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Can only agree with OP. I gave up my iPhone 4 for a Galaxy Nexus this summer and have never looked back. I think Google can still work on the default look, but

Can only agree with OP. I gave up my iPhone 4 for a Galaxy Nexus this summer and have never looked back. I think Google can still work on the default look, but I find Android to be very "clean" and quick to work with. Android feels much more like a real operating system. iOS is so restricted and there are many work tasks that I cannot do (e.g. mailing a dropbox file to someone). Google Now is also amazingly good. And the fact that mail search actually works is a "small" bonus :P Samsung has also implemented some cool features in the SGS3, like that the screen stays on as long as you look at it. They are just much worse at marketing it. Can you imagine how much Apple would have hyped a similar feature?

robmcm 14y ago
I have always wondered about that feature, and always think.. - What if two people are looking at it. - Does it flick on and off as I look around - Is it using a huge amount of power when ever the screen is on, not only with powering the screen but with powering the camera. - Can I still use my screen as a light, or does is power off when I face it away from me? (I have a flash light app but it's quicker some times to just use the screen). - What if I am holding it sideways and cover the camera with my hand. - What if I am wearing glasses (something that obstructs my eyes) - What if I put glasses on while looking at the phone? - What if it's too dark for the camera I imagine there are enough facts here that made someone like Apple or Google think it's a bad idea. I expect someone in the Samsung marketing department came up with this idea.
- vacri 14y ago
  It has a normal screen timeout. When it gets close to the timeout, it looks for 'open eyes looking at me' and if it detects them, stays on. When the screen does turn off, it's like any other timeout - it won't flick back on by newly detecting eyes again. And no, of course if you're going to use your screen as a flashlight, it's not going to detect your eyes and stay on. If you're not willing to go to the marginal effort of activating a flashlight app, what mechanism do you propose they use to have the phone detect when you're using it as a flashlight-by-screen?
  - robmcm 14y ago
    See previous comment, I was under the impression that the phone turned off when you looked away, rather than stayed on if you were looking at it. Blame poor marketing.
- niklas_a 14y ago
  1) Just as it is about to lock the screen it checks if someone is looking. Doesn't matter if it's one or two persons. If you're looking away at that instant it locks. A reasonable compromise that ensures it works more than good enough if you're reading an article. 2) It doesn't power off just because you are not looking at it. You can still use the phone as a flashlight. 3) It doesn't work if you're holding it sideways or cover the camera lens. Don't think this is a problem though - again the feature is directed for situations where you are browsing some content or reading an article. 4) It works if you have glasses 5) It doesn't work in low light situations, also a reasonable compromise. I think the way you have to see it is that you don't really think about the feature. Sometimes you are reading something and notice the screen isn't dimmed. Sometimes when you're reading the screen dims and you have to touch the screen to have it not go into lock mode. Having used it in practice for a few weeks I can say it's a great feature. I would expect it to show up on iOS and the core Android distribution.
  - robmcm 14y ago
    Ok that makes a lot more sense. As the guy said HTC don't do a good job of communicating these features, the advert shows a guy falling asleep and as he shuts his eyes the phone locks... I have never actually had this problem though generally I can read a screen full of text before the phone locks. My scrolling will reset the lock timeout. Videos and games stop the phone from locking.
  - shinratdr 14y ago
    Reading this it occurs to me I've never had an iOS device lock itself while I'm using it for reading or anything else, nor have I even thought about it as a possibility until this very moment. IMO in that sense iOS already has an equivalent feature. Just don't lock when the user is clearly doing something. Just like how you don't have to shake the mouse to wake your computer while watching a video anymore, most video playback programs/plugins poll the system properly and force it to stay awake. I don't know if you need to go as far as activating the camera to see if you're still there. What if your lock frequency is set to a minute or two? Wouldn't activating the camera every minute have some affect on battery life?
taligent 14y ago
I can email a Dropbox file to someone and search my mail on my iPhone. Or am I missing something ?
- niklas_a 14y ago
  I always had to mail a link to the Dropbox file on iOS. And searching for old emails was hit and miss on my iPhone. On Android you're basically using the same search function as on gmail.com.
- nasmorn 14y ago
  I use iPhones exclusively since they came out and I hate the mail search. I basically just give up and wait until I am at a real computer. Incedentially that is very often for me. My wife rarely uses a computer anymore for her this is really troubling. I guess to completely replace a real computer an Android tablet might be the better choice
shinratdr 14y ago
Mailing a Dropbox file directly is only hard on iOS because Dropbox makes it that way. If they offered a "send link" and a "send file" option it would be one step like Android. Instead I have to kick it to FileExplorer and send it from there. It's not ideal but its also not Apple's fault.
- taligent 14y ago
  Dropbox offers a Send Link feature. Have you seriously never used it before ?
  - shinratdr 14y ago
    I was going to respond in snarky-kind but I'm a fan of yours Taligent so instead I'll just rephrase it so it's clearer. > Mailing a Dropbox file directly is only hard on iOS because Dropbox makes it that way. If they offered a "send file" option <<in addition to their already existing "send link" option>> it would be one step like Android. I'm well aware of the send link option. FileExplorer allows me to do what OP is referring to in iOS, sending the file directly to the other person via e-mail. In Android, this is a single step you can perform within the Dropbox app. There is no technical limitation stopping Dropbox from offering that feature on iOS, they just choose not to for some reason.

robmcm 14y ago

I have always wondered about that feature, and always think.. - What if two people are looking at it. - Does it flick on and off as I look around - Is it using a huge amount of power when ever the screen is on, not only with powering the screen but with powering the camera. - Can I still use my screen as a light, or does is power off when I face it away from me? (I have a flash light app but it's quicker some times to just use the screen). - What if I am holding it sideways and cover the camera with my hand. - What if I am wearing glasses (something that obstructs my eyes) - What if I put glasses on while looking at the phone? - What if it's too dark for the camera I imagine there are enough facts here that made someone like Apple or Google think it's a bad idea. I expect someone in the Samsung marketing department came up with this idea.

vacri 14y ago
It has a normal screen timeout. When it gets close to the timeout, it looks for 'open eyes looking at me' and if it detects them, stays on. When the screen does turn off, it's like any other timeout - it won't flick back on by newly detecting eyes again. And no, of course if you're going to use your screen as a flashlight, it's not going to detect your eyes and stay on. If you're not willing to go to the marginal effort of activating a flashlight app, what mechanism do you propose they use to have the phone detect when you're using it as a flashlight-by-screen?
- robmcm 14y ago
  See previous comment, I was under the impression that the phone turned off when you looked away, rather than stayed on if you were looking at it. Blame poor marketing.
niklas_a 14y ago
1) Just as it is about to lock the screen it checks if someone is looking. Doesn't matter if it's one or two persons. If you're looking away at that instant it locks. A reasonable compromise that ensures it works more than good enough if you're reading an article. 2) It doesn't power off just because you are not looking at it. You can still use the phone as a flashlight. 3) It doesn't work if you're holding it sideways or cover the camera lens. Don't think this is a problem though - again the feature is directed for situations where you are browsing some content or reading an article. 4) It works if you have glasses 5) It doesn't work in low light situations, also a reasonable compromise. I think the way you have to see it is that you don't really think about the feature. Sometimes you are reading something and notice the screen isn't dimmed. Sometimes when you're reading the screen dims and you have to touch the screen to have it not go into lock mode. Having used it in practice for a few weeks I can say it's a great feature. I would expect it to show up on iOS and the core Android distribution.
- robmcm 14y ago
  Ok that makes a lot more sense. As the guy said HTC don't do a good job of communicating these features, the advert shows a guy falling asleep and as he shuts his eyes the phone locks... I have never actually had this problem though generally I can read a screen full of text before the phone locks. My scrolling will reset the lock timeout. Videos and games stop the phone from locking.
- shinratdr 14y ago
  Reading this it occurs to me I've never had an iOS device lock itself while I'm using it for reading or anything else, nor have I even thought about it as a possibility until this very moment. IMO in that sense iOS already has an equivalent feature. Just don't lock when the user is clearly doing something. Just like how you don't have to shake the mouse to wake your computer while watching a video anymore, most video playback programs/plugins poll the system properly and force it to stay awake. I don't know if you need to go as far as activating the camera to see if you're still there. What if your lock frequency is set to a minute or two? Wouldn't activating the camera every minute have some affect on battery life?

taligent 14y ago

I can email a Dropbox file to someone and search my mail on my iPhone. Or am I missing something ?

niklas_a 14y ago
I always had to mail a link to the Dropbox file on iOS. And searching for old emails was hit and miss on my iPhone. On Android you're basically using the same search function as on gmail.com.
nasmorn 14y ago
I use iPhones exclusively since they came out and I hate the mail search. I basically just give up and wait until I am at a real computer. Incedentially that is very often for me. My wife rarely uses a computer anymore for her this is really troubling. I guess to completely replace a real computer an Android tablet might be the better choice

shinratdr 14y ago

Mailing a Dropbox file directly is only hard on iOS because Dropbox makes it that way. If they offered a "send link" and a "send file" option it would be one step like Android. Instead I have to kick it to FileExplorer and send it from there. It's not ideal but its also not Apple's fault.

taligent 14y ago
Dropbox offers a Send Link feature. Have you seriously never used it before ?
- shinratdr 14y ago
  I was going to respond in snarky-kind but I'm a fan of yours Taligent so instead I'll just rephrase it so it's clearer. > Mailing a Dropbox file directly is only hard on iOS because Dropbox makes it that way. If they offered a "send file" option <<in addition to their already existing "send link" option>> it would be one step like Android. I'm well aware of the send link option. FileExplorer allows me to do what OP is referring to in iOS, sending the file directly to the other person via e-mail. In Android, this is a single step you can perform within the Dropbox app. There is no technical limitation stopping Dropbox from offering that feature on iOS, they just choose not to for some reason.