Is Android really so great?

[bluepoole]

I own an HTC Desire (original one, not the HD, Z, etc), and must say, after 1.5 years of ownership, I cannot wait to get rid of it.

Running Android 2.2 on it, and here are some of the problems why I am disappointed in Android:

1. To receive a picture message (which is DATA), I have to switch OFF my data connection, otherwise I cannot receive it at all. Very annoying, actually.

2. Once you have received the picture message, my phone cannot open it and display the image, unless it was sent from another HTC. I had to download a third party app just to view it, and even then it is so small in size you cannot really make anything out.

3. When editing a calendar event, with the standard included calendar app, the phone gets confused and add a day to the date which I specify. I simply CANNOT solve this problem.

4. Many times when opening a new text message, the phone actually opens an old message which lies ten conversations down in the inbox, and from another sender. WTF?

The phone has reset itself numerous times. Factory resets/restores do not make a difference at all. These points above are just some of the problems I experience!

I own an iPad 2, got it 8 months ago. Up to date, it has not given me ANY problems at all. Not one single crash, not one single quirk, literally nothing at all. The lack of flash support when surfing the internet has never been an issue for me. In fact, my iPad can open more websites (or navigate them properly) than my Desire!

Stupid example - when Google introduced the "let it snow" easter egg last Christmas, my iPad was able to do the animation, but my Android phone (with Android being Google's own product!) could NOT!

I read the article on this site's homepage this morning with interest, where a test's results indicate IOS crashing more frequently when opening apps than Android. But let's put aside opening apps. What about just running and using the phone, i.e. reading text messages, etc. Would the results be the same?

Because of my positive and carefree experience with my iPad, I am getting a new iPhone when I'm due for a new phone in August.

A question I want to ask is the following: has Android improved since the time I got my HTC? Will the annoying quirks mentioned above still be present on a Samsung Galaxy S2 for example?

 

[chanchan05]

I have a Galaxy S variant.

1. Doesn't exist on mine

2. No problem on my end as well so far. But maybe because Pic messages aren't really the norm here.

3. No problems making events so far.

4. Again haven't happened on me.

Personally go with the phone that you want, and since you already have an iPad, I'd actually suggest going with iPhone, especially if you own a Mac as well. This is mainly due to Apple's model of a closed garden where it is easy to sync and work with the files you have if you use all Apple, than if you combine Android+iOS. The latter becomes a bit of a PITA in some ways.

The Android phone also cannot have shown the easter egg because it was running on an Android User Agent for the browser. Tablets run on a different user agent. If you had set the phone to desktop UA, you would have probably seen it.

 

[!on]

I fail to see how one manufacturers handset (which may be a faulty one) represents an OS that differs to Apple's. Android is an OS, there are many versions of it, with some custom versions in the offing. Unlike Apple, android is installed on many different manufacturers phones, some are better than others.

The picture message thing could be down to your network, have you tried with another sim? Also, switch off wifi (not 3g) to use over the network. I'm not sure how you can suggest turning off data to use something that requires it. That statement makes no sense, so please, enlighten us to how you receive said MMS without 3g?

I've not experienced the things you say in calendar & message. sounds like your handset may be faulty, if like you say you already tried hard resets & it reboots itself.

Bear in mind that HTC is not android, it's just another make of phone. Just because your Handset is poorly, doesn't mean other peoples are. It also doesn't mean that all HTC Desire experience the same things you describe.

 

[OfTheDamned]

All of the problems you are experiencing are through apps in HTC's Sense UI. None of those are stock Android. This is an important distinction because while they are apart of your Android experience they are not apart of all Android phones.

Has Android changed since you purchased your device? Quite a bit. I started with an HTC Eris and have had a few different phones since then, but I'm using the "latest and greatest" now and there is a world of difference between Android then and now. The latest OS is very smooth, very polished and runs extremely well. Will there be annoying quirks in any and all devices? Sure. Since these are still made by human beings there will always be issues. There is no getting around that. iPhones have blown up in people's pockets. Android phones are still a little divided because of custom UIs. PCs, Macs, iPhones, Androids, WP7 phones all crash. There is no way of getting the perfect device. The key is to find the bugs and get them sorted during your warranty period so that you don't have to live with them forever.

Personally, I've always found the iPhone to be a bit boring, but it is your phone and you should get what is going to work best for you. When August comes around though, there will be a whole bunch of new phones on the market so I wouldn't rule out one OS over another at this point.

As for your phone now, you may want to hit the Desire forums and see if anyone knows why you are having these problems. They may have a solution for you that will make your phone less of a problem until August gets here. Good luck.

 

[pool_shark]

If Apple products work better for you, stick to them.
There is nothing wrong with that.

 

[jerofld]

I own a HTC device with an up-to-date version of Sense installed. And I don't have any of those problems.

And, actually, I'd assume most of your problems are due to the stock ROM has gone haywire. It happens sometimes (even on iPhones!). I'd recommend you try a factory reset, or better yet, head down to the Desire all things root subforum and root your phone and install a new ROM. I've known a few people who have owned older Android devices that have had problems with their device that have suddenly became happy with their phone again after rooting and installing a custom ROM.

Desire - All Things Root - Android Forums

 

[Kicksilver]

Man, sorry to say but your device is bugged.

My Galaxy S doesn't get me ANY of those malfunctions.

 

[KyleB]

Has Android changed since you purchased your device? Quite a bit. I started with an HTC Eris and have had a few different phones since then, but I'm using the "latest and greatest" now and there is a world of difference between Android then and now. The latest OS is very smooth, very polished and runs extremely well. Will there be annoying quirks in any and all devices? Sure. Since these are still made by human beings there will always be issues. There is no getting around that. iPhones have blown up in people's pockets. Android phones are still a little divided because of custom UIs. PCs, Macs, iPhones, Androids, WP7 phones all crash. There is no way of getting the perfect device. The key is to find the bugs and get them sorted during your warranty period so that you don't have to live with them forever.
QUOTE]

Well said. Android has improved and changed so much in so little time. I'm currently on Android 2.1 with my HTC Magic phone and I also have a Motorola xoom with Honeycomb. What a difference between the two devices...I now can't stand my HTC Magic and can't wait to get rid of it. I find the phone lags a lot when I try to access applications. The processor is just way to slow for the apps that I want to run. Plus, I've also experienced multiple crashes and I'm not happy about the limitations of 2.1 vs more current versions of android. Thinking of going with the Galaxy Nexus...I think once I have ICS on my Canadian xoom, and ICS on my phone, I'll be much happier with the android experience.

 

[mikedt]

The first two things sounds like something that's proprietary to HTC phones rather than the normal carrier MMS service.

 

[Logan47]

Experience may vary is the obvious answer. I had an iPhone for two years and had various issues of the OS which needed several updates, but it is not indicitive of overall user experience.

 

[ouch1976]

The original post will probably incense alot of people. So what, you had a few glitches in a new phone/system that is now pretty much antiquated. I bought an OG Droid from Verizon when they first came out and I was blown away by the device. I never had any serious problems with the phone.

 

[GrenW]

Never seen any of those problems on my Desire. That's with a stock rom, a custom Sense rom and an AOSP rom. I gopt it the day it came out in the UK so I've had plenty of time to notice if these were problems.

Sounds like yours needs a wipe and a reload.

 

[OfTheDamned]

The original post will probably incense alot of people. So what, you had a few glitches in a new phone/system that is now pretty much antiquated. I bought an OG Droid from Verizon when they first came out and I was blown away by the device. I never had any serious problems with the phone.

No reason for anyone to be incensed. Everyone has different experiences with their phones. 10 people could have the exact same phone and all see different results based on use and apps installed. At the same time, what you or I may see as an acceptable glitch may drive another person out of their mind.

The important thing to realize is that in the world of electronics nothing is immune to such issues. In every batch there can be a bad piece of tech and it doesn't matter who makes it. The nice thing is that most of the time these issues are software related and not hardware problems. Software is typically a pretty easy fix. Load a new ROM, uninstall or install an app, factory reset, update from manufacturer, etc. can all fix an issue with software. This is one of the reason's I love Android. If you don't like something you can always try to fix/change it with root and a new ROM. If you don't like the way a certain part of your phone functions, load a 3rd party app from the market. If it is a hardware issue, unless you know how to open you phone and replace key parts inside it, you are out of luck and have to rely of the warranty.

 

[Unforgiven]

The original post will probably incense alot of people. So what, you had a few glitches in a new phone/system that is now pretty much antiquated. I bought an OG Droid from Verizon when they first came out and I was blown away by the device. I never had any serious problems with the phone.

I think the OP is exactly correct in his presentation. He asked a question, raised his concerns, and we as a community are trying to offer solutions. We may not be right, we may not be able to fix everything that ails his phone, but we will be civil (someone even graciously suggested that maybe iPhone is the right phone for him). That is what we do here, help people. About the only way the OP could have gone wrong is if he stopped typing after his first line.

To the OP, since you are probably already out of warranty, I would try jerofld's advice, head down the rabbit hole and root the phone and load a custom rom.

 

[bluepoole]

Thank you for all the replies!

The Android phone also cannot have shown the easter egg because it was running on an Android User Agent for the browser. Tablets run on a different user agent. If you had set the phone to desktop UA, you would have probably seen it.

On my phone, I have disabled the "Mobile View" of websites completely. I assume this is what you're referring to, there are no other settings mentioning "User Agent" or similar.

I fail to see how one manufacturers handset (which may be a faulty one) represents an OS that differs to Apple's. Android is an OS, there are many versions of it, with some custom versions in the offing. Unlike Apple, android is installed on many different manufacturers phones, some are better than others.

The picture message thing could be down to your network, have you tried with another sim? Also, switch off wifi (not 3g) to use over the network. I'm not sure how you can suggest turning off data to use something that requires it. That statement makes no sense, so please, enlighten us to how you receive said MMS without 3g?

I've not experienced the things you say in calendar & message. sounds like your handset may be faulty, if like you say you already tried hard resets & it reboots itself.

Bear in mind that HTC is not android, it's just another make of phone. Just because your Handset is poorly, doesn't mean other peoples are. It also doesn't mean that all HTC Desire experience the same things you describe.

It could be a faulty handset, and yes another Desire owner would not necessarily have the same experience, but what I failed to mention is that this particular handset is actually my second Desire, the first one was sent in for repairs after four months, and they eventually replaced it with a new one.

One of my buddies had a Desire as well, and he experienced some of my problems as well, as well as other problems which I don't have.

Some of my issues could be related to hardware, but I still feel some of it is software/OS related.

With regards to the receiving of MMS, when my 3G is on and somebody sends me a picture message, I get an error saying "General Network Failure". I then have to switch off my 3G connection. When doing that, the message is then received. I know it sounds weird, I kid you not, you have to see it to believe it.

This could be related to my network's MMS settings, yes, but I have tried numerous sets of settings, and the one I use now is the only one that actually works.

It still baffles me why it cannot open other brands' images, though.

All of the problems you are experiencing are through apps in HTC's Sense UI. None of those are stock Android. This is an important distinction because while they are apart of your Android experience they are not apart of all Android phones.

I have tried several other launchers by now, so not using HTC Sense at all. But, unfortunately, the problems I have mentioned remain the same. Using other launchers did not bring additional/other problems, luckily.

Taking the phone back for repairs is not an option, the local agent of HTC in my country is pathetic to say the least, and I do not want to sit without my phone for weeks and weeks. Probably just going to ride the wave out until I can upgrade to the iPhone.

In the end, I do realise that ten different people will have ten different experiences with the same model of phone. And I also realise a lot of people have positive experiences with Android. I want to migrate to Apple, there are probably millions of people who would advise against it, and who feels the same about iOS, the way I feel about Android.

I could get the latest HTC model with the latest version of Android in August, and might not have any problems, but I am not going to take the chance. It is human nature to avoid risks and if you have a negative experience with a certain brand of phone, car or microwave, you're going to avoid the brand, even if millions of others have positive experiences with it.

It is also a matter of personal taste, it so happens that HTC is the only brand appealing to me looks wise, etc. (other than Apple), so I would unfortunately not consider Samsung, LG, etc even though their Android versions might be great and without the HTC's issues.

I never had a look at Apple's products, it was actually by chance that I got an iPad in the first place, was walking through a shopping mall while on holiday and went into an iStore to kill time, wasn't even in the market for a tablet. Saw the iPad, was so impressed with it, got it a few weeks later and so far so good. The stability and ease of use of iOS impressed me so much, therefore I am going to give Apple a chance. Also considering buying an iMac later this year.

To each his own I guess!

 

[OfTheDamned]

I have tried several other launchers by now, so not using HTC Sense at all. But, unfortunately, the problems I have mentioned remain the same. Using other launchers did not bring additional/other problems, luckily.

Taking the phone back for repairs is not an option, the local agent of HTC in my country is pathetic to say the least, and I do not want to sit without my phone for weeks and weeks. Probably just going to ride the wave out until I can upgrade to the iPhone.

In the end, I do realise that ten different people will have ten different experiences with the same model of phone. And I also realise a lot of people have positive experiences with Android. I want to migrate to Apple, there are probably millions of people who would advise against it, and who feels the same about iOS, the way I feel about Android.

I could get the latest HTC model with the latest version of Android in August, and might not have any problems, but I am not going to take the chance. It is human nature to avoid risks and if you have a negative experience with a certain brand of phone, car or microwave, you're going to avoid the brand, even if millions of others have positive experiences with it.

It is also a matter of personal taste, it so happens that HTC is the only brand appealing to me looks wise, etc. (other than Apple), so I would unfortunately not consider Samsung, LG, etc even though their Android versions might be great and without the HTC's issues.

I never had a look at Apple's products, it was actually by chance that I got an iPad in the first place, was walking through a shopping mall while on holiday and went into an iStore to kill time, wasn't even in the market for a tablet. Saw the iPad, was so impressed with it, got it a few weeks later and so far so good. The stability and ease of use of iOS impressed me so much, therefore I am going to give Apple a chance. Also considering buying an iMac later this year.

To each his own I guess!

I believe you misunderstand what Sense is. It isn't a launcher, skin or a theme. Adding a launcher doesn't change the core function of Sense. Sense is a UI (User Interface), but it actually changes the function of the OS. The sms app is built by HTC. The browser is built by HTC. The calendar is built by HTC. All of these function with HTC Sense, but they do not function without HTC Sense. This is the reason that other Android phones can't use HTC's widgets. In Android everything is a program. Even the phone (menaing the dialer) is just another app and HTC has taken these apps and modified them to function differently from a standard Android device. While it is still Android it is more of an HTC operating system when Sense is built into the OS. The same can be said about TouchWiz from Samsung or Blur from Motorola to a certain extent. It is Android, but it is a manipulated version of Android. Unless you have rooted and installed a custom ROM, you're still using HTC Sense.

I'm not sure what you have against Samsung though. You find Apple appealing, in the looks department, but Samsung has been sued by Apple on multiple continents for having the same look. Overall I think it is a real shame that, for whatever reason, you aren't willing to use a different brand of device running Android. The way I read it, you are upset with the service and the product from HTC and from where I sit your real problem is with HTC and not Android.

I hope your experience with an iPhone is better than your experience with your Desire and everything works out for you. Good luck.

 

[chanchan05]

Thank you for all the replies!



On my phone, I have disabled the "Mobile View" of websites completely. I assume this is what you're referring to, there are no other settings mentioning "User Agent" or similar.

This is depending on the browser itself I think, as on Dolphin, there is a separate setting for toggling between mobile view/desktop view as there is a toggle for user agent. If you are using the default browser, I think that user agent may be unchangeable. Also I must againt reiterate that the iPad uses a different User Agent compared to Desktops, iPhone and Androids. Of course we can't test now, but there are other browser options for Android, like Dolphin, Boat, Firefox, Opera, etc.

It could be a faulty handset, and yes another Desire owner would not necessarily have the same experience, but what I failed to mention is that this particular handset is actually my second Desire, the first one was sent in for repairs after four months, and they eventually replaced it with a new one.

One of my buddies had a Desire as well, and he experienced some of my problems as well, as well as other problems which I don't have.

Some of my issues could be related to hardware, but I still feel some of it is software/OS related.

With regards to the receiving of MMS, when my 3G is on and somebody sends me a picture message, I get an error saying "General Network Failure". I then have to switch off my 3G connection. When doing that, the message is then received. I know it sounds weird, I kid you not, you have to see it to believe it.

This could be related to my network's MMS settings, yes, but I have tried numerous sets of settings, and the one I use now is the only one that actually works.

It still baffles me why it cannot open other brands' images, though.

It could actually even be a carrier related thing as carriers tinker with firmwares of phones you get from them.

I have tried several other launchers by now, so not using HTC Sense at all. But, unfortunately, the problems I have mentioned remain the same. Using other launchers did not bring additional/other problems, luckily.

Taking the phone back for repairs is not an option, the local agent of HTC in my country is pathetic to say the least, and I do not want to sit without my phone for weeks and weeks. Probably just going to ride the wave out until I can upgrade to the iPhone.

In the end, I do realise that ten different people will have ten different experiences with the same model of phone. And I also realise a lot of people have positive experiences with Android. I want to migrate to Apple, there are probably millions of people who would advise against it, and who feels the same about iOS, the way I feel about Android.

I could get the latest HTC model with the latest version of Android in August, and might not have any problems, but I am not going to take the chance. It is human nature to avoid risks and if you have a negative experience with a certain brand of phone, car or microwave, you're going to avoid the brand, even if millions of others have positive experiences with it.

It is also a matter of personal taste, it so happens that HTC is the only brand appealing to me looks wise, etc. (other than Apple), so I would unfortunately not consider Samsung, LG, etc even though their Android versions might be great and without the HTC's issues.

I never had a look at Apple's products, it was actually by chance that I got an iPad in the first place, was walking through a shopping mall while on holiday and went into an iStore to kill time, wasn't even in the market for a tablet. Saw the iPad, was so impressed with it, got it a few weeks later and so far so good. The stability and ease of use of iOS impressed me so much, therefore I am going to give Apple a chance. Also considering buying an iMac later this year.

To each his own I guess!

If you would be getting an iMac, I'd say go Apple. All the PITA issues/workarounds you have to do to get Apple products syncing and working seamlessly with Apple products isn't worth the trouble IMO. Each to his own, but if you have had an iPad and aren't in any way feeling limited by what it allows you to do with it then go ahead.

 

[daveybaby]

First up, all phones have problems. If you think the iPhone is somehow devoid of bugs or issues then youre sorely mistaken. I know lots of people with iPhones (doesnt everyone?) and in my experience they get just as many software and hardware failures as anyone else.

Secondly, picture messaging is a bit of a weird one. It's not really data in the same way as internet/3g traffic, it's more of a bodged on addition to text messaging.

In my experience, problems with picture messaging are almost always down to your carrier/service provider or with your network settings, and not usually an inherent problem with the phone itself. It's well worth double checking that your APN settings are correct for your carrier, but since you already seem to have tried numerous settings i'd have to say it's either a hardware problem or a network issue. I'm pretty sure it's not a problem inherent in the desire or in android itself.

As for the browser issues, i would agree that the default android browser isnt the best one out there, but fortunately there are lots of other alternatives on the market.

 

[texet]

my answer is YES

 

[Frisco]

I own an HTC Desire (original one, not the HD, Z, etc), and must say, after 1.5 years of ownership, I cannot wait to get rid of it.

I don't blame you. 18 months of smartphone ownership can cause a person to see a lot of technology developments pass them by.

 

[Unforgiven]

I believe you misunderstand what Sense is. It isn't a launcher, skin or a theme. Adding a launcher doesn't change the core function of Sense. Sense is a UI (User Interface), but it actually changes the function of the OS. The sms app is built by HTC. The browser is built by HTC. The calendar is built by HTC. All of these function with HTC Sense, but they do not function without HTC Sense. This is the reason that other Android phones can't use HTC's widgets. In Android everything is a program. Even the phone (menaing the dialer) is just another app and HTC has taken these apps and modified them to function differently from a standard Android device. While it is still Android it is more of an HTC operating system when Sense is built into the OS. The same can be said about TouchWiz from Samsung or Blur from Motorola to a certain extent. It is Android, but it is a manipulated version of Android. Unless you have rooted and installed a custom ROM, you're still using HTC Sense.

I'm not sure what you have against Samsung though. You find Apple appealing, in the looks department, but Samsung has been sued by Apple on multiple continents for having the same look. Overall I think it is a real shame that, for whatever reason, you aren't willing to use a different brand of device running Android. The way I read it, you are upset with the service and the product from HTC and from where I sit your real problem is with HTC and not Android.

I hope your experience with an iPhone is better than your experience with your Desire and everything works out for you. Good luck.

OfTheDamned is dead on here. Sense, like TouchWiz on Samsung, and MotoBlur on Motorola are far more than a skin over android. They muck around into too many areas that affect the overall stability of the phone.

For example, my OG Droid was a stock Android device, I rooted and rommed it for my own personal reasons, but stability was not one of them. When I got my D2 (only because my 4yr old dropped my D1 and that was the insurance replacement) it had MotoBlur. I lived with it for a while using ADW Launcher (a custom UI over a skinned Android) but I rooted that phone and loaded a custom rom because I needed to for stability. Not only was Motorola behind in updates to newer versions of Android, they weren't issuing patches for bugs that were introduced by their own custom code.

My understanding is HTC hardware is usually good, I haven't used one as a daily driver, but my wife does. I again would again recommend rooting your phone and loading a custom rom. It can do you no harm in trying this out until August when you are eligible for your upgrade to a new phone. Plus, you can at least be making an informed decision regarding a Sense style rom, iOS (which you are already familiar with and may be right for you), and a pure android phone (either a Nexus device or a phone with an unlockable bootloaded where you can achieve pure android).

Also, there are many custom launchers and widgets that reflect some of the best of each of the manufacturer skins available. So you can have the look and feel you want of Sense on the UI without the changes under the hood that may affect stability.

I hope I helped and remember, make the right decision for you.

 

[dan330]

if you upgrade to a new phone: android or iphone... it can not compare to that old phone!! anyway you go!

that phone sounds to me like it is bad!! something is very wrong!
I have an old htc hero which is older and less powerful than the Desire. it does not have the issues you have! I am currently using the old EVO 4G which is a very close to your Desire.. and i can not seem to find a good replacement because I love it so much.

maybe your desire needs to be reset. or root it and try a new ROM.