General Device Question

[brendanb]

I'm not hating on other devices, so please don't think of it that way, haha. But, whenever I use an iPhone, the screen animations are just incredibly smooth. When I then transition to another touch screen smart phone, it's just not as smooth or responsive. This isn't to say it's bad or extremely noticeable, but it's definitely there. And don't get me wrong, I have a Droid and I would never trade it for an iPhone, but I just could never find out why the iPhone's animations are so much smoother. Is it just because the iPhone is utilizing the GPU a lot more than other phones? Any ideas?

 

[Jeremy]

You are correct, no other device has a better touch screen experience than the iPhone. The droid comes close but I just think Apple has their UI set up to perfection. Could have to do with the hardware they are using as well that gives them the slight edge. And yes, I love my Droid as well.

 

[darreno1]

IMO, it has little to do with the hardware and more to do with how Apple chose to design their UI. Apple is about style and presentation. They invest a lot of resources into making their hardware and software look 'pretty'. And 'Pretty' sells.

Some aspects of the Droid's UI are very smooth. Notice how smoothly the apps fade in and out as they're opened and closed. Also notice how smoothly the screens shift as you click to read an email and click back again. Even the notification shade slides up and down smoothly. However a simple scroll left or right on the home page is choppy as is the pulling up of the app shade.

They could easily make the home page scroll left to right smoother. Or the web browser scrolling smoother. And I hope they do at some point although it really doesn't bother me as I'm more interested in speed which the Droid has plenty of. If you try the Dolphin Browser (free) you'll notice that it is noticeably smoother than the default browser when panning and scrolling. So it's all in the software. The hardware is more than capable.

 

[Jeremy]

IMO, it has little to do with the hardware and more to do with how Apple chose to design their UI. Apple is about style and presentation. They invest a lot of resources into making their hardware and software look 'pretty'. And 'Pretty' sells.

Some aspects of the Droid's UI are very smooth. Notice how smoothly the apps fade in and out as they're opened and closed. Also notice how smoothly the screens shift as you click to read an email and click back again. Even the notification shade slides up and down smoothly. However a simple scroll left or right on the home page is choppy as is the pulling up of the app shade.

They could easily make the home page scroll left to right smoother. Or the web browser scrolling smoother. And I hope they do at some point although it really doesn't bother me as I'm more interested in speed which the Droid has plenty of. If you try the Dolphin Browser (free) you'll notice that it is noticeably smoother than the default browser when panning and scrolling. So it's all in the software. The hardware is more than capable.

I believe he was referring to the actual touch screen and how sensitive it is. Not necessarily scrolling alone.

 

[darreno1]

I have no issues with the screen sensitivity and I do have a screen protector (Phantom Skinz). I almost never have to tap twice. In fact, in some ways, I think it's too sensitive at times. Compared to my old 3g, I'd say it's about the same.

Not all protectors are alike (obviously) and some people have had issues with certain brands.

 

[brendanb]

Thanks for the replies. I always figured it'd have something to do with software since the hardware in the Droid is definitely capable of what the iPhone is. It's definitely not a deal breaker for me obviously. The Droid totally beats the iPhone in features and openess and I care about that more than pretty animations. haha