I love it! It was one of the first things that surprised me and delighted me in the store when I was testing out the Gnex!
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Phones Switched to SSGS3: an Apple Girl's perspective (hands on).
- Thread starter Wrathwitch
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I love it! It was one of the first things that surprised me and delighted me in the store when I was testing out the Gnex!
I actually laughed at that.
Yeah Damn Samsung and some of Google's bloatware (no I have no desire of ever using google+ but at least I can disable them so they don't mysteriously pop up and start using my precious resources!
I know your post was humour but I had to wax a bit poetic!
Fragmentation
The Galaxy S III is a flagship device, and currently the best Android phone available. Fragmentation isn't likely with this device.
What folks like DodgeV83 and his ilk don't understand is that Android is a completely different beast (and intentionally so). While I'm all for less carrier interference and better support from manufacturers (and they have gotten better, particularly Samsung), fragmentation is mostly overblown (not to mention already exists with iPhones too), and mostly used as obfuscation against Android. I'm not denying that it isn't a problem, but it's a problem that is so easily avoided by doing a little bit of research...
Given the nature of Android, it is indeed possible to get a bad and/or poorly supported Android device. This is where research goes a long way. It's just the nature of the beast (aka options), and DodgeV83 and his ilk can cling onto the oft talked about failings of Android from yesteryear all they want.
Meanwhile, if updates are that important to people and they do their research (hint: the Nexus lines), they'll have ICS/JB, which continue to propel Android forward at a much faster pace than iOS is moving.
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True.
Fragmentation isn't likely with the Google Nexus either. Nexus gets it first, everyone else follows.
Unfortunately alot of people dont do research. The best android device is Nexus for sure. Then you know you will get timley updates.
If the damn carriers didnt take so long to updatethe phones it wouldent be such a problem.
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I'm sure I'm not the only Android user who comes to this forum. I do like discussing mobile devices whether or not I own or use them.
You'll probably have to own and use the device for a few weeks before the battery life settles down. That is my experience with new smartphones.
My feelings exactly with regard to haptic feedback. What I would like is to be able to feel the key before pressing it, not just after pressing it. By the time I feel the key after, it's too late if it's the wrong key.
I am not so convinced about that statement, just this morning I had to send an email into gameloft regarding the game Order and Chaos that I purchased last night, by the time I decided to test it, it was too late to uninstall without being charged. The error I got was : We are having difficulty identifying your device please contact customer service at gameloft....
I also tried to dl PvZ on Google Play to have it tell me that it wasn't availabel in my country (Canada!). Yet someone told me on a forum here that I can get it from the Amazon App store and it works for them....
These are not deal breakers because my phone is not all about the gaming, but it is a nice way to spend time while waiting in line!
I have a new game that makes me giggle (both for iOS and Android)
HAMSTER CANNON!!!!
With regard to fragmenation, here is my personal experience with it on my device, HTC Desire Z, and my feelings with regarding to my device. Note the Desire Z is not a flagship device. In fact, it is more specialised. I got it because I wanted a phone with a landscape slider keyboard and this was the best one at the time.
I got my Desire Z in November or 2010. It originally was running Android Froyo. Shortly afterwards, the Nexus S was released running Gingerbread. I didn't get Gingerbread until around August of 2011. The major differences that I noticed with this upgrade that affects me personally are as follows: better battery life, better widgets, some home screen functionality and longer home screen load time. Overall, I would say the upgrade was positive for me.
ICS was announced and released late in 2011 with the Galaxy Nexus. Earlier this year, HTC made an announcement regarding which devices will be getting ICS and the Desire Z will not be one of them.
Now, even before ICS was released, I really liked my phone. After ICS was released, I still liked my phone. After it was official that my phone will not be getting ICS, I still liked my phone. My device hasn't had a major OS upgrade in almost a year. It has worked the same now as hit has been then and does pretty much everything I want it to do to my satisfaction all that time.
So, what would I be missing from ICS. I happen to have an Android tablet running ICS as well. Here is what I can do on my tablet, but not on my phone:
The first thing is face unlock. It's cool. It's convenient. I use it on my tablet. On my phone, I use pattern unlock. I couldn't use face unlock on my phone anyway as it has no front facing camera. No big deal for me. A nice to have, but I can live without it.
The reason I jumped at getting ICS on my tablet was that I wanted to try out the Chrome browser. I actually prefer the stock browser on my tablet and prefer Opera Mini on my phone, so not big deal.
I use Google+ and I love the widget on ICS. I don't like the GB one I have available on my phone. I would actually want this on my phone. Without it, I just have to launch G+ via the app instead. The ICS widget shows G+ postings like my Twitter for HTC widget. The G+ GB widget just allows you to post directly and is not useful to me. Really nice to have for me that I cannot get on my phone.
There are probably a bunch of stuff under the hood I am not aware of. There are probably some subtle things like in various apps that I have to compare side by side to really notice. What I listed above was what I noticed between my ICS and GB device. Not really much to cry about not getting ICS on my phone.
In regards to apps, I haven't found an app that I wanted that needed ICS and cannot be run on a GB phone. There is one widget (Brightness) and one app (Flipboard) that I have on my phone that is not available on my tablet. Everything else works on both.
I would also like to add that I'm not one who always updates my apps. I keep many older versions of my apps instead of updating. If I look at the description of the update and none of the new features really interest me, I don't bother updating. If I'm happy with the existing version of my app and the way it works, I don't bother updating. I only update my apps if I feel there are some issues with the existing version and the new version has bug fixes, or if there are some new features I want. I just don't see the reason to update apps if I am getting little or no perceived benefit and I'm happy with my current version.
I see a lot of people complaining that they have to wait months or even weeks for the next version of Android. I can see if they have an outstanding issue with the device that it can be a problem if you have to wait for a fix. I guess I don't understand this OS version envy that people have. People have a Nexus device and they are unhappy the minute the next Nexus device or OS version gets released or announced. I cannot understand why you can be perfectly happy with your device one day and the moment a new OS version gets announced you feel like your device is a piece of crap. It's not like the announcement suddenly broke your device.
Now that Jelly Bean has been announce, I'm still happy with my GB phone. I don't have any plans to upgrade my phone. Then again, I'm one who likes physical keyboards. They seem to be rather rare as there only seems to be one or two high end ones that come out every year.
Fragmentation should decrease in the future too
Between the popularity of the GNex and the fact that the SGS3 is being launched as the same name and essentially same models across all the major cellular carriers + regional ones (a huge first for Android - and first for any phone to launch on all 4 major carriers), there's certainly some pull from Samsung and Google to get carriers on board. No more ridiculous rebranding of phones like the Galaxy S and S II anymore
That's all they do is MAKE the screen. They are in no way responsible for the design, intellectual property or thought process of the screen.
Samsung is a great company, they just don't have very many original ideas as it stands.
See latest injunctions for meaning.
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I was responding to a post from someone complaining about their favorite games not being supported on the S3.
Furthermore, apparently EA Games and Gameloft games don't work:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...gameloft-games-dont-play-nice-us-version.html
http://forum.gameloft.com/index.php/topic,52129.msg150641.html#msg150641
This includes Gameloft's notable Nova 3 (currently my favorite game). I'm sure many of these issues will be fixed, if they haven't already, but it's clear framentation is still a big issue with Android, even on the S3.
^ this is exactly why iPhone users tend to be young kids, or older adults that are not tech-friendly at all.
The rest are starting to opt for Android.
most folks in my demographic do not play the hardcore games that require intensive GPU.
most play casual games a la angry birds, cut the rope, etc.
that being said, most popular gaming apps from iOS exist on Android. It will only get better.
1 million+ activations per day on Android ecosystem
It's obvious that some games won't readily work, as there are different SoC's circulating in the Android handset world. The PDK from Google will start to address these issues.
The rest are starting to opt for Android.
most folks in my demographic do not play the hardcore games that require intensive GPU.
most play casual games a la angry birds, cut the rope, etc.
that being said, most popular gaming apps from iOS exist on Android. It will only get better.
1 million+ activations per day on Android ecosystem
It's obvious that some games won't readily work, as there are different SoC's circulating in the Android handset world. The PDK from Google will start to address these issues.
^ this is exactly why iPhone users tend to be young kids, or older adults that are not tech-friendly at all.
The rest are starting to opt for Android.
most folks in my demographic do not play the hardcore games that require intensive GPU.
most play casual games a la angry birds, cut the rope, etc.
that being said, most popular gaming apps from iOS exist on Android. It will only get better.
1 million+ activations per day on Android ecosystem
It's obvious that some games won't readily work, as there are different SoC's circulating in the Android handset world. The PDK from Google will start to address these issues.
Your first sentence is totally erroneous. How could you say that ONLY teens and non tech savvy adults use them?
You're also forgetting at 1 million activationss doesn't just include purchases from a store. It also includes people selling them online and activating them or hand me down phones that maybe a parent once used and is giving it to their kid.
It's what I'm observing. Not scientific. The iPhone is the everyday layman phone. Not saying this is particularly bad. Anyone can pick it up and learn the ins and outs pretty easily.
I just don't see the need to play GPU intensive games on a sub 5 inch screen. On a tablet like iPad I agree, and afaik, Apple owns the tablet market. Rightfully so, as they make killer tablets.
My point was that the lack of hardcore gaming support on a mobile device isn't as much of a dealbreaker than say, an operating system that is slow to iterate. (lack of navigation, coherent multitasking operations, etc).
In essence, the demand for navigation and a more robust integrated operating system dedicated to productivity is much more essential than gaming on a mobile device like smartphones.
Man you and I are in the EXACT same boat. Since getting my Galaxy Nexus, my 4S has held no interest whatsoever...the whole system just seems so dang poor compared to even ICS. And I find myself visiting and commenting on this forum less too...
There's no guarantee of anything. Period. Nexus may be the Google Phone but they will drop it (remember Nexus One?)...
Android has a flawed history of fragmentation. Remember guys, the vast majority of folks have no idea what a "ROM" is, nor do they want to spend their days hunting one down and messing with it. OFFICIAL updates for Android devices are still lackluster at best (and that's putting it nicely). What's ICS up to now, 8% of devices?
Android has a flawed history of fragmentation. Remember guys, the vast majority of folks have no idea what a "ROM" is, nor do they want to spend their days hunting one down and messing with it. OFFICIAL updates for Android devices are still lackluster at best (and that's putting it nicely). What's ICS up to now, 8% of devices?
Yes, I agree with you there. I can't really attest to any of that because I don't really play any hardcore games.
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There's no guarantee of anything. Period. Nexus may be the Google Phone but they will drop it (remember Nexus One?)...
Android has a flawed history of fragmentation. Remember guys, the vast majority of folks have no idea what a "ROM" is, nor do they want to spend their days hunting one down and messing with it. OFFICIAL updates for Android devices are still lackluster at best (and that's putting it nicely). What's ICS up to now, 8% of devices?
10.9 percent. Just about the same percentage of 9to5mac readers that are running iOS 6 (unreleased, beta software).
http://9to5mac.com/2012/07/03/9to5macs-ios-readership-already-nearing-10-on-ios-6-on-single-days/
Yes, I agree with you there. I can't really attest to any of that because I don't really play any hardcore games.
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10.9 percent. Just about the same percentage of 9to5mac readers that are running iOS 6 (unreleased, beta software).
http://9to5mac.com/2012/07/03/9to5macs-ios-readership-already-nearing-10-on-ios-6-on-single-days/
and 9to5mac is a benchmarker for that?
9to5mac is an Apple enthusiast blog
Tell me how many iOS6 viewers are checking out CNN.com
this doesn't mean 10% of all iOS users are on iOS6
There's no guarantee of anything. Period. Nexus may be the Google Phone but they will drop it (remember Nexus One?)...
Android has a flawed history of fragmentation. Remember guys, the vast majority of folks have no idea what a "ROM" is, nor do they want to spend their days hunting one down and messing with it. OFFICIAL updates for Android devices are still lackluster at best (and that's putting it nicely). What's ICS up to now, 8% of devices?
Dont forget Sprint Nexus S owners waited 6 months for ICS ...and this is a "Google phone". That's like 4S owners not getting iOS6 until May 2013.
Google can't even keep their own line of phones updated so you know handset makers don't have a prayer. Oh and Google already went on record and said they were dropping support for Nexus CDMA devices. Good luck GNEX owners on Verizon and Sprint.
Facts are facts. iOS has 80% of the installed base running the very latest software revision (5.1.1)
Android has 80%+ running at least one revision, if not two, behind.
I like your first point - imagine if Apple had announced 4S users would get iOS 6 but not until May 2013. Well that's life in the Android sphere.
Apple provides units sold through information.
Total activations is a largely meaningless metric.
Samsung makes much more than the screen, just saying.
http://gizmodo.com/5829779/what-if-samsung-stopped-supplying-parts-for-the-iphone-4