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Sent... from an iPhone!!!

Outlaw71

Outlaw71

Android Expert
Haha, no no I haven't converted to the darkside. Shame on you for even thinking that!

I'm just down here at my local Verizon store goofing around, and I've never played with one of these, so I figured I'd give one a whirl...

Over all, this thing is an awesome device guys. To anyone who's ever jumped on here and called it a POS... either you've never played with one, or you don't know what you're talking about. How this little guy could be likened to something that falls out of my butthole is completely ridiculous.

Unfortunately for me, having gotten used to my DX, this screen seems sooo small. I know it was the norm until recently, but I'm spoiled now. But I'd love my 4.3 inch screen to look like this little baby! The keyboard... can you download different keyboards for these? This thing seems to be lacking so many things I'm used to... like SWIPE! Although I do admit I found a lot to be desired with the stock keyboard on my DX as well. Which is why I downloaded 'Ultra-Keyboard'. The things I'm at odds with on this keyboard are...

1. No secondary characters to long press. You have to hit the alt keys to get to everything. Don't like that.
2. The characters on the keyboard always remain in capital form. The only way you can tell if the next letter you're typing is going to be a capital letter is by looking at the shift key (which becomes illuminated when pressed). I prefer how the keys on my keyboard change from regular to capital depending on if the shift key has been pressed. Allows me to know just by looking at them what they will be once pressed.
3. There is no way to hit 'cap-lock' when you want to type a word with PUNCH. So you have to hit the shift key before each letter. That's pretty lame. If there is a way to do this on the iPhone, I can't seem to figure it out. So, so much for being easy to learn.
4. No arrow keys or directional pad. I was trying to move my cursor to a certain spot to edit a word and it couldn't seem to tell where my finger was trying to guide it to. That was a complaint of mine on my DX's stock keyboard as well. Which is why I'm so glad we can dl and use different keyboards. I can enable directional arrows on 'Ultra-Keyboard' to make getting around so much easier.

I realize that there is a whole lot more to a smartphone than just its keyboard though. So I have to give a big BIG kudos to Apples use of hardware acceleration, it is truly top not. Pinch to zoom, scrolling, and just plain navigating around on this device is smooth as butter. Where my DX feels like it's about 1/100th of a second behind my finger (which isn't too shabby either), the iPhone seems to know where my finger is going before my finger does. If this is what they mean when they say it's 'intuitive', then I have to say I concur! This is the standard by which all screens should be measured.

But at the same time there is one dislike in that area as well. When moving around the screen testing out it's response, it turns out if I move it too fast, a blue grid beneath the page I'm navigating around shows up in areas for a split second until the processor has time to draw in the part of the page that's missing there. I can't duplicate that on my DX, it seems to have a more powerful graphics card or something. So while the movement itself is extremely fluid, when I see that blue grid while moving around too fast it takes away some of that polished look/feel about it.... to me anyway.

Oh that's aggravating! I can't scroll inside this input screen? I'm trying to scroll up to add a few things to my list, but I can't. I can only scroll up the page, not within this window. That's driving me crazy. Not only can I accomplish this with the arrow pad on my DX, but even by using my finger I can scroll in this input window independently of the page. That's a minus for iPhone.

Ok what I was going to add was I also miss the suggestions that come up in my task bar while I type on my DX. It's also a feature of 'Ultra-Keyboard', but it sure makes typing easier. As I type, many suggestions it thinks I might be trying to type pop up and I rarely have to type more than 3 or 4 letters before I see the one I was after. That and I hate where they've placed the 'DONE' button. I keep accidentally hitting it as it's in a bad location as far as I'm concerned. Aside from the keyboard I have to say only having one button I feel is just the opposite of it's intended purpose of making things easier. I find having 4 buttons makes things a lot easier. I'm always wondering how to access options, go back a step, and all that stuff. Maybe if I'd never used an Android device and didn't know about those buttons I wouldn't miss them. But I have, and I do.

But over all I have to say I've gained a significant amount of respect for this device, it is a very nice piece of hardware. It looks and feels very well made. As hard as I tried, I couldn't get any lag out of it what-so-ever. And it's tons more fun than my Blackberrys ever were. This has only been a short test drive, more time may shed a better understanding of the keyboard, as well as more appreciation for it. Of course it may also uncover faults that I missed this time around, but I'm honestly not concerned with any of that.

I know I'll not be switching over to one of these anytime soon. I'm far too enamored with Android, the apps that can take me places I can't go on the iPhone, and the much larger (boy does it ever FEEL so much more than just .6 inches larger than this thing) screen.

Oh and speaking of screens... did I mention this babies is GORGEOUS!!!

:D
 
Yeah i agree iphones are good devices, i just had how closed and proprietary iOS is. I would say andoird is for computer geeks and iOS is for normal people.
 
interesting critique on build/quality/interface

the one thing that gets me about iOS is the ownership factor: to update or sync, you have to plug it into a computer. BIG X in my book. Haven't plugged my Droid X into a computer (except to charge, lol) since the day I bought it. Love that.
 
People always think, as an Android, user I hate Apple and think iPhone is inferior. I also believe it is a great piece of technology. But, I would also miss the widgets, and ability to customize as I do so love. iPhone is great for some people. I've always tried to make sure people realize it might be for them, but at the same time so might be Android.
 
The only thing about the iPhone keyboard that I liked was that the autocorrect seemed to always know which word I meant. For instance, on the Android keyboard, typing "im" results in the first suggestion being "im" - thus leaving your entry alone. That's stupid, how many times do you think someone types "im" vs. "I'm"? Just because it's in the dictionary or it's a standard shorthand for instant messaging doesn't mean it should be default.

There are human touches to the iPhone that Android doesn't seem to have. That's a prime example.

BTW, you can scroll around a text field by long pressing the text area to get the magnifying glass, then dragging that around. You can also scroll a text area by using two fingers and swiping in the text area.

The redraws are unpleasant to see but I suspect it's part of what makes the scrolling so smooth. They are only rendering what's needed.

One thing that I noticed was significant between the two devices was moving around in the environment. Android expects use of the back and menu buttons, so when I initially tried out an Android phone, I was regularly looking for options that were hidden in the menu. iOS actually has design guidelines for how things must be handled so if you use it for any length of time, you'll forget about the four buttons. Not to say iOS is better in that way, they're just two different design philosophies and both of them work well.

I think the iPhone is a great device. For my needs, Android is far better. FAR better. But for a big (maybe even majority) of smartphone users, iOS is a pretty great solution.
 
beemer87 said:
Yeah i agree iphones are good devices, i just had how closed and proprietary iOS is. I would say andoird is for computer geeks and iOS is for normal people.
Click to expand...

This is basically my feeling. I don't know if I'll ever even root my droid x, but just the IDEA that it's open source gives me a lot better feeling. No matter how much google decides to close me down or screw me over, it's open source so we can get around it. iPhones can be jailbroken, but it's not even close to the same thing. (well, it IS close to the same thing... but you get what I'm saying).

Still though, iphones are pretty neat. They didn't get to be the most popular smartphone by being bad.
 
binary visions said:
The only thing about the iPhone keyboard that I liked was that the autocorrect seemed to always know which word I meant. For instance, on the Android keyboard, typing "im" results in the first suggestion being "im" - thus leaving your entry alone. That's stupid, how many times do you think someone types "im" vs. "I'm"? Just because it's in the dictionary or it's a standard shorthand for instant messaging doesn't mean it should be default.
Click to expand...

Agree with you here. Just wondering, you do know how to fix this right? When you type 'Im' and in your suggestion box the first suggestion is 'Im' (that is, on Ultra-Keyboard anyhow, not sure about every other one on the market or the stock ones) you long press on the first suggestion and a menu will pop up that will offer to...

1. Add to User Dictionary
2. Add a Word Replacement
3. Do Nothing

In cases where you want the first choice to automatically come up as "I'm" you long press on the first suggestion and choose 'Add a Word Replacement'. Then you type in "I'm", hit ok, and from then on everytime you type 'Im', "I'm" will be the first suggestion to pop up. But it still doesn't enter "I'm" if you do nothing, so yeah that does need fixed.

This only works for underlined words (words it doesn't recognize). If the word you type in is for instance 'were' and you want it to use "we're" instead, if you long press on 'were', which is underlined because it is a recognized word, the menu above won't pop up. Instead this menu will pop up...

1. Accept
2. Add to Black List
3. Do Nothing

I suppose hitting 'Add to Black List' is supposed to stop it from coming up as an option. But I haven't had as much luck with that.

At any rate I share your feelings on Android keyboards lacking some common sense, but I've been able to find most of what I want either on third party keyboard apps or in submenu's. I wish they'd just steal RIM's keyboard program as it always seemed to work the best for me anyway.
 
Agree with others. Sure i*phones are nice n all, but they are too dumbed down for me. I cannot stand how you have to keep hooking it up to the computer, jailbroken or not, to sync many things like updating os/music etc. At least you can now put music on your iOS device whether you're on Linux or not (yay for that), but that's still far from what you can do with Android devices. People get suckered into that bleh UI & proprietariness. You can't change much with it over time either. Android you have so much more freedom to do what you want. You want iOS feeling? No prob... buy an Android based Samsung device (ya that's right, i dislike TouchWiz :p)
I use an iPod Touch in my car for music n stuff so I know the OS fairly well. It's not all that in my book. Everyone will have their own opinions I suppose..
 
Outlaw71 said:
This only works for underlined words (words it doesn't recognize).
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is the crux of my problem - I know how to get word replacements added for unrecognized words.

The problem is just that there is no logic applied to replacements on words that are known. The phone just assumes that if it's in the "acceptable words" dictionary, you couldn't possibly mean to have typed anything else. "Id" is another example. I mean, come on, how often do people actually refer to the impulsive part of the mind vs. typing "I'd like that"?

In any event, these are petty gripes compared to the overall huge advantages I get out of Android. My frustration is mainly in that most of the gripes I have with Android are easy to fix - the gripes I have with iOS are large, fundamental problems with the way the system is structured. So with Android, I like to complain about the petty things that should be corrected - with iOS, I just dealt with it quietly :p
 
Outlaw71 said:
Haha, no no I haven't converted to the darkside. Shame on you for even thinking that!

I'm just down here at my local Verizon store goofing around, and I've never played with one of these, so I figured I'd give one a whirl...

Over all, this thing is an awesome device guys. To anyone who's ever jumped on here and called it a POS... either you've never played with one, or you don't know what you're talking about. How this little guy could be likened to something that falls out of my butthole is completely ridiculous.

Unfortunately for me, having gotten used to my DX, this screen seems sooo small. I know it was the norm until recently, but I'm spoiled now. But I'd love my 4.3 inch screen to look like this little baby! The keyboard... can you download different keyboards for these? This thing seems to be lacking so many things I'm used to... like SWIPE! Although I do admit I found a lot to be desired with the stock keyboard on my DX as well. Which is why I downloaded 'Ultra-Keyboard'. The things I'm at odds with on this keyboard are...

1. No secondary characters to long press. You have to hit the alt keys to get to everything. Don't like that.
2. The characters on the keyboard always remain in capital form. The only way you can tell if the next letter you're typing is going to be a capital letter is by looking at the shift key (which becomes illuminated when pressed). I prefer how the keys on my keyboard change from regular to capital depending on if the shift key has been pressed. Allows me to know just by looking at them what they will be once pressed.
3. There is no way to hit 'cap-lock' when you want to type a word with PUNCH. So you have to hit the shift key before each letter. That's pretty lame. If there is a way to do this on the iPhone, I can't seem to figure it out. So, so much for being easy to learn.
4. No arrow keys or directional pad. I was trying to move my cursor to a certain spot to edit a word and it couldn't seem to tell where my finger was trying to guide it to. That was a complaint of mine on my DX's stock keyboard as well. Which is why I'm so glad we can dl and use different keyboards. I can enable directional arrows on 'Ultra-Keyboard' to make getting around so much easier.

I realize that there is a whole lot more to a smartphone than just its keyboard though. So I have to give a big BIG kudos to Apples use of hardware acceleration, it is truly top not. Pinch to zoom, scrolling, and just plain navigating around on this device is smooth as butter. Where my DX feels like it's about 1/100th of a second behind my finger (which isn't too shabby either), the iPhone seems to know where my finger is going before my finger does. If this is what they mean when they say it's 'intuitive', then I have to say I concur! This is the standard by which all screens should be measured.

But at the same time there is one dislike in that area as well. When moving around the screen testing out it's response, it turns out if I move it too fast, a blue grid beneath the page I'm navigating around shows up in areas for a split second until the processor has time to draw in the part of the page that's missing there. I can't duplicate that on my DX, it seems to have a more powerful graphics card or something. So while the movement itself is extremely fluid, when I see that blue grid while moving around too fast it takes away some of that polished look/feel about it.... to me anyway.

Oh that's aggravating! I can't scroll inside this input screen? I'm trying to scroll up to add a few things to my list, but I can't. I can only scroll up the page, not within this window. That's driving me crazy. Not only can I accomplish this with the arrow pad on my DX, but even by using my finger I can scroll in this input window independently of the page. That's a minus for iPhone.

Ok what I was going to add was I also miss the suggestions that come up in my task bar while I type on my DX. It's also a feature of 'Ultra-Keyboard', but it sure makes typing easier. As I type, many suggestions it thinks I might be trying to type pop up and I rarely have to type more than 3 or 4 letters before I see the one I was after. That and I hate where they've placed the 'DONE' button. I keep accidentally hitting it as it's in a bad location as far as I'm concerned. Aside from the keyboard I have to say only having one button I feel is just the opposite of it's intended purpose of making things easier. I find having 4 buttons makes things a lot easier. I'm always wondering how to access options, go back a step, and all that stuff. Maybe if I'd never used an Android device and didn't know about those buttons I wouldn't miss them. But I have, and I do.

But over all I have to say I've gained a significant amount of respect for this device, it is a very nice piece of hardware. It looks and feels very well made. As hard as I tried, I couldn't get any lag out of it what-so-ever. And it's tons more fun than my Blackberrys ever were. This has only been a short test drive, more time may shed a better understanding of the keyboard, as well as more appreciation for it. Of course it may also uncover faults that I missed this time around, but I'm honestly not concerned with any of that.

I know I'll not be switching over to one of these anytime soon. I'm far too enamored with Android, the apps that can take me places I can't go on the iPhone, and the much larger (boy does it ever FEEL so much more than just .6 inches larger than this thing) screen.

Oh and speaking of screens... did I mention this babies is GORGEOUS!!!

:D
Click to expand...

About your keyboard points:
1. Cede this point.
2. Cede this point.
3. If you double-tap the shift key, it will turn blue and be locked until pressed again.
4. If you hold onto the text box, you will get a magnifying glass to allow you to precisely place the cursor (like the DX!)

Some other things you mentioned:
1. Can't scroll in text boxes. You can if you press and hold in a text box and bring up the magnifying glass I mentioned earlier, then use it to move the text box.
2. Droid X must have more powerful GPU. The iPhone 4 actually has the slightly more powerful GPU in the PowerVR SGX 535 while the Droid X uses the older 530.

The iPhone is a really great device and I hate to say it but I'm really thankful that Apple decided to make this product because I just don't see the Droid X's and the Thunderbolts being around if it didn't start with the original iPhone. Let's be real, it's awesome to have competition. Apple comes out with some cool stuff, then Google comes out with even more awesome stuff to one-up Apple, then the cycle repeats. And we win!

Which is why I have an iPhone 4 and a Thunderbolt! :D
 
All my computers are Macs, have had every iPhone except 4. When 4 came out I lost some respect for apple for denying that there was a design flaw with the antenna. Decided to explore other options and jumped ship for my Dx :-)

Still love all my apple products and I will never rule out buying another iPhone, but at this point it's just too nice not having to jailbreak/root a device to just have the simplest of cosmetic changes.

The iPhone has a horrible notification system and quite honestly gives me far less options (like keyboards, widgets, launchers, etc.). On the other hand nothing beats their mail app as well as iCal. I'm typing this on my xoom and the honeycomb mail app is a step forward. Bottom line is they are both excellent products and both have their pros and cons.

I'm glad to see a positive post regarding apple since there are actually people that are fans of both.
 
The iPhone4 is pretty awesome...I quite like it...im not sure there is an Android phone out there that can match its overall smoothness....
 
Metfanant said:
The iPhone4 is pretty awesome...I quite like it...im not sure there is an Android phone out there that can match its overall smoothness....
Click to expand...

Of course there is. Elaborate on "overall smoothness", and I'd be happy to go in depth with a list of devices/setups that can stomp the i*hone4 :cool:
 
foo said:
Of course there is. Elaborate on "overall smoothness", and I'd be happy to go in depth with a list of devices/setups that can stomp the i*phone4 :cool:
Click to expand...

That is, actually, entirely the point.

You don't have to pick a device or specific apps to match the smoothness of the iPhone. EVERY app and setup is slick. Transitions flow, everything is hardware accelerated.

Don't get defensive. But it's the reality - even great launchers that do a lot to smooth out the transitions don't typically hit that buttery feel that the iOS transitions bring.

This is completely expected. The iPhone is a vertical product from a vertical company. Why wouldn't everything be smooth? They write drivers for one piece of hardware at a time.
 
Good point. Phone manufactures have destroyed the possible stability(& buttery feel) that most devices could have with their stupid custom UIs. There are always pros and cons for each side. My iOS device has plenty problems with crashing programs from time to time. So they're not completely innocent of being the perfect buttery os, imo
 
I say we excommunicate him....

Nice write up. Yeah, the iPhone is a good phone but there are lot of things you can't do with it...that iphone users don't know/don't care about. It's more a fashion piece than anything but it does work smoothly.
 
Metfanant said:
The iPhone4 is pretty awesome...I quite like it...im not sure there is an Android phone out there that can match its overall smoothness....
Click to expand...

Have you used a Fascinate?

As much as I hate Touchwiz (Only because I didn't install it, therefore, by default, I don't like it), it's a gorgeous UI, and "buttery" smooth. Nary a jitter, pause, or anything else.

I'm not sure where people get this "Apple beats Android because it's 'smoother'" argument. It holds no water. Unless you count random reboots (Frequent occurrence on an iPhone) as "smooth".

Even HTC Sense UI is rather smooth, and many phone users love it. I've not used it, so I can't comment from experience. But, Touchwiz on the Fascinate is "buttery smooth".
 
People that feel they need to take the polar opposite stance on products they do not own blindly are simply showing their immaturity. To say the iPhone is a complete piece of garbage is just not true in any respect. It has many merits.

The iPhone as well as the X have some minor problems but on a whole both great phones. I will say Apple support is much much better. I can tell you 5 stories of Apple replacing and or upgrading in the process, hardware items that were broken or damaged to no fault of their own.
 
Wally World said:
People that feel they need to take the polar opposite stance on products they do not own blindly are simply showing their immaturity. To say the iPhone is a complete piece of garbage is just not true in any respect. It has many merits.

The iPhone as well as the X have some minor problems but on a whole both great phones. I will say Apple support is much much better. I can tell you 5 stories of Apple replacing and or upgrading in the process, hardware items that were broken or damaged to no fault of their own.
Click to expand...

The problem I have is with the company as a whole. I don't like the way they do business and I would never support them with my money. Even if the Iphone was 10 x's better than my X I still wouldn't buy it.
 
foo said:
Of course there is. Elaborate on "overall smoothness", and I'd be happy to go in depth with a list of devices/setups that can stomp the i*hone4 :cool:
Click to expand...

what i mean is that when you pick up the phone and start using it everything from screen transitions, to window transitions, to opening apps, and moving between menus is just plain smoother...

binary visions said:
That is, actually, entirely the point.

You don't have to pick a device or specific apps to match the smoothness of the iPhone. EVERY app and setup is slick. Transitions flow, everything is hardware accelerated.

Don't get defensive. But it's the reality - even great launchers that do a lot to smooth out the transitions don't typically hit that buttery feel that the iOS transitions bring.

This is completely expected. The iPhone is a vertical product from a vertical company. Why wouldn't everything be smooth? They write drivers for one piece of hardware at a time.
Click to expand...

absolutely!...i run launcher pro on my X...and in terms of screen transitions, it now matches the iPhone for smoothness...Go and ADW achieved the same goal, and with Go you can crank up the speed so far that it even beats out the iPhone in the category...

BUT...straight out of the box (which is how the majority of phones will stay)...the iPhone beats the pants off the X...ESPECIALLY in screen transitions...anyone that says differently is just hating...i picked up my friends D2 for the first time in awhile the other day, and it is unrooted and totally stock in terms of launcher...and i nearly had a seizure from the screen transitions lol...

its the same thing you get from their computers...and that isn't a knock on Windows or Linux based machines...its just the way it is because of the structure...

foo said:
Good point. Phone manufactures have destroyed the possible stability(& buttery feel) that most devices could have with their stupid custom UIs. There are always pros and cons for each side. My iOS device has plenty problems with crashing programs from time to time. So they're not completely innocent of being the perfect buttery os, imo
Click to expand...

i disagree that it is the custom UI...because Sense is very smooth...and MotoBlur could be just as smooth if they took the time to do it...

you can't use one device that has crashing problems to generalize here...if its crashing, then something is wrong and it should be returned...i have lots of friends that use iOS devices...very few of them have any problems (outside of what is caused by AT&T's network)...

bigbadwulff said:
It's more a fashion piece than anything but it does work smoothly.
Click to expand...

i really don't like this stance...just because it can't be customized doesn't make it a fashion piece in the least way...it is a very powerful smartphone that can do a lot of things...

while it is true that a lot of people treat it as a fashion piece, you can't fault Apple or the device for that...its a testament to the design teams at Apple...they were able to create a phone that...

1. Just plain works...if its complicated or crashes all the time you won't get the average user to stick around

2. is sexy...Apple owns the sexiness factor in almost every market they compete in

3. Is powerful...its got the juice to get the job done...

PSkeptic said:
Have you used a Fascinate?

As much as I hate Touchwiz (Only because I didn't install it, therefore, by default, I don't like it), it's a gorgeous UI, and "buttery" smooth. Nary a jitter, pause, or anything else.
Click to expand...
sure have...and ive used countless other Android devices...and yes the Fascinate is very smooth...as is the Incredible, and especially the Thunderbolt using Sense...but i still feel the 4 takes the cake...the TBolt might be just as smooth overall though...i have a friend that just got one, so i need some more time to play with it...

PSkeptic said:
I'm not sure where people get this "Apple beats Android because it's 'smoother'" argument. It holds no water. Unless you count random reboots (Frequent occurrence on an iPhone) as "smooth".
Click to expand...

haters gonna hate i guess :rolleyes:

its not an "Apple beats Android" thing AT ALL lol...this is part of the problem...what happened to being able to respect and appreciate other pieces of kit regardless of who makes them, or whether or not you choose to use them?...brand loyalty doesn't really get you anywhere...

-my desktop is Windows based because it was cheaper to build a higher end computer...

- my laptop is a MacBook Pro...love every bit of that thing...

- I prefer the Sony PS3 over the Xbox 360 (though i have both)...

- my loyalty to Sony doesn't carry over to my TV selection though as my last three HDTV's have been Samsung...

- I don't prefer either for Home Theater equipment however, as i really like Onkyo products...

IMO there is no need to be so supportive of a companies products that you can't respect other products as well...

im not saying iOS beats Android because its smoother...im not saying either beats the other...im just saying out of the box...iOS is smoother...

PSkeptic said:
Even HTC Sense UI is rather smooth, and many phone users love it. I've not used it, so I can't comment from experience. But, Touchwiz on the Fascinate is "buttery smooth".
Click to expand...
Sense is extremely smooth, on the Tbolt it is money...and might be the closest phone i've seen straight out of the box to running as smooth as an iPhone...

karma2burn said:
The problem I have is with the company as a whole. I don't like the way they do business and I would never support them with my money. Even if the Iphone was 10 x's better than my X I still wouldn't buy it.
Click to expand...

could you elaborate?...i know plenty of reasons to not like Apple so i respect your stance...

but that is no reason to be in denial about their ability to put together great hardware with great software and create great products...
 
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