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Have you used the Google Voice app for the iPhone? It's literally the worst app I've ever seen in my life. Crashed constantly, won't refresh from the server,

by ctide 15y ago

Have you used the Google Voice app for the iPhone? It's literally the worst app I've ever seen in my life. Crashed constantly, won't refresh from the server, will close your text box randomly while typing a message (clearing your message), will fail to make calls frequently, and since I upgraded to iOS5 now has signed me out and crashes immediately when trying to sign back in so it's been rendered completely unusable. I can only assume that there's some desire within Google to make sure the iPhone versions of their products are complete dogshit to try and encourage Android adoption.

avree 15y ago
Did you update the Google Voice app? These all used to be problems, but their latest release resolved them all for me.
- ctide 15y ago
  No, I switched to one of the paid apps (GV Mobile+) because it actually worked. EDIT: I don't really know why I'm being downvoted for this. Wouldn't you switch apps too if you relied on google voice for your text messages and you couldn't log into it anymore without it instantly crashing?
- moxiemk1 15y ago
  This is true - the Google Voice app is now much much better, but it is worth pointing out that there were tons of bugs that weren't fixed for over a year, like: * freezing irrecoverably when opening the app/going to inbox very often * losing all the text you've typed when anything causes the textfield to lose focus * things like gaining network connectivity causing said textfield to lose focus Perhaps this qualifies as ad hominem, but this experience was biblically awful and from a major software company. Seeing how this new Gmail app is a bunch of Web views and needlessly non-standard widgets (=> part of the worst dredge of apps), it makes me start to feel pretty cynical about their iOS strategy. Then again, taken the experience using the Android browser while developing mobile websites, maybe it's an institutional inability to develop polished mobile applications.
chaz 15y ago
Hanlon's Razor. There was a login bug with iOS 5, and Google pulled the iPhone app from the Appstore until it was fixed. It's been back for a little while now, and stable. The Android version is far better, though, due to its OS integration. I don't think Apple would ever allow what it does on Android.
- ctide 15y ago
  Yes, I don't doubt that the iOS5 login bug was not intentional, however every other issue I mentioned has been there since I switched back to an iPhone from Droid when the Verizon iPhone was released. That's nearly a year of a completely malfunctioning app (although, I could actually log in to that one.)
- falling 15y ago
  They've had the iOS 5 beta available since June and they didn't bother to fix it before the actual release. If that doesn't say that they don't care, I don't know what else.
- avree 15y ago
  The only way to get that integration is to either use Sprint or jailbreak and use http://gvexts.appspot.com/sms/sms.html http://gvexts.appspot.com/sms/sms.html
X-Istence 15y ago
Google has actually fixed these issues. The Google Voice app now works perfectly fine on my iPhone 4S...
jad 15y ago
> I can only assume that there's some desire within Google to make sure the iPhone versions of their products are complete dogshit to try and encourage Android adoption. Do people think companies really behave this way? "Hey guys, how can we make our products crappier? Surely if people think our iPhone apps stink, they'll be motivated to go out and buy a whole phone from us!" There are a whole host of mundane reasons why products turn out worse than they could be, and they almost never include conspiracy or malice.
- sunchild 15y ago
  More like "Hey guys, how can we make sure our products run better on our platform than the other one?
- Splines 15y ago
  I think it's probably more that the Android apps team has a higher budget/headcount than the iPhone apps team (I have no idea, but just a guess).
- ry0ohki 15y ago
  I bet it's the same reason Apple products suck on Windows... the devs themselves just don't use the platform.
  - omaranto 15y ago
    Well, I'm not convinced it's fair to say that Apple software is worse on Windows. I don't know anyone who's tried Safari on Windows (so maybe it is worse than on a Mac, but I wouldn't know) and while iTunes is certainly absolutely terrible on Windows, from what my Mac owning friends tell me it is just as bad on Macs.
    - shinratdr 15y ago
      > from what my Mac owning friends tell me it is just as bad on Macs. Who told you that? I just launched iTunes on my Lion machine, it started up in 5 seconds and started syncing with my phone wirelessly while I scrolled through 18,000 tracks without stuttering & a track played. iTunes for OS X is arguably a little bloated and lacking direction, but it's still hands down the best library based music player/jukebox for OS X. Nothing else even comes close. To be fair, you come right out and say you have little experience on the topic either way, so why cast an opinion? As someone who uses Apple's software on Macs and PCs extensively, there is not even a debate to be had about where Apple puts its effort. You can even test it yourself. Take any Mac, put Windows 7 on it. Launch a clean copy of iTunes in OS X, then reboot and do the same in Windows 7. The OS X version will start up instantly, the Windows one will stall for at least 10-15 seconds. This is just one obvious example, there are plenty more out there.
mikeash 15y ago
Why put any effort into making a deliberately bad app when they could even more easily make no app at all?
pflats 15y ago
>I can only assume that there's some desire within Google to make sure the iPhone versions of their products are complete dogshit to try and encourage Android adoption. I find it interesting that Google is intentionally using its own icons for pre-existing iOS conventions (Floppy disk for save, weird action menu, nonstandard trash can, buttons without borders, etc.) I can understand being in love with your own system, but making a native app look non-native is just odd. Personally, Google Sync/Exchange works great, gives me calendars as well, and plays nicely with my other accounts. The only hiccup is archive v. delete, but that's not a huge one. I've had no desire for a GMail app.
- MaysonL 15y ago
  The weirdest Google-ism I found was when running the desktop version of Reader on my iPad: single-finger scrolling was turned off! I had to use two fingers as if I was using a Mac trackpad.
  - rboyce 15y ago
    That's actually a consequence of how iOS handled scrollable areas on pages prior to iOS 5. Totally not Google's fault; I believe you'll have better luck using desktop Reader in iOS 5.

by ctide 15y ago

avree 15y ago

Did you update the Google Voice app? These all used to be problems, but their latest release resolved them all for me.

ctide 15y ago
No, I switched to one of the paid apps (GV Mobile+) because it actually worked. EDIT: I don't really know why I'm being downvoted for this. Wouldn't you switch apps too if you relied on google voice for your text messages and you couldn't log into it anymore without it instantly crashing?
moxiemk1 15y ago
This is true - the Google Voice app is now much much better, but it is worth pointing out that there were tons of bugs that weren't fixed for over a year, like: * freezing irrecoverably when opening the app/going to inbox very often * losing all the text you've typed when anything causes the textfield to lose focus * things like gaining network connectivity causing said textfield to lose focus Perhaps this qualifies as ad hominem, but this experience was biblically awful and from a major software company. Seeing how this new Gmail app is a bunch of Web views and needlessly non-standard widgets (=> part of the worst dredge of apps), it makes me start to feel pretty cynical about their iOS strategy. Then again, taken the experience using the Android browser while developing mobile websites, maybe it's an institutional inability to develop polished mobile applications.

chaz 15y ago

Hanlon's Razor. There was a login bug with iOS 5, and Google pulled the iPhone app from the Appstore until it was fixed. It's been back for a little while now, and stable. The Android version is far better, though, due to its OS integration. I don't think Apple would ever allow what it does on Android.

ctide 15y ago
Yes, I don't doubt that the iOS5 login bug was not intentional, however every other issue I mentioned has been there since I switched back to an iPhone from Droid when the Verizon iPhone was released. That's nearly a year of a completely malfunctioning app (although, I could actually log in to that one.)
falling 15y ago
They've had the iOS 5 beta available since June and they didn't bother to fix it before the actual release. If that doesn't say that they don't care, I don't know what else.
avree 15y ago
The only way to get that integration is to either use Sprint or jailbreak and use http://gvexts.appspot.com/sms/sms.html http://gvexts.appspot.com/sms/sms.html

X-Istence 15y ago

Google has actually fixed these issues. The Google Voice app now works perfectly fine on my iPhone 4S...

jad 15y ago

> I can only assume that there's some desire within Google to make sure the iPhone versions of their products are complete dogshit to try and encourage Android adoption. Do people think companies really behave this way? "Hey guys, how can we make our products crappier? Surely if people think our iPhone apps stink, they'll be motivated to go out and buy a whole phone from us!" There are a whole host of mundane reasons why products turn out worse than they could be, and they almost never include conspiracy or malice.

sunchild 15y ago
More like "Hey guys, how can we make sure our products run better on our platform than the other one?
Splines 15y ago
I think it's probably more that the Android apps team has a higher budget/headcount than the iPhone apps team (I have no idea, but just a guess).
ry0ohki 15y ago
I bet it's the same reason Apple products suck on Windows... the devs themselves just don't use the platform.
- omaranto 15y ago
  Well, I'm not convinced it's fair to say that Apple software is worse on Windows. I don't know anyone who's tried Safari on Windows (so maybe it is worse than on a Mac, but I wouldn't know) and while iTunes is certainly absolutely terrible on Windows, from what my Mac owning friends tell me it is just as bad on Macs.
  - shinratdr 15y ago
    > from what my Mac owning friends tell me it is just as bad on Macs. Who told you that? I just launched iTunes on my Lion machine, it started up in 5 seconds and started syncing with my phone wirelessly while I scrolled through 18,000 tracks without stuttering & a track played. iTunes for OS X is arguably a little bloated and lacking direction, but it's still hands down the best library based music player/jukebox for OS X. Nothing else even comes close. To be fair, you come right out and say you have little experience on the topic either way, so why cast an opinion? As someone who uses Apple's software on Macs and PCs extensively, there is not even a debate to be had about where Apple puts its effort. You can even test it yourself. Take any Mac, put Windows 7 on it. Launch a clean copy of iTunes in OS X, then reboot and do the same in Windows 7. The OS X version will start up instantly, the Windows one will stall for at least 10-15 seconds. This is just one obvious example, there are plenty more out there.

mikeash 15y ago

Why put any effort into making a deliberately bad app when they could even more easily make no app at all?

pflats 15y ago

>I can only assume that there's some desire within Google to make sure the iPhone versions of their products are complete dogshit to try and encourage Android adoption. I find it interesting that Google is intentionally using its own icons for pre-existing iOS conventions (Floppy disk for save, weird action menu, nonstandard trash can, buttons without borders, etc.) I can understand being in love with your own system, but making a native app look non-native is just odd. Personally, Google Sync/Exchange works great, gives me calendars as well, and plays nicely with my other accounts. The only hiccup is archive v. delete, but that's not a huge one. I've had no desire for a GMail app.

MaysonL 15y ago
The weirdest Google-ism I found was when running the desktop version of Reader on my iPad: single-finger scrolling was turned off! I had to use two fingers as if I was using a Mac trackpad.
- rboyce 15y ago
  That's actually a consequence of how iOS handled scrollable areas on pages prior to iOS 5. Totally not Google's fault; I believe you'll have better luck using desktop Reader in iOS 5.