21–30 of 57 posts
The big problem Android has is leaving people behind. It turns out v1.6 is required just to use Kobo's eBook reading software. What of all those v1.5 devices still out there? SOL! Some people can say, eh, this is the early adopter problem, except these are phones being sold to everyday people, not techies.
21% are still on 1.5. The older OS's are diminishing quite a lot in the last 6 months, though.
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>His four main points are: openness... Actually, openness is not one of his points. He mentions it in passing only. >Android definitely has momentum but at their current rate it will still take years to match the iPhone's share of the market. From February to May of this year, Android went from 9% to 13% of the market. In that same time, the iPhone went from 25.4% to 24.4%. At that rate, it will take about six months…
This is why statistics are always dangerous in the hands of, well, anyone :) Don't forget that Feb-May is the maximum time from a new iPhone release. This quarter saw an actual release so I wouldn't be surprised to see them snatch back the 1%. More importantly you can't extrapolate from just the one quarters figures :) Android sales could trail off or people could end up sending them back in high numbers after a few…
I also realize that these numbers only represent one quarter, but if you look at the previous quarters, you'll see that Android is experiencing steady growth. I have no doubt that the iPhone 4 will be a boon to Apple's numbers. We only have to wait another three months to find out! :)
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Count me in the opposite camp, then. I don't regret my Nexus One at all - it's far superior to iPhone for my use case.
In what perspective is it superior? I have a nexus one too I really fail to see what is better about it.
- Tethering. I fly frequently, so sitting in the airport with a free wifi connection is nice.
- Navigation. Nav is just that much nicer than directions.
- GVoice integration. I'm a big fan free texts and transcribed voicemails.
- Cost. My total bill, including insurance, is $75/month, with 5 numbers of unlimited calls. I probably make 600-800 minutes worth of calls/month. I only call 4 people with any regularity, so T-Mobile's plan really works well for me.
- Webserver. I found a built-in webserver, so I can pull photos/etc. off my phone even if I don't have my USB. There are other ways to do this, but it suits me particularly well.
- Locale. Changes my call, wifi, ringer, and 10 other things based on my location, time of day, and other pieces of context.
- Swype. Best smartphone keyboard I've seen (admittedly beta, so not freely available)
Again, these are all things I enjoy, not objective arguments for the superiority of Android. But, I can't get them on iPhone, and the list of things that would be relevant to me on iPhone is somewhat smaller.
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Notifications - I can see that I have 2 emails, a text and an SMS waiting for me. Can't do that on an iPhone.
Yes you can
The one thing that still keeps me from Android is that the iPhone, in my experience (and I have used both extensively), is a better phone. As in for actual calls and texts :) I predominately use my phone for that (calls, texts, email, internet) and apps are only a minor benefit (I use them infrequently). At some time in the next 2 or 3 years I will change to an Android handset - the OS is improving no end and once th…
I'd say just for the network alone the Android is a better phone . Texting capabilities seem about the same with my old iPhone and my Droid. I haven't tried iOS4.
If I were in the states I expect I would be on Android already!
Maybe this is unfair, but it reminds me of the people who boycott buying gas from local BP stations to protest the oil spill.
I think you really need to explain that. There is simultaneously nothing wrong with boycotting BP (even though it should lead to lower gas prices for those who don't boycott, those who do boycott may sleep better at night) - and similarly nothing wrong with believing that Android has more momentum than Apple presently, so that it's worth betting on. And even with nothing wrong with either actions, I don't see the con…
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Count me in the opposite camp, then. I don't regret my Nexus One at all - it's far superior to iPhone for my use case.
In what perspective is it superior? I have a nexus one too I really fail to see what is better about it.
The file browser makes all the difference in perception. It feels like the difference between a classic iPod and a PC. One is a toy, the other a tool.
The combination of notifications and multitasking: for example, when I get an email, I can pull down the bar and see its title. If I need to deal with it, I can tap on it and reply, then press the back button and I'm sent back to where I came from, rather than having to go to a home screen, etc.
And I really like the widgets. The Google calendar widget shows my upcoming appointments, and it's on the center home screen. The AutoRotate OnOff widget hugely improves usability if you're e.g. in bed: you can disable auto-rotation in web pages. Actually, I think auto-rotation should be disabled by default, as it's almost never useful - always more of a gimmick than a feature. But you have to jailbreak the iPhone to disable auto-rotation.
The navigation, tethering etc. are all just gravy. I've had tethering for a long time on my ancient K800i, both over USB and bluetooth, and it's always handy for airports and hotels abroad.
That's another thing: cost. I use a UK O2 pay as you go sim, and spend about 11 GBP per month - 8 of that, IIRC, is for internet usage. But when I'm abroad, I use my Irish Vodafone sim and relegate the O2 to my K800i. The Vodafone sim works in the US and all across Europe, and costs me 0.99 EUR/day for 50MB/day. That's enough to cover my casual daily Google Maps and browsing usage when I'm travelling, so I'm never without internet access wherever I am, whether it's Albania or California.