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iOS4 vs Android

I think you have misinterpreted this statement;

Yes, Video calling has been around for years, but who has ever used it? No one. That is why very few phone manufacturers bother putting a front facing camera on their phones any more.

With the iPhone 4, people will use video calling - one because its been implemented well, two because its been marketed correctly and three (not one I think is a good reason, mind) because Apple says you should.

When comparing the iPhone to other smartphones, I think you really need to "get" the iPhone. It isn't something that is supposed to do everything, every way possible - it is designed to be the best at everything it does do - this is why we saw many features missing so early on - they are simply not included until Apple have 100% nailed them (Plus, its an amazing marketing strategy, which works very well - after all, Apple are a business).

I don't think its entirely fair to compare the iPhone directly with the Desire, either. I came from an 3GS to the Desire, and the Desire does leave a lot to be desired (pun intended);

In terms of hardware, it isn't a touch on even the 3GS (with exception to screen quality/resolution in the right conditions) - the Desire has poor storage capacity as standard (16 and 32GB SD cards are still quite expensive!), feels no where near as well built, is useless in sunlight and suffers to measure up in terms of battery life.

When it comes to comparing iOS to Android - until 2.1 there was simply no contest, the iPhone was miles ahead. 2.1 improved things a lot, but there simply isn't that refined touch to Android that you get with iOS. Things aren't as well rounded, many things seem like an after thought, and whilst it may have all the features you want, not all of them work that well - if Apple released a product like this, they'd be crucified. After all that, you are still as restricted on an Android handset as you are on an iPhone, which amuses me when you get a lot of people slating the iPhone for being so locked down.

In conclusion, I do really like my Desire - its a huge improvement on the Hero I used briefly in between my 3GS and looking for a new phone, I also like Android a lot - I even run it on my Joggler! But Android still has a lot of growing up to do before it "works" (in the sense of actually working, and everything fitting together) as well as an iPhone.

Android user, iPhone lover :D
Are you on drugs? How are we even remotely as restricted as the iPhone?
 
This is the sort of regurgitated Apple mrketing line without any basis at all. "Implemented well"? Utter garbage. It's on wifi only. Implemented well would also involve 3G etc. Still - you get enough people droning the above mantra and then guess what, they really believe it, and never ask for more.

Have you ever stopped to think that they haven't managed to get a product they are happy with working over 3G? 3G simply isn't reliable enough, which is probably why video calling failed in the first place - it rarely ever worked!

Sorry Mike but you are coming across as a sheep in wolves clothing. Some of your arguments for the Iphone are laughable at best.

The biggest single reason people say iOS is better is because it "just works". There is a reason for that IMO its because it does very little. I find the user interface so dumbed down it is almost unbearable. iOS4 allows you to create folders and move apps around the screen and that's where user interaction stops. Android is certainly not perfect yet but it is miles ahead of iOS.

I'm not arguing for the iPhone, just putting my opinion across, based on my experience over the last few years (G1, iPhone 3G, Galaxy, 3GS, Hero, Desire).

Are you on drugs? How are we even remotely as restricted as the iPhone?

There are two ways of looking at this;

If you want to talk about applications, then no we are not, but many may argue Apple's vetting system is the better idea - ensuring the user experience, if you will.

Second is that they are both restricted to user space, and both will be jailbroken/rooted by your average power user - both "methods" have the same effect.
 
I think you have misinterpreted this statement;

Yes, Video calling has been around for years, but who has ever used it? No one. That is why very few phone manufacturers bother putting a front facing camera on their phones any more.

I haven't misinterpreted anything, the promo vid I watched contained a bold statement that they are bringing video calling to the world. Not resurrecting it. Just because barely anyone used it doesn't allow them to claim its a new revolutionary feature made my Apple.

In the same vid, they claim the 3GS invented video recording, more lies lol,

Unfortunately the mass market will be drawn in by these lies.

That said, the iphone 4 looks like a very good phone, just like the 3gs was but Apple's claims of the iPhone 4 being a revolution are completely ridiculous. The iPhone 4 has really just caught up with the latest Android devices (maybe slightly surpassed in sum areas), non of its "new" features interest me though and within 3 or 4 months I bet HTC will have made a superior device.

The iPhone 4 would be a huge success no matter how it compares to other devices, it's an Apple product so it will sell millions to the masses.
 
Sorry, I don't like being so blunt, but you are wrong - the promo video doesn't say we've made this amazing new feature that no one has ever done before. Bringing it to the world simply means they are bringing a version that people will use - which is bringing it to the world really, hence my mention of interpretation.
 
That is an incredibly disingenious argument mikeh. The statement is ambiguous - you chose to interpret it one way, others interpret it in an equally valid way. Not sure why you are saying "you are wrong" given this ambiguity. You didn't write the statement after all so who are you to say your interpretation is better than anyone else's?
 
Worse - more like C64 v Speccy (the latter of course being the better)

I was around for that, and nes/master system, snes/mega drive, amiga/atari st etc etc etc. funny how whichever system I owned was always ' the best'.
 
That is an incredibly disingenious argument mikeh. The statement is ambiguous - you chose to interpret it one way, others interpret it in an equally valid way. Not sure why you are saying "you are wrong" given this ambiguity. You didn't write the statement after all so who are you to say your interpretation is better than anyone else's?

If you had watched the original iPhone 4 announcement presentation, that statement in context appeared obvious to me.
 
cant quite believe what mikeh is talking about. go to any reviews online comparing iphone to htc desire and the desire comes out on top 9 times out of 10. i mean are you sure you have used both phones. as for the desire being as locked d0own as th eiphone thats complete bull
 
If you had watched the original iPhone 4 announcement presentation, that statement in context appeared obvious to me.

I did, and it didn't. So you can't really throw around absolute statements such as "you're wrong" then can you.
 
cant quite believe what mikeh is talking about. go to any reviews online comparing iphone to htc desire and the desire comes out on top 9 times out of 10. i mean are you sure you have used both phones. as for the desire being as locked d0own as th eiphone thats complete bull
 
I wasn't really talking about processor speeds etc. as clock speeds and ram are pretty irrelevant over two different architectures and platforms. My point was the iPhones are better built and much better thought out - the screen working in sunlight for one.

Yes, the Desire has its own merits, but I do find myself frustrated at people that seem to get into the whole "I have phone A, so phone B is bad" thing, and quite frankly I'm fed up with the iPhone vs Android thing all over the internet - it isn't just here.

For the record, I honestly believe if Google stick to their guns, and get 3.0 right and keep it as described then providing the right hardware is there (Someone needs to make a truly brilliant phone for the Android platform!) then it really has a fighting chance at biting a huge chunk out of the iPhone market.

Oh that's ok then. I'll change the argument to suit the Desire. The screen is much better than the 3GS when out of sunlight. Sure the Desire has faults but so does the iPhone. You're just pointing out the Desire faults and ignoring the iPhone's, at least my post had some balance to it (unlike others in this thread).

One could even argue that Apple's handset is so well thought out because they limit functionality. I haven't viewed a 3GS in sunlight but what can it do that a Desire can't? Nothing. Furthermore, if the 3GS specs are suitable enough then why limit iOS4 in the 3GS? I know Apple need to sell new handsets but it's also apparent the 3GS couldn't cope with it all.

You may not notice the difference in speed etc but that doesn't mean the hardware argument should be thrown in there with a strong overlook of the facts. My computer processor is slower than the newer ones, but not noticeably so in certain applications. I wouldn't start saying it was better though!

It seems to me your all over iPhone which is one of the things you deride in your response. Why bring a falsified argument over hardware into the equation? You rightly point out that the user experience is not all about hardware so don't suggest the phone you feel to have a better UI/experience has the better specs as a result.
 
Well, in terms of hardware I was talking about the handset in general rather than the specifications - in terms of processor speeds etc. - the point I was trying to make was that iOS3 worked just as speedy on the 3GS as 2.1 does on the Desire, and that it is very difficult to compare hardware specs across different architectures and platforms.

You used the PC analogy, well this is fantastic on my point too; just compare a 3GHz Pentium D to say a 2.4GHz Core2Duo: They are both dual core, but the processor with the lower clock speed is better and faster. I'm not saying this is the case with the 3GS vs. Desire (also the 4 vs. Desire is a better comparison in terms of release cycles), but it goes a long way to demonstrating how difficult it is to compare two CPUs that are quite similar, let alone two that are very different.

I haven't followed iOS4 much, but I was led to believe that the limitations on iOS4 on the 3GS were just pre-release rumours.

I'd like to think that I'm quite impartial - I haven't focussed on the iPhones faults because I genuinely didn't have any gripes with it in time I had it - However the issues I've had with the Desire have been beyond an annoyance since I got the phone.

Again, don't get me wrong, the Desire is a fantastic phone, one of the best I've had, I just find it frustrating when people treat it like it is the best thing since sliced bread, and claim it is a million miles ahead of the iPhone - because this kind of hype is what left me with a phone that I'm not entirely happy with in the first place.

In conclusion, yes its good, very good in fact, but miles ahead of the iPhone? The differences between them are so subjective, I believe its too close to fairly call.
 
thanks, i realise that but what does the "in some ways but in other ways" dribble refer to?

2.2 > iphone > 2.1 > iphone

and how is that a constructive comparison between the two OS's
 
I have something for all you guys that argue this iOS vs Android thing to think about....

You're giving Apple exactly what they want, and you don't even realize it.

Thats right, Apple wants people talking about their OS and phones. Why? Because it gives them publicity.
 
It kinda irritates me when people say the iPhone "just works". It is because it is super simple. I don't consider the whole "a 5 year old can use it" to be a good thing. I am smarter than I was when I was 5, I want something that matches my current skill set, not the skill set of a pre schooler. Essentially, the main apple U.I. is the equivalent of our app drawer. you scroll through lists of apps. Thats it. How hard is it to get that right? In this regard android "just works" too. My app drawer is flawless. Taking this simple approach gave apple time to polish other aspects of the OS. Google's U.I. is MUCH more complex than that, so in the early versions of android the O.S. wasn't as polished. Each update makes it more and more polished. Heck, until iOS4, the iPhone couldn't even do wallpapers. Really? my mom's nokia in the late 90's/early 2000's had user changeable wallpaper. How does the iPhone handle widgets? How about live wallpapers? If you don't like how it is set up can you install a home replacement?

Now this is not to say that the iPhone is a bad phone. It has mainstreamed smart phones, popularized the now dominant touch screen form factor, and certainly has its place in the world. People who don't want to or can't figure out the complexities of android. It's simple, it works, thats great. But for people who want something more functional, that they can customize to fit them and their desires both in the interface and apps, then the iphone is not for them. Android would be the better choice.
 
I too was hoping for some sort of reasonable comparison but this is apparently another rant thread...

What depresses me is that most people don't know any better.
What depresses me is the number of people on forum sites that think it's a one-size-fits-all world. The iPhone isn't for everyone. Neither is Android. Nor any other product out there, for that matter.

It kinda irritates me when people say the iPhone "just works". It is because it is super simple. I don't consider the whole "a 5 year old can use it" to be a good thing.
Selecting a device is always highly subjective. Any design decision is a compromise and, of course, different people will have different preferences when it comes to where the lines for those compromises are drawn.

Why does it irritate you if the iPhone works for other people? Why can't you just make a decision for yourself and be happy with it? Why do the opinions of others, whose needs/wants are entirely different, matter so much to you? I'm not really attempting to single you out. Your type of thinking is very prevalent all across the net.

To use cars as an analogy: I prefer small, relatively fast cars with very good handling and manual transmissions. That doesn't mean that everyone else is an idiot for buying something else because they don't have the same needs/wants. It's no different with smartphones or any other product out there. Some people need 4 doors, a bed for hauling cargo, or a vehicle that reflects/boosts their ego, etc etc. Not everyone out there is shopping with your list of priorities. Realizing that is the first step in not being a fanboy.
 
I too was hoping for some sort of reasonable comparison but this is apparently another rant thread...


What depresses me is the number of people on forum sites that think it's a one-size-fits-all world. The iPhone isn't for everyone. Neither is Android. Nor any other product out there, for that matter.


Selecting a device is always highly subjective. Any design decision is a compromise and, of course, different people will have different preferences when it comes to where the lines for those compromises are drawn.

Why does it irritate you if the iPhone works for other people? Why can't you just make a decision for yourself and be happy with it? Why do the opinions of others, whose needs/wants are entirely different, matter so much to you? I'm not really attempting to single you out. Your type of thinking is very prevalent all across the net.

To use cars as an analogy: I prefer small, relatively fast cars with very good handling and manual transmissions. That doesn't mean that everyone else is an idiot for buying something else because they don't have the same needs/wants. It's no different with smartphones or any other product out there. Some people need 4 doors, a bed for hauling cargo, or a vehicle that reflects/boosts their ego, etc etc. Not everyone out there is shopping with your list of priorities. Realizing that is the first step in not being a fanboy.

If you had read my whole post, you would see last paragraph says basically the same thing you just wrote. I was more referring to tech review websites and people on tech forums. I even said it was not a bad phone a d is the right choice for some people. My contention is that comparing their main u.I. is kinda comparing dappled to oranges. If you wanted a more fair comparison, put the iPhone user interface against the app drawrer in android. They have similar functions. The iPhone is simple (overly simple in my opinion).

Maybe next time you shouldn't attack people who semi agree with You (I agree that there is no one size fits all phone and that the iPhone is right for some people, only a moron would say otherwise)
 
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