android is easy to use too

[macprv]

so i keep hearing people saying how iphone is very easy to use and how anyone cold grab the phone understand it so easily, and how android is not a regular mortal user friendly

and last night while my 2 yrs. old daughter was using my nexus one, i realized that android is very easy to use as well!

she can wake up the phone, unlock it, navigate through the screen and the app drawer, she know how to open and navigate through the gallery app, she can open games, and she can even open the camera app and take pictures!!

so yeah, android is not hard to use at all.. maybe its just different from what iphone (or other OS) users are used to

 

[alextop30]

That's the marketing scheme that Apple uses. It does not have to be true it just has to work. My mom who has a paralyzing fear of computers has no problem reaching into my personal thing on my HTC Evo so I would say to Apple is that they are lying cheating money hungry idiots. And yes I hate Steve Jobs.

 

[takeshi]

I wouldn't say that Android is difficult for anyone to pick up and use but it really doesn't compare to the simplified and consistent interface that Apple has. The walled garden and limitations also help to keep normal users feeling safe. It is a bit more than just marketing (though I'd like for someone to point out where Apple explicitly states in its ads that the iPhone is easy to use but Android isn't) but it's really up to the individual to decide.

and last night while my 2 yrs. old daughter was using my nexus one, i realized that android is very easy to use as well!

That's not a proper ease-of-use test. Kids can pick up anything. Their minds are designed to adapt and absorb information. If you really want to test ease of use you need to hit a retirement home.

 

[reinbeau]

Yea, a retirement home for ex-Palm users! Coming from that world, Android really isn't an easy switch.

 

[macprv]

Yea, a retirement home for ex-Palm users! Coming from that world, Android really isn't an easy switch.

maybe this is why:

.. maybe its just different from what iphone (or other OS) users are used to

 

[X10iUser]

 

[dan330]

those are funny!!!

back on topic...
iphone is easier... but android is not hard to learn!
example...using a mouse with 1 button is easy! using a mouse with 2 buttons is easy, just more options.

 

[jroc]

Its funny I've been saying the same thing recently. For real, Android is easier to use than Win Mo 6.5....

 

[96Klassic]

wow, this was a good one...

 

[reinbeau]

Originally Posted by reinbeau
Yea, a retirement home for ex-Palm users! Coming from that world, Android really isn't an easy switch.

maybe this is why:

Originally Posted by macprv
.. maybe its just different from what iphone (or other OS) users are used to

I wasn't responding to you, I was responding to the message directly above you from takeshi, where the retirement home was referenced but yes, of course that's the reason.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

So how easy is Itunes VS Drag/Drop... ?

 

[chinoAlone]

However, many need to be refined on Android: system stability, app marketing scheme, etc. It does have an optimistic prospect, though.

 

[grainysand]

What makes you think Android lacks system stability?

 

[Snow_Fox]

That's not a proper ease-of-use test. Kids can pick up anything. Their minds are designed to adapt and absorb information. If you really want to test ease of use you need to hit a retirement home.

In all fairness, I think it is in some ways a better test than the retirement home.

I am not trying to bash old people here.. (I'm lying... **** old people).

But,my parents make a great example of why thats a BAD idea.

THey both have iphone 4's They both use them as regular phones never touching any of the extra feature's apps or anything else.

They have iphone 4 because its a status symbol.

Unfortunately.. even old people in retirement homes have heard of iphone these days.

So they have potential to be bias :/

There is no universal litmus test for ease of use.. but, with that said, the truth is at the end of the day... apple targets simple people who don't want to adapt to the technological world. A sort of people I hate with a passion.

Android targets everyone else. Both have a big potential mark.. but, android has such a wide range from "entry level" to "power user" devices, I think in the end it can make some converts...

While most people will always hesitate to go from a custom built pc down to a netbook as their only pc, i think anyone who has android because they wanted it is not likely to jump ship and go to iphone unless, they wanted an iphone to begin with.

 

[grainysand]

truth is at the end of the day... apple targets simple people who don't want to adapt to the technological world. A sort of people I hate with a passion.

Same. With how big a role technology plays in our lives today, you'd think everyone would make some effort to learn to use it well--not just talking about old people, but also people my age and yours in their twenties or thirties. But no, they think they're too good to learn "geeky" stuff and they're proud that they're dimwits when it comes to computers. These people don't deserve technology. They should be forcibly migrated to a desert island.

 

[macprv]

apple targets simple people who don't want to adapt to the technological world.

awesome line my friend

 

[dan330]

i disagree a little with .. simple is bad theme.

technology and ui.. has been moving from complicated to simple since the first computer. think of the beginning... mainframe interaction with wires / punch cards. then we moved to DOS... and so forth. Networking and Programming has moved more and more to visual and leaving the hard part to the system itself.

the goal is to have a system that anyone from most tech to a reasonable intelligence can use with ease.

Apple has it right.. making it easy.
what they did wrong was.. force their will on others! and forget to listen to the masses!

if android can make their system more simple and easy. while still keeping the customization and openness...they will keep winning market share. With Gingerbread.. i think we take one more step in the right direction.

 

[Snow_Fox]

i disagree a little with .. simple is bad theme.

technology and ui.. has been moving from complicated to simple since the first computer. think of the beginning... mainframe interaction with wires / punch cards. then we moved to DOS... and so forth. Networking and Programming has moved more and more to visual and leaving the hard part to the system itself.

I have mixed feelings about this because, on one hand.. not having to use a command line to do EVERYTHING! on a computer is wonderful, I love video games, I love having more options, flexibility and power..

However, as a computer science major and general computer enthusiast.. I find that while your average person may not even have the slightest clue what a command prompt is, it still has the potential to be a powerful tool and I think a good bit of understanding about how computers work and why they work the way they do can be gained from even a small amount of use of the command prompt..

Its the difference in thinking of a file path as a list of folders you click throught and c:/admin/documents/importantfile.txt

the goal is to have a system that anyone from most tech to a reasonable intelligence can use with ease.

There in lies the distinguishment between reasonable intelligence, and flat out lazy and unwilling.

Apple has it right.. making it easy.
what they did wrong was.. force their will on others! and forget to listen to the masses!

Yes and no. Everything comes at a cost. The cost of simplicity is power.

if android can make their system more simple and easy. while still keeping the customization and openness...they will keep winning market share. With Gingerbread.. i think we take one more step in the right direction.

Short of toggling on and off a "simple" and "complex" mode I can't think of anything else they can really do.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

i disagree a little with .. simple is bad theme.

technology and ui.. has been moving from complicated to simple since the first computer. think of the beginning... mainframe interaction with wires / punch cards. then we moved to DOS... and so forth. Networking and Programming has moved more and more to visual and leaving the hard part to the system itself.

the goal is to have a system that anyone from most tech to a reasonable intelligence can use with ease.

Apple has it right.. making it easy.
what they did wrong was.. force their will on others! and forget to listen to the masses!

if android can make their system more simple and easy. while still keeping the customization and openness...they will keep winning market share. With Gingerbread.. i think we take one more step in the right direction.

I see where you are going with this, but I disagree (in part) that Iphones are "easier" to use than any Android device.

The example I would use is my father who is a corporate guy, got his first Iphone 3 years ago as a status symbol... but there was nothing he found "easy" about it coming off RIM.

It took him over a year of fidgeting and finally as he explained it "I took my weekend off to learn about my phone. Now I know what it can and can't do."

I think that holds true to pretty much any mainstream consumer device. Take a little time and you will know the main features of any phone inside and out.

Some have better features, mind you, but there's no particularily "hard" device to learn. People just want to be "seen" with an Iphone, most wont actually "learn" what it does. As someone mentioned their granparents have Iphones just to make calls... there's 'easier' phones to 'just make calls' on than an Iphone, for significantly less money.

 

[MJM128]

those are funny!!!

back on topic...
iphone is easier... but android is not hard to learn!
example...using a mouse with 1 button is easy! using a mouse with 2 buttons is easy, just more options.

For me, using a mac isn't user friendly. Why? Cause I'm use to windows/linux and there are just some things that I naturally want to do it a different way. Going from one device to another you will have problems, but that doesn't make it not easy.

I would say to do the same things you do on the iphone, android is about the same ease of use. I don't buy into the marketing scheme of companies. Do a scientific study showing that one is "easier" than the other and I'll take you seriously, if you don't have that. I call BS!

 

[5280Man]

Iphone easier to use than Android? Really? I mean really?? They are very similar in alot of ways. Both have multiple home screens with icons you touch to access the app, both access the home screens the same way by sliding your finger either left or right. Both have one button to wake up the phone (some phones have multiple buttons which is even better), both have an icon for accessing the dialer and all dialer layouts are the same for the numbers, both have nice screens, both have a port to plug into charge and both have a screen that pops up when there's an incoming call with a button on the screen to answer or decline the call.

Ok, I just took both phones through the basic operations of making a call, answering a call, declining a call, accessing an app, accessing the multiple home screens, waking up the screen and charging it. Easier? How? That's like saying a Chevy truck is easier to start and to shift into drive, put into park and turn off than a Dodge. Now, you want to talk about upgrading, customizing and adding apps, rims, root access and having different hardware to choose from? Then let's compare the two? Shall we go down that road? Because if that's what we're talking about then the iphone will get whipped, beaten, smashed, raped and violated in ways you don't even want to comprehend! Lol! Just having some fun. I think the iphone is a great device, but hearing that one is easier to use than the other is ridiculous. Both are very user friendly. Android allows you to do so much more which requires you to 'learn' about the phone more.

Just my $.02

 

[5280Man]

Iphone easier to use than Android? Really? I mean really?? They are very similar in alot of ways. Both have multiple home screens with icons you touch to access the app, both access the home screens the same way by sliding your finger either left or right. Both have one button to wake up the phone (some phones have multiple buttons which is even better), both have an icon for accessing the dialer and all dialer layouts are the same for the numbers, both have nice screens, both have a port to plug into charge and both have a screen that pops up when there's an incoming call with a button on the screen to answer or decline the call.

Ok, I just took both phones through the basic operations of making a call, answering a call, declining a call, accessing an app, accessing the multiple home screens, waking up the screen and charging it. Easier? How? That's like saying a Chevy truck is easier to start and to shift into drive, put into park and turn off than a Dodge. Now, you want to talk about upgrading, customizing and adding apps, rims, root access and having different hardware to choose from? Then let's compare the two? Shall we go down that road? Because if that's what we're talking about then the iphone will get whipped, beaten, smashed, raped and violated in ways you don't even want to comprehend! Lol! Just having some fun. I think the iphone is a great device, but hearing that one is easier to use than the other is ridiculous. Both are very user friendly. Android allows you to do so much more which requires you to 'learn' about the phone more.

Just my $.02

 

[pool_shark]

You guys might be surprised at how many people ask questions about their android device that we may consider simple but they find difficult.

Questions like:

How do I assign a ringtone to a contact?
How do I download attachments from MMS?
How do I view files on my SD card?

I bet your 2 year old wouldn't have figured any of that out.

 

[Snow_Fox]

You guys might be surprised at how many people ask questions about their android device that we may consider simple but they find difficult.

Questions like:

How do I assign a ringtone to a contact?
How do I download attachments from MMS?
How do I view files on my SD card?

I bet your 2 year old wouldn't have figured any of that out.

People ask this about EVERY phone.

Even dumb phones. -.-

and if they don't ask it about the iphone its because they are afraid people will think they are totally stupid.. so it makes it worth it to spend 5 minutes trying to figure it out.

Since its android and not sold on being "easy" they don't feel as bad for asking for help on forums as a knee-jerk reaction.

 

[jroc]

^U are right about that. My kids mother has a dumb phone from Cricket and she doesnt know how to get new ringtones...lol

Whats funny is she had a dumb phone before from Verizon and she had no problems getting new ringtones...