Convince me to switch to Android

[JK0907]

Hello everyone, my first post here.

I've been a Windows Phone user for past 4 years and all my smartphones have been WP. I've had Samsung Focus as my first WP and am using Nokia Lumia 920 right now. I love my L920 and I love the WP OS. My contract is due this November and I was anticipating on Microsoft's next flagship, aka McLaren, which was cancelled. With no rumors of upcoming WP flagship device, I'm getting kinda desperate and the Galaxy Note 4 seems promising. For my next phone, I wanted to get a phablet. The Lumia 1520 seems like a very nice device but will probably be outdated by the holiday season.

I recently purchased Nexus 7 2nd gen(My first android device) and I love it. Can I expect the Note 4 to be similar to N7 (plus touchwiz) with ability to make phone calls? I know Android haters always say android is laggy and crashes a lot, and I've noticed some stuttering in Nexus 7 whereas my Lumia 920 is smooth as butter, but the stutterness doesn't really bother me that much.

So tell me, what's so good about Android and what advantages does it have over WP?

 

[codyoehl]

Customization. That is like the number one thing android has over iOS, and I'm not sure about windows 8
My home screen (attached picture) as you can see if a little bit different than most launchers
On android you can install launchers from the Google play store and it can improve performance but mainly functionality

The note 4 should have really good specs though

Posted via Android Central App with my Samsung Galaxy S5

 

[zorak950]

Customization, apps and hackability. If you like WP, though, I'd think twice about switching over hardware. Hardware in mobile is constantly being outshone by newer stuff. It's software that matters most.

 

[MoneyMike84]

I've recently switched from an iPhone 5 which was buttery smooth like your windows phone. I was nervous switching back to android since it had been a couple years since owning one. I can say that there have been huge improvements to android in the past couple years. I have not experienced any noticeable lag since getting my s4 a few weeks ago.

 

[sting7k]

So tell me, what's so good about Android and what advantages does it have over WP?

You can customize your pocket computer experience down to nearly every individual pixel you see on the screen.

 

[A895]

So tell me, what's so good about Android and what advantages does it have over WP?

Mostly everything to be honest, but I will say the user experience differs. Though there have been some recent Android converts from WP, who like their devices, and set it up the way they want.

 

[RumoredNow]

If you enjoy learning about tech and fiddling with your device, Android can be a joy.

All that "customization" the posters above are talking about.... That is mostly manual work. Either flashing ROMS or making tweaks to the one you have. Personally, I really like that part about Android. I recommend less skin, more manual selection of tweaks as a rule to make Android enjoyable. There is satisfaction in learning how and achieving different things like rooting, flashing ROMS, custom kernels, tweaks to the OS via things like Xposed Framework...

I enjoyed the manipulations way more than the OS to be honest.

If you don't want the constant fiddling, be sure to pick the right skin. I think Samsung's popularity stems from the amount they pack into their TouchWiz. It's for those who don't want to take all that much control of their device. Some find it too heavy. I hear good things about the minimalist approach of Sense by HTC... Definitely try and test drive a few before deciding how much skin you want.

My two cents as someone who went the other way Android > WP... But then again I'd been on webOS prior to that, so I was looking for a different sort of UX from most.

 

[JeffDenver]

I recently purchased Nexus 7 2nd gen(My first android device) and I love it. Can I expect the Note 4 to be similar to N7 (plus touchwiz) with ability to make phone calls?

No. You can expect it to be cluttered with lots of "features", most of which you will probably never use but can't uninstall. You can expect it to be laggier as well and to have an uglier UI. It's also going to get OS updates a lot slower, and probably not as long as the Nexus will.

That being said, Samsung makes great hardware. So if you can endure all those things (all caused by Touchwiz, their Skin), you will probably like it. My sister buys Samsung hardware only, and she loves it for the most part.

I know Android haters always say android is laggy and crashes a lot

Most have not said that since Jellybean was introduced. Thats an old stereotype, even among Android haters.

So tell me, what's so good about Android and what advantages does it have over WP?

It will be more flexible. You will have access not only to Google Play store, but also have the ability to sideload your own apps or even use alternative markets like Amazon, and all without having to root/jailbreak. You will have access not only to all of Google apps (Maps, Gmail ect) but they will usually be tightly integrated into the OS as well. You will have a lot more control over your UI (even on Samsung devices), not just on your home screen but in places like your lock screen and dialer as well (and, again, you can do this without jailbreaking/rooting). You will have access to actual widgets, not just live tiles, and you will find they are a lot more flexible.

I've noticed some stuttering in Nexus 7 whereas my Lumia 920 is smooth as butter

I own the same tablet...have never seen any stuttering here. This Nexus 5 video demonstrates my experience on the Nexus 7 as well...it is this smooth for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8snnLpEDE

 

[JK0907]

No. You can expect it to be cluttered with lots of "features", most of which you will probably never use but can't uninstall. You can expect it to be laggier as well and to have an uglier UI. It's also going to get OS updates a lot slower, and probably not as long as the Nexus will.

That being said, Samsung makes great hardware. So if you can endure all those things (all caused by Touchwiz, their Skin), you will probably like it. My sister buys Samsung hardware only, and she loves it for the most part.


Most have not said that since Jellybean was introduced. Thats an old stereotype, even among Android haters.


It will be more flexible. You will have access not only to Google Play store, but also have the ability to sideload your own apps or even use alternative markets like Amazon, and all without having to root/jailbreak. You will have access not only to all of Google apps (Maps, Gmail ect) but they will usually be tightly integrated into the OS as well. You will have a lot more control over your UI (even on Samsung devices), not just on your home screen but in places like your lock screen and dialer as well (and, again, you can do this without jailbreaking/rooting). You will have access to actual widgets, not just live tiles, and you will find they are a lot more flexible.


I own the same tablet...have never seen any stuttering here. This Nexus 5 video demonstrates my experience on the Nexus 7 as well...it is this smooth for me.

Thanks for the input.
What's the difference between a widget and a live tile? One of my favorite feature in WP is the live tile. I pin news apps on the home screen and I get headline title/picture on the title. I also pin sports scores on the home screen so I can check the score quickly.

Also, most of the stuttering on my Nexus 7 happens when I'm in Google Play store, when I'm navigating or scrolling up and down, even with the page fully loaded.

I've read some mixed review on TouchWiz and there was a huge thread here on why people hate TouchWiz. I guess I'll have to actually use it to see whether I like it or not.

 

[radicchio]

I don't know anything about Windows phones, and I don't have an Android one, either. So any information I have to offer is limited to the research I've been doing on the Note 3, plus my experience with a generic Android tablet.

In terms of TouchWiz, I personally don't care for the general look of it but, more importantly, I don't know whether it would allow me to set up my phone for maximum efficiency for the way I will be using it. However, there is the beauty of the Android platform. There are so many launchers available to customize almost every feature available on your phone. For example, take a look at Nova Prime launcher---it allows you to set up your phone like a work of art and appeals to those who like lots on their home screens as well as those (like me) who like to keep the home screen very clear and simple. Others have also reported that Nova makes the Note 3 run more smoothly.I think there are even launchers that make the phone look like a Windows phone.

While I've been drawn to the simpler, more vanilla Android phones, the Note 3 has the combination of features that I want, and it is reported to be have excellent hardware. No phone I have looked at provides exactly the interface I want, so I am leaning toward getting the phone that has the features and performance I want and customizing it with a launcher and other apps.

 

[JeffDenver]

Thanks for the input.
What's the difference between a widget and a live tile?

Live tiles are always square and are limited in what you can do with them. For example, I have a scrollable calendar widget...I don't need to open the calendar app to use it or modify stuff in my calendar, it's just always there. The only way you can modify live tiles is by changing their size...widgets can look like anything.

Widgets are usually things like the calendar widget or clocks or stuff like that, but here is another example...this app is a widget. It is an overlay that allows me to modify the brightness of my phone from any screen (even the lock screen). It fades when not in use. I don't think this would be possible on WP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfp_GXmZ4Y

In the video, he has his as an invisible line on the left side of the display. The app lets you put it on any side and define the size and whether or not it's visible while in use and for how long.

One of my favorite feature in WP is the live tile. I pin news apps on the home screen and I get headline title/picture on the title.

Widgets will do all of that and more.

I also pin sports scores on the home screen so I can check the score quickly.

There are tons of those.



This is just the first one I came across. I'm not a sports guy...I am sure there are better ones.

Also, most of the stuttering on my Nexus 7 happens when I'm in Google Play store, when I'm navigating or scrolling up and down, even with the page fully loaded.

That is a byproduct of how Android works.

In iOS, the UI is given priority. If you are on a website and start moving the page, it will stop downloading and processing immediately, devoting CPU cycles to the UI instead. Because of this, the UI never slows down...but it also can't do stuff while you are scrolling. I assume WP does the same thing.

Android will work just like a PC browser does...it will keep doing stuff in the background, even while you are scrolling. So it might look jerkier, but you will have the content faster and can look at stuff on the page before it is fully downloaded.

This is not really the Android UI though...this is a browser thing. The UI is things like screen transitions on the home page or the dialer or lock screen.

I've read some mixed review on TouchWiz and there was a huge thread here on why people hate TouchWiz. I guess I'll have to actually use it to see whether I like it or not.

Thats probably a good idea. I know dozens of people with Samsung phones, and I don't know a single one of them that actually likes it. They all either hate it or are indifferent. Touchwiz epitomizes the vendor-skin backlash on Android, as it is arguably one of the worst and most obnoxious examples of it.

 

[JeffDenver]

In terms of TouchWiz, I personally don't care for the general look of it but, more importantly, I don't know whether it would allow me to set up my phone for maximum efficiency for the way I will be using it.

It probably won't.

Touchwiz is not about efficiency, it is about features. The touchwiz Philosophy is "more is better", so they try to cram every single feature they can into the skin. On my BF's GS3, for example, I cannot disable to shortcut buttons in the notification bar, which means they take up space and make it more cluttered. The entire skin is like this.

However, there is the beauty of the Android platform. There are so many launchers available to customize almost every feature available on your phone.

And you can use Launchers on Samsung phones to mitigate this...but thats all it does. It will not change the dialer or the lock screen or the settings screens. You will basically have to ROM it to really get rid of that stuff.

Touchwiz also has it's own processes running in the background which you cannot disable, but which still eat battery life and processor speed. Launchers are a bandaid, not a cure.

While I've been drawn to the simpler, more vanilla Android phones, the Note 3 has the combination of features that I want, and it is reported to be have excellent hardware.

My sister has a Note 3 and loves it. Touchwiz doesn't bother her that much.