What makes people love android?

[Spacekungfuman]

I think between this thread and the one in February, you've pretty much gotten the big picture.

For more look and feel examples and how various folks have laid out their Androids, maybe also visit Android Themes - Android Forums

Cheers!

Thanks. I guess I was just taken aback by having some android fans react so negatively to my getting the iphone (I would certainly never do that to anyone no matter what they bought!) and was wondering what about android could have possibly motivated such over the top reactions. One person just stood around saying "see, i can run this app, and its better than ios, and i can run this app and its better than ios" (imo, none of them were better than the ios equivalents, and they were all illegal apps anyway) and another person asked me if I "felt bad about buying something that is obsolete because of more powerful android phones." But now I am confident in saying they're just fanboys and jerks, and will leave it at that

Now I want to try honeycomb on my nook to see how it compares to my ipad

 

[EarlyMon]

Thanks. I guess I was just taken aback by having some android fans react so negatively to my getting the iphone (I would certainly never do that to anyone no matter what they bought!) and was wondering what about android could have possibly motivated such over the top reactions. One person just stood around saying "see, i can run this app, and its better than ios, and i can run this app and its better than ios" (imo, none of them were better than the ios equivalents, and they were all illegal apps anyway) and another person asked me if I "felt bad about buying something that is obsolete because of more powerful android phones." But now I am confident in saying they're just fanboys and jerks, and will leave it at that

Yeah, sadly some people define themselves by buying things.

You can't buy cool (tell any you meet I'll rent them some, tho! ).

And far as I'm concerned, the ones running pirated apps pretty much self-qualify themselves as losers, the end.

You'll find these types in both camps, it's part of the human condition, not an Apple or Android one.

Now I want to try honeycomb on my nook to see how it compares to my ipad

Well, see - there you go! You got extra for being curious!

 

[coos lick]

My only experience with Apple is an Ipod Touch. Had that before I got my Android phone, and was really impressed with the way it 'just worked' and flowed.
Now I've got an HTC Desire, which is set up with my own widgets, folders and apps, linked back to my Google account so when I change my phone - all I need to do is enter my gmail password and all my contacts, emails, texts etc. will load on. Really gone off Itunes in a big way now - it just seems so old fashioned and a really clunky way of doing things. Why should I have to plug a phone into a computer?
Now I have live information on my home screens. It is not hard to get simple, elegant widgets which you can interact with without opening apps. A good example is a small icon sized widget on my homescreen which shows how much of my monthly data quota I've used. I've also got a calender with a transparent background so you can see the wallpaper behind through it. The grid of icons for the iPhone which you need to keep swiping through just looks dull.
This level of interactivity with the screen/ information and data does feel like the way forward, and I wouldn't be surprised if some form of interactive screen/ widget ability appears on the next version of the iPhone.

 

[Stuntman]

Thanks. I guess I was just taken aback by having some android fans react so negatively to my getting the iphone (I would certainly never do that to anyone no matter what they bought!) and was wondering what about android could have possibly motivated such over the top reactions.

There are over the top reactions among users of any device. Android and iOS and other phone OS's have different strengths. There are things I find very impressive about the iPhone 4 that my father-in-law has. I find the scrolling to be smoother. The resolution is also higher.

You seem to have good reasons to get an iPhone instead of an Android phone. If you've never really used widgets, you won't miss them at all. If the iOS UI satisfies you, then you shouldn't concern yourself with what other phones can do. I'm sure there are things that Windows Phone, WebOS and even Symbian can do that Android cannot or cannot do well.

One person just stood around saying "see, i can run this app, and its better than ios, and i can run this app and its better than ios" (imo, none of them were better than the ios equivalents, and they were all illegal apps anyway) and another person asked me if I "felt bad about buying something that is obsolete because of more powerful android phones." But now I am confident in saying they're just fanboys and jerks, and will leave it at that

Now I want to try honeycomb on my nook to see how it compares to my ipad

Yup. Sounds like fanboys to me or they just happen to be having a fanboy moment. As long as you feel that your iPhone does what you want and need to do, that's all that matters.

 

[jroc]

Well, I will say this:

If there are Android fanboys acting like that in public....Android has finally arrived!!!

lol

 

[Guamguy]

So my wife and I just got the Verizon Iphone 4 yesterday, and I am very excited with the phone, in large part because it actually let me get rid of my blackberry (i used to carry a pre, blackberry, and ipod touch at all times) but I am also just a huge fan of idevices (I love my touch 2g, and have probably never stayed this happy with any piece of tech for so long, and the ipad 2 is one of the best toys I've ever bought).

But when I tell people I got the phone, I get two very different reactions. Most people have said they are jealous and want one or are getting one, but a decent number of people have asked my why I got the iphone instead of an android phone. So far my answer has been that I wanted the work email integration, but truth be told, I'm not even sure that I understand the question. I had a coworker ask me if I felt bad that my phone was already "obsolete" because of better android hardware, but to me, better android hardware may make old android phones obsolete, if the older phones can't run new apps, but I don't see how it impacts the iphone at all.

From what I have seen of android phones, although the hardware is often fantastic, the operating system seems to be focused on things like widgets (which I don't understand the purpose of) instead of getting you into apps easily, and to me, that seems like the main (perhaps only) thing that your phone os should be doing. As far as the app store goes, to the best of my knowledge, android is catching up, but do people actually think it has outpaced the iphone app store in some way? Also, I don't really understand the appeal of these larger and larger screens, since they make the phones seem pretty large for pocketability.

I am NOT making this post to criticize android, I am just genuinely curious about why some people seem to feel it is inherently better (or even much better) than the iphone. So what is it that you love about android?

Loyalty comes for the same reason why people love friends and family.

Engagement

The reason why iPhone users are loyal to iPhone is because apps, and apps allow a greater level of engagement to the device than featurephones.

And the better the apps, the higher the level of engagement.

But what makes Android even more loyal is because it allows for even deeper and higher levels of engagement to the device besides just apps.

Customization.

Differentiation

Widgets

Deeper integration of the apps to the platform.

Superior choices of hardware.


I also own an iOS device. But despite claims that some IOS apps look better than Android apps, I find myself engaging the Android apps more often. For example, Facebook. Why? Because there is a widget staring on my face when I grab my device. On iOS. There is none. All I see of my Facebook app is a blue icon with a red button on it for notification.

But when I see my Android device, there in the homescreen, is my Facebook widget and right there, says my cousin is going out on a date.

So which of the two is more inviting, more responding to engagement? When I see my iOS device, I see a grid of colorful icons. But I don't get an emotional response. But when I see the Facebook widget on my Android device, I see my friends and relatives talking about their lives and I get an emotional response.

Same thing with other apps and widgets. iOS CNN --- a big red icon with CNN on it. Android CNN widget, yeah it says right there Bin Laden is dead. Which of the two gets an immediate emotional response?

What i am describing is one facet of Android engagement --- widgets. There are many others. Homescreen customization. ROMing. Apps with a deeper level of platform integration such as sharing. The many choices of hardware and the fact you're not owning a phone 30 million others in the world have.