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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

#101

Post by rogerbinns »

Tomis wrote: post #93

If you're sick of Android usage you should try Android development, that would really make your day. In any case, if you're looking for an open platform try a Symbian or MeeGo. The Nokia N9 is one of the best smartphones ever made and, if you can get it, you will have a real user experience. Also, if you're a mobile developer who is not into BDSM you will be happy to hear that you don't have to write your programs in…

Depends why you are doing development. Ultimately it is going to be about potential market and profitability. (Yes there are some "hobbyists" doing it for fun but they are not particularly relevant.)

You don't have to write Android apps in Java - that is just the normal way of doing it. You can write them in anything that is executed by native code including C, C++, C# (Mono) and there are many engines available including ones for Adobe Flash, Unity (C#) and even apportable.com which lets you use Objective C as has reimplemented the iOS APIs on Android. Google also have a SL4A that lets you use Python, or you could compile Python yourself.

If you want real pain, try doing Blackberry development, where you had no choice but Java, crappy APIs, overzealous procedures and crummy dev environment.

The hardest part of Android development isn't the code writing but user support - Android Market plays up, various devices you have never heard have quirks/bugs, feature support varies etc.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#102

Post by fauigerzigerk »

ugh wrote: post #49
jkubicek wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple makes a significant amount of revenue from apps and media… they make an astronomical amount from hardware. http://allthingsd.com/20110420/the-most-successful-store-no-... $1.4b/quarter as of last year. Their margins are a lot tighter on media sales, but even so, that's probably a good chunk of change.

Doesn’t matter. They don’t care. It’s not the reason why they support old hardware. That’s a bullshit argument.

I don't think it's the main reason either. The reason is customer loyalty. But I believe that media and app sales are more important than you think, because it's the entire integrated ecosystem that keeps people inside Apple's fold. Secondly, Apple is investing huge amounts into expanding their software/services/media offering, so current sales might not be telling you very much about their motivation.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#103

Post by dagw »

gcb wrote: post #85
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…

i like hardware keyboards. the ONLY one you can buy today is from motorola locked to verizon... great device option i have. when i first bought my dreadful nexus one, the only newly launched keyboard option i had was the backflip! a brick was faster. it was already announced to be relegated to 1.5 forever, and 1.6 was launched before it was out. or something like that. older keyboard availables, G1, too slow, no supp…

There's also the SE Xperia Pro, and there at least used to be the HTC Desire Z, but I don't know if they've discontinued that phone or not.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#104

Post by mhw »

"If someone like me who is an astute observer of the industry has to do such intense research on which Android device to buy based on the potential for ongoing support and then ends up getting burned in the process, what is the average consumer to do?"

In a nutshell, the reason I haven't seriously considered an Android device. I was burned by my last Nokia/Symbian phone not getting any OS updates or bug fixes, and quickly decided that I wouldn't be able to predict which of the numerous Android devices would turn out to be the lucky ones that would be supported and maintained.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#105

Post by rbarooah »

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…

What do you mean by 'all caps all the time'?

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#106

Post by dagw »

inoop wrote: post #47
ilamont wrote: post #16

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…

So what about WP7? Both as a user and as a developer I was completely frustrated with Android, so I went out and got myself a Lumia 800. Here in Europe you pay about $525 for this device (off contract), and the 710 and 610 are about $330 and $260 respectively. An HTC radar goes for $380.

As another Android user looking for other options, I'd love to hear your opinion of WP7. Especially on how you're finding the selection and quality of the available apps.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#107

Post by j_col »

frio wrote: post #84
nextparadigms wrote: post #17

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…

I strongly agree. I've been averse to owning a tablet for a while; generally, I prefer to have a laptop: if I want to do work on it, I can. I've recently tried a different approach: use the laptop (/tablet, now) for all my entertainment needs, and my desktop for work (in order to encourage myself to do more/better work on my desktop). So, to facilitate that, I grabbed a cheap HP TouchPad, and flashed the (admittedly…

Given that webOS has some fantastic tablet apps, why on Earth remove it from the Touchpad and install ICS which has a lot less tablet apps? I see people doing this all of the time, and frankly it confuses me because they just by-pass the best feature of the Touchpad: webOS.

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#108

Post by rbarooah »

creamyhorror wrote: post #67
latch wrote: post #18

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…

I hate my iPhone 3GS, because after my PC died I couldn't sync it any more without losing my media, couldn't update the OS because I had jailbroken it (never installed pirated apps either), and because the battery life is horrible on 3G - it heats up, drops a few percentage points in a few minutes, and I often have to power off the phone. I told myself I was running off to Android where I wouldn't have to deal with a…

How much of your bad experience was caused by 'Apple' and how much was because you jailbroke your device?

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#109

Post by bigiain »

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…

"Apple, on the other hand, actually has a significant revenue stream from existing hardware … "

FWIW, Apple don't exactly have an unblemished record in treating owners of existing iPhones properly, as anyone who suffered through the first few iOS upgrades on iPhone3G's after the 3GS came out. For a while even Apple native apps like Messages (the SMS app) were all but unusable on a fully updated 3G…

Having said that, I'm still overall much happier with the OS upgrade path my original iPhone -> iPhone 3G -> iPhone 4S has had, compared to the long delays in getting _any_ OS upgrades for my Galaxy S II (largely due to the carriers here in .au rather than Google's fault, but that doesn't make the feeling of lack of support any easier to stomach…)

Re: I'm sick to death of Android

#110

Post by rbarooah »

avens19 wrote: post #52

What we have to think about here is that this guy, and probably anyone reading this blog (myself included), is a nerd. The average consumer doesn't give a f * about Ice Cream Sandwich. If their phone does what it needs to do on a daily basis they are happy. It has the same features as it did when they bought it and new apps come out every day. It's not much different with Apple, aside from a few minor features, updat…

This is simply false.

The iPhone 3GS shipped in June 2009 with iOS 3, and has continued to receive every update between then and now.

There have been literally hundreds of new features added in that time, as well as a series of whole new built-in apps.

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