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sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
Another good point. The selection of accessories is much better for iPhones. Everyone should try both Android and iOS.

It's hard to appreciate the iPhone until you've had your droid crash for you 2 to 3 times a day and tried to use android apps with unintelligible UI ( sometimes the back button takes you back a screen, sometimes does nothing, sometimes exits the app; the menu button sometimes works and sometimes doesn't ), and were afraid to answer the phone because the phone app constantly force closes or locks up the phone.

Never saw that happen on the galaxy S when i had it for a good 8 months. I have a feeling these things are overblown like the PC BSOD and crash myths after win 7 which i haven't come across either.
 

kevinof

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2008
742
157
Dublin/London
absolutely. Haven't seen an OS crash in almost a year on my phones. Apps on the other hand - yes. A lot depends how how the app developer wrote the app and I have one app that crashed so much I just removed it. All the others work just fine.

Never saw that happen on the galaxy S when i had it for a good 8 months. I have a feeling these things are overblown like the PC BSOD and crash myths after win 7 which i haven't come across either.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
Come on, do you really think those screenshots are really happening?

Impossible to answer. I don't believe all of them, especially the more outlandish ones, but this phenomenon didn't come out of thin air. And having used iOS' keyboard (not just my own messages, but the messages I receive from other iPhone users), the typos and incorrect autocorrections are not hard to believe. Again, refer to the threads I linked.

ICS' suggestion bar and the ability to choose which words the internal dictionary memorizes (and more importantly, doesn't memorize) are two features that already make it many times easier to use than the iOS'. It just so happens the ICS keyboard is also more responsive and misses keys less often. The number of times I've seen "ou" or "yu" or "yure" or "oure" when trying to type "you / you're" on iOS' keyboard is impossible to count. Likewise for "wht" "hy" "whn" "wht" etc. This simply doesn't happen as often (honestly, if at all) on ICS' stock keyboard.

It's a shame you couldn't adjust. You did imply you didn't give the 4.6 inch screen a proper chance, it sounded like, so that could've been the factor, and not so much the abilities of the keyboard? I'm not sure. Either way, the iOS' keyboard is far from any definition of the word "perfect."

To each their own, indeed.
 
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c.hack

macrumors newbie
Apr 11, 2012
21
2
Never saw that happen on the galaxy S when i had it for a good 8 months. I have a feeling these things are overblown like the PC BSOD and crash myths after win 7 which i haven't come across either.

You are lucky. I thought I was alone with the Droid X problems. When I went to androidcentral forums I realized the issues were epidemic. Even Motorola's own forums had hundreds of pages dedicated to the bugs in the gingerbread release for the DX and then the DX2. Unfortunately there is no direct support for droids. Verizon kept switching my phones and I even operated them in safe mode. An October patch made a slight improvement, but the phone reboots, gps failures and app problems have gotten worse over the years since I got the original Droid. I have HTC Incredible 2s in the house as well and although they are not as buggy as Motorola Droids, they have many many more issues than iPhone. My daughter is on the third Incredible warranty replacement already.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
You are lucky. I thought I was alone with the Droid X problems. When I went to androidcentral forums I realized the issues were epidemic.

We see the same kind of thing on Apple's own support forums.

Battery, charger, screen, Home button, app issues... you name it. Literally hundreds of thousands of posts about something going wrong.

Nowadays, with tens of millions of smartphone owners, even a tiny percentage of problems adds up to a lot of unhappy people.

Personally, I've had no more unexplainable crashes on my dozen Android devices than I've had on my half dozen iOS devices. The biggest difference is that iOS hides crashes so much better by just popping back to the homescreen without saying a word. Smart!
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
You are lucky. I thought I was alone with the Droid X problems. When I went to androidcentral forums I realized the issues were epidemic. Even Motorola's own forums had hundreds of pages dedicated to the bugs in the gingerbread release for the DX and then the DX2. Unfortunately there is no direct support for droids. Verizon kept switching my phones and I even operated them in safe mode. An October patch made a slight improvement, but the phone reboots, gps failures and app problems have gotten worse over the years since I got the original Droid. I have HTC Incredible 2s in the house as well and although they are not as buggy as Motorola Droids, they have many many more issues than iPhone. My daughter is on the third Incredible warranty replacement already.

Well then i am extremely lucky? How can i own an Xperia Arc, Nexus S, galaxy Captivate and never come across a reboot or OS crash? By the way, my captivate was running on stock ROM for a good 6 months! No custom ROMs or optimizations by third party. Yet it was reliable.

Same thing with my windows 7 laptop. Some of my mac toting friends swear that windows 7 is a crashing mess, but i have had yet to re-install it and its been 2 years. No slowdowns or OS problems. Zero. And i use my laptop for lots of things including coding and development.

Maybe i should start playing lottery i guess....

P.S. if you are using forum posts as indication of an OS being glitchy, you should have checked the iPhone 4S launch month. It was as if all hell was breaking loose lol. I prefer my experience over what someone else says.
 

Deep_Thought

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2008
446
31
I got a free upgrade on my account on Wednesday, got an Xperia S so thought I'd give Android a good try.

Despite all my best efforts I'm back to using my 4 today - managed to get a few things as I wanted but there were just too many deal breakers;

Notifications like the iPhone - why is it so hard for Android to have decent lock screen notifications like iOS - I don't want to have to open the email client to see who an email is from (using IMAP for 3 accounts including iCloud if that makes any difference).

Alternative to Find My Friends - I do a lot of mountain biking on cliff paths etc - my fiance likes that she can see where I am for peace of mind - i.e. I haven't ridden of the edge into the Sea!

Not being able to call a number from within an email - I do a lot of on-call whereby I'll have to call someone from an email I receive - having to copy and paste the phone number each time will rapidly become annoying.

If anyone has any suggestions to these then please let me know - the screen on the Xperia S is stunning and I really wanted to like it!
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,482
43,407
I got a free upgrade on my account on Wednesday, got an Xperia S so thought I'd give Android a good try.

No offense but 2 days is not enough to give Android (or any different platform) enough time for a good try.

btw, the notifications in android are better imo, in fact apple blatantly copied android's notification system. We had lots of threads/discussion on this when they released the iOS update with it.

To be sure each platform has its own short comings and you came across some of them in Android so I'll not say its perfect but a couple of days is a bit short to really put a new phone through its paces.
 

Deep_Thought

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2008
446
31
No offense but 2 days is not enough to give Android (or any different platform) enough time for a good try.

btw, the notifications in android are better imo, in fact apple blatantly copied android's notification system. We had lots of threads/discussion on this when they released the iOS update with it.

To be sure each platform has its own short comings and you came across some of them in Android so I'll not say its perfect but a couple of days is a bit short to really put a new phone through its paces.

Agreed - if someone can recommend a few options then I will most happily check them out :)
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,482
43,407
Agreed - if someone can recommend a few options then I will most happily check them out :)

I'm off the android platform myself but I was using it for a year plus. :eek:

I'd try a different email client to see if it offers the same or similar phone dialing capabilities.

In general Android does have a lot of things going for it, but I will be honest that apple really has a solid product with iOS and the small things like dialing from an email is a great option. I also think cut/paste in iOS is light years ahead of what is offered in Android. I will mention this one caveat, I have not used ICS so some of my complaints may be moot with the newer version of android
 

mrbutters

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
151
0
I got a free upgrade on my account on Wednesday, got an Xperia S so thought I'd give Android a good try.

Despite all my best efforts I'm back to using my 4 today - managed to get a few things as I wanted but there were just too many deal breakers;

Notifications like the iPhone - why is it so hard for Android to have decent lock screen notifications like iOS - I don't want to have to open the email client to see who an email is from (using IMAP for 3 accounts including iCloud if that makes any difference).

Alternative to Find My Friends - I do a lot of mountain biking on cliff paths etc - my fiance likes that she can see where I am for peace of mind - i.e. I haven't ridden of the edge into the Sea!

Not being able to call a number from within an email - I do a lot of on-call whereby I'll have to call someone from an email I receive - having to copy and paste the phone number each time will rapidly become annoying.

If anyone has any suggestions to these then please let me know - the screen on the Xperia S is stunning and I really wanted to like it!

There are pros and cons to both systems for notifications and many other things. Something as simple as a notification light means a lot to me. Why doesn't the iPhone have one? Why do I have to pick up my phone and look at it to see if I missed a call or text? Works both ways. As to your questions, which email service do you use? I use Gmail on my Android phone and all I have to do is tap the number and it brings it up on my dial pad. from there, I have an option to call them, text them or add that number as a contact. The iPhone only gives you the option to call them.
 

Dmunjal

macrumors 68000
Jun 20, 2010
1,533
1,542
If you think the ICS keyboard is cool, wait until you try the latest SwiftKey beta. Amazing predictions and automatic spacing.
 

Deep_Thought

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2008
446
31
As to your questions, which email service do you use? I use Gmail on my Android phone and all I have to do is tap the number and it brings it up on my dial pad. from there, I have an option to call them, text them or add that number as a contact. The iPhone only gives you the option to call them.

Using the built-in client & tried K9. I read that it was because apple patented it, except that HTC either didn't care or came to some arrangement as they do have that ability. What are you using?
 

mrbutters

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
151
0
Using the built-in client & tried K9. I read that it was because apple patented it, except that HTC either didn't care or came to some arrangement as they do have that ability. What are you using?

The Gmail app. Don't think I have ever had a need to use the built in client.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
After spending about a week now with a new Galaxy Nexus GSM version, and having previously owned an iPhone 4S, then before that a Nexus S, and before that briefly the iPhone 4, I just want to share some of my opinions regarding the Galaxy Nexus.

-ICS is not as stable or smooth as iOS 5, however, it's a step up from Gingerbread, and a step overall in the right direction. There are still some hiccups and hangups here and there, albeit very minor. I've had zero crashes or reboots, which is a positive sign. iOS 5 hiccups a bit here and there too, rarely, and also freezes, also rarely, but iOS has this indescribable extra polish to it. It could be that it "hides" these issues very well, like some other poster once said (e.g. apps do crash on the iPhone more frequently than people know, it's just that it cleverly goes back to the home screen like nothing happens, as oppose to freezing your phone). Either way, ICS is still a slight cut below iOS in terms of polish, smoothness, and stability (this is a compliment to Android and Google).

-Having said that, ICS is a joy to use, more so than ever on the larger screen. It's futuristic, intuitive (swiping is employed very cleverly throughout the OS, and it makes it a true joy to navigate through screens, contacts, etc.), easy to learn and set up, and overall very sleek. A lot of things throughout the OS just makes a lot of sense. You really have to use it day-to-day to see what I'm talking about. Doing little things like as simple as making a phone call, is just more intuitive and easier to navigate than it is on iOS. Every link, connection, and shortcut in ICS just feels like they're exactly where they should be. Going from contacts, to a phone call, to sending a text, to editing their info, etc. It's very well thought out. The on-screen home buttons are a fantastic idea, and something I hope the iPhone will eventually adopt in its own way. I did notice the 4S' home button felt more "sturdy" than when I was using the iPhone 4, but doing away with the button altogether would have its own benefits. I think it's worth it. Anyway, ICS is a huge thumbs up. The keyboard isn't perfect, nor is the browser, but they are a cut better than iOS'. I'm really looking forward to changes in respect to these two areas in iOS 6. The suggestion bar and the ability to choose what words the dictionary remembers, and doesn't remember, goes a long way in improving the typing experience.

-Google Music is a pain in the ass to organize. I don't want to waste too much time talking about it, and I can't believe I'm about to say what I'm about to say, but for once in my life, I think I actually prefer iTunes. I'm beginning to see Apple's vision of doing everything through iTunes. Though I still don't agree with a few forced-things, like iPhoto (ugh), I can see why syncing apps and music and books via iTunes is more ideal than Google's method. It's just a bit of a mess, and something I hope Google will improve on in the future.

-Screen size. Okay, it has to be said, the screen size is a bit difficult to wield with one hand. I find myself shifting the phone a lot in hand to reach the top corners of the screen, and I can see how this could totally lead to inadvertent slips out of your hand. Be careful. Having said that, the larger screen is absolutely glorious! Games, reading emails and books, browsing the web, obviously pics and videos, and just the overall experience is vastly improved by a larger screen. It just feels like you're doing something special; like you're more free, liberated. I never got that sense on the iPhone 4/4S, and in fact, often felt things were too cramped (I don't want to change the topic, but I always felt iOS was far better experienced on the iPad; it truly shines there.) I don't know what Apple has planned this year, but if they pull off a larger iPhone, I would imagine iOS would be equally as glorious to use. A small mention about the ergonomics and design of the phone: it's better than the iPhone. Aesthetically, I think it's a beautiful device, but hands down, the iPhone is a more beautifully designed piece of technology, however, it's a terrible thing to hold and use (again, this may be due to size). The Galaxy Nexus is thin, oddly fits your hand very well despite it's size, and just feels good next to your ear or when using with two hands. Again, it's only when using it with one hand does it feel overly large and clumsy.

-I forgot to add... the camera on iPhone 4S is, obviously, many times better. The shooter on the GN is quite poor. The images just come out a little softer and blurrier than I'd like. It's a real shame they didn't offer something better. However, the front facing camera is better on the GN. Skyping gave a clearer image on the other end, says the person I was speaking with. It's a real toss up regarding multimedia between iPhone 4S and GN. On the one hand, the 4S offers better camera, but the GN offers the larger screen to enjoy things on.



Bottom line:

In writing this post, my goal was to answer the question, should iPhone users switch to the Galaxy Nexus? Ultimately, I love the Galaxy Nexus, and I think it will be my daily driver until I see what the next generation iPhone/Nexus phones bring. But at the end of the day, I don't think the GN is for everyone. If you're willing to have an open mind, ICS is phenomenal, but definitely not everyone's cup of tea. If one of the reasons you remain with iOS is because of its stability and polish, you will not be happy with ICS. It's a small step below iOS, in this respect. However, if you can overlook this (because ICS still stable and smooth in its own respect) there is a world to discover on ICS (better keyboard, better browser, better home screens, customizations, etc.) and it's worth stepping into. Likewise, if you can manage the larger screen, it's a glorious glorious experience. I truly believe this same larger-screen experience can be had by iOS users if Apple decides to go that route.

I'm looking forward to the future.
 
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jeffe

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2008
601
50
This is interesting as my experience has been the exact opposite although I admittedly haven't used ITunes in years except when helping out others..

-Google Music is a pain in the ass to organize. I don't want to waste too much time talking about it, and I can't believe I'm about to say what I'm about to say, but for once in my life, I think I actually prefer iTunes. I'm beginning to see Apple's vision of doing everything through iTunes. Though I still don't agree with a few forced-things, like iPhoto (ugh), I can see why syncing apps and music and books via iTunes is more ideal than Google's method. It's just a bit of a mess, and something I hope Google will improve on in the future.


----------

Latitude is a good one. There is also an app called Glympse (for android and IOS) that is good if you want to share your location briefly with others.

Here's one for an alternative to Find My Friends, Google Latitude should do the trick. It's built into the Google Maps application on Android and can be enabled via the "Layers" section in Maps.

http://www.google.com/latitude
 

Fantom555

macrumors 6502
Jul 9, 2007
382
22
New York City
i saw this thread and i was not shore if i wanted add my point of view but now i do. i had the iphone and before that i was flipping between android blackberry and android. So now the fun begins for me there are days i loved the bb and days i loved the iphone. So back in dec when the Nexus was coming out i went for the nexus sold the iphone and thought i was going to be happy. I now had nexus on VZ and i had an open line on AT&T so i took my wife's iphone 4 and used that on my AT&T line. I thought i had the best of all worlds iphone and an android being i live in NYC the nexus was not global so i had the iphone for when i traveled. Now after a few months of using the GN i was getting very frustrated with signal issue so of course VZ always replaced the phone when i complained so after the 3rd time i just lost it on VZ i got them to replace the GN with the razr maxx i do have 5 lines active with them so i am a good business account for them. So i get the razr maxx and wow i am blown away because the battery is great at the end of the day i needed a phone with great battery life and very reliable i to a alot of emails and texting and so the device has to be able to handle my heavy emailing and texting and phone calls. Now i have the best of bolth worlds VZ service with great phone and AT&T with iphone. i am a devoted apple user i have imac in my office and ipads and a macbook air so i am all apple except for my droid. And with work i run windows VM or bootcamp so i have all my bases covered. Guess what my friend comes to my office one day and says to me its hard to type with either the iphone or the droid u should get a BB for your business email because in the end the BB keyboard and email is still great. So he gave me a BB9810 torch for free unlocked so i just replaced my iphone on the AT&T with the BB. I have to say that for typing emails and texts with the BB blows them all away i cant believe i am saying it but in reality the BB is great for a person who is a heavy email user. I also now started to feel thet the razr maxx is big i never had the feeling before the iphone is a great size even if it went to 4"screen, but bigger then that i would say its a mistake. i am now facing a big issues weather to go and get an iphone 4S now or wait until they release the new update in the fall. Oh i love having 4G LTE service on my phone its a big difference. i am in a state of not knowing which route to take any help for this group please. i think what drove me to get the android was the 4G and the bigger screen in the end both os"s have there pros and cons i like having the widgets on the droid but the apple os is clean and easy. i just dont know what to do. The BB is so small i dont even realize i am carrying it half the time but i only carry it during the business week. what do you think i should do.
 

tpr007

macrumors regular
Mar 1, 2007
162
44
Hong Kong
In response to the OP's question: Yes.

Went from iPhone (original) to 3GS to 4

Now using a Galaxy s2 and very tempted by the Galaxy Note.

However, if the new iPhone likely to come out this year has a screen of 4" or more then I might switch back.
 

chdwil

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2009
174
1
I just switched to a Skyrocket and have a 4s 64gb. I had a 4 and a 3GS before that. I never even considered an Android before. After seeing the capabilities of LTE I decided to try out the Skyrocket. I do like it very much and at the same time miss my 4s. The size of the screen and speed of the network are keeping me with the Skyrocket. I miss the 4s camera, iTunes, and simplicity of ios.
But I am staying with the Skyrocket and Android is growing on me.

The iPhone 5 will have to be 4" or bigger and support LTE for me to switch back. I will say both phones are excellent and to call 1 better than the other is to vague of a statement.
 

0m3ga

macrumors 6502
Mar 1, 2012
491
0
I just switched to a Skyrocket and have a 4s 64gb. I had a 4 and a 3GS before that. I never even considered an Android before. After seeing the capabilities of LTE I decided to try out the Skyrocket. I do like it very much and at the same time miss my 4s. The size of the screen and speed of the network are keeping me with the Skyrocket. I miss the 4s camera, iTunes, and simplicity of ios.
But I am staying with the Skyrocket and Android is growing on me.

The iPhone 5 will have to be 4" or bigger and support LTE for me to switch back. I will say both phones are excellent and to call 1 better than the other is to vague of a statement.

Might want to check out the following apps: Assistant, battery alarm, beautiful widgets, file manager, dr. Web anti-virus, g-tunes music downloader prov2, k-9 mail (best email app i have found), mx player (vid payer), NoLED aNd NoLED weather (visual notifications when phone is off and in standby), speedometer for navigator free (gives speed on google maps), svox (changes the audio voice from that lame robot voice to regular voices), widgetlocker lockscreen and zedge ringtones and wLlpapers.
 
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