Confessions of a smart phone hopper

[Cyder]

I'm gonna purchase the Droid Incredible to try it out. I currently own an iphone 4 but it's getting boring IMO. Then again, I am a phone/tech junky and am constantly swapping phone every couple months. if I do get the incredible, I'll most likely buy the iphone 5 when it comesout. I know, I have a problem. lol

 

[realdealio]

Would it be a good idea to get a new android phone(no android exp. so far), and play with your girlfriend's iphone whenever you want? It sounds like a fantastic idea so far.

 

[jonmark]

Would it be a good idea to get a new android phone(no android exp. so far), and play with your girlfriend's iphone whenever you want? It sounds like a fantastic idea so far.

Haha, from my experience it's not a good idea to "get a new android phone" to begin with.

 

[realdealio]

Fair enough, but maybe it'll take the personal experience of going back and forth to fully appreciate the iphone....I jus hope they all come out at the same time so the choice is easy

 

[eye4ni]

My Opinions:

Android phones have cheap feeling hardware. Plastic and stuff makes it feel chinsey, I really like the iphone 4 hardware, it is solid, and has a premium feel to it that I have not found in any other phone.

Android as an OS is awesome, except it has NO regard to how it uses your resources (battery, data, etc). All these cool widgets and some great apps that constantly run in the background draining your battery, which most users have no idea how to stop them. There are FAR too many tweaks that need to be done in your settings to get optimal battery life etc. Most users will not even bother or know how to do this, so they get $hi++y battery life and a sluggish phone, I have had NON of these issues with my iphone 4.

BLOATWARE, BLOATWARE, BLOATWARE.... Android, c'mon, it is freakin' ridiculous. We pay hundreds of dollars for a top of the line phone that the carriers FILL WITH GARBAGE APPS that we DO NOT want, and cannot delete. These apps start on their own and run in the background and the ONLY WAY to stop it is to root the phone. This is probably one of the top annoyances I had when I had an android (Evo 4G).

Apple may not be as open, and I am not proclaiming Apply Fanboism, because I am a fan of cool gadgets, not from a particular manufacturer. I may someday switch back to Android, but in my opinion, they have a LOT of work to do first. And the fragmentation issue is real, there is just no way they are going to maintain a smooth user experience with so many different handsets out there, and then let HTC, Samsung, Moto, etc. slap a new interface on top of it (sense, motoblur, etc).

I am pretty sure I will be sticking with apple at least through the iphone 6.... then I will have another look at Android.

EDIT: Maybe my biggest annoyance was actually battery life... real life tests (with standard battery) at the end of a typical day, my Evo battery would be down to 30% (or less if I was in an area with poor network coverage), my iphone 4 has never dipped below 60%.... take that for what you will. Android battery life sucks compared to iphone. Now what if I stay out late and can't connect to a charger? The android phone is DEAD.... iphone can go all night, many times I will go 2 full days between charges.

 

[Corey]

My Opinions:

Android phones have cheap feeling hardware. Plastic and stuff makes it feel chinsey, I really like the iphone 4 hardware, it is solid, and has a premium feel to it that I have not found in any other phone.

Android as an OS is awesome, except it has NO regard to how it uses your resources (battery, data, etc). All these cool widgets and some great apps that constantly run in the background draining your battery, which most users have no idea how to stop them. There are FAR too many tweaks that need to be done in your settings to get optimal battery life etc. Most users will not even bother or know how to do this, so they get $hi++y battery life and a sluggish phone, I have had NON of these issues with my iphone 4.

BLOATWARE, BLOATWARE, BLOATWARE.... Android, c'mon, it is freakin' ridiculous. We pay hundreds of dollars for a top of the line phone that the carriers FILL WITH GARBAGE APPS that we DO NOT want, and cannot delete. These apps start on their own and run in the background and the ONLY WAY to stop it is to root the phone. This is probably one of the top annoyances I had when I had an android (Evo 4G).

Apple may not be as open, and I am not proclaiming Apply Fanboism, because I am a fan of cool gadgets, not from a particular manufacturer. I may someday switch back to Android, but in my opinion, they have a LOT of work to do first. And the fragmentation issue is real, there is just no way they are going to maintain a smooth user experience with so many different handsets out there, and then let HTC, Samsung, Moto, etc. slap a new interface on top of it (sense, motoblur, etc).

I am pretty sure I will be sticking with apple at least through the iphone 6.... then I will have another look at Android.

EDIT: Maybe my biggest annoyance was actually battery life... real life tests (with standard battery) at the end of a typical day, my Evo battery would be down to 30% (or less if I was in an area with poor network coverage), my iphone 4 has never dipped below 60%.... take that for what you will. Android battery life sucks compared to iphone. Now what if I stay out late and can't connect to a charger? The android phone is DEAD.... iphone can go all night, many times I will go 2 full days between charges.

While you have some valid points, I think some of your issues aren't necessarily problems with Android. For one, the bloatware is a carrier problem. They pack the phones so full of crap and nonsense that is non-removable. The worst in my experience are the half apps that Verizon loves to throw on their phones. For example, my phone currently has Madden 11, Blockbuster, and some Verizon specific apps on my app list. If they were the full apps, it would almost sort of be passably ok, but they aren't. They're just stubs that take you to the market to download the full app. I don't want them and I don't want them on my phone, but I am unable to remove them without root. But if I decide to root, I can't remove them because Verizon tampers with all the OS updates so that it will look for these apps as markers, and if they're missing, your phone will not be able to install the update.

Also, there is some excellent hardware out there. True, the HTC Evo is a plasticy, cheap feeling phone. The latest LG and Motorola phones are quite nice. The Samsung Charge is solid as well. There are some cheap feeling phones out there *cough*Samsung Galaxy S Line* but there is also a selection of quality stuff.

The battery problem is a problem, but I think it's not exactly an OS thing. The Evo is a perfect example. The 4.3" screen is just going to use more power. If you're on a 4G tower, you're going to use even more power. Throw in Sprint's excessive bundle of bloat and you've got three factors working against it. I think the actual battery management thing has been misconstrued, both by all these factors and the initial problems from OS versions that have long since been ironed out. The OS actually does quite a decent job of managing battery life, but when you throw in a large screen, a powerful antenna, and carrier bloat that runs automatically, it's going to throw a wrench in the system. Again, these are definitely problems, but I don't think they're Android specific. I think it's far more apparent on Android because the openness in design specs, hardware specs, and the ability of the carriers to dump whatever they want on the phone gives a far broader exposure to how the various combinations can cause a negative impact on performance.

 

[eye4ni]

So maybe all my complaints can be attributed to fragmentation then? Apple has a real advantage in that they develop the OS and manufacture their own hardware. This will probably be their edge over the competition for years to come as well.

I really do love Android, I love the fact that I could use the swype keyboard over the stock keyboard if I wish, and that I could use Handscent for my SMS app. Also, the openness of Android gives a lot of power to developers to create awesome apps. I just wish that my experience was a little smoother than what I had. I rooted my Evo, and really liked some of the tweaks that it offered, but then I had stability issues. It took me a little while to get used to iOS but at this point after using it for 7 months, I love it. And I am anxiously awaiting iOS 5.

 

[Corey]

So maybe all my complaints can be attributed to fragmentation then? Apple has a real advantage in that they develop the OS and manufacture their own hardware. This will probably be their edge over the competition for years to come as well.

I really do love Android, I love the fact that I could use the swype keyboard over the stock keyboard if I wish, and that I could use Handscent for my SMS app. Also, the openness of Android gives a lot of power to developers to create awesome apps. I just wish that my experience was a little smoother than what I had. I rooted my Evo, and really liked some of the tweaks that it offered, but then I had stability issues. It took me a little while to get used to iOS but at this point after using it for 7 months, I love it. And I am anxiously awaiting iOS 5.

Fragmentation is definitely an issue. The ability to have a vast amount of options in screen size and processors is nice, but it creates its own set of problems when everyone isn't playing on the same page.

I'm going to miss Swype as well, incredibly so. I've switched back to a stock keyboard while I await a delivery in the mail (ETA: Sept 6. boooo) and I'm miserable. I'll get used to tapping away at the keys eventually, but Swype on the iPhone would make me ridiculously happy.

 

[eye4ni]

Swype on the iPhone would make me ridiculously happy.

I concur! Maybe a feature for the iphone 12?

 

[Corey]

I concur! Maybe a feature for the iphone 12?

We can hold out hope.

 

[furygoalbrtis39]

I concur! Maybe a feature for the iphone 12?

Lmfao that is like Apple, it took them 3 phones to get video recording


Sent from my White iPhone 4 using Tapatalk

 

[dfb8085]

i left bb and went over to android and man it was good at first but then it got to where it was too much of a hassel to keep the phone running smooth and having to reboot to save battery life and man it eats data like there's no tomorrow. I am back with bb torch and i like it ok but i miss some of the coolness of the android so i am trying to convince myself to make the move over to apple but two things concern me. First how much of a issue is the email difference really (can somebody explain) and will the ip4 auto switch between 3g and wifi as i go in and out of range?

 

[jonmark]

Lmfao that is like Apple, it took them 3 phones to get video recording


Sent from my White iPhone 4 using Tapatalk

And they still called it revolutionary lol

 

[dwayne.williams]

I have been jumping around with Android devices for the last two years. Now that I have an iPhone 4, I'm going to take easy fir a while. This phone is awesome and is perfect for me.


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