Spent a week with Android

[bohbot16]

In-car audio is generally moving to Bluetooth (A2DP), which is OS-independent.

 

[Tinmania]

Your thread should be called a week with a Galaxy Nexus because every android phone is different on certain things.

1. The Galaxy Nexus is known to have poor battery life.
3. Did you try a third party keyboard? I dare say Swiftkey is the best keyboard on any device.

I agree about SwiftKey. I can't imagine every using the iOS keyboard after using SwiftKey for awhile (well, now Swiftkey Flow). It practically reads my mind. The iOS keyboard is exactly as it was back in 2007--black hole of a dictionary and all. Of course that would be non-issue if we could change keyboards.

All that said SwiftKey Flow triggered me to give Swype a try. After using it for 4-5 days I now can type faster than I ever have on a smartphone. I never thought I would get used to it but I sure did.


Michael

 

[blairh]

.
2. Syncing: Or lack there of. All I sync is music and it was a complete non starter. I'm sure part of the issue was I'm using a MPB and that's not a great combination. Tried doubletwist, no go. iTunes rocks here.

Why didn't DoubleTwist work for you? Did you look into Android File Transfer?

 

[boomhower]

Why didn't DoubleTwist work for you? Did you look into Android File Transfer?

I don't know why it wouldn't work. I did use ATF and that enabled drag and drop but doubletwist wouldn't see the phone. Sounds like Google Music is the way to go here.

In-car audio is generally moving to Bluetooth (A2DP), which is OS-independent.

It may be moving there but that doesn't help if the car doesn't have it and it still doesn't give the same functionality. My work car is a 2012 Charger and it doesn't have bluetooth. I will likely have it until 2017 at the earliest, that's a long time to live with subpar functionality. On my personal vehicle I have an aftermarket stereo and the bluetooth does work just fine. But it also has pandora which allows you to browse playlist and like/unlike from the stereo. This doesn't work with Android or over bluetooth, iOS only. For the time being iOS still rules the roost with car functionality and it's only going to be more so with Siri integration that's already rolling out.

 

[Tinmania]

Dislikes
1. Battery Life: This can vary per device but it was particularly atrocious. I think it's slow to charge as well which exasperated the problem.
2. Syncing: Or lack there of. All I sync is music and it was a complete non starter. I'm sure part of the issue was I'm using a MPB and that's not a great combination. Tried doubletwist, no go. iTunes rocks here.
3. Keyboard: It's a larger screen but I was no where near as accurate as with the iPhone keyboard. Don't know what Apple does but the darn keyboard is the best out there.
4. App quality: By in large it's well below iOS apps. On apps that there was an equivalent from the same developer they were pretty equal. There are several apps I had to find a substitute and they were just no where near as good. TV Episode tracker was a particular thorn in my side.
5. USB functionality: This is the obsolute deal breaker with me. In my provided work car there is a USB port I can plug my phone in. With iOS it shows the information of what's playing and I can browse media via the cars touchscreen. Steering wheel buttons also work. Much safer than using the phone. With Android the car doesn't even connect at all. I spend the better part of my 12 hour shift in this car so it's a huge deal for me. It's the same story in my personal truck. Everything works with iOS and nothing with Android.
On the fence:
1. Widgets: I used to love them but after a few day my main screens looked just like iOS, a bunch of frequently used apps. I liked a few widget like my podcast, weather, and TV widgets but it's not something I'll miss in the least. The one with the most potential is the Google Now widget but it just released yesterday so no much time to experiment. While nice I won't miss them.
2. Screen size: I've been wanting a larger screen for a while. The larger screen is great for movies and web browsing but it does make it more difficult to use one handed, texting in particular. I use my phone one handed a ton so it was particularly noticeable. I'm not clamoring for a larger screen as hard as before but if Apple introduced a ~4.5-5" iPhone I would likely bite.

In conclusion Android is a very very good OS. I am really glad I took the chance to use it and see what the revisions over the years have brought. But for me iOS is what works for my uses and my needs. For those that prefer Android and can certainly understand their reasoning. I completely fail to understand the bandwagon bickering between the two camps. Do to the short time I anticipated using the phone I didn't root it but that is another big pro to me, aftermarket ROMs. My replacement iPhone will be coming today and it will be JB within the hour.

Just my thoughts.

1.) As noted that is device-specific. My Nexus 4 was horrible for me with battery life (though 4.2.2 just came out today and is supposed to improve it). My Note 2, however, is fantastic. Plus I have 2 spare batteries that I picked up on Amazon for under $20 so I am finally free of worrying about battery life. My 4S was also bad, by the way (but not as bad as my Nexus 4).

2.) I dropped iTunesMatch the day I got my Nexus 4. I had forgotten that I even signed up for Google Music, but it didn't forget about me: it had quietly been synching my entire iTunes library to the cloud. Within minutes of turning on my Nexus 4 for the first time all of my music, and playlists were available for me to play. Since the days of me synching to a dedicated machine (a la iTunes) are over I found music syncing on Android a considerably better experience than on iOS. I have since moved on to a Note 2 and it was just as seamless.

3.) I can tell you what Apple has done with the keyboard: nothing. In over 6 1/2 years. There is no excuse for not letting us manage the user-dictionary, or force it learn a word on-demand (not at some unknown point in the future). I can type roughly twice as fast now on my Note 2, using Swype, than I did on my iPhone (and people said I was fast on the iPhone). The main thing here is that you have to like the iOS keyboard if you use iOS: there is no other option. Starting to dislike that about iOS more-and-more. I still have an iPad and prefer iOS on a tablet right now. But I am slower on my iPad's keyboard than I was even on my iPhone (that could be because I just don't like typing on such a big on-screen keyboard so never really got fast).

4.) As you said, the same apps are equal. There is only one app I use that didn't have a working Android equivalent (Air PlayIt). But I really only use that on my iPad so didn't bother looking for an equivalent. Of course I also have apps on my Note 2 that will never be available for iOS (unless things change dramatically). There also seems to be better sharing between apps on Android. A month or so ago I was reading a story in Pulse that I wanted to add to Evernote. Since there was only a Twitter/Facebook/Email share option in Pulse, and since I did not want to use email, I switched to Pulse on my Nexus and was able to share it directly to Evernote. I am liking little things like that on Android. (I was an iPhone user from day-one in 2007 until November of 2012.)

5.) Yes that usually won't work unless the radio works with USB mass storage (as well as the phone, and if the God's are favorable to it lol). As someone else has noted Bluetooth can do that without being married to one or two vendors. I like Bluetooth as it covers music and phone calls at once.

1a.) Toggles are also widgets and are very useful for me. I can't believe iOS still doesn't have them. My Note 2 came with a nice weather widget that I also like. It's not about throwing every widget you can on the device; it's more about a select few that you do like. I'd rather have the option to have widgets than no option at all.

2a.) I was worried about the larger size of my Nexus 4 but quickly got used to it. Once I did I moved up to a Note 2 and am thrilled with it. I have big hands so can actually use it with one hand for just about everything. I had my "airport test" a week ago and was able to fire off a few texts as I was running through the airport--Note 2 in one hand and carry-on in the other. I did find I didn't need, nor did I like, the one-handed options on the Note 2. With Swype keyboard it is even easier. I did have to get used to the Note 2, and find different ways to hold it, to make using it with one-hand possible. Still, I know this phone is just too big for many (including my girlfriend, who has tiny hands).




Michael

 

[bmac4]

1.) As noted that is device-specific. My Nexus 4 was horrible for me with battery life (though 4.2.2 just came out today and is supposed to improve it). My Note 2, however, is fantastic. Plus I have 2 spare batteries that I picked up on Amazon for under $20 so I am finally free of worrying about battery life. My 4S was also bad, by the way (but not as bad as my Nexus 4).

2.) I dropped iTunesMatch the day I got my Nexus 4. I had forgotten that I even signed up for Google Music, but it didn't forget about me: it had quietly been synching my entire iTunes library to the cloud. Within minutes of turning on my Nexus 4 for the first time all of my music, and playlists were available for me to play. Since the days of me synching to a dedicated machine (a la iTunes) are over I found music syncing on Android a considerably better experience than on iOS. I have since moved on to a Note 2 and it was just as seamless.

3.) I can tell you what Apple has done with the keyboard: nothing. In over 6 1/2 years. There is no excuse for not letting us manage the user-dictionary, or force it learn a word on-demand (not at some unknown point in the future). I can type roughly twice as fast now on my Note 2, using Swype, than I did on my iPhone (and people said I was fast on the iPhone). The main thing here is that you have to like the iOS keyboard if you use iOS: there is no other option. Starting to dislike that about iOS more-and-more. I still have an iPad and prefer iOS on a tablet right now. But I am slower on my iPad's keyboard than I was even on my iPhone (that could be because I just don't like typing on such a big on-screen keyboard so never really got fast).

4.) As you said, the same apps are equal. There is only one app I use that didn't have a working Android equivalent (Air PlayIt). But I really only use that on my iPad so didn't bother looking for an equivalent. Of course I also have apps on my Note 2 that will never be available for iOS (unless things change dramatically). There also seems to be better sharing between apps on Android. A month or so ago I was reading a story in Pulse that I wanted to add to Evernote. Since there was only a Twitter/Facebook/Email share option in Pulse, and since I did not want to use email, I switched to Pulse on my Nexus and was able to share it directly to Evernote. I am liking little things like that on Android. (I was an iPhone user from day-one in 2007 until November of 2012.)

5.) Yes that usually won't work unless the radio works with USB mass storage (as well as the phone, and if the God's are favorable to it lol). As someone else has noted Bluetooth can do that without being married to one or two vendors. I like Bluetooth as it covers music and phone calls at once.

1a.) Toggles are also widgets and are very useful for me. I can't believe iOS still doesn't have them. My Note 2 came with a nice weather widget that I also like. It's not about throwing every widget you can on the device; it's more about a select few that you do like. I'd rather have the option to have widgets than no option at all.

2a.) I was worried about the larger size of my Nexus 4 but quickly got used to it. Once I did I moved up to a Note 2 and am thrilled with it. I have big hands so can actually use it with one hand for just about everything. I had my "airport test" a week ago and was able to fire off a few texts as I was running through the airport--Note 2 in one hand and carry-on in the other. I did find I didn't need, nor did I like, the one-handed options on the Note 2. With Swype keyboard it is even easier. I did have to get used to the Note 2, and find different ways to hold it, to make using it with one-hand possible. Still, I know this phone is just too big for many (including my girlfriend, who has tiny hands).




Michael

Michael,
Would you try iOS if Apple made a larger iphone? I am kind of waiting to see if maybe they will, and I am holding out hope that iOS 7 is something new. I like the iphone 5, but I would love for it to be wider.

 

[NewAnger]

I am particularly intrigued by the non ability of the nexus to function when connected to the USB input in your car.

Can any one using a galaxy s3 or some other non nexus android phone confirm if they can plug it in their car (please specify method of interface) and have music work through car and steering controls?

Never thought of this when I was using transit mostly but now that I am driving I need to find out if my potential purchase will work with it.

TIA.

My boss has a note 2 and a Camaro. He can't use the Note connected to the USB that came installed through the factory but he can use it through the AUX connector. It will be some time before we see car stereos that are Android capable. I have two cars that I specifically chose iPod capable stereos for. I have no doubt that they won't work with my Nexus 4. All the manufacturers were busy ensuring iPod/iPhone capabilities over the past five years.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think the OP gives a fair assessment of their experience and is honest. I share some similar feelings about android I must admit. The issue of apps is something I have noticed since using iOS. They seem a lot better quality than their android counterparts and I don't know why that should be? I use tapatalk and noticed a vast difference in the interface which I admit is rather annoying considering I paid full price for the app on both platforms. The android version used to shut itself down often and I reinstalled it numerous times. It also wouldn't refresh or notify you consistently. That's more an app issue rather than a problem with the OS but its still something that affected my user experience.

The compatibility when using my phone in the car is now a bonus as I can now see what tracks appear on the radio touch screen much like the OP suggests. I no longer have to look at my phone to navigate to which track I want and with the iPhone this can all be done through the steering wheel controls.

For me I have often said that android is a very good platform and is always improving almost by the day, but right now its not as good for me. You can do many of the things on android that you can do on iOS and if you have an issue there is often someone telling you to download this and that. That's the thing for me, android needs far too much setting up and customisation to get it to behave how I like my iPhone to behave. Many love that aspect of android but for some of us we like it simple out of the box.

 

[sk1wbw]

I own both an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7. For the life of me I can't figure out why people think widgets are great. There's not one thing a widget can show that can't be shown on an iPhone.

And why is it that supposedly the best OS in the world can't natively sync iCloud contacts and calendars natively, but iOS can sync Google email/calendars/contacts natively without having to purchase a separate app?

All the widgets in the world won't make up for some basic shortcomings.

 

[maflynn]

I own both an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7. For the life of me I can't figure out why people think widgets are great. There's not one thing a widget can show that can't be shown on an iPhone.

I disagree, some widgets certainly have great functionality like having information being displayed on the lockscreen, weather, contacts, or what ever.

There's other widgets the enhance the user's experience with the phone. Are they critical to the usage of the phone, no. Can some suck the life out of a battery definitely but overall there are a number that I found that could be quite useful - at least I did when I was on an android phone.

Widgets on jailbroken phones are very popular as well, so I'd say its a feature that is sourly missed on stock iOS devices.

 

[sk1wbw]

I disagree, some widgets certainly have great functionality like having information being displayed on the lockscreen, weather, contacts, or what ever.

There's other widgets the enhance the user's experience with the phone. Are they critical to the usage of the phone, no. Can some suck the life out of a battery definitely but overall there are a number that I found that could be quite useful - at least I did when I was on an android phone.

Widgets on jailbroken phones are very popular as well, so I'd say its a feature that is sourly missed on stock iOS devices.

Widgets are eye candy. Do you really think seeing the temperature on the home screen increases the functionality of a device, even if you're outside and you can actually see and feel the weather? Come on.

 

[RetepNamenots]

Widgets are eye candy. Do you really think seeing the temperature on the home screen increases the functionality of a device, even if you're outside and you can actually see and feel the weather? Come on.

The lockscreen widget on my Nexus gives me the five-day forecast, how long it'll take for me to get home from my current location, and my next appointment.

Without having to even unlock the phone.

 

[mib1800]

I own both an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7. For the life of me I can't figure out why people think widgets are great. There's not one thing a widget can show that can't be shown on an iPhone.

And why is it that supposedly the best OS in the world can't natively sync iCloud contacts and calendars natively, but iOS can sync Google email/calendars/contacts natively without having to purchase a separate app?

All the widgets in the world won't make up for some basic shortcomings.

blame it on apple for making icloud closed and proprietary. just move to google to break free.

with widget you can see all crucial information at one glance on the desktop. without widget you need to stupidly waste time to open apps one by one just to get the info.

 

[sk1wbw]

blame it on apple for making icloud closed and proprietary. just move to google to break free.

with widget you can see all crucial information at one glance on the desktop. without widget you need to stupidly waste time to open apps one by one just to get the info.

Stupidly wasting time. I click the weather app to see the see the weather, and some weather apps on the iPhone display the temp as a badge, which I think is another non standard thing on Android. A badge on the icon.

 

[bmac4]

I own both an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7. For the life of me I can't figure out why people think widgets are great. There's not one thing a widget can show that can't be shown on an iPhone.

And why is it that supposedly the best OS in the world can't natively sync iCloud contacts and calendars natively, but iOS can sync Google email/calendars/contacts natively without having to purchase a separate app?

All the widgets in the world won't make up for some basic shortcomings.

The part about not having iCloud contact sync natively, you can think Apple for that one. The reason all the google stuff syncs so well is because google allows their software to work with iOS. It does not work that way with Apple they keep all iOS software in iOS.

 

[charlieegan3]

This is fair assessment - much better informed than many. A few of the dislikes I agree with, here are my suggestsions:

3. Keyboard: It's a larger screen but I was no where near as accurate as with the iPhone keyboard. Don't know what Apple does but the darn keyboard is the best out there.

I completely disagree. I think neither of the defaults are that great. Here is a link to my review of my favourite: Keymonk. It has a bit of a learning curve but it by far the fastest when you into it (took me about a week)

1. Widgets: I used to love them but after a few day my main screens looked just like iOS, a bunch of frequently used apps. I liked a few widget like my podcast, weather, and TV widgets but it's not something I'll miss in the least. The one with the most potential is the Google Now widget but it just released yesterday so no much time to experiment. While nice I won't miss them.

I find i use the widgets a lot. I only access messages through the widget, I have news, tweets, alarms, todo lists all in widgets. There are some real gems out there. I agree that they could be easier to find. Wunderlist is a good one to try (I use it for the mac sync).

2. Screen size: I've been wanting a larger screen for a while. The larger screen is great for movies and web browsing but it does make it more difficult to use one handed, texting in particular. I use my phone one handed a ton so it was particularly noticeable. I'm not clamoring for a larger screen as hard as before but if Apple introduced a ~4.5-5" iPhone I would likely bite.

I too am interested in the prospect of an apple phablet, I currently use a note 2.

I think you left out one key advantage of Andriod - the almost global share feature. From what I've experienced at least sharing on Android beats anything else by miles. Windows 8 has the potential but is lacking in 3rd party support.

Good comparison all the same - have fun with your JB.

 

[kevinof]

A badge on an icon won't tell you who has emailed you and from which account. It won't tell you the text messages or the tweets received. With a widget you can see it on the current page without having to do ANYTHING. No looking for the badge, clicking the badge, switching inbox etc.

You may not think widgets are useful and that's fine. Others do and guess what - Android gives you the choice of whether to use them or not.

Stupidly wasting time. I click the weather app to see the see the weather, and some weather apps on the iPhone display the temp as a badge, which I think is another non standard thing on Android. A badge on the icon.

 

[paulsalter]

2. Syncing: Or lack there of. All I sync is music and it was a complete non starter. I'm sure part of the issue was I'm using a MPB and that's not a great combination. Tried doubletwist, no go. iTunes rocks here.

Check out the iSyncr app

I have this installed and get almost the same experience as syncing with my iPod

syncs automatically every day and updates play count/last played date in iTunes

Not sure why Google/Android is getting the blame for Apple not allowing iCloud to natively work with non iOS devices, but it's one of the reason I moved my info to Google, Google allow these things to work on other platforms, not just their own

 

[maflynn]

Stupidly wasting time. I click the weather app to see the see the weather, and some weather apps on the iPhone display the temp as a badge, which I think is another non standard thing on Android. A badge on the icon.

Different strokes for different folks. You may not find them useful, but to say they're useless is wrong. I found as many users find some widgets to be quite handy.

One size does not fit all, which is why widgets are very popular on android as well JB iOS devices.

 

[bohbot16]

I think the OP gives a fair assessment of their experience and is honest. I share some similar feelings about android I must admit. The issue of apps is something I have noticed since using iOS. They seem a lot better quality than their android counterparts and I don't know why that should be? I use tapatalk and noticed a vast difference in the interface which I admit is rather annoying considering I paid full price for the app on both platforms. The android version used to shut itself down often and I reinstalled it numerous times. It also wouldn't refresh or notify you consistently. That's more an app issue rather than a problem with the OS but its still something that affected my user experience.

I think a lot of this related to the app development tools that Apple and Google make available to app developers. I know that Apple's XCode and Cocoa have been in development since Next, the company that Jobs created after getting fired from Apple. That stuff became the OSX environment and then the iOS environment.

 

[HappyJB]

Widgets are great, if you could choose what you want.

I am a galaxy nexus user. In fact, I only set widgets on my five home screens without icons nor folders.

I prefer transparent widgets and, without icons and folders, I enjoy my beautiful home screen as well.

For doubters, you can see my YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd6F55HJsi8

I put English subtitles as my video clip language is Korean.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

blame it on apple for making icloud closed and proprietary. just move to google to break free.

with widget you can see all crucial information at one glance on the desktop. without widget you need to stupidly waste time to open apps one by one just to get the info.

Its insane how we all argue over such silly details. What on earth did we do before we could read the weather, see stock prices, and have widgets on our lock screens!! lol.

Its such trivial stuff yet causes such tension all because someone doesn't own the same phone as ourselves. If somebody actually told me my phone was rubbish because I couldn't have widgets on it, my facial expression would make then look very silly indeed.

 

[HappyJB]

Deleted

 

[sentinelsx]

Stupidly wasting time. I click the weather app to see the see the weather, and some weather apps on the iPhone display the temp as a badge, which I think is another non standard thing on Android. A badge on the icon.

Too bad it cannot display negative numbers, which makes the functionality useless for winter.

There are apps on android which can display real feel like temp and what's going on in status bar. Something I vastly prefer going to an app.

Also a scrollable RSS widget is far superior to going into an app IMO. I also like seeing my todo and calendar stuff on notification pulldown and home screen at a glance.

Different strokes....

----------

Its insane how we all argue over such silly details. What on earth did we do before we could read the weather, see stock prices, and have widgets on our lock screens!! lol.

Its such trivial stuff yet causes such tension all because someone doesn't own the same phone as ourselves. If somebody actually told me my phone was rubbish because I couldn't have widgets on it, my facial expression would make then look very silly indeed.

I would also like to know how did we survive without installing 100000 apps on our phones.

Or how did we survive without the mandatory iCloud or iTunes tether for media loading etc.

The sheer frustration that I had to go to to load my music on a 3GS back in 2010 when I switched from a e71 was enough to go back go the Nokia again. It is still the same today with a cloudy twist.

As I said, different strokes....

 

[NewAnger]

Widgets are eye candy. Do you really think seeing the temperature on the home screen increases the functionality of a device, even if you're outside and you can actually see and feel the weather? Come on.

Yes it does.