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I am new to android and the NC is my first device with the OS. I currently have a Storm 1 on Verizon and I hate it. I love Verizon's network but hate hate hate my phone. I'm out of contract and ready for a new phone.
With all the Verizon iPhone rumors, I'm conflicted. Do I get an iPhone when it most likely arrives on Verizon or an android phone that is already there to go along with the NC?
I'm asking this here as you all seem to know so much about android and the NC. I want to tether whatever phone I get to the NC. I'm a mac user solely and like the compatibility there and would have gotten an iPhone immediately a year ago. Now, after experiencing android, I'm not so sure anymore that I even need or want the iPhone.
What are your thoughts on the two paths in regards to phone/NC compatibility and also to a Mac/phone/NC relationship? I really want to sync data between all three fairly seamlessly. Would having devices running different OS's make things too tough or are there enough cross platform apps and functionality to make it not matter?
I fully understand that the NC's capabilities are a long ways from being fully tapped. This might also be moot as both probably can serve my purposes. Figured I would pick your brains and experiences.
Sent from my Nook Color
I have a Mac, iPhone 4 and NC right now and love all three. Apple's stuff are sexy and reliable but closed off. Android is less mature and lacks polish but has so much more potential. When I'm ready for my next phone, I'll look long and hard at an Android. If you like to.customize, I'd say go android. But I love my iPhone. You'll need to jailbreak it to unleash its potential.
Sent from my XDA app on my Nook Color
This is exactly my setup, Mac, iPhone, NC. Syncing, one word - Dropbox. There is entire cottage industry around Dropbox, your Mac, and iOS devices. I don't think you'll be hard pressed to find exactly what you need right there.
But out of curiosity what are you going to be using the NC for, light word, excel type documents, pdf's? I use mine mostly to read ebooks/pdf's, 90%. There are a lot of things in the cloud that are fairly platform agnostic, Evernote comes to mind and different calendar sync apps. Just iTunes search for various one's to sync with google if want it to go with your NC.
As far as Verizon and iPhone, we'll just have to wait. In the US we have it bad, as iPhone (limited by att) does not tether. It's shocking, because in the rest of the world people tehter their iPhones.
I'd say go with iPhone, best of all worlds here, Mac, iOS with iPhone, and Android with the NC. What's not to love, you have it all. That's speaking as a Mac user of course.
newton1666 said:
I'd say go with iPhone, best of all worlds here, Mac, iOS with iPhone, and Android with the NC. What's not to love, you have it all. That's speaking as a Mac user of course.
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Same. I love my i4 and I also love playing around with my rooted NC, I wish the phone could just dual boot both OS and I could be content with that magic phone for the rest of my life.
Each has his/her own preferences, it's really what you're looking for . . . I'd recommend spending time with a rooted android phone--not just the NookColor--before making a decision.
We're doing some amazing stuff here with the NookColor--considering what we started with--but this is barely scratching the surface of development on a device that's still running an eReader's stock ROM for crying out loud. That's not even to mention that it's based on (in tech years) an ancient version of android.
If you spend some time with a rooted Evo, Nexus S, or Droid X running a cyanogen ROM, I wouldn't even remotely say android is immature or lacks polish compared to iOS. If anything, I'd say it's the other way around.
I'm a former iPhone 4 and iPad owner, and I much prefer both my HTC Evo and the NookColor (even in its relatively primitive stage of development) over both of them (Plants vs Zombies is the only thing I miss, and it'll be on Android soon).
They say opinions are like a-holes: everybody has one . . . If that's the case, people having a-holes makes the world go 'round, because android would be much less interesting without iOS, and vice versa. I'd say go to stores where you can play with each OS' flagship devices for a while, check out the best each has to offer, and find what works for you.
I would actually say that stock android is better than stock iOS. But until android can support encryption out of box, I can't make the full switch because I can't sync with work.
Sent from my XDA app on my Nook Color
As usual, ask a question like this and you will end up getting every response possible if you wait long enough.
I know folks who love their Iphones and tether with them here in the US. Jailbroken, or whatever its called and some custom stuff, of course. So I don't think that needs to be an issue in the choice.
Android phones have excellent qualities out of the box though, and once they start being rooted and rom'd- fantastic, as far as I am concerned. The ability to customize and make them YOURS instead of the CARRIERS (at least in function and appearance) is far and beyond anything I have seen on an Apple phone.
There are some advantages to either, as always- if you are on the fence then I too would suggest trying to "spend some time" with both and see if that helps make the decision.
I appreciate all the responses. I know that everybody is different, but it's still nice to hear others experiences regarding their setup.
I an an architect by trade and my mac is my lifeline to do all my drawings and graphics, etc. I'd be lost without it. I won't be a hardcore user with all three phone/mac/NC in regards to work. I mainly want email, music, movies, contacts, calander, etc. to be able to be sync'ed between all devices. I make a change in one and I can update in all three.
I've been playing with both iPhones and rooted Android phones and it really is a tossup. I do like the idea of having the iPhone so if there are special iOS apps, I can get it and have the NC for any special Android apps. Best of both worlds. I also really have to wait and see how the Verizon iPhone will be. I'll play with it in store for awhile before I make a choice.
Then the next question is do I wait for the 4G Android phones to come out on Verizon? I'm content to wait until late 1st quarter 2011 until the dust settles on some of this. I just wanted to get some feedback from people on how their NC's are working with their phones, iPhone and Android.
Here's the article: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/13/nokia-our-first-priority-is-beating-android/
My first thoughts were....hahahaha! In their dreams.
Open source can't be beat, simple as that. But Google do need to come up with a better strategy for implementing their OS on the devices otherwise fragmentation will drive potential customers away.
In my view WP7 is a step backwards, the UI is horrible with home being filed with tons of tiles that you have to scroll through, no real multitasking, locked down like iOS etc, and now Nokia thinks that this move will beat Android. Are they that arrogant?
I did a speed test comparison between DHD and HD7 and WP7 got its ass smacked, it loaded apps/games much slower.
They should of made a better version of N900, that was not a bad phone but could of been a monster.
Your thoughts?
The day that Nokia has dominance over Android, I will get an iphone. I currently own the 1 and only Evo 4g, rooted, stock. (wireless tether of course).
yeah i think nokia is making a bad move
lol good old nokia trying to make a comeback...
I honestly don't know who even carries Nokia phones anymore They once made really nice phones. Windows mobile or phone 7 or what ever they are calling it this year is in the same boat imo. I carried wm since the HTC 8125. And year after year I pationatly waited for ms to get it right, and they never did. It did get better in terms of reliability but I still had to reset my tilt 2 a few times a week.
I think the team up could be good for them but I could care less.
To me, It's like 2 old men in your neighborhood teaming up and thinking they are gonna take back that snow shoveling biz that they had when they were kids all the while everyone already has the youngsters down the street with their self propelled snow blowers that knock out the jobs in no time.
They pissed off most of us loyal wm folks along time ago and you know how that saying about screw me once, screw me twice goes....not gonna happen to me.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Hmmnn, noki is not going anywhere except in your dreams
Speaking of steps backwards hows the whole no GPU accelerated UI treating you guys? I'm loving having a homescreen that doesnt look like an iphone ripoff. Nokia has an astounding market share in the European market, they have the power to help drive WP7 much higher. Call it a step backwards if you'd like. It's nice to not have to flash a new rom at least once a week to have a functional phone.
I like Nokias phones. My brother has the n8 and the camera is amazing! hopefully this works out and I'll get a nokia with a xenon flash
z33dev33l said:
Speaking of steps backwards hows the whole no GPU accelerated UI treating you guys? I'm loving having a homescreen that doesnt look like an iphone ripoff. Nokia has an astounding market share in the European market, they have the power to help drive WP7 much higher. Call it a step backwards if you'd like. It's nice to not have to flash a new rom at least once a week to have a functional phone.
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There it is, that's what I was waiting for.
UI is hardware accelerated on 2.3 and up, even 2.2 can have it with a minor file modification. How the no copy/paste going? Or hows the whole can't edit a email when forwarding going? When M$ bring out an update will you jump around like a little schoolgirl and call it innovation? C'mon man, the OS is seriously lacking the most important features, it's shameful.
Sure stock UIs layout is slightly like iPhones but looks nothing like it though. You see, I can make the UI looks how I want which fits my needs, not what a few guys think it should be.
Flashing ROMs has nothing to do with having a functional phone, it's only to improve it further and bring out the potential.
Nokia may help with a few sales but many longtime fans will turn around and look elsewhere for a phone to fulfill their needs.
Nokia wont ever beat android
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Why not??? Nokia will beat Android... Didnt u read the article?
ErOR22 said:
There it is, that's what I was waiting for.
UI is hardware accelerated on 2.3 and up, even 2.2 can have it with a minor file modification. How the no copy/paste going? Or hows the whole can't edit a email when forwarding going? When M$ bring out an update will you jump around like a little schoolgirl and call it innovation? C'mon man, the OS is seriously lacking the most important features, it's shameful.
Sure stock UIs layout is slightly like iPhones but looks nothing like it though. You see, I can make the UI looks how I want which fits my needs, not what a few guys think it should be.
Flashing ROMs has nothing to do with having a functional phone, it's only to improve it further and bring out the potential.
Nokia may help with a few sales but many longtime fans will turn around and look elsewhere for a phone to fulfill their needs.
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Click to collapse
Important features? in the 2 years I had android I can not remember a single occurrence in which I used C&P or needed to edit a forwarded email. Would it be nice? Sure. Is it necessary? Not at all. The point is while android has these features most of them are haphazardly thrown together and hardly functional where what WP7 has (even though it is lacking some features) truly works without having to jump through hoops. GPU acceleration is possible apparently on 2.3 plus but due to fragmentation and other issues it isn't implemented. If you can truly say the vibrant with its impossible lag or the dodgy touchscreen on the cliq or any of the other ill built phones were functional before custom roms your much more prone to fanboyism than I. It's nice to have a phone that really works, android was a low-end alternative to the iphone, putting it on high end devices is like throwing a Chevy cavalier engine in a lambo, it just makes them look bad except to the community thats always flashing roms which frankl, I dont have the time for any more.
I think Nokia partnering with Microsoft to make WP7 phones is a dumb move. Elop was quoted as saying Nokia is like being on a burning oil platform in the North Sea. So what he wants to do, is to jump onto another burning oil platform called WP7? I think it's entirely due to the fact that Elop is a former Microsoft exec!
I wasn't at all surprised, when I read an article yesterday that said investors were so upset with the news that Nokia stock price fell 14% and many Nokia employees were so upset, they used flex time and left work early.
What I think Nokia should have done, is partnered with Google and used Android. These new phones should be supplied with some kind of proprietary libraries or emulation that only works in Nokia phones to allow existing Symbian apps to run seamlessly. That way, it would provide a practical upgrade path for existing Nokia phone owners. This worked great for Apple when they went to OS X which was a completely different UNIX-based architecture, but used Rosetta to allow old PPC Mac OS apps to run. They could even market a play on words with Symbian related to symbiosis.
I just don't see how going to the smartphone platform with the least market share will help matters. WP7 has less market share than even old WinMo 6.x according to current stats.
GnatGoSplat said:
I think Nokia partnering with Microsoft to make WP7 phones is a dumb move. Elop was quoted as saying Nokia is like being on a burning oil platform in the North Sea. So what he wants to do, is to jump onto another burning oil platform called WP7? I think it's entirely due to the fact that Elop is a former Microsoft exec!
I wasn't at all surprised, when I read an article yesterday that said investors were so upset with the news that Nokia stock price fell 14% and many Nokia employees were so upset, they used flex time and left work early.
What I think Nokia should have done, is partnered with Google and used Android. These new phones should be supplied with some kind of proprietary libraries or emulation that only works in Nokia phones to allow existing Symbian apps to run seamlessly. That way, it would provide a practical upgrade path for existing Nokia phone owners. This worked great for Apple when they went to OS X which was a completely different UNIX-based architecture, but used Rosetta to allow old PPC Mac OS apps to run. They could even market a play on words with Symbian related to symbiosis.
I just don't see how going to the smartphone platform with the least market share will help matters. WP7 has less market share than even old WinMo 6.x according to current stats.
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Click to collapse
Your whole argument is based on the foundation that WP7 in 4 months didn't sell as much as WM did since 03? Really? Ya don't say? Their choices were either be just another fish in the android OEM pool that would have received no more attention and no more rights than any other or be THE manufacturer of WP7. Really though, why would you jump from marketing symbian to marketing some re-skinned version of android... that's like jumping from Windows ME to windows Vista. They're both buggy and both require tons of modification before they're usable. Android only sold because it was marketed by google and essentially looked like a low-end iphone for every carrier. WP7 is innovation, it currently lacks a few basic features but what it does have works and thats more than any other OS except iOS can say and honestly, who wants those hardware limitations and ugly UI?
Well, we all know what Vic Gundotra thinks about this...
z33dev33l said:
Your whole argument is based on the foundation that WP7 in 4 months didn't sell as much as WM did since 03? Really? Ya don't say? Their choices were either be just another fish in the android OEM pool that would have received no more attention and no more rights than any other or be THE manufacturer of WP7. Really though, why would you jump from marketing symbian to marketing some re-skinned version of android... that's like jumping from Windows ME to windows Vista. They're both buggy and both require tons of modification before they're usable. Android only sold because it was marketed by google and essentially looked like a low-end iphone for every carrier. WP7 is innovation, it currently lacks a few basic features but what it does have works and thats more than any other OS except iOS can say and honestly, who wants those hardware limitations and ugly UI?
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Click to collapse
No, my whole argument is based on WP7 being a sales FAIL. The comparison to WM is only a point of reference, because it's generally well accepted that except for a few fanboys, nobody likes WM.
No, their choices were to use Android, a product that people actually WANT, vs WP7, a product that nobody wants. It doesn't matter how awesome or innovative you may think WP7 is, if nobody wants it, nobody's going to buy it. So if Nokia wants to make money, and unless I'm mistaken, but all companies exist to do one thing and that is make money, they should choose the platform that makes money rather than one nobody wants.
You're saying iOS has an ugly UI? Compared to WP7? Seriously? For most people I know (and according to sales figures, most people worldwide), the UI is what turned them off to WP7 and drove them to Android or iOS.
z33dev33l said:
Important features? in the 2 years I had android I can not remember a single occurrence in which I used C&P or needed to edit a forwarded email. Would it be nice? Sure. Is it necessary? Not at all. The point is while android has these features most of them are haphazardly thrown together and hardly functional where what WP7 has (even though it is lacking some features) truly works without having to jump through hoops. GPU acceleration is possible apparently on 2.3 plus but due to fragmentation and other issues it isn't implemented. If you can truly say the vibrant with its impossible lag or the dodgy touchscreen on the cliq or any of the other ill built phones were functional before custom roms your much more prone to fanboyism than I. It's nice to have a phone that really works, android was a low-end alternative to the iphone, putting it on high end devices is like throwing a Chevy cavalier engine in a lambo, it just makes them look bad except to the community thats always flashing roms which frankl, I dont have the time for any more.
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lol wut?
This is basic functionality I use most days. Even if I used it monthly the whole point is that when I need it it's there, thats the power of android. You don't need all the features every day, but when you do need it its all there ready.
I will take a speedy UI and no c&p over the opposite any day. No one dropped wp7 and turned to Android or IOS because of the UI. No one has used wp7 because they're a fanboy of either of the other oses and think anything else is wrong. Wp7 in its first poor iteration has a more complete feeling than any of the 30ish Android devices I've owned and that's just sad. Wp7 is small now because people fear change regardless of how much smoother the user experience is.
z33dev33l said:
I will take a speedy UI and no c&p over the opposite any day. No one dropped wp7 and turned to Android or IOS because of the UI. No one has used wp7 because they're a fanboy of either of the other oses and think anything else is wrong. Wp7 in its first poor iteration has a more complete feeling than any of the 30ish Android devices I've owned and that's just sad. Wp7 is small now because people fear change regardless of how much smoother the user experience is.
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Not true. The only fanboys I know are on this site. I've recently talked to many smartphone n00bs who are getting a smartphone for the first time. Just from playing with the phone in the showroom, they narrow it down to Android or iPhone. WP7 is never even considered. Some people will switch from Android to iPhone and vice versa. People on this forum excluded, I don't know anyone who has even considered going from iPhone to WP7 or Android to WP7. Even my wife, who isn't even remotely a fanboy, has no interest in WP7 simply because she doesn't like how, "it looks so plain and boring". Maybe people would love WP7 if they actually used it for awhile, but Microsoft can't even get them through the door, much less reel them in.
Wp7 needs a mascot like a bald guy in a turtleneck or a little green robot. Then it would be srsbiz.
Ok, well I figured instead of a thread where everyone just comes in and posts their favorite OS it would be nice to put a little bit more thought into our posts. So, what are your opinion on these 3 OSes and what would you say their strengths and weaknesses are? My opinions are as follows;
Android:
Strengths- Completely open source and all APIs readily available, huge market of apps, best hardware selection.
Weaknesses- Ugly and laggy user interface due to no hardware accelerated UI, OEM's additions to the UI generally suck, able to get viruses, terrible fragmentation, worst update process ever.
General opinion- It was fun but flashing roms at least once a week was getting annoying and the fact that the update process is generally non-existent is an annoyance. It's terrible knowing that if I went out and bought the latest 2.2-2.3 phone today it's highly unlikely that it would ever see 2.4 or whatever the next iteration might be.
___________________________________________________________________
iOS:
Strengths- Best supported OS and devices on the market to date, fluid UI, best market, always nice devices, best update process imaginable, Netflix.
Weaknesses- Hideous UI, severe hardware limitations, not as open as android.
General opinion- Apple is scared to change a tried and true formula and though the minuscule 3.5 inch screen may be fine for some for me and many others it's just dated. The UI is just as cluttered as your average android UI though to their credit it is smooth.
___________________________________________________________________
Windows Phone 7:
Strengths- The hardware selection paired with Xbox live and new titles like Ilomilo and Fable Coin Golf make it the best mobile gaming platform in my opinion (iOS would take the cake but I cant game on a screen that tiny), the UI is refreshingly new and intuitive and does not lag, great update process, Netflix, great hardware selection.
Weaknesses- very few APIs open to developers, limited app market by comparison to the other two, "very locked down" in most peoples opinions, not much room for customization.
A lot of people are scared of Windows Phone either because they had a terrible experience with Windows Mobile or they were one of the few who had a great experience with WinMo and didn't want it to change. If you want an OS that is great out of the box that you don't have to build on then in my opinion this is your guy. I've used about every mobile OS out there and this is the only one that has really stuck to me. The uniformity across the OS and the way everything is so well integrated could not have been done better. I admit it has a ways to go before it can keep up with some of the bigger fish in the sea but for the time being the overall user experience is so good that I don't mind at all. Not once on android did I find a game I enjoyed half as much as Ilomilo or Fable Coin Golf. It really is better than most give it credit for.
well, i wanna add something to the iOS section. After the last update, the iPhone 3g has become laggy. All i wanna say is that apple doesn't care much about how its old devices "act" with its new iOS.
I have an android phone (gs3) but i can't say much about that OS, because I have had it for 1 month.
I don't have any experience with win phone 7 OS. But I have heard good things.
Android
Strengths: Open source which leads to several choices to software (ROMs) and hardware. Based on Linux. As an open system it's available for experimenting and learning.
Weaknesses: Market haven't reached it's potential yet. Google needs to control the fragmentation.
General Opinion: I prefer Android due to the strenghs I just mentioned.
iPhone
Strengths: Best market in the phone industry, smoother interface than the rest.
Weaknesses: Apple is the worst company in terms of options. It want everything to be done by it's means. iPhone is the most expensive phone (not only terms of apps) as sometimes you must pay for an update.
General Opinion: iPhone -as a device- is a great device. But I realy dislike the policy of Apple in almost everything. Apple treats its customers as robots by not giving them option ands sometimes by -almost- comanding them what they should like. Famous Jobs phrase says it all: "People don't know what they want until you show it to them"
Windows Phone 7
Strengths: Not a major one.
Weaknesses: To many to write down...
General Opinion: Indifferent.
z33dev33l well done for opening this post. It should be intresting.
z33dev33l said:
Android:
Strengths- Completely open source and all APIs readily available, huge market of apps, best hardware selection.
Weaknesses- Ugly and laggy user interface due to no hardware accelerated UI, OEM's additions to the UI generally suck, able to get viruses, terrible fragmentation, worst update process ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using the Android OS since dec 08 and never had one virus. Hell on my evo I download torrents on it all the time and not once have I ever had a virus.
Android and iOS scale rather well from phone to tablet. WM really doesn't. Also WM doesn't even begin to have the ecosystem (users, developers, apps, etc.) that Android and iOS do.
Android's biggest issue right now is a lack of some of the kind of commercial apps that iOS does, like the iWork suite. I am seriously considering getting an iPad 2 depending on how much it's going to cost to get my MBP serviced.
Ultimately, it's about the tools you need. I love my EVO 4G which I wouldn't trade for the world. But I also need to be productive and "get stuff done" and so whether that's Mac OS X or Windows 7 on a laptop, or iOS on a tablet, I'm going to use the best tool(s) I can find.
I use an Android on my private phone (HTC Legend) and don't want to miss it again.
In comparison to that i have an company phone (HTC HD7) with Windows Phone7 and it is frustrating to see a good hardware phone with such a bad software -> to many things are not working.
Two examples:
Downloading some pictures from the windows phone only works with one software ... on an other operating system you really have a problem to get the pictures without syncing them over the cloud
Or synchronizing mails and calendar with an Exchange-Server without an official SSL certificate ...
I never had such problems on Android or Symbian ...
If I worked for a company which required me to wear a phone, then I would accept (not necessarily gladly, to be sure) whatever phone they issued, and I would ensure it was THEIR problem to resolve any difficulties, limitations, or whatever else regarding operational capabilities.
My attitude in such matters is a rather unsympathetic "Hey, you people made the bed, so now you can sleep in it".
well, i wanna add something to the iOS section. After the last update, the iPhone 3g has become laggy. All i wanna say is that apple doesn't care much about how its old devices "act" with its new iOS.
I have an android phone (gs3) but i can't say much about that OS, because I have had it for 1 month.
I don't have any experience with win phone 7 OS. But I have heard good things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the addition, my first iphone was the iphone 4 so I don't know about all of the old stuff.
Android
Strengths: Open source which leads to several choices to software (ROMs) and hardware. Based on Linux. As an open system it's available for experimenting and learning.
Weaknesses: Market haven't reached it's potential yet. Google needs to control the fragmentation.
General Opinion: I prefer Android due to the strenghs I just mentioned.
iPhone
Strengths: Best market in the phone industry, smoother interface than the rest.
Weaknesses: Apple is the worst company in terms of options. It want everything to be done by it's means. iPhone is the most expensive phone (not only terms of apps) as sometimes you must pay for an update.
General Opinion: iPhone -as a device- is a great device. But I realy dislike the policy of Apple in almost everything. Apple treats its customers as robots by not giving them option ands sometimes by -almost- comanding them what they should like. Famous Jobs phrase says it all: "People don't know what they want until you show it to them"
Windows Phone 7
Strengths: Not a major one.
Weaknesses: To many to write down...
General Opinion: Indifferent.
z33dev33l well done for opening this post. It should be intresting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might I ask, have you yet to partake in a WP7 device?
Been using the Android OS since dec 08 and never had one virus. Hell on my evo I download torrents on it all the time and not once have I ever had a virus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because you've yet to recieve one doesn't mean they're not out there.
Android and iOS scale rather well from phone to tablet. WM really doesn't. Also WM doesn't even begin to have the ecosystem (users, developers, apps, etc.) that Android and iOS do.
Android's biggest issue right now is a lack of some of the kind of commercial apps that iOS does, like the iWork suite. I am seriously considering getting an iPad 2 depending on how much it's going to cost to get my MBP serviced.
Ultimately, it's about the tools you need. I love my EVO 4G which I wouldn't trade for the world. But I also need to be productive and "get stuff done" and so whether that's Mac OS X or Windows 7 on a laptop, or iOS on a tablet, I'm going to use the best tool(s) I can find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows Phone 7 is growing faster in terms of apps than either android or iOS did when it started and both of those are much more open. It also holds the strongest percentile increase in developer interest month after month.
iOS destroys in battery life. But I'm still Android after switching back. Too much pros then cons with Android.
Hey Guys Kyuubi10 here again.
I had a thought on my head and couldn't help but share to see if people have the same views as me.
I am currently disappointed with phones, tablets and computers...both on a hardware level and on a software level.
While I do see technology getting better each year I have a feeling that we are currently stuck in a cycle which the major companies are unwilling to break.
Let me go deeper into detail. But to make this thought comprehensive to most people I'll try to organise it by topic.
Software:
Most developers nowadays have a huge disregard for code efficiency, and as such the advancement into making code more efficient has slowed almost to a halt. Because our devices are becoming each day more powerful, developers don't care anymore about creating applications which don't consume RAM, nor applications which are bug-free on release.
Instead buggy applications are released, which consume loads of RAM, because a future update will fix bugs, and devices will get better and have more RAM.
Thus new and inexperienced developers are not being taught the value in making an efficient program.
And this annoys me.
This brings me to Java, and Android. While I love android and what it stands for, the fact that it still runs mostly on Java annoys me. Java being hated by most developers, and being seen as a backward step in the development world is one of the major programming languages in today's world.
Google, being a great company should set up an institution made to further programming standards, and through such institution it should begin laying the foundations for a new programming language to be used with Android.and it's focus should be efficiency.
Also, highly disappointed in the progress of Windows 10. Mentioned to be a revolutionary step for Windows....yet it is simply a reworked GUI for Windows 8. It still even has the charms!!! All that was done was to make Windows store apps open within windows rather than fullscreen, and fixed a couple bugs. Oh yeh, and Cortana...which seems more like a spy than a virtual assistant. It actually refuses to work unless you let it monitor your location. Why does it need so much info?
Microsoft Edge feels like a beta testing version. I thought that they would at least incorporate some Internet Explorer functionality to Edge. But it is not even recognized as a browser by certain websites. At this moment in time IE is still better than the "revolutionary" Edge.
You are still better off with Firefox or Chrome.
On the Linux side of things...it still annoys me that there is very little support for Linux. But that has enough complaints on the internet to make its own case, I'll avoid repeating everything all over again.
Instead I'll make a complaint about Android. Why is almost no-one building an android port which works well as a desktop OS?
Why are we still limited between OSX, Windows and Linux (which has little support)?
Android has been around long enough...but very few people are making an effort in creating a fully functional version of android for desktop.
The way I see it is that Android is based on Linux...it should contribute back to the Linux community. Someone should use a well established Linux distro and mix it with Android. If their runtimes are incompatible then a technology such as CoLinux or UML could be used to run both at the same time. While also using KSM to keep RAM consumption to a minimum.
This could be well supported by Google (Now Alphabet), and the community.
Hardware:
While the development of CPUs is going strong, with Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm and MediaTek trying to best each other...Other things aren't doing quite as well. Especially RAM. This mostly being the fault of OEMs, trying to keep costs as low as possible while squeezing every cent from their customers.
This is highly noticeable when you get Tablets which are up to 4x bigger than a phone and have the same amount of RAM as a phone. This kills multitasking abilities in our modern day devices.
We already have 64-bit CPU chips...why isn't it yet common for our devices to have 4GB+ of RAM? Asus showed that it's possible with its Zenfone 2.
How long will it take other OEMs to follow suit? The progress in this area has been too slow over the years.
Again, especially for tablets. Those things should have been reaching 6GB or more within 2014 and 2015. We definitely have the technology to do it.
While for desktop and laptops I'd love to see qualcomm and Nvidia to step up into this market with their ARM based chips.
It would be interesting to see a mix of Dedicated graphics interacting with an ARM CPU...I wonder if that is possible.
But the advantages of ARM chips are undeniable...They have even started to appear into the server market, and yet nothing for personal PCs. This is sad. The battery reduction, heat reduction achieved by such chips would make computers so much more powerful. But advances in this area are also moving foward too slowly even though we already have the technology to do it.
Security
But this annoys me most of all. The lack of focus about security.
While technology increases, it seems that no one is worrying about the security of new devices etc...
I mean, if someone stole my smartwatch all they would have to do is reset it and they could connect it to their smartphone as if I had never owned it.
That breaks my heart.
How hard is it to create a pair of symmetrical encryption keys, or 2 pairs of asymmetrical ones (if you want to be paranoid), in order to make sure that the smartwatch works only with that specific smartphone which has the correct keys.
This would also mean that if the owner wanted to use a second device to connect to their smartwatch it would be fine and safe as long as they have the correct keys. Thus improve functionality and safety with one blow.
With a whole load of smart devices being offered currently and very few of them have any security whatsoever! It annoys me deeply.
Obviously there are other security issues all of which have already been extensively discussed, such as encryption while surfing the web as default, efficiency of current standards etc...
As a solution I believe that the major tech companies in the world should get together and make a consortium with the purpose of advancing technology.
The idea is that once a new technology/protocol/standard is introduced by one of these companies then the others test it extensively, and if it is found to improve current technology they all adopt it. Because the main issue is that while many solutions exist, they are not wide spread because most companies don't use these solutions.
But if the most significant companies in the tech industry lead the way by using the new technologies, then by default the other smaller companies will follow.
But such a consortium needs to exist in order to avoid useless competition.
Competition is good when it is a force to improve current standards, not when it isolates another company's improvements by rejecting their solutions.
I agree with most of your points but I have to disagree in regards to Windows 10. As Microsoft explained it will be continuously improved. I think with Win 10 they finally listen to its customers (more than 90% satisfied). In my opinion 10 is far, faaar better then 8 and I think its developing is going into the right direction.
As this is about more than smartphones... And not about anything in specific... I'm moving this to the off topic section. :good:
Thanks,
Darth
Forum Moderator
Darth said:
As this is about more than smartphones... And not about anything in specific... I'm moving this to the off topic section. :good:
Thanks,
Darth
Forum Moderator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hehe, I found no thanks button. So I'll reply instead! Thank you! )
markdc said:
I agree with most of your points but I have to disagree in regards to Windows 10. As Microsoft explained it will be continuously improved. I think with Win 10 they finally listen to its customers (more than 90% satisfied). In my opinion 10 is far, faaar better then 8 and I think its developing is going into the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, you bring a good point. But this comes back to what I said that developers now are not worried about bringing a great product into the market, they bring an unfinished project which will then be updated as time goes on.
In fact what people are happy about Windows 10 is more due to the GUI changes. (No full screen apps, start button is back where it belongs.)
While my complaint comes more from the fact that they took a really long time to build Windows 10, and it still is Windows 8 with a different GUI. Which makes me think, what did they do with the huge time they took developing it?
Personally, I liked Windows 8... Yes it had its flaws, but it was revolutionary. It was magnitudes faster than Windows 7, albeit it had many glitches. But those were ironed out with 8.1.
It was Microsoft's first attempt at merging their mobile OS to their Desktop one. And to me this was a great idea, and improvement.
Windows 10 on the other hand doesn't feel as revolutionary as they claimed, from a technical perspective. Yes from a business perspective, it is something new, but not the software itself.
Can you see my argument?
But you are right, and I agree with you in the fact that it is moving in the right direction. I hope that Microsoft's push to mix a mobile OS and a desktop OS will inspire Google to do the same to its Android OS.
Chrome OS just doesn't truly feel like a proper OS.
Hi all, new to the forum so thought I'd do this as my first post,
I have had android since it came out in 2008 on the G1 phone, having it for so long I fancied a change so traded my s6 edge plus for an iPhone 6s.
I had the iPhone for 2 weeks but really didn't get on with it, I'm not saying it's a bad phone but coming from an OS which is hugely customisable /tweekable I couldn't deal with the lack of deep editing and customisation so here are my pros and cons:
Ios:
Pros:
Really easy to use, a child could competently use one in a matter of hours,
Worked really well with my macbook air
Looks lovely.
No worries about malware or crap ad pushing apps.
Apple pay was brilliant
3d touch was great.
Updates are immediate after release and consistent.
Huge array of quality 3rd party accessories
Cons
Battery life was shocking,
Screen resolution is very dated and looks nowhere near as good as my androids
Camera was not as good and the macro was terrible
It felt like I didn't own the phone but was leasing it from Apple.
No customisation, the menus etc look so dated
No resizable keyboard,
Live wallpapers are extremely limited and didn't work well
No widgets
No sd card
Couldn't use it as a mass storage device.
ITunes has to be used for everything, and that's a bag of poop,
Replying and starting threads on the fretboard is a pain in the arse, they keyboard was constantly in the way of what I was typing.
The biggest thing for me was the fact you couldn't get into the system files,
I had the 16 version and had 1.2gbs worth of apps but 5gb of documents and data after 3 days if use! After a lot of research it's a known big issue they have not addressed And you can't do anything about it at all so half my storage was taken up by rubbish.
Android:
Pros:
Total freedom to customise everything,
Themes
Better camera
Better screen
Apps are cheaper or free
Much better battery life (from the phones I have had)
Cheaper
Integration with cloud and Google is phenomenal,
Can be used as mass storage and any file type can be played
Cheaper to insure
More storage space, and you can get rid of stuff you dont need.
The list goes on...
Cons:
Anyone can make an app so there is a load of crap, you have to do your homework on the apps available
Potential for malware (but this is nowhere as much of an issue as apple and the media make out, as long as you dont sideload apps.
Updates reliant on oem and carrier.
So after two weeks I sold the iPhone and got a HTC 10 which for me is better in literally every way.
I found on the iPhone I was using all of Google services and none of apples (drive, chrome Gmail etc)
Sifr is also nowhere near as good as Google now, and felt extremely limited compared.
I can totally see why people would stick with an iPhone as it does just work and works well but for me it's far to limited and had to find too many work arounds to get it to do what I want,
On the other hand my macbook air is the greatest laptop I have ever used and I would never buy anything else in the future.
So this is def not an apple bashing thread these are purely my direct experiences and fancied writing them down
In my opinion, both these platforms are slick, stable and secure, with thousands of apps available. Android is undoubtedly more customisable; iOS, you might argue, is a little more polished (especially on tablets). Visually they're quite distinctive too, taking different design approaches.
I prefer Android, and I think I always will prefer Android. I always was a Google & Android fanboy, and the fact that I mostly use only Google service, proves I couldn't be an iPhone user. Also, iOS is not open-source, which blocks customization and more. Plus, I don't like Siri
morozshaun said:
I prefer Android, and I think I always will prefer Android. I always was a Google & Android fanboy, and the fact that I mostly use only Google service, proves I couldn't be an iPhone user. Also, iOS is not open-source, which blocks customization and more. Plus, I don't like Siri
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest that was the turning point for me, I did use any of apples apps all Google, they're leagues ahead, def proud to be a Google fanboy
I find iPhones to be slow, unstable, unreliable, unpolished, counter-intuitive and extremely limited. They have mediocre cameras, mediocre screens, crappy battery life, and NO MICROSD SLOT. Also, iOS is very difficult to use and SIRI SUCKS. I don't want all these problems in a >$750 device that can only run one operating system.
Google Voice may finally be available for the iPhone, but the experience will never be the same as it is on Android. Other iPhone apps always direct you to the default dialer and visual voicemail apps, so even if you want to use Google Voice full time, you have to manually navigate it to yourself. On Android, apps like Google Voice integrate directly with the operating system—if you want to make calls with Google Voice, every call you make from the phone's dialer goes through Google Voice. When you click on a phone number in your browser or in Google Maps, it goes through Google Voice instead of sending you to the wrong dialer. True app integration like this makes using custom phone, SMS, voicemail, and even browser apps absolutely seamless on Android, which is something you won't find on the more locked-down iPhone platform.
I should add that to my rant. I appreciate some of what Apple has done (most of it happened before I was born), but locking down everything is not one of them. Apple would've gone broke if it wasn't for their iPod. Part of the reason: Locking their stuff like that and being proprietary. Also, Apple products are not compatible with my real-world personality. I like freedom and to have control over what I own, and Apple products look, feel, and function like someone else's device. I want my stuff to look, feel, and function like my stuff. So I guess I am an Apple hater, but I won't yet call myself an Android fanboy. And, no, I am not the one person in the world with a Windows phone. I hate Windows for different reasons. So I guess I can only enjoy using a Linux-based OS on desktop and laptop computers. And OSes like Android and Sailfish on mobile.
In case you want a summary of what I said, you can call me an Apple and/or MS hater, or a Linux lover, I don't care. But don't call me an Android fanboy. I like Android, but I am willing to try other OSes if they fit my personality of freedom, customization, simplicity, transparency, and reliability.
of course android=open source!!!
andriod are more customable and modable
At that moment using both iOS and Android. The only thing i really hate about android is that after some time device starting to perform really poor lagging freezing and so on and you cannot fix it by doing hard reset wiping all your data, it helps a little but its barely helps. So i cannot recommend to buy for inexperienced users android devices for a long term use. Long story short, i bought nexus 7 tablet when it was just released, it was super fast and smooth. Didn't install any os updates on it and after 1 year i couldn't enjoy it anymore, constantly lagging. Never experienced the same with iOS, always smooth, but yeah it has lots of limitations.
Nexus devices are meant to be tinkered with so they will slow down unless you mess with them. My cheap tablet had no noticeable slowdown in 4 years. iOS doesn't slow down because it is already slow.
Daniel Marchena recently wrote an article for XDA that relates to this topic and I think he made some good points on Android vs IOS. What it comes down to for me though is the fun of hacking the device. I personally had a lot of fun jailbreaking the iPhone, and iMessage is some of the coolest stuff ever. Although after switching to Android I don't think I'm ever going to go back. It's nicer being encouraged to play with Android then playing cat and mouse with Apple.
both are very different working platform, I use to be a IOS user iPhone 2g but after iPhone 4s i made a desicion to switch to android, with android has so much possibilites, you can do more with an android then an iPhone, iPhone is pretty basic and yeah a child could use... One thing i noticed is that gaming on an Iphone is much better with good FPS.. there hardware is so much optimized with the software.. currently using S7 edge and really happy with it, except some minor issues.. Glad to have a headphone jack though