Android Underwhelmed by Android...

[raulpica]

That could have been a legitimate argument but it crumbles apart instantly due to the fact that iOS does not support multitasking.

Installed apps ≠ Active apps

 

[LockeCole_101629]

people pick android just because it's cheaper, and it just do whatever other device do, minus the exclusive though (like BBM for blackberry, or anything that exclusive for iPhone).

if both could reach a point where the price is similar... then, the result may change.
Although, doesn't matter what devices they release, android phone/table is pretty much crap anyway (ofcourse this is my personal opinion, no flame intended)

 

[smizzoker123]

such a refreshing/ informative debate, without it devolving into fanboy troll shit you see on so many other sites. sorry to stray off topic, i love this site. they both have their qualities and negatives,but for me there is some much more choice in phones/prices. you go with iOS your stuck with iphone/pad(i believe), with android you can go with really cheap/affordable to top of the line/ expensive.

 

[Rydian]

..the app drawer? You know, that thing with the apps in? You get to it by pressing the little circle with like 6 dots in it. Anyone? Just me?

Oh, the full display of apps? Yeah I only pop into that to launch stuff I use very rarely, and yeah it being a grid is meh on usability.

Yes, but if you use the desktop for that, why is there an app drawer? The home screens/desktop only work to solve a problem that shouldn't exist.

Why does Windows have a desktop when you have a start menu with a program list, and explorer windows to view and manage files?

Because there's some things you will use often, and other things you will not.

I was not commenting on iOS. I actually specifically said I have never used it.

I was letting you know it's not an Android design choice.

It's... an everything choice.

But OP is talking about phones. Yes?

Ues, but OP and you seemed concerned about some design choices, which is why I'm pointing that out.

So having that widget is helping you in those situations?

Me personally no, I use it for a quick weather check when laying in bed or something. Just pointing out that the time isn't always visible, especially if you're using alternate launchers (like somebody showed).

Yet another problem with Android.

Something companies need to hold back on in the first place.

 

[McHaggis]

FWIW, I don't have the time in my status bar because I feel the status bar gets cluttered in Android. I have a widget displaying the clock and if I need to check the current time while using an app I can just touch-hold the status bar to see the time.

There's virtually nothing that an iOS device can do that an Android device can't. There are some games or apps available for iOS that aren't available for Android but the freedom you get from using an Android device more than makes up for it. When you buy an iOS device, you're basically saying:

• I don't care about interoperability.
• I don't care about customisation.
• I don't care about open standards.
• I don't care that I'm being exploited.

I think iOS is aimed at people who don't like having options. They like being controlled and told what to do. When some people are presented with a choice, they panic. iOS users are like the kids who live with their parents until they die and are constantly being told, "my house, my rules" or having their friends screened before letting them into the house out of fear they'll steal/break something. It was different when the iPhone first launched because there weren't many options and the platform was new and fresh.

Apple are the new Microsoft.

 

[AbyssalMonkey]

people pick android just because it's cheaper, and it just do whatever other device do, minus the exclusive though (like BBM for blackberry, or anything that exclusive for iPhone).

if both could reach a point where the price is similar... then, the result may change.
Although, doesn't matter what devices they release, android phone/table is pretty much crap anyway (of course this is my personal opinion, no flame intended)

But they will never reach a similar price point, Android will always be cheaper for the sheer fact that Google gives the software away for free, and Apple has a monopoly on their OS and has to develop it. Simple logic tells you that Android will be cheaper than iOS. Also, they have been on equal footing with both specs and price before (different occurrences) and Android won in specs when the price was the same, and it also won in price when the specs were about the same (or better).

Also, if you like how iOS looks, there are countless themes available to reskin your phone to look exactly like iOS (hell there are probably custom roms out there for the more popular phones that go into even more detail).

 

[Duo8]

Who would really want to reskin android into iOS anyway?
It's like taking a step backward.

 

[AbyssalMonkey]

Hey, I wouldn't, but it shows that the demand is out there. Just because it's a different OS doesn't mean that it doesn't have its perks to some people. Dismissing a particular theme because another competing OS is using it is illogical and goes against the very nature of android.

 

[cdoty]

$10 cheaper for generally much newer tech and faster performance? You see what I'm saying.

Again, I completely agree, but if you're torn between an iPhone and an Android device, price is no longer an advantage for Android.

 

[JulietStMoon]

Again, I completely agree, but if you're torn between an iPhone and an Android device, price is no longer an advantage for Android.

I understand, but that's not the point I was trying to make.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

I just can't believe the OP said that he preferred playing around with a Blackberry more than he did Android

If you take into mind what the BB OS5/6 was made for its quite good at it. Its not a gaming phone its a communications device and hell typing on that keyboard is rather nice too. It's also fairly customisable with custom roms my Bold 9700 runs Berrylious OS6 with a few extra customization of my own trimming some more fat from the OS

Not to mention the battery life is great on em and there rather solid devices, Only thing that bugs me is some parts of it relys on there own Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) but that lightened off anyway and there was a work around for that.

Maybe it was due to it being an underdog OS that I took to it more, or the device as a whole but for communications its great, not so much on the game front however so I spose that knocked off its mass market appeal.

But do remember this is just my opinion coming from someone who has messed with all the mobile OS's from Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm all the way up to today and maybe as such my views might be out dated or I just know what I like

 

[Danny600kill]

If you take into mind what the BB OS5/6 was made for its quite good at it. Its not a gaming phone its a communications device and hell typing on that keyboard is rather nice too. It's also fairly customisable with custom roms my Bold 9700 runs Berrylious OS6 with a few extra customization of my own trimming some more fat from the OS

Not to mention the battery life is great on em and there rather solid devices, Only thing that bugs me is some parts of it relys on there own Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) but that lightened off anyway and there was a work around for that.

Maybe it was due to it being an underdog OS that I took to it more, or the device as a whole but for communications its great, not so much on the game front however so I spose that knocked off its mass market appeal.

But do remember this is just my opinion coming from someone who has messed with all the mobile OS's from Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm all the way up to today and maybe as such my views might be out dated or I just know what I like

I agree with you on the keyboard point as I can type so quickly with a BB and to communicate it's quite good but they are so buggy, mine and every other BB that people I know have had has locked up/frozen/ and they take so long to do anything ( The little black timer thing haunts me to this day ), I think it's just because moving down from my HTC to a blackberry made me realise how outdated they are ( Not tried the new OS so I can't comment on that )

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

I agree with you on the keyboard point as I can type so quickly with a BB and to communicate it's quite good but they are so buggy, mine and every other BB that people I know have had has locked up/frozen/ and they take so long to do anything ( The little black timer thing haunts me to this day ), I think it's just because moving down from my HTC to a blackberry made me realise how outdated they are ( Not tried the new OS so I can't comment on that )

Nor have I, I would love to try my hand at a Z10 or Q10 There solid built and revamped software wise from the ground up in fact I have heard you can even use an app to load Android apps into a BB OS10 device

 

[Joe88]

blackberry is probably going to go belly up soon if things dont change
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1533632-blackberry-10-fail-now-what
people have been saying for them to ditch the whole bbos and just make android based business phones, its what hurt nokia when they decided to keep releasing symbian phones

 

[Rydian]

Who would really want to reskin android into iOS anyway?
It's like taking a step backward.

If Android had iOS's interface, I'd be happier with it.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

blackberry is probably going to go belly up soon if things dont change
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1533632-blackberry-10-fail-now-what
people have been saying for them to ditch the whole bbos and just make android based business phones, its what hurt nokia when they decided to keep releasing symbian phones

In fairness RIM unlike Nokia is trying to embrace change, Is it too little too late? Dunno yet though it would be a shame if they went under since as we know HTC and Nokia are not looking too healthy and I hate Samsung phones with passion xD

 

[PityOnU]

I'd like to post a few screenshots straight from my phone to completely invalidate every claim you just made against Android.

Here, look at my folders in my app drawer!

Spoiler

Here, look at my column, not grid, app drawer!

Spoiler

Here, look at my status bar not having a clock while no app is open, where a clock widget would come in handy!

Spoiler

Now, the first two are accomplished solely with Nova Launcher, a free launcher replacement (granted, I'm using the paid version (which is about $2), these features may or may not be available for free). Hey, that's something you can't do on iOS. The third is, I admit, due to a setting I can change in my custom rom, but I still feel it invalidates your argument because the possibility to make that clock disappear is completely there.

You said yourself, these are not features that are available in Android by default. The fact that there are (many, many, many) individual developers working to "fix" the OS and add features with third-party apps that should be there by default definitely says something about the openness of the platform, but also seems to indicate the features it comes with by default are not adequate. I would hazard that it is the extreme minority of user who could spend the hours and hours it takes to learn how to flash a phone, experiment with apps, and customize things so that the phone is usable for them. Not everyone has that much time - especially adults.

maybe YOUR eyes go all cross eyed when you have more than 6 apps in an app drawer.

I specifically said it's just me, so... Yes. Yes they do.

I'm perfectly used to it (hey, it's just like looking at a desktop on a Windows computer and I'm sure you get along fine with that).

I don't use desktop icons. They are inefficient when I can just start typing the program name to launch it. I'm confused as to why anyone would use them anymore. They existed to solve the problem of having to dig through start menu hierarchies in legacy versions of Windows without a search function. Most PC power-users avoid using the mouse whenever possible because it makes you take your hands away from the keyboard. Linux gurus will agree with me here.

It takes much longer to scroll down a list of 100 apps than it does to scroll down a 7x5 grid of apps,

That is well and truly debatable.

and if you memorize where your more frequently used apps are in relation to others, you can do it more or less autonomously.

Why should I have to do this? This makes no sense. "Remembering where your apps are is part of the game!"

I'll take a few icons and desktop pages as opposed to having 4 or 5 pastel rectangles on my screen that provide semi-relevant information.

HTC, Google, and Microsoft would all seem to disagree with you.

Also, time is by default shown in the top right, not top left, in every Android version I've seen.

Oops, my mistake. Most of my points are completely invalidated now.

 

[Sicklyboy]

You said yourself, these are not features that are available in Android by default. The fact that there are (many, many, many) individual developers working to "fix" the OS and add features with third-party apps that should be there by default definitely says something about the openness of the platform, but also seems to indicate the features it comes with by default are not adequate. I would hazard that it is the extreme minority of user who could spend the hours and hours it takes to learn how to flash a phone, experiment with apps, and customize things so that the phone is usable for them. Not everyone has that much time - especially adults.

So why put any programs on the phone then? If the phone is just being fixed, as you claim, by third party devs, then why install anything? My Android OS is as much a piece of shit as your iOS or Windows Phone platform then because it doesn't have every game conceivable to man, every variant of multimedia players, native apps for social media platforms that don't and won't exist for another 30 years... oh, hey, Microsoft, good job fixing Windows AND Mac OS by providing an office productivity suite that is much, much more powerful than Notepad/Wordpad/whatever Mac has.

In fact, by that same light, Windows is a piece of shit, Mac is a piece of shit, and any *nix distro is a piece of shit. They're all incomplete platforms.

I don't use desktop icons. They are inefficient when I can just start typing the program name to launch it. I'm confused as to why anyone would use them anymore. They existed to solve the problem of having to dig through start menu hierarchies in legacy versions of Windows without a search function. Most PC power-users avoid using the mouse whenever possible because it makes you take your hands away from the keyboard. Linux gurus will agree with me here.

A strong majority of smartphones lack a physical keyboard. You can't just start typing to pull up an app, and having your keyboard or IME of choice appear on screen after tapping a text box is usually not instant; you're usually waiting a second or two. Then again, on my phone, I know where my frequently used icons are both in my app drawer or my home screen. On my desktop computer, I again know where the icons to my frequently used programs are on my desktop.

That is well and truly debatable.

I couldn't think of anything better to illustrate the size of 100 apps in a list as opposed to a 5 column grid, so I pulled up excel (because Windows is incomplete).

Logic denotes it would take much longer to scroll through THIS (column of 100, so big I had to zoom out on a 1080p monitor to fit it all) than it would THIS (5 column grid). It takes a light swipe to navigate from the top to the bottom of my 62 item app drawer on a 4 column grid. List mode, it makes it about half way.

Why should I have to do this? This makes no sense. "Remembering where your apps are is part of the game!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory

HTC, Google, and Microsoft would all seem to disagree with you.

Let me rephrase that, I meant for the primary UI of a phone. The Play Store not being a primary UI (and I just search the app I need, seldom use the main screen of it) and the Xbox One isn't a phone. As far as the HTC phone, I still think it's stupid (it looks like a glorified picture browser from what they show, what else does it actually accomplish for me?), and it also contains the clock widget you hate so much.

Edit - installing a custom launcher, something you download off of the play store, which does not require root privileges except in certain cases, hardly equates to installing a custom rom.

 

[PityOnU]

So why put any programs on the phone then? If the phone is just being fixed, as you claim, by third party devs, then why install anything?

Although you are clearly over exaggerating in this case, I would agree that, yes, having to install third party programs to get basic functionality out of a phone OS is most certainly a shortcoming. I shouldn't have to install any programs at all and still be able to perform basic tasks in an efficient and easy-to-use manner. Replacing the launcher (you know, the main way you access your applications and information) because the default one does not have a lot of features/is not easy to use, should not be something that needs to be done on a phone.

My Android OS is as much a piece of shit as your iOS or Windows Phone platform then because it doesn't have every game conceivable to man, every variant of multimedia players, native apps for social media platforms that don't and won't exist for another 30 years...

In order:

1. I said nothing about games. They are extra and have nothing to do with basic functionality of the device. Do you seriously play games on your phone anyway?
2. Yes, not being able to play mainstream media formats out of the box sucks. Go ahead and tell me that it doesn't.
3. Not saying that Windows Phone is perfect - it is not - but just to point out: it does have native integration with Facebook and Twitter.

oh, hey, Microsoft, good job fixing Windows AND Mac OS by providing an office productivity suite that is much, much more powerful than Notepad/Wordpad/whatever Mac has.

I would actually agree with this. I would say an Office-compatible productivity suite is 100% necessary in today's world. It's already included standard in Windows RT and Windows Phone. So yes, thanks Microsoft - please start including Office with more things!

In fact, by that same light, Windows is a piece of shit, Mac is a piece of shit, and any *nix distro is a piece of shit. They're all incomplete platforms.

Well now you're just being mean You made me cry.

A strong majority of smartphones lack a physical keyboard. You can't just start typing to pull up an app, and having your keyboard or IME of choice appear on screen after tapping a text box is usually not instant; you're usually waiting a second or two.

You have used some horrible phones then. But yes - OSK's suck and I wish they'd bring back the candybar form factor.

Then again, on my phone, I know where my frequently used icons are both in my app drawer or my home screen. On my desktop computer, I again know where the icons to my frequently used programs are on my desktop.

I'm not saying the desktop is bad. I'm not saying having quick access to your most frequently used apps is a bad thing. I'm saying they exist to solve a problem on Android that should not exist. The app drawer is so cluttered and useless that at least one other user here never goes into it and uses his home screen exclusively. The grid is not easy to scan, purely and simply.

I couldn't think of anything better to illustrate the size of 100 apps in a list as opposed to a 5 column grid, so I pulled up excel (because Windows is incomplete).

Yes! C'mon Microsoft, include it already, damnit!

Logic denotes it would take much longer to scroll through THIS (column of 100, so big I had to zoom out on a 1080p monitor to fit it all) than it would THIS (5 column grid). It takes a light swipe to navigate from the top to the bottom of my 62 item app drawer on a 4 column grid. List mode, it makes it about half way.

Order both from smallest to largest. Now choose a number at random and locate it. I think I know which one will allow you to find it faster. You don't launch apps by scrolling through them quickly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrelated

Let me rephrase that, I meant for the primary UI of a phone. The Play Store not being a primary UI (and I just search the app I need, seldom use the main screen of it) and the Xbox One isn't a phone. As far as the HTC phone, I still think it's stupid (it looks like a glorified picture browser from what they show, what else does it actually accomplish for me?), and it also contains the clock widget you hate so much.

Let's play "Count the semi-relevant colored squares that aren't icons"

Windows Phone
Windows 8
PlayStation 4
OUYA
Beautiful Widgets (as well as many of the standard widgets)

Edit - installing a custom launcher, something you download off of the play store, which does not require root privileges except in certain cases, hardly equates to installing a custom rom.

I never said it did. Also, brb, I'm going to get a shell replacement for Windows.

EDIT: As the be all and end all here - Android is an amazing platform if you use your phone as a TOY. You can play with and customize it for hours and hours without ever getting bored. However, if you want to use your phone as a TOOL, then you may be better off with a different platform.

 

[Zerousen]

I think one of the points people are missing is, Android doesn't necessarily come with all of the features, but they are given the option to have them. iPhones have the option of jailbreaking, which lets them change things UI wise, but Android lets you root, and change how the device works as a whole. I think the problem here is that, people are saying too much without really knowing much about the other, or having spent enough time on them to really understand.

If Android had iOS's interface, I'd be happier with it.

And that can be done, with a custom theme and the right ROM with the right features.

You said yourself, these are not features that are available in Android by default. The fact that there are (many, many, many) individual developers working to "fix" the OS and add features with third-party apps that should be there by default definitely says something about the openness of the platform, but also seems to indicate the features it comes with by default are not adequate. I would hazard that it is the extreme minority of user who could spend the hours and hours it takes to learn how to flash a phone, experiment with apps, and customize things so that the phone is usable for them. Not everyone has that much time - especially adults.

I wouldn't say that developers are working to fix them, I think it's more of like an extension of those features. Also, they don't all really come in the form of an app. Many of the optimizations and features are added in/included in custom ROMs, and those features are often open sourced so that other developers may use them to their liking. As for learning how to flash a phone, it shouldn't really take too long at all if you're fairly used to handling a computer and can read or watch a 5 minute video on doing so, although I guess you're right, as not everyone is able to do so. In that case, an iPhone probably would be the better choice.

As the be all and end all here - Android is an amazing platform if you use your phone as a TOY. You can play with and customize it for hours and hours without ever getting bored. However, if you want to use your phone as a TOOL, then you may be better off with a different platform.

Android can be used as a tool just as well as any other platform. Of course, it can also be used as a toy too.