Android set to dominate mobile

[Roman4604]

Does the iPad 2 have a "close application" button?

No but it does have Flipboard & Zite. Before I ran into these two I thought my iPad (given to me), actually all tablets, were just novel toys that didnt really excel at anything (i.e. PC more powerful/productive, smartphone more convenient).

But once I started using these 2 apps I finally realised that my iPad does have a unique purpose. Its changed the way I consume (magazine style) content, there just isnt anything on PC based OSs or smartphones (inc Android) that comes close to being as slick at presenting content in such a compelling way.

 

[BeVonk!]

Enjoy your Androids guys. Had some fun, but must go now. Lekker slaap.

 

[Elimentals]

Yes, Apple does have the momentum - however, I believe that my Motorola Xoom is way superior to the iPad2 - YMMV !

PS Jola, can you add me to the list of people that says "Man I HATE you"

If dam Asus dont hurry up and bring out my Eee Transformer out soon, I might do something my wallet might regret

 

[Jola]

If you say so. Good for you. Native apps for Xoom surpassed the 16 mark?

Hmmm, I found it rather difficult to select Apps from the thousands available on Android Market - spoilt for choice !

 

[SmartKit]

Not sure what you are talking about? My 32GB Wifi Xoom was USD599, which translated to R5300.

Thing is that puts it head-to-head with the iPad 2 and way above the iPad. They need a lower price to entice people away from what is already established. Sure it will prove itself eventually, but for now it's going to hamper sales.

 

[Jola]

Thing is that puts it head-to-head with the iPad 2 and way above the iPad. They need a lower price to entice people away from what is already established. Sure it will prove itself eventually, but for now it's going to hamper sales.

You are probably right, but it is a better machine than the iPad2 - way better !

 

[Elimentals]

No but it does have Flipboard & Zite. Before I ran into these two I thought my iPad (given to me), actually all tablets, were just novel toys that didnt really excel at anything (i.e. PC more powerful/productive, smartphone more convenient).

Flipboard is a grate app I must say. Pity they haven't ported it yet to Android but I understand that the company is still small and as market grow they said they will expand to Android as well. I can truly see that happening once Android tablets have taken off. In the mean time, Android Tablet owners can use Pulse and My Taptu, not the same design but closely the same functionality.

 

[Roman4604]

Android Tablet owners can use Pulse and My Taptu, not the same design but closely the same functionality.

True, but for me the design (presentation layout) is what make Flipboard & Zite so slick/compelling to read.

Both offer very similar presentation, but source content differently ...

Flipboard: self-created content, you specify the exact content feeds e.g. Twitter, RSS, Facebook, Flickr etc.

Zite: curated content, your specify the topics of interest and they aggregate the content for sites they deem best.

 

[LazyLion]

Does it need one? And who knows, maybe iOS 5 will provide a solution. Not difficult to implement. Double click of home button can do the trick if so programed/configured.

Um yes. It needs one to close an application when I am finished with it rather than leaving it running. But I guess that kind of thing is too complex for Apple designers.

 

[Elimentals]

Um yes. It needs one to close an application when I am finished with it rather than leaving it running. But I guess that kind of thing is too complex for Apple designers.

iOS doesn't multitask so it doesn't need one, when you close/move away from an application all it does is save the state, when you return it just reads that state and continues from there. Think of iOS as a vmware server and all the applications are "PC's" on that server. When you move from one to the other it just suspend that PC. This is also the reason iOS applications do not share info to other but have access to the "host" or access a unified file system as they run totally separate and have there own filesystem. If it could multitask then yes it would need a close button.

 

[freaker76]

Why is Andriod so sucessfull?
What makes it so special?

Its Android ...nuff said

 

[oober]

If I had to chose between the IPhone 4 and the Desire HD I would get the IPhone 4 and root it...best of both worlds.

Currently running HTC Hero with FusionRom 2.2

 

[Elimentals]

If I had to chose between the IPhone 4 and the Desire HD I would get the IPhone 4 and root it...best of both worlds.

Actully a Jailbroken iPhone = an out of the box HTC
You can not root the iPhone and even if you could it would not help you as you dont have the source code to be able to change the underlying Kernel or how the system works.

 

[oober]

Actully a Jailbroken iPhone = an out of the box HTC
You can not root the iPhone and even if you could it would not help you as you dont have the source code to be able to change the underlying Kernel or how the system works.

Sorry I meant jailbreak. Reason I say I won't mind getting an IPhone is because I have an android at the moment. So it will be good to get some perspective. And the IPhone 4 isn't a bad phone either, although the IPhone 5 will be nice

 

[LazyLion]

iOS doesn't multitask

Uh, yeah,... about that....

 

[icyrus]

Um yes. It needs one to close an application when I am finished with it rather than leaving it running. But I guess that kind of thing is too complex for Apple designers.

The fact that you don't understand how the system works isn't a fault of the system.

iOS doesn't multitask so it doesn't need one, when you close/move away from an application all it does is save the state, when you return it just reads that state and continues from there. Think of iOS as a vmware server and all the applications are "PC's" on that server. When you move from one to the other it just suspend that PC. This is also the reason iOS applications do not share info to other but have access to the "host" or access a unified file system as they run totally separate and have there own filesystem. If it could multitask then yes it would need a close button.

Apple does provide APIs for specific multitasking abilities, whether people feel that they need more control or not is really up to each developer. Apple's choice had a very specific goal in mind, something that is lost on many in the Andriod camp - the phone must last the entire day on a full charge. This is something Apple's phones do easily that Andriod is still not capable of.

Companies make different choices about what their products should do and the customers should chose the one that best fits their needs. This fanatical devotion and fighting for your brand of choice is utterly retarded.

 

[Elimentals]

Sorry I meant jailbreak. Reason I say I won't mind getting an IPhone is because I have an android at the moment. So it will be good to get some perspective. And the IPhone 4 isn't a bad phone either, although the IPhone 5 will be nice

It truly is great to be able to have both and experience them both, even if it is getting one for a partner and playing with it. I must admit allot of the games on iPhone is waaay better than any Android offerings. I can get into the whole dynamic of why this is in regard to OpenGL and 3d processing, but if you truly interested go read up on why Unreal is only porting there engine to iOS for now. I know allot of people blame piracy for it, it is not the case. Piracy on iOS is a hell of allot easier than Android offerings (They have an app for that).

 

[BruceA]

I am a self-confessed Google fanboy, but after using my girlfriend's SE X10 for about 6 months I've switched to an iPhone 4. I have 3 main problems with Android:

1) The fragmentation is a huge problem. To find out your 6-month old phone will not receive any future Android updates is hugely frustrating. And even if you buy the latest phone now, when Google release the next version of Android (ice-cream?), how long will it take before you get it? Maybe if you've got a "pure" Android phone like the Nexus S, but what if you've got a Desire S? You'll have to wait until HTC update Sense to the new version, and then wait for Vodacom or whoever to push it out locally. Google can fix this by taking control of Android, but until they do, there will be lots of frustrated users. With iOS I get access to the latest version at the same time as everyone else around the world. And no Vodacom bloatware like The Grid and Vodacom Live!

2) iTunes is far from perfect, but its better than no-tunes from Google! To manage the media on my Android phone, I was forced to use DoubleTwist, which just creates a new interface for iTunes. Where is Google's interface? I have 60GB of music on my PC, and with a few simple playlists iTunes automatically refreshes my music every time I connect my iPhone. I also battled to get my Android phone to recognise the difference between music, podcasts and audiobooks - all MP3 files show up as music!

3) The battery life on every Android phone I have encountered sucks. The Desire HD is a beautiful phone, but you have to switch off the cool features like live wallpaper, and you have to toggle bluetooth and wi-fi on and off as required if you want your phone to last through a normal day. I have bluetooth and wi-fi switched on permanently on my iPhone, and the battery is seldom below 50% at the end of the day.

There are features of Android that I miss. The native Google apps are (mostly) better on Android, but all my Google contacts and calendars sync up via exchange, and the Google Mobile App for iPhone is awesome! I loved being able to select apps on my PC and have them load automatically on the phone, but that's hardly a deal breaker! The way Android handles notifications is better than iOS, but I'm hoping that'll be fixed with iOS 5.

I am sure Google will fix the above problems, and in 2 years time when I'm due for a replacement phone I may give Android another chance, but right now I believe that the iPhone offers the best overall package!

 

[Elimentals]

I am a self-confessed Google fanboy, but after using my girlfriend's SE X10 for about 6 months I've switched to an iPhone 4.

This is part of the reason Google is now following the new path in regard to changes to the source of the official Android offerings. I am sorry you had to experience Android on the worst Android phone out there, esp when it comes to updates. The same goes for your battery life, the dam phone has a 4.3" lcd screen what do you expect. if you get something like a HTC Desire that has a smaller screen you get about 3 days battery out of it with WiFi and Bluetooth always on. As for MP3, you could have just used Windows media player or Winamp but the fact that you could use iTunes is the success of the platform, you not forced to use it, it was an option you could go for.

 

[TJ99]

I am a self-confessed Google fanboy, but after using my girlfriend's SE X10 for about 6 months I've switched to an iPhone 4. I have 3 main problems with Android:

1) The fragmentation is a huge problem. To find out your 6-month old phone will not receive any future Android updates is hugely frustrating. And even if you buy the latest phone now, when Google release the next version of Android (ice-cream?), how long will it take before you get it? Maybe if you've got a "pure" Android phone like the Nexus S, but what if you've got a Desire S? You'll have to wait until HTC update Sense to the new version, and then wait for Vodacom or whoever to push it out locally. Google can fix this by taking control of Android, but until they do, there will be lots of frustrated users. With iOS I get access to the latest version at the same time as everyone else around the world. And no Vodacom bloatware like The Grid and Vodacom Live!

2) iTunes is far from perfect, but its better than no-tunes from Google! To manage the media on my Android phone, I was forced to use DoubleTwist, which just creates a new interface for iTunes. Where is Google's interface? I have 60GB of music on my PC, and with a few simple playlists iTunes automatically refreshes my music every time I connect my iPhone. I also battled to get my Android phone to recognise the difference between music, podcasts and audiobooks - all MP3 files show up as music!

3) The battery life on every Android phone I have encountered sucks. The Desire HD is a beautiful phone, but you have to switch off the cool features like live wallpaper, and you have to toggle bluetooth and wi-fi on and off as required if you want your phone to last through a normal day. I have bluetooth and wi-fi switched on permanently on my iPhone, and the battery is seldom below 50% at the end of the day.

There are features of Android that I miss. The native Google apps are (mostly) better on Android, but all my Google contacts and calendars sync up via exchange, and the Google Mobile App for iPhone is awesome! I loved being able to select apps on my PC and have them load automatically on the phone, but that's hardly a deal breaker! The way Android handles notifications is better than iOS, but I'm hoping that'll be fixed with iOS 5.

I am sure Google will fix the above problems, and in 2 years time when I'm due for a replacement phone I may give Android another chance, but right now I believe that the iPhone offers the best overall package!

You're wrong, here's why:

1. From Gingerbread on, Google doesn't allow these custom interfaces (that only slow down the phone anyways) anymore. So no more Sense(less), no more UXP on the SE phones, no Touchpizz on the Samsung, etc. This is a good thing IMO, since those interfaces are just bloatware normally, and I'd rather install my own customizations.

2. I guess copy & paste is too difficult for some people... If that's the case then yes, by all means use iWhatever. If you are looking for a music app that works in a similar way though, only better, and that isn't infected with the Applesness, then just use the choice of champions for years, Winamp. It syncs wonderfully (and wirelessly I might add) with Android, and the Android app is an awesome player as well.

3. I don't know where you get that from, my X10 lasts the whole day, and I use it a LOT. The battery life has gone down a bit with Froyo, but it still lasts a full day. Obviously the thing that uses the most power is the display, not multi-tasking as the Apple marketing machine would have you believe. Although yes, I've heard the Desire's battery life isn't that great.