Majority of Android phones are not "junk" phones

[xchange]

I think it is important to keep in mind that as long time readers of Android related news that we are likely to be more familiar with both the actual processes than those who spend less time reading about, thinking about and using Android in its various incarnations - but more importantly that we're much more aware of the misinformation campaign on this particular subject because of the years of which it has been oft repeated in the iOS vs Android debates.

Just like in any other subject, due to the wide propagation of the untruths and the relatively small reach of the counter points (relative to the former), it is entirely possible and very likely to encounter people who have heard the former argument so often that it is accepted as truth and they may have never heard of the actual information involved. Most of them don't care to get into the details, and can take a headline at face value - especially given the similarities of content and framing and the repetitive nature of that messaging.
.

I agree. Unfortunately in some cases there are people who are admittedly familiar with flashing custom ROM's and have spent time on XDA forums and still believe misinformation. One could assume they ought not to fall into that category of being unfamiliar but I guess it happens.

 

[dpham00]

Bottom end Android is serious trouble yet. 4.1 and 1GB with 4GB storage is like Windows Vista with 1GB and 40GB storage. You get speed issues, crash issues, need to factory reset, often weak battery/antenna/camera/SoC. I was encouraged by the Optimus F3 until reports came in that the dreaded /userdata/ filling up and or corrupting just like 2.x was still hanging around.

If Google can finally solve some of its longstanding issues, maybe a late 4.x design can be like Windows 7 for phones. Because yes, there are a lot of prepaid junk phones. Like the S4 Mini.

It isn't bad...I am typing this from my Samsung galaxy victory which has similar specifications. For basic tasks it is fine. It is stable and has excellent battery life , on parc with our better than my note 3. Considering that our came out in 2012 as a mid range phone, it runs very well.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator

 

[z33dev33l]

No, I have always downloaded from the app store. I believe that Android is pretty secure, not as much as iOS but more than WP.

Windows Phone is the single most secure OS out. It's actualyl beaten Blackberry in that regard.

Microsoft Windows Phone 8 granted government security standard | ZDNet

Suckling the teet of the other operating systems doesn't make it fact and on the contrary, I think your bias shrouds you from the truths about the OS. I use Android almost daily and check AndroidCentral daily. I just look at all the OSes without bias.

 

[A895]

I just look at all the OSes without bias.

What's funny is that that is not been the most untrue statement you have said in this thread. But yeah, you are very bias. It shows.

 

[A895]

Windows Phone is the single most secure OS out. It's actualyl beaten Blackberry in that regard.

Microsoft Windows Phone 8 granted government security standard | ZDNet

Suckling the teet of the other operating systems doesn't make it fact and on the contrary, I think your bias shrouds you from the truths about the OS. I use Android almost daily and check AndroidCentral daily. I just look at all the OSes without bias.

WP more secure than BlackBerry? Which Blackberry OS7.1 or BB10?

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

How does having FIPS 140-2 mean there isn't malware or that you're automatically immune to it?

My work machine has multiple levels of security enabled, but none of that stops me from doing something dumb and getting a virus or other form of malware.

Enterprise level security and encryption is not the same as not being vulnerable to malware. I'll go with what others have said in that the largest platform is the largest target for malware.

 

[z33dev33l]

How does having FIPS 140-2 mean there isn't malware or that you're automatically immune to it?

My work machine has multiple levels of security enabled, but none of that stops me from doing something dumb and getting a virus or other form of malware.

Enterprise level security and encryption is not the same as not being vulnerable to malware. I'll go with what others have said in that the largest platform is the largest target for malware.

The entire time the iPhone was the top platform it didn't get malware. It took 5 years before someone accidentally coded a glitch and generated a code that could, in very loose circles, be considered malware. Due to Windows Phone's sandboxing and the lack of available source code as well as the signing certification necessary, there isn't presently a way to get malware on it.

 

[Aquila]

The entire time the iPhone was the top platform it didn't get malware. It took 5 years before someone accidentally coded a glitch and generated a code that could, in very loose circles, be considered malware. Due to Windows Phone's sandboxing and the lack of available source code as well as the signing certification necessary, there isn't presently a way to get malware on it.

Windows phone IS more secure currently than Android, but it is not inherently so.

Microsoft says that their system is not perfect and that they remove malware when they discover it in their store. They follow up with essentially exactly what everyone else is saying, "Even with all of these preventative measures in place, we do still encourage caution and advise against clicking links, SMS messages, or emails from unfamiliar sources. And we also recommend that you protect the info on your phone by setting up a password".

Just like Android, iOS, Windows XP, 7, 8, OSX and just about every Linux distribution... getting apps or programs from the official places leaves you relatively immune to malware UNLESS you are doing stupid things, in which case they cannot protect you from yourself. Getting shady stuff from shady places and/or being stupid with your personal conduct (going to shady websites, clicking links in unsolicited sms, email, etc and/or opening any program which you don't remember installing are all stupid things and they're consistent vulnerability points on all systems... including Apple's. Here's MS's list of steps they take to safeguard their store:

1. The Windows Phone Store is the exclusive consumer source of Windows Phone apps. This helps ensure the quality of the apps that show up in our Store, and on your phones.
2. Every app is tested and certified by Microsoft so you can feel confident when you download one from the 3. Windows Phone Store. We review every app that developers submit for potential malware and performance issues.
No system is perfect, but if we discover a malicious app, we remove it.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

The entire time the iPhone was the top platform it didn't get malware. It took 5 years before someone accidentally coded a glitch and generated a code that could, in very loose circles, be considered malware. Due to Windows Phone's sandboxing and the lack of available source code as well as the signing certification necessary, there isn't presently a way to get malware on it.

You missed my point entirely, but good job saying WP is immune to malware. Absolutes like that always turn out correct.

 

[z33dev33l]

You missed my point entirely, but good job saying WP is immune to malware. Absolutes like that always turn out correct.

There presently is not. That's not to say it couldn't change in the future but I doubt it will.

Let's face it, half the most trivial apps on the play store want access to everything. Guide to a game? We want your contacts, access to your phone number, email, whatever. That's how it's always been

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

There presently is not. That's not to say it couldn't change in the future but I doubt it will.

Let's face it, half the most trivial apps on the play store want access to everything. Guide to a game? We want your contacts, access to your phone number, email, whatever. That's how it's always been

Again with the absolute. Just because nobody cares about writing malware for WP doesn't mean it can't be done.

You seem to have a misunderstanding of what permissions are for what types of things. Do you have any specific examples of apps that are currently in the Play Store that ask for permissions that are clearly not needed that also do something nefarious (just asking for permissions is not malware)?

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Maybe if WP ever "gets there" things like THIS will get more attention from the dev community. Total security and immunity to malware are simply not possible.

 

[z33dev33l]

Maybe if WP ever "gets there" things like THIS will get more attention from the dev community. Total security and immunity to malware are simply not possible.

That was actually proven to be a hoax though Samsung's software additions did allow for a jailbreak of sorts.

Man, I forgot this thread existed for a few days.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

That was actually proven to be a hoax though Samsung's software additions did allow for a jailbreak of sorts.

Man, I forgot this thread existed for a few days.

Again, I provided a link. You did not. IIRC this was just never released.

More to the point (maybe it was already said) WP just doesn't have the market share to attract the baddies. That doesn't make it immune.

It's the same story as the lack of malware for OSX.

 

[Aquila]

Man, I forgot this thread existed for a few days.

Was nice, huh?

XTNiT-1060 through spacetime.

 

[xchange]

Was nice, huh?

XTNiT-1060 through spacetime.

I can't speak for anyone else but I found it nice ;-)

 

[JeffDenver]

I will never understand why people participate in threads they don't like, or even read them.

 

[JeffDenver]

The entire time the iPhone was the top platform it didn't get malware.

The fact that no one thinks a platform is significant enough to bother writing malware for is not evidence that it is immune to Malware.

That being said, WP probably is more resistant to it than Android is. Not because it is special, but merely because it is a closed system. If a miracle happens and WP actually ends up gaining majority marketshare in some alternate reality, you will see more people target it with malware.

 

[JeffDenver]

It bears repeating that market share does not mean much. It is profits that count.

LOL, this argument always cracks me up.

For years, Apple fanbois have pooh-poohed Apple's loss of market share, crowing that it still controlled industry profits. MG Siegler, for example, gushed about all the different ways that Apple is amazingly, shockingly profitable. And it was. Is. But won't be for long. Not to the same extent, anyway.

After all, earlier in 2012, Apple controlled 77 per cent of mobile industry profits. Now that's down to 59 per cent, and this number will continue to fall, no matter what Apple does to boost profitability through chip-making or other means. Why?

Because market share matters.

Henry Blodget captures this nicely over on Business Insider:

The reason market share is important is that mobile is a "platform market." In platform markets, third-party companies build products and services on top of other companies' platforms. As they do, the underlying platforms become more valuable and have greater customer lock-in.
Building products and services for multiple platforms is expensive, so platform markets tend to standardize around a single leading platform. As they do so, the power and value of the leading platform increases, and the value of the smaller platforms collapses.

The PC software market is (or was) a platform market, and we saw how powerful that eventually made Microsoft back in the 1990s.

Apple's profits fetish could spell its DOOM ?€? The Register

Marketshare does matter. And people who think otherwise are in denial.

Given the dominance of Apple and Samsung, why do fans insist on comparing pure Android to other platforms. For a huge majority of people Touchwiz IS Android.

Not from what I have seen. I know dozens of people that use Samsung phones. My BF is one of them. I can't think of even one of them that cares about Touchwiz features. They really are gimmiks. By contrast, I know many of them that actively dislike things about Android that are not actually Android specific, but are parts of touchwiz.

People are not buying Samsung phones because of touchwiz. They are buying Samsung phones because Samsung makes good hardware with good hardware features (removable batteries, SD expansion, good cameras, nice displays, ect). Touchwiz is still here because Samsung executives have deluded themselves into thinking Touchwiz is an Asset...it's not. If anything it's a liability. Their hardware is that good that it can compensate for this pollution.

At best, customers are indifferent to Touchwiz. That is what I have actually seen.

Ask any person in the street what their Samsung phone is running and they either would not know or they would tell you it is Android.

Non-nerds have no idea what Touchwiz is.

I have an S3 running 4.3 and an iPhone 5 running 7.0.4. The iPhone is jail broken to make it as flexible as the S3. The S3 is tweaked to make it faster. The iPhone is still smoother than the S3.

...but probably not as smooth as a Nexus 5. And the Nexus hardware in technically inferior to the S5.

 

[twin100]

The tweaks are available within the settings of all recent Android phones in a section called “Developer options.”

This section might be hidden on some phones, but it’s very easy to access. On many phones, you just have to open a certain page in the settings and tap a button seven times. Use Google to figure out how to enable Developer options on your phone if it’s currently hidden (for example, search “enable developer options HTC One”).

Once you have access to Developer options, simply scroll until you find the following three settings, which may be located on the main screen or within an “Advanced” subsection:

Window animation scale

Transition animation scale

Animator animation scale

Tapping each of the three aforementioned settings will reveal that it’s set to “1x” by default. If you want to speed up your phone or tablet dramatically, simply change each of those three settings to “.5x” — that’s it...restart device also