Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone • Hacker News Board

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#31

Post by trotsky » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:41 PM UTC

PatrickTulskie wrote: post #27

trotsky wrote: post #11

Shouldn't this be "Why my Mom Bought a Samsung Charge from Verizon, Returned It, and Got an Apple iPhone" ? Kind of strikes me as similar to writing "Why I bought an American car, junked it and bought a BMW M5" - the american car part isn't half as important as which one specifically.

The important thing here is that most of the Android ecosystem is like this. When you buy an iPhone, you're getting exactly what you paid for. No two Androids are sold the same though. Some have tons of crapware, some have an interface you can't change, and for someone who isn't looking to customize the crap out of their phone, hack it, uninstall things, none of that makes any sense. The Nexus S is a great phone beca…

It seems like the author didn't have these problems with his phone (that he loves), his friend(s) didn't have those problems with the nexus s, I've had four Android phones and I've only had any serious problems with one due to design failures (and only one was a google experience phone). Sure, there are poor android phones out there. If you think you can buy _any_ android based device and expect an apple quality experience you're obviously in for disappointment. But attributing any failure of any device to the platform only makes sense if you see the world as stark black and white and couched in a constant two sided battle of google and apple.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#32

Post by StavrosK » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:43 PM UTC

LeafStorm wrote: post #10

aw3c2 wrote: post #7

That was pretty misleading. Not Android was the culprit, but the carrier's crapware. I never understood why people would not actually buy their phones and then decide on a contract or prepaid to go with it? I even bought mine off Ebay in excellent condition and almost full warranty (2 years in Germany) so much cheaper that I still have not reached the difference to the "normal full or subsidized price" with my monthl…

From what I understand, the mobile phone system in the EU works differently than in the US. In the US, almost all phones are bought at carrier-subsidized prices - i.e. much cheaper than buying the phone standalone. The catch is that you have to sign for a 2-year contract with that carrier to get the subsidized prices. The prices for mobile phone plans in the US are much higher because they include the phone subsidy.…

In the EU (well, I can speak for Greece), you get the phone with carrier subsidies, with year-long contracts. You can choose not to get a phone and deduct an amount off your contract each month.

The carrier-subsidized phones are usually exactly the same as the stock devices. Some carriers install one or two apps (rarely), but I've never seen a carrier-locked phone in the hundreds of devices I've seen. Any carrier-sponsored phone works with any other carrier.

It's your money, anyway.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#33

Post by timclark » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:44 PM UTC

Symmetry wrote: post #8

LeafStorm wrote: post #3

Probably one of Android's biggest issues is the fact that the carriers keep messing with the phone - slowing it down, installing crapware, making unnecessary UI changes, etc. For example, any given Verizon Android phone has a bunch of crap apps that I can't remove or move to the SD card despite the fact that they are the primary reason that I am running out of space on the flash memory. And they completely reskinned…

My take is that the carriers know that differentiation is crucial to keeping a loyal customer base. And since they are having a hard time adding value, they're trying to differentiate by removing value.

Carriers don't want to be a commodity, which in reality is what they are becoming.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#34

Post by blinkingled » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:47 PM UTC

I never got this ostensible iPhone good for Mom, Android bad thing. My Mom is as technically ignorant as it can get. I gave her an Android phone connected to her home WiFi and with little help she can lock/unlock, make and take calls, see her GMail, visit any photo sharing links I send her etc. Similar story with my friend's parents.

For crying out loud - it's the same simple concept and mostly the same amount of complexity involved. Of course people have preferences - somebody's Mom might perceive iPhone as simpler or better - but that's not a platform issue, it's a preference issue.

Before this can be debated you have give a real thought to how people use their phones - take use cases and compare them on both phones. Checking email - on Android there were 3 different apps installed containing the name mail for example and there was 1 on iPhone. Most newer phones and launchers will allow you to hide apps you don't use - problem solved - one time thing. This is just an example but I don't think anyone goes to this level before claiming this is better or that - I don't think there is much difference now a days given my experience.

Also from the article - "Want to activate your phone? Take the battery out, write down a series of minuscule numbers" - Umm why? VZW will gladly activate and setup your phone and so will BestBuy.

[Edit: Oh she already had iPad experience - no wonder then.]

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#35

Post by speckledjim » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:48 PM UTC

PatrickTulskie wrote: post #27

trotsky wrote: post #11

Shouldn't this be "Why my Mom Bought a Samsung Charge from Verizon, Returned It, and Got an Apple iPhone" ? Kind of strikes me as similar to writing "Why I bought an American car, junked it and bought a BMW M5" - the american car part isn't half as important as which one specifically.

The important thing here is that most of the Android ecosystem is like this. When you buy an iPhone, you're getting exactly what you paid for. No two Androids are sold the same though. Some have tons of crapware, some have an interface you can't change, and for someone who isn't looking to customize the crap out of their phone, hack it, uninstall things, none of that makes any sense. The Nexus S is a great phone beca…

> because the article is primarily about problems with the Android ecosystem.

IN THE U.S.A.

If you want better cellphones with better carriers who don't do stupidly intrusive things, move to Europe.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#36

Post by nextparadigms » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:49 PM UTC

Google needs to standardize the platform more, and get stricter with manufacturers. It was good to be more open in the beginning to grow, but I think they have enough growth right now, and getting stricter with their quality requirements and maybe even with using stock Android (something I'd actually like to happen) would benefit the whole ecosystem in the end, and especially the customers.

Android should be more like Windows (not WP7 - that's too strict), where users still have a lot of choice, but it's standardized enough to work pretty well across different hardware. The way I see it from most open to most closed, it's something like this Linux > Android > Windows > WP7 > iOS.

I think Windows is a pretty good compromise for a multi-hardware OS, and it has already proven it works the best in the market, granted it got a big boost from IBM PC's early on with this standardization issue, while Android grew by itself because of the extra openness. But as I said, I think it's about time to move to more standardization now. I'm hoping they've been already working on this issue for a while, and they will start implementing this with Android 4.0.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#37

Post by sjs382 » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:49 PM UTC

buro9 wrote: post #15

I can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S2 also suffers from this. Worse still, it's not just removing stock apps and loading Samsung ones, they've gone and removed the stock Android keyboard too. My girlfriend hates the Samsung keyboard, and the only other alternative on the phone is Swype which she hates even more. As a direct result of the keyboard not being the one she knew and loved her use of the phone has plumme…

http://androidadvices.com/how-to-install-gingerbread-keyboar...

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#38

Post by juliano_q » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:49 PM UTC

buro9 wrote: post #15

I can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S2 also suffers from this. Worse still, it's not just removing stock apps and loading Samsung ones, they've gone and removed the stock Android keyboard too. My girlfriend hates the Samsung keyboard, and the only other alternative on the phone is Swype which she hates even more. As a direct result of the keyboard not being the one she knew and loved her use of the phone has plumme…

Dude, you dont need CM just to fix the keyboard. The stock 2.3 is on the Market, and many other nice options (I love Swiftkey X).

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#39

Post by speckledjim » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:50 PM UTC

markokocic wrote: post #19

yock wrote: post #6

The real issue here is not the hardware and not Android, but what device manufacturers and network providers cram down the throats of their customers. Custom UI enhancements/replacements, useless bundled apps that can't be removed, and the removal of standard, OS-delivered features. None of this should have been new or a surprise to the writer's mom, who was coming to Android from a feature phone. Feature phones have…

But this what you explained is exactly the problem with Android. With iPhone, carriers, phone manufacturers and such are not allowed to install their crapware/bloatware on the phone. With Android, they can do whatever they want, and the only sane option for an end user is to root the phone.

It's still a problem with US carriers. (Other countries have far better carriers and ecosystems than the US)

It still absolutely amazes me that you guys usually pay for incoming SMS messages.

I mean come on. W T F? If the carriers started charging each time you charge your battery the US public would just bend over and take it.

Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

#40

Post by juliano_q » Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 1:51 PM UTC

So you made a poor choice of device for your mom and you are blaming Android? If you know that the Nexus S is a pleasure to use, why would you buy a phone full of crapware? Why didnt you bought the Nexus S?

I like Android, but I always make a careful research before buy one or recommend one. I use a Nexus S and it is amazing. I will change it only for the next Nexus.