Losing Interest in Android

[bump47]

A year and a half ago, I purchased the OG Droid. I really didn't know much about it, but it was my first smart phone and I liked the keyboard, so I got it. I loved it, I still do. After about 2 weeks of owning my Droid, I started researching it and finding out everything I could. I found this forum(which has been the most helpful online website with the greatest members) and many other Droid websites. I couldn't get enough and I loved everything about Android. However, recently, I have started losing interest and hope for the little green machine. I'm not sure what the catalyst was that sparked this change in interest, but I have started thinking about what I love and hate about Android and what is making me want to leave what I once loved so much. I figured there was no better place to rant and get advice and input than on here. So here it goes:

Skins
We all complain about this, I know, but ever since the Droid, almost all phones come with a skin. One reason that I love Android is because of its OS, but when a phone comes with a twist to that OS, it is a turnoff. Launcherpro helps with that, but it's still frustrating. Now, Blur and Senese have been getting better and easier to use, but if I buy an android phone, I want the Android OS, not Moto's or HTC's spin on it.

Carriers and Bloatware
This may be biggest frustration I have. Seeing new phones come out on Verizon and with them are 20+ Verizon apps is unacceptable. It's unacceptable that Apple has none of these apps on the iPhone but yet, the Android phones come loaded down with them and they can't be removed without rooting. If I wanted these apps, I should have the choice to be able to go into the Market and get them. Instead they are forced down my throat.

Apps
No matter how much we fight it, the Apple App store just has better apps, especially when it comes to games. Now, there are many apps that I love on Android that Apple will never have(Chrome to phone, Flash, etc..) but they are few. Also, there are only a handful of apps that Android has that Apple didn't have first.

Camera and Video
This may be the most embarrassing part of Android. No phone has measured up to the picture and video quality that Apple has and I hate it. Being able to have an HDMI port on a phone is great, unless the video or pictures I take aren't great quality. I am not sure why companies haven't figured this out yet.

Rooting
I rooted my phone about 3 weeks after I got it and I have loved every part of it. However, I hate that you almost have to root in order to truly love your phone. The fact that you must root your phone to get rid of bloatware, install a kernel so that your phone isn't laggy, and access the latest android os build is absurd and unacceptable. Hacking a phone should be used more for customization and extras, not what is expected.

Thanks for letting me rant. Now there are plenty of reasons that I love Android but I just wanted to throw these complaints out to discuss it with others. Let me know what you think, if you disagree, agree, or any other input. So, what do you guys think?

 

[alpha120689]

I agree on what your saying about the bloatware, and the fact that u basically HAVE to root to get the top performance from your phone. I love my Droid and love everything about it now that I have rooted and tweaked it to my preference. But as for the app store, android is still very young in the application category. Apples been on that game for a while now. My girlfriend has a iPhone 4 and her applications far surpass what I could get. But performance wise her phone doesn't stand a chance. But my only complaint is the fact that I have to root. Even though i love hacking and tweaking. A lot of my friends have droids but none want to root and jump on that train due to the loss of ur warranty. So i stand alone among my friends and have to rely on forums to communicate and catch up and just discuss what were doing to our devices. But Personally I don't know what or how they could make all the phones "pre-hacked" at the time of sell. Devs would probably start charging an arm and leg for quality roms and insurance on phones would rise drastically rise due to the fact that anyone with an android could just start wiping and flashing. Therefore leaving the phones very vulnerable. So in the long run I'm thankful for the slight hassle.

Sent from my ADR6300 using DroidForums

 

[infinity8x3]

Cool story bro...





Just kidding. Android is becoming what it is because it is open source. Apple has A phone and A SDK. We have well we are now flooded with makes and models and os versions. Try making an app run first time on the thousands of phone model and os version combinations there are with android.

We are different than apple but that means we have our own set of problems. Honestly I don't ever see it stopping unless google adopts some of apples strategies.

We all hate apple because they offer no choice or customization. Yet if google stepped up and said we are taking control over our os and manufacturers are going to have to build hardware around our software instead of altering our software for your hardware. And all phones had to be on vanilla android and uptodate with the latest build. would be a joyful occasion.

Some may think this is hypercritical but google is a better company than apple and would treat us right. Google doesn't care if we root or dev or hell even brick the phone. The bloat is because no one can stop the carrier from putting it on the phone. Thank vzw for the bloat not moto, Just thank them for blur lol.

 

[bump47]

Yes, I agree on that Android is very young when it comes to apps and I hope to see the Market one day soon put out quality apps like that on iOS. I also, am the only one of my friends who root as well. Now as far as performance goes against your girlfriend's iPhone. What specifically have you found is better, performance wise, with a droid?

 

[bump47]

Infinity, I agree with everything you said. I would love to have a pure vanilla phone. The only problem is that Google just isn't able to push a lot out because they are a huge company with a lot of other things to do. I would love to see Google adopt some of Apple's ideas, but I dunno if that will ever happen. Now, apple doesn't offer choice or customization unless you jailbreak. I have an iPod touch and I jailbroke it. I don't steal apps but I love the customization it comes with. So, what makes a rooted android phone better, customization wise, than a jailbroken iphone? I'm just trying to see what other people think about these issues.

 

[infinity8x3]

I dunno about nowadays but android used to be better back in the day because it was practically like a jailbroken iPhone out of the box. The D1 could do any thing and i still have mine.

Now it's just more about fanboism. Like comparing ps3 to xb360.

Honestly I have a friend with a jailbroken iPhone and he somehow managed to get a prepaid sim card in it and pays 60 a month for unlimited data and whatever mins they give him. I don't care much about minutes because ironically i use my phone less as a phone than any thing else. If he runs out there is no ordeal he just reups the sim card or gets a new one. Ether way I'm kinda jealous.

 

[bump47]

Yea, and that's what I am kinda afraid of. Just a year ago, the Droid was unto to something amazing and now carriers and companies are putting their own stuff on the android phones and it isn't much of android anymore.

 

[BenLand150]

I dunno about nowadays but android used to be better back in the day because it was practically like a jailbroken iPhone out of the box. The D1 could do any thing and i still have mine.

Now it's just more about fanboism. Like comparing ps3 to xb360.

Honestly I have a friend with a jailbroken iPhone and he somehow managed to get a prepaid sim card in it and pays 60 a month for unlimited data and whatever mins they give him. I don't care much about minutes because ironically i use my phone less as a phone than any thing else. If he runs out there is no ordeal he just reups the sim card or gets a new one. Ether way I'm kinda jealous.

Android is still like a jail broken iPhone, better even, as I had one. Jail breaking is nice, but the customizing with it has more of a.. un professional, sleek look. The best theme for winterboards was iNav, and to set that up took a lot of work. And the installous app that allows you to steal apps, we have that too from stock in 4shared.

There are things I miss from iOS though. The fact it almost always runs smooth is something I wish Androids OS was always like. I guess that's one flaw of the phone being more open. Still, Android for me all the way. There's just so much more you can do on a non rooted device that competes with a jail broken iPhone.

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[kristoff125]

As you said, the skins are easily replaced with a custom homescreen, and many replicate the vanilla OS quite well, and then there's some like *Spark that my wife absolutely loves for the simplicity.

The bloatware is easily avoided, folders and homescreens, no need for the app drawer, it is frustrating, but open source means just that. Google did say they were going to crack down and disable Google apps if phones didn't follow guidelines, but that's still a bit away. Can't hate android because of Verizon and Moto, you can always switch to Tmob and get the next nexus.

As for the Apps, I've gotten quite a few EXCELLENT games for free on the amazon store, and there's plenty of excellent paid games too. Gameloft makes awesome pay games, and the most important apps that I love on my phone, are the Google ones that Apple can't even come close to.

The latest dual core phones don't need a new kernel to be quick, this is another thing on the part of the manufacturers. They use sub par parts and **** around to save some money.

All in all, the fact that I can customize my phone easily, and the widgets just make the iPhone look old.
It doesn't have as much the bloatware, but niether do the nexus phones. The Apps might not be as pretty, but can do a whole lot more. The multiple keyboards alone shock everyone I know who gets an Android phone for the first time, if one doesn't work, just get a new one.

Another nice thing, as much as people cry about it, is the fact that they keep updating the OS, and with an unlocked bootloader, you can take advantage of the OS to the fullest, though that's hard to come by sometimes.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Dave12308]

Some may think this is hypercritical but google is a better company than apple and would treat us right. Google doesn't care if we root or dev or hell even brick the phone. The bloat is because no one can stop the carrier from putting it on the phone. Thank vzw for the bloat not moto, Just thank them for blur lol.

Of course Google doesn't care, they only make the OS and not the devices. They have absolutely nothing to lose if you screw your device up by rooting it.

It has absolutely nothing to do with Google being a "better company", and if Google were losing money on "broken" devices; they would probably be just as strict as Apple.

 

[takeshi]

One reason that I love Android is because of its OS, but when a phone comes with a twist to that OS, it is a turnoff. Launcherpro helps with that, but it's still frustrating. Now, Blur and Senese have been getting better and easier to use, but if I buy an android phone, I want the Android OS, not Moto's or HTC's spin on it.

Then make that a priority when shopping. Get a Nexus device. Or make sure you can root and load a custom ROM that you prefer. If you don't like an OEM's UI then don't buy a device where you're stuck with one.

However, I hate that you almost have to root in order to truly love your phone.

You have to. There are plenty of people that love their stock devices. Never assume that your preferences are universal.

No matter how much we fight it, the Apple App store just has better apps, especially when it comes to games. Now, there are many apps that I love on Android that Apple will never have(Chrome to phone, Flash, etc..) but they are few. Also, there are only a handful of apps that Android has that Apple didn't have first.

Better is always subjective and app selection is no different. Again, never assume that your preference for iOS apps is universal. Plenty of people do prefer Android apps. If everyone strongly preferred iOS apps then they'd be using iOS. Don't make broad, sweeping generalizations based solely on your experience. One data point doesn't define a line, much less a trend (which is curve).

If you don't like Android as much as when you first got your Droid and you prefer iOS then switch. Just stop projecting your preferences on others. Every option has its pros and cons and it's no different with the tired old Android versus iOS comparisons. Each person needs to evaluate the pros and cons on both sides and select the option that best suits that person. No one option will be best for everyone out there.

Let me know what you think, if you disagree, agree, or any other input. So, what do you guys think?

Severely beaten dead horse. Go with what you prefer. What are you expecting from this discussion that hasn't been covered in the countless identical prior threads?

 

[bump47]

Wow, Takeshi, apologies. Didn't mean for anyone to get so heated about this. Just a simple thread about my preferences that I wanted to share. Sorry it seemed that I was projecting my preferences on everyone. I wasn't. I just want to hear from people who have newer phones, and how they like them. That is all. Sorry to upset you and make you come in here and beat on a dead horse.