31–40 of 147 posts
I was proud to call myself an Android Fan Boy and urged my friends to get one (last year I convinced about 10 friends to get an Android phone and they did). I'm now a frustrated user myself and the worse part is when those friends read article like this and ridicule me.
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 doesn‘t have a significant revenue stream from existing devices. Why does everyone think they are making lots of money by selling apps and media? They do not.
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?
This is true techy people have this option, but google needs to think ourside this market. Android needs to move beyond the 18-20 year old college or college bound male demographic if it's going to grow. It needs to simple enough for your grandma run it. Your phone should update with the latest features as soon as they are available not a year down the line. It's like playing roulette when buying a phone trying to fi…
Around half of all smartphones sold today run Android. I don't think there are that many 18 year olds.
Your phone should update with the latest features as soon as they are available not a year down the line.
Yes, it should. But most users don't really care, as long as it makes calls and can get on Facebook and run Angry Birds. Apple/MS fanboys are correct that Android geeks aren't representative. But neither are they.
It's like playing roulette when buying a phone trying to find out which OEM will update there OS on time and which will not.
GSM Nexus.
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 have an iPhone 4S now, after trying out a Nokia N9, and I've never been happier.
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?
This is true techy people have this option, but google needs to think ourside this market. Android needs to move beyond the 18-20 year old college or college bound male demographic if it's going to grow. It needs to simple enough for your grandma run it. Your phone should update with the latest features as soon as they are available not a year down the line. It's like playing roulette when buying a phone trying to fi…
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…
When I first read your post, I thought you intended this as a snarky remark about the ongoing lawsuits, until I looked it up and found that Samsung really does have a phone named the "Exhibit II". Why do phone manufacturers in particular have such poor taste in naming, and keep picking names with no obvious naming scheme or consistency?
Rational carriers and android hardware manufacturers would understand what's at stake here. Do they really want to hand the entire mobile device market to Apple because of a few updates?
The update situation has improved quite a bit since the early days of Android. I don't see any reason to think that "all of a sudden now" the market will shift entirely to Apple. The new iPhone caused some market shift, and new Android handsets and OS version will likely cause some shift back. Hopefully Google's new "streamlined and integrated" philosophy will continue to reduce update times and further polish and un…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/20178567...
Previously, Microsoft provided exact details on when specific phones on specific carriers would be getting software updates, but this policy ended in January 2012:
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/01/microsofts-new...
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 doesn‘t have a significant revenue stream from existing devices. Why does everyone think they are making lots of money by selling apps and media? They do not.
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.
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 also think Google made this a lot worse by not being more open with ICS development. If Google had been more open with the kernel and drivers along the way, I think ICS upgrades could have been much easier and could be moving much faster as well.
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…
Say what you will about Apple, but they keep the crap off your phone. Carriers can't put a damn thing on there that you don't want.
True, but they do a damn fine job of keeping things off:
iPad 3G video downscaled, blocked over AT&T network: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ipad-3g-video...
AT&T and Apple Admit Deal to Block VoIP on iPhone: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170661/atandt_...
AT&T cracking down unofficial tethering apps like MyWi: http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/18/att-blocking-unofficial...
(Granted, Google's complicit to the carrier's requests here too -- however, I'm still perfectly able to install anything I want on my phone.)
But it was never updated. Not once. It took just months to start seeing apps in the Android Market that only worked with newer OS versions. [...] I've also already received 2 OS updates from Apple, which is 2 more updates than I ever received with Android.
No, it isn't. The Sprint HTC Hero got an official upgrade from 1.6 to 2.1, roughly eight months after the phone came out and five months after 2.1 came out. http://www.slashgear.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-2-1-update-...