Why Android is better than iPhone.

This thread is still going?!?!?!?

Thought I proved my calculator rules you all!!!!!
 
An example of where open source is a real pain is developing software to work with it all. Netflix will be releasing an app, but only for some Android phones. The rest will be later, but the problem is there that they just cant make the app for the OS and be done. With every company tinkering away and modifying, it actually hinders some to develop a consistent app that works the same no matter what phone your running with.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20022750-93.html?tag=cnetRiver
 
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Security is the other Achilles heel of open source...
No studio in their right mind will en masse allow their intellectual property (aka movies, etc) on an open platform.... Not in the current protectionist climate anyway... Remember they can't even agree on DRM for locked down platforms!
 
wonderings said:
An example of where open source is a real pain is developing software to work with it all. Netflix will be releasing an app, but only for some Android phones. The rest will be later, but the problem is there that they just cant make the app for the OS and be done. With every company tinkering away and modifying, it actually hinders some to develop a consistent app that works the same no matter what phone your running with.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20022750-93.html?tag=cnetRiver
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The problem is not open source. It's how it is being used. What you said above is equivalent to "my bmw was the problem because it let me drive it into a tree".

gqelements said:
Security is the other Achilles heel of open source...
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I think you must have confused security with obscurity. Two completely different concepts.
 
moosh009 said:
The problem is not open source. It's how it is being used. What you said above is equivalent to "my bmw was the problem because it let me drive it into a tree".
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The problem is anyone can make any changes to the OS, so yes, it is the problem. Having a standard makes life easier in handheld software development. If I know every phone running this OS meets these basic requirements, I can very easily design for that. If anyone under the sun can tinker away with the OS, alter it and change it to fit specific things on the phone, well you cant expect that everything is going to work with it. You should almost just have separate app stores. This app store is for this brand, this is for the other, etc etc. There are pros and cons to both systems of course, myself I have no issues with iOS and am not lacking in anything. I like android phones, but I run everything from home to work on a mac, so the iPhone obviously works much better, plus the way the iOS handles media (movies photos music) is much better then on Android systems.
 
Kuro said:
I had the Google Nexus one phone... awesome phone, love the Android OS. BUT !!!!
It has a fatal flaw.... Its SMS handling has some error in it. I`ve tried the newest firmware, and its an ongoing problem with some of the versions. As far as I know, it hasnt been fixed. It doesnt matter if you switch to 3rd party SMS software or change the phone. If you are using certain versions of the firmware, your SMS`s may not go to their intended recipients ... it may go to someone who you have recently sent a text to.

Because of this fatal flaw, I had to switch back to the iphone. The fact that google refuses to recognize the problem as legit also bothers me. But still love the phone ... and mine came with a Keeley Hazel wallpaper.... drooooool....
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I have the N1, never had this issue...might be a carrier side issue with your SMS profile.

AAANYWAY

I use the Nexus One. I like that I have NEVER needed to plug it into my computer to do anything. I dont need iTunes to do things. I f'n hate iTunes.

When I bought it, i turned it on, connected to the hotel's WiFi, put in my Google account info, then it downloaded the latest OS. When I take photos, I can email them to myself, or upload to Picasa. I now have an application that lets me connect to my phone via a web browser to transfer data. My music playlist syncs through WiFi. If a feature wasnt up to my liking, I downloaded a replacement. I have made the phone faster and smoother than any iPhone I have ever touched.

The Google Navigator application works better than most GPS I have used. It is fast, accurate, uses minimal data, and has real-time traffic updates.

The other nice thing is that most of the applications for Android are free. They cost nothing, and so if they suck, I dont care. On top of that, if you do buy an app from the Android Market, you have a 1 week refund policy (i'm not sure what iTunes is like). Also, most apps that I find are actually useful, and do enhance the experience. I only ever see iPhone sheep downloading the endless amount of fart apps that somehow meet the strict quality standards of Steve jobs...

The flash debate is multi-faceted. Sure, Flash video is dying, and will be gone (mostly) in a few years. However, there are also many websites programmed in Flash that will not be upgraded for a while, because they are designed to only run on full computers, and not in a mobile browser (I know HTML5 is not just for mobile, but that for now is the only reason a site would be forced to change existing good flash code). Just try to go to your favourite bike maker's website on your iPhone to show your friends that new bike....you can't. They all use Flash.

Fragmentation is indeed an issue with Android, but as already pointed out, that is not the fault of the OS...that is the manufacturers trying to make a unique interface for themselves. The fact they are not getting upgraded as often as the rest is entirely the fault of the handset manufacturer. This has been brought up with Google, and they want to fix this, but they are trying to find a way that will not conflit with their open nature. It is hard, it is a problem, but it will be fixed.

The OS in its bare iteration is a little unpolished, true, but it isnt hard to make it shiney. By all accounts, the 2.3 update will be the "finally!" in the Android iterations. Hopefully 3.0 will address the fragmentation issue permanently.

There is argument for both sides, and Apple does make one helluva good piece of hardware. But just as so many on this site complain about McGuinty and his nanny state of Ontario, I feel the same way about Jobs and his nannyism for Apple. I think it should be my perogative to completely screw it up. It should be my allowance to completely customize it. I should be allowed to view a site no matter what content engine it uses (ie: flash). So far, the only real downside I see to Android, is the lack of attachable hardware that iPhone enjoys. But meh...I bought a phone.

In summary, both are great, but while Apple wants to hold my hand and tell me I cannot or I must use certain things, Android will let me customize just about everything. But the greatest thing about Android, is I NEVER need a computer of any kind to have it fully functional, I can choose to go wherever I want, and I get Angry Birds for free. :)
 
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wonderings said:
The problem is anyone can make any changes to the OS, so yes, it is the problem. Having a standard makes life easier in handheld software development. If I know every phone running this OS meets these basic requirements, I can very easily design for that. If anyone under the sun can tinker away with the OS, alter it and change it to fit specific things on the phone, well you cant expect that everything is going to work with it.
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We don't care about everyone under the sun. Hell, you can change the OS and publish it, doesn't mean anyone will use it. The problem is that the phone manufacturers don't care about making the OS portable and maintainable. All they care about is getting their phone out the door and people buying it. Open source is not all take take take. If you want it to advance and be good you have to give back.
 
moosh009 said:
Open source is not all take take take. If you want it to advance and be good you have to give back.
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And surprise surprise, they dont. Theory is one thing and it all sounds nice and rosey when you say how it should be, but its not reality as we see with Android.

Android is a great OS for the mobile platform, just as iOS is. Both have their pros and cons and for some people the open architecture is preferred others, like myself, I just want a phone that works well out of the box and fits into my lifestyle and workflow with ease.

The open architecture allows for anyone under the sun to make the OS the way they want, and people are buying it, obviously not from Joe Blow on the street, but the different large manufacturers who have no standard they have to follow and seem to have no direction for the future of the product save for throwing out a new phone to run the newer specs. Thats not the case for all of them, but it is a problem for many.
 
gqelements said:
...something to consider is that RIM's new OS is coming out early 2011....

Unlike previous patch jobs, this is a ground-up build (debuting on the PlayBook first) and actually supposed to be good (it's based on software by an Ottawa co. they bought last year)...

To return to android vs apple - my vote is with Apple, even though I work for Samsung....
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This would be exciting if RIM had released a mobile OS + apps that wasn't utter garbage at least once. Given that historically they have never done that, they don't get the benefit of the doubt. Every bb I have ever used was horrible from the software point of view.
 
CdnVStar said:
The email integration on the iPhone sucks. The BB push features as well as its auto reconciliation with Outlook through exchange is far better.
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I guess it's better in the sense that it exists! It would go a long way towards RIM's credibility if this key BB feature that they have had for so many years actually... worked properly. I hear complaints from our BB users every bloody day about synchronization issues with Exchange, disappearing meetings, things not showing up on BB that are there in Outlook (and reverse), etc, etc.
 
Moreno636 said:
Like what? Give me a concrete example of what app an average user would need that can only be filled in by an open source app?
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there's a reason why most iphone owners (including me) prefer to jailbreak their phones y'know.
 
TomC said:
there's a reason why most iphone owners (including me) prefer to jailbreak their phones y'know.
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I have not found a reason to jailbreak as of yet. For you personally, what could you not do that you now can do as its jailbroken?
 
wonderings said:
I have not found a reason to jailbreak as of yet. For you personally, what could you not do that you now can do as its jailbroken?
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there was an app, dont remember the name of it, enabled limited multitasking
jailbreaking allows you to unlock your filesystem and treat the iphone more like a computer, acccess and control at the os layer rather than the GUI layer apple would love to have everyone use.

These are the nifty things that are taken for granted by consumers purchasing normal appstore software.

Again, when software is created, consumers only see the end-product. You don't see the technical constraints and regulations developers and businesses need to go through in order for it to go to market.

If you want a concrete example of a great app that was released on the android but not the iphone due to constraints with what developers could are allowed to do, trackmaster is one... http://trackmaster.trackaroo.com/welcome .

I personally have an iphone, i like it, more than the android products that are available today. The interface is slick, the phone acts predictably, can do everything I need and want from a phone, and apple has created such a large user and software base that they have almost created standardization, much in the same vein as how ms windows has over the last few decades.

Apples and oranges comparison
 
Im not sure what your point is ^

The iPhone is locked down from the factory but jailbreaks are always available to those who want them. If you're an open source geek you can JB your phone... if you're a casual user you leave it be.

Besides, Android phones need to be 'rooted' too to get the most functionality out of em so there really is no point to this debate. The iPhone is just as 'open' as any droid phone.
 
The different is that jailbreaking the iphone is illegal in many jurisdictions. Rooting an Android device isn't. And why would you make a product so crippled that it has to be illegally hacked for you to get it to perform certain basic functions?
By the way, most Android devices need to be rooted not because the manufacturers want them to, but because they still sling most of them through mobile providers.
 
iridebikes said:
Im not sure what your point is ^
Besides, Android phones need to be 'rooted' too to get the most functionality out of em so there really is no point to this debate. The iPhone is just as 'open' as any droid phone.
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Only if you want to use apps that require root access. You can, however, install apps from outside sources without rooting the phone, which is a huge plus over the iPhone in my book.
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