I left Apple IOS and came back to Android! (My reasons why)----->>

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Not sure where this thread is headed but before it gets going just wanted to add a friendly reminder:

Please be respectful and stay on topic and we'll try and let it run its course and/or move it to the lounge.

Being a forum for discussion we'd rather not lock this down -- people certainly are allowed to have passionate discussions here as long as they are civil.



Cheers

There are plenty of Android owners who bought their phone for marketing or aesthetic reasons. So let's (as a community) not get too high-and-mighty about our choices. There are plenty of smart iPhone owners.

It's just a tool. Be happy with your choice - it's great that you're so happy with it!

Johnny Doomzday said:

It has a 3.5 inch screen which seems outdated in todays market, it does not support flash so i cant watch videos on certain sites and it allowed for zero customizable options.

So i started researching and landed on the Samsung line which along with HTC and Motorola have been producing devices with specs even better the iPhone.

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For me, i went the opposite direction...Android first.

3.5 screen = able to use the whole screen with one hand...aka, you can use the phone with one hand (surf net and dial)...thus, iPhones will likely have 4.0" screen max in the near future. This is a choice based on philosophy of Apple. (Apple can clearly make nice big screens.)

Flash = eat battery for breakfast and with big screen/processors, will eat for lunch and dinner too! Flash is outdated software that needs to die IMO. HTML5 is superior...and is the future.

Customization = i agree completely. However, with customization (such as floating fishtank or widgets), you have to be careful not to let these things eat battery life.

Better specs don't always mean faster anything. Where the iPhone succeeds is in integrated nature...such as CPU and GPU well matched with each other. For the most part, iPhone benchmarks (if they mean anything) is at the top or near the top among all smartphones, despite having an underclocked processor and small RAM.

I guess I have giant hands because I've never had an issue using one hand to navigate any Android I've owned. Battery gets me through the day, that's all I need. When I use my wife's iPhone I have to squint.

Thai said:

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Flash = eat battery for breakfast and with big screen/processors, will eat for lunch and dinner too! Flash is outdated software that needs to die IMO. HTML5 is superior...and is the future.

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Flash may be outdated, but it is still the most used platform for video on the web. Since we live in the present, not the future, we should be allowed to use what's available to us now.

pappabacon said:

I guess I have giant hands because I've never had an issue using one hand to navigate any Android I've owned. Battery gets me through the day, that's all I need. When I use my wife's iPhone I have to squint.

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So, you can reach all 4 corners of your phone while holding your phone in a comfy position? Yeah, you may have above-average sized hands! Good for you.

MutantCheese said:

Flash may be outdated, but it is still the most used platform for video on the web. Since we live in the present, not the future, we should be allowed to use what's available to us now.

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That is changing as we speak....

Thai said:

So, you can reach all 4 corners of your phone while holding your phone in a comfy position? Yeah, you may have above-average sized hands! Good for you.



That is changing as we speak....

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I have smallish hands for a guy (yeah yeah) and I can still reach all four corners of the Nexus screen while holding it in one hand, not as easily as say my old Incredible, but the screen is well worth that trade.

Thai said:

So, you can reach all 4 corners of your phone while holding your phone in a comfy position? Yeah, you may have above-average sized hands! Good for you.



That is changing as we speak....

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While HTML5 is the future, flash will be around for a VERY long time. The HTML5 spec has been in development for a number of years. That along with the fact that there are so many browsers out there that don't support many aspects of HTML5 (video method being just one), many of us web designers have to have a flash backup for the animations. IE 9 or better will support every aspect of HTML5, but those are rare. Most people are on 8.

I used to use my iPod almost like a phone, and when you hit those websites (espn anyone?) that do run flash, iAnything falters.

It might be just me, but I can think of any case when I'd need to reach the 4 corners of my phone with one hand...

Most of the time I use the phone with both hands because:
-you can't pinch to zoom with one hand
-typing is inefficient with one hand no matter how big or small the screen is
-I'm less likely to drop it
-everything is faster with two thumbs

The rare occasions I use my phone with one hand:
-when carrying something in one hand and need to answer a quick text (only need to reach bottom 2 corners which is easy on the GN)
-watching a video (don't need to do anything to the phone)
-talking on the phone (don't need to do anything to it either)

I understand if maybe you only have one hand, then it's not a very good phone to use, but other than that I don't really know when I'd use it one handed.

Thai said:

So, you can reach all 4 corners of your phone while holding your phone in a comfy position? Yeah, you may have above-average sized hands! Good for you.

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what? Any average sized hands can reach four corners of the Nexus screen, stop spewing that 3.5" BS that is made up to justify that tiny screen.

Unless your hands is midget sized? too bad then

here is my thought on this. my wife owns an iphone because she hates technology but still wants to feel cool, hip and modern using a hip gadget without much fuss. she is by far not a power user. so are some of my female co workers at work. they LOVE their iphone. it allows them to go on facebook and use gimmicky apps. but for the power users like myself and my friends, we need a device that gives us option to customize our phones to our liking and do many other things the iphone just cant do.

im at the end of Steve Jobs's Bio and i got to say, Apple knows EXACTLY how to market to people like my wife and they do a damn good job of it. its the reason why the iOS hasn't changed much since 2007. but competition is good. its why we have amazing phones like we do today!

There are plenty of things I can do with my SGN that can burn through the battery (like run the screen at 100% brightness!). But I appreciate the fact that I can choose to do them (like view flash on the web). How does taking away that choice create a better phone?

Thai said:

3.5 screen = able to use the whole screen with one hand...aka, you can use the phone with one hand (surf net and dial)...thus, iPhones will likely have 4.0" screen max in the near future. This is a choice based on philosophy of Apple. (Apple can clearly make nice big screens.)

.

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Well since larger display consume more battery, and its iphone 4s, not 5, they stick with same 3.5 retina display as iphone 4.
But the thing is...even if apple wanted to go larger display with hd ready(720p), they couldnt.

Samsung used to be main supplier for iphone (display, ap,memory) before all those lawsuits began. After increased demand of their own smartphones, they couldnt produce enough amoled display for others. So HTC went with s-lcd, apple went to ips-lcd.

What options apple have?
When iphone4s was launched, 720p ips-lcd was just developed so it wasnt possible.
S-lcd? Samsung own that company,and their production is limited for supplying sony, htc and samsung.

Apple has stagnated. When you look at the four main smartphones in VZW's line up the iPhone looks... well it looks exactly like what it is. An outdated device. Small screen. 3g. No Flash (which will be around for a long time). Very limited customization. And I whole heartedly agree with the OP about the owners.

The only reason my wife has a 4S is her work pays for it.

How different is the OP's enthusiasm different from Apple's fan base? (to mods: I am being courteous here.). I don't see much difference.

I can imagine having to dial a number while driving with one hand. Or scrolling thru list of Favorites with one hand while doing something else with the other hand.

Some say that Apple is the same old stuff...but others say that they have optimized their software to work smoothly, integrated, and reliably. In other words, not everyone wants a new redesign every few years with bugs. Think of it this way...gingerbread has issues/bugs. What does Google do? Instead of sticking with it and optimizing it, they went back to drawing board. So, in a year or two, is Google going stay with ICS platform or abandon it again for a another try? Fragmentation sucks for he use of older phones, even those phones of Google! My Nexus S is still in limbo with ICS just like any other older model phones...where is the google advantage???

Manipulative, clever marketing + braindead, ignorant, image obsessed consumer culture = Iphone global success.

The only people who realise iphone is mediocre, stagnated technology are the people who wouldn't buy one, whereas the people that would think its as cutting edge as it gets.

I refuse to buy into the "user friendly" aspect. Have you used an iPad? If youre not used to Apple OS, its really counter -intuitive imo. I've avoided Apple products my whole life, I couldnt figure out how to do the most simplest of things on the ipad.

Thai said:

Fragmentation sucks for he use of older phones, even those phones of Google! My Nexus S is still in limbo with ICS just like any other older model phones...where is the google advantage???

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Nothing is "fragmented" about a product that serves the user well. I think the "fragmented Android" notion is an overview of reviewers and others who can't just make a purchase and learn their device without feeling some anticipation of the next update/upgrade. Sometimes looking ahead takes a user away from the qualities they just spent their money on.

Thai said:

How different is the OP's enthusiasm different from Apple's fan base? (to mods: I am being courteous here.). I don't see much difference.

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I completely agree with this. I'm sure that if I took my enthusiasm for the Android platform to the iPhone forums and constantly gushed about how great it was and made excuses for its shortcomings, I would be met with hostility too.

But I would never do that because it's pointless and counter productive.

Thai said:

How different is the OP's enthusiasm different from Apple's fan base? (to mods: I am being courteous here.). I don't see much difference.

I can imagine having to dial a number while driving with one hand. Or scrolling thru list of Favorites with one hand while doing something else with the other hand.

Some say that Apple is the same old stuff...but others say that they have optimized their software to work smoothly, integrated, and reliably. In other words, not everyone wants a new redesign every few years with bugs. Think of it this way...gingerbread has issues/bugs. What does Google do? Instead of sticking with it and optimizing it, they went back to drawing board. So, in a year or two, is Google going stay with ICS platform or abandon it again for a another try? Fragmentation sucks for he use of older phones, even those phones of Google! My Nexus S is still in limbo with ICS just like any other older model phones...where is the google advantage???

Click to expand...

That's the thing; you can do those things with one hand on Android. Every dialer I've used is designed with the buttons on the bottom 2/3 of the screen. Using one hand is easy. And I'm not sure about every android skin but stock ICS has fast scrolling capabilities when you use the right edge of the screen. Again, using one hand is easy.

Frisco said:

Nothing is "fragmented" about a product that serves the user well. I think the "fragmented Android" notion is an overview of reviewers and others who can't just make a purchase and learn their device without feeling some anticipation of the next update/upgrade. Sometimes looking ahead takes a user away from the qualities they just spent their money on.

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Very much this ^^^ Also, the "fragmentation" is just a buzzword- Microsoft has it, Apple (both iOS and OS X) has it, so does Android, Blackberry, etc. It is just a function of the progress of the industry, and the build quality of the devices (previously many products were pretty much exhausted by their EOL). Having so many Android devices with so many different skins annoyed tech writers/reviewers, and of course the media teams with the other companies have jumped on it (they'd be stupid not to actually); but keep in mind that recent surveys by app watchdogs and web ad companies that pay attention to OS versions indicate as much "fragmentation" in other OS' as Android...

You call it fragmentation. I call it choice. And 90% of the Android buying masses are going to recognize the latter, not the former. Average Joe says "Fragmen-what?"

The beauty of Android is that it will run across such a wide range of devices, and serve many different needs. From cutting edge, flagship phones to the cheapest, most basic smartphones for developing countries to car stereos to appliances. This has always been Google's intention. It's brilliant, really. And the spec bar is being raised all the time, so that even those cheap-o, 3rd world smartphones will soon be adequate enough to run the latest version of Android.

Fragmentation is a buzz word and nothing more. As others have stated, every OS in every area of tech has some level of fragmentation. I know people with 7 year old computers that are still running Win XP. They feel no need to update their computer because it does what they need it to do. The majority of smartphone users are not like the people on this forum. They don't care what OS they are running. They use their phone for the basics and care about little else. New OS? Update? What is all that about. If there isn't a problem or something they perceive as a problem then they aren't looking for an update.

Many of the people I've talked to love the fact that new phones are coming out all the time. It means that what was the top of the line at a high price point last month is more affordable and therefor more obtainable this month. With Apple, most of them feel like the only way to get something is to literally buy last years model or get something with lower specs.

As far as anything else about why Apple does what it does it all comes down to battery life. The iPhone's screen is smaller to conserve battery. It doesn't have flash to conserve battery. It doesn't have live wallpaper, widgets, real customization to conserve battery. It didn't have any form of multitasking for so long because of battery. Apps are removed from the app store because of battery consumption. Basically, the iPhone has a battery problem and the problem is that the battery can't be replaced. Saying that anything is the way it is on the iPhone is for any other reason is a smoke screen or an attempt at marketing. There is no other reason to put the restrictions that Apple did on the phone. This and this alone is the absolute main reason Android will always be superior to any Apple product until the day they allow for replaceable batteries.

As far as he users go, there are less than desirable people using all different types of devices out there. It isn't the product that makes a person someone you don't wish to be associated with, but I can see how a group of people would make someone wish to avoid a product line. In the end, if you buy what works for you then you can't go wrong. If there are a bunch of people using the same product that bother you, don't associate yourself with them.

Confessions of a CNET editor who owned a GN: Why Apple is winning | Molly Rants - CNET News

Why do you need replaceable battery if the battery life is good and the phone simply "works" as intended smoothly, reliably, and without hiccups?? Lithium batteries don't die in 2 years...they have been shown to last a long long time with good reserve and with minimal care. My children's iPod Touch 3G is still running strong despite being "abused" by them!

I would argue that you ONLY need replaceable battery if your battery life indeed sucks....

99% of users will replace their smartphones long before the Lithium battery gives out.