droid already a day old loaf of bread

[jacwashere7]

Motorola Droid: Why It's Already a Loaf of Day-Old Bread - PCWorld

 

[Needsdecaf]

Motorola Droid: Why It's Already a Loaf of Day-Old Bread - PCWorld

I am going to start requiring that everyone who writes a "doom and gloom to android" article pays me a nickel.

I'll be retired by Christmas.

 

[(G)]

In case you hadn't noticed, PCWorld is nothing but a bunch of iPhone fanboys. They never EVER review any Android apps, yet there are half-a-dozen iPhone apps reviewed every day. They used to be good, then they drank the Apple Kool-Aid.

 

[GolfnDroid]

I bet the douche nozzle that wrote this does not own a Droid. My Droid does not feel like a day old loaf of bread, it feels like freshly baked Garlic Cheddar Biscuits right out of the oven. The transparent slant to the article is laughable and I for one enjoy day old loaves of bread does that make me weird?

 

[stevonyc34]

I love day old bread...great for making croutons!

anyways, i am running google earth on my droid so what do these guys know?


Yesterday, Google announced Google Earth for Android. It looks neat-and it requires Android 2.1, so it won't run on the less-than-four-months-old Droid. That'll get fixed when Verizon rolls out an update for the Droid, which may happen soon. But it points out frustrating, potentially crippling issues with Android: The platform is splintering, and it's changing so rapidly that the majority of Android handsets feel stale. Even the Droid-I'm not sure if it's a coincidence that Amazon is selling it for fifty bucks, or one-quarter of Verizon's original after-rebate price.

 

[sooper_droid12]

If you guys don't believe that the Android platform is fractured, then you are delusional and the only fan-boys are the ones on this thread. The fact of the matter is, Android IS VERY fractured. The hurried release of the latest and greatest devices within months of each other CANNOT be helping Android. It only serves to dilute the market and continue the fracturing. Since DROID owners will be getting 2.1 sometime soon (whatever that means), maybe we feel okay about it.

But what if our device was left in the dust? The valid point here is that the iPhone OS DOES only get updated once a year and that update is available and compatible with all iPhone devices. What you have then is a cohesive, connected platform, devoid of gaps and those left behind. It's the kind of attention to the consumer that is the reason there are so many Apple fan-boys. For all the attention that we put on "lag" in the OS performance, there should absolutely be NO LAG when it comes to updating devices. Right now, there should only be two Android OS on phones: 1) 1.6 for lesser devices, 2) 2.1-update1 for higher-end devices. And they should be pushed at the same time. Android should not be a world where there is 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.1-update1 and whatever intermediate releases (i.e. the current CLIQ update).

 

[CobaltDragon]

For the record, nearly every piece of technology is outdated by the time it hits retail shelves. There is ALWAYS something newer and better in the pipeline, just hours or days or weeks away from release. The Droid is no different, Moto itself will come out with newer, better, cooler phones.

Second, almost every OS fractures to some degree. Do you think Apple can support all the features of iPhone OS 4 on all the previous versions of the iPhone? No, not a chance. Same with WinMo phones, at some point the previous generations of hardware simply can't support the new version of the OS and applications that come out to support that new version. Android is no different, it will fracture more, especially in the early days as Google adds heaps of new features in quick cycles in an attempt to catch up to and surpass Apple, MS, WebOS, etc. But, it won't kill Android, it will just be a part of how software and hardware evolves. I imagine at some point in the next year or so development will slow down and stabilize, and you'll see fewer, more major releases.

 

[sooper_droid12]

I hope you are correct and I think the tech community at large would like to see a more stable, less frequent, major release cycle for Android. But that "catch up" development mentality is what I really dislike about Android at the moment. It seems awfully lazy. Should it have really taken them 2.5 years to figure out they needed a better gallery element? Eric Tseng talked about a "Polish & Feel" department for Android. What the heck are they doing in there? Counting how much money their stocks are improving? But again, the valid point this article makes is that even at iPhone's infant state, the OS releases were a version/year. Because they don't issue updates mid-cycle, or even quarter-cycle. They make all the revisions they need to make and issue a major release, much to the applause of their constituency.

 

[jmccarthy14]

This"splintering"is something I knew about when I picked up my droid, and I still did. I think it was in one of my pre purchase posts here actually, I said the major advantage I see that the iphone has is long term support.

But that was the only one for me, so I got a droid. No regrets.

The splintering isn't an issue, no where near the level pcworld is making it out to be. Multilevel app development is simple. Sure some old phones don't have google navigation, but my iphone 1g didn't get video recording or mms sending with the updates purely to push me to buying a Slightly different, newer I phone.

There is not one reason off the top of my head that I would care about having 2.1 right now, especially motorola's dumbed down version. We still have the sharpest screen and once again the fastest clock cpu. There is now a phone with more ram/rom on a much worse network. Not a negligible boon, but I'll live I think.

Keep giving pc world hits for sensationalist articles btw. Guess what they'll keep writing.

 

[sooper_droid12]

Sure, it's a bit sensationalist, but I think it would be remiss for us to neglect the nugget of truth within the article. Like I said, the fragmentation now is negligible. But like any problem or issue you may have in life, if you don't nip it in the bud, the issue or problem just gets worse and harder to deal with later on. I mean just look at WinMo. Talk about too many OS iterations and fragmentation! This is precisely why WinPho will take a different approach to its adoption.

 

[sooper_droid12]

We still have the sharpest screen.

By the way, this is true. I was responding to a thread in the Nexus One forum about the 16-bit nature of the N1 screen (which it's not, it's 24-bit like the DROID). But what I did find out is that Samsung (who makes the AMOLED panel) employs a technology in their screen called PenTile Matrix, which uses a 2x2 sub-pixel structure (instead of the commonly employed 3x1) which amounts to less pixels. They call their AMOLED screens Visual VGA because while the spec sheet says the N1 screen is 800x480, it only appears to be 800x480. In fact, the resolution is far less. What VisualVGA does is fools the eye into seeing something more resolute when it actually is not. A company official said that it's not important for the consumer to know that all the pixels are there; what's important is what their eyes see. They used this technology to mitigate some inherent problems in AMOLED applications, for example, the accelerated blue pixel aging in OLED displays.

 

[BucYouUp68]

In case you hadn't noticed, PCWorld is nothing but a bunch of iPhone fanboys

And they must be Hypocrites, because there Mag and Website says PC. I did not think a MAC, was a pc.

 

[EMSguy]

PC World (magazine) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"McCracken quit abruptly because the new CEO of PC World, Colin Crawford, tried to kill an unfavorable story about Apple and Steve Jobs.[5] Crawford responded, calling media reports of McCracken's resignation "inaccurate."[6] CNET later reported that McCracken had told colleagues that IDG "was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers.""

 

[Jerry-rigged]

But what if our device was left in the dust? The valid point here is that the iPhone OS DOES only get updated once a year and that update is available and compatible with all iPhone devices. What you have then is a cohesive, connected platform, devoid of gaps and those left behind. It's the kind of attention to the consumer that is the reason there are so many Apple fan-boys. For all the attention that we put on "lag" in the OS performance, there should absolutely be NO LAG when it comes to updating devices. Right now, there should only be two Android OS on phones: 1) 1.6 for lesser devices, 2) 2.1-update1 for higher-end devices. And they should be pushed at the same time. Android should not be a world where there is 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.1-update1 and whatever intermediate releases (i.e. the current CLIQ update).

Anyone remember Windows before NT/XP? M$ tried to do more or less what Apple is trying to do - make every verision of Widows work on any hardware that would run any of the older versions. What happened in reality was users with High end Winboxes were crippled by an OS that was trying to support 10 year old PC's, and the old PC's didn't have the Horse Power to run the new apps, so they were not running the newist OS.

IMHO, Apple and the iPhone need to think twice before following the busness model. I am glad I can root and pick which OS I want to run, that will work the best for MY phone, and MY apps.

.02

 

[bigdroiddog]

Oddly this is the first phone i have owned that has improved since i bought it, i like it way more now than i did when i bought it. I cannot put it down and yes i have owned it since day 1 of release. It gets more interesting every day thanks to devs out there who keep making it interesting.I used to have an ipod touch, i literally used it everyday for a year. I have not touched it since i got my droid, no reason to, its just not as customizable or fun, sorry apple, plan better next time.

 

[superdorf]

This is one major difference between the Iphone and every other phone including the DROID.

I've never had a phone that didn't have to get updates from manufacturer/provider...

 

[YankeeDudeL]

I'm another Day 1 Droid user, and w/ every passing moment, I love my Droid even more. If people want an iPhone, that's fine. Everyone has their own needs to think about. I could personally never own an iPhone in it's current incarnation. The only thing going for that phone is the App Store, and the Market is quickly catching up. But w/ Google at the helm, we have access to apps they'll never see.

As far as fracturing, it is kinda annoying. But w/ all the newer devices that are updating to 2.1, it shows not only their interest in the newest technology, but supporting already owned phones. That tells me they're thinking about the consumers, something not many business in any market can claim.

 

[gwlaw99]

The splintering argument makes no sense. The Droid is as powerful as the 3GS so all iphone app makers can make their apps for Droid and then the apps will work on all more powerful phones. By the time the iphone 4G comes out, all Android phones will be much much faster, so they can just use the android phone that has the same cpu/gpu equivalent of the 4GS as their baseline.

 

[QrafTee]

... It's a shame... a shame that PC World admits their title is false because it will get the Android update.

 

[The_Chief]

Whether or not the Droid gets an "official" update is a moot point to rooters and ROMers. With Pete's stuff, my Droid is better than Motorola, Google and Verizon could have possibly made it and I am more in love with this device than I was on November 6th when I bought it! It does EVERYTHING I need it to do and then some. Day-old bread, my eye. I guess I drank the Droid koolaid but I LOVE THIS PHONE more every day!

 

[radikal]

Yeah, i expect to get flash soon after it is out, whether its a leak or whatever, and thats because of roms. long after the droid support is stopped and nexus one or whatever carries on, we will still get rom updates with new cool stuff.

 

[alostpacket]

If you guys don't believe that the Android platform is fractured, then you are delusional and the only fan-boys are the ones on this thread. The fact of the matter is, Android IS VERY fractured. The hurried release of the latest and greatest devices within months of each other CANNOT be helping Android. It only serves to dilute the market and continue the fracturing. Since DROID owners will be getting 2.1 sometime soon (whatever that means), maybe we feel okay about it.

But what if our device was left in the dust? The valid point here is that the iPhone OS DOES only get updated once a year and that update is available and compatible with all iPhone devices. What you have then is a cohesive, connected platform, devoid of gaps and those left behind. It's the kind of attention to the consumer that is the reason there are so many Apple fan-boys. For all the attention that we put on "lag" in the OS performance, there should absolutely be NO LAG when it comes to updating devices. Right now, there should only be two Android OS on phones: 1) 1.6 for lesser devices, 2) 2.1-update1 for higher-end devices. And they should be pushed at the same time. Android should not be a world where there is 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.1-update1 and whatever intermediate releases (i.e. the current CLIQ update).

Delusional? I think your the one who's confused, bud. No offense, but you seem to have been sucked into the paranioa of sensationalistic journalism. Not only that, but you keep coming here trying to convince of this 'truth', now calling us delusional fanboys? Android is not 'fractured', as I responded in your post of the other FUD article. But you seem to have exited that thread and now post jibes at people here. Not exactly the classiest way to make your case.


By the way there are basically only 4 OSes: 1.5, 1.6, 2.0.1, and 2.1 with the only significant differences are between 1 and 2. And, most all devices have a roadmap for 2.1. Furthermore, what do you even mean by 'dilute' the market? That seems like a Business 2.0 buzzword of dubious value. The variety in devices has actually significantly increased Android market share. Some people really love SenseUI and MotoBlur and the to-come Rachael UI. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't happening. There is no 'diluting' unless you have a zero-sum game and the market is 100% saturated.

Finally, you have no technological reasoning to back up the fracture argument. It's all misinformed nonsense thinking that the iphone in it's 3-ish releases is somehow a perfectly backwards compatible stable platform. Or silly assumptions that Android developers aren't writing apps for all the OSes. Or assumptions that Google has no idea how to handle backwards compatibility. The only core feature I can even think of off the top of my head that older versions of Android phones are missing is Google Nav, which is slated to be released, which is really only missing from 1.5.

Anyways, please chill with the fatalistic doomsday predictions.

 

[alostpacket]

PC World (magazine) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"McCracken quit abruptly because the new CEO of PC World, Colin Crawford, tried to kill an unfavorable story about Apple and Steve Jobs.[5] Crawford responded, calling media reports of McCracken's resignation "inaccurate."[6] CNET later reported that McCracken had told colleagues that IDG "was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers.""

mmm juicy

 

[xjestersdeadx]

I made a vow when I turned 18 never to read any writer's work whose name rhymes with a character from Clash of the Titans. Plus, anyone who calls themselves "Harry McCracken, Technologizer" is just an idiot looking to be more important than they are.

 

[xjestersdeadx]

mmm juicy

Dude, what's funny is that this little sniveling writer (hate to call him that) got all offended because the magazine is actually about profit, not journalism.

If you started a blog, and Apple offered you $20,000 a month to run ads, now honestly, would you at least try to temper your criticism a little bit? At a minimum you would give both sides of the story. This CEO probably read the article and told him just that, and he got all offended...easy to do when your not writing the monthly checks to your employees when a lot of magazines are going under.