Android: Stop the flow of "haterade"

[K Bear]

The biggest hate comes from Crackberry. Too many kool-aid drinking Blackberry elitests trash Android out of ignorance. It's one thing to be a fan, it's another to be ignorant. Every platform has its pulses and minuses. Trashing Android and iOS because they simply work better is shameful.

 

[Ticojpunk]

I owned an iPhone 4 for two weeks. I adore iOS. But I returned it because the bill would have crushed me. I soon after bought an iPod touch. Still love it.

2 weeks ago I bought an Optimus V for Virgin Mobile. I've been a VM cust for a long time so decided to try Android, because at $25 a month, the price is certainly right.

I love Android too! Love all of Google's fresh innovation all over it. IMO Google and Apple are two of the most creative companies right now, and I'm happy to have used both their smartphone OSs.

Anything I dont like about the Optimus is totally to do with the lower level hardware and NOT with Android OS, that's for sure.

I think bashers on either side just tend to be in love with the product they have and figure there's no way anything could be as good. I don't blame them for liking what they got, both iOS and Android are brilliantly designed and implemented.

 

[Holsum]

In all honesty they have a legitimate complaint. It's not about what site is pro this or pro that or anti anything. I think Android is a great OS and even so called Pro Apple site, Engadget thinks its a great OS. The issue is the manufacturers and in some cases the carriers that are making a great OS not so great.

Think about it, the Nexus series of phones are essential the best phones available not because of the hardware (super nerds would argue in favor of dual care or whatever gimmick is available) but because it's essentially untainted. There are no issues with fragmentation because updates come directly from Google and there are no worries about these manufacturers trying to differentiate themselves with software like Sense or Touchwiz, it's just the hardware. Outside of that, manufacturers feel the need to throw on their own iteration of android which can either improve or weaken the OS. The biggest issue is that manufacturers don't update their phones in a timely manner. They tend to hold off as long as possible to boost sales on the newer products or to get their own software on a device. Average consumers may or may not care, but we superusers care very much about that.

Finally there's the carriers. Some (verizon) feel the need to pollute Android phones with their crapware when it's not even necessary. Whether or not you like Appple, they were smart in making their products crapware free and still managed to get big sales.

Honestly Google needs to get control of the way these manufacturers and carriers are polluting Android. Find a way to get updates out better. Allow manufacturer software to be turned off. Not integrated into the system to the point where its more of a parasite than an addon. Either that or do what they did with sprint and slap a Nexus phone on a carrier.


SN: Android is like a glass of water. It's good on its own. The carriers/manufacturers are like that annoying waiter that insists you need a lemon in your water and puts it in your glass whether you want it or not.

I would have to completely disagree with you. to be honest, 90% of android users dont even know what gingerbread, ice cream, donut, etc are. Just like 90% of iOS users dont know when there is an "upgrade" to their handset. fragmentation isnt an issue. It was just a ploy that steve jobs brought to the media because he was scared sh**less from Android. When majority of people buy phones they dont say "OMG i want this one it has gingerbread" only us geeks do. Most people say "OMG i want the wifis and the GB's and the LTE's" just because you read about it on forums doesnt mean it is apparent by everyone. forums are the absolute vocal MINORITY.


The other people hate android because why, they are the best. clear and simple. its the same reason people hate kobe and labron, and rose. You dont see people saying man I absolutely hate joe smith. Why do they hate? because if you like one, you dislike the other society has taught us terrible habits and that liking more then one thing is bad, you either like one or the other.

 

[MaxO]

as much as i love android i think all the good things about it come with certain consequences..

the good ol f-word seems to come to mind (fragmentation.. duh)

but i honestly grow a little tired of it, and its really hard for me to not only defend it but to validate me buying a brand new device (especially when rooted, flashing roms is too easy) only reasons would be hardware (form factor, speed, etc.)

and of course the fact that buying a new device on froyo(for example) doesnt mean that i will get an upgrade to gingerbread or even ice cream

to be honest, me and android may not be together forever at least not if those things arent fixed in some way

if webos had more than 7 apps and 2 developers and a giant screen that would be my obvious choice of platform.. ios is boring (but may be my next device for ****s and giggles).. blackberry is outdated.. and windows phone is not really appealing to me (yet..)

 

[balthuszar]

I also understand that a lot of these sites are pro Apple or pro Blackberry but why does it seem that there are so many that feel the need to bash Android?

for the same reason all these pro-android sites find it necessary to bash the competition...dont take this the wrong way, i'm an android fan boy, but if the different fanboys would stop bashing each other, then we'd all get along better

 

[ambushbug73]

I'm a huge FOX News fan, but on three occasions in the last month they have had articles singing the praises of Apple products while in the same article degrading Android products. The reporter who writes the articles, Clayton Morris, is one of the weekend hosts of Fox & Friends and often admits to being an Apple fan boy on air. I have no problem with him being a fan of Apple, I'm a fan of Android myself, but don't let your personal feelings bleed over into your professional articles.

 

[lionsson]

I think it has more to do with your Googles algorithm. Simple answer, vote with your eye balls. It's easy to tell sites that just want the attention with far out opinion. Read several articles about that news and you should be able to tell which sites just care about clicks. Just ignore them.

 

[storm14k]

I think the flame war stuff is funny in the comments and I stoke the flames sometimes. I just like laughing at some of the other folks desperately come up with excuses for Android success and the wild stories about how its going to be overtaken by some next version of their platform.

Now what I can't stand is when these sensational articles are written on so called respectable sites that just try to twist facts for the hell of making a platform look better....normally Apple. As some as said the lastest thing is "Android has peaked". Well they said that months ago and the numbers came out and Android had the same growth rate. Now even more numbers have come out showing Android is growing as fast as ever and they start these crap articles all over again.

 

[caliskimmer]

Not long after I purchased my Evo, I purchased an Ipod touch 4G just to get a basic feel of the IOS. From my understanding the Ipod touch has about 90% of the functions of the Iphone just minus the radio. With that being said the only thing that IOS allows you to do is pick an app. That is more or less an app launcher(android had a ton by the way) not an OS. I was bored with it in less than a day. It does work great as a music player though.

Oh, I don't exactly care about the overlying "App Launcher" (although it's nice to have apps ). The only stuff I care about really are what becomes possible after jailbreaking and the underlying code. I don't buy things just because the ads say so or there is a review out. I buy a certain item not only if it works for me, but because I can then check out the programming language and see if I can make an app out of it. However, at this point, I still can't understand the custom Objective C code that Apple has written, nor do I want to spend too much time on that yet. I'm studying Java programming right now for a class I'm taking next year and feel like I should focus on that.

ANYWAYS, I understand where you are coming from. After having an iOS device (whether iPhone or iPod Touch) for the past 3 years, I too see where the lack of aesthetic appeal is. I guess you have to appreciate the minimalist feel of iOS. Android, on the other hand, has a lot of customization, which is fantastic, but for whatever reason, the five Android phones I've owned seem to have one issue or another with it and I keep having to take it back. I have my Evo now, but what's really frustrating is how SLOW the darn thing has become and no matter what I try to do, it is just plain laggy. I should really check out a dual core phone shouldn't I? I heard that everything has gotten MUCH smoother and faster since last year anyways

 

[tsak6789]

Do you have any examples (links) of this hate. I never seem to notice.

Go to Cnet.com, cnn.com, msnbc.com and read any article about Android, and the Isheep come rolling in. Even the articles themselves seem bias against Android.

 

[caliskimmer]

I think the flame war stuff is funny in the comments and I stoke the flames sometimes. I just like laughing at some of the other folks desperately come up with excuses for Android success and the wild stories about how its going to be overtaken by some next version of their platform.

Now what I can't stand is when these sensational articles are written on so called respectable sites that just try to twist facts for the hell of making a platform look better....normally Apple. As some as said the lastest thing is "Android has peaked". Well they said that months ago and the numbers came out and Android had the same growth rate. Now even more numbers have come out showing Android is growing as fast as ever and they start these crap articles all over again.

Take into account that writers are JUST human and usually side one way or another. The only way to be neutral really is to just use common sense and state pros and cons of both of whatever you're talking about and leave. That way, if someone wants to challenge you, you have already set yourself up for an easy counter and the other person backs down quickly most of the time.

 

[emceephi]

One thing that people complain about Android is that it isn't as smooth and fluid as iOS, and that is mostly true. The browser on the Iphone 4 scrolls and zooms very smoothly as if it was going 60 frames a second. The browser on my Mytouch 4g is pretty smooth too, but it seems like it's only going 30 frames a second or something. Anyone else understand what I'm talking about?

I think I read somewhere a long time ago that Android doesn't use gpu hardware acceleration and that's why things aren't as smooth. If Google would only add that, Android would be near perfect.

 

[srkmagnus]

When I came across this thread I expected to see bashing of other OS'. I've seen the opposite and a very good dialect going on the discussion. Very good opinions expressed, something I hope to see more from the community as Android continues to grow.

Android is still in its infacy if you ask me. Its evolving fast and positively. Not everyone will be satisfied but hopefully the majority will

 

[eled528]

awsome

 

[caliskimmer]

One thing that people complain about Android is that it isn't as smooth and fluid as iOS, and that is mostly true. The browser on the Iphone 4 scrolls and zooms very smoothly as if it was going 60 frames a second. The browser on my Mytouch 4g is pretty smooth too, but it seems like it's only going 30 frames a second or something. Anyone else understand what I'm talking about?

I think I read somewhere a long time ago that Android doesn't use gpu hardware acceleration and that's why things aren't as smooth. If Google would only add that, Android would be near perfect.

Well, the good thing is that Android 4.0 is coming out soon and based on how quickly Google updates their stuff, maybe they'll add it soon. However, wouldn't that be a bit difficult with all the kinds of hardware? :-\

 

[Jordan jones]

It's sad how much hate their is. Some of them claim to have a certain android Phone for a week then they proceed to say all the negative things with the phone then they say they are happy with their repurchased iphone 4. One post last night even claimed to have an EVO 3D and returned it hours later for an iphone. Best part of the post is that the evo 3d has not been released to the general public yet. Some people just love to hate.

 

[blaqbird]

I would have to completely disagree with you. to be honest, 90% of android users dont even know what gingerbread, ice cream, donut, etc are. Just like 90% of iOS users dont know when there is an "upgrade" to their handset. fragmentation isnt an issue. It was just a ploy that steve jobs brought to the media because he was scared sh**less from Android. When majority of people buy phones they dont say "OMG i want this one it has gingerbread" only us geeks do. Most people say "OMG i want the wifis and the GB's and the LTE's" just because you read about it on forums doesnt mean it is apparent by everyone. forums are the absolute vocal MINORITY.


The other people hate android because why, they are the best. clear and simple. its the same reason people hate kobe and labron, and rose. You dont see people saying man I absolutely hate joe smith. Why do they hate? because if you like one, you dislike the other society has taught us terrible habits and that liking more then one thing is bad, you either like one or the other.

I can respect that you disagree with me on the fragmentation issue or non-issue. It's not as bad as it was a year ago but I feel it still exists and it's the fault of the carriers holding things up for their crapware and the manufacturers fault for trying to get their own software involved with the update or not even caring about an update in order to push sales for newer devices.

 

[huthutchuck]

There is a lot of hate for android out there. As a customer service rep for a certain cellphone company, I can say that I have always been a fan of apple products. They tend to put above average care in putting their hardware and software together and making sure they work seamlessly. That being said, each OS has it's advantages. To me the blackberry is the best texting and emailing device out there. The response time and the keyboard are just top notch. The Iphone is a very good digital media device. If you can get past the dependency on itunes, it is the best music and video player out there. The android line of devices has the best web and internet experience out there. To me, the best thing about the android and what sets it apart from all other cellphones is how personally customizable it is. If you are a gamer, you can get lots of games. If your a reader you can get ebooks galore. You can install what you want and remove what you don't. And rooting....The ability to have administrator access and the ability to install specially optimized OS'es for your phone to give it additional features and performance is just awesome. Four years ago, blackberry had arguably the best smartphone. Two years ago, it was the iphone. Now, it is the android.

 

[jazzbassist1]

I'm in agreement here

I for one have been very pleased with the discussion here. Most people on the thread are very open to admit that both iOS and Android (as well as Blackberry and I'm sure Windows Phone as well) are good operating systems and each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

iOS is so polished and refined, and you really never have to worry about getting the latest version because everyone runs the latest version. I think the music player on the iPhone is much better than the one in Android (at least the native one), and as of yet, tablet iOS (iPad) is very much ahead based solely on the number of tablet-specific apps and their functionality.

Having said that, iOS does not leave much room for people who like to tinker with their phone to make it their own, which means someone who knows the ins-and-outs of Android would might enjoy rooting an Android as opposed to jailbreaking an iPhone.


Currently, I'm a bit frustrated with the state of Android. I am a Droid X owner, and knowing what I know now, I am almost certain I will only buy nexus phones from now on. Carrier bloatware and manufacturer UIs could very well be the downfall of Android, as I know that Motoblur is a serious flaw on my Droid X. All I want is a Nexus phone on Verizon! is that so much to ask?!

 

[ANDROID__JUNKIE]

Go to Cnet.com, cnn.com, msnbc.com and read any article about Android, and the Isheep come rolling in. Even the articles themselves seem bias against Android.

That's what I see... And for the general public or "tech-tards" they want something that is either trendy or easy to use. The don't go directly to spec sheets and couldn't tell you the difference between Hummingbird and Snapdragon.

The main point of this thread really I guess was to create a discussion about ways the Android platform could possibly appeal to your Grandpa and at the same time keep the geeks happy. I know fanboys of all sides try to get hits on their websites with rhetoric but I believe the true leader will be the one that has its users, developers, and manufacturers that use it take a deep look and innovate beyond haters. In essence... let's make Android so incredible that those sheep that are on the fence actually want to help support this community through buying into the platform.