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Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

bloomberg.com

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Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#101

Post by rimliu »

guhan_ganesh wrote: post #16

Though Apple is lagging behind in innovative features in recent times, I think they are at a higher level because of the excellent hardware that complements their software and vice versa. I think Google feels let down by the other mobile manufacturer's hardware and hence wants to bet big on improving its in house hardware expertise.

I am interested what innovative features are offered on other flagship phones that are not available for iPhone users? My impression is that smartphones matured enough not to have any major breakthroughs in recent years. That said Face ID is magic.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#102

Post by sumedh »

zamalek wrote: post #91
sumedh wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atleast give some constructive complaints, hating the UI sounds like a personal rant and not a good one as well when the whole world copies Apple's UI.

How is this: > People are used to how their phones work hating on iPhone? It's explaining why both parent comments don't share the same opinion. Everything else I said was very explicitly subjective, am I not allowed to express that I don't like using something? > whole world copies Apple's UI That is absolutely false, outside of the Apple marketing machine. Everyone copied Xerox and UI subsequently evolved byways of…

You are allowed to express your opinion but if you want others to take it seriously make some good points.

There is no need for a history lesson, you can shout about Xerox all you want but in the end It took Job/Apple to make the UI popular.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#103

Post by wegwerfbenutzer »

PierceJoy wrote: post #89
unixhero wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No file manager No personal files - music, ebooks, videos Slavishly tied to Apple appstore. ITunes requirement in the past Useless Apple iCloud which cannot be trusted in the event of disaster (no retention policy) Proprietary chargers Many Android apps are more mature and have more features than iPhone equivalents. Pricing Of handsets. Slow handsets after 1.5 years, due to amongst others planned obsolence.

Not one single thing you wrote would be considered basic usability for 99% of smart phone owners. > Many Android apps are more mature and have more features than iPhone equivalents. Lol. Ok. Even the most ardent Android supporters don't claim that Android's app ecosystem is nearly as mature as Apple's. > Slow handsets after 1.5 years Slower handsets after your battery has degraded enough that your phone risks shutdow…

>> planned obsolence.

>That's blatant lie, and you know it.

So you want to say the recent battery fuck up by Apple was totally unintentional? Of course software updates are designed to slow down your device after some years and it doesn’t matter if you use Apple/Microsoft/Google.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#104

Post by wor3q »

PierceJoy wrote: post #89
unixhero wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No file manager No personal files - music, ebooks, videos Slavishly tied to Apple appstore. ITunes requirement in the past Useless Apple iCloud which cannot be trusted in the event of disaster (no retention policy) Proprietary chargers Many Android apps are more mature and have more features than iPhone equivalents. Pricing Of handsets. Slow handsets after 1.5 years, due to amongst others planned obsolence.

Not one single thing you wrote would be considered basic usability for 99% of smart phone owners. > Many Android apps are more mature and have more features than iPhone equivalents. Lol. Ok. Even the most ardent Android supporters don't claim that Android's app ecosystem is nearly as mature as Apple's. > Slow handsets after 1.5 years Slower handsets after your battery has degraded enough that your phone risks shutdow…

99% of smartphone owners don't need a smartphone at all. You can do photos, calls, browse web and check social media on any feature phone.

The difference for that 1% is quite big in favor of android though.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#105

Post by MarkCole »

johndoe90 wrote: post #92
MarkCole wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a 1st gen Pixel in December 2016, so it's just over a year old. I'm delighted with every part of the hardware, except the screen. After around 6 months I noticed that the nav buttons are really badly burned in where the nav buttons are located([1] picture is not mine but it demonstates what I mean, I believe at this point mine is much worse than in this picture). This is due to the nav buttons being constant…

There must be an option in Display settings, named “Display Burn-In protection”. Do you have it enabled? Just curious, because I just purchased a Pixel 1.

Nope I cannot find that setting. I previously searched for such a setting and could not find it. Nothing in the display settings relates to burn in sadly.

I have a Pixel XL if that makes a difference but I doubt it, as they are practically the same phone.

https://imgur.com/4ZWCUsR

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#106

Post by MarkCole »

thisacctforreal wrote: post #55
MarkCole wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a 1st gen Pixel in December 2016, so it's just over a year old. I'm delighted with every part of the hardware, except the screen. After around 6 months I noticed that the nav buttons are really badly burned in where the nav buttons are located([1] picture is not mine but it demonstates what I mean, I believe at this point mine is much worse than in this picture). This is due to the nav buttons being constant…

Had this problem on my (beloved) Samsung Galaxy Nexus (i9250). It was released in Oct 2011, so I'm surprised it's a problem they still haven't fixed. I suppose longevity is only a small consideration to Google.

Yeah, it's quite a shame because I've always found the Google made phones to be the best. I had the Nexus 5 for 3+ years, and never had a problem with it. I think when it comes time to replace the Pixel I will have to look at other Android phones.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#107

Post by wor3q »

sumedh wrote: post #79
zamalek wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are used to how their phones work, it's a form of lock-in. I can't figure out how a Mac works, never mind an iPhone. I just get annoyed in the first 10 seconds and give up. If iPhone could be made to work more like Android, I'd switch to the superior Apple privacy story. As it stands I really hate using Apple UIs.

Atleast give some constructive complaints, hating the UI sounds like a personal rant and not a good one as well when the whole world copies Apple's UI.

It's objectively awkward.

Just few examples from my use of a mac:

You open xCode, nothing appears, it just changed top menu. You click on any other app in the meantime, and you need to go back to dock to do same action that opened it in first place.

You try to maximize window? For some reason it will move to other desktop.

You try to drag a window to the side, like in every other OS, to have it on half on screen? Nooo, users prefer long clicking on little maximize icon. (and there's a ton of other hidden actions like this, looks like new users should just right click every control possible to discover them)

Mouse support is completely broken, looks like acceleration is optimized for touchpad, and you cannot fix it in settings.

And worst of all, I have to deal with this 'perfect UX' because, no you won't be able to develop an iPhone app on your Linux PC.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#108

Post by Maert »

mrep wrote: post #74
BaronVonSteuben wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you could still use your gingerbread phone, you might be amazed how far it's come. I found an old Galaxy phone with 2.3 on it, and it was incredible how differently I remembered it. It was slow and clunky, and ugly by today's standard.

Has the responsiveness improved? It has been a while since I tried out android (htc one and galaxy s4) but I think the biggest thing that drove me back to iphone is UI.

Do yourself a favour and try out Note 8 in a store.

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#109

Post by zamalek »

sumedh wrote: post #102
zamalek wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this: > People are used to how their phones work hating on iPhone? It's explaining why both parent comments don't share the same opinion. Everything else I said was very explicitly subjective, am I not allowed to express that I don't like using something? > whole world copies Apple's UI That is absolutely false, outside of the Apple marketing machine. Everyone copied Xerox and UI subsequently evolved byways of…

You are allowed to express your opinion but if you want others to take it seriously make some good points. There is no need for a history lesson, you can shout about Xerox all you want but in the end It took Job/Apple to make the UI popular.

> It took Job/Apple to make the UI popular.

This is also not true, Microsoft made it pervasive: between 1996 and 2017 MacOS has only ever peaked at roughly 10-15% market share. It is during this period that the market cap of computer users increased from millions (which can hardly be called "popular") to billions.

This is also shifting the goal posts. Your original comment had absolutely nothing to do with "who made UI popular."

Re: Google closes its $1.1B deal with HTC Corp

#110

Post by teddyfrozevelt »

bg451 wrote: post #66
ariwilson wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a contrasting perspective, I went Android to iPhone and I can say it sent me running back to Pixel as fast as I could for basic usability.

I recently switched from a pixel to the iPhone X since the pixel 2 seemed very underwhelming to me. I'm honestly surprised how easy the switch was and how much more I like the X/iOS than the pixel/android. The one thing iOS is sorely missing is the notification bundling.

I tried the same thing and my biggest problem with iOS is that it feels like you can't cancel most animations. They take forever and you have to wait for them to finish either for it to actually allow you to continue or to be able to reliably hit the next target. It just felt so much slower than Android.
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