My 2 1/2 week Android experiance

[marefin]

I didn't say you couldn't theme on Android. I'm saying theme development is alot more mature on iOS side, (and complete, with kids theming most iOS apps etc.) And it is. (hint, ios people have been doing it for longer) (modmyi.com)

You said yourself, you can't mod the status bar without rooting. You say yourself rooting opens up a whole new realm of possibilities that the carriers are saving you from,

so does jailbreaking. Why we all do it.

Apple is scared of me ruining there "user experience" verizon is scared of you "removing get it now apps" etc.

Why shouldn't iOS "not even try to compete"? We have live html 5 workin on any springboard and lock screen. You can't beat that. (although you can match it)

Again, i own a HTC incredible, I just more relegate it to wifi hotspot position, and to keep me in the froyo loop. And there are things that iOS NEEEDS from froyo, namely widgets on springboards - and the ability to use a springboard for anything from twitter to a mp3 widget. Can't say this is really a Android thing though, as it was webos's defining feature.

at the end of the day, i don't really care what any company says over what i buy. (this is not just a comment about apple, it's also to Verizon, and to a lesser extent HTC) And i'm going to use the device with the best apps that fits me most, as are you.

stop frothing at the mouth! Everyone needs a devils advocate You would all be using "get it now" to get your apps without the iphone

i'm not sure exactly why someone would need to mod their status bar as it already comes fairly good as is. but regardless of that, you seemed to have missed something (not sure if it was on purpose or if you're just trolling), but with android you DON'T have to root to mod it, whereas with in iPhone you HAVE to do it. i know a lot of ppl who who have androids who don't want to root their phone. they're happy with what they can do without rooting. and i've had an iphone and i've customized after jailbreaking. it is one of the most tedious thing to do. winterboard is just plain annoying to use. and half the themes out there are just complete pieces of s**t. and please don't even try to argue about how the iOS dev team has been doing it for longer. i know they have and so does most of the tech savy ppl here. but just because they've been doing it for so long doesn't mean crap. iPhone does not match and can't even compete with android in customization.

 

[7upster]

Last post on android forum....
Why do you all act like you are getting paid for hyping up an android phone. Ok, if there is anybody thinking about getting an android phone don't waste your time or money. Like I said if you are like in your young 20's or a college student you will enjoy these phones. If you are a grown- up with business to take care of and need a good phone to do so I think it is wise to go with a blackberry torch or even an iphone.

I am loving the torch, it is a great phone. I am sure I will get alot of hateful comments because of my opinion but I will never see them because I will not be back on this site. I just wanted to give the people who can't decide if they want to get a torch, iphone, or android phone some advice from a perspn that has had them all.

Your best bet is an iphone or Blackberry torch.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

I'm not sure if you know what i mean when i say we have full html 5 working on springboard, and finding good theme's is as easy as looking in the right forum thread.

Your point that you don't have to root to do things like jailbreak is taken. Although that's not the only reason i jailbreak. Local file access, full ssh, you guys have to root for that too. I don't own the phone i own based on how theme-able it is though.

 

[marefin]

i have to root my phone to have local file access?? maybe there are certain system files i can't access, but then again i have absolutely no need to. and i can access files w/o having to root the phone. and i'm not very knowledgeable ssh thing anyway so i won't get into that part. and you touched on a key point: "inding good theme's is as easy as looking in the right forum thread." i don't have to do that with android. i can technically use just ONE app to customize my phone fully (to a certain extent). and i don't own a phone based on how "theme-able" it is either (funny how you kept arguing that point tho). i buy it based on how FUNCTIONAL it is. and if you really want to sit there and argue about how functional an iPhone is compared to an android you really are just a troll.

7upster: i'm sure you won't read this but, WOW, you are such an IGNORAMUS FOOL. It really bothers me that ppl like you even exist is this world.

 

[Guamguy]

Its hard to believe you have to spend so much effort rooting an iPhone and getting Cydia apps for it, just so it can look like a stock HTC.

Rooting an Android is not about changing themes or getting local file access, which you can do on an Android stock. It's about going deep to reinvent the OS itself.

 

[grainysand]

I'm not sure if you know what i mean when i say we have full html 5 working on springboard, and finding good theme's is as easy as looking in the right forum thread.

Just... like... on Android? Maybe? Hmm. With regards to the above: you can't modify the status bar on an iFail if you don't jailbreak, either. On the other hand, all the screenshots I posted? That's Android sans rooting. People have pointed this out many times, but you don't seem to quite get it. Perhaps we need to communicate in monosyllables. Slowly.

Your point that you don't have to root to do things like jailbreak is taken. Although that's not the only reason i jailbreak. Local file access, full ssh, you guys have to root for that too. I don't own the phone i own based on how theme-able it is though.

Durrrrrrrrrp local file access on Android doesn't need root. Herrrrrrp. It's like you have never used an Android phone before ever.

Last post on android forum....
Why do you all act like you are getting paid for hyping up an android phone. Ok, if there is anybody thinking about getting an android phone don't waste your time or money. Like I said if you are like in your young 20's or a college student you will enjoy these phones. If you are a grown- up with business to take care of and need a good phone to do so I think it is wise to go with a blackberry torch or even an iphone.

Correction: if you are afraid of technology, if you are technologically illiterate, if you don't really know how to use computers... then by all means, get a BB or an iPhone. Though even then that's a funny suggestion, because the BB OS is hideously archaic--yes, even the newest iteration that comes with the Torch--you might as well go back to Win 3.1.

There's a reason the Torch's sales figures are absolutely ****ing pathetic. Tech blogs trash it. Nobody wants it. Outdated internals, outdated software, what's not to love?

 

[jroc]

You know whats funny about 7upster.....

Say I have an online business.....and use GMail for my business ....... that amazing email system from the Blackberry doesnt really come in handy does it? Or wait, grown ups dont have online businesses?

I wouldnt call an iPhone a toy, I wouldnt call WP7 a toy. To suggest a certain phone is more "grown up" cuz of some features it does better than others...lol

In case you didnt know, every "grown up" doesnt work in the corporate world....

If another phone fits you better, thats fine. Everyone doesnt need the features of a Blackberry for their phone to be for business.....some grown ups may need GPS daily for their business.....just get whats best for you and u will be fine.

Good luck with your Blackberry.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

Just... like... on Android? Maybe? Hmm. With regards to the above: you can't modify the status bar on an iFail if you don't jailbreak, either. On the other hand, all the screenshots I posted? That's Android sans rooting. People have pointed this out many times, but you don't seem to quite get it. Perhaps we need to communicate in monosyllables. Slowly.



Durrrrrrrrrp local file access on Android doesn't need root. Herrrrrrp. It's like you have never used an Android phone before ever.

Should i answer you back like a 5 year old?

DURRRRPP YES IT DOES FOR FULL FILE ACCESS DURRRP

(mysql)

Those weather animations btw, on your os are java, not html 5.

i love you getting thanks for false info tho, that's cute.

 

[grainysand]

Derp, nope. You didn't specify "full local system file access." Let's see--on Android, you don't need root to access local files (you can even see system files on the internal storage btw, you just can't modify any of them because duh, no root privileges). Compare to how, on the iPhone, you can't access shit. No local files. At all. You're stuck without being able to browse your own storage unless you JB. Being able to access what I've put on my sdcard versus being able to access nothing, oh the choices!

Oh, and I'm sure it really desperately matters to end-users that Android uses a Java VM (which, given JIT, performs purrrrfektly fine). Horror. Does your average iPhone user even know what Java or HTML5 is? Shit, do they even know what an OS is? Nah, they want more GBs and more WiFis.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

Derp, nope. You didn't specify "full local system file access." Let's see--on Android, you don't need root to access local files (you can even see system files on the internal storage btw, you just can't modify any of them because duh, no root privileges). Compare to how, on the iPhone, you can't access shit. No local files. At all. You're stuck without being able to browse your own storage unless you JB. Being able to access what I've put on my sdcard versus being able to access nothing, oh the choices!

Oh, and I'm sure it really desperately matters to end-users that Android uses a Java VM (which, given JIT, performs purrrrfektly fine). Horror. Does your average iPhone user even know what Java or HTML5 is? Shit, do they even know what an OS is? Nah, they want more GBs and more WiFis.

Neither me, or Apple hit you as a child, so please lay off the insane elitest attitude.

There are as many smart iphone users are there are android. Android has as many dumb users as the iphone.

My point was, to gain full control of your device, you have to do the same thing i do. I probably should have specified full file system access, although any power user would know file system access without root is like being able to tether your edge connection. Yeah you have tethering....

which i take into thought when upgrading devices, along with usability, UI responsiveness, app availability vs needs, features.

Let's try to keep this more friendly. I don't believe all Android users are foaming techno bigots, So please extend the same courtesy to me.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Before anyone else posts, I highly encourage you to read the Zero Tolerance Policy (link in my signature). Since many of the posts in this thread are already hitting the proverbial thin ice with a jackhammer, I am making one single warning. You can either become civil and discuss things rationally or the thread can be locked and infractions can be issued. Your choice.


BTW, just because someone isn't cheering Android on in an Android forum does not mean they are a troll. We have many members that have issues with their carrier and Android or certain aspects of it. Would any of you be calling me a troll if I took issue with a specific part of Android or started making positive comments about an iPhone or BlackBerry?

 

[JTL2]

Well while your at it,check out a windows phone. The UI is real simple and although i wasn't blow away by it ,it was fast and not a bad phone.Might be lacking with some features but that well come in time.

Noooo!!! Do not buy a Windows phone. I have been using a Windows phone since the T-Mobile wing. It was laggy, slow, and crashed alot. Then, I "upgraded" to the Touch Pro2 from Sprint. I was told, this Windows phone is the Windows phone "we've been waiting for". And I have more of the same problems. This phone crashes if I'm texting two people at the same! No more Windows phones for me. I am counting down the days (13 left) till I can ditch this piece of crap for a real phone: the Evo.

 

[dan330]

13 days...?? have you called sprint.. see if they can move up your upgrade? i have heard they can .. up to 2 weeks..

 

[JTL2]

13 days...?? have you called sprint.. see if they can move up your upgrade? i have heard they can .. up to 2 weeks..

Hehee. That is my two weeks. My actual date is December 15th. Just in time to buy myself a Christmas present!!

 

[marefin]

Neither me, or Apple hit you as a child, so please lay off the insane elitest attitude.

There are as many smart iphone users are there are android. Android has as many dumb users as the iphone.

My point was, to gain full control of your device, you have to do the same thing i do. I probably should have specified full file system access, although any power user would know file system access without root is like being able to tether your edge connection. Yeah you have tethering....

which i take into thought when upgrading devices, along with usability, UI responsiveness, app availability vs needs, features.

Let's try to keep this more friendly. I don't believe all Android users are foaming techno bigots, So please extend the same courtesy to me.

The point you keep seeming to miss is that out of the box, an Android phone allows you to do MUCH MUCH more than an iPhone does out of the box. Now I'm sure you won't read this again, as it has been said other times, but no harm in trying right? And I would be perfectly fine with having local file access w/o root. Because it still allows me to save files to my phone and view them, for which I do not need root access.

And touching on your smoothness issue, I've used the iPhone 4 and I've had friends with iPhone 4 who have used my phone (Captivate) and one thing that stood out for them was how smooth the phone is. Yes there are known lag issues with the phone. But try o give credit where it's due. iPhone has it's advantages and disadvantages, just like Android phones do. But when you blatantly compare the two incorrectly it just seems to tick people off.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

The point you keep seeming to miss is that out of the box, an Android phone allows you to do MUCH MUCH more than an iPhone does out of the box. Now I'm sure you won't read this again, as it has been said other times, but no harm in trying right? And I would be perfectly fine with having local file access w/o root. Because it still allows me to save files to my phone and view them, for which I do not need root access.

And touching on your smoothness issue, I've used the iPhone 4 and I've had friends with iPhone 4 who have used my phone (Captivate) and one thing that stood out for them was how smooth the phone is. Yes there are known lag issues with the phone. But try o give credit where it's due. iPhone has it's advantages and disadvantages, just like Android phones do. But when you blatantly compare the two incorrectly it just seems to tick people off.

lol. Saying the same thing over and over again, will only prompt me to give you the same answer over and over again.

You do not need SSH access to store files on your iphone, and you don't need to jailbreak to store files on your iphone there, are plenty of apps that allow you to do this, such as dropbox. Only stronger file system apps like ifile require jailbreaking.

We were talking about file access for the purposes of theme-ing, in which case, the userland access you get on droids (and iphones) is useless. (you need to edit system files!)

The other argument was more a philosophical one, which was why should i have to jailbreak / root to get complete control of my device. Neither of us should, both of us have too.

Yes you can do more modding on a Android device than a iOS device before you jailbreak, but on both platforms almost all power users will root / jailbreak for the plethora of other reasons (overclocking, full file system access, tethering w/out added data plans, mobile terminal, full screen video out controls, etc)

My point being that neither side is really free, so the anti apple propaganda, and standing on a philosophical high chair is just blah blah blah blah to me, when i view you as in the same boat (different master)

 

[JesseDegenerate]

Noooo!!! Do not buy a Windows phone. I have been using a Windows phone since the T-Mobile wing. It was laggy, slow, and crashed alot. Then, I "upgraded" to the Touch Pro2 from Sprint. I was told, this Windows phone is the Windows phone "we've been waiting for". And I have more of the same problems. This phone crashes if I'm texting two people at the same! No more Windows phones for me. I am counting down the days (13 left) till I can ditch this piece of crap for a real phone: the Evo.

Well you can't confuse Windows Phone 7 with Windows Mobile, or Windows CE. Windows mobile as it was last called went to 6.5, although i stopped using it at 6, and spent most of my time on it @ 5.5.

I had a xv6700 by then htc/audiovox lol, it shipped with 5.5 and was honestly the worst smartphone i've ever used. The only useful thing i ever did with it was get a copy of tom tom to work with an external bluetooth gps surfstar III. It worked much better as a GPS than as a phone.

As a phone when i would get a call and had even a simple page open in mobile IE, the phone could crash on a phone call.

was waiting for the day i needed 911:/

anyway, my winmobile horror story.
/coolstorybro

 

[marefin]

lol. Saying the same thing over and over again, will only prompt me to give you the same answer over and over again.

You do not need SSH access to store files on your iphone, and you don't need to jailbreak to store files on your iphone there, are plenty of apps that allow you to do this, such as dropbox. Only stronger file system apps like ifile require jailbreaking.

We were talking about file access for the purposes of theme-ing, in which case, the userland access you get on droids (and iphones) is useless. (you need to edit system files!)

The other argument was more a philosophical one, which was why should i have to jailbreak / root to get complete control of my device. Neither of us should, both of us have too.

Yes you can do more modding on a Android device than a iOS device before you jailbreak, but on both platforms almost all power users will root / jailbreak for the plethora of other reasons (overclocking, full file system access, tethering w/out added data plans, mobile terminal, full screen video out controls, etc)

My point being that neither side is really free, so the anti apple propaganda, and standing on a philosophical high chair is just blah blah blah blah to me, when i view you as in the same boat (different master)

I don't have to edit files on my phone to be able to theme the phone. Now this might depend to the extent that you're trying to theme the phone maybe. But for a general all purpose theme-ing, I don't need to have root access to my phone is what I am saying. And I keep saying the same thing over and over because you keep missing the same exact point over and over and over and over.

And as far as dropbox goes, that's not the same thing from my understanding. I'm talking about downloading a file in to my phone (my phone storage). For which I do not need to root.

I have said before (again I'm sure you missed it too), I did not root to theme my phone, nor gain access to my phone's system files, and etc. The ONLY reason I rooted my phone (Samsung Captivate) was because of the known lag issue on this phone. As soon as Samsung releases 2.2 (*crosses finger*) I probably won't root as it is supposed to fix the lag issue.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

I don't have to edit files on my phone to be able to theme the phone. Now this might depend to the extent that you're trying to theme the phone maybe. But for a general all purpose theme-ing, I don't need to have root access to my phone is what I am saying. And I keep saying the same thing over and over because you keep missing the same exact point over and over and over and over.

And as far as dropbox goes, that's not the same thing from my understanding. I'm talking about downloading a file in to my phone (my phone storage). For which I do not need to root.

I have said before (again I'm sure you missed it too), I did not root to theme my phone, nor gain access to my phone's system files, and etc. The ONLY reason I rooted my phone (Samsung Captivate) was because of the known lag issue on this phone. As soon as Samsung releases 2.2 (*crosses finger*) I probably won't root as it is supposed to fix the lag issue.

No, dropbox stores it's files on your phone. Requesting them fresh from the internet every time wouldn't allow offline access. There are many, many different ways to store files on an iphone.

Before the android was released (talking 2007) there was a iphone app called air sharing, (non jailbroken) which lets you use your iphone as a thumb drive. The files were also accessible to the iphone (for use in official progs that supported the filetypes, just like in android)

I can't say it any clearer.

The ONLY reason I rooted my phone (Samsung Captivate) was because of the known lag issue on this phone. As soon as Samsung releases 2.2 (*crosses finger*) I probably won't root as it is supposed to fix the lag issue.

You realize you used the "i shouldn't have to root to do this" argument against me earlier in this thread. Let me (hopefully not be the first) to tell you, you shouldn't have to root in order to have a lag free phone (again, playing around)

My friend Lily Has a galaxy S, and honestly her phone screams compared to my droid incredible, in terms of how responsive the OS is (a major concern of mine) And she's obviously on 2.1 too. (my incredible is on 2.2)

Although she said that the 2.2 update for samsung was supposed to come out already, twice (and it's been pushed back)

GL on that... (honestly, carrier lag in android updates is seriously annoying, going to probably have to wait 5 months to get gingerbread with sense on my droid.

 

[HoochieCoo]

I don't have a great deal of smartphone experience. I had a BB for a couple years prior to getting my Android a few weeks ago. But... I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once...

I really don't get the "BB is a vastly superior messaging" device. I manage three different email accounts on my Android. I only did 2 on my BB because I didn't want to pay the extra money to sync with Exchange. The HTC Mail app does the job. Is it perfect? No. But it's good enough that I almost never actually open my mail (or Facebook or Twitter for that matter) on my desktop anymore. What am I missing?

I've been a computing professional for 20-some years. They really shouldn't call these devices "phones". They are pocket computers that, oh by the way, can make phone calls. I would bet only about 5% of my time on the "phone" is spent making a phone call. This device has totally taken over some things I used to do on my laptop/desktop.

These devices are freaking awesome. While I have the technical chops to understand how to root it, I doubt (at this point) I will bother. There is a great deal you can do without going to the hassle.

I can't wait to see what they can do in the future.

 

[JesseDegenerate]

I don't have a great deal of smartphone experience. I had a BB for a couple years prior to getting my Android a few weeks ago. But... I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once...

I really don't get the "BB is a vastly superior messaging" device. I manage three different email accounts on my Android. I only did 2 on my BB because I didn't want to pay the extra money to sync with Exchange. The HTC Mail app does the job. Is it perfect? No. But it's good enough that I almost never actually open my mail (or Facebook or Twitter for that matter) on my desktop anymore. What am I missing?

I've been a computing professional for 20-some years. They really shouldn't call these devices "phones". They are pocket computers that, oh by the way, can make phone calls. I would bet only about 5% of my time on the "phone" is spent making a phone call. This device has totally taken over some things I used to do on my laptop/desktop.

These devices are freaking awesome. While I have the technical chops to understand how to root it, I doubt (at this point) I will bother. There is a great deal you can do without going to the hassle.

I can't wait to see what they can do in the future.

one big annoyance is lack of a unified inbox. Any droider with more experience can recommend a hack?

Apart from that i'm ok with mail.

 

[marefin]

You can use the K-9 mail app for that I think

 

[VentureForth]

I love neat cell phones!!! Before I start I will list the phones that I have had since 2007

1st genration iphone
HTC Tilt
2nd G. iphone
blackberry curve
blackberry bold
3rd G. iphone
HTC tilt 2
Samsung mytic (what was i thinking)
3rd g. iphone
Samsung Captivate (1 and a half week)
Sony X10

So as you can see I have a deep phone history. I loved iphone but I was just so borad with it. So I decided I would grab an android phone. I enjoyed the Captivate but it was very laggy and kept frezzing, so I just could not take it anymore so then I got the X10 a few days ago. I can say it is a very smooth phone with no lag. But I hate the email system android has. Why do I have to get an app like k-9 to get my yahoo email. And don't even try to use it for work related emails. I tried to enjoy the android OS but I guess I am not all into the apps and stuff. I never did the app thing when I had my iphones either. I think these phones are good for teens and college aged people. I am damn near 30 and I guess i need more of a grown up phone so i will pick up a tourch tomorrow. So, it's been real android but I must say goodbye. So if you are thinking about an android I would try it out if you just want a phone to play with. If you want a big boy phone or a big women phone amdroid is not for you. If you are thinking of android or iphone I will tell you the truth iphone is the best phone you will find with no lag.

I hope that the Torch will help with spelling and punctuation, too.

I just bought a Captivate after being totally miserable with my BOLD 9000. Bought my wife a Torch. We'll see how they go. I don't have my Captivate yet, because apparently someone at UPS thought it was cooler than their own phone. Wife's phone came in, though.

I will say this about the Blackberry. If you use it for what it is - an emailing tool for connecting every walk of your life together, then it is awesome. If you want to use the web, play games, and other things like that, it has the functionality but not the power. That's for my Bold. Looks like the Torch will be WAY better than the Bold. Since my wife doesn't load too many useless programs onto her machine, it should work fine. I have minimal apps on my phone, but it can't handle the stress of 3rd party apps - especially themes.

So I'll letcha know when I get my Cappy - my wife may be jealous of my phone, I may be jealous of hers. I'll tell you this, though. The few minutes I played with her phone last night, I got pretty frustrated pretty easily. And that's the 4th Blackberry I've had.

Enjoy yours!

 

[Bnice]

I just feel compelled to counter the demographic picture the OP tried to paint. I'm close to 50, used smartphones since the first Handspring, been a corporate exec for close to 20 years, use multiple business accounts all the time, extensively used BB, Palm, WM, and not as in depth with iPhone, before owning 4 Android phones.

While every one of these platform does something better than the others, Android is my favorite and there isn't anything I'm missing that I must have. (OK, all platforms need a better, simple/easy to learn onscreen keyboard, but that's off topic.)

It's nice to hear of Android users in their fifties or older, you listen to some they will swear Android is to difficult or complicated for many to use.

 

[Jethro10]

It's nice to hear of Android users in their fifties or older, you listen to some they will swear Android is to difficult or complicated for many to use.

well I'm another 50'er well will be in March.
I love android, it's everything you could wish for, and I've been wishing for quite a while

Jeff