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iPhone Thoughts on Google's Android?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
I bought an iPhone back in March of this year and loved it 100% as compared to my other phone which the best features were photo/video txts. I was from Verizon and switched to AT&T but returned the iPhone after a week due to the phone's super bad reception and call quality. But I do admit I loved everything else about that phone. All those apps and that was before the App Store...

Well, Google Android is set to come out this coming Tuesday and am wondering what are other's thoughts on this, mainly Apple and iPhone fans.

I'm still with Verizon so there is no set time as to when an android phone will come out for us, but I'm still waiting.

I have a Macbook but am a big Google fan as I have most if not all of my needed things, such as email, docs, reader, etc...set up with Google and none with Apple (iCal, Mail, etc.) I need to be able to reach for my stuff from anywhere and Google easily provides it. I know Apple does too now with MobileME but ... you know?

So nevertheless i'm curious as to others opinions on android itself as an OS, how you think it might do in the market and if you'd plan on getting one? I just wish a phone for Android comes out with a beautiful screen like the iPhone for youtube videos and alike.
 
Well, competition is no bad thing. I'm just curious to find out what basic features don't make it into the first release. To make an OS from scratch must be a daunting task, as Apple has found out. We'll see if Apple has been dragging their heels, if Google can produce a fully featured OS.
 
Just from seeing the Android videos that are circulating the net I dont see much difference OS wise. They both perform the same functions with relative ease so its comes down to a matter of preference of the actual phone.

Two things that make me reluctant to go with an Android phone however:

1. The Iphone browser can be "pinched" or "pulled" to quickly zoom in or out making navigating pages very easy. The Android browser appears to use a double tap function or a zoom button that takes up part of the screen area.

2. Music. I have my music in itunes and I like it there. Its organized and itunes is very user friendly. I have alot of music and dont know how Android will handle my music library.

These are the questions I have, hope this helps.

Loony
 
The big plus on Android's side for me is Java - I much prefer Java to Objective-C, and I could be very tempted to get one for development into their App Store clone.
On the negative side, I've not seen any announcements about Exchange ActiveSync support (could have missed it though): If they don't have Exchange support on the phone it'll die a very quick death IMO:
The iPhone survived its first generation without Exchange Support because it had the iPod features and didn't need Enterprise acceptance at that time.
Android doesn't have any Unique Selling Points I can see so needs to be feature compatible with other smart phones out there to have a chance of competing.

Either way, there are interesting times ahead...
 
I'm sure the Android software will be great. The question is, what will the hardware be like?

I'm guessing that there will be a dozen Android phones right away, but only 2 or 3 will actually be good all-around phones. Which ones those are may take some time to figure out, so I certainly wouldn't be rushing out to buy one on opening day.

(Hypothetically, I mean. I'll be keeping my iPhone, thanks!)
 
Loonytik said:
1. The Iphone browser can be "pinched" or "pulled" to quickly zoom in or out making navigating pages very easy. The Android browser appears to use a double tap function or a zoom button that takes up part of the screen area.
Click to expand...

If you dislike a small piece of the screen being taken up with a zoom button, then you must really hate the iPhone taking up most of the web page with a software keyboard for input.

Personally I like the way (I think) the Diamond optionally does zoom, by using the hardware scroll wheel.

Sometimes it just makes sense to have hardware controls that don't overlay the screen.
 
I honestly like the whole idea of the open source phone OS. I think that updates will appear quicker and there will be so much more customisation of the software (and hardware for that matter).
 
I guess we'll see how much hardball Google is playing as to how much the Map app on the iPhone / Touch is updated in comparison to teh Android version.
 
t0mat0 said:
I guess we'll see how much hardball Google is playing as to how much the Map app on the iPhone / Touch is updated in comparison to teh Android version.
Click to expand...

Ya ... hopefully google doesn't "artificially cripple" services on the iPhone to get people to buy their andriod phone instead.
 
I'm impressed there's no gPhone bashing yet, good job guys :) I'm really looking forward to Android coming out - I don't like the looks of the HTC Dream, so I'll probably be waiting for a more iPhone looking phone. I do like the iPhone, I'm just getting a little tired of it and just want a little change in my life!
 
kdarling said:
If you dislike a small piece of the screen being taken up with a zoom button, then you must really hate the iPhone taking up most of the web page with a software keyboard for input.

Personally I like the way (I think) the Diamond optionally does zoom, by using the hardware scroll wheel.

Sometimes it just makes sense to have hardware controls that don't overlay the screen.
Click to expand...

I never said I didn't like the zoom button, I just think it is easier to "pinch" for the zoom. It just seems more user friendly at this point. I haven't toyed with a phone that has android, thats just going by the videos.
 
Small White Car said:
I'm sure the Android software will be great. The question is, what will the hardware be like?

I'm guessing that there will be a dozen Android phones right away, but only 2 or 3 will actually be good all-around phones. Which ones those are may take some time to figure out, so I certainly wouldn't be rushing out to buy one on opening day.

(Hypothetically, I mean. I'll be keeping my iPhone, thanks!)
Click to expand...

im sure we will see something like the HTC Touch HD running android eventually
 
the open-source part is the best part imo. check out this link:

http://code.google.com/android/adc_gallery/


it was the dev challenge for the software. lots of devs are saying they couldn't' do it on the iphone due to the restrictions.


now whether the hardware will be good or not is the key. but it sounds like any company can just build a phone and revolve it around this OS.
 
I absolutely LOVE the "open source" aspect of Android. Apple needs to stop being such control freaks! Android running on a Blackberry "Storm"-type device could be very impressive.

OTOH, I seriously doubt an Android phone will out perform my iPhone 3G significantly enough to outweigh the seemless integration I enjoy as a Mac user. If I were a Windows user, I would be ALL over an Android phone.
 
jaduffy108 said:
OTOH, I seriously doubt an Android phone will out perform my iPhone 3G significantly enough to outweigh the seemless integration I enjoy as a Mac user. If I were a Windows user, I would be ALL over an Android phone.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I love how everything is integrated almost seamlessly between my computers, iPhone, and MobileMe.
 
jaduffy108 said:
OTOH, I seriously doubt an Android phone will out perform my iPhone 3G significantly enough to outweigh the seemless integration I enjoy as a Mac user. If I were a Windows user, I would be ALL over an Android phone.
Click to expand...

Really? Other than iTunes, what does the iPhone interface with?
 
jaduffy108 said:
... Android running on a Blackberry "Storm"-type device could be very impressive.
Click to expand...

My biggest disappointment was that Google didn't simply port Android to a bunch of current handhelds and then announce it. Can you imagine the immediate foothold they'd have had?

That was what I originally thought their big secret was. An OS ported to WM devices, Blackberries, Nokias, even the iPhone. Imagine one developer codebase for all.
 
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