Phones Grass not always greener on the other side..

[mproudfoot]

So about three or so weeks ago, I moved from an iPhone 4 to a Galaxy S3.

I now plan to rectify that mistake by getting an iPhone 5 as soon as I can get it.

Just a few examples of why can be found here but the upshot is that, IMO, the single biggest USP of Android (it's customization), is also it's biggest flaw. I spent a good bit of time and money trying to get it all to work as well as my Iphone 4 did and never quite got there.

You live and learn

 

[Jessica Lares]

I feel the same way as you. I finally, this weekend, decided to give up on customization altogether just to be able to enjoy my stupid phone. That's after having it since March. I went through 50 ROMs, and have spent at least $100 on live wallpaper, icons, CM9 themes, weather widgets, etc, to the point where I'm never happy with the results.

iOS doesn't have this nice of customization, but it doesn't overwhelm you. Get a nice lock screen, ice wallpaper, nice icons, and you're done.

 

[Jb07]

Hey, at least you gave Android a chance. It's just not for everybody. What were some things you did like about it?

 

[Sensamic]

It would be really hard for me to go back to the iPhone because of the limitations:

- There's no app that allows downloading torrents.
- No way to download a .rar file and extract it's files and upload them to my NAS.
- Can't use awesome keyboards like Swype and Swiftkey.
- Can't play emulators.
- Screen too little and the new one will be only taller. Stupid decision.
- Having widgets (with my rss feeds, news, Twitter updates, etc), live wallpapers, launchers and many ways to customize.
- The back button. This is one of the biggest inventions in smartphones, only comparable to the screen buttons on the nexus.
- No need to convert videos to .mp4.
- Finally able to organize folders and subfolders on the photos app. ITunes doesn't allow to sync multiple subfolders located in different folders.
- Hide or block apps with password.
- Black list for unwanted calls.


Android is not perfect, but it allows me to do the things I need. The iPhone is an excellent phone, but feels like a one way street only.

 

[Rennir]

Nice to share your experience OP. I'm starting to wonder if the mods should just sticky a S3 thread in the subforum since there are a bunch of people who've tried the S3 that want to share their stories...

 

[matttye]

Did you link to the right thread? Indecisiveness over whether to root or not... That's the first time I've seen somebody use that as a reason why they no longer want the phone.

 

[kevinof]

One question. Why? In all my years with Android (and IOS) I've never changed themes, bought wallpaper, icons. I have an S3 with stock rom and the only thing I ever purchase (just like iphone users) are apps and music.

... I went through 50 ROMs, and have spent at least $100 on live wallpaper, icons, CM9 themes, weather widgets, etc, to the point where I'm never happy with the results.

.

 

[Calidude]

No need to convert videos to .mp4.

Just wanted to correct this. There are lots of players in the App store that will play every popular video format. Most of them cost a buck or 2 or 5, but they work, and work well. The free ones will suit most people just fine.

 

[mproudfoot]

Did you link to the right thread? Indecisiveness over whether to root or not... That's the first time I've seen somebody use that as a reason why they no longer want the phone.

The link goes to a specific post in the thread. Perhaps not in your browser?

 

[mproudfoot]

It would be really hard for me to go back to the iPhone because of the limitations:

- There's no app that allows downloading torrents.

I can understand that although I have a QNAP NAS and apps are available for both iOS and Android that allow me to send torrent files and magnet links to the NAS.

- No way to download a .rar file and extract it's files and upload them to my NAS.

True again although I send to use SABNZBD for that (again on both OS)

- Can't use awesome keyboards like Swype and Swiftkey.

Personal preference really, I have Swype load on my Omega ROM and I don't really get the hype - I actually quite like the iOS auto-correct but so far, I'm finding it a lot more miss than hit on this.

- Can't play emulators.

Agree.. I have SNES, Megadrive/Genesis, Gameboy and Amiga emus and my S3. That said, almost useless on the phone screen - I hate pseudo-gamepad controls - although I connected my PS3 control pad and had a game of DKC on that which was interesting. I'd probably just get a Nexus for something like that though.

- Screen too little and the new one will be only taller. Stupid decision.

Depends what you want to do with your smartphone - I travel a lot and take my iPad nearly everywhere and that is what I use for watching movies. For everything else on the move, I didn't have a problem with the iPhone screen. The new screen size will be subjective but it will be more apt for widescreen format video if that's your thing (which, as I said above, isn't mine).

- Having widgets (with my rss feeds, news, Twitter updates, etc), live wallpapers, launchers and many ways to customize.

Still not really sure of the point of widgets. My phone stays locked with screen off when not in use. When I do unlock it, I do so for a purpose - sliding along to see a widget is no quicker than opening an app to show the same info. ( I have home screens with Power Amp, Touchdown email, tripit trips, calendar and two pages of foldered apps but really, it's no quicker than the page of most accessed apps on my old IP)

- The back button. This is one of the biggest inventions in smartphones, only comparable to the screen buttons on the nexus.

Have to agree, it's one thing I find myself missing when I am on the iPad.

- No need to convert videos to .mp4.

There never was.. I used Buzz Player on the iPhone and iPad which handles DivX/XVid etc just fine.

- Finally able to organize folders and subfolders on the photos app. ITunes doesn't allow to sync multiple subfolders located in different folders./QUOTE]

Will take your word for it - I didn't use my iPhone as a photo gallery so never really explored it.

- Hide or block apps with password.

Useful feature I guess although I only ever needed to hide bloatware - on the iPhone this was the calc (I installed another) and Stocks app (no interest). ON the S3, it was half a page of Samsung bloatware.

- Black list for unwanted calls.

Yup, that is useful and one of the main reasons I JB'd my previous iPhones.

Android is not perfect, but it allows me to do the things I need. The iPhone is an excellent phone, but feels like a one way street only.

Obviously, everyone has different expectations and requirements from their devices.. my original post simply reflects that. For me, the advantages of an ecosystem that just works outweighs one that provides almost limitless personalization. For others, the opposite is true.

 

[fox10078]

I feel the same way as you. I finally, this weekend, decided to give up on customization altogether just to be able to enjoy my stupid phone. That's after having it since March. I went through 50 ROMs, and have spent at least $100 on live wallpaper, icons, CM9 themes, weather widgets, etc, to the point where I'm never happy with the results.

I agree, hilarious, It took me literally a day to find one kernel I liked, works great, can switch power modes when need, and the batteries great, onto the phone, I mean you have to be pretty indecisive or inefficient to require months of deciding on wallpapers and icons, jesus, have you ever had to paint your house?

 

[Jessica Lares]

I agree, hilarious, It took me literally a day to find one kernel I liked, works great, can switch power modes when need, and the batteries great, onto the phone, I mean you have to be pretty indecisive or inefficient to require months of deciding on wallpapers and icons, jesus, have you ever had to paint your house?

Yes. The funny thing, my mother and dad thought it was the most ugliest color ever, but now I've seen about 10 walls with the same exact one, even at these forums.

50 ROMS because I went from using the stock ROM, the custom ones, CM9, AOKP, Jelly Bean, to CM9 again. Plus it doesn't help when people make home screens a competition. You see one, and then you want to try it on your device.

Anyway, I'm done with that. Pretty happy now.

 

[Zaft]

I aslo had my stint with android last year. Basically same thing as the OP mentioned for me.

 

[Nozuka]

Pretty much went through the same stuff back when i didnt want to buy the iphone4 because of antenna and availability issues.

at first i was reaaaaally happy with all the freedom. just couldnt stop playing around and it was alot of fun. until some stuff started to get unstable and i always had to turn of data sync/3g/wifi when i didnt use it to save battery.. or kill tasks in the background.

probably didnt help that motorola did a bad job with the software and motoblur stuff.

switched to iphone4 and been happy ever since. now its just a device that works and i dont "play" around much with it. (and also can't)

well and i also buy alot of music in itunes - itunes match is a big plus for me.

oh and i hate to wait for new software on my device, when another one gets it earlier. it's always on the same day for iOS devices.

i'm sure there's lots of improvements with the things i didnt like back then - has been like 2 years now. but i'm just not ready to try it again. but i might be, if the next iOS release brings as little of new exciting stuff as iOS6 does.

i do wish that apple would change the UI sometime, can get a little boring to look at the same thing for years.

 

[phillytim]

i do wish that apple would change the UI sometime, can get a little boring to look at the same thing for years.

There is a subset of people that struggle on either side with refined elegance (iOS) or radical change with every release (Android)?

Refined elegance seems to be working pretty darn great for BMW, though, doesn't it?

Why would mainstream users ever be expected to be comfortable with radical change of every release?

 

[Nozuka]

There is a subset of people that struggle on either side with refined elegance (iOS) or radical change with every release (Android)?

Refined elegance seems to be working pretty darn great for BMW, though, doesn't it?

Why would mainstream users ever be expected to be comfortable with radical change of every release?

I didnt say anything about a radical change. You can adjust the design without moving things around.

And i also didnt mean for them to change it every release. But after 5 years the homescreen and alot of other things still look almost identically and it just looses some of the "fresh" feeling you would expect from a new OS.

Obviously things like the Notification Center helped a bit to deliver this feeling.

It also wouldnt hurt to bring some OSX things into the mix. Like some kind of Mission Control. Especially for the IPAD

 

[phillytim]

i do wish that apple would change the UI sometime, can get a little boring to look at the same thing for years.

You know when you're just spending too much time fiddling around if you're complaining about the GUI.

The bane of a device is to get your tasks done. There's an app for that. Many apps for many tasks. The majority of a persons' time should be spend in the applications to do what they need to get their work or tasks done.

OS is just the pipe to the productivity. People shouldn't be "bored" with an OS. An OS should be intuitively guided through with ease, it's like the back of ones hand. People shouldn't be expensing time fiddling with the pipes (the GUI) as if it were a substitute for productivity as an app!

If there's an app that you NEED, and it isn't available for your particular OS, then that's a valid problem that prods consideration to change to a different OS.

Is the iOS GUI preventing your work somehow?

 

[cynics]

You know when you're just spending too much time fiddling around if you're complaining about the GUI.

The bane of a device is to get your tasks done. There's an app for that. Many apps for many tasks. The majority of a persons' time should be spend in the applications to do what they need to get their work or tasks done.

OS is just the pipe to the productivity. People shouldn't be "bored" with an OS. An OS should be intuitively guided through with ease, it's like the back of ones hand. People shouldn't be expensing time fiddling with the pipes (the GUI) as if it were a substitute for productivity as an app!

If there's an app that you NEED, and it isn't available for your particular OS, then that's a valid problem that prods consideration to change to a different OS.

Is the iOS GUI preventing your work somehow?

I can be as iOS restrict what the apps can do. While android apps can do functions within the OS. Simple example work be a toggle on the home screen. If I turn wifi on and off a lot an app should be able to assist me with that. If I prefer a browser over safari I should be able to use another one as a default.

Those are things that I don't need to mess with either so it's not a burden to me regardless.

Then you have the stock apps like mail. Why do I need to get another app to send a PDF. How is that easier? Wouldn't it be easier to just attach a PDF in the mail app? That's iOS getting in my way.

Android is only as complicated as you make. If you want to mess with the "pipes" you can, if not then you don't have too.

 

[kevinof]

Agree 100%.

Android is only as complicated as you make. If you want to mess with the "pipes" you can, if not then you don't have too.

 

[matttye]

The link goes to a specific post in the thread. Perhaps not in your browser?

My bad Didn't look at the URL, just thought it linked to the main thread.

Yeah seems like the iPhone is better for you.

I use Spotify, and I managed to tweak the phone using Tasker to get it to work flawlessly with my car bluetooth so I don't have your issues, but you do sometimes need to mess around with stuff.

 

[fox10078]

Yes. The funny thing, my mother and dad thought it was the most ugliest color ever, but now I've seen about 10 walls with the same exact one, even at these forums.

50 ROMS because I went from using the stock ROM, the custom ones, CM9, AOKP, Jelly Bean, to CM9 again. Plus it doesn't help when people make home screens a competition. You see one, and then you want to try it on your device.

Anyway, I'm done with that. Pretty happy now.

Indeed, glad you have found a solution you are happy with.

 

[Nozuka]

You know when you're just spending too much time fiddling around if you're complaining about the GUI.

The bane of a device is to get your tasks done. There's an app for that. Many apps for many tasks. The majority of a persons' time should be spend in the applications to do what they need to get their work or tasks done.

OS is just the pipe to the productivity. People shouldn't be "bored" with an OS. An OS should be intuitively guided through with ease, it's like the back of ones hand. People shouldn't be expensing time fiddling with the pipes (the GUI) as if it were a substitute for productivity as an app!

If there's an app that you NEED, and it isn't available for your particular OS, then that's a valid problem that prods consideration to change to a different OS.

Is the iOS GUI preventing your work somehow?

I'm not a robot. I dont exist just to perform tasks. I like shiny new things and the look and feel of the iOS is a big part of the experience.
The same way i want a new car, appartement, clothing, macbooks,..... to look modern and fresh. What a sad world it would be, if everything was just designed to be "functional".

 

[hallux]

- The back button. This is one of the biggest inventions in smartphones, only comparable to the screen buttons on the nexus.

THIS

I've been on Android for almost 3 years (and now have a work-provided iPad so I've been hands-on with both), having the back button (and a menu button) is just so much more intuitive than having to tap the screen to find a button in the app to go back a level, if the app hides it for more screen real estate (500px does this).

As others have also mentioned, having the CHOICE of what to use for your default browser, mail or texting apps is nice as well. In fact, I don't use the default text app on my phone. I also MUCH prefer the keyboard on my Android (though it IS Swype), it also feels more intuitive to me.

I will say this, the fragmentation can be frustrating. The source for 4.0 has been out almost a year and my phone is still questionable as to getting it or not, despite the manufacturer saying it will for the last 4 months. My next device will be a "pure" device, if the company will pony up for it.

 

[sentinelsx]

I also feel like selling the GS3 and am in the same boat.

However, it is not primarily due to android, but the devices it runs on.

I have a hard time finding a non-tablet sized, decent build quality, stock android loaded device. If there was one my android hardware quest would be long over.

The One S comes close. It is a pity HTC put a SAMOLED display on it. I would have taken the qHD resolution happily as long as it was an LCD at least. No matter what anyone says, AMOLED displays drive me crazy.

Give me a solid iPhone/lumia calibre android phone running stock android out of the box and i will never look back.

May be it is time for google to pick an OEM and stick with them while dictating their options. They have done a fine job with ICS/JB, i am sure they can do fine hardware wise too with a decent OEM.

 

[NbinHD]

Should have got a Galaxy Nexus. It's pure Android, which in my opinion is a lot nicer then that of the Android with all these company based themes.