The things Android does plus a bigger screen. Hey, you asked
Have you read this? Jelly Bean isn't built with simplicity in mind compared to the iOS.
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Mobile OSs Android is better - How I fell in love with Android and how you can too (blog post)
- Thread starter ChazUK
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Have you read this? Jelly Bean isn't built with simplicity in mind compared to the iOS.
Last year, I bought my first smart phone, the LG Optimus M+. I did no research about that phone, just saw it for sale on Amazon and bought it.
Fast forward to the start of this year and I was regretting it and in need of an upgrade. The 3.5 inch screen made it terrible for me to type, the poor resolution, 3G, and the low cpu. So in April I began to research what phone I needed, I wanted my money well spent.
Biggest factors for me was the screen size to type better, resolution, company support, removable battery and SD Card. I was using Android Gingerbread, but I was open to iOS if it was worth my money. I was open to the idea of the iPhone 5S but with the rumored info, it seemed less likely that it would be the phone for me.
Once I began months of research lol to get the best understanding of smart phones and trying out different phones, the Galaxy S4 was the phone for me. The 5 inch display was perfect for me to type on. The 1920x1080 resolution is what I was looking for. I know some people may that say you can't see a difference between the resolution of 1280x720 and 1920x1080 on a phone, but I do watch a lot of Blu-ray movies and have developed a good eye for it and easily telling apart from a 1080p compressed digital stream to a Blu-ray equivilant, and the difference was visible on the phone and it greatly showed. The removable battery was important because if the battery died out, I like having the option of replacing it myself instead of taking into the store.
I bought the Galaxy S4 for $620, tax included. I didn't want to be tied into any 2 year contract. Looking at the iPhone 5, I saw that I would be paying similar or a bit more, for a lot less. Smaller screen, below HD screen resolution, non removable battery or sd card and the secondary issues where the specs. Paying over $600 for a device, I wanted to get the latest technology possible. Thirdly, I really enjoy the customization of Android. iOS felt like the apps menu in Android with very little customization. With Android, I gladly spent 3 weeks making the phone look how I wanted it to look. If I get bored of it, I can completely change the look again. Plus, if I want a simplistic look like iOS, I can do that as well. I know people like iOS and it works for them, but dropping over $600 for just a phone, I want one that I can customize it as much as possible.
Also, I have not experienced any lag whatsoever with my Galaxy S4, it's running smoothly. I even transferred an uncompressed movie from my Blu-ray collection, avc @38 mbps with the DTS-HD audio at 4.2 mbps and the movie played flawlessly without skipping a beat. It couldn't play the DTS-HD audio though. Not sure if it doesn't support it or if I'm missing a codec. I've played a few games as well. Loving the phone and the Android operating system. It may not be for everyone, but it is for me
Fast forward to the start of this year and I was regretting it and in need of an upgrade. The 3.5 inch screen made it terrible for me to type, the poor resolution, 3G, and the low cpu. So in April I began to research what phone I needed, I wanted my money well spent.
Biggest factors for me was the screen size to type better, resolution, company support, removable battery and SD Card. I was using Android Gingerbread, but I was open to iOS if it was worth my money. I was open to the idea of the iPhone 5S but with the rumored info, it seemed less likely that it would be the phone for me.
Once I began months of research lol to get the best understanding of smart phones and trying out different phones, the Galaxy S4 was the phone for me. The 5 inch display was perfect for me to type on. The 1920x1080 resolution is what I was looking for. I know some people may that say you can't see a difference between the resolution of 1280x720 and 1920x1080 on a phone, but I do watch a lot of Blu-ray movies and have developed a good eye for it and easily telling apart from a 1080p compressed digital stream to a Blu-ray equivilant, and the difference was visible on the phone and it greatly showed. The removable battery was important because if the battery died out, I like having the option of replacing it myself instead of taking into the store.
I bought the Galaxy S4 for $620, tax included. I didn't want to be tied into any 2 year contract. Looking at the iPhone 5, I saw that I would be paying similar or a bit more, for a lot less. Smaller screen, below HD screen resolution, non removable battery or sd card and the secondary issues where the specs. Paying over $600 for a device, I wanted to get the latest technology possible. Thirdly, I really enjoy the customization of Android. iOS felt like the apps menu in Android with very little customization. With Android, I gladly spent 3 weeks making the phone look how I wanted it to look. If I get bored of it, I can completely change the look again. Plus, if I want a simplistic look like iOS, I can do that as well. I know people like iOS and it works for them, but dropping over $600 for just a phone, I want one that I can customize it as much as possible.
Also, I have not experienced any lag whatsoever with my Galaxy S4, it's running smoothly. I even transferred an uncompressed movie from my Blu-ray collection, avc @38 mbps with the DTS-HD audio at 4.2 mbps and the movie played flawlessly without skipping a beat. It couldn't play the DTS-HD audio though. Not sure if it doesn't support it or if I'm missing a codec. I've played a few games as well. Loving the phone and the Android operating system. It may not be for everyone, but it is for me
Don't see how ios is elegant or simple. E.g need workarounds for attachments in email or download or upload files, centralized settings that requires you to get out of the app, no back button, can't use the phone internal gigabytes of space but forced to use cloud storage like dropbox thus wasting battery and data, wastage of screen space for command and navigation buttons etc.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
I'd guess that most of us are multi-platform users. I myself use Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8.
I'd guess that most of us are multi-platform users. I myself use Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8.
Yep. I dont have windows 8 yet but i do want a windows surface pro. And Nokia just announced they will be coming out with tablet in September running Windows 8.1 That should be good device.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
Not ironic at all. As others have mentioned, I'd guess that nearly all posters in this subforum use Apple products. I actually find this to be the best place to discuss non-iOS devices, especially as they relate to iOS/OS X because everyone here likely has had an iPhone at some point or has familiarity with using non-iOS devices with a Mac.
I personally have a lot of Apple gear, use an Android phone, a Chrome OS laptop and am keeping my eye out for a quality Windows 8 convertible tablet (waiting to see more use of the Haswell processor before deciding).
I agree with you on this point. I wish there were more "Alternatives to" threads and less "Android vs iOs" and with the same points listed ad-nauseum.
Like finding a needle in a haystack some days.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
I find that this particular forum is great for discussing various different platforms. I orginally came here because my wife and her side of the family uses iPhones, iPods and iPads and I'm their tech support. There are the subforums for the various specific Apple products and this subforum for non-iOS products.
My father-in-law recently upgraded his iPhone 4 to a 5. I was hoping to use his iPhone 4 as an iPod touch to try out iOS more. Most of my experience with iOS so far is mostly fixing issues, so I'm always seeing problems or doing some rather uncommon tasks. I'm interested to see how it works with more everyday tasks.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
Guilty as charged
But on a serious note I think most everyone in this sub forum is just a tech enthusiast at heart. If bada all of a sudden becomes the go to OS, I'm sure you'll see all the familiar faces in tow.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
I got rid my of iPad and iPhone after moving to Android, why do I still hang around? Because I'm open to change. I'm also a geek about tech like this in general and hang around to see the new stuff Apple is doing. It's the same reason I still watch their Keynotes live (I go to my friends house since they made them Apple device only).
I love watching videos about new OS X versions despite knowing I'll probably never buy a Mac. I watch new video reviews about Ubuntu when they launch knowing I'll probably never switch to Ubuntu. I watch reviews about new phones that'll I'll probably never buy too.
It's a bit ironic we've got some so many Android fans posting on Macrumors isn't it? You know deep down you love Apple products and probably can't get by without using one everyday.
You feeling a little bit insecure??
I agree with alot of the blogger said about Android. I used to say two years ago that alot of us buy iPhones only to use Google services. In 2013, I can finally say I will sticking to Google mobile OS and will never look back to anything else. Google Search, YouTube, GMail, Chrome, Maps, and Google Voice are second to one. I cant find a better alternative for them. I felt in 2010, Android was not up to par to iOS. By ICS in late-2011, it closed the gap. By 2012-2013, it surpassed iOS. The lag went away by 4.1. And if "smoothness" is the only way to judge a platform, then that is just being shallow. What about all the other endless features Android can do that iOS cant? I dont need an ecosystem esp a closed one. I dont iTunes hogging up my CPU usage and dictating how to handle my media files. I dont need to be ball and chained to experience a smoother one. I can understand people sticking to iOS and I say more power to them. I used iOS since 2008 but find myself like the blogger no longer attached to Apple's wall garden and ecosystem. I like my patchwork of art. Why? Because it is MY creation. I can control more on what I want and dont want.
People overlook how well the iPhone 5 is thought out and how much attention is paid to detail with masterminds such as Jony Ive behind it.
Just holding the S4 gave me a feeling of overall lack of build quality or absolute none in fact. Samsung products are pieces of plastic.
You can bang on endlessly how many features your S4 has and how much you can customize it at the end of the day they will never outshine the classy look of the iPhone or outpace it in customer satisfaction either.
Just holding the S4 gave me a feeling of overall lack of build quality or absolute none in fact. Samsung products are pieces of plastic.
You can bang on endlessly how many features your S4 has and how much you can customize it at the end of the day they will never outshine the classy look of the iPhone or outpace it in customer satisfaction either.
Oy vey, with the plastic again! As for "never outshine", you mean except in that recent survey where they showed that Samsung's flagships were 1 point HIGHER than Apple's?
Why would you think that about iPhone. The design is so old and copied from nokia. Holding an iphone 4/5 makes me think the following phone which I had long ago.
http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n78-pictures-2254.php
I would say he didn't pay much attention to making it easy to move contacts from a non-iPhone to an iPhone. That process was painful and there does not seem to be an easy "Apple" way to do it. I ended up having to use a Gmail account to do it.
He didn't pay much attention to making it easy to set any sound file as a ring tone. That took me hours to do and it involved some rather convoluted steps.
anytime just ask----------
Ok now even in Korea iPhone has higher customer satisfaction which 1 point you on about then?
Serious question, do you buy your phone to look at it or to use it? I'm really at a loss because I don't understand this fascination with the exterior of a device you'll most likely cover with plastic anyway. It seems so superficial to me.
Attention to detail considering they usually release one iPhone per year and refreshing a new design every 2 yrs. Apple has had ample time with attention to detail.
I'm not trying to defend Samsung here. I dont like them as much as Apple's force feeding of their "ecosystem." But at least their plastic doesnt crack like the backs of the iPhone 4's and Nexus 4's. The latter has a glass back that can crack easier than eggs. And Samsung is one of the only top OEM's that still gives us BOTH removable battery and expandable slot for the flagships. HTC, LG, Sony, and Nokia sometimes would give one but not the other. Samsung gives us both. And the S4 and its many variants released this year along with the One gives us next gen WiFi ac and IR blaster to control our TV.
And while I respect Jony Ive, I think he messed up on iOS7's look. I prefer Scott Forstall's design better. I see iOS7 like stealing ideas from Android's MIUI icon pack and theming it for female tweeners and iJustine. I'm not sure if Jony was on LSD when he did it but it looks horrid and inconsistent. It would look even more inconsistent next to a MacBook. Jony has alot of hits but this iO7 design is one of his few misses. Even the flat look of Windows Phone's tiles looks cleaner.
The GS4 is made from plastic but it's built very well. Just because you don't like the feel of a certain material doesn't mean a product suffers from low build quality.
The testament to a product's build quality is not dictated by the build materials alone.
How many GS4's bend in pockets, or blemish from basic handling?