Phones Convert to android and loving it?

[reefoid]

So you have to deal with a lot of things. Can the hardware support it, optimized to run on different hardware. Or even if the end user wants ICS. My father for example is perfectly content with gingerbread on his razr. He doesn't want to learn how to use his phone again. Us tech geeks are a small percentage of the smartphone customer base.

You've hit the nail on the head there. Techies and power users want the latest version asap, which is why many on here criticise the prolonged upgrade cycle of Android.

However, for the majority of users its a total non-issue. In my family there are a couple of iphones and half a dozen Android handsets. However, I'm the only techie between us and its only me that regularly changes handsets and try to stay ahead of the upgrade game.

For all the others, they just want a phone that they can use for the regular stuff and will last them for the length of their contract. Do my family give a monkeys about whether they are running iOS 4, iOS5, Froyo, GB or ICS? No.

 

[maflynn]

1) The keyboard on iOS is perfection.

Mother of god this could not be further from the truth.

Actually I have to agree with jekyoo. When I owned the Nexus (original) and Droid X, I found the keyboards to be lacking. I missed the precision and ease of typing on my iPhone. I'm not sure if it was the size of the keys, and its spacing, or some other design feature but the iPhone keyboard was much much better.

 

[TG1]

Mother of god this could not be further from the truth.

For me, the iPhone keyboard is tough to beat for accuracy in plain old typing. Android, however, does offer a slew of 3rd party keyboards with additional features like word prediction (not just correction), smileys, themes, haptic feedback, key-click customization, etc. Swiftkey and GoKeyboard are two of my favs.

 

[LSUtigers03]

1) The swype keyboard is perfection.

Fixed it for you

 

[kevinof]

My father is on his 3rd android phone (we keep getting him upgrades). His current one is the SG2 which he loves ( the larger size is easier to hold in his hands!). Anyway he called me the other day to say he just found this new keyboard called Swype and he loves it.

He's 83!

that's one of the things I like about Android - if you don't like something then change it. Its not just about tweaking - its about making the device work the way you want it , and not necessarily the way Google or Apple decided.

Fixed it for you

 

[onthecouchagain]

Please:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1355161/

and:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1353669/

It's true that there are some terrible keyboards on various Android platforms (blame the skins, blame the OEM's customizations), however, the stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard is, in every way possible, leaps and bounds ahead of iOS' keyboard.

Disclaimer: I have very little interest in "Android vs. iOS." Anyone who has genuinely used the best of both platforms will speak very candidly about how much strength and weakness they both commonly share.

But to claim that the iOS keyboard is "perfect" is simply untrue. One need only point to the plethora of "Damn You iPhone Autocorrect" type websites that are floating around the web to debunk such a bogus claim.

 

[c.hack]

I switched from my 4S to my old Droid X2 before I went to the beach. On the first day:

- checked the camera. Pictures are poor compared to the 4s. Camera app force closed and would not start. Needed a reboot.
- while on the highway, Slacker completely locked up the Droid. No response to any buttons. Pulled over and did a battery pull to get the Droid running.
- just south of Virginia Beach, gps stopped working (this is normal with Droids) and required another rest stop and battery pull to reset the gps.
- upon arrival at the beach hear the obnoxious droiiiiiid sound. The Droid had spontaneously rebooted itself.

First day at the beach, tried to upload a video to Path. No problem on the iPhone, but the android app went into an infinite upload loop. Even a battery pull did not fix it. Battery was dead within an hour. Had to uninstall and reinstall Path.

Photo app is so slow to start, and picture are so bad on the Droid, I just stopped using it.

Battery dies by 3 PM, so I ration phone use.

Now I remember again why I was so happy to dump android. Poor apps, poor cameras, poor quality, poor battery life, poor gps, and buggy buggy buggy.

In case you were wondering, I went through 2 Droid Xs and now the Droid X2 and this is the most reliable of the bunch.

If you want a phone that works get an iPhone, if you want to be google's guinea pig, get a droid.

 

[cynics]

You've hit the nail on the head there. Techies and power users want the latest version asap, which is why many on here criticise the prolonged upgrade cycle of Android.

However, for the majority of users its a total non-issue. In my family there are a couple of iphones and half a dozen Android handsets. However, I'm the only techie between us and its only me that regularly changes handsets and try to stay ahead of the upgrade game.

For all the others, they just want a phone that they can use for the regular stuff and will last them for the length of their contract. Do my family give a monkeys about whether they are running iOS 4, iOS5, Froyo, GB or ICS? No.

Yep I have friends still running iOS 4 on their iPhones and I tell them the benefits of upgrading and how this and that is better etc etc. Usually I get a "I don't give a crap stare" or "NERD!!". Meanwhile I upgrade seconds after a update release.

 

[Kelly682]

I got my first iPhone back in 2007. At that point in my life, I've never used a touch screen phone before and I got really irritated with it. Ended up using it as an Ipod touch and got a blackberry. Then after about a year, I felt like I was using a phone from 1980. Got the first Motorola Droid. Horrible phone. Another year went by and got the HTC Droid Incredible (original version). I still have that one. For the past few months I've been really, really itchy to get an iPhone. Why?

My keyboard works when it wants to.

I feel I have to download extra apps to get the standard apps to work correctly.

LAGS like crazy!!

Its posessed. Not kidding. I'll turn on by itself and the screens will start scrolling.

My user experience has been choppy. Its not a smooth running device.

There are very few things I like about Android. I love, love google navigation. When I get the new Iphone, going to have to find a replacement for that. I do like the customization. Hmmm, I think thats about it for now. Pretty sad.

Why am I switching back to an Iphone?

I want a phone that runs smoothly.

You press an icon, and it does what it says. End of story.

I just got the new iPad and love it. Now I want the same thing in a phone. I will never, ever go back to Android. I can't stand it. Its so buggy. Although I'm sure ICS is a lot better than gingerbread, but I still can't stand it.

 

[ChazUK]

Actually I have to agree with jekyoo. When I owned the Nexus (original) and Droid X, I found the keyboards to be lacking. I missed the precision and ease of typing on my iPhone. I'm not sure if it was the size of the keys, and its spacing, or some other design feature but the iPhone keyboard was much much better.

The keyboard has improved immensely since Gingerbread. I believe Google have implemented some of the technology that they got when they acquired Blindwrite many moons ago. I'd also wager that these large screens have helped since the days of the Nexus One.

The Droid X most likely used a custom Motorola keyboard so I can't comment on that but the stock keyboard is better now days.

 

[maflynn]

The keyboard has improved immensely since Gingerbread. I believe Google have implemented some of the technology that they got when they acquired Blindwrite many moons ago. I'd also wager that these large screens have helped since the days of the Nexus One.

that's good to know

The Droid X most likely used a custom Motorola keyboard so I can't comment on that but the stock keyboard is better now days.

It was more or less custom and the larger size of the phone certainly helped with typing but it was still a bit more cumbersome then on the iPhone.

 

[SurferMan]

Actually I have to agree with jekyoo. When I owned the Nexus (original) and Droid X, I found the keyboards to be lacking. I missed the precision and ease of typing on my iPhone. I'm not sure if it was the size of the keys, and its spacing, or some other design feature but the iPhone keyboard was much much better.

That's b/c the stock keyboards are meh (except for the new one in ICS which is awesome), you need to try something like swype/swift/smart etc keyboards. I mean even look at this forum, one of the biggest complaints against iOS is the keyboard. Especially the editing/correcting feature, it's horrid, with Android you can touch anywhere accurately then drag or highlight easily... always wished Apple would implement something similar to that design.

here's what's funny, and goes back to the whole "android lag" thing. Just met a client for an early lunch/brunch, and he was showing me his new Square reader for CCs on his iPhone. He asked how I liked my phone and I said I've had iPhones for years and have the 4S as well but I love this phone. Said he's always thought Androids were bad b/c he'd here people say or tell him all they do is lag, horrible battery life etc. So I let him check it out and one of his 1st comments was damn this thing is smooth, I said yeh a couple years ago they were more iffy but I've been nothing but impressed by this phone inc battery life, they've pretty much worked out the kinks and fixed what held me back from Android previously, and it synchs perfect with all my business stuff even on my Mac's and easier for other media by not having to deal with iTunes. I ended up showing him how to back up his contacts to his Gmail account which he never knew.

 

[jekyoo]

For your keyboard issues I would recommend you check out SwiftKey. It is well worth the money but they do have a trail one if you are not sure. The trial version works for only a month but has all the features of the paid so you can really try it out and see what you think. SwiftKey gets better the longer you use it because it has more time to learn your typing style and base it corrections and predictions on how you type. It blows iOS keyboard out of the water big time.

I knew me saying the iOS keyboard would bring up an uproar lol. When I text on the iPhone, I'm just a freak of nature. I've tried and there's no way I can type that fast on Android without grammar errors. Swiftkey did help with the grammar errors but I was still faster on the iPhone. Maybe the screen size comes into play since I did jump from a 3.5" screen to a 4.65" screen.

 

[jekyoo]

Please:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1355161/

and:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1353669/

It's true that there are some terrible keyboards on various Android platforms (blame the skins, blame the OEM's customizations), however, the stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard is, in every way possible, leaps and bounds ahead of iOS' keyboard.

Disclaimer: I have very little interest in "Android vs. iOS." Anyone who has genuinely used the best of both platforms will speak very candidly about how much strength and weakness they both commonly share.

But to claim that the iOS keyboard is "perfect" is simply untrue. One need only point to the plethora of "Damn You iPhone Autocorrect" type websites that are floating around the web to debunk such a bogus claim.

To each their own. I personally love the keyboard on the iPhone and it's really hard for me to let go of that and switch to Android.

I've owned the N1, GS, GSII and the Galaxy Nexus so I've used Android extensively. I've wanted to love Android each time I bought the latest device but I simply couldn't make a pure switch to Android. Always ended up going back to the iPhone. There are things I like and dislike about both but I find the iPhone to be the better daily driver.

Come on, do you really think those screenshots are really happening?

 

[blairh]

I'd really like to hear from anyone who has a HTC One X and know what their experience has been like. I know the international version is the only one currently available and if I were to make the jump to the One X then I'd get the AT&T LTE edition which is slightly different. Still, I'm wildly curious about this specific model.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I knew me saying the iOS keyboard would bring up an uproar lol. When I text on the iPhone, I'm just a freak of nature. I've tried and there's no way I can type that fast on Android without grammar errors. Swiftkey did help with the grammar errors but I was still faster on the iPhone. Maybe the screen size comes into play since I did jump from a 3.5" screen to a 4.65" screen.

I would not be surprised if it is a learning curve with you getting over the change in screen size. Your muscle memory is all set up for iOS.
I honestly can not stand iOS's keyboard. It auto correct is way to limited and you have no way to change what is being saved in it.

 

[marksman]

I tested android for 9 months. I think it is in third place. I prefer iOS devices and then windows mobile devices. Those are both relative unique and solid platform. Android is essentially a less quality version of ios. The minuses outweigh the plusses for sure.

 

[jekyoo]

I would not be surprised if it is a learning curve with you getting over the change in screen size. Your muscle memory is all set up for iOS.
I honestly can not stand iOS's keyboard. It auto correct is way to limited and you have no way to change what is being saved in it.

I agree with the auto correct. I personally don't have a problem with it but I also wouldn't mind have android's keyboard feature on iOS.

----------

I'd really like to hear from anyone who has a HTC One X and know what their experience has been like. I know the international version is the only one currently available and if I were to make the jump to the One X then I'd get the AT&T LTE edition which is slightly different. Still, I'm wildly curious about this specific model.

I actually ordered the One X. Though I'll probably sell it once the GS3 comes out. I really wanted the One S but the qHD Amoled screen is a killer. Wish they went with S LCD instead.

 

[Buildbright]

I converted three of my friends from Android Phones (Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Droid X) to iPhones. They all thanked me for helping them switch. They all tell me the great accessories, support, app quality, and build quality is so refreshing.

 

[reefoid]

I would not be surprised if it is a learning curve with you getting over the change in screen size. Your muscle memory is all set up for iOS.

This was certainly the issue in my case. When I moved to a SGS2 last year, it took a month or so for me to adjust my typing for the extra screen estate. When I try and type on my iPod Touch now, its painful for me. Swype ftw.

 

[Virgule82]

I switched from android to Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia 800) and couldn't be happier. The user interface is fantastic and a joy to use. Android is a good system, but both iPhones and Windows Phone just seem like better options

 

[Fireblade]

If you want a phone that works get an Android device, if you want to be Apple's guinea pig, get an iPhone

I fixed it for you.

 

[c.hack]

I converted three of my friends from Android Phones (Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Droid X) to iPhones. They all thanked me for helping them switch. They all tell me the great accessories, support, app quality, and build quality is so refreshing.

Another good point. The selection of accessories is much better for iPhones. Everyone should try both Android and iOS.

It's hard to appreciate the iPhone until you've had your droid crash for you 2 to 3 times a day and tried to use android apps with unintelligible UI ( sometimes the back button takes you back a screen, sometimes does nothing, sometimes exits the app; the menu button sometimes works and sometimes doesn't ), and were afraid to answer the phone because the phone app constantly force closes or locks up the phone.

 

[c.hack]

The ICS update for the Note is announced for may, so Sammy can install more crapware and copy more of Apples ideas

Fixed this one for you too. Lol. Just curious, but do you spend all your time trolling Apple forums because there's no apps to use on you droid? I notice from your posts all you do is troll.

 

[nizmoz]

After all your latest posts slamming anything Android and how wonderful the iPhone and its OS is and you do this???

Haha. Yeah slamming me, saying why I am in a iphone forum after owning 3 iphones and now a android. Which he got the same phone I have now. Kid is now banned. Good.