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Re: Android

#141

Post by billmcneale »

thought_alarm wrote: post #48

But the iPhone and iPad aren't priced at a premium. Anyway, it's a mistake pit Google against Apple. The real battle will be between Google and Microsoft for the exact same hardware manufacturers and sales channels. (Meanwhile, you can buy an iPad from an Apple Store or from Walmart without any carrier involvement). Google hasn't managed the fragmentation problem very well, they haven't done enough to control the qua…

Actually, the real battle will be between Apple and Microsoft for spots #3 and #4 in the mobile market, as explained here:

http://beust.com/weblog/2010/05/22/more-on-android-and-the-i...

Android is already #2 and poised to become #1 in the next three years. Apple and Microsoft will soon not even be in the same league.

Re: Android

#142

Post by ergo98 »

jwr wrote: post #34

I find it interesting that most people who like Android like it in the future tense. Android is always great, but in that next version, that is just around the corner. That upcoming tablet, that upcoming phone, that upcoming software.

Android 2.2 is excellent. It easily competes with iOS on many metrics, beating it in some areas.

Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S (esp. the Pro), the Droid 2, the Droid X -- excellent devices that are hyper-competitive. Few with such a device would look jealously on an iPhone.

So no...on the phone front Android is top tier. Yeah, subjectively someone will say that the iPhone is all roses for them, but that's the value of a competitive market -- you pick the one that fits you best. On the tablet market it is future tense because, I suspect, Google really didn't want Android to be the tablet OS. They wanted ChromeOS to take that crown. I don't talk tablets when the conversation is about Android.

Re: Android

#143

Post by bradshaw1965 »

nkurz wrote: post #8

I've heard the "fit and finish" argument frequently, both in print and in person as the owner of an HTC Incredible. I don't really see it myself, though. Sure there are a lot of junky looking 3rd party apps, but this is true of iPhone as well. Unlike early Windows vs Mac, I don't have this reaction to the base system. What are people reacting to when they say this? Or is it just a canned response?

Even something as basic as on-screen typography is much worse under Android.

Re: Android

#144

Post by netcan »

arst wrote: post #104
GHFigs wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

e.g. I asked him if he'd pay $199 for an Android tablet. He said "where can I get one"? The punchline is "Nowhere."

Sub-$200 Android tablets: http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_020W023705190001P?v... http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Home-Tablet-Android-Black/dp/B0...

I guess the point is the reviews. Not great.

http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Home-Tablet-Android-Black/produ...

Roughly the same number of reviews for each star. 5 has the fewest. Reading the positive reviews is possibly more informative than the negative ones:

I'm now satisfied with my Archo's 7 Home tablet. After many hours reading helps and hints on the Archo's 7 Home Tablet Forum and installing some of the programs they advise downloading to beef up the weak and clumsy operating system, I got my android tablet just where I want it.. ..new firmare that makes the touch keypad a little easier to work with, but you still need a stylus to get best result..

Not sure what this means about the future and it's certainly not an apples to apples comparison, but it doesn't sound like a cheap android tablet exists that an average VC'c dad would be happy with.

Re: Android

#145

Post by jawee »

mgkimsal wrote: post #55
miratrix wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like Archos has a 7 inch tablet that they sell for $199, though it doesn't have 3G access. Archos has been around for a while and are known to build fairly solid hardware, so this isn't some drive-by-night operation hawking crap on late-night informercial either. http://www.archos.com/products/ht/index.html?country=us&... edit: er, apparently it still runs android 1.5...

I still can't just walk in to major stores and get these. I can go to Apple stores, or Best Buy, and now target, to get an ipad (and Best Buy, AT&T, etc stores for iPhones). :( And, yeah, you pointed out the 1.5 issue. Google needs to do a better job of getting Android licensees to update their versions. There should be no one selling a new device in October 2010 only running 1.5. edit: I can't walk in to stores in m…

I've seen Archos Android tablets in stores for longer than the iPad has been out, such as at Best Buy.

Besides that, there are plenty of Android tablets out there for various prices.. and build quality of course.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AkYukCg_h8T-cmRtOGMy...

Re: Android

#146

Post by jawee »

guyjin wrote: post #118
GHFigs wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

e.g. I asked him if he'd pay $199 for an Android tablet. He said "where can I get one"? The punchline is "Nowhere."

isn't the nook an android tablet? (albeit a very specialized one.)

It isn't worth calling it Android.. I think when people think Android they think of the default interface, the ability to install applications from the App Market, and so on. I have a nook and it's basically stripped down to just a few customized apps (besides the reader function a couple games, a basic media player, and a web browser).

However, I do think it's important in that it shows the versatility of Android as a platform..

Re: Android

#147

Post by ratsbane »

mgkimsal wrote: post #55
miratrix wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like Archos has a 7 inch tablet that they sell for $199, though it doesn't have 3G access. Archos has been around for a while and are known to build fairly solid hardware, so this isn't some drive-by-night operation hawking crap on late-night informercial either. http://www.archos.com/products/ht/index.html?country=us&... edit: er, apparently it still runs android 1.5...

I still can't just walk in to major stores and get these. I can go to Apple stores, or Best Buy, and now target, to get an ipad (and Best Buy, AT&T, etc stores for iPhones). :( And, yeah, you pointed out the 1.5 issue. Google needs to do a better job of getting Android licensees to update their versions. There should be no one selling a new device in October 2010 only running 1.5. edit: I can't walk in to stores in m…

I saw an Android tablet in Macy's today for $169 (might have been $179.) It was an off-brand Chinese model and the display had a dead battery and wasn't plugged in, but the fact that it was there at all, next to the shoe department struck me as notable.

Re: Android

#148

Post by netcan »

An interesting thing that comes out in a lot of these topics is how people are historical determinists when it come to tech platforms.

"The way OS wars work is..."

To me it seems like so much is different that I'd be very hesitant to have such a strong opinion. The players are established companies, it's phones and tablets (cheaper devices with shorter lives), the web is the killer app, software development is easier (in many ways), it's twenty years later....

Re: Android

#149

Post by jallmann »

redthrowaway wrote: post #108
akho wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

StackOverflow is somewhat .NET-biased, and it’s probably the most vibrant online community available. Mono provides a free development tool/environment built around skills easily transferred to .NET. Microsoft even occasionally collaborates with Mono. Also, “everything is coupled together” occasionally becomes a feature. However, what do I know — I haven’t ever used a Microsoft OS on a computer I control. .NET seems…

As a CS student, I'm a bit surprised that our curriculum contains no .NET whatsoever. We learn Java, C and C++ (both with gcc), Python, Perl, Bash scripting and ARM assembly, plus others depending on electives. While some of the lab computers run XP, all of our work has to be platform-independent. We work in *nix, and most of the professors use MBPs. It seems to me that the program really might be selling some of our…

No. The .NET you have to "learn" is just a set of class libraries and interfaces, the gist of which you will get in a weekend hacking together your first C# project.

Unix is the platform to teach in CS , if you should even teach towards a platform at all. Not only because *nix common in industry, but its set of small and reusable tools is well suited to the software engineering philosophy.

My CS department had a course in .NET. It also had a course in XML. Why anyone would take those is baffling.

Also, if all you're extracting from your CS classes are new languages to pad your resume with, then you are missing the forest for the trees.

Re: Android

#150

Post by SwellJoe »

netcan wrote: post #148

An interesting thing that comes out in a lot of these topics is how people are historical determinists when it come to tech platforms. "The way OS wars work is..." To me it seems like so much is different that I'd be very hesitant to have such a strong opinion. The players are established companies, it's phones and tablets (cheaper devices with shorter lives), the web is the killer app, software development is easier…

And yet Apple have been making the same mistakes they made during the original PC wars.
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