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BlueGoldAce

macrumors 68000
Oct 11, 2011
1,951
1,455
I agree with this 100%. I can't believe vanilla Android users don't have these.





I haven't experienced this yet, but I can see where this would be annoying.





I agree with this because I am a former iPhone user. Problem is, the cat's out of the bag on this, and I don't think Google will be able to unify Android from the current fractured state.





This one gets me too (again the iPhone user in me). Wouldn't it make sense that if you buy a phone on a two year contract, you should get all the updates associated with the phone over the two years? It shouldn't be mandatory, but it would be nice. The Galaxy Nexus (from Oct 2011) won't be getting 4.4 (from Oct 2013). This is, of course, only considering Nexus devices. Is a phone earlier than the S4 getting KitKat? doubtful.









This seems like something Android should do. Thankfully, all I really care about are my google services, which are in the cloud, I guess.





I was wondering about stuff like this, too. Based on everything I'm reading, it appears that the next Nexus will be the Nexus 6 with a 6 inch screen. I hope Google doesn't do away with the Nexus 5 sized phone (just call it Nexus 5 again, honestly) because a 6 inch phone is just huge.





A number of these things feel like they're a long way off :( especially timely updates.


Well both the s3 and htc Evo 4g lte are getting the updates.

Samsung seems to be following the two year update path, and htc has just guaranteed it.

The galaxy nexus didn't get the update, largely due, I believe, to its chip set from Texas Instruments. They stepped out of the mobile game a few hats back and don't provide updated drives for their devices.

Personally I owe android and ios devices. I had a nexus 7 but sold it and got a ipad air. Love her air, best tablet experience out IMO.

I owe a 5s, and I recently got a nexus 5. I still have both, but hands down I seem to prefer the nexus 5. Performance, display, etc all are fantastic. I have ran as many comparisons test as I could manage, side by side, and both phones perform similarly. Honestly I would, if asked to, give the edge to the nexus 5. Kitkat has really improved android to a level playing field with ios.
 

jeffe

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2008
601
50
That would only make sense it it was specific to one app, but it happens in tons of apps.

It is still a bug. It seems like they are changing the height of the listview on the Fly as they load the forum posts. This will obviously change the size of the scroll bar. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of a better way to implement that function.
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
It is still a bug. It seems like they are changing the height of the listview on the Fly as they load the forum posts. This will obviously change the size of the scroll bar. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of a better way to implement that function.

Some apps seem to be able to handle it just fine. How can you say there isn't a better way if others don't have this issue? This inconsistency is one thing I really don't like about Android.
 

Adamsappel

macrumors regular
Mar 12, 2014
117
0
Some approved Android apps will report sensitive info from your phone a few thousand times per day to a few hundred servers in foreign countries. Android is a security nightmare and that is why I bought an iPhone.

Stupid me.

Apple exposed our user data by leaving the barn door wide open for quite dome time before the hole was plugged with 7.06. So much for being safer.
 

Kariya

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2010
1,820
10
Didn't really know where else to leave this.

Some approved Android apps will report sensitive info from your phone a few thousand times per day to a few hundred servers in foreign countries. Android is a security nightmare and that is why I bought an iPhone.

Stupid me.

Apple exposed our user data by leaving the barn door wide open for quite dome time before the hole was plugged with 7.06. So much for being safer.

Could be worse...you could be on WP8.
 

jeffe

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2008
601
50
Some apps seem to be able to handle it just fine. How can you say there isn't a better way if others don't have this issue? This inconsistency is one thing I really don't like about Android.

What? I didn't say there wasn't a better way, I just said I personally couldn't think of a better way. Anyways, I was just explaining the cause.

edit: Did a quick google search and it actually seems to be an easy fix. Somebody would have to ask the Dev why they haven't implemented it tho.

edit: Tried out the fix. Prefer the other way TBH.
 
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MindsEye

macrumors regular
May 3, 2010
241
23
Have only been using Android for a couple of weeks after switching from iOS.
The following improvements would be desirable to me.

1. System-wide word lookup/define like in iOS.

2. Better implementation of text selection and copy/paste. I prefer the way its done in iOS.

3. A centralised way to identify which apps have notifications turned on and disable notifications from this central location. I found iOS notification centre easy for this.

4. Country-wide offline maps for Google Maps, like Bing Maps has on Windows Phone.

5. This is not really Android feature, but a accessories ecosystem feature. I would like something that is similar to Airplay/Airport Express for streaming device audio to my speakers via wifi (i.e. not bluetooth).

6. I haven't tried restoring my apps/settings/content to a new phone yet, but I expect it won't work as well as iOS backup/restore from iCloud. If so, I'd like to see that improved.

Agreed 100%, those pretty much mirror all my grievances with droid. Would also add there are apps that just seem to get that extra TLC on iOS with the reverse rarely true.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Have only been using Android for a couple of weeks after switching from iOS.
The following improvements would be desirable to me.

1. System-wide word lookup/define like in iOS.

2. Better implementation of text selection and copy/paste. I prefer the way its done in iOS.

3. A centralised way to identify which apps have notifications turned on and disable notifications from this central location. I found iOS notification centre easy for this.

4. Country-wide offline maps for Google Maps, like Bing Maps has on Windows Phone.

5. This is not really Android feature, but a accessories ecosystem feature. I would like something that is similar to Airplay/Airport Express for streaming device audio to my speakers via wifi (i.e. not bluetooth).

6. I haven't tried restoring my apps/settings/content to a new phone yet, but I expect it won't work as well as iOS backup/restore from iCloud. If so, I'd like to see that improved.
1. Google doesn't limit defining words to the phone, it actually uses the entire internet.

3. Swipe down. Notification center shows this.

4. Google maps allows you to download and store any map you want on your device for offline viewing. They have had this feature for years.

6. All Google apps auto-backup all the time. If you want a feature identical to iOS, there are numerous options available and have been for years.

----------

Agreed 100%, those pretty much mirror all my grievances with droid. Would also add there are apps that just seem to get that extra TLC on iOS with the reverse rarely true.

I prefer getting core functionality apps getting updated all the time as opposed to once a year (or never). Google apps get attention and updates weekly. When was the last time you saw an update to the iOS keyboard? How often is Siri updated compared to Google Now? And so on...
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
3. Swipe down. Notification center shows this.

I think he's referring to how notification settings for apps are imbedding within each app, vs. the single Notification Center found in iOS's device Settings. And I have to agree, it's far easier to manage settings from a single location in the OS vs. going into the individual app's settings to enable/disable/manage.
 

ozaz

macrumors 68000
Feb 27, 2011
1,615
577
1. Google doesn't limit defining words to the phone, it actually uses the entire internet.

3. Swipe down. Notification center shows this.

4. Google maps allows you to download and store any map you want on your device for offline viewing. They have had this feature for years.

6. All Google apps auto-backup all the time. If you want a feature identical to iOS, there are numerous options available and have been for years.

1. I'm not sure what you mean and I think you misunderstood what I meant. When a select a word on an Android phone, there is no "define" option like there is on iOS.

3. tbayrgs explained what I meant in previous post.

4. It doesn't allow whole countries to be downloaded, not even whole cities in the case of large ones. Also still requires data connection for route planning which is not much help when trying to avoid international roaming fees.

6. This is something I have not had experience with yet. If I have multiple iOS devices and then get a new one, I am given the option of choosing which device backup to restore to the new one. This results in the layout of my apps and folders on my home screen being setup just as I expect. Does this happen when moving to a new Android phone? My main concern is there might not be a choice, and apps installed on all previous Android devices (rather than a single device of my choosing) gets auto-installed onto the new one resulting in a messy home screen and lots of apps I no longer use.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
1. I'm not sure what you mean and I think you misunderstood what I meant. When a select a word on an Android phone, there is no "define" option like there is on iOS.

3. tbayrgs explained what I meant in previous post.

4. It doesn't allow whole countries to be downloaded, not even whole cities in the case of large ones. Also still requires data connection for route planning which is not much help when trying to avoid international roaming fees.

6. This is something I have not had experience with yet. If I have multiple iOS devices and then get a new one, I am given the option of choosing which device backup to restore to the new one. This results in the layout of my apps and folders on my home screen being setup just as I expect. Does this happen when moving to a new Android phone? My main concern is there might not be a choice, and apps installed on all previous Android devices (rather than a single device of my choosing) gets auto-installed onto the new one resulting in a messy home screen and lots of apps I no longer use.

I'm just gonna show you pictures to assist in this:

1. First two pics show you highlighting a word, then clicking on the magnifying glass in the top right corner. Google uses the entire internet to define the word. An even easier option is to use Google Now to search for the word verbally. Pic 2 below shows what comes up.

4. Whole countries aren't downloaded because you would eat up a ton of memory if you did that. Cities are not an issue though. I randomly selected Shanghai in China and downloaded the entire city for off line use. Google has had this option for a long time.

6. Just do a simple Google search for backing up your info. That said, Google apps are auto-updated, as are games from the game center. You never have to worry about backing any info up with these apps. You can do backups like iOS as well. Some apps to do this can be on stock phones, but the easiest method requires rooting the phone.
 

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ozaz

macrumors 68000
Feb 27, 2011
1,615
577
I'm just gonna show you pictures to assist in this:

1. First two pics show you highlighting a word, then clicking on the magnifying glass in the top right corner. Google uses the entire internet to define the word. An even easier option is to use Google Now to search for the word verbally. Pic 2 below shows what comes up.

4. Whole countries aren't downloaded because you would eat up a ton of memory if you did that. Cities are not an issue though. I randomly selected Shanghai in China and downloaded the entire city for off line use. Google has had this option for a long time.

6. Just do a simple Google search for backing up your info. That said, Google apps are auto-updated, as are games from the game center. You never have to worry about backing any info up with these apps. You can do backups like iOS as well. Some apps to do this can be on stock phones, but the easiest method requires rooting the phone.

1. Thanks, didn't know that. But it seems to be a bit hit or miss. Google search seems to decide whether the word is unusual enough to warrant displaying a definition at the top of the search results. Also, would rather it was able to provide offline definitions like iOS.

4. But whole countries can be downloaded on Bing/Here maps on Windows phone right? I think the user should be able to choose how much storage they want to use for offline maps. Regarding cities - I can't download the whole of London, including the whole of the metropolitan area.

6. It's not really the backing up I'm worried about. It's the restore to new phone process that I'm a bit apprehensive about and would be surprised if it's as elegant as iOS. I don't really want to resort to 3rd party apps or root the phone to achieve a smooth transition.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
A lot of good points are in this thread, but I do not think anyone can argue that IOS has the better backup system via icloud. You have to root in order to get that similar effect on android.

Both OSs have come a long way, and I personally think it boils down to which hardware you prefer at this point. Do you like touchwiz? Do you want a bigger phone? The actual OSs are very similar and you can nearly accomplish anything on either one.
 

MindsEye

macrumors regular
May 3, 2010
241
23
A lot of good points are in this thread, but I do not think anyone can argue that IOS has the better backup system via icloud. You have to root in order to get that similar effect on android.

Both OSs have come a long way, and I personally think it boils down to which hardware you prefer at this point. Do you like touchwiz? Do you want a bigger phone? The actual OSs are very similar and you can nearly accomplish anything on either one.

Both OS's have their pluses & negatives but iOS is still very limited when it comes to productivity. It depends on what your use case as an individual is but i would say for a very large chunk of people, the platform will still make or break their overall experience.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
Both OS's have their pluses & negatives but iOS is still very limited when it comes to productivity. It depends on what your use case as an individual is but i would say for a very large chunk of people, the platform will still make or break their overall experience.

I understand that, but what the hell are people doing on their phones haha. I can see how a note with a stylus can add some productivity, but I can usually create my own file system via drop box. I guess personally I have always felt in order to be truly productive you still need more than a tablet or phone can provide. Unless you want to make a 10 minute task on a computer take 30 minutes by using a phone/tablet. Again, I know it boils down to preference, but it seems like everyone always says "productivity" without actual examples.

I also will group rooting/jailbreaking in a totally different category b.c that does open a whole new world, and it is a very small % of people who do that....even though the forums would lead you to believe everyone roots/jailbreaks.
 
Last edited:

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
1. Thanks, didn't know that. But it seems to be a bit hit or miss. Google search seems to decide whether the word is unusual enough to warrant displaying a definition at the top of the search results. Also, would rather it was able to provide offline definitions like iOS.

4. But whole countries can be downloaded on Bing/Here maps on Windows phone right? I think the user should be able to choose how much storage they want to use for offline maps. Regarding cities - I can't download the whole of London, including the whole of the metropolitan area.

6. It's not really the backing up I'm worried about. It's the restore to new phone process that I'm a bit apprehensive about and would be surprised if it's as elegant as iOS. I don't really want to resort to 3rd party apps or root the phone to achieve a smooth transition.
I have a Lumia 1520 that I use almost daily, along with my Moto X. The amount of information on Here Maps doesn't come close to what is provided in Google Maps. There is a ton of data that would fill an entire phone if you were to download the entire U.S.'s worth of Google map data. In fact, combining satellite, aerial and street level imagery, Google Maps has over 20 petabytes of data, which is equal to approximately 21 million gigabytes.
Now, the U.S. is roughly 3.7 million square miles in size (not including water areas like the Great Lakes or the Great Salt Lake in Utah.) Download the U.S. on Google Maps and you are looking at roughly 7.5GB of data. On Nokia Here Maps, the U.S. is only 2.8GB of data. Nice thing about Here Maps though is you can download an entire U.S. State at once, compared to Google Maps which only allows for 10 sq miles of area at one time.

Why the big difference in data storage requirements? You have to remember that Google has Street View (a huge storage hog!), interactive overlays (a Google patented feature that takes a lot of data), Indoor maps view, aerial views, transit/walking/bike/car/traffic routing info and so on. Nokia has some of these features, but is missing a ton of features like Street View (LiveSight is similar, but is not everywhere like StreetView is. I don't have any LiveSight views where I live for example.) Additionally, Here Maps lacks the resolution of Google Maps. I can get under 3 meter imagery of pretty much any spot in the U.S. with Google Maps. With Here Maps, I'm lucky to get 10 meter imagery in many places. Obviously, pixel density of the satellite imagery dictates overall size and the closer you can zoom in, the more storage required.

Sorry, long rant. Needless to say, I've been working with satellite imagery for many years. What Google Maps has now was considered military grade detail just a decade ago. Nokia Maps is good, don't get me wrong, but the sheer amount of extra data on Google Maps makes it much harder to download large areas onto a phone (especially if that phone only has 12gb of usable storage size or less! You won't be able to download the Google map of the U.S. on an 8gb phone like the Moto G or Lumia 520 for instance.)

----------

A lot of good points are in this thread, but I do not think anyone can argue that IOS has the better backup system via icloud. You have to root in order to get that similar effect on android.

Both OSs have come a long way, and I personally think it boils down to which hardware you prefer at this point. Do you like touchwiz? Do you want a bigger phone? The actual OSs are very similar and you can nearly accomplish anything on either one.

Bar none, Apple's iCloud solution is better than anything that Google currently has on stock phones, unless you root your Android phone. Then it is actually better on Android, as you can choose to do either a whole phone snapshot backup, a la iOS, or you can choose to just backup individual applications via apps like Titanium Backup.

I keep hearing rumors of Google planning to mimic Apple's iCloud backup, but nothing concrete. I would greatly welcome it on Android (although I do have it with Motorola Migrate app!) And I wouldn't mind if Microsoft did the same for Windows Phone.
 

MindsEye

macrumors regular
May 3, 2010
241
23
I understand that, but what the hell are people doing on their phones haha. I can see how a note with a stylus can add some productivity, but I can usually create my own file system via drop box. I guess personally I have always felt in order to be truly productive you still need more than a tablet or phone can provide. Unless you want to make a 10 minute task on a computer take 30 minutes by using a phone/tablet. Again, I know it boils down to preference, but it seems like everyone always says "productivity" without actual examples.

I also will group rooting/jailbreaking in a totally different category b.c that does open a whole new world, and it is a very small % of people who do that....even though the forums would lead you to believe everyone roots/jailbreaks.

Depends on how you define productivity. While I'm personally not interested of going through the stress of typing up essay's, editing photos, music production etc, there are times when nothing beats the convenience and immediate availability of a phone/tablet to take care of a quick simple task.

For instance, uploading/downloading/transferring a file could all be a much more complicated process on iOS due to the lack of a file system, file interoperability, bluetooth transfer etc.
 

ozaz

macrumors 68000
Feb 27, 2011
1,615
577
The amount of information on Here Maps doesn't come close to what is provided in Google Maps. There is a ton of data that would fill an entire phone if you were to download the entire U.S.'s worth of Google map data. In fact, combining satellite, aerial and street level imagery, Google Maps has over 20 petabytes of data, which is equal to approximately 21 million gigabytes.
Now, the U.S. is roughly 3.7 million square miles in size (not including water areas like the Great Lakes or the Great Salt Lake in Utah.) Download the U.S. on Google Maps and you are looking at roughly 7.5GB of data. On Nokia Here Maps, the U.S. is only 2.8GB of data. Nice thing about Here Maps though is you can download an entire U.S. State at once, compared to Google Maps which only allows for 10 sq miles of area at one time.

Why the big difference in data storage requirements? You have to remember that Google has Street View (a huge storage hog!), interactive overlays (a Google patented feature that takes a lot of data), Indoor maps view, aerial views, transit/walking/bike/car/traffic routing info and so on. Nokia has some of these features, but is missing a ton of features like Street View (LiveSight is similar, but is not everywhere like StreetView is. I don't have any LiveSight views where I live for example.) Additionally, Here Maps lacks the resolution of Google Maps. I can get under 3 meter imagery of pretty much any spot in the U.S. with Google Maps. With Here Maps, I'm lucky to get 10 meter imagery in many places. Obviously, pixel density of the satellite imagery dictates overall size and the closer you can zoom in, the more storage required.

Sorry, long rant. Needless to say, I've been working with satellite imagery for many years. What Google Maps has now was considered military grade detail just a decade ago. Nokia Maps is good, don't get me wrong, but the sheer amount of extra data on Google Maps makes it much harder to download large areas onto a phone (especially if that phone only has 12gb of usable storage size or less! You won't be able to download the Google map of the U.S. on an 8gb phone like the Moto G or Lumia 520 for instance.)

In that case, I would suggest an enhancement would be the ability to deselect all the extra stuff from the downloads to enable caching of larger areas.

All I want offline is basic google maps (presumably some efficient vector format) + route planning ability. I don't need or want all the satellite imagery and street-view stuff offline.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
In that case, I would suggest an enhancement would be the ability to deselect all the extra stuff from the downloads to enable caching of larger areas.

All I want offline is basic google maps (presumably some efficient vector format) + route planning ability. I don't need or want all the satellite imagery and street-view stuff offline.
You are absolutely correct. There should be a better way for Google to do just that.
 
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