First Android Experience

IP is very different to Android and can appear hard work to some who have apple simplicity ingrained...! We are all hardened customisers. All I'm saying is give the OP the benefit of our experience. Thats why they've come here after all!

I never had any love for the fruit. But it does appeal to certain users. The main issue here is the OP needs to be a little more open and learn. I also found the post to be more of a rant. But the OP also noted it could be inexperience. And that probably led to the frustrations expressed. It's easier to rant than find solutions at times. I do this at times too, we're human.

well put neograndizer...
but to the contrary... we are not humans, we are aspiring androids. lol

Smaptastic said:

iPhone has had visual voicemail free since the iPhone 1.

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So has T-Mobile.

I think a lot of it has to do with non-techy people who have never used anything but an iphone and think all smartphones are supposed to be like that. It's the same reason we see so many "I need an app that does this just like the iphone" posts.

Would love to hear from the OP to see how he is adapting.

bonerp said:

I have been on android for years and never liked apple stuuf, but there are a couple of point OP is correct on, like landscape keyboard blocking the text area! What is all that about??! About time android got it right.

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You're barking at the wrong tree. The stock keyboard on the Note 2 is from Samsung, not Android. An issue that can easily be fixed by downloading another keyboard app.

I think the OP is just frustrated by the learning curve, all the OP needs is just a little effort and patience and he/she will discover that the Android platform is so customizable that he can practically do almost everything he wants on it.

Even within Android there's a learning curve when jumping from different makes and models. In my case, I came from HTC, and up to now I still wish the volume rocker is on the right side like my old phone.

For the OP, I suggest to continue to read the forums, especially the tips and tricks thread. Reading the manual is also a good idea to familiarize yourself on the ins a and out of the phone. (Though I have to admit I never read the manual).

Sent using the force

Caloy said:

You're barking at the wrong tree. The stock keyboard on the Note 2 is from Samsung, not Android. An issue that can easily be fixed by downloading another keyboard app.

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Not at all. I use swift key, smart keyboard pro and various others and all of them seem to have some problem with some - not all, websites. Mainly the text entry areas. Or am I the only one who struggles to get the text box in the right position so I can see what I am entering and stay there when entering text???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm really sad to see you go, just wish you could have given it a little longer. Android is that ongoing project you keep working on day after day! 😏

bonerp said:

Not at all. I use swift key, smart keyboard pro and various others and all of them seem to have some problem with some - not all, websites. Mainly the text entry areas. Or am I the only one who struggles to get the text box in the right position so I can see what I am entering and stay there when entering text???

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Again, it's not Android's fault. It's how the developers designed their keyboard app... On that note, have you tried other keyboard apps with adjustable key heights? One example is ultra keyboard. =)

Smaptastic said:

OP again. Sorry, didn't realize this thread still had legs.

After a few days of tinkering and trying my damnedest to learn the OS, I went back to iPhone. Without ranting, here's why:

• I didn't appreciate, as apparently some of you do, the concept of having to put in significant work to bring the OS up to what I'd consider functional levels.
• I am fairly tech-savvy, but the hallmark of good technology is that it works without tinkering and improves with tinkering. A good example of a product that's managed to get this right (after several failed attempts) is Windows. Both iPhone and Android fail in one of these two departments. iPhone doesn't improve much with tinkering, Android is virtually useless without. Given the flavor choice, I went with the former.
• One of my biggest reasons for wanting Android was that I thought it would integrate more smoothly with Google products, on which I run my business. This turned out to be untrue. Again, the default mail app told me to use the Gmail app for my Gmail account. That seems odd. I'd say overall that iPhone actually integrates better. Given that Android is, of course, a Google product, I didn't find this to be reasonable.
• My family and girlfriend all use iPhone, and my family loves to use Facetime. Not a major point, but it adds a bit of value to the iPhone.
• Visual voicemail. Seriously. What the hell. I'm not downloading a third-party app to sort through my voicemail when that should be standard by now. The competition has had it for years. Falling that far behind on a basic phone feature is inexcusable. Again, if I were to select a single failing of Android that was the most inexcusable of all, this would be it.

That's not to say I'll never try it again. I do like to tinker, and Android's hardware is undeniably better at this stage. I also hate iTunes and love the freedom from it that Android provides. If Android gets to the point where I can use it without feeling like everything I do requires a kludge, I'll definitely come back.

Thanks again for all the input. I appreciate everyone who chimed in.

Edit: I realize a lot of the problems Android has with implementing smooth functionality across the board have to do with the carriers/phone makers each adding their own flavor. What I don't understand is why everyone just accepts this. It's a major problem and severely damages the OS. I mean, I've read about phones that take months to get on the newest OS version because of their carrier/manufacturer bogging them down. If I were on Team Google, I can't even imagine how I'd go about designing around all of these carriers and manufacturers standing in my way.

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I'm happy that you know what you want in a phone, it makes the choosing process easier. In that light, I'm happy that you gave Android a chance. I understand it's not for everybody and its not a perfect OS

I still have no clue why you can't connect your Gmail account to the stock mail client. I have no issues whatsoever connecting.

I wished you tried installing Docs To Go, it can fetch your Google docs and edit it from within the app (not sure if that's what you are looking for when you say seamless integration).

I have to agree with you on visual voicemail, I have to pay a monthly premium to get it from Sprint. I say it should be included on the $10 monthly data premium they are already charging.

If everyone else you know has an iPhone, and would like to partake on their iPhone activities, then it's a no-brainer, you should get the iPhone.

At least you tried Android before deciding, that is good enough for me and wish you well on the dark side of the force... =)

Sent using the force

But a fun project nonetheless! 😉✌

I don't know how this ended up in the wrong thread. Redacted.

During my first experience the only bad and really annoying thing is that when open screen, instead of an useful page I got the list of the apps that were open when I closed the screen.

To make that disappear I have to push twice the main button or push one in a neutral zone of the screen. Both action are a loose of time.

I don't want that! How can I prevent this to happen?