Droid Apps Suck Compared to iPhone

[tats_06]

I tried that one as well. Still got the one contact only to come up. Even so, getting the contact shortcut where all it does is brings up the contact and still having to click the phone button doesn't achieve what I am looking for. I can get that done with one of the standard widgets.

Try Any Cut... Also, in regards to overall apps being worse than the iphone...I say give it a little time...of course they are not as polished, but they are getting there. They are just different. I still think Android is hands down better that iOS...

 

[slosh]

How many contacts do you have in your contact list if you go to the phone app. The phone app that lets you dial. Are all your contacts there?

 

[droidx_fan]

Try Any Cut... Also, in regards to overall apps being worse than the iphone...I say give it a little time...of course they are not as polished, but they are getting there. They are just different. I still think Android is hands down better that iOS...

tats, just installed and tried Any Cut. It worked in terms of showing all my contacts but after repeated attempts, no icon on the screen! I changed from Launcher Pro to the Moto UI and same thing.

I think I'm going to uninstall ADW and LP and try this again.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I have to say that currently, the iphone marketplace is better in the sense that it has more of the mainstream apps that I want:

e.g. Chase mobile banking; American Express mobile app; awesomenote or todo

I am really missing those 4 apps, and those were pretty essential for me. Everything else I can live without.

The Android marketplace is better in the sense that it is more "open" and you can get things that the apple market wouldn't have (things to customize your phone).

The Apple experience is more polished, whereas the android experience is more utility/customizable that is rough around the edges.

Maybe in 1-2 years, with more development, the android market can fully take over the iphone market.

Agreed, but I think the mobile portals for Chase and Amex are good. In any case, I am sure apps are in the works for Android.

 

[AFAngryWarrior]

Moved thankfully...

 

[lunatic59]

tats, just installed and tried Any Cut. It worked in terms of showing all my contacts but after repeated attempts, no icon on the screen! I changed from Launcher Pro to the Moto UI and same thing.

I think I'm going to uninstall ADW and LP and try this again.

Silly question, but do you have room for an icon on your screen? If you don't have the space, it won't create it.

I did try with ADW and Bettercut to create a direct dial shortcut with a custom name and icon and it worked as it was supposed to. I would suspect that something with Motoblur is interfering with Bettercut and your contacts list.

 

[droidx_fan]

Silly question, but do you have room for an icon on your screen? If you don't have the space, it won't create it.

I did try with ADW and Bettercut to create a direct dial shortcut with a custom name and icon and it worked as it was supposed to. I would suspect that something with Motoblur is interfering with Bettercut and your contacts list.

Yes, went to one of the blank screens to try it. I did uninstall ADW and Bettercut, still won't work with Any Cut. I'm guessing you're correct about it being some kind of Motoblur issue.

Lots of advantages of an open architecture system but I think here may be an example of a disadvantage.

 

[exwifeusesiphone]

Yes, Iphone apps are better. Apple exercises an enormous amount of control, which, while heavy-handed, does mean that quality is higher. I don't see why Google can't take a cue from them and police the market better.

For myself, I'm a musician, and there's jack all on Android, from what I hear there won't be until 2.2 and developers get better APIs. No 4-track recorder, no cool software synthesizers (there is an entire emulation of a classic synth for the Iphone that used to be $100 PC software and works just as well!), there's a couple of beat boxes and a guitar tuner. Yea.

But I'm on Android because I don't like the closed system. When I got an Ipod shuffle years ago and realized Itunes was renaming all my MP3s so I couldn't copy them to another computer (stupid but effective form of copy protection!) I junked it and uninstalled Itunes. I will not deal with a company that screws with MY OWN DATA, and Apple does that a lot (last I checked, Itunes still does this - so on another computer, you're forced to use Itunes to find the media you want.)

To get back on topic, it sounds like you want to make a Windows-like short cut that could be renamed for a contact, but clicking on that shortcut would call them rather than just bring up their contact data. Is that close? I don't think there's anything that will work with the data like that, yet, the closest is Motorola's quick task contact widgets. Maybe you should hunt for an app that would manage your contacts and give you more choices, because frankly, the current contact system leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't even import my Google Contact folders, at least on my Droid X.

Maybe I'll have to download Google's app maker and see what I can do.

 

[LoyalServant]

WOW chill everyone.

I have used anycut many times but it never worked with other launchers for me.
I just tried it having not used it since Google pushed the froyo update and i went from cyanogen back to stock, and it worked fine.

That being said, a lot of devs will actually work with you in resolving issues in their apps.
You might try to contact a dev and see if they will work with you on resolving it.
Most devs don't want bad reviews and anycut is @ 4.5 stars - it's a very highly rated app and I doubt the dev would want droid x users rating it down.

 

[UncleMike]

I hesitate to post in this thread because it seems to be going down hill faster than an Olympic skier, but I think the complaint about the brevity of app descriptions in the Market is valid. I wouldn't necessarily blame the developers though. If the limitations on Market comments are any indication, developers probably have an extremely limited space to work with. That said, each app listing can/does have a link to a web site for the app and/or developer.

In the end, if you're uncomfortable with the amount of information available for an app, don't buy it.

 

[snapcase]

Not to be mean, but this is old hat. Person new to Android goes into the market and tries 2 apps and comes here pissed off that they sucked and summarily dismisses the market as a whole. They just *have* to make a post about how much better their iphone was and how much better their apple market was.

Honestly, if you hate android and love your iphone then your choice is clear. Go back to your iphone... just be careful how you hold it.

Now, if you'd taken time to first read comments about an app and the plethora of reviews on apps before buying them, you would have been better off. If you'd come here simply asking for help because you can't get something to work properly (instead of ranting that the Market sucks, and having a hostile attitude), you'd have gotten help. You also had the option of contacting the developer directly to try and solve your problems. Many of them are very responsive and will lend you their aid.

Also keep in mind that the Droidx hasn't been out long (few days), and it's common sense that bugs will exist. They get ironed out in short order, but you have to have a bit of patience and an attention span longer than 3 seconds.

 

[blackvyper]

Before you post random comments about the Market and the description of apps (or lack thereof) you should check out sites like Androlib & Appbrain. These places have descriptions of the apps but they also list the user reviews so you can read how well or how bad an apps performs on your phone. No matter what people say about Android and it's Market.. at least we can hold our phones the right way without rubberbands & duct tape.



Oh, yes I did!

 

[ari-free]

The thing about freedom is that if you want it, you have to really work for it. You can't expect everything to be easy and handed to you on a silver platter. You have to do research, submit bug reports and post app requests and keep pushing if you don't think there's an app that meets your needs.
I did my small part for mozilla and fortunately Firefox was successful. If firefox failed, we wouldn't even be talking about iphone or android because we would need IE to use any mainstream website.

 

[Super Noob]

While not a big deal, Cashbook was a paid app ($4.99), I didn't get a refund. Seems like it would be easier if they'd just post some more details in the description. I believe they're purposefully vague so they can suck more people into spending their money on a crap piece of software.

Hmmm:

Award:#10 of "The 25 Best Android Apps for Business" --businesspundit.com

For Business: a quick handy way to track expense/income/mileage/sales for tax/reimbursement/bookkeeping purposes.

For Everyday life: track cash flow, trend and balance from anywhere and at any time.

For you, this is your Cashbook.

Latest version: 11.02 (for all Android versions)

Cashbook - Expense Tracker - Android app on AppBrain

The ratings didn't look to bad. Purposefully vague? What more description did you need? Did you uninstall the app within 24 hours? If you waited passed the 24 hour period, the app is yours.

If you're still in your trial period, just return the Droid X and get you another iCan't and save yourself any future headaches. The _______ (fill in the blank) sucks because the iCan't _________ (fill in the blank) threads get kinda old after awhile.

 

[ari-free]

another rule of thumb is to always check to see if the app has a website. For example
Cashbook

 

[polyclef]

Just to address a couple of points in this thread:

1) Usually the reason the app description is so sketchy is not a willful attempt on the part of the developer to sucker you. We only get 325 characters (not words, characters) to describe our apps. This is a long-standing complaint on the part of many devs, since for many apps it is extremely difficult to convey functionality in that limited a space. We would also like to be able to use app descriptions as a changelog, to indicate what changes we made in updates. Again, the space limitations squeeze us out.

2) The return policy in the Android Market is very liberal and favors the customer much more than Apple's. There is a 24-hour, no-questions-asked return policy. Again, some devs are against this because some apps, like very casual games, can sometimes be consumed within 24 hours. For example, a silly game that you buy for 99 cents may grow boring after a few hours. A dev would argue that you got 99 cents worth of entertainment out of it (compare to something like a movie), but with the Android Market you can return it after using it for less than a day for a full refund.

 

[mmarti16]

Just to address a couple of points in this thread:

1) Usually the reason the app description is so sketchy is not a willful attempt on the part of the developer to sucker you. We only get 325 characters (not words, characters) to describe our apps. This is a long-standing complaint on the part of many devs, since for many apps it is extremely difficult to convey functionality in that limited a space. We would also like to be able to use app descriptions as a changelog, to indicate what changes we made in updates. Again, the space limitations squeeze us out.

2) The return policy in the Android Market is very liberal and favors the customer much more than Apple's. There is a 24-hour, no-questions-asked return policy. Again, some devs are against this because some apps, like very casual games, can sometimes be consumed within 24 hours. For example, a silly game that you buy for 99 cents may grow boring after a few hours. A dev would argue that you got 99 cents worth of entertainment out of it (compare to something like a movie), but with the Android Market you can return it after using it for less than a day for a full refund.

and also Apple had a 4-5 year headstart on droid OS and apps....

 

[cranialnerve]

I gave up my iphone, very reluctantly, due tragically poor AT&T service. I got a droid incredible with verizon, because of their good service in the Portland Oregon area. With all the advertising about the apps for droid, I figured I would give it a shot.

The internet screams on this system compared to the iPhone. I can't tell if its Verizon, or the droid, or both, but it is significantly faster.

However, I have to say going from the iPhone to the Droid is like going back to DOS 1.0. The applications are a joke. Who cares if you can run multiple apps, if none of them are worth running. There are thousands of apps, many of which are redrawn versions of the same dinosaur 1995 software. The only applications I have found any use for are the medical software databases I use for my practice. I must say that those run very well, and look better on the droid than the iPhone. It is a massive disappointment that such technology can only be useful as a phone, and simple database. I really isn't any fun at all.

I am now considering reactivating my iphone as a second phone, simply to have access to all the awesome applications, and reducing my Verizon Driod to phone service only, because it is so dull.

 

[cranialnerve]

One more comment. I loved playing great games on the iPhone such as Plant vs Zombie. I think it's a riot that the closest you can get to this great game on the Droid is to see pictures of icons from the game. I guess the writers of this great droid version figured, you can load these icons, and pretend you had something cool. UGH

 

[Stupidzeus]

still kind of confused about what exactly you want with the contacts. but you do know under the moto ui, that you can resize the contact widget down to just a picture and when you click on it, it will dial their number right?

 

[muab]

I gave up my iphone, very reluctantly, due tragically poor AT&T service. I got a droid incredible with verizon, because of their good service in the Portland Oregon area. With all the advertising about the apps for droid, I figured I would give it a shot.

The internet screams on this system compared to the iPhone. I can't tell if its Verizon, or the droid, or both, but it is significantly faster.

However, I have to say going from the iPhone to the Droid is like going back to DOS 1.0. The applications are a joke. Who cares if you can run multiple apps, if none of them are worth running. There are thousands of apps, many of which are redrawn versions of the same dinosaur 1995 software. The only applications I have found any use for are the medical software databases I use for my practice. I must say that those run very well, and look better on the droid than the iPhone. It is a massive disappointment that such technology can only be useful as a phone, and simple database. I really isn't any fun at all.

I am now considering reactivating my iphone as a second phone, simply to have access to all the awesome applications, and reducing my Verizon Driod to phone service only, because it is so dull.

Came from the iPhone to the Droid about 8 months ago and have a pretty different perspective.

there are at least two dynamics at work here. First, the iPhone had a significant head-start on App creation and refinement, so they really should have a 1-2 year lead on Android Apps, and in many ways it really is not turning out that way.

The other dynamic is top-down control.

There is much, much less control over Android Market items than Apple takes over Apps, so that means that we have *some* pretty rough products, some products that achieve powerful things that Apple would never allow, and some fringe products that Apple's correctness culture would never tolerate.
It is quite a range.

To lump them all into a "1995" category is either intentionally pejorative or very uninformed.

The Android/Apple dynamic is a classic example of free market pressures at work. For the last 3 years the iPhone has been BY FAR the number 1 smartphone and investing huge time and effort into profitable Apps made tremendous market sense. Apple, being Apple held very high standards of appearance and polish of Apps, and also critical standards limiting the Apps in many ways.
So, high end vetting was in place, and the big dollars beckoned to the iPhone. it is no surprise that the Apple App market has been more refined and more developed. It would have made no sense to be any other way.

Now the balance is tipping, Android phones are out-pacing the iPhone. Many Apps are just as refined on the Droid as they are on the iPhone, and if you are pushing the envelope at all (particularly in regard to I/O issues where Apple chokes the iPhone) in your technical sophistication you will find dozens or hundreds of Apps that provide abilities NOT POSSIBLE with the iPhone.

The Android OS supremacy is inevitable for a few reasons even though the iPhone branding, marketing and market execution are all better than any individual Android phone.

Oh, and every single market App can be uninstalled through the market within 24 hours and you receive an *automatic* refund for the purchase price.

 

[JohnShepherd]

I'm not sure what people are complaining about. I've been using an iPhone for over 3 years, and recently switched to a Desire.

Here's a tip: Read reviews of apps before installing them. There's tooooons of apps, some good, and a lot bad. Just google "best media player app", or "best flight tracker app", or whatever app you need. Or check out the "favorite apps" thread, pretty much all apps mentioned there are good.