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I hate the way Apple chooses to lock down their devices with iTunes and the App Store, but I'm equally as frustrated with every damn Android device running proprietary crapware on top of Android. There, I said it.
I mean, the selling point is, or should be, Android. Not Samsung or HTC's poor attempts to create superfluous software that does what Android (2.2 anyway) already does, only worse and laggier. I just started up a new contract on Vodafone (Germany) and got a Galaxy S for 149 Euro. I jailbroke and carrier unlocked my old iPhone 3G (from T-Mobile) and popped in my new Vodafone SIM and I'm probably going to put the Galaxy S on eBay to reap the profit off it while it's still high priced. (our contract phones are not carrier locked)
I mean, yea the iPhone 3G is laggy with iOS4, but with jailbreak it's still overall less frustrating than the Galaxy S has been for me. Google needs to *****slap the manufacturers into installing vanilla Android and vanilla Android ONLY. Let them install their proprietary apps like Samsung App Market (and third party apps like some carriers do). That can all be deleted once they are rooted anyway. It's this annoying ROM juggling that is ruining the Android experience for a lot of people who want to get away from Apple, RIM, Microsoft, etc. The only real option for a vanilla experience for most users right now is the Nexus One, which is no longer produced and to which there will be no successor. Why can't we just be given vanilla, and THEN decide whether we want Swype or Sense, or whatever else?
I'm not trying to slag the Android community, because they are great. And I'm far, far from an Apple "fanboy", it's just the manufacturers that are creating too much differentiation within Android. I mean of course Android will experience differentiation with multiple hardware manufactuers. It's part of being an open platform. The problem is it's exacerbated exponentially by the mountains of crapware shoveled onto each different phone.
That it appears Samsung decided to use an internal SD to run the OS and apps is frustrating as well. All that fantastic hardware paired with a slow internal SD with crap I/O performance is kind of....?! Shouldn't have to buy a class 6-10 microSD and partition it with ext4 just to get the phone running the way it should. Especially with the rest of the hardware being wonderful.
I mean.....maybe this is heresy here, but jailbreaking an iPhone4 and using Cydia, et al, seems to be less of a hassle than rooting and ROMing something like the Galaxy S. At least with the iPhone you don't need to remove third party crapware (although the case can be made for Apple's YouTube app being worthless non-removable third party crapware).
The reason I, co-workers and friends of mine find Android so appealing is the ability to install whatever we want, whenever we want. The ability to circumvent an "App Market" and install a Torrent manager to control torrents at home on the go, or to install third party browsers that may offer better performance/options, or other third party applications that technically "compete" with the native Android apps written by Google.
That's what we find so appealing. What we hate, and what keeps us holding out a little on Android (those of us without Nexus Ones) are the aforementioned problems. If the phones simply came with Vanilla Android or if there were a simple option for reverting the phones to Vanilla Android that didn't involve rooting and hunting around for custom ROMs (which often have their own superfluous crap installed) it would draw people towards the Android platform at an even quicker rate. At least with iOS4 we know what we're getting. With Android devices it's a grab bag of poorly written, superfluous crapware, where the only hope is that you can find a device with the least amount.
What is wrong with simply handing us Android devices with vanilla Android? Is every manufacturer afraid that without them guiding us through the experience with their own interpretation that the commonfolk will get lost in the vast sea of open source Android? I mean it's like the blind leading those with 20/20 vision at this point.
Or is it just greed reaching through trying to somehow claim that loading their devices up with crapware increases their profit margins and compensates for the people they wind up driving or keeping away from Android?
I'm just rambling at this point and need coffee. And a vanilla Android device.
I completely agree. I haven't tried the alternate UIs like HTC Sense, but I feel like if it does anything better than vanilla Android, then whatever it does that's better should just be added to vanilla Android.
1st off I too find Android to iPhoney to use. So after testing android for a couple weeks I'm back to WM. I just don't like hitting 6 buttons to do anything. That being said its not fair to compare a brand new phone that been on the market a couple weeks to a phone that launched in 2007. Thats really not fair to android or Samsung.
Standard Android is extremely unattractive to look at. Therefore manufacturers try to enhance it.
addicus said:
Standard Android is extremely unattractive to look at. Therefore manufacturers try to enhance it.
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I actually prefer the minimalistic look and feel of the standard Android, but that is probably just me.
I can see why you like the minimalist look but the eye candy is for attracting people. If you have never used a smartphone or come from the notmephone you want to be able to navigate through to the essentials the first time you pick it up. HTC Sense allows that, SPB Mobile Shell allows that but standard Android doesn't. Veteran users or Windows Mobile users like myself are fine with it.
I know this post is coming out a little prematurely, but I couldn't help but notice that the Samsung Focus and the Samsung Captivate are identical phones... not only are they identical but they are running on the same network (modem drivers and such would be the same) ... does anyone know if this port would be possible?
They are not identical phones. Samsung's WP7 devices (the Focus and Omnia7) use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 1GHz processor. The Galaxy S series uses Samsungs 1GHz Hummingbird processor. I'm guessing we would need WP7 drivers before we could port anything. But even with that, I bet there are other hardware differences.
Why is everyone so hyped about WP7? Doesnt anyone remember how lame windows mobile was? Everytime I see someone post about WP7 its like its going to revolutionize smartphones. Theres not much they can do that already isnt being done. WP7....so lame. And it looks like ATT is trying to jump on that ship first and offer a big selection of handsets at launch....go figure. At least they got something right and got one of the best android phones available for now. Its not great out of the box but with all the roms and mods on XDA its starting to show some real potential.
Smallsmx3 said:
Why is everyone so hyped about WP7?.
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Have to disagree here. Windows Phone 7 is a completely different beast than WM 6 or 6.5. You can't compare the two. Different UIs, different use cases, different applications and core technologies. Everyone's hyped because it seems Microsoft might have finally done something right when it comes to mobile devices. Every tech journalist I've heard talk about their preview WP7 devices has been very happy. And as someone who picked an Android phone because I wanted a choice in how I use it, the possibility of WP7 running on it just adds one more choice.
Why on earth would you ever want a car that's not colored black?
Sending a rocket ship to the moon is preposterous!
Nobody will ever need or want more than 1 MB of RAM on their computer.
I love it when people shoot down ideas without thinking it through to all possible conclusions beyond their own.
I wouldn't mind seeing WP7 getting ported some day. Choices are good.
multi-boot Android, WP7, and IOS4.... Sound kind of cool to me.
hashish16 said:
multi-boot Android, WP7, and IOS4.... Sound kind of cool to me.
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Just add a good DOS emulator (I know DOSBox was being ported some day) in that list and I'll be totally excited.
Windows (and the Windows/Microsoft mentality, design-philosophy and school-of-thought) belong on cell phones even less than it belongs on desktop PCs.
For the love of all that is sane and proper, let cell phones be the clean slate which allow us to break free from Microsoft inertia and influence. Let the handful of remaining Microsoft fanboys fondle their WP7 phones and Zunes while the rest of us move forward.
And linux, unix, posix apps belongs on them even less. Oh, wait...
Stop trying to start Fanboy discussions and OS flame wars. Do you run your phone completely in Terminal? Do you expect a WP7 device to have a start button on the screen? Get viruses? Blue Screen?
Each platform has merits and competition is a good thing in almost every case. Choice on a device designed for one platform being able to run another offers bragging rights for the developers and gives more power back to the community.
I'm for the phone that gives me what I want it to do and the freedom to do it.
IOS = locked into the iWorld of iTunes, extreme DRM, and I can only use the device.
Android = the freedom I wanted at a price. Custom flashing ROMS to even get my device to work as intended. But I can do whatever I want with it and don't have to worry about DRM.
WP7 = locked into the M$ world. Again I think it will be highly restrictive on what you can do. I'm sure there will be people (here on XDA) that will hack it.. but it will still be Windows for your phone - and therefore limited.
I'll stick with my single boot Android device - Although it would have that "nerdy cool factor" to have multiple OS's to boot my phone into... I'd rather have one working OS than 2 or 3 that were buggy as hell.
This has been gone over to death, Will it happen?.....Maybe. Will it be soon I dought it. I left WM for Android due to seeing the road M$ was going down with WP7. I have yet to lay Judgment on WP7 till I can get some hands on time with it but to tell the truth I dont see it being an option for me personally as I hot swap SD cards all time due to diff projects, Class, Work, Music...ect. The inability to do so with WP7 is just a deal breaker for me, not to mention no ETA on copy and past. I see WP7 as an early version of IOS, locked in to many ways while they try to get base functions to work right.
Nobody will ever need or want more than 1 MB of RAM on their computer.
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LOL...once upon a time I had a computer with a 2 gig HDD...I told a friend of mine "There's no way I'll EVER fill this up!!"
sremick said:
Windows (and the Windows/Microsoft mentality, design-philosophy and school-of-thought) belong on cell phones even less than it belongs on desktop PCs.
For the love of all that is sane and proper, let cell phones be the clean slate which allow us to break free from Microsoft inertia and influence. Let the handful of remaining Microsoft fanboys fondle their WP7 phones and Zunes while the rest of us move forward.
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Microsoft being the maker of WP7 has almost nothing to do with Microsoft Windows. How much of Mac OS do you see in the iPhone? Just because someone doesn't like Mac does not mean they will hate the iPhone.
I was thinking this too...
Hardware agnostic smartphones... I wrote about it over at my blog TheProfessorNotes
Excerpt: Since the start of the smartphone experience, the hardware and the operating system have been so tightly integrated that one is hard to distinguish from the other. This started as far back as the Springboard Sprint phone hardware attachment for the Handspring Visor, and continues today with the Windows 7 phones, the iPhone and in reality the Android phone. But what if the phones (hardware) and the soul of the phones, the mobile OS’s, could be separated?
emuneee said:
They are not identical phones. Samsung's WP7 devices (the Focus and Omnia7) use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 1GHz processor. The Galaxy S series uses Samsungs 1GHz Hummingbird processor. I'm guessing we would need WP7 drivers before we could port anything. But even with that, I bet there are other hardware differences.
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Did they prove that the Focus has a snapdragon? I knew the Omina7 did, but the last spec sheet i saw said the Focus was unknown. It would still be a pretty darn close match with the graphics being the only potential problem....
Everyone keeps bashing on Microsoft but I see no problem with them? I'm currently on Windows 7 and I can customize the daylights out of it. So, is there really a problem?
Besides, Windows 7 is going to be a serious gaming platform, as this is Microsoft's entry into the mobile gaming world. So...the most powerful phone out...with a gaming OS...sounds like a major win to me!
I'm just a little shocked to hear some people that use Android, meant to enable freedom to the user, say that our Android phones shouldn't be allowed to run other software that's not Android.
That simply baffles the mind.
"I don't like Microsoft, therefore nobody else should be able to run Microsoft products on their Android phones even though it will in no way affect the usage of my own phone."
*sigh*
sschrupp said:
I'm just a little shocked to hear some people that use Android, meant to enable freedom to the user, say that our Android phones shouldn't be allowed to run other software that's not Android.
That simply baffles the mind.
"I don't like Microsoft, therefore nobody else should be able to run Microsoft products on their Android phones even though it will in no way affect the usage of my own phone."
*sigh*
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I'll drink to that
The hardest part would be getting the hummingbird processor to work with the windows 7 platform. I wouldn't mind a dual boot phone though. Android/wm7/ios.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
WP7 OS requires a hardware PVK chip on-board in-order to function at all. That will be the hardest part. Even the ppl hacking HTC HD2 can only get it to operate in DEMO only mode because of the lacking of that chip.
Ok, basically my wife is looking into a new phone and our options are more or less limitless, she just wants advantages and disadvantages of each OS. She's not picky and doesn't always need the most popular OS, she wants form, factor, and function. I am looking for a phone that will take a sim so trying to avoid Verizon and Sprint phones. Heres my opinions on the ones I can think up.
iOS-I wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole personally but regardless of my personal feelings if it's jailbroken it's not actually a terrible OS just a bit bland. The hardware limitations and the fact that they're still building the same updates for the 2g that they are for the 4g causes some immense limitations and I cant think of an update that made a real difference.
Android- Good but often laggy even with a snapdragon. The UI customization is nice but they're killing themselves not allowing a GPU accelerated UI. I have a Dell Streak for my "fun phone" and though I love it it does seem more appealing to have a phone that "just works" for her. I dont think android will be quite as long-lived though its doing well so far. How can one expect a UI to have devoted developers when you can get anything you want free.
Windows phone 7- Perfect business device, still in what seems almost an open beta phase and lacking a lot of basic features. More promise than any other OS but for the time being it's not living up to the hype.
BadaOS-Support? What support? plays out like a bad WebOS ripoff
Blackberry-Just the most boring thing in the world. Aside from battery life I cannot seem to realize how this OS sells well outside of the old people who dont really know how to use a phone but want something high end...
WebOS- It had it's day in the spotlight and that didn't last too long... I mean its functional but feels almost dirty compared to the more modern OSes
WM6.5- Great OS for someone who wants to devote hours and hours and hours to customizing it to be the most functional OS. Sadly the only device worth having thats wm6.5 anymore is the LEO/HD2.
These are all opinions of mine, she just wants to know the opinion of others. Thanks for your input.
What is her level of technical expertise?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Moderate, a gaming device would be great but something with a pleasant UI is more appealing
If you don't mind about the limited hardware choice then iOS is very good, especially for newcomers. It'll probably make your life easier (less questions to answer).
Android is a different matter. The experience depends highly on what manufacturer you go for, but if you choose well then you get one of the best (functionality-wise) smartphone OSes out there together with a wide choice of hardware.
Personally I'd suggest the Nexus S (if you can cope with 16GB storage), or failing that the Galaxy S. Both are lovely devices, but the Nexus edges it with it's lovely display, GPU accelerated transitions (Android finally somewhat smooth) and Gingerbread.
Windows Phone 7? If you're a big business and/or Office user, then it's probably the easiest OS to get working with. It has good video/gaming capabilities and a GPU accelerated UI but currently suffers from limited storage space on most devices.
Choose if you love the UI or are a OneNote addict, otherwise I'd stick to the safer bet of Android/iOS for the time-being and wait for things to play out. You probably wouldn't buy a device running iOS 1 or Android 1.5 today, so I'd wait for Windows 7 to catch-up. It is good. It will be great, just in a little while.
That said you should have no problem editing/viewing Office docs or accessing Exchange email on either Android or iOS.
BlackBerry OS - used to be the pinnacle of a smartphone OS, but a lack of innovation and poor hardware has choked the platform, and RIM have said that in the future top-end BlackBerry devices will run the QNX OS they are running on the PlayBook.
WebOS - very good, but still failed to catch up fully with iOS/Android even with the recent update. That said, I think someone has to try a WebOS first - some people love it, some hate it. Limited range of apps.
WinMo 6.5 - Do not buy anymore, unless your business requires it.
Bada OS - Just no. No developers. No apps. No fantastic devices.
joeearl13 said:
If you don't mind about the limited hardware choice then iOS is very good, especially for newcomers. It'll probably make your life easier (less questions to answer).
Android is a different matter. The experience depends highly on what manufacturer you go for, but if you choose well then you get one of the best (functionality-wise) smartphone OSes out there together with a wide choice of hardware.
Personally I'd suggest the Nexus S (if you can cope with 16GB storage), or failing that the Galaxy S. Both are lovely devices, but the Nexus edges it with it's lovely display, GPU accelerated transitions (Android finally somewhat smooth) and Gingerbread.
Windows Phone 7? If you're a big business and/or Office user, then it's probably the easiest OS to get working with. It has good video/gaming capabilities and a GPU accelerated UI but currently suffers from limited storage space on most devices.
Choose if you love the UI or are a OneNote addict, otherwise I'd stick to the safer bet of Android/iOS for the time-being and wait for things to play out. You probably wouldn't buy a device running iOS 1 or Android 1.5 today, so I'd wait for Windows 7 to catch-up. It is good. It will be great, just in a little while.
That said you should have no problem editing/viewing Office docs or accessing Exchange email on either Android or iOS.
BlackBerry OS - used to be the pinnacle of a smartphone OS, but a lack of innovation and poor hardware has choked the platform, and RIM have said that in the future top-end BlackBerry devices will run the QNX OS they are running on the PlayBook.
WebOS - very good, but still failed to catch up fully with iOS/Android even with the recent update. That said, I think someone has to try a WebOS first - some people love it, some hate it. Limited range of apps.
WinMo 6.5 - Do not buy anymore, unless your business requires it.
Bada OS - Just no. No developers. No apps. No fantastic devices.
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I thank you for your reply my wife still wants WP7 but I keep trying to tell her that even though I use it it could take time to work the kinks out. She is considering android but samsung devices are hard to go with especially the galaxy S devices due to the buffer overrun issues. I think we've more or less narrowed it down to those two its just hard to pick which though she is in love with the netflix integration. I think its between the mytouch 4g and the samsung focus
The MT4G is a fantastic device. I'm sure she'd have more fun with it than WP7 and its limited options.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Now when you say limited options what do you mean? I only ask because I recently converted to windows phone 7 after tinkering with android for 2 years and never once having something that felt 'complete.' Also is there any site that I can make one of those phone histories on or do I have to use paint?
WM: The most tested OS good and stable for business, thousands of apps, tweaks, themes, etc a lot of knowledge.
Android: Nice to play with as all is new and free but I got easily bored
WP7: So new, needs more time to get mature. Too closed similar to apple
The hardware limitations and the fact that they're still building the same updates for the 2g that they are for the 4g causes some immense limitations and I cant think of an update that made a real difference.
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No they aren't. The 2g is stuck on Ios 3.2, while the Iphone 4 is on 4.2. Plus the hardware in the Iphone 4 is just about as fast as Snapdragon, and cortex. Hell, the A4 is a Cortex A8.
Android- I like Android a lot, but some of the manufactures don't take it as seriously as I like, and some manufactures are terrible with updates.(Samsung) And the UI isn't hardware accelerated AFAIK. But very easy to customize, I like that. Manufactures can make Android great, or bad.(Motorola, I'm talking to you with your Motoblur crap)
Ios- I like Ios too, but there are a few issues with it. AT&T is the big one, and the second issue because of that is limited data. I can't say that it's a bad thing that to make it useful to my standards, you have to jailbreak it because every Android phone I've had I've rooted for it to work great. I wish Apple would come out with an Iphone with a screen bigger than 3.7inch. And I wish Steve would not have so much hatred towards Adobe, because that means no real flash for Iphone while it's fully capable of it. Frash is okay for the Iphone, but real flash would be better.
BB Os- I'll tell you the same thing I tell people I sell these to. Blackberry is a business phone, so don't expect the fun and colorful UI you see in other OSes. It is very simple to use though, but RIM is stuck on hardware that was released almost 2 years ago. The Pre is originally clocked at 600 mhz like the Droid, the chip inside the Torch which is the newest Blackberry is only at 624 mhz, like the Storm, the Storm 2, the Bold, etc etc. Also, Blackberry does not like to update their phones to the current OS, despite most of the phones having the same specs. It is what it is.
Windows Mobile 6.5- Not bad, but not great. A nice business OS though.
Windows Phone 7- I like it a lot, but no flash support right now is a killer. I don't mind it not having things like bluetooth transfer since I really don't use it, but I would like copy and paste. Also they need to hurry up and expand to different carriers! D:
Symbian- Personally I never used it, but people say it is very versatile.
Webos- I like Webos a lot, I really do. But there simply isn't enough support behind it from developers, which means a huge lack of apps compared to Android and Ios. The big thing that kills me about it, is the fact that the Pre only has a 3inch screen, even the Pre 2 has a 3inch screen despite having specs that can be compared to the Droid 2!
Bada- Samsung, so I can't expect too much from it. I haven't tried it though, and I really don't want to.
What kind of user is your wife? If she wants a phone that does games, txt, email etc... then you have to take into consideration what is the best at these?
IOS even with it's limitations is probably the most "polished" out there. Has a huge base of followers, tons of apps, and it does work out of the box. Sure it's bland in its interface and your locked in with AT&T and the iWorld of Apple. Not to mention that you can't do anything with the hardware itself.
Android: Catching up to Apple - but still not the "iPhone killer" - yet. I personally love Android - and with enough tweaking I don't experience lag on my Captivate. But.. I would highly suggest NOT getting a Galaxy S phone. Too many issues with the devices to merit getting. I would go with an HTC.
Win Mobile 7: Although this looks promising.. if I wanted a boring interface and all the junk that goes with the OS? I'd have an iPhone. And not to mention it's still in its infancy - so who knows if it will go the way of the Do Do bird?
Should also mention about Android, if she gets an Android phone but doesn't root it, then she'll have to deal with all the bloatware the carriers put on the phone.
Can someone really tell me what WP7 and iphone comparisons there really are aside from their more strict markets. I mean yeah you cant sideload apps as easy as android but what motivation do devs have to continue developing if their apps are distributed for free.
For the simple love of sharing!!!
As it have been done for many years in WM
z33dev33l said:
Can someone really tell me what WP7 and iphone comparisons there really are aside from their more strict markets. I mean yeah you cant sideload apps as easy as android but what motivation do devs have to continue developing if their apps are distributed for free.
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I was curious to hear from former Android users how you like WP7. Mainly what are your main gripes and what functions did you actually use that are no longer available. Also, are the tradeoffs worth it in the end and what features really *make* swapping worth it. I have loved android for a long time but I'm kind of wanting something new and have liked the wp7 interface from day one. Thanks!
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
Here goes:
Mainly what are your main gripes
No apps, and if there are apps they are over priced and crap alternatives to Android versions.
Homebrew is going to cost money.
I know its a phone and should mainly just be a phone, but there is nothing to do on it, I never leave my Android phone alone always playing with something but this I treat it like a nokia 3310 lol.
What functions did you actually use that are no longer available
I don't know what it is but there are some things missing but Mango is looking good but still not as good as Android and Ice Cream Sandwich will be coming out around the same time.
Are the tradeoffs worth it in the end and what features really *make* swapping worth it.
Only thing that is making me want to swap over is the Xbox Live thing other than that Android is far superior.
I have loved android for a long time but I'm kind of wanting something new and have liked the wp7 interface from day one.
I love Android also and also wanted to try something new but Windows Phone 7 isn't something new. Stick with Android and Launcher7 lol ^^
I think I'm fine with paying for my phone to be unlocked personally, one time fee for the latest beta builds forever? Honestly I don't know why HTC Samsung and Motorola aren't looking into this for android devices so they can make some extra $ and make us impatient (or reasonable people that don't like waiting for their craptastic skins) people happy.
I don't care much for Xbox live like I use to but I definitely like Zune pass (really its probably the top single feature that has me wanting wp7 as I use my phone for music a lot).
I love android but honestly, I'm tired of trying to throw on custom ROMs (its fun but tiring) on every phone I get trying to keep up with the updates. I think the only thing that is holding me to android at this point is the ability to wifi tether my phone to my tablet and the fact that mango phones are on their way (fall is only 2-3 months away so announcements should be made soon?)
So guys, is there some feature that I am missing that you really either miss from android or you really like that wp7 had when you made the swap?
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i switched from my old Desire Z and X8 (both of em are still in use sometimes) to a 7 Pro.
so in my own personal opinion, a small "comparision":
1. UI & Customization
I like the UI of WP7 alot more, you can use Launcher7 on Android but it doesn't feel as good. Its smoother and a lot faster, mostly due to inability of "customization" but i really don't miss it. The tile system works surprisingly well, and yeah i don't have a lot to complain about.
No wallpapers, no app launchers etc. It's a locked phone pretty much. If you don't mind, well just don't care
If you want customization stay with Android, else both of em are good in their own ways -> personal preference.
2. Apps
For most people an important point. If you compare Android market to WP7 market, WP7 looses.. big time!
You are charged for almost every app (and a good bunch of em are overpriced!). While free apps, and sometimes test versions of the paid apps are good enough, its still nothing in comparision to Android.
If you want specific apps, check prices first! (i'd recommend it before buying the phone )
There are some social features integrated into WP7 but at the moment (Pre-Mango for me still), they aren't complete. The replacements for those features are at best mediocore, sometimes they shut off randomly etc. There might be some better apps for those, but since i don't use em very much, i havent searched for them.
Otherwise the quality of the apps and games i downloaded is really good, though some of em are missing. As i said, check before you buy the phone, if you didnt already.
3. Features:
Well again the points goes to Android. Bluetooth File Transfer, Tethering and stuff like that, you won't find it on any current WP7 phone (unless you are a Mango user, but i don't know if they implement some of those features). If you need it, well i wouldn't recommend buying a WP7 as of now.
Other than that, i don't really miss any important ones.
4. Final Thoughts:
Since i don't have the WP7 for too long forgive me if i missed or overexaggerated on somethings.
In the end i think, WP7 is a real good OS. While locked down very hard, it just works (just like the hated Apple). While it does feel kind of inferioer to Android (due to the lack of some importants features mostly), it really isn't. There are workarounds for everything, though they are complicated sometimes
With Mango.. well no, even now in MY opinion (which means only for my needs etc), i equal WP7 to Android. While i still use my Androids sometimes (mainly for tethering etc), i often see myself not missing those phones.
I'd recommend WP7 everytime, as well as Android. Just get some information on both, maybe if your friends have said phones, compare them ( or go to the store and do the same).
In the end it comes down to one's need and preference
If you want, you could wait for Mango devices. Though i guess they won't up the hardware too much, maybe add some features like Front Facing Camera and stuff like that, but that's it.
I hope i could help some
BartJJ said:
I was curious to hear from former Android users how you like WP7. Mainly what are your main gripes and what functions did you actually use that are no longer available. Also, are the tradeoffs worth it in the end and what features really *make* swapping worth it. I have loved android for a long time but I'm kind of wanting something new and have liked the wp7 interface from day one. Thanks!
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
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This entire WP7 OS is simply beautiful and fluid. Rather than 95% of all other android devices, all WP7s are completely lag free while still having a very attractive and intuitive interface. I have 28k apps at my disposal and that means one for everything I would want. The WP7 community here is amazing and hacking / development itself isn't fragmented. I've owned 3 android devices and 2 iOS devices in the past and I'm honestly never looking back.
Android too me seems very slow and inconsistent. Running a Samsung Galaxy I often find when the thing lags, it lags to the extreme. The whole app-store mechanism I find a mess, especially because to much power is given to the app developers. More often then not, they abuse these powers which destroys your battery life.
I like the way WP7 is headed, and I like what Microsoft is doing to keep it a reliable platform. What I don't like however, is the update-procedure as it's very poorly performed. I'm not blaming any company in particular, but I do think updates needs to rolled out faster. Why do ISPs have to test every minor update?
Other then that, the WP7 UI is far superior, and app support is coming along well now. We just need a major bump and hopefully Nokia will spark this? I'm looking forward to purchasing a 2nd gen phone, namely a Nokia.
I went from iphone 3gs to blackberry torch to palm pre 2 to samsung focus to atrix 4g to iphone 4 and back to samsung focus and i love it.
The largest difference to me is that WP7 lacks customization. With android you will hardly ever find 2 phones that have the same ui and settings. All windows phones home screens look the same. I am ok w/ lack of apps. Honestly there is pretty much something for everything already. What would make me happy and never go back to android is being able to personalize the home screen. Maybe some transparent tiles and a wallpaper background for homescreen. that would be awesome.
I'll try to keep this succinct. I had an Evo 4G for the last year, then switched to an HTC Arrive a couple days ago.
Like:
-Most of the apps I used on Android are available on WP7
-As a Zune Pass subscriber, having that ecosystem on my phone is awesome
-It feels like for tasks I do often, I can do all of those tasks in a lot less time than it took on Android
-I primarily develop in .NET, so the dev tools are way friendlier to me than Android's.
Dislike:
-WP7 doesn't have anything that comes close to the awesomeness of Google Navigation
-I'm pretty heavily into the Google Voice ecosystem. Losing the tight integration there is annoying.
-As a Zune Pass subscriber, the lack of expandable storage is agonizing. I can never completely get rid of my Zune HD because it's still the device I have to go to if I want access to all of my music/podcasts.
-The Amazon Android App Market's free app of the day has spoiled me so badly on the pricing race-to-the-bottom front that I am finding it very hard to convince myself to buy any of the games on WP7.
Overall, I am having a good time so far. There is some functionality I am missing, but nothing that I'd consider a showstopper. I still have my Evo 4G, so I might end up switching between the two devices every couple months or so.
I just switched from a samsung mesmerize to a HTC TP7.
My first impression was WOW. I instantly liked the tp7. it's more responsive, it's faster, i can do stuff faster, and everything loads faster. Typing on the screen is more accurate and fixes my screw ups better.
As for apps, the android market has tons more, but in my experience 99.99999% of them are completely and totally useless and the ones that aren't useless i found to be lacking. There were a few that were good, but not many. So far the ones i've tried on WP7 actually seem to be of decent quality and i can find an app for everything i need so far. Some are still obviously in the early stages and need some more features but the app feels higher quality. Of course the windows marketplace has it's share of fart, burp and police light apps. (who downloads these stupid things?)
My ONLY complaint so far is the fact i can't do custom colors on the tiles. the stock colors frankly suck. I tried unlocking the phone and chevron doesn't find the phone at all so i'm wondering if this phone just isn't unlockable with that method. Not being able to do custom tile colors just seems like an obvious omission that should have been fixed allready.
Other than that i like this phone MUCH better, it's faster and doesn't hiccup as much as android did. The loss of customization sucks a bit but honestly, who really cares. I'd rather have the phone work well than be able to customize the wallpaper. The tile color though is killing me.
lots of very good points expressed already, and I agree with most.
However: wm6.5 was far superior to my android in all the little area's that I liked / wanted to tweak... which left me disappointed when I switched to android and frustrated with the infancy of the android based os / app wanting some of the simple things that I was used to on wm6.5.
Then I jump back to windows mobile (thinking it will be great to reg edit again) only to find... tile overlay with no access to the good stuff, and on top of that extremely limited in more ways than android... apps (android copycat) extremely limited and very high priced... I never needed apps to do what I wanted. windows already had it, I just needed to turn it on or off and or tweak it the way I wanted it. customize to no end.
Now I really like the smooth integrated feel, and I took a step down in hardware just to get the operating system. I am back to hacking a android wanna be like device just to get to the meat of the phone, so I can use the power of wm7. I think...
Morrisme said:
Now I really like the smooth integrated feel, and I took a step down in hardware just to get the operating system. I am back to hacking a android wanna be like device just to get to the meat of the phone, so I can use the power of wm7. I think...
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Click to collapse
It's WP7 !
I think all we have to do is to wait a bit. My only problem is, that the application store is pretty empty(and overpriced), but hopefully it's gonna change.
What I see is, that Microsoft tries to copy Apple in terms of system optimisation, and simplicity, and so far I say it's successful.
I hope once the marketplace will be flooded with applications, there will be a serious filter on what apps they allow, and what they don't. The main criteria of selling on marketplace should be to have a perfectly smooth application on every windows based mobile, because what I see now is far away from that. Applications seem to just thrown together for wp7 in a day or 2.
Otherwise coming from android myself, I miss certain apps, or games, or functions, but the other hand I'm impressed by it's UI, and smoothness.
WP7 has potential, but it's time is not yet here. Once a great poet said in youtube comments: "Iphone is the past, Android is the present, WP7 is the future"
I came from evo 4g and I love it I got an arrive. Its so quick. And something no one mentioned battery life is great sure if I game for a while I will need a top off bit other then that a work day is no problem btw my work day is 12 hrs
There are some surprising holes in WP7 which I didn't expect compared to other OS.
1) No common Compass API - it's down to individual hardware manufacturers to supply drivers and they all implement it in a different way. So what works on an LG won't work on a Samsung or HTC. Really hinders the use of maps and star gazing apps etc. This is despite the compass being a mandatory part of MS' hardware spec. So much for MS' tight hardware platform control. And don't think about trying Mango - even if you have the compass working in NoDo it won't in the Mango Beta - and MS say it wont be availible until the OEMs release their final versions. The whole point of a Beta and RTM is so developers can test and adapt their software ready for launch - but with the compass augmented apps (one of the killer features of modern smartphones) they are screwed. We have a common API for GPS, why not Compass?
2) No PIN delay - even the most basic phone that offers Exchange support allows a configurable delay before the phone is PIN locked, or respects the delay imposed by an Exchange security policy. Everytime my screen goes off - I have to enter an 8 character password - despite the Exchange policy allowing a max 20 minute delay. Is this fixed in mango? Is this how MS works with MS?
..and relax...
I just saw an ad on TV for an android device on one of the big us carriers (I forget which one) and it was really bad. It made me realize something I've never agreed with before: that indeed android fragmentation is a hinderence.
Hear me out. Obviously being an active xda member I'm pro-android, but most people with android devices aren't on xda and wont root or even use a different launcher. So that is why I realize carriers like Verizon or whoever have to show generic commercials with no or little focus on the actual operation system. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sticking up for the carriers, they are the ones that take forever to update android versions. But they don't have to. That's the "beauty" of android.
But this has never been more of an issue than right now, I argue. Android 4.2.x is excellent and beautiful. It is the first time an iPhone user could try android and actually feel like it could be in the same competition as iOS in terms of looks and general UI. Meanwhile only a very tiny percent of android users have the latest version.
So to bring it back around to the commercial I saw, which goes for pretty much all android commercials I've ever seen, they do not display android at all! Its always generic futuristic music and background fx and distractions. Meanwhile iOS always shows a closeup of the phone with a mere finger navigating the os.
The ironic thing is that android is better now! But carriers take months or a year to update so they can only advertise their ****ty versions of android which are always stale at the time so instead they just show the phone dancing to dubstep music in front of lightning. They should be showing how Google Now is already way better than siri, how the notification drop down was started by Android (taken by iOS) and is now beautiful and functional, and how the recents button has become essential, not just usable.
There should be a SHORT grace period for carriers to update to the newest version of Android. Only then will they realize that their biggest asset isn't their ability to have 20 different android phones, or their attempt at theming a ROM (sense, touchwiz), but you actually have the best operating system out now! You just don't have the latest version because you're a phone network company and not a software development company.
But I put the blame on android because surely they are able to have a bit more control over how the big carriers manipulate their os? Why wouldn't a company like Verizon want to display the freshest os and advertise that they have the newest version of android and will always be this first to update because they don't change a thing? They would advertise that if Google had some sort or mandate on update time periods. Then android wouldn't always be thought of as the poor mans iOS .
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
The problem is, I don't think the average user - the one you're talking about - cares about "updates". They're just something annoying that happens and you have to restart your phone for a while. They don't care if it has the "newest" Android OS, just that it does what they want - this is the rest of my family feels, and even some of my friends who ARE interested in tech.
My dad couldn't give a crap if he has ICS or JB and wouldn't be able to tell the difference. If you put 4.2 in front of him, I doubt he could tell you the difference without spending half an hour hunting it down - and after that, I would question if the changes are anything he would actually care about. That kind of a user doesn't really WANT fast change - they care that things are familiar and easy to use, they don't want to have to re-learn parts of their phone in a few months - that's one thing I can give to iOS - as boring as it is, it's well, the same.
People have always said that one particular iteration of Android is when it's "finally ready to take on iOS". I think ICS is fine in that regard. iOS is so stylistically "stagnant" that Android really doesn't have to do much to match it. The advantage of iOS is that it's always the same, that it's not changing, that you can upgrade your phone hardware and still have everything work exactly the way you knew.
"Constantly updating" appeals to tech geeks who love learning new things and better ways to use them - and that's what the Nexus line is for - that's what flashing ROMs is for. People that want that find it.
Basically, your average Android phone shopper is Windows, not Linux. They're there because they want a phone that fits their needs and price-point - something Apple isn't offering. Sure, some people are Windows people for other reasons - but we're talking the average person who just wants a computer they can afford that "just works".
A good example is my mom - I just helped her buy a tablet. She was a little afraid of the idea of an Android tablet because she had no brand familiarity. She'd seen people using iPads to do what she wanted, and was worried because she'd never heard of ASUS and better knew Samsung as an appliance-maker. These ads, the most important thing they can do is just get people to recognise the name. There have been studies done on this, and it's true - getting people to know your brand's name is one of the best things you can do. That way, the "average Joe" goes into the store and thinks, "Hey, that's Samsung - I've heard of that" and the human brain tends to go, "I've heard of that, so it must be good" - true or not. They aren't looking at the specs and comparing, they're looking for a device they can trust. Trust starts with familiarity. The iPhone came from a company that already had name-recognition, but they grew that into a much larger market by using exclusivity and ease of use. It's like with liquor - people see an expensive liquor and assume that it must be a better liquor. Simply jacking up prices has totally worked for some brands to gain success. I'm not even kidding. People do this with expensive purses and jeans and crap, too - even if it's all made in the same exact Chinese factories.
Um.
Sorry for the novel.
tl;dr : Our brains are often illogical
sd0070 said:
Android 4.2.x is excellent and beautiful. It is the first time an iPhone user could try android and actually feel like it could be in the same competition as iOS in terms of looks and general UI.
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Click to collapse
Android has been able to compete in looks and general UI since 4.0 IMO, and easily since 2.2 with Sense. Smoothness is a completely different factor, but the actual look and feel of Android has been decent for a while. iOS isn't even a UI anymore, it's an app launcher and that is all. You can't do anything at all in iOS outside of the apps, which is frankly pathetic. iOS works as Apple wants it to, Android works like you want it to.
As a developer I do think Android fragmentation is a huge issue. I agree that Android 4.0+ is nice looking and has some very nice API's however developing Android applications that run consistently accross different devices is very difficult. I find more and more that a good portion of my code ends up being wrappers and reflection calls to support API's and classes not found in previous Android versions. For example, If I want to add media player lock-screen controls to my application it's not a problem in Android 4.0+ but the class isn't available in versions below 4.0. So, what am I supposed to do? Do I release a version to the play store and say my application supports lock screen controls ONLY if you run a specific version of Android? That certainly won't ecourage people to use the application. Just my opinion.
I agree it can be a problem for development.
However, I think it's reasonable to say, "this feature will only work on 4.0+" - people are used to that, if you have a Windows 98 machine still, I hope you're not expecting to be able to run everything a Windows 7 machine could, for example. I see things like designations requiring XP/Vista/7, et cetera on packages - I don't think it's unreasonable that at some point Android is the same - you can only reasonably support so far back because at some point it's just not worth your time.
If it's possible to implement below 4.0 and it's worth your time to make it happen - that's the cost of business to decide if it's worth it or not to support the older devices based on what your market looks like.