Google Reportedly Prepping Android-Based iPad Challenger

[uberamd]

The task manager app was my most frequently used app due to the fact that Android doesn't actually close down applications and they continue to suck up resources and battery long after you stop using or close the app.

This is very true. I accidentally tapped to open the uStream app on my Nexus One and quickly pressed Home to go back to the desktop and open the app I actually wanted to use. Turns out uStream had my camera activated the entire time in the background and my battery drained at a rate of 35% per hour. PER HOUR. After 2 hours my phone was barking at me. Terrible design.

Its true, if you need to use a task manager to kill tasks on a phone you simply implemented multitasking in a terrible way. If I tried to explain to my aunt how to use a task manager to close apps she would be lost immediately.

I had high hopes that the Android platform would be good enough to replace the apple iphone os for me, but it was a huge and utter let down. If the current version or revisions based on this version 2.1 make it to a tablet hardware box, be prepared for a Windows Vista launch flashback. What sounds good on paper and specs fell flat on it's face.

I had the same hopes, and felt the same let down.

All the "me too" makers (at least up to now) have just not figured "it" out. Driven by minute profit margins and a inherent need to produce a better spec sheet, they miss the important points, like installing a desktop class OS in a touch device without a mouse or physical keyboard..... So, lets cut corners and overspec the hardware and put NO thought into the user experience. Cut down the weight by using a plastic case. Cut down the cost by using a low res, lower quality LCD. Maybe our customers will overlook the terrible build if we just add 5 more USB ports, 2+ cameras, 2 SD Card sots, Express Card and SATA interfaces, HDMI ..... And lets just throw a gimmicky touch based overlay menu on Windows 7 to mask it a bit so people forget it is actually Windows.

Thats very true. Every PC maker today is throwing in HDMI, more USB ports, card readers, and the like to beef up their spec sheets and cover up their shortcomings. Yeah, my 17" MBP doesn't have a card slot by default (it does via express card adapter though), but its battery life, design quality, trackpad, 1920x1200 display, and under 1" thick chassis are worth WAY more to me than HDMI and a card slot.

 

[ShiftyPig]

In what ways is the Nexus One ahead of the iPhone? I am dying to know, because I find it to actually be far behind the iPhone.

1) Talk to text.
2) Free (proper) navigation.
3) Integration w/ Google services (which is nice for those of us who have to use Google sites/calendars/etc. ... and there aren't any businesses going through Mobile-f*****g-Me).

The only place where iPhone is superior, imo, is apps. But then again, I haven't really navigated the Android Market.... and the App Store is beginning to turn into a flea market.

 

[AlmostThere]

I think what strikes people as odd is that Google seems to be stepping so far outside their domain of expertise to engage in these eat-or-be-eaten fights. Should Goodyear make a tablet to avoid being eaten? Google isn't a computer company, or a hardware company-- they're an advertising company with a focus on data mining.

As I mentioned earlier, I think this is a gambit to avoid being left out of the advertising revenue for mobile devices (iAd is certainly a threat, as were the third party add servers before it), but it's really a stretch. This is the equivalent of Goodyear making electric cars so they don't loose out on the tire sales for green transportation.

I don't look at Google's move as particularly odd but I do think you need to look at Google and devices in a similar way as Apple using software and hardware together.

Google need to get the web clients that people are using up to speed with what can be delivered at the back end and their problem is that nobody is going to do this for them.

Apple have dragged their feet really badly with Safari (still doesn't have a multi-process browser model) and have let Google down, despite oodles of support, for example, with Maps and YouTube on iPhone (pretty much saving them from requiring Flash).

Apple and Microsoft are still stuck in "desktop" land - neither company has really released something really revolutionary from an internet perspective and neither have the internet at their heart.

The bottom line is that neither Apple nor Microsoft will even deliver the front end that matches up to what they can offer from the server.

I don't know enough about tyres to build on your analogy but how about the way Apple moved into music players and phones, certainly and "odd move" but they could never deliver the experience with iTunes alone if they had just relied on Creative or Nokia to build devices or Napster2 or Virgin to build the music store.

I think it is also mis-leading to think of Google simply as an advertising company. Yes, that's where they make their money but advertising is driven by their information processing and communication. In a similar vein, you could think of Apple as a hardware company but they are driven by their design process, it what stops them from being another Dell. I suppose it depends on whether you see a company as more than a balance sheet really...

 

[ipoddin]

1) Talk to text.
2) Free (proper) navigation.
3) Integration w/ Google services (which is nice for those of us who have to use Google sites/calendars/etc. ... and there aren't any businesses going through Mobile-f*****g-Me).

The only place where iPhone is superior, imo, is apps. But then again, I haven't really navigated the Android Market.... and the App Store is beginning to turn into a flea market.

Also ahead in terms of handling notifications.

 

[ShiftyPig]

Also ahead in terms of handling notifications.

Also forgot Google Voice.... free text messaging.

 

[uberamd]

The UI is just like the iphone, yes. Some small enhancements like pop up menus, oh boy. One would think Android will make some adjustments for a tablet too. Since we haven't seen any real world demo's yet it's hard to speculate though.

BTW, I do like my ipad and intend to keep it.

Alright sir, if the enhancements to the UI aren't good enough for you, what would you have changed? I am curious. I think the changes are enough where iPhone/iPod Touch users are familiar with everything still, but the improvements (like mail list on the left, message on the right) do provide a better experience.

 

[kas23]

Pathetic how all Apple's competitors have adopted the MS business model......"just copy Apple".

I like to reward innovation, not imitation with my $$$$

.

By that logic, we should all go buy a Chevy car instead of a Japanese car? Did you go buy one of the original mp3 players, or did you jump on the bandwagon and buy an iPod? Sorry, I reward better products, not necessarily innovation.

 

[*LTD*]

This is very true. I accidentally tapped to open the uStream app on my Nexus One and quickly pressed Home to go back to the desktop and open the app I actually wanted to use. Turns out uStream had my camera activated the entire time in the background and my battery drained at a rate of 35% per hour. PER HOUR. After 2 hours my phone was barking at me. Terrible design.

Its true, if you need to use a task manager to kill tasks on a phone you simply implemented multitasking in a terrible way. If I tried to explain to my aunt how to use a task manager to close apps she would be lost immediately.



I had the same hopes, and felt the same let down.

All the "me too" makers (at least up to now) have just not figured "it" out. Driven by minute profit margins and a inherent need to produce a better spec sheet, they miss the important points, like installing a desktop class OS in a touch device without a mouse or physical keyboard..... So, lets cut corners and overspec the hardware and put NO thought into the user experience. Cut down the weight by using a plastic case. Cut down the cost by using a low res, lower quality LCD. Maybe our customers will overlook the terrible build if we just add 5 more USB ports, 2+ cameras, 2 SD Card sots, Express Card and SATA interfaces, HDMI ..... And lets just throw a gimmicky touch based overlay menu on Windows 7 to mask it a bit so people forget it is actually Windows.

Notice that there are many Android phones, but not ONE that is an iPhone-killer? The iPhone outsells every *single* model Android phone, and Apple is hanging on to 24% US share with really only two phones, or one phone, depending on how you look at it. And come June and a brand new iPhone, Apple will see even bigger numbers.

There is no one "killer" Android phone. Google needs to round up all its phones in order to post the market-share numbers they do. What gives?

 

[FjordPrefect]

Apple Search Engine

More rumors that Apple starting its own search engine service.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Eng...ine-to-Shield-iPhone-Data-From-Google-705980/

Turn-about's fair play, right?

 

[uberamd]

1) Talk to text.
2) Free (proper) navigation.
3) Integration w/ Google services (which is nice for those of us who have to use Google sites/calendars/etc. ... and there aren't any businesses going through Mobile-f*****g-Me).

The only place where iPhone is superior, imo, is apps. But then again, I haven't really navigated the Android Market.... and the App Store is beginning to turn into a flea market.

1) Talk to text is pretty cool, so that one is legit.

2) The navigation comment is also true, however the navigation really isn't that great and it requires a constant data connection (which failed me on my road trip to Arizona, so I already am not a fan of it). And the Google Services integration

3) See http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/, supported

Talk to text is the big one I see, but to me talk to text doesn't cancel out the fact that I need to constantly use my task manager and the low quality of the marketplace apps. Also, and maybe this is just me, but I find myself only using talk-to-text when I get really annoyed with the responsiveness of the Nexus One keyboard, I have a much harder time on it than I did with my iPhone.

Eh, just me though.

 

[roland.g]

I dont see how you can say that, I switched from the iPhone to an Android based phone and love it..

Sure it not filled with eye candy like the iPhone, but feature wise it's way more robust and better. Apple is still playing catchup even with OS 4. And you cannot deny that..

And dont look at devices just by the brand!! People who only pick an OS or product based entirely on the manufacture piss me off. Look at the devices for what fills the task at hand best. every device has it's strengths and weaknesses.

I look forward to seeing more information about a Google tablet.

My iMac/MacBook/iPhone/iPod Nano/Apple TV/MobileMe/iTunes Store syncing/working ecosystem do me quite well. It's not the manufacturer that I like so much as the vertical integration. Some people dislike closed systems, get Nexus this or that, or Jailbreak, or whatever you want. Works real well for me. Real. Well. Google does one thing for me, search the internet. And it only does that ok.

 

[MorphingDragon]

Good luck Google. You're going to need some.

 

[irun5k]

Screw Android tablets. The existing ones look like they just took Android and stretched the UI without adding any extra benefits.

Uh, have you seen the home screen of an iPad? What a terrible waste of real estate for one of the most important commonly used features of the device.

 

[gregorsamsa]

News Flash !! Google is out to do whatever it can to bring down Apple,Inc.

This isn't news. It's a disgrace.

No winking smiley almost as if you're actually being serious?

OTOH, good to see this getting lots of positives from more objective MR posters. The stronger the competition, & you can't get much stronger than Google, surely the better for us all.

 

[uberamd]

Uh, have you seen the home screen of an iPad? What a terrible waste of real estate for one of the most important commonly used features of the device.

Yeah the homescreen isn't all that lovely, but at least they added new UI elements.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Google should be spending money refining their app store so third party developers can make money.

Even with the iPad, it's not the hardware that draws me. It stuff like the Korg drum machine, or being able to use a tablet as a MIDI controller.

All these companies keep throwing out better hardware thinking consumers will jump on it. Meanwhile practically every iphone ad that's come out over the past year is just a roll call of third party apps.

These other companies keep missing the point.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

1) Talk to text.
2) Free (proper) navigation.
3) Integration w/ Google services (which is nice for those of us who have to use Google sites/calendars/etc. ... and there aren't any businesses going through Mobile-f*****g-Me).

The only place where iPhone is superior, imo, is apps. But then again, I haven't really navigated the Android Market.... and the App Store is beginning to turn into a flea market.

1) Talk to text is pretty cool, so that one is legit.

2) The navigation comment is also true, however the navigation really isn't that great and it requires a constant data connection (which failed me on my road trip to Arizona, so I already am not a fan of it). And the Google Services integration

3) See http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/, supported

Talk to text is the big one I see, but to me talk to text doesn't cancel out the fact that I need to constantly use my task manager and the low quality of the marketplace apps. Also, and maybe this is just me, but I find myself only using talk-to-text when I get really annoyed with the responsiveness of the Nexus One keyboard, I have a much harder time on it than I did with my iPhone.

Eh, just me though.

Why don't you get rid of it? You obviously have some real issues with the device.

The only thing I keep yet moan like **** about is my wife.

 

[*LTD*]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)
The only thing I keep yet moan like **** about is my wife.

Well put.

 

[ShiftyPig]

1) Talk to text is pretty cool, so that one is legit.

2) The navigation comment is also true, however the navigation really isn't that great and it requires a constant data connection (which failed me on my road trip to Arizona, so I already am not a fan of it). And the Google Services integration

3) See http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/, supported

Talk to text is the big one I see, but to me talk to text doesn't cancel out the fact that I need to constantly use my task manager and the low quality of the marketplace apps. Also, and maybe this is just me, but I find myself only using talk-to-text when I get really annoyed with the responsiveness of the Nexus One keyboard, I have a much harder time on it than I did with my iPhone.

Eh, just me though.

I mostly only text (or ... need to text ) when I'm driving, so the talk to text is a biggie for me.

Fair play on the Google Sync though - I'll take a look at that.

 

[mizzouxc]

I laugh at the Nexus One (and I own one) because it sucks! OLED is a freaking joke, I can't even use my phone outside. I couldn't dial 911 if my life depended on it if it is sunny out. The screen is simply IMPOSSIBLE to read.

Applications? Android applications suck. Simple as that. Going from an iPhone to Android is like going from a XBox 360 to a Nintendo 64. The quality and polish of the applications is such a joke compared to the iPhone.

I realize people like to drool over all things Google and Android related, but the fact is that short of power users who want that "ZOMG It's OPEN!" appeal, Android isn't really good at all. I dropped $550 on a phone and I feel like it is the biggest letdown since the disappearance of 3D-Doritos.

+1 This is why Steve doesn't want 3rd party code cross-compiled into iPhone apps. It's the quality not the quantity that matters. He wants the product to be a stable, solid-state platform, as a phone should be--Not some bug riddled device that always crashes. Thank you Steve for fighting to keep a quality product.

Google does have a good chance, since it doesn't rely on Windows as an OS. I buy Apple's products because they have polished OS / Hardware, not because they have the best specs on paper. There is always a subjective quality to everything, and Apple wins in this category.

I like to think of computers like girls. The ones with the best specs (36-24-36 anyone?), may be ugly while the one that doesn't have the best specs may be the prettiest girl to me. Subjectivity plays a big role to me. Any PC guy always gets a little envious of my iPhone or Mac, but then quickly pulls out his spec sheet to prove his computer is better.

I recently had a friend over who saw my iMac. He's always ranting on how bad Mac's suck. He asked me where the computer was, I told him that was the computer. He was like...dang my monitor is thicker than that. I think he's been converted now that he's seen one in real life.

 

[Blakew23]

Yep

The problem with Google is that, at least in regards to Apple, it has become more and more like Microsoft: always chasing and never leading. When Google (and everyone else) wakes up and starts innovating instead of reacting to every move Apple makes, they might have a shot at dethroning Apple's mindshare. As it is now, they're always shooting at a target that's already moved on.

100% RIGHT

 

[phillipduran]

Rival? These "competing" platforms don't have the developers or the behemoth that is iTunes to support their device like the iPad has. Kinda makes failure the only option these rivals have. Thats what we've seen so far and I don't see any change in the future either.

 

[ipoddin]

Alright sir, if the enhancements to the UI aren't good enough for you, what would you have changed? I am curious. I think the changes are enough where iPhone/iPod Touch users are familiar with everything still, but the improvements (like mail list on the left, message on the right) do provide a better experience.

I would lose the standard icons on a grid UI. I would take more cues from Android. Use widgets. Tighter integration between apps. Some things I like about Android:

-The way it handles notifications, all in one place.
-Icons in the top menu bar to let me know what notifications just came in.
-Photo gallery auto syncs with Picassa. Why didn't Apple implement this with MobileMe?
-And, when you open a photo, any app you've installed that allows photo uploads, is immediately available right there from the photo. You want to upload to Facebook or Twitter, the apps you've installed are options and you can immediately handle it. With Apple, I can email it or upload to MobileMe.

Just a few off the top of my head.

 

[niuniu]

I agree that Google's output has become reactionary and it's disappointing.

 

[dgree03]

I would lose the standard icons on a grid UI. I would take more cues from Android. Use widgets. Tighter integration between apps. Some things I like about Android:

-The way it handles notifications, all in one place.
-Icons in the top menu bar to let me know what notifications just came in.
-Photo gallery auto syncs with Picassa. Why didn't Apple implement this with MobileMe?
-And, when you open a photo, any app you've installed that allows photo uploads, is immediately available right there from the photo. You want to upload to Facebook or Twitter, the apps you've installed are options and you can immediately handle it. With Apple, I can email it or upload to MobileMe.

Just a few off the top of my head.

I have more to add to that:

If i were to completely master reset my nexus.. I would be able to go to the andriod market and have a complete list of app I downloaded before free or not...( I dont know if iphone handles app "resyncing" over the air?)

Noise cancellation mic, makes my phone calls crystal clear

File level access, I can download any attachment off the internet into a file manager. Then i can install or view whatever that download was. I can then re-zip and email it back.

Gmail supports labels/starring on nexus