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I had an Android phone for roughly a year, after having a not-smart flip-phone for about 7 years! And even though I found real value in my old phone for 7 year

I had an Android phone for roughly a year, after having a not-smart flip-phone for about 7 years! And even though I found real value in my old phone for 7 years, I tossed the Android for an iPhone 4S almost as soon as the new iPhone came out. When I first bought the Android phone (HTC Hero) I thought it was amazing. It really had some neat features, and there were things the iPhone couldn't do (like totally change the home screen manager). But it was never updated. Not once. It took just months to start seeing apps in the Android Market that only worked with newer OS versions. I'd also discovered battery issues; it was abundantly clear that the carrier, Sprint, had the phone pre-loaded with apps (in the ROM so they could not be removed). Not only did ALL of these stupid things auto-start when the phone was powered on, but they were apparently set up to start themselves every hour or so because even with an app-killer I'd still see this junk back in memory sooner or later. Say what you will about Apple, but they keep the crap off your phone. Carriers can't put a damn thing on there that you don't want. I've also already received 2 OS updates from Apple, which is 2 more updates than I ever received with Android. I also realized that even though Apple doesn't let you customize as much, their UI is also not broken the way Android's is. For instance, some of the default HTC Sense UI did really stupid things in my opinion. Sure I was able to "fix" problems by downloading replacement keyboards, etc. but with iOS I don't even feel the need for that because Apple's UI is by default more sensible.

Osiris 15y ago
I haven't owned an iPhone, so I've kept myself content by keeping CyanogenMod ROMs on my phones just to keep them updated. I do think Apple's iron grip on certain parts of the OS is a problem though. For example, I really dislike the iOS virtual keyboard. All caps all the time? Really? I love that in Android there are dozens of replacement keyboards I can use if I want. Unfortunately, I don't think Apple will ever loosen it's grip and that's the biggest thing that keeps me away from the platform.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  I have to second CyanogenMod. It's currently the only thing stopping me from saying 'fuck it' and going back to a dumbphone.
- rbarooah 15y ago
  What do you mean by 'all caps all the time'?
  - acuozzo 15y ago
    > What do you mean by 'all caps all the time'? I think (he|she)'s referring to the displayed case of the graphemes on the US iPhone's on-screen keyboard; that is, all letters are always displayed in upper-case, regardless of the state of the ``shift'' key.
    - rbarooah 15y ago
      Fair enough. I guess the trade off is against having a massive visual change every time you tap shift that could draw your eye away from the cursor position in the middle of typing.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
psyklic 15y ago
I had an original Droid from Verizon, and Verizon still pushed updates to me even at the two year mark, including an upgrade to the latest Android OS a year after purchase.
fossuser 15y ago
I've come to the conclusion that any android phone outside of the nexus line is garbage. The nexus phones however are arguably better than iPhones.
- gcb 15y ago
  yeah... except a vast majority of users from the nexus one have one or more hardware problems that both google and HTC denies warranty. - touchscreen ghosting - touchscreen crazy-mode when hot - worse than iphone4 3G reception - battery cells life cut in half after 1st year i was luck to have 2 and 4 on mine. bought from google using google checkout. they never returned emails or letters regarding this. people on forums that bought at stores had HTC take them in and return the same way.
cageface 15y ago
All you have to do to adjust your expectations of the quality of vendor bloatware is take a quick look at the trash that PC vendors install on new Windows laptops. Why should we expect these same companies to do any better with their Android apps? Apple definitely has a big advantage here. It's a shame really, because I think iOS has largely stagnated from a UI perspective or perhaps even degenerated with the ridiculous skeuomorphisms of their recent apps.
CrazedGeek 15y ago
Two things: Say what you will about Apple, but they keep the crap off your phone. Carriers can't put a damn thing on there that you don't want. True, but they do a damn fine job of keeping things off: iPad 3G video downscaled, blocked over AT&T network: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ipad-3g-video-downscaled-blocked-over-att-network/ http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ipad-3g-video... AT&T and Apple Admit Deal to Block VoIP on iPhone: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170661/atandt_and_apple_admit_deal_to_block_voip_on_iphone.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170661/atandt_... AT&T cracking down unofficial tethering apps like MyWi: http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/18/att-blocking-unofficial-tethering-apps-like-mywi/ http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/18/att-blocking-unofficial... (Granted, Google's complicit to the carrier's requests here too -- however, I'm still perfectly able to install anything I want on my phone.) But it was never updated. Not once. It took just months to start seeing apps in the Android Market that only worked with newer OS versions. [...] I've also already received 2 OS updates from Apple, which is 2 more updates than I ever received with Android. No, it isn't. The Sprint HTC Hero got an official upgrade from 1.6 to 2.1, roughly eight months after the phone came out and five months after 2.1 came out. http://www.slashgear.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-2-1-update-released-1986138/ http://www.slashgear.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-2-1-update-...
- boxein 15y ago
  > (Granted, Google's complicit to the carrier's requests here too -- however, I'm still perfectly able to install anything I want on my phone.) This is not a valid argument for the average Android user, since they would have to root their device first. Jailbreaking an iPhone would also allow you to install anything you like.
  - CrazedGeek 15y ago
    You don't have to root a device to install anything, you just have to enable "Unknown sources" (Android will prompt you to enable it when you try to install an APK). A non-negligible amount of people do this -- it's how the Amazon Appstore works on everything (save for the Kindle Fire): http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_gs&docId=1000626391 http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_gs...
nextparadigms 15y ago
It's quite amazing how besides charging carriers the full retail price for an iPhone, which gives them like $350 in profit per phone, they also don't allow them to install any of their apps. If only Google had the same negotiation skills. There are so many things that Google could do for the benefit of their users, not necessarily for themselves, if only they took a tougher stance with the carriers, or convince them somehow that letting the customer be the #1 priority, and not the carrier itself, is actually a good thing in the long-term for the carrier. And a good example of that is the iPhone, which even though had the customer (and Apple itself) as the priority, the carrier still benefited a lot from all the customers and more expensive plans.
silon3 15y ago
I still have the HTC Hero (EU). I put custom rom on it (currently VillainROM, I think) and it's still usable. And it's bulletproof, even more than most Nokias which would always chip in the corner if you dropped (had 3 different ones). I dropped it about 5-6 times and not a scratch (it does fall apart everytime, which is probably the reason it's undamaged).

Osiris 15y ago

I haven't owned an iPhone, so I've kept myself content by keeping CyanogenMod ROMs on my phones just to keep them updated. I do think Apple's iron grip on certain parts of the OS is a problem though. For example, I really dislike the iOS virtual keyboard. All caps all the time? Really? I love that in Android there are dozens of replacement keyboards I can use if I want. Unfortunately, I don't think Apple will ever loosen it's grip and that's the biggest thing that keeps me away from the platform.

burgerbrain 15y ago
I have to second CyanogenMod. It's currently the only thing stopping me from saying 'fuck it' and going back to a dumbphone.
rbarooah 15y ago
What do you mean by 'all caps all the time'?
- acuozzo 15y ago
  > What do you mean by 'all caps all the time'? I think (he|she)'s referring to the displayed case of the graphemes on the US iPhone's on-screen keyboard; that is, all letters are always displayed in upper-case, regardless of the state of the ``shift'' key.
  - rbarooah 15y ago
    Fair enough. I guess the trade off is against having a massive visual change every time you tap shift that could draw your eye away from the cursor position in the middle of typing.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

psyklic 15y ago

I had an original Droid from Verizon, and Verizon still pushed updates to me even at the two year mark, including an upgrade to the latest Android OS a year after purchase.

fossuser 15y ago

I've come to the conclusion that any android phone outside of the nexus line is garbage. The nexus phones however are arguably better than iPhones.

gcb 15y ago
yeah... except a vast majority of users from the nexus one have one or more hardware problems that both google and HTC denies warranty. - touchscreen ghosting - touchscreen crazy-mode when hot - worse than iphone4 3G reception - battery cells life cut in half after 1st year i was luck to have 2 and 4 on mine. bought from google using google checkout. they never returned emails or letters regarding this. people on forums that bought at stores had HTC take them in and return the same way.

cageface 15y ago

All you have to do to adjust your expectations of the quality of vendor bloatware is take a quick look at the trash that PC vendors install on new Windows laptops. Why should we expect these same companies to do any better with their Android apps? Apple definitely has a big advantage here. It's a shame really, because I think iOS has largely stagnated from a UI perspective or perhaps even degenerated with the ridiculous skeuomorphisms of their recent apps.

CrazedGeek 15y ago

Two things: Say what you will about Apple, but they keep the crap off your phone. Carriers can't put a damn thing on there that you don't want. True, but they do a damn fine job of keeping things off: iPad 3G video downscaled, blocked over AT&T network: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ipad-3g-video-downscaled-blocked-over-att-network/ http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ipad-3g-video... AT&T and Apple Admit Deal to Block VoIP on iPhone: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170661/atandt_and_apple_admit_deal_to_block_voip_on_iphone.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170661/atandt_... AT&T cracking down unofficial tethering apps like MyWi: http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/18/att-blocking-unofficial-tethering-apps-like-mywi/ http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/18/att-blocking-unofficial... (Granted, Google's complicit to the carrier's requests here too -- however, I'm still perfectly able to install anything I want on my phone.) But it was never updated. Not once. It took just months to start seeing apps in the Android Market that only worked with newer OS versions. [...] I've also already received 2 OS updates from Apple, which is 2 more updates than I ever received with Android. No, it isn't. The Sprint HTC Hero got an official upgrade from 1.6 to 2.1, roughly eight months after the phone came out and five months after 2.1 came out. http://www.slashgear.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-2-1-update-released-1986138/ http://www.slashgear.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-2-1-update-...

boxein 15y ago
> (Granted, Google's complicit to the carrier's requests here too -- however, I'm still perfectly able to install anything I want on my phone.) This is not a valid argument for the average Android user, since they would have to root their device first. Jailbreaking an iPhone would also allow you to install anything you like.
- CrazedGeek 15y ago
  You don't have to root a device to install anything, you just have to enable "Unknown sources" (Android will prompt you to enable it when you try to install an APK). A non-negligible amount of people do this -- it's how the Amazon Appstore works on everything (save for the Kindle Fire): http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_gs&docId=1000626391 http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_gs...

nextparadigms 15y ago

It's quite amazing how besides charging carriers the full retail price for an iPhone, which gives them like $350 in profit per phone, they also don't allow them to install any of their apps. If only Google had the same negotiation skills. There are so many things that Google could do for the benefit of their users, not necessarily for themselves, if only they took a tougher stance with the carriers, or convince them somehow that letting the customer be the #1 priority, and not the carrier itself, is actually a good thing in the long-term for the carrier. And a good example of that is the iPhone, which even though had the customer (and Apple itself) as the priority, the carrier still benefited a lot from all the customers and more expensive plans.

silon3 15y ago

I still have the HTC Hero (EU). I put custom rom on it (currently VillainROM, I think) and it's still usable. And it's bulletproof, even more than most Nokias which would always chip in the corner if you dropped (had 3 different ones). I dropped it about 5-6 times and not a scratch (it does fall apart everytime, which is probably the reason it's undamaged).