Apple Cult

[undrwater]

Underwater:

Thanks for the listing. I don't think most people would use most of those, but I can see where some would be useful to some people. What are these widgets, and what's different about them from app.s?

Widgets are like mini-apps that display info right on the home screen. I currently have widgets for my work and personal calendars, weather, starbucks (shows current balance), and news ticker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlUOc6LrBJw

By USB host, are you talking about attaching a USB external drive or the like?

That's correct...also, one can attach a usb keyboard and mouse for navigation. I also use a USB digital radio dongle to listen to radio broadcasts.

I think only a small minority of the smart phone market is apt to use a home screen replacement/launcher, but some prefer them.

I think a very small portion of the android market is even aware that they have that as an option. Most Samsung devices I see in the wild still have their Touchwiz launcher (Touchwiz is Samsung's framework that runs on top of Android).

I've heard of Google Now but I don't know what all it does.

It's like Siri, but some say more useful. I can't comment on that, but Google has a tendency to put their stuff on iOS as well as Android (like Google Maps) ...so there's a chance that iOS users can have an alternative to Siri if they don't already.

Another thing to consider. Being open source, Android isn't really "owned" by Google. There are already implementations of the OS for phones made by other houses (Cyannogen), and have been installed as a default phone OS by a manufacturer (OnePlus). The reason Android is everywhere, is because it can be installed on tons of hardware by hobbyist. I do believe there is a project to get Android running on an iPhone. Samsung "owns" their Touchwiz framework, which add a LOT of features to their devices (like keeping the screen awake if your eyes are looking at it, not changing rotation based on the position of your eyes, hands and eyes free text and phone, as well as others). Within the Android community, Touchwiz is both loved and reviled.

Anyway, I always tell folks who bother to ask, "there is no best." Take a hard look at your use case, and find the tool that meets the requirements. Every time Apple comes out with a new device, I check to see if it can meet my use case. It has not yet...but apparently there is an "iPad Pro" sometime in the future.

---------- Post added October 19th, 2014 at 09:25 PM ----------

It should be noted that hardware features will necessarily be vendor specific. Furthermore, even with similar feature sets, usage and interface will be different.

The Android platform is terribly fragmented, and most implementations seem hastily thrown together. Neither Google nor the device vendor are fully responsible for the end user experiencez


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your first point is...well...self evident. The second point is true. Some would consider that fragmentation, and confusion, while others would consider it freedom and choice. Depends on the personality. Most end users who are satisfied with the experience don't really care whether they're using Sense or Touchwiz or Blur.

That last sentence is a LOT less true than it used to be. Several manufacturers made an attempt put out devices with minimal effort, but ended up getting burned as many of the devices came back for returns. Consumers are now more wary about picking up a cheap tablet from Big Lots expecting a good experience.

I DO believe the topic has wandered off of its initial intent (surprised?). Sorry I'm guilty. More on topic; it is interesting what we humans will believe when marketed to in the correct way, and how repetition of an idea makes it true.

IMO, DIR divers SHOULD be using Linux!!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Richard:
# file management
# USB host
# widgets (the kind that can go on your home screen)
# choice of "system" clients (email, web browser)
# choice of "launcher / home screen replacement"
# is Google now available for ios?
# hands free operation (of some things)
# digitizer pen (for some of the Samsung devices)

---------- Post added October 19th, 2014 at 08:15 PM ----------

Could be ios can support some if those things, and if so, I'd be interested in hearing, as I use an iPad sometimes for work.

USB host is very important for me, as are the widgets. The pen is useful, and would be even more so on a tablet device. I can't remember if ios has speech-to-text everywhere.

If you are a kernel developer, then you can make android do so much more, since the source is open.

YOU, sir, are indeed a "power user."

I'm not familiar with much of your list, though I guess my Galaxy S4 is is capable of those things, eh? "Widgets"--that's like the calendar/weather function that I have on my home screen that's supposed to be location-based but doesn't seem to update location automatically, and which the battery usage monitor tells me sucks up a lot of battery power, and which was difficult to read through any kind of wallpaper except a solid color (and to get a solid color wallpaper you have to download some app to do that--to my amazement a solid color is not the default), and so this calendar/weather widget frustrated me to the point where I just removed it. This was not a good first experience with widgets. Now I have a plain old calendar there. That seems to work, and I'm reluctant to mess with it again. The endless palette of Android functions would be great if they ALL worked properly and intuitively. Some seem to work well, while others don't do what I would expect them to (like that weather/calendar widget). I don't feel I can rely on any of them. They all seem to work differently, as though nobody is watching over the big picture and aiming for consistency across all functions. When I had my old iPhone, I felt confident that although it may have had only a fraction of the functionality of Android phones, all of the iPhone functions worked reliably and intuitively.

 

[dfx]

YOU, sir, are indeed a "power user."

I'm not familiar with much of your list, though I guess my Galaxy S4 is is capable of those things, eh? "Widgets"--that's like the calendar/weather function that I have on my home screen that's supposed to be location-based but doesn't seem to update location automatically, and which the battery usage monitor tells me sucks up a lot of battery power, and which was difficult to read through any kind of wallpaper except a solid color (and to get a solid color wallpaper you have to download some app to do that--to my amazement a solid color is not the default), and so this calendar/weather widget frustrated me to the point where I just removed it. This was not a good first experience with widgets. Now I have a plain old calendar there. That seems to work, and I'm reluctant to mess with it again. The endless palette of Android functions would be great if they ALL worked properly and intuitively. Some seem to work well, while others don't do what I would expect them to (like that weather/calendar widget). I don't feel I can rely on any of them. They all seem to work differently, as though nobody is watching over the big picture and aiming for consistency across all functions. When I had my old iPhone, I felt confident that although it may have had only a fraction of the functionality of Android phones, all of the iPhone functions worked reliably and intuitively.

You're blaming the wrong party here. AFAIK Android doesn't come with any sort of weather widgets, or any other weather applications for that matter. You were probably using one that came preinstalled either from your phone manufacturer or your carrier. So this isn't an "Android function", it's the function of some application that you have/had installed, and obviously some work better than others. I'm using the Weather Underground app and widget and they're both awesome. If iOS had any widgets, you would have the same problem, some would work better than others. In fact iOS does have the same problem with apps, I'm sure you're aware of that.

The only difference between the actual platforms here is that Apple is very strict in policing its app store and every single app needs to be approved by Apple, while Google is very lenient with what apps developers can publish. Both approaches have obvious advantages and disadvantages. Personally I'd rather have options and make my own choices instead of having a multi-billion corporation dictate what I can and cannot do with my phone.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You're blaming the wrong party here. AFAIK Android doesn't come with any sort of weather widgets, or any other weather applications for that matter. . . .

Good point. I find it disconcerting that there are several parties involved in my phone who, perhaps intentionally, obscure which party is responsible for which function. They (intentionally?) make it difficult to distinguish between functions that are part of the Android OS and functions that AT&T stuck on there in their infinite wisdom. The weather widget was apparently pre-installed, and now that you point it out, apparently by AT&T or some party associated with AT&T. I didn't intend to buy an "AT&T phone"--the brand of the phone was "Samsung Galaxy." I expect everything on my phone to live up to whatever the phone brand may convey to the consumer, just like every other appliance in my house. But here you have one device with multiple parties trying to stick their brand on it, with the result of confusing consumers in the process.

 

[dmoore19]

HMMM,

Ever try buying a PC, without having it custom built, that didn't have a bunch of fluff and crap installed? A clean PC so to speak. Bet ya can't do it.

 

[Mike]

Mike,

You clearly need to take an economics class (maybe again). Stock price/Market Capitalization (or P/E if you wish) reflects the markets expectations of the future earnings of the company divided by the current earnings times a multiple (times the number of outstanding shares for a market cap).

So I hope you're not one of those "efficient market" deniers.

Apple P/E = 15.75
Google P/E = 26.90

The reason the Market Caps are even so close is the market is forward valuing Google.

Thanks for the financial lesson.

You're replying to me talking tongue in cheek joking about someday google buying apple. I'd think it's pretty much implied for that to happen google would be financially in a position to do so, you reply with today's valuation of the companies. I'd think you'd get it, that today's valuation aren't being referenced. It's an abstract concept called 'time'- as in the future...

Carry on now.

 

[dfx]

Good point. I find it disconcerting that there are several parties involved in my phone who, perhaps intentionally, obscure which party is responsible for which function. They (intentionally?) make it difficult to distinguish between functions that are part of the Android OS and functions that AT&T stuck on there in their infinite wisdom. The weather widget was apparently pre-installed, and now that you point it out, apparently by AT&T or some party associated with AT&T. I didn't intend to buy an "AT&T phone"--the brand of the phone was "Samsung Galaxy." I expect everything on my phone to live up to whatever the phone brand may convey to the consumer, just like every other appliance in my house. But here you have one device with multiple parties trying to stick their brand on it, with the result of confusing consumers in the process.

I don't think that there's any intentional deception going on, it's mostly just a matter of being minimally informed about the product which you're about to purchase, even though I admit that the large number of options doesn't make it easy. Similar issues exist when buying a computer and hardly anyone today would assume that everything which their brand spanking new computer comprises, hardware and software, actually came from the same place. If you buy an Acer PC, you will get hardware assembled by Acer, partly manufactured by Acer and partly by other parties, you will get an OS made by Microsoft but with applications preinstalled, some made by Acer, others made by yet other parties. If the preinstalled McAfee or whatever antivirus doesn't work quite well, who would go on to blame Acer or Microsoft for that shortcoming?

Smartphones aren't the black box of immutable hardware and software that old cell phones used to be. Or well, at least Android smartphones aren't...

---------- Post added October 20th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ----------

Ever try buying a PC, without having it custom built, that didn't have a bunch of fluff and crap installed? A clean PC so to speak. Bet ya can't do it.

You beat me to it...

 

[Mike]

YOU, sir, are indeed a "power user."

I'm not familiar with much of your list, though I guess my Galaxy S4 is is capable of those things, eh? "Widgets"--that's like the calendar/weather function that I have on my home screen that's supposed to be location-based but doesn't seem to update location automatically, and which the battery usage monitor tells me sucks up a lot of battery power, and which was difficult to read through any kind of wallpaper except a solid color (and to get a solid color wallpaper you have to download some app to do that--to my amazement a solid color is not the default), and so this calendar/weather widget frustrated me to the point where I just removed it. This was not a good first experience with widgets. Now I have a plain old calendar there. That seems to work, and I'm reluctant to mess with it again. The endless palette of Android functions would be great if they ALL worked properly and intuitively. Some seem to work well, while others don't do what I would expect them to (like that weather/calendar widget). I don't feel I can rely on any of them. They all seem to work differently, as though nobody is watching over the big picture and aiming for consistency across all functions. When I had my old iPhone, I felt confident that although it may have had only a fraction of the functionality of Android phones, all of the iPhone functions worked reliably and intuitively.

Sounds like everything you're describing is being controlled by the application you have on your phone. If that's the case, it's just a matter of a free shopping trip to the ap store and choosing another one that you might like better. They are rated and reviewed by other users, plus all you have to do is go online and do a search for 'best ap for___________" and you'll get reviews and recommendations.

I use weather.com's ap, or the weather channels or another and usually somewhere in the settings for that ap it has a choice on how to display, you can usually just set it to put the current temp in the status bar at the top of your phones home screen or other choices. Things not updating based on your location could be simply that you don't have the permission set for the ap allowing it to use your location or the phones GPS, or you even have the phone set wrong to only update GPS when you're on wifi instead of all the time. You can go into your settings and see what it says. But aps not getting your location correct all the time is a common symptom of you not allowing your GPS to be on at all times, turning on only on Wifi for example. People sometimes set their phones like that for reasons of data usage or battery drain. To get the most out of smart phones today you really need full time GPS always on.

If it's a battery drain issue, one of the really nice things about a non-apple phone is if your phone is getting older, you can just go on Amazon.com and buy a brand new original equipment replacement battery for your phone for usually less than $10.00. This is the nice thing about having a phone with a user replaceable battery. You buy a new battery and your 2 year old phone's battery life returns and you're in happy land again. Take your battery out and look at it, if it's looking fat or chubby, it's on it's way out and it's time to buy a new one. Just put the numbers on it into Amazon's search box and you'll find a replacement, just make sure it's a well reviewed, OEM or better battery. Will be the best $10 you can spend on a smart phone that is a few years old.

---------- Post added October 20th, 2014 at 08:17 AM ----------

Every time Apple comes out with a new device, I check to see if it can meet my use case. It has not yet...but apparently there is an "iPad Pro" sometime in the future.

You might be in luck...

Not the IPad Pro yet, but they do have the IPad Max...

 

[Lorenzoid]

Mike, thanks. I spent 15 or 20 minutes one day poking through all the settings screens for the weather widget, the phone's GPS functions, and whatever else I thought might be implicated, but I couldn't make it work as I expected it to. As for the battery, even when the phone was brand new, it needed recharging frequently, and the battery usage analyzer or whatever it's called indicates that the weather widget was using a lot of battery. This is way more time than I want to spend on a silly weather function. I just want to know what the temperature is and whether I need to put on a jacket or take an umbrella today--how complicated should that be? Sure, I can download a weather.com app and get advertisements on my screen and probably 10-day forecasts, weather radar, and a bunch of other detail I don't want to see.

 

[dfx]

Mike, thanks. I spent 15 or 20 minutes one day poking through all the settings screens for the weather widget, the phone's GPS functions, and whatever else I thought might be implicated, but I couldn't make it work as I expected it to. As for the battery, even when the phone was brand new, it needed recharging frequently, and the battery usage analyzer or whatever it's called indicates that the weather widget was using a lot of battery. This is way more time than I want to spend on a silly weather function. I just want to know what the temperature is and whether I need to put on a jacket or take an umbrella today--how complicated should that be? Sure, I can download a weather.com app and get advertisements on my screen and probably 10-day forecasts, weather radar, and a bunch of other detail I don't want to see.

And Apple miraculously manages to read your mind and get the app/widget right to show you only exactly what you want?