Shane writes, “Android just isn’t there yet. Sorry fans of the OS, but it’s like the best intentions of the open source community have produced an OS that has not learnt any lessons from the failings of the dated Windows Mobile OS, and along with the snazzy HTC Sense UI have actually made a number of brand new mistakes on the way.”
1. Android OS (whilst hidden behind the beauty that is HTC Sense) is an inherently geeky, inconsistent, temperamental and beta-like OS. It fails in numerous ways
2. Possibly more importantly, I have come to believe Android is not and can not be an “iPhone Killer”, nor really even a competitor
Shane writes, “Android just isn’t there yet, and the HTC Desire (or any Android handset) is no real competition for the iPhone ecosystem. Of course it’s not all about ecosystem (you need to compete vs iTunes etc) but it’s one area I don’t see anyone really focusing on and until they do I can’t see anyone really causing Apple concern.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “TiBook” for the heads up.]
So… where are the guys who’ve been proclaiming how the Sense version of Android is going to be years ahead of iPhone OS? I’m still waiting to see any evidence of that, any evidence at all.
Anyone?
(crickets chirping…)
Hi everyone, I’m the writer of the article under discussion, and I’m just happy it’s started the discussion at all.
@ER9ine Thanks for visiting the site once at least. As I stated in a few replies on my site:
“The personal attack on my use of the Disney-like font for my logo is unwarranted. This blog started as a site to share photos and news with family members around the world at the birth of my first child. I tried to make it fun at that time for my daughter, hence the use of the Disney-like font. Since then every time I’ve sought to change it, my daughter has asked me not to. Impressing you with a “cute or clever” logo doesn’t rate in comparison to keeping my kids happy.”
-and-
“It’s really quite petty to come in and do the equivalent of saying “I think what you are saying is worthy, but I’m never going to listen to you again because of the way you’re dressed”.
I’m not a professional web designer (as you can tell) nor do I make any money on this site or get paid by someone for it’s content. If you find what I write interesting, that’s great! If you don’t, that’s great too!”
Thanks,
Shane.
Hey Shane, thanks for the honest feedback and your experience. Don’t worry about those judging your ‘clothing.’
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Go to one of the Adenoid fan-sites, and you’ll hear a completely opposite banter. Most of the fans on that side of the fence consider Apple more evil than we know M$ to be evil incarnate.
I’m in a difficult position.
I currently have a Windoze Mobile phone on Verizon. Being a smart geek (multiple engineering degrees, able to build a computer from scratch, but 100% Mac since 1984), I can handle WM6’s many issues, freezes, and necessary reboots. I live with this because I can afford the family plan with one “smartphone” and I need uncaped unlimited tethering (obtained via some geekly hacking and WiFi Router)
However, the WM6 phone is near death, and two of my family members’ Moto phones have died. I let the contract go month-to-month in order to switch.
Here’s the problem. We all want iPhones, but AT&T;will only sell two to a single new family-plan account (at least according to the web-based store). And besides, the monthly cost for four iPhones is high. Verizon’s cost for Adenoid plans is slightly better, and Sprint’s is affordable. This has me looking at EVO phones on Sprint as a less than ideal backup plan if the iPhone doesn’t appear in CDMA form real soon now.
EVO may be googlized-junk, and it’s no iPhone, but it will be available on Sprint next month and it will be affordable. And for $30/month I can get tethering with no data cap, no hacking , no jailbreaking (and maybe for free).
I just went and read the original article.
Wow! I had no idea Google managed to copy/retain/enhance all the bugs I live with every day on my Windows Mobile 6 phone. Incredible!! (maybe that’s how the Verizon phone got’s it’s name)
I usually have to call back incoming calls on my WM6 phone, as it won’t let me answer them (ignoring my button pressing). It also closes applications when out of memory (which happens all the time, memory leaks). And it is inconsistent when sync-ing with the Mac (rebooting helps here).
I had Great Expectations, it’s too bad HTC only put frosting on Havisham’s rodent-infested wedding cake.
Four of the 5 phones on my family account are iPhones. Each line cost $9.95 and each data plan $30. The text plan is $35 and provides all 5 phones with unlimited texting. Just call at&t;and tell them what you need. With the 10 anyone numbers, and the calls to other at&t;users not using minutes, we rollover lots of minutes each month in our shared 2100 minute plan.
Agree. Android isn’t there yet. However, it’s the only contender right now… but the iPhone is killing on usability and profitability. 4.0 will just extend the lead.
One (just one) interesting indicator is that students want either an iPhone or Android phone — absolutely no interest in Win or RIM. WinMo is for people stuck in contracts and RIM is for clueless “suits” (and, btw, their wives all have iPhones).
In other words…. “if my phone does more than one thing at once or displays more than a grid of icons I get confused. So I have run back to the simplicity found in a featureless phone”
It’s ok. Not everyone can handle a phone that DOES. Sometimes you need a RAZR with apps. No shame there. Just don’t down the platform simply because you can’t use it.
Somebody said they couldn’t see any evidence that Sense is ahead of the iPhone OS 4. Well if you’d read any real tech site you’d see the numerous comparisons and complaints that the new iPhone OS simply doesn’t stack up.
I realize the cost of buying an iPhone outright might put off a lot of people, but what i don’t understand is why more US citizens aren’t buying a legitimately carrier unlocked iPhone from places like Australia?
Here I can buy a phone outright from any carrier and request an unlock that same day. Normally within 24 hours an unlock message will pop up on the phone when you plug it into iTunes. Once done any 850/2100 3G or quad band GSM/EDGE SIM will work in it without issues.
No hacks – the carrier sends a message to Apple and the phone is legitimately and permanently unlocked.
This means you’d then have the choice to use T-Mobile, as well as the ability to use prepaid SIM’s when traveling overseas.
Regards,
Shane.
I’m soooooo much better than that Star Wars ripoff – ‘Droid!’
Pathetic.
@storm14k
Did you even read my post or just the title (which has been spiced up by the editors on this site)?
I will say I can use the phone and have no issues using much more technically difficult devices than this.
Like many others though you’ve reacted defensively to justify your own buying decision and have missed the main topic of my post, which is about the ecosystem.
Please read it with an open a mind as possible and you may come to realize I actually want Android to get better, just the current course I don’t believe is good enough.
Thanks,
Shane.
I don’t hate
I have had an Android Google phone the original G1 since it came out. I liked the geeky feel to it and found it a hard gizmo but I bought my wife an iPhone last fall for her birthday. She hated it as she is just not techno gizmo person and went back to her simpley cheapo phone and was happy. But in the process, two things happened: 1. I would use her iPhone when she would set it down, 2. I fell in love with it. She eventually trashed it in her purse with a mixture of lethal lipstick and other face goo [dont ask…] and was glad it died. I was heartbroken and have sneaked in off to regional Apple store for servicing in Cupertino or wherever and damn the cost. I love it and am adoping it. She thinks I’m nuts but I am looking forward to taking it over when it returns from Mr. Apple Fixit and really adapting it to my needs getting apps etc.
Droid…a whole bucket of s..t. Just get over it and get an iPhone. You know deep down that is what you really want.
The droid commercials take me back to the 70’s……when Star Wars first came out…..
And for those poor, hapless souls like myself who live in the boondocks where you can’t get att as a carrier?? I’d LOVE an iphone, but I have to go an hour an a half to one of their shops, get the phone, have the billing transferred, and hope that they wouldn’t cancel me for excessive use off network. The droid or samsung calibur seem to be about the best i can hope for on uscellular.
Shane,
Sorry but…
“No one hipped me to that dude…”
Keep up the good work.
That explains everything.
er9
@shanelord: Spot on about storm14k. Some people are extremely adept at missing the point.
@Arnold Ziffel
@Botvinnik
Learn to spell!
It’s Klaatu Barada Nikto!
it’s like the best intentions of the open source community have produced an OS that has not learnt any lessons from the failings of the dated Windows Mobile OS
This should surprise no one. I mean, look at open-source desktops. All of them try their their best to ape the Windows paradigm, despite it being fairly well-known that the way Windows is set-up is not the best way to work. (Best example is how Windows sticks controls at the top of each window rather than in one central place like in Mac OS.)
There are a lot of good things to say about open source. Innovation is not one of them.
——RM
Tried to go “Nexus One”, But ended up back on my iPhone. Article is right on.
I have a myTouch from T-Mobile and while I would love an iPhone I just can’t afford the 40 dollar premium a month for the service…despite the iPhone costing slightly less than my device.
The myTouch has been OK. Not great; not nearly as great as my MacBook or iMac or iPod but OK.
You really need to download the ‘Advanced Kill App’ application to get it working right since it ‘multi-tasks’ and just exiting an application will not always shut it down and that can cause your phone to slow to a crawl.
I blame most of it’s deficiencies in apps on Java…which is what the apps are programmed in. I thought everybody understood what a dog of a language Java can be. Apparently Google didn’t get the memo.
Otherwise everything else it just OK; loose design standards have led to the apps being inconsistent; not fully thought out features and the problem of having to work around patents (multi-touch anyone?) have led it to just being OK.
But for now that’s what those of us how don’t want AT&T;have to deal with.
Love the droid bashing. Typical fanboys