After 1 week, I might go back to iPhone. Here's why...

JasW

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2013
975
0
16
Visit site
Have you tried NiLS? Or Executive Assistant+? Both of these apps do the same kind of thing, but each has their own quirks. I'll try Popup Notifier too and see if it works well. I really think the iOS way of doing notifications is great, so I just want something similar. I don't want to constantly be swiping down on the screen to see that my wife just texted me "OK" for example. I could more easily glance down and see that when the screen lights up. Or when I get a FB notification, which I do constantly, all day. I want to make a quick glance and see what it was, not actually interact with my phone.

I haven't tried either of those two. There's also one called Notify (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=apps.droidnotify) that's supposed to be good, and may even be better than Popup Notifier, but I haven't gotten around to trying it. Popup Notifier handles FB notifications well enough, you can always see the first bit of what somebody wrote. My only qualm is that for email, there is no mark as read option -- just view or close.
 

kingseanrocks

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2012
77
0
0
Visit site
Another option is if you root your phone you could install a ios themed custom rom and still customize it and have lock screen notifications

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums
 

kingseanrocks

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2012
77
0
0
Visit site
I was actually gonna suggest that it does a pretty good job of replicating the iOS exprience

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums
 

Farish

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2013
1,289
0
0
Visit site

jrh4054

Well-known member
Apr 3, 2012
45
1
0
Visit site
You're sadly mistaken if you think you can figure out a phone as complex as the S4 in just a week. If you like the way the iPhone did everything, why did you change? The S4 is my second Samsung phone. The phones operate basically the same. It's the S4's bells and whistles that take time to learn and appreciate. Don't take me wrong. The S4 isn't perfect by any means, but it beats my older phone by a very long shot.
 

joemontana

Well-known member
May 26, 2013
168
0
0
Visit site
This is true, to some degree. I'm learning. It's not nearly as intuitive as an iPhone. I'm finding it a bit hard to learn how to use the device.



That works when unlocked. It doesn't work when the phone is locked, or when the lock screen is displayed. By default, there is no way to put the phone into vibrate mode without unlocking it or holding down the power button and then touching the screen.

I find any ios device that I have used incredibly non-intuitive. I'm the first to admit it's because I haven't spent much time with ios, but isn't that your situation with Android?
Joe

Posted via Android Central App
 

JRLasVegas

Well-known member
Apr 16, 2013
207
0
0
Visit site
This is true, to some degree. I'm learning. It's not nearly as intuitive as an iPhone. I'm finding it a bit hard to learn how to use the device.



That works when unlocked. It doesn't work when the phone is locked, or when the lock screen is displayed. By default, there is no way to put the phone into vibrate mode without unlocking it or holding down the power button and then touching the screen.

Sorry I meant to say while phone is ringing you can do it even if locked. When my phone is ringing I just reach in my pocket and hit the volume button to mute it. True not as everyone would prefer but it's just a different way of doing things, I personally do not mind.

And learning the device just takes a few weeks really to understand the basics. Pretend your operating a windows based system rather than an apple one and you should start to see some similarities and that can help you break your old habits. Good luck!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
 

zkSharks

Retired Moderator
Mar 15, 2011
2,013
75
0
Visit site
This thread was a very good read.. just wanted to throw that in here. It's also refreshing to see people work out any misunderstandings themselves. :)

Matt, I think everyone else has drilled down the specifics enough already, but I think you'll have a good experience if you find a way to bridge to the gap to the HTC One. And once you get it, try out the Sense features like the BlinkFeed homescreen features, but also consider installing a third-party launcher (essentially a homescreen replacement) like Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher.

Best of luck with the decision, and welcome to Android Central. ;) Definitely stick around and keep us updated on your thoughts if or when you pick up the One. The One forums also have a lot of good tips, tricks, and otherwise helpful information.
 

sstephen17

Well-known member
Feb 9, 2011
305
2
0
Visit site
My first Android phone was the original Motorola Droid. Loved that phone and actually learned to root it. I wasn't planning on getting an iPhone but virtually all my friends/family had it, so I figured two years wasn't too long and got an iPhone 4S. At first, I really liked it, mainly because the camera was far superior to the Droid. iMessage was also nice and the retina display was unmatched at the time. However, even from the get go my iPhone was plagued with issues. Battery life was horrible. The phone would freeze when I got multiple text messages in quick succession (I got the false impression from friends/family that iPhones never have software issues). Finally got a 4S replacement using my Squaretrade warranty but although the battery issue wasn't as prominent (I could get through the day now, even though I noticeably use my phone less), the freeze issues continued and now the camera seems to be operating more slowly. Maybe I got two bad iPhones but whatever the reason, iOS left a bad taste in my mouth and I longed to go back to Android.

I'm getting my GS4 in two weeks when my upgrade is available and here are the things I'm most looking forward to:

1. Screen size - The 4S is way too small for someone like me (big hands, fat fingers, bad vision). The retina display on the iPhone is nice but now there is something just as sharp but bigger too.

2. MicroSD card - Huge plus for me. Having a 16gb iPhone was such a limiting factor. I take a ton of pictures and after two years, those add up. I know I can just save it to the cloud but I find it infinitely easier to just store everything on an card, and just copy the files to my computer when it's full. Plus, I have a program that can rip DVD's to watch on my tablet and/or phone, which is nice but takes up a lot of space.

3. Android experience - Having tried both iOS and Android (I've had a Asus Transformer and a Nexus 7 in the past two years), I prefer Android. It may not be as simple as iOS but it certainly is more capable and infinitely more customizable. For a nerd like me, that's important.

4. It's different - Maybe it's a minor thing but I kind of like not having the same phone as every other person on the train seems to have. If I had to give a rough estimate, I'd say at least 7 out of every 10 smartphones I see are iPhones.
 

Farish

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2013
1,289
0
0
Visit site
3. Android experience - Having tried both iOS and Android (I've had a Asus Transformer and a Nexus 7 in the past two years), I prefer Android. It may not be as simple as iOS but it certainly is more capable and infinitely more customizable. For a nerd like me, that's important.

I want to counter this statement with one of my own.

If you want to do customization, custom launchers etc, there is a learning curve as long with anything else out there with this much flexibility. This is were the difficulty lies.

I think the common user won't even care about customizations and what the oem skins offer is easy enough. I don't see any fundamental difference in difficulty between IOS and Android until you decide to build your own experience with it.
 

zkSharks

Retired Moderator
Mar 15, 2011
2,013
75
0
Visit site
I think the common user won't even care about customizations and what the oem skins offer is easy enough. I don't see any fundamental difference in difficulty between IOS and Android until you decide to build your own experience with it.

Besides the obvious adjustments to an operating system with slightly different mechanics (such as the app drawer/homescreen relationship and widgets instead of every app on the homescreen), you're right. I think that's the beauty of it. There's a relatively low learning curve, and once you get comfortable with things, you can really start to explore the system and see what you can do.
 

mattkruse

Member
Jun 3, 2013
19
0
0
Visit site
I don't see any reason why the default out-of-the-box Android experience couldn't be as good or better than the iPhone. The vast majority of people won't root, or use custom ROMs, or maybe even add widgets. The power and flexibility of Android would be even BETTER if it's default implementation was awesome. Haven't people learned from Apple?!

A female friend of mine got the S4 a week before me, and I talked to her yesterday and looked at her phone. She hadn't customized anything, other than install a few apps. She didn't even know widgets existed!

I haven't heard an official release date on the HTC One for Verizon yet. I have 5 days to return my S4, so that's not going to work. And I'm not going to buy it full price! So I don't think it's going to be an option, unfortunately. :(
 

Averix

Well-known member
May 17, 2010
894
63
0
Visit site
I don't see any reason why the default out-of-the-box Android experience couldn't be as good or better than the iPhone. The vast majority of people won't root, or use custom ROMs, or maybe even add widgets. The power and flexibility of Android would be even BETTER if it's default implementation was awesome. Haven't people learned from Apple?!

A female friend of mine got the S4 a week before me, and I talked to her yesterday and looked at her phone. She hadn't customized anything, other than install a few apps. She didn't even know widgets existed!

I haven't heard an official release date on the HTC One for Verizon yet. I have 5 days to return my S4, so that's not going to work. And I'm not going to buy it full price! So I don't think it's going to be an option, unfortunately. :(

Some would argue the out of box experience for Android is better than an iPhone. I have the opposite story of yours. My mother went from an Android device to a new iPhone 5. She couldn't understand why it wasn't displaying weather updates on the home screen and why there wasn't a screen full of contact icons she could just tap to text or call or why she wasn't getting news stories on one of the screens. It made no sense to her that she had to go into every icon to do something the Android did without any effort on her part. She's borrowing my old S3 right now and loves it. I did a few tweaks for her on the stock Samsung-ified Android, like adding a calendar widget, and she loves it. She's taking the iPhone back tomorrow to get a refund and keep her contract extension for a newer phone later.

I'm afraid a lot of your statements are just opinions. We all have them and we're all entitled to them. If you really don't like the S4, I'd suggest taking it back before your return period is up and wait for the next iPhone.
 

Aquila

Retired Moderator
Feb 24, 2012
15,904
0
0
Visit site
I haven't heard an official release date on the HTC One for Verizon yet. I have 5 days to return my S4, so that's not going to work. And I'm not going to buy it full price! So I don't think it's going to be an option, unfortunately

You can return the S4 and wait to upgrade until something better comes out, like the One, the next iPhone, the Moto X, etc.
 

jredecop82

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2013
94
0
0
Visit site
Some would argue the out of box experience for Android is better than an iPhone. I have the opposite story of yours. My mother went from an Android device to a new iPhone 5. She couldn't understand why it wasn't displaying weather updates on the home screen and why there wasn't a screen full of contact icons she could just tap to text or call or why she wasn't getting news stories on one of the screens. It made no sense to her that she had to go into every icon to do something the Android did without any effort on her part. She's borrowing my old S3 right now and loves it. I did a few tweaks for her on the stock Samsung-ified Android, like adding a calendar widget, and she loves it. She's taking the iPhone back tomorrow to get a refund and keep her contract extension for a newer phone later.

I'm afraid a lot of your statements are just opinions. We all have them and we're all entitled to them. If you really don't like the S4, I'd suggest taking it back before your return period is up and wait for the next iPhone.

Yup, i agree. Came from owning every iPhone and now wouldn't think of going back. Loving the experience. All just about whats preferred. Good thing we have options;)
 

The Hustleman

Well-known member
May 28, 2010
1,276
20
0
Visit site
Doesn't fit in your pocket?

You're either a really tiny guy or you wear women's jeans.

I get text messages popping up when I receive them, why aren't you? Install Handcent SMS

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2