6 ms·

Stross on: why my Android tablet experience sucks

27 points by cstross 14y ago

AndrewDucker 14y ago
And this is why I will only buy Nexus phones. I cannot be arsed rooting my phone (and potentially bricking it), and I don't want to have to deal with crapware being forced on me. (I understand that even then you're not entirely safe - with the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus _still_ having Verizon software on top. FFS.)
technoslut 14y ago
This is sort of an odd article. He is calling out Samsung for their walled garden approach yet yearns for a 7" iPad. Secondly, he is critical of the dock connector but, if rumors are to be believed and it looks increasingly likely, that Apple will adopt a new, smaller dock connector for iOS devices. I can't blame Samsung in wanting to reduce their dependency on Google when they control over half of the Android phone market and sell as many, if not more, smartphones than Apple.
- cstross 14y ago
  You missed the key angle: ecosystem size. Apple has first-mover advantage: an 8 year legacy of dock-connector-compatible third party peripherals. Samsung does not, and if they keep changing proprietary connectors like underpants nobody in their right mind will even think about producing compatible hardware peripherals for their devices. Similarly, Apple has a pre-existing, pre-iOS market of loyal OSX customers who can be coaxed into embracing iOS as a portable extension of their desktop, with Calendar and Mail and Address book syncing. Samsung doesn't have such a captive audience, and won't build one by going about it this way. You're right about Samsung having reason to reduce their dependency on Google, but my point is they're going about it the wrong way from a UX point of view. Per Drucker, the job of any successful company is to acquire customers. Preferably loyal repeat customers. This is not how to do it.
  - Tloewald 14y ago
    And mail doesn't restrict you from emailing non iOS users (indeed, it supports Exchange and gmail), etc. etc.
    - DeepDuh 14y ago
      Did Samsung really restrict an E-Mail application to one maildomain? Yes I read the article, but I still can't believe it... why would anyone want to use such crapware? Are they even asking themselves this question?
      - jsight 14y ago
        No, Samsung has never done that.
      - Tloewald 14y ago
        "chat to other Galaxy Tab users, mail via walled garden servers, share photos with other Samsung owners, and so on" so this is all incorrect? (I genuinely don't know.) Consider the way iOS Messages works — it bypasses SMS when possible to save you money, but transparently supports SMS. The point stands even if the particulars are slightly incorrect.
  - technoslut 14y ago
    >You're right about Samsung having reason to reduce their dependency on Google, but my point is they're going about it the wrong way from a UX point of view. I would agree about them not switching connectors every year but I don't think that Samsung should be criticized for having a proprietary connector if they believe it's better than the standard. Samsung is underrated in how much consumer draw they have. Samsung, along with Apple, have made every other Android OEM unprofitable. They've probably benefitted most from the collapse of Nokia. >Apple has first-mover advantage: an 8 year legacy of dock-connector-compatible third party peripherals. In a way it may be worse for Apple if they do change the dock connector because of the legacy hardware support for it and potential customer complaints.
  - tjoff 14y ago
- gutnor 14y ago
  Actually this is the typical view from a reluctant switchers : they adjust their expectation based on what the new platform is advertising, not what the old one was providing. Android is selling openness to ios users, so that's what the switcher expect: eg "OK Apple will not sell me the tablet I want, so I will have a look at this Android thingy, they say it is open and all, so at least I will have that." Same thing for the apps: Samsung is selling an Android device - so when Apple is getting away by having facetime only working with iPhone user, being restricted to a single brand is not something you expect from an Android phone. The guy is quite mild in his criticism and only look at the stuff he owns. That is refreshing from the "Apple sucks because there is a rumor that in the future they will delete all your books", or "Android is great because the next version that will only run on your next phone will support feature X"
  - technoslut 14y ago
    I don't believe that the reason people are buying Android is because of openness. I doubt most can even understand the concept because they know relatively nothing about computers. If they did then they would understand what Samsung has been doing for the past year and move away. Instead, the SIII is seeing unprecedented demand for an Android phone. It's always been about price. Buying an unlocked iPhone, even for the low-end model, is extremely expensive because of the extra $200 that is tacked on.
- jcromartie 14y ago
  The problem is that Samsung's walled garden sucks. Apple's is clearly good enough for the millions of iOS customers.
spydum 14y ago
While not a fan of the OEM crapware, I have found it completely harmless on my Tab2. Yes, it takes up some space on the internal flash, but I would be surprised if it was much more than 200mb.
nicholassmith 14y ago
Interestingly titled 'why my...', as it heads off the trolls at the pass, decrying "yeah but it's great for MY needs". But Stross makes some really good points, proprietary connectors are a relic of a long time ago and part of the reason why Apple is still hawking them is that they don't want to do something silly like Samsung have, and break compatibility. Which isn't a good idea on Apples part as the dock connector is still crap, but I'd wager they'd have a lot of upset customers if they killed it. I only just recently bought an iPad, it took time to convince me I needed one. I did look at Android for a while though, mostly for the price point. My experience was much the same, I found at the name brand manufacturers quality was excellent but the software was terrible, and the off brand was vice-versa. Apple has the market stitched up at the moment by having a) excellent hardware and b) excellent software (which even if you don't like iOS you can't argue it's very good at what it does).
- larsberg 14y ago
  > part of the reason why Apple is still hawking them I've always assumed a large part of the reason Apple uses proprietary connectors (other than any potential circuit real estate savings) is that it significantly reduces their testing matrix. If you have to have a license to plug it into their system, they don't have to test it unless you paid the fee. If you saw the terrible, horrible things that hardware vendors do to the USB specification just because "it doesn't crash when attached to a Windows <N> box" you would cry bloody tears.
  - nicholassmith 14y ago
    You know what, that's a super smart idea that I hadn't even considered. I just assumed it was to not upset consumers and/or because they've already got an entire production chain geared for producing them for absolutely nothing, but forcing it down that route does ensure Apple has a slightly easier life.
  - DeepDuh 14y ago
    Also don't forget that their dock connector does a bit more than USB<=2.0, namely audio/video up to 1080p. The signal quality has always been a strong point as well, at least for a portable device. It's no wonder many audio professional are using iPads nowadays (well ok, the excellent audio frameworks provided in iOS are probably the biggest reason for that).
ben1040 14y ago
He doesn't even yet get to experience what will happen when Google releases a new version of Android and you expect to see it on your tablet in a reasonable time frame. I gave up on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 when Android 4 came out and Samsung chose to first announce and release a brand new line of tablet products running Android 4, and then slack on updating the ones that weren't even a year old at the time. The message they're sending was "oh, you want a tablet running a current OS? Why not ditch the one you just bought, and buy one of these?" As of December, maybe three weeks after the source was released to Android 4, there were custom firmware builds for the Tab 10.1 that were 80% functional - no camera support and power management could be flaky at times. If some hobbyists coding at home at night can get a tracer bullet in a couple weeks, Samsung has no excuse for the fact that there still has been no official update released. I prefer Android to iOS in general, but only on a Nexus device with less of a gap between Google as the software vendor and me as the end user.
- gizzlon 14y ago
  Are the iPads updated with new OS releases? Do they autoupdate?
  - cstross 14y ago
    Yes and yes. As of iOS 5.x, iPads can update their own OS over wifi without requiring a complete nuke-and-reinstall-from-backup (as was needed in previous iterations of the OS).
  - DeepDuh 14y ago
    iPad 1 won't get iOS6 though. I've seen that coming though, they have deliberately restricted it with only 256MB Ram.
- aw3c2 14y ago
  I use an Android phone with Android 2.3. I have no problems with that phone resulting from a new version being available. It works well. A new version does not change how well it works.
padobson 14y ago
Reasons why Android sucks: OEM's installing crapware, no unified hardware strategy, lots of crappy apps Reasons why iOS sucks: App store monopoly, crappy memory management, no hardware freedom, read-only devices That's really it. If you're a power user, like most of the HNers, then Android tends to be much more attractive. My ASUS Transformer Prime with keyboard dock might be the the best piece of hardware I've ever owned. I think ICS multitasking is the best I've ever seen. I've owned no less than 3 iOS devices, and I can see how they're great for the layperson who is maybe just learning to use computers for the first time, but I can't use one for 10 minutes without being frustrated with a thought like "Is that app still running in the background?" or "Why can't I customize the way this works?" But then, that just proves I'm not 90% of the Tablet market. I don't fault Apple for going after the lowest common denominator, but doing so means there devices are of no use to me.
- freehunter 14y ago
  "Is that app still running in the background?" My Android experience has been on par with this, except with "how can I make that app stop running in the background?" If there's a way to easily just close an app and have it be done with, I don't know of it. Task managers I've found to be cumbersome and people tend to frown on them saying the system runs more efficiently on its own. So why is this background app listed above Bluetooth in the power manager?
  - kingrolo 14y ago
    Yeah, this has been a paid. It's fixed in ICS. Hold home button, see list of running apps, swipe left any you want to close.
    - jsight 14y ago
      AFAIK, this doesn't actually kill the task. I believe that it just removes it from the displayed list.
      - StavrosK 14y ago
tatsuke95 14y ago
Much more balanced look than the article floating around yesterday. Although, the 7" form factor seems even less practical too me. When I was purchasing a tablet, I had my mind set on the Blackberry Playbook, until I went and played with it. So small! Not enough differential from my phone screen to warrant a new device. >"Why does Samsung insist on trying to steer users towards Samsung apps that duplicate their functionality but miss out key features that make them useful, like, oh, being able to share stuff with folks who don't own a Samsung device" I don't understand this either. In fact, when I'm phone shopping, I refuse to buy a product that has applications installed, either by the service provider or manufacturer, that I can't remove. How naive are these companies to think that, of all the ways to mimic Apple, creating a "wall-garden" on an inferior eco-system is the choice? First build an awesome tablet. If it takes off, invest in having some good apps developed. Or rely on the Market to sort it out. Applications should add to the experience, not give you coronary every time you use your device.
mtgx 14y ago
While the things he talked about can be a bit annoying, that's far from the biggest problem with Android tablets. The biggest problems are that Google needs to: 1) improve the tablet experience dramatically. It shouldn't just be similar or slightly better than iPad. It should be much better, while also easy to get by most people. I suggest going the direction of the Chameleon UI, where your "widgets" can be a lot more useful and functional than Microsoft's "tiles" and of course than Apple's "icons" on the homescreen. Also make the OS a lot better at multi-tasking, so you can use at least 2 apps at once for example. 2) get more tablet apps. A lot more. They've wasted 1.5 years not giving a crap about Android tablet apps. For crying out loud Google - take this issue seriously before you lose the tablet ecosystem forever. The least you can do is get top 100 apps to have a tablet app. But you really need to give an incentive for all devs to do it. I suggest lowering the fee you get from devs by 10% out of the 30% or whatever you're charging them now, for those who are willing to adopt the Holo design style. Apple had a style guide and resources from the beginning, so the vast majority of devs are already using the iOS style for apps, while Microsoft is forcing Metro on all developers. So you go the "incentive" route, and have a "special" category of apps, or give them a certain badge on the Play Store, for those that use the Holo style, and also reduce the fee from 30% to 20% for those who are willing to do it. Also put them through a more rigorous approval process. And give them higher visibility in the Play Store. This way they have plenty of incentive to follow your style guidelines, and to make a tablet version (ask for that, too).
- jcromartie 14y ago
  > It shouldn't just be similar or slightly better than iPad. It should be much better That's easy for you to say. Google has a lot of the world's smartest people working for them, but beating iOS in design and usability is not something they are geared to do as an organization.
ccozan 14y ago
He should have said: "why my Samsung Android table experience sucks". What he says does not apply to my Xoom. Yes, they are a few apps loaded that you can't uninstall, but most of them I was using anyway. The rest is all google stuff, or whatever you wish to use.
mattwdelong 14y ago
Should be titled: "Why my experience with one Android tablet sucks". While his reasons are sound, I don't think these reasons are entirely encompassing of all Android tablet experiences. I for one have been using Asus Transformer for a while now and I am entirely satisfied with the experience. While I am entirely capable of rooting the device, the thought has never even crossed my mind. Asus has done a great job of actually bundling apps that I use (Polaris Office and MyCloud) and the few other applications that they've bundled are not even noticable. Perhaps we could talk about standardizaton of connectors, but I think this problem transcends the Android Tablet experiece and even the "Android Experience". It would be nice to have one cable fit all my devices (tablet, phone etc), but alas I don't ever see this happening. I think the problem is less about conformity and more about proprietary hardware design and that's a whole bunch of issues I know nothing about. I could easily write "Why my ASUS Android Tablet experience is awesome". With freedom comes choices, and Google has left it up to the hardware manufacturer to make the right software choices for their hardware. Asus has made good choices while Samsung has chosen poorly. With freedom comes responsibility..and all that. Shouldn't we be talking about this instead?
- StavrosK 14y ago
  I will second that. I love that my Transformer Prime has an (almost?) stock ICS experience, I think ICS is beautifully designed and very usable. I'm trying to decide which phone should replace my Desire HD, and I'm leaning towards the SGSIII, but the custom UI is really putting me off. Too bad there's no stock-ish phone in the top contenders, I might have to go with the One X if it's less customized.
darkstalker 14y ago
Didn't see any real argument about the supposed bad user experience. Just another blog review that says "this sucks because isn't done the apple way"
jsight 14y ago
Also, keep in mind that ICS offers the ability to disable unwanted builtin apps: http://blogs.computerworld.com/19435/disable_system_apps_android_ice_cream_sandwich http://blogs.computerworld.com/19435/disable_system_apps_and... This removes them from the applications menus and prevents them from ever running in the background.

27 points by cstross 14y ago

And this is why I will only buy Nexus phones. I cannot be arsed rooting my phone (and potentially bricking it), and I don't want to have to deal with crapware being forced on me. (I understand that even then you're not entirely safe - with the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus _still_ having Verizon software on top. FFS.)

technoslut 14y ago

This is sort of an odd article. He is calling out Samsung for their walled garden approach yet yearns for a 7" iPad. Secondly, he is critical of the dock connector but, if rumors are to be believed and it looks increasingly likely, that Apple will adopt a new, smaller dock connector for iOS devices. I can't blame Samsung in wanting to reduce their dependency on Google when they control over half of the Android phone market and sell as many, if not more, smartphones than Apple.

cstross 14y ago
You missed the key angle: ecosystem size. Apple has first-mover advantage: an 8 year legacy of dock-connector-compatible third party peripherals. Samsung does not, and if they keep changing proprietary connectors like underpants nobody in their right mind will even think about producing compatible hardware peripherals for their devices. Similarly, Apple has a pre-existing, pre-iOS market of loyal OSX customers who can be coaxed into embracing iOS as a portable extension of their desktop, with Calendar and Mail and Address book syncing. Samsung doesn't have such a captive audience, and won't build one by going about it this way. You're right about Samsung having reason to reduce their dependency on Google, but my point is they're going about it the wrong way from a UX point of view. Per Drucker, the job of any successful company is to acquire customers. Preferably loyal repeat customers. This is not how to do it.
- Tloewald 14y ago
  And mail doesn't restrict you from emailing non iOS users (indeed, it supports Exchange and gmail), etc. etc.
  - DeepDuh 14y ago
    Did Samsung really restrict an E-Mail application to one maildomain? Yes I read the article, but I still can't believe it... why would anyone want to use such crapware? Are they even asking themselves this question?
    - jsight 14y ago
      No, Samsung has never done that.
    - Tloewald 14y ago
      "chat to other Galaxy Tab users, mail via walled garden servers, share photos with other Samsung owners, and so on" so this is all incorrect? (I genuinely don't know.) Consider the way iOS Messages works — it bypasses SMS when possible to save you money, but transparently supports SMS. The point stands even if the particulars are slightly incorrect.
- technoslut 14y ago
  >You're right about Samsung having reason to reduce their dependency on Google, but my point is they're going about it the wrong way from a UX point of view. I would agree about them not switching connectors every year but I don't think that Samsung should be criticized for having a proprietary connector if they believe it's better than the standard. Samsung is underrated in how much consumer draw they have. Samsung, along with Apple, have made every other Android OEM unprofitable. They've probably benefitted most from the collapse of Nokia. >Apple has first-mover advantage: an 8 year legacy of dock-connector-compatible third party peripherals. In a way it may be worse for Apple if they do change the dock connector because of the legacy hardware support for it and potential customer complaints.
- tjoff 14y ago
gutnor 14y ago
Actually this is the typical view from a reluctant switchers : they adjust their expectation based on what the new platform is advertising, not what the old one was providing. Android is selling openness to ios users, so that's what the switcher expect: eg "OK Apple will not sell me the tablet I want, so I will have a look at this Android thingy, they say it is open and all, so at least I will have that." Same thing for the apps: Samsung is selling an Android device - so when Apple is getting away by having facetime only working with iPhone user, being restricted to a single brand is not something you expect from an Android phone. The guy is quite mild in his criticism and only look at the stuff he owns. That is refreshing from the "Apple sucks because there is a rumor that in the future they will delete all your books", or "Android is great because the next version that will only run on your next phone will support feature X"
- technoslut 14y ago
  I don't believe that the reason people are buying Android is because of openness. I doubt most can even understand the concept because they know relatively nothing about computers. If they did then they would understand what Samsung has been doing for the past year and move away. Instead, the SIII is seeing unprecedented demand for an Android phone. It's always been about price. Buying an unlocked iPhone, even for the low-end model, is extremely expensive because of the extra $200 that is tacked on.
jcromartie 14y ago
The problem is that Samsung's walled garden sucks. Apple's is clearly good enough for the millions of iOS customers.

spydum 14y ago

While not a fan of the OEM crapware, I have found it completely harmless on my Tab2. Yes, it takes up some space on the internal flash, but I would be surprised if it was much more than 200mb.

nicholassmith 14y ago

Interestingly titled 'why my...', as it heads off the trolls at the pass, decrying "yeah but it's great for MY needs". But Stross makes some really good points, proprietary connectors are a relic of a long time ago and part of the reason why Apple is still hawking them is that they don't want to do something silly like Samsung have, and break compatibility. Which isn't a good idea on Apples part as the dock connector is still crap, but I'd wager they'd have a lot of upset customers if they killed it. I only just recently bought an iPad, it took time to convince me I needed one. I did look at Android for a while though, mostly for the price point. My experience was much the same, I found at the name brand manufacturers quality was excellent but the software was terrible, and the off brand was vice-versa. Apple has the market stitched up at the moment by having a) excellent hardware and b) excellent software (which even if you don't like iOS you can't argue it's very good at what it does).

larsberg 14y ago
> part of the reason why Apple is still hawking them I've always assumed a large part of the reason Apple uses proprietary connectors (other than any potential circuit real estate savings) is that it significantly reduces their testing matrix. If you have to have a license to plug it into their system, they don't have to test it unless you paid the fee. If you saw the terrible, horrible things that hardware vendors do to the USB specification just because "it doesn't crash when attached to a Windows <N> box" you would cry bloody tears.
- nicholassmith 14y ago
  You know what, that's a super smart idea that I hadn't even considered. I just assumed it was to not upset consumers and/or because they've already got an entire production chain geared for producing them for absolutely nothing, but forcing it down that route does ensure Apple has a slightly easier life.
- DeepDuh 14y ago
  Also don't forget that their dock connector does a bit more than USB<=2.0, namely audio/video up to 1080p. The signal quality has always been a strong point as well, at least for a portable device. It's no wonder many audio professional are using iPads nowadays (well ok, the excellent audio frameworks provided in iOS are probably the biggest reason for that).

ben1040 14y ago

He doesn't even yet get to experience what will happen when Google releases a new version of Android and you expect to see it on your tablet in a reasonable time frame. I gave up on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 when Android 4 came out and Samsung chose to first announce and release a brand new line of tablet products running Android 4, and then slack on updating the ones that weren't even a year old at the time. The message they're sending was "oh, you want a tablet running a current OS? Why not ditch the one you just bought, and buy one of these?" As of December, maybe three weeks after the source was released to Android 4, there were custom firmware builds for the Tab 10.1 that were 80% functional - no camera support and power management could be flaky at times. If some hobbyists coding at home at night can get a tracer bullet in a couple weeks, Samsung has no excuse for the fact that there still has been no official update released. I prefer Android to iOS in general, but only on a Nexus device with less of a gap between Google as the software vendor and me as the end user.

gizzlon 14y ago
Are the iPads updated with new OS releases? Do they autoupdate?
- cstross 14y ago
  Yes and yes. As of iOS 5.x, iPads can update their own OS over wifi without requiring a complete nuke-and-reinstall-from-backup (as was needed in previous iterations of the OS).
- DeepDuh 14y ago
  iPad 1 won't get iOS6 though. I've seen that coming though, they have deliberately restricted it with only 256MB Ram.
aw3c2 14y ago
I use an Android phone with Android 2.3. I have no problems with that phone resulting from a new version being available. It works well. A new version does not change how well it works.

padobson 14y ago

Reasons why Android sucks: OEM's installing crapware, no unified hardware strategy, lots of crappy apps Reasons why iOS sucks: App store monopoly, crappy memory management, no hardware freedom, read-only devices That's really it. If you're a power user, like most of the HNers, then Android tends to be much more attractive. My ASUS Transformer Prime with keyboard dock might be the the best piece of hardware I've ever owned. I think ICS multitasking is the best I've ever seen. I've owned no less than 3 iOS devices, and I can see how they're great for the layperson who is maybe just learning to use computers for the first time, but I can't use one for 10 minutes without being frustrated with a thought like "Is that app still running in the background?" or "Why can't I customize the way this works?" But then, that just proves I'm not 90% of the Tablet market. I don't fault Apple for going after the lowest common denominator, but doing so means there devices are of no use to me.

freehunter 14y ago
"Is that app still running in the background?" My Android experience has been on par with this, except with "how can I make that app stop running in the background?" If there's a way to easily just close an app and have it be done with, I don't know of it. Task managers I've found to be cumbersome and people tend to frown on them saying the system runs more efficiently on its own. So why is this background app listed above Bluetooth in the power manager?
- kingrolo 14y ago
  Yeah, this has been a paid. It's fixed in ICS. Hold home button, see list of running apps, swipe left any you want to close.
  - jsight 14y ago
    AFAIK, this doesn't actually kill the task. I believe that it just removes it from the displayed list.
    - StavrosK 14y ago

tatsuke95 14y ago

Much more balanced look than the article floating around yesterday. Although, the 7" form factor seems even less practical too me. When I was purchasing a tablet, I had my mind set on the Blackberry Playbook, until I went and played with it. So small! Not enough differential from my phone screen to warrant a new device. >"Why does Samsung insist on trying to steer users towards Samsung apps that duplicate their functionality but miss out key features that make them useful, like, oh, being able to share stuff with folks who don't own a Samsung device" I don't understand this either. In fact, when I'm phone shopping, I refuse to buy a product that has applications installed, either by the service provider or manufacturer, that I can't remove. How naive are these companies to think that, of all the ways to mimic Apple, creating a "wall-garden" on an inferior eco-system is the choice? First build an awesome tablet. If it takes off, invest in having some good apps developed. Or rely on the Market to sort it out. Applications should add to the experience, not give you coronary every time you use your device.

mtgx 14y ago

While the things he talked about can be a bit annoying, that's far from the biggest problem with Android tablets. The biggest problems are that Google needs to: 1) improve the tablet experience dramatically. It shouldn't just be similar or slightly better than iPad. It should be much better, while also easy to get by most people. I suggest going the direction of the Chameleon UI, where your "widgets" can be a lot more useful and functional than Microsoft's "tiles" and of course than Apple's "icons" on the homescreen. Also make the OS a lot better at multi-tasking, so you can use at least 2 apps at once for example. 2) get more tablet apps. A lot more. They've wasted 1.5 years not giving a crap about Android tablet apps. For crying out loud Google - take this issue seriously before you lose the tablet ecosystem forever. The least you can do is get top 100 apps to have a tablet app. But you really need to give an incentive for all devs to do it. I suggest lowering the fee you get from devs by 10% out of the 30% or whatever you're charging them now, for those who are willing to adopt the Holo design style. Apple had a style guide and resources from the beginning, so the vast majority of devs are already using the iOS style for apps, while Microsoft is forcing Metro on all developers. So you go the "incentive" route, and have a "special" category of apps, or give them a certain badge on the Play Store, for those that use the Holo style, and also reduce the fee from 30% to 20% for those who are willing to do it. Also put them through a more rigorous approval process. And give them higher visibility in the Play Store. This way they have plenty of incentive to follow your style guidelines, and to make a tablet version (ask for that, too).

jcromartie 14y ago
> It shouldn't just be similar or slightly better than iPad. It should be much better That's easy for you to say. Google has a lot of the world's smartest people working for them, but beating iOS in design and usability is not something they are geared to do as an organization.

ccozan 14y ago

He should have said: "why my Samsung Android table experience sucks". What he says does not apply to my Xoom. Yes, they are a few apps loaded that you can't uninstall, but most of them I was using anyway. The rest is all google stuff, or whatever you wish to use.

mattwdelong 14y ago

Should be titled: "Why my experience with one Android tablet sucks". While his reasons are sound, I don't think these reasons are entirely encompassing of all Android tablet experiences. I for one have been using Asus Transformer for a while now and I am entirely satisfied with the experience. While I am entirely capable of rooting the device, the thought has never even crossed my mind. Asus has done a great job of actually bundling apps that I use (Polaris Office and MyCloud) and the few other applications that they've bundled are not even noticable. Perhaps we could talk about standardizaton of connectors, but I think this problem transcends the Android Tablet experiece and even the "Android Experience". It would be nice to have one cable fit all my devices (tablet, phone etc), but alas I don't ever see this happening. I think the problem is less about conformity and more about proprietary hardware design and that's a whole bunch of issues I know nothing about. I could easily write "Why my ASUS Android Tablet experience is awesome". With freedom comes choices, and Google has left it up to the hardware manufacturer to make the right software choices for their hardware. Asus has made good choices while Samsung has chosen poorly. With freedom comes responsibility..and all that. Shouldn't we be talking about this instead?

StavrosK 14y ago
I will second that. I love that my Transformer Prime has an (almost?) stock ICS experience, I think ICS is beautifully designed and very usable. I'm trying to decide which phone should replace my Desire HD, and I'm leaning towards the SGSIII, but the custom UI is really putting me off. Too bad there's no stock-ish phone in the top contenders, I might have to go with the One X if it's less customized.

darkstalker 14y ago

Didn't see any real argument about the supposed bad user experience. Just another blog review that says "this sucks because isn't done the apple way"

jsight 14y ago

Also, keep in mind that ICS offers the ability to disable unwanted builtin apps: http://blogs.computerworld.com/19435/disable_system_apps_android_ice_cream_sandwich http://blogs.computerworld.com/19435/disable_system_apps_and... This removes them from the applications menus and prevents them from ever running in the background.