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I'm sick to death of Android

zdnet.com

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Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#11

Post by burgerbrain »

Osiris wrote: post #9
makecheck wrote: post #5

I had an Android phone for roughly a year, after having a not-smart flip-phone for about 7 years! And even though I found real value in my old phone for 7 years, I tossed the Android for an iPhone 4S almost as soon as the new iPhone came out. When I first bought the Android phone (HTC Hero) I thought it was amazing. It really had some neat features, and there were things the iPhone couldn't do (like totally change th…

I haven't owned an iPhone, so I've kept myself content by keeping CyanogenMod ROMs on my phones just to keep them updated. I do think Apple's iron grip on certain parts of the OS is a problem though. For example, I really dislike the iOS virtual keyboard. All caps all the time? Really? I love that in Android there are dozens of replacement keyboards I can use if I want. Unfortunately, I don't think Apple will ever lo…

I have to second CyanogenMod. It's currently the only thing stopping me from saying 'fuck it' and going back to a dumbphone.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#12

Post by wavephorm »

Blame the carriers. That carriers lock their phones, and customize the OS with spam. Google offers them this "free OS" they can't refuse, then they lock their phones, and don't keep up to date with anything. Why would they care, you already bought the phone, they already have your money and you are forced into a 2 year plan. You'd have to be nuts to buy into a mismanaged nightmare like this.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#13

Post by psyklic »

makecheck wrote: post #5

I had an Android phone for roughly a year, after having a not-smart flip-phone for about 7 years! And even though I found real value in my old phone for 7 years, I tossed the Android for an iPhone 4S almost as soon as the new iPhone came out. When I first bought the Android phone (HTC Hero) I thought it was amazing. It really had some neat features, and there were things the iPhone couldn't do (like totally change th…

I had an original Droid from Verizon, and Verizon still pushed updates to me even at the two year mark, including an upgrade to the latest Android OS a year after purchase.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#14

Post by martey »

Osiris wrote: post #7

The main benefit of Android, in my opinion, is the large selection of hardware. I like hardware keyboards, for example, and so I at least have some choice if I want it (unlike Apple). However, that diversity in hardware is also the biggest problem with the platform. Handset manufacturers seem to look at a device as a "sell and forget" sort of item. They make it, sell it, and then move on to the next project. It's too…

"Or perhaps I'm being naive and there's something else that's holding up updates other than technical issues with drivers/hardware compatibility."

In the United States at least, mobile firmware updates are subject to the approval of mobile carriers. Most phones that are released in both the United States and Europe are updated in the latter region before the former. American carriers are also a primary reason why most phones do not run stock Android [1].

Since some revenue sharing is already in place [2], and carriers make money regardless of what Android version their customers are on, I do not think it is the answer. Unless Google can find a way to reduce the control that carriers have (by weaning Americans off of subsidized phones, or by restricting Android software customization similar to iOS or Windows Phone), I am not sure things will change for the better.

[1]: http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/10/2697939/motorolas-sanjay-j...

[2]: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-03-25/tech/30041935...

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#15

Post by gonehome »

makecheck wrote: post #5

I had an Android phone for roughly a year, after having a not-smart flip-phone for about 7 years! And even though I found real value in my old phone for 7 years, I tossed the Android for an iPhone 4S almost as soon as the new iPhone came out. When I first bought the Android phone (HTC Hero) I thought it was amazing. It really had some neat features, and there were things the iPhone couldn't do (like totally change th…

I've come to the conclusion that any android phone outside of the nexus line is garbage.

The nexus phones however are arguably better than iPhones.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#16

Post by ilamont »

iOS (iPod and iPad2) and Android user (Samsung Exhibit II) here.

The OP brings up many valid concerns, and asks, as a consumer, how much is one willing to tolerate this?

My answer: A very long time, as long as Android phones and plans continue to smoke iPhone on price and provide an "almost iOS" experience.

The Exhibit II has Android 2.3.5 installed. T-Mobile charges US$30 per month for 100 minutes of talk, unlimited messaging, and 5GB of 4G data; thereafter it reverts to slower data and 10 cents per minute of talk. I am not a heavy talker, nor do I stream video or audio (and when I do it's usually within wifi range). When I was looking for a plan, I saw a similar offer for a Virgin plan (I think it was US$35). Friends overseas tell me even cheaper Android plans are offered through local carriers.

For owners of Android handsets, using Facebook, Twitter, email, Web, and most mobile news sites is comparable to iOS. I miss Instagram, but it is coming soon to Android, and in the meantime I make do with Path. There are a few other missing Android apps, and the UX is slightly inferior, but considering it's $30/month, it's good enough.

To many people, that's the value of Android. The UX is very similar to iOS, it handles most smartphone functions, and it's a lot cheaper.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#17

Post by nextparadigms »

One other thing, if Android/Google execs read this: for the love of God go ahead and admit that there is a need for tablet apps. It's the first step in solving the problem - admitting you have a problem. As long as you have the attitude that phone apps work "just as well" on tablets, developers will have the exact same attitude and will not care as much. It also "helps" that you don't really want to emphasize tablet apps in their own categories, so devs have little incentive to build them.

Also, wake up and promote this heavily, before you lose the tablet market forever. The iPad advantage is growing by the day, and Windows 8 tablets are coming, too, and even though I'm not a fan of Windows 8, I'm almost certain Microsoft will be able to brag about having more apps for ARM tablets than Android has for tablets at the time, because I'm sure they will be just as aggressive about it as they are with WP7 apps. You simply can't afford to stay on your asses and let apps come to you. I know that's Google's attitude towards it right now, because it's obvious from how Andy Rubin and Eric Schmidt speak at events. Change that! Fast!

It's simply inexcusable that you've launched Honeycomb more than a year ago and all you have to show for it is a few hundred tablet apps. The Nexus tablet will not change that if it's only 7", even if it's a popular tablet. I don't think devs will bother to make "tablet apps" for a 7" tablet. They'll just leave the phone apps, which look rather well on 7", and Kindle Fire is an example of that.

So I don't know what you have to do, pay each developer, hold a $100 million contest for Android tablet apps, reject their apps if they don't also make a tablet version within 6 months - whatever. Just do it and be very aggressive about it, because you've lost a lot of time with the Honeycomb launch failure, and now you only have little time before Amazon's ecosystem or Microsoft's ecosystem become bigger than Android on tablets, too. And that's without even mentioning the enormous and growing iPad ecosystem. That's why you need to start being pro-active about tablets apps like yesterday.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#18

Post by latch »

Smartphones are a commodity. I hate my Samsung Galaxy. It destroyed the Samsung and Android brands for me. When it's time for me to get a new phone, I'll definitely pick an alternative (probably an iPhone). Doesn't matter if there's a Galaxy 5 running Android 6 by then.

Same thing played out with US vs Japanese car manufacturers. People have lasting memories when they feel that they spent money on an inferior product.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#19

Post by msh »

damian2000 wrote: post #8

If you want an update just root it download the update. People who are wanting the latest greatest incremental release are usually a bit techie anyway, so its not that hard is it?

There are at lot of phones where there are not a stable ics rom even half a year after google released it.

So it's not just hard, but impossible.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#20

Post by CrazedGeek »

Do phones really /need/ to be updated to new OS versions? I recently upgraded to a Galaxy Nexus, and while ICS is pretty nice, I honestly think I could have lived with Froyo or Gingerbread for another couple years.

(as an aside, as of last month, a good 45% of desktop web users were on Windows XP, an OS version that hasn't received any major updates since 2008: http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.... )

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