Help Android Apps vs. Palm Pre Apps

[Adrift]

My point was that the guy above said Palm was"nowhere near" 1000 apps in their App Catalog, and claimed they are struggling to get there. Untrue on both counts...they've shot up from 0 to 700 in a few months, and the pace has been ACCELERATING....they're not struggling, they're speeding up. Also, one could argue that the "Homebrew" apps for Palm WebOS on precentral.net are better tested than half the cr*p in the Android Market. So add another 500 or so there, and you're up to 1300 Palm WebOS apps and growing. Most of the Homebrew apps eventually seem to get promoted into the offiical App Catalog anyway. Finally, there's an app that allows the Pre to use many of the old PalmOS apps, so add a good chunk of those in as well. So there! LOL

Possibly, but their user base is falling, if they don't start diversifying with their devices and networks they run on, they will be left in the dust. They cannot do what apple did as their device does not appeal to the same ammount of people as the iPhone did, and this seems to be their target business model. I know they just released a new device in the "pixi" but WebOS is still dragging behind Android. How many devices does Android run on? How many networks use an Android device? How much larger is the Android user base than the WebOS base? How much of a gap is growing EVERY day between them. Maybe folks who need the business capabilities of WebOS are still buying into, however everyday average users are not. Guess where the larger user base is. And as Android gets more functionality more functional apps are and will be coming out. I really don't see how WebOS is going to catch up at this point, unless something new and exciting happens, which can actually grab the attention away from Android.

My other point was basically that we ALL know that most of the "apps" in both the Android Market and the Apple App Store are total bunk....of the 50-80,000 apps in the Apple store, what percentage are actually useful??

Seriously....you and I BOTH know that once you remove the 50,217 Android or Apple dancing baby or fart apps, and then take out the apps that are basically just people's personal lists of trivia questions, sound effects, or light saber graphics, you're down to VERY few apps that are downloaded a significiant amount or even used. We all know this to be true....nobody seriously argues that looking at the sheer number of apps is important. It's the quality, utility, and maintenance of the apps that counts...and we ALL know it.

And what does it matter if YOU don't find these apps useful? You are one person in how many countless folks on Android globally. You never know when something usefull will drop on to Android from some obscure new developer. So what if there is stuff you would consider junk on the market, its not all there for just you. Believe it or not there are alot of folks who find it humors to make their phones sound like lightsabers, or make fart sounds, both of these I've seen on other folks phones. So yes, you may find these 20,000+ apps useless, but guess what? You are not the only person on Android Market, the phone was not made for you, other folks like having options and various programs to install on their phones. They don't like being limited to apps that are not useful to them, even if they may be useful to you. This is the beauty of open development.

As far as the other points of comparison between the Pre and the HTC Hero, I stand by everything I said. I'm one of the few people commenting here who has seriously owned both phones for myself and used them. And it sounds like most folks AGREE with me about the superiority of WebOS in some ways....

Once again, this is not a Sprint HTC HERO forum, nor is it a PALM PRE forum, arguing the semantics of these two devices here is pointless.

Also, the redhead in the Pre commercials is sort of cute. I buy products based on the attractiveness of the females in their advertisements....doesn't everyone?

No, she is creepy. I usually go for redheads but she just gives me the heebee-jeebees. RUN. run far away from her.


Again not meaning to be antagonistic, just stating the painfully obvious.

 

[dbpaddler]

I do think this thread was app based, not about the overall success or lack of success about the OS's. I don't care who thinks one is better or if one will fail. The merit was about app quality, qantity and functionality.

 

[Adrift]

I do think this thread was app based, not about the overall success or lack of success about the OS's. I don't care who thinks one is better or if one will fail. The merit was about app quality, qantity and functionality.

While true, the points were brought up. We can now move on from those points, to solely app based comments. However, I find it odd that you bring this up now, and not earlier in the thread when you actually commented on the speed of Pre compared to Moment.

 

[dbpaddler]

Well when someone is wrong on the internet, you have to correct them I didn't continue it though. Just seemed like it might be turning into another my phone is better than your phone thread.

 

[Adrift]

Very well... to get back on topic.

The merit was about app quality, qantity and functionality.

App attributes:

Quality: I feel there was no argument here. WebOS wins though dictation of how apps should mesh with their WebOS UI.

Quantity: No argument here either. Android wins flat out. With open development we are allowed to produce the apps we want, this is why there are so many apps that are similar but may have slight variations.

Functionality: This is where the argument begins. Functionality is purely opinion based. So the inner workings of one app may not work to your standards but the person next to you may find it works to his expectations just fine.

An example: My 66' Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40, gets maybe 12-15 MPG, top speed is maybe 65 MPH, No powersteering, No disc brakes, noisy, smelly, ROUGH, likes to drip oil, and has no creature comforts at all (no heat, no A/C). You may not see the functionality in having this nearly 50 year old truck, however to me, it fuctions amazingly, especially for what I use it for.

Most of the things discussed here are purely opinion based, just like someone being right or wrong, that is based on someone elses opinion.

 

[astrobill]

I previously used the Pre, but now have the Moment. Each day (even since I started this thread) I find out how great Android really is. Of course many of the apps are useless. But the fact that they are so easily designed, built, released, changed, and updated - along with the fact that I can arrange them any way I like on my desktop - is just awesome. I still stand by my original statement that Palm apps seem more polished. But I can't have widgets on my Pre. I can't change the icons, or even shuffel them around (well, I guess you sort of can with the cards). I love having all of my text/phone type apps on my middle screen, all of my applications on the right screen, and all of my news/sports widgets on the left screen. Definitely cannot organize apps like that on the Pre.

I agree with you totally about Palm Pre apps being more polished. Minor quibble with your post, however: I seem to recall being able to slide the Pre icons around and put them on any home screen one desires, just as with Android. I also definitely remember being able to customize the little bottom bar of default apps. Not sure you're remembering correctly about customizing the Pre home pages. In general, though, I think you and I are agreeing about the Pre being slick.

 

[dbpaddler]

It'd be interesting to see someone with both phones comment on the same app or an equivalent running on them for a comparison. That and specific apps that one can find for one platform and not the other. I'd do the latter if I had enough interest, but webOS doesn't interest me until the hardware improves.

 

[aclark414]

I agree with you totally about Palm Pre apps being more polished. Minor quibble with your post, however: I seem to recall being able to slide the Pre icons around and put them on any home screen one desires, just as with Android. I also definitely remember being able to customize the little bottom bar of default apps. Not sure you're remembering correctly about customizing the Pre home pages. In general, though, I think you and I are agreeing about the Pre being slick.

I agree with you and you are right, you can customize the Pre...but not nearly as much as you can with the Moment. You can only fit 4 or 5 icons on the bar on the Pre. You also have to open up a separate window to get to all of the icons, where as on the Moment you don't have to open a separate window to get to the home screens. But anyway, I still feel the Pre Apps are more polished. They also seemed to run better. I get a lot of force closes on Android apps - even the more well known ones like Pandora, WeatherBug, Sports Tap, etc. I am nowhere at the point of returning the Moment, but definitely some things that are frustrating.

 

[stevei2071]

When I got my Moment, my wife got a Pre at the same time. She's jealous of all of the flexibility of Android, so I'll happily sacrifice a bit of polish for more flexibility and 5 times as many apps. I'll admit that at times I'm a bit jealous of the sleeker styling of the Pre, but I'm really digging the Moment so far.

My wife has the pre. It's a sharp phone. I am intrigued by the android platform as well as the sense ui on the HTC Hero. I think that is the phone I want. I am guessing there are tons more apps for the androids. Like mentioned, I guess everything on the pre is a little more polished.

Any feedback on the Hero?

I am hoping for a price drop as i need to stay at about $100.

Steve

 

[rcyphermd]

I have had the Pre (for 5 months.....I bought it release day) and the hero. Just got the moment for my daughter.

If you value time and efficiency RUN from the pre. I am a palmoholic....I have had palm since 1996. I love palm, but not the pre. This is not your father's palm. Very slow calendar.....embarrassing to use at meetings.

I LOVE the android os. The flexibility and options are a blast. And much more efficient than palm.

 

[latinmaxima]

No, she is creepy. I usually go for redheads but she just gives me the heebee-jeebees. RUN. run far away from her.

x2

 

[Pertinax]

Do not get me wrong - I love the Android, especially the vast amount of apps to choose from. But has anyone noticed how much more vibrant and polished the Palm Pre apps are as opposed to Android apps? Take the weather apps for example (Weather Bug or Weather Channel). They are so much brighter and complex on the Pre. I know the Pre apps are far less in number, but the ones that are there seem much more polished. Am I crazy, or does anyone else notice this?

I got the Pixi for my wife a few weeks ago. There are certainly fewer Palm apps and not nearly as many free ones. The Android Market is certainly better and the gap will likely grow.