From what you wrote your concerns seem to be with Android tablets, not phones.
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Why I'm going back to iOS
- Thread starter pmontanarella
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From what you wrote your concerns seem to be with Android tablets, not phones.
You haven't seen the drop tests I've seen on You Tube. Totally showed where Apple is putting the money in the the new phone compared to the S3.
Then on the other hand some people are nearly snapping the iPhone 5 in half by having it in their pocket... never heard of a galaxy s3 doing that.
I wouldn't agree with that. The iPhone 4 and 4S did very badly in drop tests compared to say Galaxy S2, but they still cost the same as the iPhone 5 at release time.
It definitely does, I've shown the difference to people (IRL) who ask me whether they should get a Galaxy S3 (it's always a Galaxy S3, HTC, Google and the others are losing the battle for Android mindshare there) or an iPhone 5. I get them to scroll slowly up and down a page on both the N7 and the iPhone 5, leaving their finger on the screen while they read whatever's on the page. They all pick up on the jerkiness when seeing them compared. The last person who tried it remarked that "everything on the iPhone just glides" whereas "it feels like you're forcing the Android to do it, it just doesn't have that gliding feeling".
My concerns are with Android in general. Everything I wrote, bar the apps stretching for the N7's screen, also applies to Android phones. There's still a stack of apps out there targeting 2.1+ and 2.2+, which lag even worse than normal, Android's still lacking in app selection for those living in, or having interests in, a smaller market, and for those apps that do exist- they're for the most part poor iPhone ports which have been quickly slapped together to cover the widest Android base possible. In other words, 2.1+ or 2.2+. They're very rarely optimised for newer devices or newer versions of Android and the performance and feature sets in them compared to the iOS versions are simply terrible.
Here's a quick example, surfing's a small market compared to, say, American Football or Soccer. Here's some reviews of the app which is used to stream Rip Curl's World Championship Tour events live, firstly for Android (2 star overall rating, built for, surprise surprise, 2.1+):
Remi - October 20, 2012 - SEMC Xperia S with version 2.2
Don't bother...
Live video doesn't work at all, Bad layout for the results, bad responsiveness. Appart from the news, it's pretty useless. Uninstalling... Stick to the website.
Mickets - October 15, 2012 - Version 2.1
Interesting but alarms don't work
the Peniche event started after three lay days, but the alarms I setup in the app never happened and I missed rounds 1 and 2, and just missed one from round 3. It does show that the event in Australia from April 2011 is still on.
And from the iPhone version (4.5 star overall rating, requires iOS 3.2+):
Best Event App
by Brendan Downs
Love the way I can get heat alerts when my favourite surfer is competing well done rip curl
Works really good
by Surf mad
I can now watch all the surfing when away from my computer. I love it.
Quiksilver doesn't even bother offering an Android app anymore (they used to) and neither does Volcom or Hurley. Billabong is the only one who has an Android app which actually offers a live stream (that works). That only covers 3 events from the whole World Championship Tour. That's just one example as to why Android is horrible for those who have interests in a smaller market. Or live in one, like Australia.
I have a Galaxy S2, and I'll admit that iPhones feel smoother than it. But to me that microsecond lag doesn't matter, because Android allows me much more flexibility that iOS doesn. Also, Chrome sucks as a browser for Android. You need to find a better browser.
Now, the apps that you need don't exist on Android. So it's clear that for you, iOS is the way to go. All the apps I need exist on Android. Similarly, there are small market apps that exist on Android, but don't on iOS. It depends on which app you're looking for. It's not as clear cut as you make it seem.
In the end, your experiences do not reflect mine just as mine do not reflect yours. Both platforms have their advantages. There's a reason that phone like the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 are doing really well, so to claim that Android is not useful is IMO a bit silly.
I'm all for sharing experiences but you can't just show one side of the picture.
I'm on tapatalk in iOS which can be questionable in long thread but I'm not seeing (or I'm over looking) a post by you where you listed examples of why Android is inferior. But I'll bite, repost them and as an iOS and Android user (mostly iOS) I'll see what I come up with.
The ONLY reason I initially got an Android tablet was to be able to do things my iPhone can't do. The main thing was email multiple PDF's in a single email which I need to do quite often usually with pictures too. But for everything iOS can or can't do I find something Android can or can't but I normally lean more toward Android for basic task.
It's more of what fits your life better. For example recording/editing music I've heard is much better on iOS. That's great but I'm not a musician. I'm in electronic so sending and receiving schematics via a mobile device is much more important too me. Saving blue prints and schematics is also very critical. With Android I can store things locally in dedicated folders which is very useful because a lot of the time I need to be in airplane mode around sensitive equipment so I can't access Dropbox.
My point is android might be inferior to you because you use an iOS device for recording/editing music. But others have different needs and might find android superior.
Not only that but you will quickly find a flaw with iOS doing that. iOS prioritizes user input. If you put your finger on the screen in a browser before its done downloading it will pause the downloading and prioritize the user input. If you do the same in Android the web page will continue to load beneath your finger.
Here is a screen shot. I can't really make a video to fully show but notice the loading bar. I have my finger on the screen and it will stay there indefinitely until I remove it, or in the case taking the screen shot dropped the UI and if finished.
Exactly, iOS always give the higher priority to the UI stopping any process, it is not a flaw, only that they designed the OS to feel responsive in any situation. Android doesn't stop any processing
I never knew about that. Interesting stuff.
Anyway, Reanimation looks like he's at it again. Spilling his beans over milliseconds. Don't know why you're still around if you're so convinced these milliseconds are deal breakers. There are plenty of accounts and reviews that say the Nexus 7 rarely lags and that there is zero lag with 4.2, and certainly not to the degree you're claiming. Maybe you have a defective device. Either way, you're unsatisfied; switch to the iPad, and move on.
I've experienced unresponsiveness or slow-to-respond or requiring multiple taps before action happens (I'm talking about unregistered taps evidenced by the "greying" effect, but the action itself doesn't happen) on both the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3, so be warned. But, somehow, I think you'll be more forgiving with Apple products.
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You are right I shouldn't have said flaw as its per design.
Regardless, is Android is THAT laggy that they need to sacrifice function over form? I'm perfectly content with my Xoom (tegra 2) on 4.0, so how bad can these modern super phones be on Android 4.2 that you'd rather have it freeze everything you are working on to scroll a bit smoother?
It's silly anyway. On iOS I can be using UI in a graphically intense game and it still works so why does it need to freeze data when scrolling in a browser.
True that. Everyone's going to have a different experience, we're all here to share. I don't doubt that people find Android very useful, it's just seriously lacking in some areas, which, as you said, is the experience I've had- it's not necessarily going to be what everyone has. I just dispute claims such as the Android app selection being on par, or close to par, with iOS, or that you can nearly always find an app with equivalent functionality. While I'm sure Android does have a few smaller market apps that iOS doesn't have, iOS really nails it here- there's so much in the way of stuff that I (and a lot of other people I spend time with) use on a regular basis that doesn't appear on Android that it's just no contest. For me, anyway.
I use Boat Browser on my N7, by the way. Also, as an aside, has Google fixed that awful change they made to the Android Youtube app, where they took away the tabs for comments, info, related videos etc. and turned it into one long scrolling mess? I uninstalled all the updates and don't trust updating it again.
I should have explained that a bit better. Most people when quickly trying something usually flick around quickly, not really taking in a great amount of detail- they'll take a peek at this, take a peek at that etc. I find that a lot of videos demoing Android feature that sort of behaviour- "The device is free of lag!" *Quick flicks left and right on the home screen, quick swipes up and down in the browser* "See?". You can't tell the differences at those speeds until you've spent more time with both devices. I tell people giving both a go to pretend to do something they normally would- e.g. read a story on a website they frequent. I know I have to slow down while reading, I generally slowly swipe up the screen as I'm reading, leaving my finger/thumb on the screen, then once my finger or thumb reaches near the top, I've more got text to start on under what I've been reading. Then I take it off the screen and start over. It's not on there 100% of the time, just while doing stuff like reading.
That's where the Nexus 7, at least, gets really choppy and laggy. It seems to hate going slowly while reading, whereas my iPhone handles it just fine.
That's true, which is why it always feels responsive. My finger isn't on there permanently, so iOS will usually have the beginning of a webpage loaded up, which I have access to straight away, then as I continue down the page, it loads in the time I'm not touching it. It's seamless to me.
Hey Couchy, how are you mate?
We're all free to post about what we feel about alternatives to iOS in here, as long as we're civil and we explain ourselves. As I said in that other topic, if I posted what I'm posting in the iPhone or iOS forums, it'd just get moved here. This forum isn't meant to be an Android love-in, it's for all discussion about alternatives to iOS.I don't have a defective device, I work with a guy whose N7 displays the same behaviour. He says he notices it but it doesn't bother him, he just likes that he saved a stack of cash from not buying an iPad and got himself a solid little e-reader with a few games to pass the time on. And that's fair enough.
By the way, I'm not a huge fan of iPads. That's why I bought the N7 in the first place. It'll be Windows 8 in the tablet space for me.
Ironically, I'm not too large a fan of Android on tablets. I still think iOS offers the best tablet experience (mainly because I simply don't demand as much from my tablet). I'm just pointing out the touch response of iOS isn't as perfect as so many claim it to be, nor as devastatingly different of an experience compared to the competition.
Just wondering, how are you reconciling the lack of Windows 8 apps when you bemoan the lack of Play Store apps?
Just to touch on this and because I enjoy zbarbian's debates.
I'll see comments like Android is for kids, adults prefer iOS, android needs to grow up, etc.
Then one of the first things mentioned of why iOS is better is because it has a lot more games.
I don't get it. Yes that picture is hideous but it can be changed to colors of your preference. I am jealous of the time stamps though. But when using both I feel Android feels more mature in what it can do and how it operates. That's my opinion however.
Glad we could come to an agreement. Youtube is still the same. Doesn't really bother me much now but it was a bit weird in the beginning.
Hello from me too.Hey Couchy, how are you mate?
Same for me. If the Surface Pro is well priced, it will likely be my first tablet. Would've got the Nexus 7 but it's a bit small for me.
That is ironic! When it comes to Windows 8 apps, I have years and years worth of great Windows software. I'm getting a Windows 8 Pro tablet, so I'll be able to use it all, plus whatever good touchscreen tablet software comes out and any Flash sites I frequent.
I'm in this boat too. I have no doubt that Android has made huge strides in usability, but living with an OG Droid for two+ years burned me so badly on the platform that it would take a device-miracle to lure me back. I've been using a 4S for the past year or so and haven't had a single complaint (even Maps works fairly well for me).
iOS definitely has limitations and drawbacks but for someone who isn't a smartphone power user (I don't watch videos, don't play many games, don't try and use the phone as a mobile office, etc) it works beautifully. So many of the "advanced" features of Android are ones I would rarely use over what is available on iOS. Sure, you can download a song from one store and share it with friends via another (I'm just making this up, lol), but if I don't share songs/videos, that sort of functionality is meaningless. I'd much rather trade those features for simplicity, smoothness and reliability, but that's ME. I totally get why a lot of tech-fans are into Android... I do miss the ability to customize.
One must also consider the ecosystem and friend/family circles. My wife's entire family just went iOS, and my parents/siblings have done the same. Being able to iMessage or FaceTime would be really helpful, where switching to WP8 (or Android) makes me the odd-man-out. I'm the only tech-savvy person in my family so I have to take that into consideration as well... I'm not going to convince my family to adopt something like Android if they are comfortable with iOS. You can certainly mock Apple for "boring, idiot-proof" usability but it sells in droves to people who don't care that much about this stuff.
You know, I'm not sure iOS necessarily puts "touch" above process.
When I sent iMessage messages, while it's doing it's little sending animation, where the message gets picked up in a blue bubble and transported to the chat screen, I can't type.
Sometimes I'll want to add more to what I just sent, and I begin typing, and it misses the first few keys. Once the message gets sent, then it registers key presses. By then, it's already missed a few.
So I'll send, for example, "Hey how's it going?" -SEND- "en do you want to meet up?" (trying to say "when do you want to meet up?").
Hardly perfect touch response.
When I sent iMessage messages, while it's doing it's little sending animation, where the message gets picked up in a blue bubble and transported to the chat screen, I can't type.
Sometimes I'll want to add more to what I just sent, and I begin typing, and it misses the first few keys. Once the message gets sent, then it registers key presses. By then, it's already missed a few.
So I'll send, for example, "Hey how's it going?" -SEND- "en do you want to meet up?" (trying to say "when do you want to meet up?").
Hardly perfect touch response.
I'm specifically talking about drop tests between the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3, which you haven't disagreed with.
I haven't. The iPhone 5 is more durable than the S3. But your original quote was
To me this implied that the iPhone 5 costs as much as it does because it is more durable. Perhaps I misunderstood.
To be fair if one was to drop any of todays top smartphones be it Apple, Samsung or whatever on a hard surface, a pavement for instance, I would not hold much faith that any would escape unscathed, it just depends on how it strikes the ground as to what damage is caused. A non scientific You Tube drop test is no gauge as to whether a phone is robust or not, at best, the test is a bit of fun, at worst it is a waste of money.
Here here!
Honestly, I don't understand where/when a drop test became the defining factor of quality. Sure the phone shouldn't shatter into a dozen pieces when dropped from a reasonable (standard use) height, but I honestly haven't ever seen a phone do that anyway.
Quality, IMO, should be measured in how long a phone lasts when properly taken care of. If you are prone to dropping your phone (and you know who you are), either get insurance, a lifeproof (or similar) case, or both.
I agree with this. These tests are very unscientific and I'm sure vary greatly, even among the same device.
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Skip to 2:05 in this video, it shows the Android latency problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E406xXr4Mok
The iPhone is damn near 1:1.