For the past couple of months I've been pretty down on Windows Phone. Microsoft has been worryingly quiet about Windows Phone 8, and whether or not current phones would get it. (Latest rumor I've seen is that Apollo is for current phones and new ones will be WinRT.) I'm wary of supporting a platform where the curators don't seem to know what they're doing.
As much as I like Android hardware (especially the HTC One X), there no way I'd actually get an Android phone. If I were to not get a Windows Phone this fall that only leaves me with the iPhone. I was somewhat looking forward to WWDC to get a peak at what Apple has in store for this years iPhone. Turn out it's nothing special.
It seems that Apple is taking the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach with iOS. And there lies my problem with iOS. It hasn't really changed since it was first introduced in 2007. Sure, more features have been added and existing apps made better, but iOS has been a grid of icons going on five years now. I'm not saying that I was hoping Apple was going to reinvent the iOS wheel. But, I was hoping that there'd be a little bit of evolution this year, rather than just more refinements.
For once, I was actually willing to jump on the Apple train. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Apple is a hardware company. They're the best when it comes to throwing money at companies to make small, high resolution screen. But a software company they are not. To put it simply, iOS has become boring.
Microsoft is set to have a "sneak peak" of Windows Phone 8 next week, so we'll see if they show enough to rekindle my love for their products.
@stenchlord: I don't ever want to have to do that. It's part of the reason why I want nothing to do with Android. Something like a smartphone should be great out of the box.
@Bane: I think it's pretty dumb that I would have to take software into consideration on top of hardware when it comes to Android phones. For example, I played around with the One X a couple weeks ago. Just as the reviews have said, the hardware is phenomenal. But man... I was almost offended by the keyboard. Such a cluster fuck. (Or maybe I'm just spoiled by the WP7 keyboard, universally considered the best.) From what I understand it's not too hard to change keyboards on Android, but why should I? Why should I have to put up with HTC's Sense UI? And don't even get me started about updates... It has some nice features here and there, but overall, I really don't like Android.
I'm in a similar position and did briefly consider going to the One X but after having a Windows Phone for 1.5 years I really don't think I could go back to android now.
The rumours about WP8 sound promising though and I do like Win8 so I am quite excited to hear what they have to say next week. Hopefully the wait for some kind of preview isn't too long.
@Falcon: Buy a Galaxy Nexus, then. You're first in line for JellyBean, you have the stock Android platform (without bloatware), you have fairly sexy hardware with a large screen, and you have ICS, w/ it's better stock keyboard. ICS is a great OS, but the option to change various things without rooting or jailbreaking still exists.
Personally I would like to see android succeed but...
To make a phone (or any other hardware) a great user experience it shouldn't need to be rooted and hacked at. Instead IMHO this is a red flag pointing to a problem that is so bad the community had to resort rebuilding the wheel so to speak.
For now i sit on the fence waiting as I watch problems in all 3 platforms work them self out; the race is on.
@MAGZine: I'm on AT&T, so no Galaxy Nexus as of yet. But still, I don't want that phone. If I were to get an Android phone right now based on hardware alone I'd get the HTC One X (regardless of network). However, it has Sense nonsense tacked on. Why should I have to settle for less stellar hardware in order to get better software? And by the time the Galaxy Nexus comes to AT&T, we'll be less than six months aware from a new Nexus phone with JB.
I could go on and on about this, but my point is; I shouldn't have to weigh the pros and cons of hardware and software within the same platform.
My biggest problem with Android is if it's supposed to be such a big open-source deal then why is it so damned hard to customize the software end of it? I wouldn't mind if it came with Sense as long as it gave me a convenient-ish way to remove it without voiding a warranty by rooting the damn phone.
I'm still with you on WinPho8 Falcon. Everytime I see Windows 8 anything I get sexy chills.
I'm still with you on WinPho8 Falcon. Everytime I see Windows 8 anything I get sexy chills.
Haha, awesome.
I think no one wants to provide an easy way to install vanilla Android because companies like HTC and Samsung want you to use their UI. If they don't customize the software, heaven forbid having to differentiate themselves on hardware alone.
@Falcon: It comes with technology, if there was a perfect product out there no one would buy anything else. There are always going to be advantages and disadvantages to a product. It gives companies the ability to release more and more products which people will continue to buy.
It's not a difficult thing to mod things like the keyboard in Android or to jailbreak in iOS. I can understand how you feel but face the facts, there is no perfect product out there and I doubt there ever will be. Companies don't want to take away a chance at getting more income from their customers.
@stenchlord: I'm not saying every smartphone needs to be perfect. Every OS has their pros and cons. It's just that Android market is a cluster fuck, to put it simply.
@stenchlord: I think Android is about modifying from the OEMs perspective, but not for consumers. The majority of Android users can't even begin to comprehend the process of installing a different version of Android.
The appeal of Android comes from the modifications one can make. I'm using a Samsung Vibrant right now with ICS 4.0.3 installed. You shouldn't have to root to get a true Android experience, but the option is there, so why not take it? Rooting and installing a new ROM is literally a 3 minute process for my phone. Instead of getting hardware you like and the version of an OS you want, you'd rather complain about it? At least with Android you have the choice of fixing it.
Or you could be like Gary and immediately dismiss anything Android related. "Rabble rabble, there hasn't been a single good Android tablet!"
I don't know how an iOS and Windows Phone conversation turned into an Android one... I've made my opinions on Android very clear on the past around here so I don't see any point in continuing that part of this conversation.
@Falcon: I cannot for the life of me see how anyone could construe having options and the freedom of choice as anything but a positive thing.
I'm curious, what amount of personal experience do you have with the platform? What are these strong opinions based on? If you have little to no personal experience than you haven't really formed a personal opinion. Don't pull a Whitta and adopt the opinion of other people who may be similarly misguided themselves.
If you've used an Android for weeks or months straight and hated it, well, so be it. Enjoy your iPhone, I hope you like the keyboard.
@MAGZine: I'm on AT&T, so no Galaxy Nexus as of yet. But still, I don't want that phone. If I were to get an Android phone right now based on hardware alone I'd get the HTC One X (regardless of network). However, it has Sense nonsense tacked on. Why should I have to settle for less stellar hardware in order to get better software? And by the time the Galaxy Nexus comes to AT&T, we'll be less than six months aware from a new Nexus phone with JB.
I could go on and on about this, but my point is; I shouldn't have to weigh the pros and cons of hardware and software within the same platform.
Just FYI, the Galaxy Nexus has been on AT&T, and has been for a couple months, for a shockingly reasonable price: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=corpus_selector
That said, I'm with you that things should work out of the box.
Yeah, it's off contract. Buy an iPhone, sell it on Craigslist, buy Galaxy Nexus or whatever. In theory. I'm not actually an Android fan, but the option is there.
Falcon, you're backwards on hardware and software WRT Apple. Apple has traditionally been an amazing software company that makes shitty hardware. The fact that they're making decent hardware now doesn't make their software bad. It's just brought up to the bar set by the software guys.
What I think you mean is that they're not innovating. The problem with Apple's marketing message is that when you say something is perfect, as they frequently do, it's difficult to change it in the future, unless something major happens.
I think their strategy in the future is to wrap the ambient info that you're looking for into hub apps. The Passbook stuff is the first glimpse of that. I won't know if I think it's a good idea until I've had a chance to use it with actual apps that are working instead of demo stuff. It's very Apple-y in that it lets them manage the user experience for third-party partners, who typically aren't as good at making software as Apple is.
I do think it's a mistake to not allow apps to talk to each other. Both Android and Windows have APIs that allow that, and that's going to enable much more complex workflows on their platforms as apps take advantage of them. If Apple doesn't address this in the next year, the iPad will likely fall behind Windows RT tablets.
@will: Thanks for the response Will. My bad on mixing up Apple's abilities with hardware and software. I'm fixated on their recent stuff when I say that. But I think you nailed it for me with them not innovating. They've been paving the way for a while now, so for them to seem to have let off the gas a little this year was disappointing to me. With Android continually getting better and Microsoft innovating with design I was half expecting Apple to show off iOS 6 and be all "Yeah, no, we're still the best. Try catching up again next year." On the other hand, I can't blame them. Microsoft has still yet to provide a really compelling alternative to their products, and I can't think of much Apple can do to stop the Android train.
For once I can say I'm looking forward to this week's Apple-cast to see what you guys think about this update.
For the past couple of months I've been pretty down on Windows Phone. Microsoft has been worryingly quiet about Windows Phone 8, and whether or not current phones would get it. (Latest rumor I've seen is that Apollo is for current phones and new ones will be WinRT.) I'm wary of supporting a platform where the curators don't seem to know what they're doing.
As much as I like Android hardware (especially the HTC One X), there no way I'd actually get an Android phone. If I were to not get a Windows Phone this fall that only leaves me with the iPhone. I was somewhat looking forward to WWDC to get a peak at what Apple has in store for this years iPhone. Turn out it's nothing special.
It seems that Apple is taking the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach with iOS. And there lies my problem with iOS. It hasn't really changed since it was first introduced in 2007. Sure, more features have been added and existing apps made better, but iOS has been a grid of icons going on five years now. I'm not saying that I was hoping Apple was going to reinvent the iOS wheel. But, I was hoping that there'd be a little bit of evolution this year, rather than just more refinements.
For once, I was actually willing to jump on the Apple train. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Apple is a hardware company. They're the best when it comes to throwing money at companies to make small, high resolution screen. But a software company they are not. To put it simply, iOS has become boring.
Microsoft is set to have a "sneak peak" of Windows Phone 8 next week, so we'll see if they show enough to rekindle my love for their products.
:O
@Falcon: What type of phone do you use now?
@Falcon: You can always jailbreak, if you're willing to look into it further you can make iOS look nothing like.. iOS.
@Wolverine: Samsung Focus
@stenchlord: I don't ever want to have to do that. It's part of the reason why I want nothing to do with Android. Something like a smartphone should be great out of the box.
Why don't you like Android? I used to have a Droid Incredible and currently have a Galaxy Nexus and they were/are both great out of the box.
@Bane: I think it's pretty dumb that I would have to take software into consideration on top of hardware when it comes to Android phones. For example, I played around with the One X a couple weeks ago. Just as the reviews have said, the hardware is phenomenal. But man... I was almost offended by the keyboard. Such a cluster fuck. (Or maybe I'm just spoiled by the WP7 keyboard, universally considered the best.) From what I understand it's not too hard to change keyboards on Android, but why should I? Why should I have to put up with HTC's Sense UI? And don't even get me started about updates... It has some nice features here and there, but overall, I really don't like Android.
I'm in a similar position and did briefly consider going to the One X but after having a Windows Phone for 1.5 years I really don't think I could go back to android now.
The rumours about WP8 sound promising though and I do like Win8 so I am quite excited to hear what they have to say next week. Hopefully the wait for some kind of preview isn't too long.
@Falcon: Buy a Galaxy Nexus, then. You're first in line for JellyBean, you have the stock Android platform (without bloatware), you have fairly sexy hardware with a large screen, and you have ICS, w/ it's better stock keyboard. ICS is a great OS, but the option to change various things without rooting or jailbreaking still exists.
Personally I would like to see android succeed but...
To make a phone (or any other hardware) a great user experience it shouldn't need to be rooted and hacked at. Instead IMHO this is a red flag pointing to a problem that is so bad the community had to resort rebuilding the wheel so to speak.
For now i sit on the fence waiting as I watch problems in all 3 platforms work them self out; the race is on.
@MAGZine: I'm on AT&T, so no Galaxy Nexus as of yet. But still, I don't want that phone. If I were to get an Android phone right now based on hardware alone I'd get the HTC One X (regardless of network). However, it has Sense nonsense tacked on. Why should I have to settle for less stellar hardware in order to get better software? And by the time the Galaxy Nexus comes to AT&T, we'll be less than six months aware from a new Nexus phone with JB.
I could go on and on about this, but my point is; I shouldn't have to weigh the pros and cons of hardware and software within the same platform.
My biggest problem with Android is if it's supposed to be such a big open-source deal then why is it so damned hard to customize the software end of it? I wouldn't mind if it came with Sense as long as it gave me a convenient-ish way to remove it without voiding a warranty by rooting the damn phone.
I'm still with you on WinPho8 Falcon. Everytime I see Windows 8 anything I get sexy chills.
@Toxeia said:
Haha, awesome.
I think no one wants to provide an easy way to install vanilla Android because companies like HTC and Samsung want you to use their UI. If they don't customize the software, heaven forbid having to differentiate themselves on hardware alone.
@Falcon: It comes with technology, if there was a perfect product out there no one would buy anything else. There are always going to be advantages and disadvantages to a product. It gives companies the ability to release more and more products which people will continue to buy.
It's not a difficult thing to mod things like the keyboard in Android or to jailbreak in iOS. I can understand how you feel but face the facts, there is no perfect product out there and I doubt there ever will be. Companies don't want to take away a chance at getting more income from their customers.
@stenchlord: I'm not saying every smartphone needs to be perfect. Every OS has their pros and cons. It's just that Android market is a cluster fuck, to put it simply.
@Falcon: Android has always been about modifying though. Most of it is pretty simple to do and if you happen to find one you like online even easier.
@stenchlord: I think Android is about modifying from the OEMs perspective, but not for consumers. The majority of Android users can't even begin to comprehend the process of installing a different version of Android.
The appeal of Android comes from the modifications one can make. I'm using a Samsung Vibrant right now with ICS 4.0.3 installed. You shouldn't have to root to get a true Android experience, but the option is there, so why not take it? Rooting and installing a new ROM is literally a 3 minute process for my phone. Instead of getting hardware you like and the version of an OS you want, you'd rather complain about it? At least with Android you have the choice of fixing it.
Or you could be like Gary and immediately dismiss anything Android related. "Rabble rabble, there hasn't been a single good Android tablet!"
I don't know how an iOS and Windows Phone conversation turned into an Android one... I've made my opinions on Android very clear on the past around here so I don't see any point in continuing that part of this conversation.
@Falcon: I cannot for the life of me see how anyone could construe having options and the freedom of choice as anything but a positive thing.
I'm curious, what amount of personal experience do you have with the platform? What are these strong opinions based on? If you have little to no personal experience than you haven't really formed a personal opinion. Don't pull a Whitta and adopt the opinion of other people who may be similarly misguided themselves.
If you've used an Android for weeks or months straight and hated it, well, so be it. Enjoy your iPhone, I hope you like the keyboard.
@Falcon:as a Windows phone use, I totally agree with you
Wait and see what Windows Phone 8 looks like I say.
@Falcon said:
Just FYI, the Galaxy Nexus has been on AT&T, and has been for a couple months, for a shockingly reasonable price: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=corpus_selector
That said, I'm with you that things should work out of the box.
@AwesomeAndy: I assume that price is off contract. AT&T doesn't offer the phone themselves.
Yeah, it's off contract. Buy an iPhone, sell it on Craigslist, buy Galaxy Nexus or whatever. In theory. I'm not actually an Android fan, but the option is there.
@will: Thanks for the response Will. My bad on mixing up Apple's abilities with hardware and software. I'm fixated on their recent stuff when I say that. But I think you nailed it for me with them not innovating. They've been paving the way for a while now, so for them to seem to have let off the gas a little this year was disappointing to me. With Android continually getting better and Microsoft innovating with design I was half expecting Apple to show off iOS 6 and be all "Yeah, no, we're still the best. Try catching up again next year." On the other hand, I can't blame them. Microsoft has still yet to provide a really compelling alternative to their products, and I can't think of much Apple can do to stop the Android train.
For once I can say I'm looking forward to this week's Apple-cast to see what you guys think about this update.