Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4s

[Defconrock]

Here's a long read that will give you something to do while we wait for something to happen this week. Seems like a pretty fair evaluation.

There And Back Again: A Lengthy Weighing Of The Galaxy Nexus And iPhone 4S | TechCrunch

 

[goldkear]

I refuse to read tech crunch, they are so apple obsessed that they seem to attack anything Google does, even if it has nothing to do with android.

 

[420board]

I refuse to read tech crunch, they are so apple obsessed that they seem to attack anything Google does, even if it has nothing to do with android.

A quick skim might change your opinion, from paragraph 2:


I like the one on the right better. I?ll have to send it back to Google soon, but I?m already certain that through a combination of mysticism and Craigslist I?ll be swapping the iPhone 4S for a Verizon Galaxy Nexus shortly after it launches.

 

[Scout_313]

I actually took the time to read the entire article and I have to say that I agree with almost every point that the author makes. While he acknowledges that iOS is the more visually appealing OS, he chooses Android hands down due to the functionality that we've all come to know and love. I'm of the same opinion that function should have priority over form.

 

[bphelminski]

I refuse to read tech crunch, they are so apple obsessed that they seem to attack anything Google does, even if it has nothing to do with android.

In my opinion we should always read every review we can. Same thing with news as well. Get your info from as many sources as you can, and make up your own mind. This article is a great example of why you should do that. It is overwhelmingly positive toward Android and the Nexus. By refusing to read it simply because of what website it is on, you're missing out.

 

[protonchain]

I think iOS is dated and ugly. To each his own. I did actually cringe a little bit when he exclaimed that iOS was a 10 in terms of looks versus android 4.0.

REALLY? A 10?

 

[Defconrock]

I think iOS is dated and ugly. To each his own. I did actually cringe a little bit when he exclaimed that iOS was a 10 in terms of looks versus android 4.0.

REALLY? A 10?

Yea, I don't get what makes rows and rows of similar icons so amazing. I'm not an Apple basher, but iOS is pretty boring to me.

 

[420board]

Yea, I don't get what makes rows and rows of similar icons so amazing. I'm not an Apple basher, but iOS is pretty boring to me.

iOS is a cleaner UI, in the sense that android screens can look more cluttered with the custom icons/widgets. But I like the ability to customize and think of those features on the android os as a positive.

 

[Small_law]

The pull down notifications in iOS 5 are terrible. Unlike Android, the text of the notifications are really small. When you have several notifications from one app stacked up, it ends being a sort of blob of text that forces you to just go to the app. Add to that the weather and stock widgets and there's not a lot of real estate in the window. You can't really deal with anything at a quick glance. Also, the actions each app takes when you select a notification are inconsistent. Rather than taking you to a message directly, selecting a notification will sometimes send you to the app's inbox. And double clicking the home button to switch back to what you were doing after you check a notification (say you were in the browser and checked an email) is awkward and slow, given the transition animation involved. And clearing individual notifications wont clear app badges if you have them enabled. It needs a setting for that badly.

Apple will continue to work on it, but it isn't good right now. Android strikes a better balance.

 

[ManBearPig618]

iOS is a cleaner UI, in the sense that android screens can look more cluttered with the custom icons/widgets. But I like the ability to customize and think of those features on the android os as a positive.

iOS is a cleaner UI in a sense that is consists solely of icons on top of a wallpaper, period. I was an iPhone 4 user for a while...in all honesty it's just not that much of an "operating system." From what I've seen thus far, I think ICS is going to absolutely put iOS 5 to shame.

 

[420board]

iOS is a cleaner UI in a sense that is consists solely of icons on top of a wallpaper, period. I was an iPhone 4 user for a while...in all honesty it's just not that much of an "operating system." From what I've seen thus far, I think ICS is going to absolutely put iOS 5 to shame.

Agreed on all levels, it is a platform for applications and personal "entertainment". But it truly is a clean implementation of such, even if it appeals to me or not.

 

[jephanie]

iOS is a cleaner UI, in the sense that android screens can look more cluttered with the custom icons/widgets. But I like the ability to customize and think of those features on the android os as a positive.

It strikes me as an issue of a person's workbench. Android lets you organize your tools in more flexible ways (battery packs on the workbench, screwdrivers on the wall, hammers in a drawer, etc.) whereas Apple gives you one drawer for each tool and doesn't allow you to put anything on the wall or workbench. Therefore, the feeling of a "cluttered" workspace is based on two things: A viewer's perception and the owner's organizational "method"

And don't forget the old adage, "It may look like a mess to you, but everything has its place to me." I used to use that argument about my room's "organization" to my mother. LOL

 

[iclickjohn]

Oh you mean mean person for posting an article that took me all night to read......and I LOVED every minute of it. that guy was very honest and critical to both OS. I need to share that link to my evernote so I can forward it to the many people that ask me that very question. (just kidding about the mean mean person comment

 

[420board]

It strikes me as an issue of a person's workbench. Android lets you organize your tools in more flexible ways (battery packs on the workbench, screwdrivers on the wall, hammers in a drawer, etc.) whereas Apple gives you one drawer for each tool and doesn't allow you to put anything on the wall or workbench. Therefore, the feeling of a "cluttered" workspace is based on two things: A viewer's perception and the owner's organizational "method"

And don't forget the old adage, "It may look like a mess to you, but everything has its place to me." I used to use that argument about my room's "organization" to my mother. LOL

Lean practices would actual counter the old adage. Organization entails that anyone at anytime can find something. I used to think I was organized in my paperwork, I knew where it all was, but because it was in a stack of papers I had to look harder for them. I moved recently and filed all the paperwork into folders. I now know where everything is and can even explain over the phone to other people where it is. The time it takes to look for papers is now reduced drastically, even though I felt I was organized before I really wasn't.

Just as you've said with the workbench, in LEAN practices there is something called a shadowboard, meaning there are spots for tools (https://wallcontrol.com/Images/Catalog/Hooks/ShadowBoardApp.jpg). iOS is basically a shadowboard in almost all aspects. Google does have a shadowboard effect (contacts, phone, apps, messaging on the bottom), but not to the same extent. iOS is clean and organized, I sure as hell don't like their organization though.

I think I am also basing this perception off some of the customizations I've seen people make...they always aren't the greatest and sometimes to me look awful.

 

[whiteshadow001]

How is ios cleaner? Its a row of icons... Like my app drawer... Idk man you can make android look as clean or cluttered as you want.

Sent from my Thunderbolt using tapatalk

 

[ultravisitor]

I think people think iOS is cleaner because it's consistent: nothing but rows of icons. The problem, though, is that it is boring and it doesn't allow for widgets, which can be very useful.

You have to admit that some people's Android phones do look very cluttered the way they set them up.

 

[Droid800]

How is ios cleaner? Its a row of icons... Like my app drawer... Idk man you can make android look as clean or cluttered as you want.

Sent from my Thunderbolt using tapatalk

That's not why people think its cleaner. Its the ENTIRE OS that is cleaner. It is the best designed OS out there, period.

HOWEVER; at the same time, it is a very constraining design. During his interview on the Verge's video podcast thingy, he said that UIs like iOS' can be too limiting, to the point that every app looks the same. And that's the biggest problem with iOS. In their quest to put together something great and world-class, Apple has inadvertently made it impossible for any apps on their platform to have any real personality. As a media consumption OS, that's perfectly fine. But for actual productivity, and every day use, its not so great.

 

[belniente]

Yeah, the 4x4 iOS grid does nothing for me. All I get out of it is the understanding of why it's called "jailbreaking." Clean, sure. Sterile and unfriendly/soulless, definitely (imo). You don't have to be boring to be organized - just check out some of the crazy office supplies that are out there. I like ThinkGeek's line of man-shaped organizer items - the one that holds rubber bands would be most useful for me.

Anyways besides that tangent, thanks for posting the review! I haven't poked around a lot of iPhone stuff, so it was especially interesting to see the disappointment in Siri.

 

[kharrigan]

Give iOS its due. It does simple things well. Unfortunately, it doesn't do complex things at all (I hear).

I hope that ICS starts Google going down the path of User Experience instead of just UI. Improved UX (plus marketing) can change the world.

 

[whiteshadow001]

That's not why people think its cleaner. Its the ENTIRE OS that is cleaner. It is the best designed OS out there, period.

HOWEVER; at the same time, it is a very constraining design. During his interview on the Verge's video podcast thingy, he said that UIs like iOS' can be too limiting, to the point that every app looks the same. And that's the biggest problem with iOS. In their quest to put together something great and world-class, Apple has inadvertently made it impossible for any apps on their platform to have any real personality. As a media consumption OS, that's perfectly fine. But for actual productivity, and every day use, its not so great.

I see what your saying. Basically apple took the iPod touch interface and added a phone to it. So it's pretty much made to be an mp3 player in a sense and just kinda grew into what it is today.