boulevardofdef
Lurker
My wife and I both finally got new Android phones in the past few weeks. We're entirely new to fancy touchscreen smartphones, though I've been following Android's development since Google bought the company. I just wanted to publicly declare my love for what is, in my opinion, the best thing about Android.
After a few days of playing with her phone, my wife said, "I don't like how I have to tap the phone button before I can dial." She wanted to be able to pick up the phone and start dialing, just like her old $6 phone with a physical keypad. "It's not really a big deal," I told her. "It's just one tap." But she's entitled to her opinion -- she didn't like it. So I did a little research. Fifteen minutes later, she had a keypad on her home screen, ready to use right after picking up the phone.
Last night, she tells me: "I hate this slide-to-answer thing. I need two hands to do that. I'm taking care of a small child all day. Sometimes I don't have two hands available when someone calls." So I asked to see her phone. Within five minutes, I'd replaced the sliders that appear when a locked phone receives a call with big, easy-to-use buttons.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe you can do this kind of thing with other smartphone operating systems -- at least not so easily and without hacking them a bit. What I find really interesting about this is that you sometimes hear people say the openness and customizability of Android is just a benefit for power users; most users just want what's given them. But my wife is very much a typical user, and she was dissatisfied with certain off-the-shelf features. Only Android gives us the ability to change them. I love that.
After a few days of playing with her phone, my wife said, "I don't like how I have to tap the phone button before I can dial." She wanted to be able to pick up the phone and start dialing, just like her old $6 phone with a physical keypad. "It's not really a big deal," I told her. "It's just one tap." But she's entitled to her opinion -- she didn't like it. So I did a little research. Fifteen minutes later, she had a keypad on her home screen, ready to use right after picking up the phone.
Last night, she tells me: "I hate this slide-to-answer thing. I need two hands to do that. I'm taking care of a small child all day. Sometimes I don't have two hands available when someone calls." So I asked to see her phone. Within five minutes, I'd replaced the sliders that appear when a locked phone receives a call with big, easy-to-use buttons.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe you can do this kind of thing with other smartphone operating systems -- at least not so easily and without hacking them a bit. What I find really interesting about this is that you sometimes hear people say the openness and customizability of Android is just a benefit for power users; most users just want what's given them. But my wife is very much a typical user, and she was dissatisfied with certain off-the-shelf features. Only Android gives us the ability to change them. I love that.
