Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
This is part of the blame and me-me society, where personal responsibility is non existent. People now expect to be told what to do by governments and companies, rather than thinking for themselves.

It's amazing that people prefer a company to tell them what they can/cannot do rather then making the choice themselves.

I don't have any issue with what Apple does on their side (especially when my daughter uses our iPad), but the notion that Google and the Play Store has to be exactly the same as iOS when it comes to the mediation Apple conducts within its ecosystem really would put me off of it altogether.

Android is my alternative to what Apple offers, not my same as what apple offers. :D
 

gnipgnop

macrumors 68020
Feb 18, 2009
2,165
2,883
This is part of the blame and me-me society, where personal responsibility is non existent. People now expect to be told what to do by governments and companies, rather than thinking for themselves.

It's amazing that people prefer a company to tell them what they can/cannot do rather then making the choice themselves.

Except that it's very easy to make the argument that Apple is taking personal responsibility for their app store.
 

ncaissie

macrumors 6502a
Dec 1, 2011
665
6
Android may have less apps but there are plenty enough to keep you happy and busy.
 

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030
Jul 30, 2010
2,856
367
Glasgow, Scotland
I liked the Nexus until I tried to read a book on it. What a nightmare trying to find something that worked as well as iBooks. No native PDF reader and no importing epubs into Google Books.

What's the problem? I realise they want you to buy books from their store, but surely it would've been nice to have the option to import your own stuff into the only reader application on Android that doesn't come across as completely half-arsed.
 

scamit

macrumors newbie
Sep 29, 2006
29
0
Im well into the Apple ecosystem, i have the Macbook Air, iPhone 5, iPad, Airport Extreme and Apple TV. Everything works as it should, which is what Apple is known for and great hardware. I was curious 2 years ago and bought an Android phone and could not use it for more than a week. The phone battery was terrible, apps that i use on iOS were not existent and the overall UI was slow compared to the smoothness of iOS.

Fast forward now i picked up a Nexus 7 for $209CDN and i cannot be happier. Now in terms of tablet apps, there is no comparison, iPad apps much better than Android apps for tablets. But what the Nexus 7 allowed me to do was take a look at all the apps that are available for their phones. I downloaded all the major apps that i use on my iPhone and compared them, and honestly, there isnt much of a difference, maybe a very slight edge to iOS in terms of how nice the apps look, but even that is subjective.

One thing that i definitely love about Android Jelly Bean, is the how classy the User Interface looks. Makes iOS look very outdated and something fisher price designed, compared to Android which just looks more mature and classy. For me this is jus eye opening, because Apple is known for designing software which looks way better than the competition, but in mobile OS, i have to say Android OS is just more beautifully designed. Love how the widgets are used and the openness of the Android Market. I was able to download a torrent on my tablet and also backdoor load Flash to watch my lectures on it.

As a tablet, iPad wins hands down because of the tablet apps. But for a mobile phone, Android is closing the gap, some may say even pulled ahead of iOS.
 

nexusrule

macrumors 6502a
Aug 11, 2012
623
758
This is part of the blame and me-me society, where personal responsibility is non existent. People now expect to be told what to do by governments and companies, rather than thinking for themselves.

It's amazing that people prefer a company to tell them what they can/cannot do rather then making the choice themselves.

When it comes to things like "mobile apps quality control" perhaps people think have better or meaningful or funnier things to do?
 

everything-i

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2012
827
2
London, UK
As a tablet, iPad wins hands down because of the tablet apps. But for a mobile phone, Android is closing the gap, some may say even pulled ahead of iOS.

I would say that in phones Android and iOS are neck and neck but Android has momentum that iOS lacks so unless Apple gets its finger out in the next year they are going to be left way behind.
 

Elbon

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2008
574
367
Boston, MA
"'Look how great Android tablets can be,' the company seems to be saying, 'if only you'd make great apps!'"

Maybe if the Android SDK didn't suck so bad, they would! :)
 

mephiska

macrumors newbie
Aug 6, 2008
20
1
I liked the Nexus until I tried to read a book on it. What a nightmare trying to find something that worked as well as iBooks. No native PDF reader and no importing epubs into Google Books.

The Nexus 7 has a built in PDF reader. You can also get Adobe to read PDFs, or use Amazon's Kindle reader app for them. You can also load epubs directly onto the Nexus via USB by copying them to an "eBooks" folder on the device and use whatever ereader you want.

What's the problem? I realise they want you to buy books from their store, but surely it would've been nice to have the option to import your own stuff into the only reader application on Android that doesn't come across as completely half-arsed.

Amazon's Kindle reader is quite good, better than Google's reader actually.
 

aristotle

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2007
1,768
5
Canada
Trading in my iPad for a Nexus...after being able to customize the hell out of my galaxy s3 and in turn use it more efficiently...the iPad just feels frustratingly locked down.

I also like grippy rubber like that on the kindle over the cold metal on the iPad.

Apps will follow.

Google wins for my uses.

IMO Apple needs to do something new before consumers begin to shift...perhaps recent management shake-up is indicative of this.
Best of luck with your new purchase. I predict, however that you will be back really soon. The Google Nexus has no 3G/4G support and customizing gets boring really fast. You could always look into jailbreaking an iPad if you really wanted to "customize" it.

I used to be in the skinning community for Windows XP when i was younger. I also created a theme or two for jailbroken iPod Touches (pre-retina).

So you never tried the apple smart case that combines the smart cover with a case?

I no longer jailbreak my iOS devices but I do create my own lock screen and backgrounds using Pixelmator. Perhaps, you should look into creating your own images as a way to have a feel of having "control". I also create/edit my own ringtones and alert sounds.

You can change all of the background images and alert sounds on an iOS device without even jailbreaking. What exactly are you looking for? Aren't you still just a consumer of media if you customize thing with themes created by other people?

You will also quickly discover the lack of apps/games and the lower quality of ported/original apps on android.
 

Oletros

macrumors 603
Jul 27, 2009
6,002
60
Premià de Mar
Best of luck with your new purchase. I predict, however that you will be back really soon. The Google Nexus has no 3G/4G support and customizing gets boring really fast. You could always look into jailbreaking an iPad if you really wanted to "customize" it.

I used to be in the skinning community for Windows XP when i was younger. I also created a theme or two for jailbroken iPod Touches (pre-retina).

So you never tried the apple smart case that combines the smart cover with a case?

I no longer jailbreak my iOS devices but I do create my own lock screen and backgrounds using Pixelmator. Perhaps, you should look into creating your own images as a way to have a feel of having "control". I also create/edit my own ringtones and alert sounds.

You can change all of the background images and alert sounds on an iOS device without even jailbreaking. What exactly are you looking for? Aren't you still just a consumer of media if you customize thing with themes created by other people?

Why people still think that customization is only backgrounds and alert sounds?

Try using a different keyboard, a different launcher, a different SMS application, a different browser.

This is cutomization, not putting a different ringtone
 

burnside

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2010
474
14
That's one thing I hate about Apple's product. The shiny shell is next to useless for a regular human being. I prefer holding my e-ink Kindle (rubbery back) than my iPod touch (stainless steel back).

Yes we can buy a shell for the Apple products, but it's still a flaw. Once again functionality loses over looks. These products are made to be used, not to be looked at on a display.

+1000

Why is it that Apple will build a phone with a narrow display so common operations can be performed with just a thumb, but when it comes to holding a tablet, they side with a cold metallic back instead of grippy rubber back?

Like this poster, the Kindles and Nooks are a joy to hold onto.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
The insecurity on this thread is hysterical. It's great that there are now a few choices for tablets in the marketplace that are at different price points. The iPad, the iPad Mini, the Nexus 10, etc.

Why such animosity as if someone was going to force you to use one over the other or come to your home and take yours away.
 

isephmusic

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2012
416
0
i was an android guy until i bought a macbook pro last week. its So easy to use all apple products are dumbed down so much haha they dont even put the hard drive on the main desktop so you dont screw anything up. BUT i like how its all so integrated. if i had a time capsul and apple tv all my media would be so acessible. thats why i want google to pull through with the nexus 4,7,and 10 and release the nexus orb thing so you can stream all your media into it.

google is what made apple sucessful guys remmeber that. youtube, maps, gmail all were why iphone 1 sold so fast. hows that new maps on ios6 guys lol. for me Apple products should be laptops, internet devices (airplay), and tablets. for phone android all the way. custom roms too good. im tethering to post this reply right now, something i cant do on an iphone without atnt knowing about it. android apps are getting good, kingsoft office syncs with google drive and you basically have a mini laptop...

the nexus 10 is a great device i hope you all support it.
 

neuropsychguy

macrumors 68020
Sep 29, 2008
2,353
5,533
Why people still think that customization is only backgrounds and alert sounds?

Try using a different keyboard, a different launcher, a different SMS application, a different browser.

This is cutomization, not putting a different ringtone

You can use different browsers in iOS and different SMS apps. As for keyboards, I've tried every major keyboard for my Android phone and I like none of them as much as the keyboard in iOS (but that's just my preference). Sure, many of them have more features and many are very good, they just have never worked as well for me as the iOS keyboard for me.

Customization is great but in practice very few people customize even given the choice. That is why Apple allows so little of it - standardization is usually better than customization when trying to reach a wide audience.
 

neuropsychguy

macrumors 68020
Sep 29, 2008
2,353
5,533
i was an android guy until i bought a macbook pro last week. its So easy to use all apple products are dumbed down so much haha they dont even put the hard drive on the main desktop so you dont screw anything up. BUT i like how its all so integrated. if i had a time capsul and apple tv all my media would be so acessible. thats why i want google to pull through with the nexus 4,7,and 10 and release the nexus orb thing so you can stream all your media into it.

google is what made apple sucessful guys remmeber that. youtube, maps, gmail all were why iphone 1 sold so fast. hows that new maps on ios6 guys lol. for me Apple products should be laptops, internet devices (airplay), and tablets. for phone android all the way. custom roms too good. im tethering to post this reply right now, something i cant do on an iphone without atnt knowing about it. android apps are getting good, kingsoft office syncs with google drive and you basically have a mini laptop...

the nexus 10 is a great device i hope you all support it.

I think you win for the most James Joyce-like post of the thread. Props for stream of consciousness.
 

tdtran1025

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2011
275
0
Competition is good.

I don't think that the 10 is as good as the iPad 4, but at $100 less, and with a compelling (but not necessarily as good, depending on your needs) set of features, it's certainly worth a look. Stereo speakers are a definite plus, as is HDMI out.

I still see the iPad 4 as the best option, even given the $100 difference, but this is the first tablet I've considered even worthy to compete in that size range, and it out-Retinas Apple.

On the set of features: I agree there are some good features, but Google forces their agenda on users with some unwanted apps. This phenomenon is well established in the phone sector that irritates users, yet only a small percentage know how to root the device to delete these annoying apps. In a way, users have to accept the least compelling aspect of Android ecosystem at the same time suffer from security attacks because of the lack of app screening. What I see is Google is trying to use Microsoft's model of penetration into market share. Well, Microsoft is abandoning ship and is trying Apple's model now and they have experience in OS design and the current customer base for Android may jump ship once Windows8 mobile debuts.
 

ncaissie

macrumors 6502a
Dec 1, 2011
665
6
Android has no quality control. You see Apple gets many complaints for rejecting apps for various reasons. Yeah, they're strict. But, they also weed out apps that are not giving the proper "iPad experience".

There are certain things you must support as an iPad app or you will get rejected. Google, on the other hand, rejects almost nothing (including malware apps) just to get their app numbers up to competing with Apple. It's quantity (Google) versus quality (Apple).

I don’t think so. Apple lets a lot of ***** apps through. Useless non apps. You have to wade through a lot of crap to find a gem.
If it was so much easier to put a android app through then why isn’t there more android apps?
 

1member1

macrumors 6502
Sep 8, 2012
383
0
WOW. I just saw the video from the verge about the nexus 10. Just saw the lags on this device with 2GB RAM and A15 CPU and then i remembered why i won't move to android.
 

frayne182

macrumors 6502
Oct 1, 2012
416
0
Canada
Thats a sexy tablet... I'm not into the 10'' market, but if I was I'd probably get the Nexus 10.


7'' is more then enough for me (Thats what she said)
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
On the set of features: I agree there are some good features, but Google forces their agenda on users with some unwanted apps.
I'm curious: which apps? On a Nexus device, with a pure Android install, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Nothing seems unwanted to me.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.