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Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

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Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#21

Post by brackin »

I did the same thing, I had an iPhone 4. I borrowed a Nexus S for a few months and now have a 4S. I like Android, my view has changed after using it. Downloads and other elements are great, after you use them to think "Why is this so easy". The Nexus S is a fast device with far better colour the iPhone but the retina display makes up for it and more.

The back button is a great idea and It's sorely missed on my 4S, it made sense to remove the on screen button in apps and now i've switched back I find myself thinking more when trying to go back in iOS apps.

Android apps are fine, you can do everything you'd want too. One issue is there's a lack of style. I spent a lot of time finding the most beautiful app as many were poorly designed. I think the one thing you'll find is there are less 'brand apps'. You can't use Instagram you'll have to find the Android equivalent which is sometimes a less popular iPhone app.

The apps do let it down in some ways but overall Android is just different and there are pros and cons to both.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#22

Post by lemieux »

jwcacces wrote: post #8

You want to be taken seriously, and the first thing you say is that "Android exists because it is a rip off of iOS"? Even if it was true, you've set the tone for your whole article as non-objective and fanboyish. Creating a product, like creating artwork, is a process that interacts with the whole industry. You see what others did, and you try to do better. Others see what you do and they try to do better. Lets not e…

I totally agree with you. You can't say this is a rip off... an OS is an OS. Google, or anybody else, would not have much choices when comes to build a new one. Window, apps, app store, etc. are fundamental to a mobile OS. Maybe Apple made the first one to be massively adopted and recognized, but they are not really inovators, they always took something that alreay existed (excepted first computer) and made it a more appealing product for the mass market. Take iPod, iPhone and the iPad for instance. Mp3 player existed before the iPod. They took the concept, built an appealing product from it and sold it to the mass market. Same thing for the iPhone, took the concept of a mobile phone, put it in their iPod OS. Again, same thing for the iPad. Tablets were there. They were unpopular due to a lot of reasons. Apple took the concept, improved it and sold a better product.

Give them credit for make awesome product out of existing ones, but quit saying they invented everything and everything else is a rip off.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#23

Post by jessedhillon »

ajross wrote: post #4

FTA: Fans of Android, let’s not tiptoe around this: Android exists because it is a rip off of iOS. Sure, it has grown into its own in a lot of ways, but its roots are decidedly placed at the introduction of iOS in 2007 While true, I continue to find it infuriating the extent to which people credit Apple with inventing things it didn't. The iPhone was not the first touch-only buttonless interface out there (depending…

There is a link in the very next sentence that illustrates what he's talking about[1]. Yes Android was a product before 2007, but as he says (and as the photos suggest), Android post-2007 was a much different beast.

There's also this question on Quora[2]. IMO, it was much closer to the BlackBerry.

[1] http://random.andrewwarner.com/what-googles-android-looked-l...

[2] http://www.quora.com/Android-OS/What-did-Android-look-like-b...

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#24

Post by lemieux »

stupandaus wrote: post #3

Your question of who the Android is meant for has a very simple answer. It's designed for people who want a smartphone, but aren't willing or capable of spending enough for an iPhone. Also Apple haters as noted.

You realized that most of the time iPhone are cheaper than Android phones?

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#25

Post by tomkarlo »

jessedhillon wrote: post #23
ajross wrote: post #4

FTA: Fans of Android, let’s not tiptoe around this: Android exists because it is a rip off of iOS. Sure, it has grown into its own in a lot of ways, but its roots are decidedly placed at the introduction of iOS in 2007 While true, I continue to find it infuriating the extent to which people credit Apple with inventing things it didn't. The iPhone was not the first touch-only buttonless interface out there (depending…

There is a link in the very next sentence that illustrates what he's talking about[1]. Yes Android was a product before 2007, but as he says (and as the photos suggest), Android post-2007 was a much different beast. There's also this question on Quora[2]. IMO, it was much closer to the BlackBerry. [1] http://random.andrewwarner.com/what-googles-android-looked-l... [2] http://www.quora.com/Android-OS/What-did-Android-…

Basing that entirely on the UI seems like a really superficial view of what goes into both Android and iOS. If it was just a matter of ripping off the UI, Microsoft, RIM and Palm would still be in the game.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#26

Post by there »

jshen wrote: post #20
llgrrl_ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way Gtalk client deals with unreliable connections is perfect. I don't have a 3G plan so I often walk around my campus roaming from one hotspot to another. It doesn't use the regular jabber of you notice. Also SSH without a physical keyboard is gonna be a pain in the back.

i do SSH from my ipad all the time without much pain. I have an android phone and hate the ssh apps mainly because the text is tiny. What ssh app do you use on android?

i use connectbot.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#27

Post by RobAtticus »

I have actually gone the other way. After almost a year and a half of using the Motorola Backflip (the first AT&T Android device, if I recall correctly), I am now using my sister's old iPhone 3G. My main reasons being that my Backflip was slow as hell and the battery barely lasted a day.

I like using Android more, I like developing for Android more, and when I can finally upgrade my phone I will be getting an Android phone. My 3G is pretty nifty, I love that it can go a few days between charges and its at least more responsive. But I also have a N1 I use for research and it is just as responsive and good with battery life, so my main complaints with my Android phone have little to do with the OS and more to do with I bought a crappy phone.

In particular, I like Android's notification system way more than what I have on the 3G. Having Google Talk work so well with the phone is an amazing convenience that I find I miss now that I haven't bothered to set it up on my 3G. I'll be really glad when I can upgrade to a phone running ICS, but until then, this 3G isn't bad either.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#28

Post by phucka »

ajross wrote: post #4

FTA: Fans of Android, let’s not tiptoe around this: Android exists because it is a rip off of iOS. Sure, it has grown into its own in a lot of ways, but its roots are decidedly placed at the introduction of iOS in 2007 While true, I continue to find it infuriating the extent to which people credit Apple with inventing things it didn't. The iPhone was not the first touch-only buttonless interface out there (depending…

It isn't even "true". Android the project existed before the iPhone project even started, and contains many of the rudiments that exist in the project today.

The single and only "truth" is that Android grew to full-screen devices as device makers saw that as the predominate winning target. However the "blackberry like" devices still exist -- see the Droid Pro.

This article is trash. It is disturbing to see it near the top of the front page of HN.

Re: Four months with Android (An iOS user's exploration)

#29

Post by woobar »

cdmckay wrote: post #17

I'm not sure what he's talking about regarding the Android web browser. In my experience, it's been essentially the same as the Mobile Safari in terms of experience.

He posted a link [1] to video comparing browsers on Nexus S and iPhone 3GS. The difference is even more striking if you consider that Nexus S is 1.5 years newer.

[1] http://vimeo.com/30050423

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