Pretty good summary. :)
/thread
Some of them are just minor feature improvements, like android 2.3, but some are pretty major. For example, iOS5’s notifications are a big deal. Android 2.2 was much faster overall than 2.1, with its new JIT compiler. And of course android 4.0 looks to be a huge improvement over 2.3.
Wow…just…wow…
I know, it just makes me sad. I wish folks could stay on topic.
Rubin = mindfucked!
Three things about that:
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Some of those upgrades trickle to previous versions no matter what. Starting with 2.3, Google decoupled a lot of the apps in Android from the official platform itself, so you could get (for example) Mail improvements even if you didn’t upgrade your OS.
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It’s simplistic to actually state that Android has those versions. Take that “send an SMS when declining call” feature from ICS – apparently MotoBLUR phones have had that forever. And there are things that Sense 3 has that even ICS doesn’t have (launch four apps from the lock screen, for instance). Modifying my OS from Gingerbread-based Sense 3 to ICS wouldn’t be an “upgrade” in the traditional sense of the word, it’d be swapping out UIs, like putting the newest version of GNOME on a previously KDE machine (to use a slightly weird analogy). Many, many people who had the phone would hate the change, as they’d have to relearn a lot of things and they’d actually lose some functionality. Only the geeks really obsessively care.
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And on most phones, the geeks have a LOT of options for upgrading the OS, including keeping some Sense stuff if they want it, or discarding it if they don’t, and adding features that aren’t even in mainline Android. So if the geeks are happy, and Your Mom is happy, then who’s really being oppressed?
The suicidal chinese making all our phones at foxconn?
At least my mind is being fucked by someone with an Apple logo on their cock.
Yeah, I said it. :P
What you’ve said doesn’t conflict with what I said.
I dunno, if I was stuck on 2.1 for months after 2.2 released, I’d be pretty pissed off. 2.2 was a >200% speed increase.
It’s a good thing Mr. Frog probably won’t be buying a 2.1 phone.
And yes, iOS 4 was a complete fucking dog on my 3G. That’s the primary reason I’m so very irritated with Apple.
That’s one of the reasons I also switched away from the iPhone.
Android phanboy warning:
Major pro’s
[ul]
[li]Superb voice-guided navigation for absolutely free (or download Garmin/whoever’s app if you want to for pay)
[/li][li]Phenomenal voice integration via the built-in Voice Search or any number of similar apps if you want
[/li][li]Virtually flawless integration with the Google Cloud: Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Youtube, Plus, Voice, Talk, and, to an extent, Docs
[/li][li]To go back to Voice: You can call and text for free, dudezilla. That’s huge.
[/li][li]Enormous app selection and variety
[/li][li]Potential for huge, high resolution screens
[/li][li]Potential for great hardware keyboards
[/li][li]Standard micro-USB connector across virtually all devices–charge with your friend’s!
[/li][li]Complete-with-a-capital-C customizability: change your homescreen, keyboard, music player, email app, and more out of the box, or re-do the entire OS, overclock it, and theme it to look like Hello Kitty if you have a bootloader-unlocked model
[/li][li]Lots of free apps, which I separate from “lots of apps” in general; most stuff is free or very low cost
[/li][li]Choice of carrier and speed (want Verizon LTE? Or how about cheap Virgin Mobile 3G?)
[/li][li]Potential for great “other hardware” (camera, front facing camera, NFC, bluetooth, etc.)
[/li][li]Ease of use across all three major desktop OSes, ties in flawlessly with just about every media manager except iTunes
[/li][li]Frenzied development pace, either from official updates or fan-hacks
[/li][li]Cute mascot
[/li][/ul]
I don’t mean to suggest that all or even most of this is purely unique to the Android experience; Apple goes toe-to-toe on apps, and Blackberry can compete on keyboards. What I do mean to suggest is that for quite some time now, Android has been equal to or exceeding their competition. The only areas where I can think of it lacking particularly are games (it has hundreds of good ones, but iPhone has thousands) and absolute, across-the-board fluidity (corrected by GPU acceleration in 3.X tablets and the forthcoming 4.0 phones like the Galaxy Nexus).
I mean, you can listen to stusser, I guess? But I’m hard-pressed to think of anything but the above that Apple or MS does consistently better than Android. Even Apple’s much-vaunted ease-of-use doesn’t seem to be fool-proof. JeffL on these boards couldn’t figure out how to skip ahead in tracks just yesterday, while my techno-phobic mother figured out how to drag-n-drop music and send video texts all by her lonesome when left alone with her Moto Triumph. It’s anecdotal, sure, but Jesus, it’s not like anyone’s bringing months-long UX studies to bear in their arguments here; it’s all dueling anecdotes.
Android 1.6 was a buggy, slow, hideous piece of OS shit. Android 2.0 was a geeky tweaker’s paradise. Android 2.3 is a sleek, functional, competent and stable mobile OS for the modern world. Android 4.0 looks like the Goddamned future, and early reviews seem to agree.
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If you have a lot of money already invested in iOS app purchases, get the iphone 4s. Otherwise be faced with repurchasing on android or being stuck with free versions full of ads.
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If you really really care about opengl 3d performance, get the iphone 4s which still beats the android’s top of the line galaxy s II at least in benchmarks. Also, the galaxy nexus uses the older gpu (same one in the nexus s).
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If you love air video stick with iphone. Plex is no air video!
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If you want a top of the line phone but do NOT want a bigger screen (as crazy as it sounds I’m sure some people value portability over a larger screen), stick with the iphone because I believe all the high end flagship android phones use the bigger screens.
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If you prefer the look of IPS over oled then go with the iphone.
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If you want face to face support like through an apple retail store and have a good chance of getting a broken phone replaced even out of warranty even if it is totally your fault go with iphone. Having the os and hardware owned by the same company does have support advantages (less finger pointing).
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If you care about getting all the AAA games either first or exclusive go with iphone (though android is beginning to show signs of life in this area but has NOT caught up).
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If you are super picky about how the OS feels and how 1:1, smooth, and responsive your interaction is with the UI then go with the iPhone.
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If you want to do “unofficial” tethering without the need of jailbreaking…go with android.
Oh, shut up.
You were the very first in this thread to skip factual arguments in favour of a cheap shot at another poster.
Just because you think you were being funny, while everybody else is moving off topic doesn’t change the fact that you have no business telling anybody else to stay on topic.
Yeah, eat a dick brubin!
OS/2 forever!
Fine, I apologize.
Already done, dude! It was DELICIOUS.
I have to agree. I was okay with my Android phone while I had it, but now that I have a iPhone 4S, I don’t even see the debate. And I have played with the Galaxy S2.
The software is undoubtedly better. And the hardware on the iPhones is as well, unless you really need a hard keyboard (you don’t), or are really hard of seeing (in which Android’s interface quirks will annoy you anyway). It’s still the best screen and loads faster than any other phone.
You guys must have extremely poor imaginations.
Here’s the android rebuttal.
They claim that 2 major flagship phones (Droid X and Droid 2) released in july and august of 2010 weren’t listed, but obviously the list has to cutoff somewhere. Anyway, those devices are barely over a year old and the article admits they won’t be getting android 4.0, which sucks. They’re still under 2 year contracts and will not be updated.
Their second argument is that lower-end or older devices not getting updated is in the best interest of the enduser, specifically calling out the OG Droid. But this makes no sense, since 2.2 was an enormous speed increase, and you can hack/install 2.3 on the original droid where it works just fine and is “blazing fast”.