What can the One do that iPhone can't?

[gnr_2]

This is what I'm finding on my One as well. Though my early impression (read very early, as in 24 hours) of Android is that it isn't nearly as customizable as its billing. I'm finding things that were easy on my jailbroken iPhone to be impossible on Android. That isn't to say that there aren't a lot of things that I can do now that I couldn't with iOS, I'm just finding that it isn't the end all be all of mobile OSs. I was hoping to have all my pain-points with iOS solved with Android and, so far, they aren't. I also have a new found appreciation for the simplicity of iOS.

Again, it's way too early for me to pass any judgments, and I won't yet. I'm still very excited about this new device and the chance to learn a new OS.

24 hours is nothing. See my signature? I've had my phone since Sept and learn new things daily. My Avast security app hands down beats Find my iPhone. It will scream, take photos of the perp, lock itself down even if the SIM card is removed, require a passcode to uninstall any apps. I might not get my phone back, but the other person won't be able to use it either.

Re home screens. You don't have to have every app you own on the home screen. That's what the app drawer is for. In Google Play undo the option to automatically add apps to the home screen. Then you just add the ones you use all the time which leaves plenty of room for widgets. The others can easily be accessed because they are in alphabetical order in the app drawer. Widgets include having the weather right there without opening something else, my day's schedule showing without opening the calendar (and let's not get started on the crap that is the iOS calendar), important reminders pinned, my to-do list, all without opening anything. If you like a widget but it doesn't quite have what you need or you can't figure it out, email the developer and they'll add it or help you with your problem. Big difference between Apple free apps that can be upgraded to paid is that Apple users upgrade to get rid of ads. Android users upgrade to support the developer for creating an awesome product.

Now let's talk notifications. I can read my email from the notification bar. I can read my texts too. Yes you can do that with the iPhone but you can't decide who you don't want to have notifications from when they text you or who's text you might only want to see the name and not the message for privacy concerns. And you can customize the LED to flash or show certain colors depending on the type of notification. Email: gold, slow. Text: magenta, fast. Silent or airplane mode: steady white. You can even have it customized by contact so you know without picking up your phone if it's someone you need to call back or if it can wait.

I can put shortcuts to absolutely anything on my screen. I have shortcuts to open each of the accounts in my email app so I don't have to go to the app and select the account. I can even pick a particular folder to open if I need to get more specific.

Now some of these aren't out of the box, but most are free or really cheap apps. If you tell us your hangups in iOS we can tell you how to fix it in Android. There is so much Android can do. Things you never even thought about can be done, like changing your keyboard. Yes. That's right, the keyboard. And once you learn to swype instead of type, you'll be in heaven. I've changed the theme of my phone this month alone from Easter (and Easter Egg icons), to cherry blossoms with flower icons, to Earth Day with a nature background.

Sorry so long but Android phones are something that you are always discovering things about. Not the 24 hours it takes to learn how to use an iPhone.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[scorpiodsu]

It's more like what Android can do that iOS can't do. And the differences are really in the philosophy of Google and Apple and the services that you use. For instance, Google doesn't mind open source and access to everyone. Anybody can use Android. Whereas Apple is not letting that fly. So that means more customization for your Android. But again, this depends on if you care about these things. But Apple on the other hand, has the better ecosystem in my opinion. The way all of their stock apps works with their services is excellent compared to what others are offering. So what each device can do that the other can't really depends on what you do and what you care about. Me on the other hand, I do the same exact stuff on Android as I do on iOS.... text, email, facebook, RSS, twitter and instagream are my top uses. The little tweaks I do are often things I do on a jailbroken iPhone. So for me, I switch back and forth easily because I almost use both platforms just the same way. That's just me though.

 

[gnr_2]

Here is something else you probably haven't thought of: toggles. I have a widget where with the press of a button, I can adjust brightness, turn bluetooth or wifi on or off, rotate my screen, or lock my phone, turn on airplane mode or set the phone to vibrate, or use my camera flash as a flashlight and that's the tip of the iceberg. I'd been using the app for months before I found out what else it could do. And this is all on my notification pull down so I can access it from anywhere. As simple as that is, there are apps that will do these for you AUTOMATICALLY based on your location.

One of my new favorite things, because Google just released it, is I can take a screenshot and save it as a memo, then delete it from my picture gallery. They also just released an app that listens to a song for you, and tells you what it is. There are other apps that do that too apparently but I just learned it this AM.

Also, I forgot to explain that shortcuts are like bookmarks, but for an app. I have shortcuts to give me the time of the next bus at the corner by my house and the next train at a particular station based on something I have saved in an app, but don't need to go to the app to do all the steps. To differentiate, in a widget, it would show me the schedule continuously on my screen without me touching anything.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[oldpalmguy]

There are 2 things which bother me about iOS. and which are advantages for Android. First, the Apple keyboard does not have arrow keys. Pressing where text entry block is may sometimes bring up searchlight but the navigation a few characters left or right is is difficult and time consuming. Often I just have to erase to the right spot and retype the text I just erased. Android has cursor movement keys which are invaluable.

Second, when viewing a screen of text, most of the time android will reflow the text when you pinch or unpinch the screen. You don't have to use scroll bars to see the text because it reflows/reforms on its own. This is very helpful in adjusting to the correct font size for reading.

These are very basic problems with iOS but are the reason I cannot thinking of buying an iPhone. I do like the iPhone form factor and the easy sound off switch, but in actual use, these aforementioned problems are deal killers. They would be so easy to fix. All I can think is that there must be intellectual property issues hanging Apple up. I also like having a menu button, which iOS does not have. I have android 2.3 on the OG HTC Evo. I have always liked the menu button so I can go to one place which always has the menu options. Now with current issues of android and current phones (HTC One) you have to look for the 3 dots or long press somewhere which may be different, depending on the function or app, or know the right location to press, so that the secret menu or option can be revealed. That advantage with Android has disappeared with current phones. and software.

 

[gnr_2]

I have always liked the menu button so I can go to one place which always has the menu options. Now with current issues of android and current phones (HTC One) you have to look for the 3 dots or long press somewhere which may be different, depending on the function or app, or know the right location to press, so that the secret menu or option can be revealed. That advantage with Android has disappeared with current phones. and software.

Long pressing is such a great Android feature. I wish more things used it. The text selection in Android isn't that great. The magnifying glass method of iOS works much better. The end of the line thing, I feel, is a problem with both platforms. And since some websites seem to ignore basic keyboard functions like autocorrect/autocomplete and cursor placement, I tend to get more frustrated on Android when dealing with text (though swyping makes it all better)



Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[fz1jmp]

Thanks for all the great features you all have shared. I'm a long time IPhone owner and can't be happier with my choice to move to Android and the HTC One. I see these IOS Vs. Android "discussions" in so many places that its kind of funny already. Just like I like Levi jeans and my son likes Lee, its really just a matter of opinion. I delved as deep as I could in IOS, jailbroke each version and for me, it was just not worth the hassle and instability of the jailbreak to just customize the device I owned the way I want. Maybe IOS 7? will open up a bit, but I'm also sold on the form factor of the One, so Apple would have to make significant changes to get me back.

 

[Son Nguyen]

Wow, I have a lot to learn! Thanks for the comprehensive input. Do you mind telling me which program you use to customize your LED lights?

24 hours is nothing. See my signature? I've had my phone since Sept and learn new things daily. My Avast security app hands down beats Find my iPhone. It will scream, take photos of the perp, lock itself down even if the SIM card is removed, require a passcode to uninstall any apps. I might not get my phone back, but the other person won't be able to use it either.

Re home screens. You don't have to have every app you own on the home screen. That's what the app drawer is for. In Google Play undo the option to automatically add apps to the home screen. Then you just add the ones you use all the time which leaves plenty of room for widgets. The others can easily be accessed because they are in alphabetical order in the app drawer. Widgets include having the weather right there without opening something else, my day's schedule showing without opening the calendar (and let's not get started on the crap that is the iOS calendar), important reminders pinned, my to-do list, all without opening anything. If you like a widget but it doesn't quite have what you need or you can't figure it out, email the developer and they'll add it or help you with your problem. Big difference between Apple free apps that can be upgraded to paid is that Apple users upgrade to get rid of ads. Android users upgrade to support the developer for creating an awesome product.

Now let's talk notifications. I can read my email from the notification bar. I can read my texts too. Yes you can do that with the iPhone but you can't decide who you don't want to have notifications from when they text you or who's text you might only want to see the name and not the message for privacy concerns. And you can customize the LED to flash or show certain colors depending on the type of notification. Email: gold, slow. Text: magenta, fast. Silent or airplane mode: steady white. You can even have it customized by contact so you know without picking up your phone if it's someone you need to call back or if it can wait.

I can put shortcuts to absolutely anything on my screen. I have shortcuts to open each of the accounts in my email app so I don't have to go to the app and select the account. I can even pick a particular folder to open if I need to get more specific.

Now some of these aren't out of the box, but most are free or really cheap apps. If you tell us your hangups in iOS we can tell you how to fix it in Android. There is so much Android can do. Things you never even thought about can be done, like changing your keyboard. Yes. That's right, the keyboard. And once you learn to swype instead of type, you'll be in heaven. I've changed the theme of my phone this month alone from Easter (and Easter Egg icons), to cherry blossoms with flower icons, to Earth Day with a nature background.

Sorry so long but Android phones are something that you are always discovering things about. Not the 24 hours it takes to learn how to use an iPhone.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[chrgnthru]

Well, the iPhone can't control my TV, Receiver, or tell DirecTv to put it on Sports Center or Storage Wars. The One on the other hand does just that.

 

[gnr_2]

Wow, I have a lot to learn! Thanks for the comprehensive input. Do you mind telling me which program you use to customize your LED lights?

You are welcome. My husband is always asking me what I'm doing with my phone and 90% of the time, I'm trying something new I learned here or reading about something new that I'll try later. The notification app is LightFlow.

Another nice thing is the ability to press slightly longer on a keyboard key to get the alt character. Little need to go to another screen.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[mcpricex]

If you really want to upset an iPhone user all you have to do is point out Apple's 45% profit margin on each device.....................

 

[adriandb]

24 hours is nothing. See my signature? I've had my phone since Sept and learn new things daily. My Avast security app hands down beats Find my iPhone. It will scream, take photos of the perp, lock itself down even if the SIM card is removed, require a passcode to uninstall any apps. I might not get my phone back, but the other person won't be able to use it either.

Sounds awesome, that's one app/service I haven't replaced yet. But that isn't the most common use case for Find My iPhone. What I always used it for was finding where in my house I had set my iPhone. Just grab any laptop/computer/iPad laying around and I could make my phone make enough noise that I could find it. I'm sure Avast will do that as well so thanks for the reco.

Re home screens. You don't have to have every app you own on the home screen. That's what the app drawer is for. In Google Play undo the option to automatically add apps to the home screen.

I had already dropped all the apps I didn't want from my home screens, but thanks for letting me know there's an option to disable this behavior in Google Play, that's useful.

Then you just add the ones you use all the time which leaves plenty of room for widgets.

And I love the concept of widgets, but the execution isn't as flexible as I'd like. For example, I'm using maildroid for my mail client. Now I have the option to use a widget that just tells me how many unread messages I have or I can use a widget that takes up a huge amount of screen real estate to show me a single message. And there's no configuration that I can find for either widget. There was no mail widget included with this device and the ones I'm finding that will interact with a decent mail client are sub-optimal. Again, I love widgets, but not the execution.

Widgets include having the weather right there without opening something else, my day's schedule showing without opening the calendar (and let's not get started on the crap that is the iOS calendar), important reminders pinned, my to-do list, all without opening anything.

On my jailbroken iPhone I had all of that and more available to me on my lock screen. It was presented in a easy to view manner and I didn't even have to unlock my phone to see it. If need be I could enter into any of the apps displaying info there with just a single or couple taps. I have exactly none of that functionality on my new One. I set it to use the productivity lock screen and it's completely blank. Even if it was working as designed it offers so little info (a single upcoming cal event, a single unread email) that it isn't exactly useful.

If you like a widget but it doesn't quite have what you need or you can't figure it out, email the developer and they'll add it or help you with your problem.

I'll give this a go. Thanks for the tip.

Big difference between Apple free apps that can be upgraded to paid is that Apple users upgrade to get rid of ads. Android users upgrade to support the developer for creating an awesome product.

I'm not sure this is accurate at all. First, Apple doesn't technically allow apps to be upgraded to full via a payment, they don't allow demo apps at all. There may be a lite and full version, but they're generally separate apps. Some have tried to get around this with their apps, but not all have been approved. Are you suggesting that Apple users don't support developers for creating awesome products?

If you tell us your hangups in iOS we can tell you how to fix it in Android.

I don't have that kind of time. I know Android solves most/all of my gripes with iOS, what I wasn't expecting is an entirely new set of gripes. This, of course, was naive and I know I have a lot more to learn about this OS so, potentially, some of these gripes will disappear.

Thanks again for all the useful info.

 

[dmmarck]

Sounds awesome, that's one app/service I haven't replaced yet. But that isn't the most common use case for Find My iPhone. What I always used it for was finding where in my house I had set my iPhone. Just grab any laptop/computer/iPad laying around and I could make my phone make enough noise that I could find it. I'm sure Avast will do that as well so thanks for the reco.


I had already dropped all the apps I didn't want from my home screens, but thanks for letting me know there's an option to disable this behavior in Google Play, that's useful.


And I love the concept of widgets, but the execution isn't as flexible as I'd like. For example, I'm using maildroid for my mail client. Now I have the option to use a widget that just tells me how many unread messages I have or I can use a widget that takes up a huge amount of screen real estate to show me a single message. And there's no configuration that I can find for either widget. There was no mail widget included with this device and the ones I'm finding that will interact with a decent mail client are sub-optimal. Again, I love widgets, but not the execution.


On my jailbroken iPhone I had all of that and more available to me on my lock screen. It was presented in a easy to view manner and I didn't even have to unlock my phone to see it. If need be I could enter into any of the apps displaying info there with just a single or couple taps. I have exactly none of that functionality on my new One. I set it to use the productivity lock screen and it's completely blank. Even if it was working as designed it offers so little info (a single upcoming cal event, a single unread email) that it isn't exactly useful.


I'll give this a go. Thanks for the tip.


I'm not sure this is accurate at all. First, Apple doesn't technically allow apps to be upgraded to full via a payment, they don't allow demo apps at all. There may be a lite and full version, but they're generally separate apps. Some have tried to get around this with their apps, but not all have been approved. Are you suggesting that Apple users don't support developers for creating awesome products?


I don't have that kind of time. I know Android solves most/all of my gripes with iOS, what I wasn't expecting is an entirely new set of gripes. This, of course, was naive and I know I have a lot more to learn about this OS so, potentially, some of these gripes will disappear.

Thanks again for all the useful info.

For the highlighted portions, I believe https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...et.nurik.roman.dashclock&hl=en&token=ShjIdwKe helps you. The support for it is unbelievable.

Also, if you want to properly even up the comparison, unlock and root the One .

 

[gnr_2]

First off let me say that you are clearly infinitely smarter than me since you knew how to break "quotes". I only figured that out about a month ago.

Sounds awesome, that's one app/service I haven't replaced yet. But that isn't the most common use case for Find My iPhone. What I always used it for was finding where in my house I had set my iPhone. Just grab any laptop/computer/iPad laying around and I could make my phone make enough noise that I could find it. I'm sure Avast will do that as well so thanks for the reco.

Yes. It will do that. Very loudly!

And I love the concept of widgets, but the execution isn't as flexible as I'd like. For example,... I can use a widget that takes up a huge amount of screen real estate to show me a single message. And there's no configuration that I can find for either widget.

If you switch to a launcher, you can resize widgets.

I'm not sure this is accurate at all. First, Apple doesn't technically allow apps to be upgraded to full via a payment, they don't allow demo apps at all. There may be a lite and full version, but they're generally separate apps. Some have tried to get around this with their apps, but not all have been approved. Are you suggesting that Apple users don't support developers for creating awesome products?

On Android there are usually two versions of an app. Free, with ads or paid. Some of the free ones don't have ads. So, what I meant to describe was that, if you read through the app reviews, you see more "I wish there was a paid version to get rid of the ads" on Apple whereas in the Play Store you see more "I wish there was a paid version to support the developer" or "I tried the free version for two minutes and immediately bought the paid one because it was so good." However, as someone pointed out earlier that I didn't correlate, is that Android apps are cheap. (Sadly I spend a lot of time reading the reviews too. This stuff is addictive.)

I don't have that kind of time. I know Android solves most/all of my gripes with iOS, what I wasn't expecting is an entirely new set of gripes. This, of course, was naive and I know I have a lot more to learn about this OS so, potentially, some of these gripes will disappear.

If you find any you really can't figure out or is really frustrating you, definitely ask, or do a forum search because likely someone else has had the same problem, even if not on your particular phone.

Thanks again for all the useful info.

You are welcome. I really need to find a 12 step program though.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[adriandb]

First off let me say that you are clearly infinitely smarter than me since you knew how to break "quotes". I only figured that out about a month ago.

I've been using forums and BBCode for a looooooooooooong time.

 

[adriandb]

For the highlighted portions, I believe https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...et.nurik.roman.dashclock&hl=en&token=c0cIp94v helps you. The support for it is unbelievable.

Also, if you want to properly even up the comparison, unlock and root the One .

Mother****er that looks awesome! But, it's not compatible with the One...

 

[dmmarck]

Mother****er that looks awesome! But, it's not compatible with the One...

It should be once you use a rom and once the app is updated . The device is new, but development should be picking up very, very quickly. I can't imagine this not being available for Ones running AOSP roms like CM10.

I used that daily on my GN. Can't really imagine not using it, either.

 

[gnr_2]

Mother****er that looks awesome! But, it's not compatible with the One...

See this is what I'm talking about. As I don't have a One, I'm going to be playing with this for the rest of the week. <sigh>

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.