This phone looks pretty nasty

[Jtshurtleff]

I'm on an iPhone 4s and love it. Love how Apple finally did notifications right and improved a lot of things, but come on Android! Stop trying to lure me back in with specs like this! Also, ICS is amazing. Now I am an admitted Apple fanboy, but I can safely say I'm excited to play with this phone. Anyone else in my situation?

 

[doctajay]

Yeah I rented the rezound but all it had was the screen. The lack of battery life,size, and sense skin were too much for me. So I got a iPhone 4 off Craigslist in the mean time. It's nice, but I get the funny feeling that the nexus may draw me back. However if the battery life sucks just as much as the rezound I will pass

 

[Jtshurtleff]

Battery life and (for phones other than Nexus) updated software taking forever or never coming for most phones are my biggest beefs with Android, but stock Android usually remedies both of those. I had a Nexus S and it got really good battery life.

 

[Scout_313]

While I appreciate the smoothness of iOS, I feel that Android offers so much more functionality and the fact that Apple copied the notification pull down is proof of that (not to say that Android hasn't borrowed anything from other OSes). I feel that Ice Cream Sandwich will be a big enough improvement to potentially sway some iPhone users over to Android.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

Battery life and (for phones other than Nexus) updated software taking forever or never coming for most phones are my biggest beefs with Android, but stock Android usually remedies both of those. I had a Nexus S and it got really good battery life.

It isn't Android. The lack of updates rest solely on the phone manufacturer and the service providers. I think it is silly to expect a manufacturer that is cranking out several phones per year to update their phones regularly. Even before the phone hits the market, they are already beginning with the design and manufacture of their next phone models.

Does anyone really think that Motorola didn't know they would be releasing the RAZR well before the Bionic hit the market?

 

[Maikai.Guy]

Was in your shoes back in March 2010, after owning the first three iPhones. I went with the Droid Incredible. iOS was indeed smooth, but it was woefully inadequate for my enterprise use. It was an entertainment toy, not what I needed from a smartphone for biz. This is exactly why iPhone lured few of the Blackberry faithful, but Android has been pulling them like a magnet.

Apple's sorely lacking enterprise offering has changed, but they still lag.

Also, the fragmentation thing is a whole lot of BS and anti-Android hype. Apple has it's own fragmentation issues, and it is insidious! The 3GS is about to full off their upgrade list, if it hasn't already, and their upgrades for past phones always leave something out. The latest example is Siri has been actually DISABLED on iPhone4s that have been upgraded to IOS5.

They rolled out a preliminary Siri to iPhone4 users, then disabled it on those same phones! No explanation... just a statement on their site "implying" Siri can only work with the latest A5 chip. Oh really? A blatant lie of omission. Siri is now missing from all phones running iOS5, but their latest 4GS. This is their insidious way of forcing their faithful to upgrade. Sickening.

At least when an older Android phone gets an update, it gets the full update, not just a few pieces of it. My DInc just got upgraded to Gingerbread... not pieces of Gingerbreadt with the main features disabled so I'd have to get a new phone to fully enjoy it... I got the whole thing.

Apple can suck it, IMHO. I'm sorry I gave them so much of my money. The past 20 months feels like I successfully escaped from a cult and re-entered the real world... serious.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

It was an entertainment toy, not what I needed from a smartphone for biz. This is exactly why iPhone lured few of the Blackberry faithful, but Android has been pulling them like a magnet.

.

Toy is exactly how it felt. Lacks functionality bigtime. I love being able to share photos from the gallery app. You cannot download files from the browser... forget about uploading them. I was actually shocked and awed when I went I could upload a file from the phone to a website from the browser. Emailing multiple photos is possible... but it means copy and pasting and constantly switching between email and photo app.
I like android because it functions more like a computer and more practical for just about everything.

 

[rainman353]

I had the original iPhone and then a 3GS. I had always wanted an android phone, namely the Nexus One , but it was only available on T Mobile. I moved for a job and went to an area with absolutely no At&t coverage so ended up dropping the iPhone and picking up a Droid Incredible back in May 2010.

The switch has been everything I wanted and more. When I first came over there were many apps that I had grown accustomed to on iOS that weren't available, but after about 6 months everything like ESPN apps etc. were available for android.

I will admit that I root and am partial to AOSP roms, so I've been running CM with a few dabbles in some MIUI but always come back to vanilla android.

I thought about going back to iPhone if they were releasing the iPhone 5 back in October but that didn't happen and so far I'm pretty glad I'm not going back. iCloud is a joke compared to what google does with android. No need for a special 3rd application to type everything into (iCal, contacts, etc.), with one google account everything on calendar, contacts, gmail, music, docs, etc. are all available. The new twitter integration on iOS is funny because like mentioned earlier, android makes sharing easy with any application on the phone.

I'm looking forward to the Galaxy Nexus, just wish it would get here sooner. Hopefully Verizon doesn't mess this up like the thunderbolt, but I have faith. And as for ICS bugs at first, I'm so used to running CM nightly roms that my phone doesn't work entirely right for a month or so with a new version release.

I guess the bottom line is iOS is pretty, but android truly can do so much more if you are willing to take the time to learn it. ICS also looks to make android just as attractive as iOS if not more visually appealing.

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

It's so refreshing to hear other people who actually understand the advantages Android has over iOS. It seems like most of my friends just want to coolest new phone available, and the number one argument they have against Android is how it's not as smooth and pretty looking as iOS. They buy the iPhone because it's the iPhone and that's it. Seems like ICS is about to change that though...

 

[anon(525422)]

Toy is exactly how it felt. Lacks functionality bigtime.
<snip>
I like android because it functions more like a computer and more practical for just about everything.

This is exactly how I feel too, though coming from the opposite direction (3GS for 2+ years, recently owned a Bionic... for about a week).

The iPhone has always felt limited to me. At first it was great simply having a smartphone with an "almost full" web browser in my pocket, and the non-iPhone competition wasn't great at the time.

But mobile technology has moved on and we're absolutely right to be more and more demanding of the devices, their capabilities, their compatibility, and their flexibility. Yet iPhones haven't really moved on in capabilities, compatibility or flexibility at all. iOS is still governed by the Apple outlook of having things "just work" -- i.e. cater to the common denominator in terms of breadth (or, more accurately, narrowness) of functionality, and be completely inflexible in order to minimize potential problems.

I had the Bionic for a week and, while the hardware was crap, and despite having higher expectations of Android going in, I was still blown away by the quantum leap in functionality compared to the iPhone. Something as simple as clicking a link in the browser and having it ask you which application you'd like to open the destination file with, rather than the iPhone's way of simply opening the application Apple thinks you should use and not having any other option. Something as simple as being able to download files from the web. Something as simple as being able to see the actual file system. The sheer level of customization. For the first time I actually felt like I had a miniature computer in my pocket, not a glorifed iPod.

The Bionic itself drove me nuts but, having returned it, I've spent the last month being increasingly frustrated with the 3GS that was already feeling old, slow, and inept. I'm dying to get back onto Android. The Nexus could have all the aesthetic qualities of a cinder block and I'd still be all over it. There's no chance I'm ever going back to an iPhone once the Nexus lands on Verizon, because there's no chance Apple's ever going to change its policy of controlling the iOS environment from top to bottom, and of making the phone idiot-proof rather than flexible and compatible.

 

[mechapathy]

I had the Bionic for a week and, while the hardware was crap, and despite having higher expectations of Android going in, I was still blown away by the quantum leap in functionality compared to the iPhone. Something as simple as clicking a link in the browser and having it ask you which application you'd like to open the destination file with, rather than the iPhone's way of simply opening the application Apple thinks you should use and not having any other option. Something as simple as being able to download files from the web. Something as simple as being able to see the actual file system. The sheer level of customization. For the first time I actually felt like I had a miniature computer in my pocket, not a glorifed iPod.

Many people don't want to be bothered to pick which application a file should open with, so it's easy to understand why Apple does it this way. Don't get me wrong, I like having that choice. Sometimes the OS's guess just isn't the right one, and suddenly that aesthetically pleasing lack of choice becomes more frustrating to the user.

I'm not sure to what extent, but I believe Android might be moving away from this idea. There was a post on Reddit by an Android team member (sorry, forget who) who said the idea of a filepicker seemed ugly and unnecessary to them, and that Android is trying to make that obsolete. Hopefully it doesn't bring the aforementioned problem into the OS.

Side-note: Is your nick a Soundgarden reference?

 

[qnet]

I guess the bottom line is iOS is pretty, but android truly can do so much more if you are willing to take the time to learn it. ICS also looks to make android just as attractive as iOS if not more visually appealing.

You nailed it with that statement IMO.

 

[anon(525422)]

I'm not sure to what extent, but I believe Android might be moving away from this idea...

Argh, I hope not. Even if they made the filepicker an optional setting it would be a step up from Apple, who wouldn't even offer that much (because having the option available to toggle might confuse the end user... *rolleyes*). I understand Android wants to take tips from Apple in streamlining and simplifying things for basic users, but hopefully they don't do that at the expense of flexibility and customization for power users.

Side-note: Is your nick a Soundgarden reference?

Good spot.

 

[Jtshurtleff]

It isn't Android. The lack of updates rest solely on the phone manufacturer and the service providers. I think it is silly to expect a manufacturer that is cranking out several phones per year to update their phones regularly. Even before the phone hits the market, they are already beginning with the design and manufacture of their next phone models.

Does anyone really think that Motorola didn't know they would be releasing the RAZR well before the Bionic hit the market?

I know it's not android, but it's the problem with android that I have. You did hit on another point. You don't feel like your phone is good anymore after a few weeks or months. Like its obsolete. See bionic boards lol but I did love rooting and ROMs and before iOS got it I loved the notification bar. I want a super OS haha

 

[VickMackey#AC]

The iphone is basically and in and out app launcher. For most people thats more than adequate. I need a home screen with just media widgets (Pandora, Doggcather, Tunein, Amazon) I need a home screen with nothing much on it, I need a home screen with just a calender on it. Only Android has that.

 

[charveldude]

I'm on an iPhone 4s and love it. Love how Apple finally did notifications right and improved a lot of things, but come on Android! Stop trying to lure me back in with specs like this! Also, ICS is amazing. Now I am an admitted Apple fanboy, but I can safely say I'm excited to play with this phone. Anyone else in my situation?

Battery life and (for phones other than Nexus) updated software taking forever or never coming for most phones are my biggest beefs with Android, but stock Android usually remedies both of those. I had a Nexus S and it got really good battery life.

I'm sort of in your situation, too. I'm a 3GS owner and was blown away by the device when I got it, since it was my first smartphone. At the time, Android was in its infancy, and I was more interested in the "iOS just works" angle.

But the fact is that I'm NOT an Apple fanboy--the 3GS is the only Apple product I've ever owned--so I have no particular love for Apple's way of doing things. The unified feel of iOS and Mac OS is great for dedicated Apple folks, but for me it's simply a disconnect with my Windows PC.

I've also migrated much of my computer usage onto my 3GS, and iOS's deficiencies in that regard are more glaring than they seemed two years ago. I don't hugely customize my PC environments, but I do so enough that I want to be able to replicate that on my smartphone.

The fragmentation of Android is a big flaw, from my perspective. Think of it this way: On my Dell PC, I still get software updates from Microsoft, not Dell. Why would I want to be reliant on a hardware manufacturer for updates on software primarily developed by another company? That's a BIG selling point of the GNex for me, and I don't plan to root it.

 

[TabGuy]

The iOS grid of icons is getting a little long in the tooth. Kinda like an how websites that haven't been updated for years. The Android ICS looks much cooler.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

It isn't Android. The lack of updates rest solely on the phone manufacturer and the service providers. I think it is silly to expect a manufacturer that is cranking out several phones per year to update their phones regularly. Even before the phone hits the market, they are already beginning with the design and manufacture of their next phone models.

Does anyone really think that Motorola didn't know they would be releasing the RAZR well before the Bionic hit the market?

Oh I am sure they did, but they may not have known that VZW was going to pick it up. Remember this isn't just a VZW exclusive phone it has an international version too.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

They can always do like Windows and do a long press and give options

* Open (with defailt)
* Open With (select option).

If they don't long press then it opens with the default

Problem solved and everybody wins.