried blasting the description with keywords and that didn't do anything either. Interestingly crappy descriptions does not negatively effect my downloads. I'm curious what will happen if I give my app a crappy name will it negatively effect downloads? So far everything pretty much didn't effect downloads in any way (positive or negative).
I'm thinking what will happen if I rename my app to be called "A" and description "A". haha. Like I doubt there will be a negative effect. I've been reading alot on marketing, and really this app is my "marketing experiment" as to me it seams very good to experiment with, and it's not a bad app. All experiments I mentioned in this post I let it collect data for minimum 7 days before trying the next thing. The fact that all of this does not change downloads, even changing the icon to a nicer looking one had no effect, really boggles me. Even more stranger no negative effects from crappy descriptions.
What you just did is called A/B Testing
First of all Congratulations on getting 1000 downloads. But I guess the thread should be useful for others still struggling with getting good downloads.
So here's the thing, 'trying out crappy titles', playing around with different descriptions and other such experiments are actually good for understanding the best trend but it might have serious repercussions. What you need to do is try A/B Testing where you still get to try these weird changes but on a much smaller scale. Of course you can only do these changes inside the app, but trust me that works.
And as for the problem at hand, you lacking a good marketing plan, here's one for you..
1. Before app release
2. During app release
3. After app release
There is this app called Super Touch that phone arena covered. Supposed to smoothen the touch experience on android by a significant margin. The developer offers no explanation as to how the app works. I've yet to test it because it is building something right now and it takes a long while to finish. From what i can make out , i think it builds some sort of scrolling cache and offloads them to GPU ? I don't know the internal android structure that well and analyzing the source if there is one , is beyond me. If there is a developer that can explain the intricate workings of this app to people , so people could stop comparing this to "snake oil" if it's legit , if it's not we can ask google to remove it from google play , that'd be great. Thanks.
The link to the article ;
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Spot...d-up-your-sluggish-Android-smartphone_id75851
I don't know if it is against forum rules to post links to articles , if it is please warn me and i will remove the link.
boltthrower56 said:
I don't know the internal android structure that well and analyzing the source if there is one , is beyond me. If there is a developer that can explain the intricate workings of this app to people , so people could stop comparing this to "snake oil" if it's legit , if it's not we can ask google to remove it from google play , that'd be great. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is this such a great deal?
Pros
* It seems to work
* It passed google's requirements and malware checks
* Does not need root
Cons
* Closed source
Just because we (you) can't comprehend how it works, is not a reason to question its viability.
Keeping it closed source and not revealing its workings is just a way to prevent competition and/or code copying.
There are lots of fake apps that pretend to be doing something you should be more worried about.
I wouldn't really worry about this one, but if you don't trust it, don't use it.
To answer your question; I would say its either one of these
* Animation caching
* Reducing element-sizes, and thus stretching it to save system resources (since the app needs to know you screen resolution)
* System optimizations for animations (Altho these things usually require root)
On a side note, since you are posting this on the Nexus 4 forums, I assume you own/use one. The article you linked clearly says older devices benefit more from this app, since newer/better devices already handle things pretty smoothly. This means that the result of this app on a Nexus 4 may be unnoticeable. Could it be that you question this app because you don't see any result?
MerynGoesAndroid said:
Why is this such a great deal?
Pros
* It seems to work
* It passed google's requirements and malware checks
* Does not need root
Cons
* Closed source
Just because we (you) can't comprehend how it works, is not a reason to question its viability.
Keeping it closed source and not revealing its workings is just a way to prevent competition and/or code copying.
There are lots of fake apps that pretend to be doing something you should be more worried about.
I wouldn't really worry about this one, but if you don't trust it, don't use it.
To answer your question; I would say its either one of these
* Animation caching
* Reducing element-sizes, and thus stretching it to save system resources (since the app needs to know you screen resolution)
* System optimizations for animations (Altho these things usually require root)
On a side note, since you are posting this on the Nexus 4 forums, I assume you own/use one. The article you linked clearly says older devices benefit more from this app, since newer/better devices already handle things pretty smoothly. This means that the result of this app on a Nexus 4 may be unnoticeable. Could it be that you question this app because you don't see any result?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No , it could not be because i had not tested the app when i wrote that. (Had you bothered to read , you'd know.) We question everything on this forum , that's how we learn. I did not assume that it was "fake" by the way , if that's why you're hostile (and arrogant). People on other forums compared this to "snake oil". I wanted to share the app with friends so it could grow. That's why i wanted to make out how it works. I can't share this app before knowing that it's not "snake oil".
When i said i'm not "that" affiliated with Android ecosystem , i didn't mean i'm illiterate btw.
Anyway , i could already make those out from the description of the app (Yes , i too read it ). I wanted more of a technical answer but thank you , nevertheless...
On a side note , In a help thread please just answer the question if you can , skip the lectures people didn't ask for. I asked "available devs" to explain the intricate workings of an app so as to clear the air , not only did you not provide that but you tried to give me a lesson on morality. Please refrain from doing that. And please do not write a lengthy and angry reply to this. I'm just not interested in arguing with you.
boltthrower56 said:
I don't know the internal android structure that well and analyzing the source if there is one , is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Made me think you were new to Android development and coding in general. Normally people like this with these questions do not want/need a specific and technical answer which is why I told you to not worry about it.
I don't know if it is against forum rules to post links to articles , if it is please warn me and i will remove the link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, made me think you were new here.
if it's not we can ask google to remove it from google play , that'd be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounded to me as if you just wanted it to be removed.
My post was not intended to sound the way you describe it, and reading it again I wonder how you came to the conclusion I was 'teaching you a lesson'. Just because I did not overflood my post with happy smileys and kind words does not mean I'm hostile and/or trying to be arrogant.
To me, your post sounds the exact same was as how you described mine.
That aside, here are my technical thoughs.
The app stores quite a lot of data on your phone, close to 7MByte on my phone, to an app-size of 2,86MByte, so I assume it makes use of some kind of caching.
It probably uses some other techniques for different element optimizations, meaning not all improvements are via caching.
My guess is it takes the animations it knows, and "replays" them, capturing the animation and storing it in its data for quick access. When you start the app and set it up, it needs time and says "building fast event for x action", which is why I think it works this way.
From the app:
When using the same smooth level, the better the GPU performance is, the smoother the operation wil be. If the GPU performance is not up to the demand, it may cause frame loss when sliding screen. Higher level may take longer time to start, a better CPU may take less time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The animation is probably "scaled" down in size, which makes it less computing-heavy. This also explains why the higher the setting, the longer it takes. (more compression = more computing power needed. Since a better CPU can do more instructions per second, it will be faster at rendering its own "database" of the animations, which is logical.
Not sure what the author meant with "better the GPU performance is, the smoother the operation will be". Operation could either refer to the process Super Touch does, or the process of animating the animation when using the phone. Personally I think this refers to using the GPU for rendering animations normally (without Super Touch), which can cause frame drops as he explains. GPU's with lower performance will have a harder time rendering an animation than a GPU with high preformance. Pre-rendering takes this load off of the GPU, making it more "smooth" in real performance.
With this method its can just 'grab' an animation from its memory and 'play' it instead of calculating it on-the-fly.
Looking at the permissions the apps needs, the app uses "draw over other apps". This is probably used to "show" the animations it stored instead of the animations of the app that is being used. How it is actually able to replace this animation is something Im not sure of.
The app has permission to run at startup, this is probably needed to "load" the core service that does this replacement.
I do not exactly know why it needs permission to read phone status & identity and change audio settings, but my guess would be that it is related to the power saving mode.
The developer offers no explanation as to how the app works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless he does, we can probably only assume how his app works. Decompiling the app and looking at the source might give you an answer, but this is not something I can help you with, mainly because my last decompiling experience is 3 or 4 years back.
Using it for 2 days. And I have to admit that it works, really well, without harming battery, which is a amazing win-win solution.
I asked on the Google play store and get the answer from the developer: the app offload the working process from the CPU to the GPU, hence everything gets much smoother and the performance level depends on your device's GPU.
After optimization, sliding is very smooth.