I like my HTC, but am slightly niggled by certain issues...
Hi Robandis! I'll try to take a stab a few of your points here:
1.. Doesn't have the mini flash that you get when you receive an SMS on the iPhone, anyone know of an app that does this properly? I've downloaded a few and all of them don't work.
I'm not sure what you mean by "mini flash," do you mean the popup notification that allows you to read the SMS when it comes in? If so, try Handcent, Go SMS, SMS Popup, etc., which all offer this function to varying degrees of customization. Also, if you select the "productivity" lockscreen style under "Personalize" in either settings or your app drawer, it can display texts and emails and calendar events on your lockscreen.
2.. All the apps that I've downloaded to change my notification LED colour don't work...
I'm pretty sure that's a hardware thing, I think we only have a tri-color LED (Red, Orange, and Green), and as such those colors might not be called upon (by those apps' code) using the same color codes as a true multi-color LED would (but a developer may be better equipped to discuss that).
3.. Where can i get the same short subtle notification sounds that you get on the iPhone?
You won't find the exact same ones anywhere (but Apple, since they own those sounds, and yes they are big enough jerks that no one in their right minds would rip them off and distribute the goodies), but you can probably find some that are pretty darn close. I haven't rooted and dove into the development world yet so I am not sure of good places/users to try to get find or get ahold of for the sounds packagers; but I would recommend that you try cruising these forums and more developmentally active ones like XDA or Rootzwiki paying attention to the theme threads (more so than the actual root stuff- it does not have to go hand-in-hand), since the themers have extracted and re-packaged sound suites from a lot of devices, or can do so much easier than can you or I- and if you ask nicely they could probably set you up with something not copyrighted that would sound close. It really doesn't matter what device the particular theme is from, since you just want the sound file itself . There are a few apps in the Play store under various "Ringtone maker" and similar monikers that would allow you to take a similar tone and crop/shorten it, and make your own notification tone from it, so that may be a more feasible solution- or download pre-packaged ones from the Play store (open the play store and search for "Iphone 4S SMS Free" by "COOLGAME" for example. Always pay attention to the reviews, like COOLGAME's 30-ringtone app is ranked pretty highly (4 stars), some are not.
4.. Doesn't run as smooth as the iPhone..
I have a lot less lag when browsing the internet and switching between tasks than my sister's iPhone 4, do you have a lot of widgets running, or a live wallpaper ("stutter" is a known issue with the Tegra version of the phone using live wallpapers)? I have to say, I am incredibly impressed with the speed and responsiveness of mine (but then again I remember the G1 days when Android's cache would fill up and the RAM would disappear), but it is a different model (S4 dual-core processor). This can also be a pretty subjective area, so not much anyone could say other than known issues/fixes would really help here...
5.. Yes SIRI does perform loads better than the android equivalents :-(
Siri is more conversational and so "natural," but Android's more command-based style has been around a while (beginning in earnest with the Android 2.2 "Froyo" update in June 2010, and there are rumors that Google has plans for a major overhaul to this in the very near future-bigger than Android (across multiple, and as of yet unrevealed Google products)- called "project Majel." I haven't played with Siri, so I really can't comment very much on it, but I can send texts, emails, record notes to myself, set appointments, open some apps, and search the internet all from the microphone in the search widget on the homescreen (no third-party app, it is part of Google's "Voice Search" app). Plus, with "S-voice" and some of the industry heavy-hitters having apps like "DragonSpeak" (Nuance) and "Vlingo Labs (beta)," it is coming (maybe before Google's integration)...
6.. Can't get same apps as you can on iPhone, namely 'newsstand' for magazines and newspapers, even Metro UK's e-edition android app isn't as good.
That is a problem with the developers targeting one platform to develop for, then getting locked into just planning for that platform (especially if the app takes off and becomes hungry for updates). I think we are not very far away from another evil as well- Android is now more popular than iOS (but not more populous yet); how long before Apple and/or Google begin to make developers of promising apps sign exclusivity agreements? I wouldn't be surprised to see/hear that this is already in place...
I've dismissed the iPhone for so long and didn't want to get one, I know this phone has got the power to beat the iPhone but can't seem to achieve this...
I agree, but if the iPhone does everything you want a phone to do, and the One X doesn't, that's okay- no one can fault you for wanting to be happy with your purchase, so it is okay to get a iPhone.
But this is the problem that has plagued Linux since its inception- a lack of understanding what it is, and a lack of unified marketing pre-launch (to build hype) cripples it out of the gate. Think back to 2007 and the iPhone and the hype surrounding it, where did the success for it come from? The iPhone was successful because of the iPod. I was working at an electronics retailer at the time when the first iPod came out; and it was roughly parallel to the Android phone launches of today- there was a lot of geek hype over a unification of the crazy and scattered mp3 player market, of a quality product (most of the previous brands were rather delicate; didn't sync well with computers of any kind, and ended up just making people more angry with irregular battery life- I know, I had an RCA Lyra which sadly was the best one until iPod came along because you could drag-and-drop and not be locked into using RealPlayer, but it was built WAY cheaper than an iPod and the battery maybe would last an hour and a half). The first iPod was expensive and looked a lot less flashy than the other brands, and honestly it took some convincing to sell the first two generations of it. But it slowly became huge, and the iPod Touch (the real testing ground for Apple for the iPhone) came out, and again required some convincing- but there was already the iOS "cult" forming that thought it was the most amazing thing ever (I thought it was cool but was very skeptical about its durability) so there was less convincing required. That built into huge techie excitement over the launch of the iPhone- Apple had already crossed the hump of consumer acceptance because of the reputation it had built with the iPods, and has rode that wave even to today (literally, WWDC is today). Apple coupled that with getting a major carrier (AT&T ) to sign on for it. Compare that narrative to the launch of Android in September (for the OS-October for the device itself) 2008, whereupon the OHA could only get the 4th largest carrier interested (T-mobile), to very little fanfare outside of Linux and Techie circles. It had no "testing" or proving ground, the phone itself was kind of clunky and "ugly" (although I loved that phone), and just like the first release of iPod touch and iPhone, it had some things it didn't do at all, and a few more it didn't do well- but the blogosphere was less forgiving because it was playing "catch-up" and was always in iOS's shadow. Android didn't really see a real marketing campaign until a year later, when Verizon launched the Motorola " 'Droid," and that's when Android's numbers really started to grow. But then, it became like all Linux Distros, there were different specializations of it all over the place, and to untrained eyes and those who don't know what they are doing- that is formidable (the horrendous "fragmentation" we hear so much about- yet ironically there are many small developers who have issues with it, but they do not get the press-time; only complaints do). So in short, the launches of both devices are like surfing; the iPhone was paddled out by the iPod Touch and had a wave ready to ride when it launched; while android was just sort of dropped off on the beach and took a year to paddle out to depth. Ironically, now the table have reversed, and depending on what actually comes out of today's WWDC , Apple might be copying Android for the 2nd year in a row (if the maps/navigation is what the leaks suggest it is), which one could argue is a sign of who is actually catching up to whom...
In addition, the lasting issue that plagues Android/Linux when compared to Proprietary/Apple is that of control and support. Android isn't owned by Google, it is owned by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), of which Google is a major player and houses the project, and supplies developers/code towards it. But there are other players, and a constraint to avoid encroaching on privately owned bits of code ("proprietary" code), without protecting your own work in a likewise manner (Open source licensing -usually-depends only on giving credit for the code used, and limits on material gain from it). Apple on the other hand directly owns all of iOS (well, other than the parts and style elements they have stolen or licensed- but that's another matter), so they can control all elements of the software (and would rather put up with criticism than allow changes to it) and make gaurentees about things like app-compatibility, and performance under certain circumstances. They can use this to hide "flubs" like apps crashing (without notifying you, the user- things are programmed to just go black and then dump you back to the homescreen inexplicably, or re-launch if it is a core app apparently), or deliver watered-down multi-tasking to give the illusion of power performance without a hit to battery life. But has this control made iOS more stable or less fragmented than Android? No, it really hasn't, and there are infographics that illustrate this, but it is not convenient to publicize (whether Apple PR or Tech Media), so it goes under-stated and public perception continues that one is better than the other, or "more reliable" than the other... Public perception is that we have these "known" and "accepted' options (iPhone, Windows, Other Name Brands), that have a lot of resources and a need to focus on aesthetics of their products (to be able to keep selling them), and that all other contenders and options (Linux/Android) need to be just as polished, just as refined, and (ironically) not too different so that it is convenient to hop back and forth. What public perception fails to realize however is that it really isn't the other contenders that are keeping their products from being clones of the famous name brands, it is those name brands being sue-happy and being granted broad-sweeping patents that keeps those contenders from delivering identical functionality- and forcing them to get creative. I have found that 9 times out of 10, getting creative has enabled them to find (subjectively) "better" options to deliver functionality, but sadly that isn't always the case (look at getting your music away from Apple and iTunes for example). Android (with the recent ruling in the Oracle lawsuit) has become a name brand now, but still hasn't quite escaped its past of being in the shadows, and so still has to fight some underdog battles, but given the patent portfolios of a few of the Android manufacturers, I look for Apple to be a lot less of an aggressive contender as the mobile world moves into a "beyond phone" 4G experience.
Just thoughts, and sorry that got long-winded, but suffice it to say that there is a history and a reason why Android doesn't have a lot of the little things iOS does (mostly due to copy right and lawsuits), and you have a right to be happy with your purchase- Android or iPhone. The trouble is we can't (at this point) pick-and-choose our hardware, software, and software elements, but Android does make that much more possible than iOS ever will.
