Recently switched from Android to iPhone4

[Nevpaurion]

So I recently switched from an android phone to the iPhone 4 and at first I was really happy with it. It's slick, operates smooth, no error messages as of yet, wasn't affected by the dreaded antennaegate.

However after a while of owning it I just wanted to ask, is it me or do you pretty much need to jailbreak the damn thing for it to come close to what android phones offer in regards to customization and control of your phone???


First off I couldn't believe that I can't use a custom sound for email, sms etc. I mean my mom's old school nokia candy bar phone can even do that!
I called apple care and the tech support person, though extremely nice, was clueless.

Second of all I really didn't like that I had to either buy ringtones from itunes or use some shady file naming to have a ringtone that wasn't stock.

I can't seem to find any apps that help me manage the tasks (such as androids advanced task killer)

Apparently there's no such thing as widgets in the apple world, which is annoying because I used them extensively.

I can't turn the camera sound off.
I can't disable the orientation rotation feature when I don't want it on.
I can't stop the sms popups.

Basically a lot of the things that I considered to be for the most part standard for any smartphone I can only do on my iPhone by jailbreaking it.
I don't mean for this to be a whiny rant, I'm really just trying to get some suggestions as to how I can do the above things without jailbreaking my new phone, if at all possible.

Thanks for any advice and sorry to anyone I may have pissed off.

 

[doboy]

So I recently switched from an android phone to the iPhone 4 and at first I was really happy with it. It's slick, operates smooth, no error messages as of yet, wasn't affected by the dreaded antennaegate.

However after a while of owning it I just wanted to ask, is it me or do you pretty much need to jailbreak the damn thing for it to come close to what android phones offer in regards to customization and control of your phone???


First off I couldn't believe that I can't use a custom sound for email, sms etc. I mean my mom's old school nokia candy bar phone can even do that!
I called apple care and the tech support person, though extremely nice, was clueless.

Second of all I really didn't like that I had to either buy ringtones from itunes or use some shady file naming to have a ringtone that wasn't stock.

I can't seem to find any apps that help me manage the tasks (such as androids advanced task killer)

Apparently there's no such thing as widgets in the apple world, which is annoying because I used them extensively.

I can't turn the camera sound off.
I can't disable the orientation rotation feature when I don't want it on.
I can't stop the sms popups.

Basically a lot of the things that I considered to be for the most part standard for any smartphone I can only do on my iPhone by jailbreaking it.
I don't mean for this to be a whiny rant, I'm really just trying to get some suggestions as to how I can do the above things without jailbreaking my new phone, if at all possible.

Thanks for any advice and sorry to anyone I may have pissed off.

You certainly didn't research before jumping into the iPhone world, did you?

Yes, most of the things you want to do requires jailbreaking, except you can lock orientation in portrait mode.

 

[SpaceKitty]

You can turn the camera sound off by flipping the little switch on the left of the phone above the volume keys to the off position which is down.

Jailbreak for everything else.

 

[Nevpaurion]

You certainly didn't research before jumping into the iPhone world, did you?

Yes, most of the things you want to do requires jailbreaking, except you can lock orientation in portrait mode.

I guess I didn't do my research, but it's nice to see that I was wrong about at least two things...

Bah.

Thanks for the tip though I'll definitely use it.

 

[Nevpaurion]

You can turn the camera sound off by flipping the little switch on the left of the phone above the volume keys to the off position which is down.

Jailbreak for everything else.

Thanks that did the trick! FYI loving the photos this phone can take

 

[jayo123456]

so you bought an iPhone expecting it to be an Android?



should have just bought an android, that would've given everything you are asking for.

 

[MasterTick]

You don't need a task killer, but if you want to kill apps just double tap the home button then hold your finger over the app you want to kill (make it jiggle) then tap the red minus sign.

iOS is missing some thing Android has, but to me the tradeoffs are worth it.

- Best touchscreen on any smartphone, it's not even debatable
- No lag when scrolling
- Elegant and responsive UI
- etc

And for the record I own a Nexus One also.

 

[Nevpaurion]

so you bought an iPhone expecting it to be an Android?



should have just bought an android, that would've given everything you are asking for.

No I bought a smartphone expecting it to at least do some things that phones have been able to do since the razr.....


I wasn't expecting the android experience or anything in fact I thought I wanted to escape it. I guess I just want the control and customization of android with the stability and sleek look of iOS4.... in a perfect world right?

 

[Nevpaurion]

You don't need a task killer, but if you want to kill apps just double tap the home button then hold your finger over the app you want to kill (make it jiggle) then tap the red minus sign.

iOS is missing some thing Android has, but to me the tradeoffs are worth it.

- Best touchscreen on any smartphone, it's not even debatable
- No lag when scrolling
- Elegant and responsive UI
- etc

And for the record I own a Nexus One also.

Oh yeah I totally agree for the most part. As for the task killing I know how to do that manually but I wonder if there is a way to just not allow certain apps that I exit to run in the back ground? Like I need facebook to be running in the background when I exit it but not so much calculator, app store, contacts, safari etc.

But yes over all I am happier with the iPhone, it just bothers me to see some very standard things missing.

 

[MasterTick]

Oh yeah I totally agree for the most part. As for the task killing I know how to do that manually but I wonder if there is a way to just not allow certain apps that I exit to run in the back ground? Like I need facebook to be running in the background when I exit it but not so much calculator, app store, contacts, safari etc.

But yes over all I am happier with the iPhone, it just bothers me to see some very standard things missing.

I agree, it makes no sense why you can't put custom sounds on your phone.

For ringtones I use Audiko.net and it works great.

 

[Applejuiced]

No I bought a smartphone expecting it to at least do some things that phones have been able to do since the razr.....


I wasn't expecting the android experience or anything in fact I thought I wanted to escape it. I guess I just want the control and customization of android with the stability and sleek look of iOS4.... in a perfect world right?

I dont think you could disable the orientation rotation (cause it didnt have one) or stop the sms notifications with the Rarz.

 

[Nevpaurion]

I dont think you could disable the orientation rotation (cause it didnt have one) or stop the sms notifications with the Rarz.

I was referring to custom sms sounds....

 

[SpaceKitty]

Oh yeah I totally agree for the most part. As for the task killing I know how to do that manually but I wonder if there is a way to just not allow certain apps that I exit to run in the back ground? Like I need facebook to be running in the background when I exit it but not so much calculator, app store, contacts, safari etc.

But yes over all I am happier with the iPhone, it just bothers me to see some very standard things missing.

Multitasking on the iPhone needs allot of improvement and there are some apps that can kill the battery within a few hours if left running. Tom Tom and Farmville (yes I use this) are a few apps that I own that have killed my battery quicker than I've ever seen when I forgot to close them completely. Farmville doesn't kill my battery often but it will occasionally and I know it is this app because it will be the only thing I've used.

There may be other battery killing apps that I don't know about simply because I don't use them often enough.

 

[Nevpaurion]

I agree, it makes no sense why you can't put custom sounds on your phone.

For ringtones I use Audiko.net and it works great.

Thanks! I'll check that site out.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

iPhone still trumps Android. Customization makes things worse when even without them, the whole OS runs like crap. My friend's EVO 4G lags with zero customization.

 

[Nevpaurion]

Multitasking on the iPhone needs allot of improvement and there are some apps that can kill the battery within a few hours if left running. Tom Tom and Farmville (yes I use this) are a few apps that I own that have killed my battery quicker than I've ever seen when I forgot to close them completely. Farmville doesn't kill my battery often but it will occasionally and I know it is this app because it will be the only thing I've used.

There may be other battery killing apps that I don't know about simply because I don't use them often enough.

Ha there's no shame in having a little fun with your phone! For a bit I noticed my battery dying quickly as well and then I learned about killing apps with multitask and waddaya know....every app on my phone was still on! Learned that lesson quick.

 

[Nevpaurion]

iPhone still trumps Android. Customization makes things worse when even without them, the whole OS runs like crap. My friend's EVO 4G lags with zero customization.

Huh. My brother's has a Samsung Vibrant and aside from the very rare app crash he's gotten that thing doing exactly what he wants and running pretty smoothly. No lag unless he's texting while watching a movie while googling something, you see where I'm going with this.

However it took quite a few apps that manage and control things and some he made himself for it to be what he wanted it to be and work that well.

Only thing is that the UI that's on top of the OS is pretty taxing on the cpu, apparently android so far has needed to have some sort of ui or skin on top of it to make it look pretty but run crappier than if it were not there.

It's just a big game of give and take when it comes down to it I guess. I'm just hoping that as the iOS 4 updates go on there will be more of the things I'm looking for made available.

 

[Applejuiced]

I was referring to custom sms sounds....

I know, that is an annoyance.
Maybe Apple will bless us with an update that lets us select custom tones for sms, emails etc...

 

[doboy]

Multitasking on the iPhone needs allot of improvement and there are some apps that can kill the battery within a few hours if left running. Tom Tom and Farmville (yes I use this) are a few apps that I own that have killed my battery quicker than I've ever seen when I forgot to close them completely. Farmville doesn't kill my battery often but it will occasionally and I know it is this app because it will be the only thing I've used.

There may be other battery killing apps that I don't know about simply because I don't use them often enough.

I think it's not up to Apple to implement better multitasking, but for developers to implement it correctly. If you don't want navigation to background, then you should ask developers to have a setting to turn it off. You can't possibly expect excellent battery life when you're constantly using the GPS. I use Navigon which automatically turns off GPS when I reach my destination and Trapster app has a separate option not to background GPS. For android phones, it's recommended to turn off GPS in settings to conserve battery life.

 

[doboy]

I know, that is an annoyance.
Maybe Apple will bless us with an update that lets us select custom tones for sms, emails etc...

I thought 4.2 allows selecting different tones, but only from built-in tones.

 

[SpaceKitty]

I think it's not up to Apple to implement better multitasking, but for developers to implement it correctly. If you don't want navigation to background, then you should ask developers to have a setting to turn it off. You can't possibly expect excellent battery life when you're constantly using the GPS. I use Navigon which automatically turns off GPS when I reach my destination and Trapster app has a separate option not to background GPS. For android phones, it's recommended to turn off GPS in settings to conserve battery life.

I should have typed my post a bit differently above. Yes multitasking still needs improvement obviously on the iPhone.

I should have stated that the Tom Tom app will drain the battery and will keep running in the background unless you end it in the multitasking bar. It runs as it is supposed to do after all, it is a GPS app designed to run while you do other things on the phone.

 

[applebook]

- Best touchscreen on any smartphone, it's not even debatable

This is now debatable because the Galaxy S has an amazingly responsive touch panel that supports 5-finger response and true multi-touch. I believe that Samsung and Apple might be using the same suppliers, not the crappy Synaptics junk found in most smartphones (like the Nexus One). I still find it easier to type on the iP4 than on the Galaxy S, despite the larger screen of the latter, so software implementation is crucial too, and in this respect, my opinion is that iOS4 is simply more responsive to touch input than Eclair --not sure about FroYo since it's not available on the Galaxy S yet.

Ultimately, the Galaxy S is a disappointment because of the cheap build quality and worst of all, the pentile matrix subpixels used in the SAMOLED display. If the SAMOLED panel had been standard RGB, then the Galaxy S would have been an absolute killer.

I went through 4 different carrier versions of the Galaxy S and couldn't live with any of them because the displays are all the same. I dare anyone with good vision to try reading small text on that pentile matrix garbage.

 

[doboy]

This is now debatable because the Galaxy S has an amazingly responsive touch panel that supports 5-finger response and true multi-touch. I believe that Samsung and Apple might be using the same suppliers, not the crappy Synaptics junk found in most smartphones (like the Nexus One). I still find it easier to type on the iP4 than on the Galaxy S, despite the larger screen of the latter, so software implementation is crucial too, and in this respect, my opinion is that iOS4 is simply more responsive to touch input than Eclair --not sure about FroYo since it's not available on the Galaxy S yet.

Ultimately, the Galaxy S is a disappointment because of the cheap build quality and worst of all, the pentile matrix subpixels used in the SAMOLED display. If the SAMOLED panel had been standard RGB, then the Galaxy S would have been an absolute killer.

I went through 4 different carrier versions of the Galaxy S and couldn't live with any of them because the displays are all the same. I dare anyone with good vision to try reading small text on that pentile matrix garbage.

When I had the Vibrant for two weeks I ended up using a different font because I couldn't stand the default font.

 

[Nevpaurion]

When I had the Vibrant for two weeks I ended up using a different font because I couldn't stand the default font.

That being said wasn't it nice to have had the option?

 

[applebook]

That being said wasn't it nice to have had the option?

Doesn't matter because the terrible pentile matrix display will kill your enjoyment of it. The home screen does look terrific on the Galaxy S, and I suspect that most consumers are wowed by it. Then they take it home and actually try to read on it

In all fairness, the Galaxy S' pentile matrix display is still far superior to the Nexus One and the HTC Desire (the pre-SLCD version), but even fairly large text has noticeably jagged edges and "colorful" artifacts around them. On purely white pages, if I look closely enough, I can actually discern the rainbow effect.