Google Android Personal Thoughts
This is an add-on to the Google Nexus One review…
I have issues with Android and Google’s approach to it. I think it’s an amazing concept — people holding hands, skipping down sugar-encrusted roads with pink ponies and colorful rainbows — but the execution falls flat in many ways if you’re a hardcore phone user, and Google has constantly missed the mark in almost every area.
Part of my main issue with Android, and this applies slightly less to HTC Sense UI handsets, is that there’s practically no human emotion with Google when it comes to technology. Everything is statistical and analytical. While you could argue that being this way is way superior to “feeling” and “emotion”– it might be 95% of the time — you still will almost always lose that charm and that amazing feeling of connecting to something. People would die for their iPhones, people would die for their BlackBerrys – and they feel like their lives are in there. People feel connected to their BlackBerrys. Some sleep with them next to their pillow. No one gives a crap about their Android phone, there’s zero emotional attachment. The closest example would be Palm’s webOS. A great concept, besides Apple’s iPhone OS, it’s the most polished, the most friendly, and the most human. Do you see that?
Hello. Fucking. Humans. If you’re going to use that line, at least have the sense to actually make it make sense. Plus, isn’t the point of all this technology to make everything feel more natural and more human? I mean, that’s why we have robotic dogs that learn (shout out to Just Blaze and I for having Sony AIBOs), that’s why our car remembers our personal settings when we enter the cockpit, that’s why our TiVos know exactly what program we want to watch. And yet, with everything moving forward in the technology space, Android continues to feel systematic and clinical.
Andy Rubin is brilliant. To this day, I still compare things to the Sidekick OS because it was so ahead of its time in every way, and it made sense. But Android still feels half baked even after two years. And you can’t prance around smiling without raising the bar. You can take your non-multi-touch device and shove it — it’s inexcusable.
There are so many fundamental issues with Android’s OS that still haven’t been addressed and it really makes my head spin. Uniformity is not a word you’ll find in Android’s dictionary. How about the fact that the application icons aren’t the same size. Uh, why? Since there’s no transparent padding around the icons — you know, something that might be smart — there’s no uniformity in the touch areas when you go to tap on an icon. The fact that the Clock and Camera icons have different touch areas than the Facebook and Email icons is mind blowing. It’s not like you’ll always end up not triggering a touch event if you go to hit the Camera icon instead of the Maps icon real fast, but more than once I’ve had touch events not register due to icons not being uniform in size or at least in touch. It’s a small, but very important point that really reflects how poorly Android is designed in some areas. I stand corrected. While application icons aren’t the same size, transparent padding seems to be the same for all icons, regardless of icon size.
Other issues that I can’t live with day to day? How do I copy text from non-editable field like an email, webpage, or SMS, or even a 3rd party application? Oh, I can’t. Say what you want about the iPhone not having copy and paste for two years — a joke — it’s the single best implementation on the planet for a smartphone and Google’s approach is almost as bad as RIM’s with the Storm-series.
Android doesn’t make sense as a whole. It’s fragmented, poorly executed, the Android Market for apps is a mess, and developers still don’t care about it. There’s not one single good IM program that I could rely on day to day (I don’t use Google Talk), the browser is decent at best. It’s faster now, sure, there’s a 1GHz CPU under its ass, but it’s not intuitive, and there’s always erroneous touch events; when I want to hit something I hit another link, button or app by accident.
For a company that’s so smart, and makes so much sense, it’s unbelievable how little sense Android makes in most places. I just can’t see why you’d want to run Android over the iPhone OS? Multitasking? Ok, we’ll have that with iPhone 4.0. What else? App Store limitations? Come on. Plus there’s a chance iPhone 4.0 will be announced in literally weeks away (Apple will up their screen resolution on the iPhone to probably double, and have a new resolution for their “slate”) — you can be sure Apple is going to come out swinging. Android isn’t a game changer. It’s a decent OS, dreamed up by an incredibly smart man, with unlimited resources and unlimited access. That’s why even in Android 2.1, it’s so disheartening to see an operating system that I can’t use daily.
I apologize for comparing this to the iPhone so much, I really didn’t set out to. But I’ve used an iPhone every day of my life since it first came out in addition to every BlackBerry ever available simultaneously, and I actually had an open mind about the Nexus One possibly replacing my iPhone. I felt like maybe I wanted more “freedom” and “flexibility” and not have to deal with Apple’s ridiculous train of thought sometimes. I wasn’t too plugged into the Apple ecosystem. I already paid out the ass to upgrade my entire library to non-DRM status, I use Exchange and Gmail, both are supported on the Nexus One — nothing was really holding me back.
But in the end, I found that the lack of any meaningful applications for Android really made it a no go from the beginning. I’m talking about quality — re-read the word quality — applications, here. The best VNC and RDP applications on Android are a joke. There’s not a single enjoyable Twitter application, and any application that’s on Android that is available on the iPhone pales in comparison. If you can find an application on the Android platform that’s better than the iPhone counterpart, I’ll send you a BGR Ninja hat.
Seriously Google, you take no responsibility for the actual “experience” of this phone, yet you tout it as your tag line. Applications in Android Market don’t work for all devices. They have to be updated, they might not work with a new resolution, or all touch screen display — try using one of those NES/SNES emulators on the Nexus One — the comments and “reviews” on apps are worse than Sidekick user’s AIM screen names, there’s no authority and no accountability in Market, and outside of people that know what they’re doing, you’re basically leading the rest into a forest with wolves in the dark, while they’re bleeding and blindfolded. Why does the VNC application I bought and paid for crash on the Nexus One with a Java.IO error? Because your entire OS is fragmented, poorly driven, poorly policed, and because in typical Google fashion, you’re already on to the next thing before making this an absolutely flawless experience for users. What happened to ferociously making sure the absolute core applications in your package were 100% perfect before shipping? BlackBerry’s email application is flawless. Apple’s web browser is flawless. But there’s not a single application on Android that doesn’t have carbon spots in it. (Look it up)
Here’s another issue on why for the foreseeable future Android won’t be anything like what Apple or another company can offer: coders aren’t designers. It’s really as simple as that and anyone in the business will know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why Apple’s entire developer ecosystem is different, because believe it or not, Apple’s developers are amazing designers that make beautiful things, and they happen to know how to code. That’s entirely different from someone who’s the best coder in the world and trying to create something that looks, works, and feels great. And so, this is my issue with Android and why you won’t see applications of iPhone-quality on Android aside from any SDK and programming hurdles.
If an app like Tweetie 2 existed on Android, I think the Android Market would literally crash, die, burn, and hang itself by how natural, beautiful, and thoughtful that application is. Now, multiply something like that 5,000 times and you’ll have an idea of why all this Android hype amounts to very little. We have the best Android device ever made in the history of the world, finally! Oh wait, Apple’s event is in 2 weeks and no one will remember this. Until Android 2.2 launches with a new device. Then I’ll write another review.
You were right all along. Apple’s event turned out great. Now, instead of talking about a phone Google launched, people are talking about a cramped huge iPhone look-a-like.
Guess I’m going to stick with Apple. The iPhone never fails. Next year I’m hoping for a whiteboard size iPhone that I can hang on my wall and not play flash with it.
But hey, an iPhone is an iPhone, right? It’s the pinnacle of human evolution. Why experiment with other stuff in order to make progress? Halt the machines, we’ve reached as far as we could as humans..
Seriously. Get laid.
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Quite a scathing review.. I have used the ipod touch and my aging android G1, and I just simply can not bring myself to jump on to the iPhone gravy train.. Why?
1) The UI for android is open and entirely customizable, not restricted to squares?!
2) The browser on the Android, and the pdf reading has text wrapping.. I read forums, and I cant be arsed to swipe left and right, turn my phone sideways to view a line of text.
3) Multi touch is now now there.. phew..
4) the pace of Android development is moving fast..
5) The MAC lost out to the PC for the same reasons…
The only great thing about the iphone are the apps, can not argue with you on this one.. hopefully, now 3d rendering, faster processors, more ram will help things along there…
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it all boils down to the user and consumer … it depends on ones needs, lifestyle and statement .. iphone might be for you and all you need it might not cause you cant live without multi tasking .. so dont argue, the iphone or nexus one might be the best for you but it does not mean its also the best for the other. its hard not to compared both cause of their almost same price, so if you really have budget and still cant decide (dont know why maybe its a disorder) then close your eyes and point .. both have strengths and weaknesses take out the weakness you cant live with and pick the one that fits your bill . stop ranting that android but meh that iphone is wow , thats your experience cause your used to using and owning an iphone, i cant blame you for looking on nexus one to be iphone like looking for stuff that the iphone does, they are two different things for different taste of people , just imagine blue and red, some people love blue some red some both its just like that, if nexus doesnt work for you it works for 1 other million users around the world same with the iphone . its a good os maybe not great yet but there are years still ahead sooner it might have the iphone fanboys wanted to have youll never know ..
What is an app that’s better on Android than on the iPhone? Name just one? I’ll do you better. I’ll name 3
GTalk
Maps
Google Voice
Where’s my 3 hats?
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im sorry man, but your ignorance is by far the saddest thing i’ve ever seen. have you ever actually picked up and used an Android device, oh and i mean the most recent versions. My Droid is by far the best piece of technology i’ve ever laid my hands on. Oh yeah, i rooted it, and i don’t see Google coming after me because of it. You probably realized apple is coming after and stopping people who jailbreak phones. The only people who are heartless are the people who work for mac, and you “boy genius”. Frankly, the Android operating system was the best thing to come along to the Smart Phone market since the blackberry. It showed the world what a open operating system and a good UI looks like. I have endless customization, and i feel like the Droid is just a reflection of my self. The most you can put of yourself into your Iphone is the skin and the lock screen background. How about you just try and do some research before you start blabbing your mouth.
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You, my friend, are awesome.
I love the Android, i have one myself and i agree, what an epic piece of technology.
It really pisses me off when people put a downer on something just because they already have a favourite.
Google are clever – it’s pretty much what they do. They’re making something that you can make YOURS. Something that is almost ENTIRELY customisable.
Good on ya – you’ve got the right idea.
Peace.
hmm i think this phone is quite amazing after i watched how it’s made wow its really cool to have this phone
i’m looking for a ozi like software on iphone, but i didn’t find such one. but i found one on gphone, oruxmaps, http://oruxmaps.x10hosting.com/index_en.html
could you please suggest one ozi like software on iphone?
wow… what a bunch of half wit children. Would it kill you idiot kids to stay on topic and let opinions be what they are! You people have a lot of growing up to do.
“I have issues with Android and Google’s approach to it”
You may have issues, but it looks like no one else has, Android kicking butt. It was a good run iPhone.
A sad case of “Apple Brainwashing”…
Seriously, any reasonable man knows that Android is far in advance of iPhone OS. On HTC devices like the Desire, the user experience is much better than on an iPhone. Even hardcroe Apple fans admitted this… so what’s the point of your Android Bashing?
this is all true, but google has unlimited resources and devolopment is moving fast on android, while on the iphone os devolopment is moving at a snails pace.
I gave up AT&T and the iphone for HTC Incredible and was somewhat disappointed with the browser. Besides the fact it takes screenshots of your history, it is very clunky and requires more ‘clicks’ to navigate than Safari.
On Safari, with one touch of the page I can go back to the top of the page. Can’t figure out how to do that with whatever its called on the droid. Safari navigation is ready and waiting at the bottom of the screen, have to use the menu softkey to get to them on the droid whatever its called web browser. Too many things to list here about other apps. I have decided the only thing I will use the droid for is making my own apps, phone calls, and holding down paper in the passenger seat while the windows are down.
I have noticed many comments in the android market include the phrase ‘Force Close’. I have not had much problem with forcing an app to close, but I have had multiple audio files play at the same time when I only wanted one. And my podcasts stop playing when I close the music app, and start from the beginning when I reopen them. Kinda pain in the arse compared to ipod on the iphone. I like the ability to play .ogg files from the file browser app but once I close the player, the audio quits and when I reopen it I have to fast forward to the point I left off. The more I use it the more pissed I become. I like open platforms but there is an element of functionality and elegance that exists only in corporate environments. I’m kinda disappointed with all the hype and getting a clunky UI tied to a back end tracking system. Why the hell does everything need City ID when I communicate? Google is all about data and tracking. I would consider rooting my droid but why? Fuck it all. I’m just going to end my use of cell phones all together. Fuck the following:
Google
Facebook
My Space
Twitter
SpaceBook
Face Space
TwitSpace
SpaceFace
GooFace
NetFriend
yadda……….
Why does the Music app need access to the following services?
SMS
contact data
phone state and identity
system tools
And it can’t even play my podcasts while I browse the web?
The Music Widget requires these permissions:
browser history, bookmarks, calendar data, contact data, write Browser’s history and bookmarks, write calendar data, and write contact data
directly call phone numbers, send SMS messages
edit SMS or MMS, read SMS or MMS, send/receive SMS or MMS
location GPS
Google mail
phone state
modify phone state
change network connectivity, change Wi-Fi state, change WiMAX state, modify global system settings, and write Access Point Name settings
WTF? I just want to play a fucking mp3 or ogg file!
Bend over folks, Google is calling!
WTF?!? The FM radio on the htc incredible requires access to the following:
SMS or MMS
internet
write contact data
sotrage:modify/delete SD card contents
read phone state and identity
Just to listen to the fucking FM radio. This came with the phone.
I downloaded a simple note pad app that requires access to:
browser history and bookmarks, read/write bookmarks and calendar data
Under Services that Cost you money: directly call phone numbers, send SMS
edit SMS or MMS send/receive SMS
location GPS
Network communication
Google mail
and a shit pile of system tools.
Just for a note pad. I’m getting real action with Google!
you just suck
beware of this fact
To ‘Boy Genius’… I don’t agree – I have an LG GW620 and I love it to bits. I’ve downloaded several aplications and games from the android market, and every one has worked fine. I’ve never had an issue with the phone, and I think the Android OS is an excellent step forward. And please, don’t start me on the iphone, it’s a joke.
I think you just personally don’t like the Android system, you’re not looking at it from the publics perspective. There are HUNDREDS of apps to personalize your phone, and the market automatically filters the results to only show the apps that will work on your phone. Plus, there are heaps of free ones, which means that even people who don’t have much money can play around with their phone. Stop complaining – It’s a great system and I’m eagerly awaiting the release of Android 2.2, the Fro-yo =]
Good luck with your imagined superiority…
Bex
I disagree on some levels…any product can be reviewed on it’s own merits, without comparison to others. I would like to have seen both, frankly. Being notated as 2nd or 3rd best with products can be damaging, when in facts the differences may be a measure of nanoseconds, for example. and reviewing smartphones is even worse because they swing alot on perceptions and feel, which is very subjective.
hahahahha
The fucking mouth on you.
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LMFAO!!!! SO FUNNY hahaha dayumm that was just hilarious !!!
Lol. True.
It’s not that funny. In fact, it’s a pretty pedestrian effort.
@ LaToya,
Come on, seriously? You don’t have to go that far, just pick up the phone and call your Dad. The two of you can talk about that first night in your room when your mom was finally asleep.
You need help. And a banhammer.
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All about the big boob.
Wow, first I got one guy following me around and accusing me of molesting children, now I’m an abused child. MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, MONKEYS.
I think you’re on the wrong Usenet group.
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-9
Gook, please stop letting your son suck your cock. It’s creepy and we’d rather you not share that information.
You are a dumbass for writing this awful stuff
It makes me cry every time he tells that story. I already called the FBI, but they told me to shut up and they’re mean.
You need your mouth washed out with bleach………….geez why don’t you stop talking like a teenager!!!!
Ok, im cracking up over that one… well done
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-11
Classy.. LaToya. Get out of the Ghetto much?
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-12
I don’t remember one name of any commenter on BGR…except yours. Maybe that’s your goal; just to get noticed because you don’t in real life. Or maybe you like to criticize other people for doing exactly the same things you do. There’s a word for that. Hypocrite. You obsess over Android and your damn iPod touch, but make fun of other people for liking their iPhones/Droids/BlackBerrys a little too much, all while throwing in so many swear words it’s hard to understand your point.
The only reason BG hasn’t banned you is because you make half the comments on his articles, because there’s no way in hell he hasn’t noticed you yet.
I know. I accept that. And I upranked your comment because it’s true.
All I read was shit fucking shit fuckers bitch. Can we get the non-ghetto, PG version?
Can you people feel the love…tonight? =)
Keep believing that… Nokia is dead in the water
OMFG Latoya, you freakin stupid-ass, ignorant POS. I swear you are one of the most annoying bitches i have ever seen on the internet. None of your comments make any sense at all. Use your freakin brain for once, besides those 2 BIS outages, have there been any other? how about before that? Use your fuckin brain. Or go to school and learn if you can afford it.
Well thanks for that really detailed argument. Really added to the debate.
You keep buying cheap. I will keep buying Macbook’s.
You are right when you say “they can’t compare to many computers running Windows 7″
Thank fuck for that is all I can say.
Nokia is the king of all mobile phones. Its not well selling in US cuz its not available on contract, but that does not mean that Nokia does not sell. Theyve been making phones long before iShit was in the crApple’s womb.
I need to get to know Latoya a lil better…lol.
She sounds like fun.
Besides all that wishin cats would get it in raw with Luke…lol
Get back at a brah
Nice, a masters degree. I should have known that by your handle and use of language. I must be getting old, It is impossible for me to obviously tell who the educated are anymore. It was so much easier in my day.
That masters degree hard at work, thank you for your encouraging words sweetie.
Funny, you posted that at 10:19.
LOL! I think Jobs already did.
W LaToya,
Thank you, again your education is backed up by your comments.
Who hates you? You are on the internet, no one even knows who you are. We just know you are some fat smelly bald guy living with his mom.
It is really neat that you worry about people liking or disliking you.
I can’t believe the write of this article displayed such emotion over a….. PHONE.
LaToya, after looking at your comments on this site, I can see that you are clearly a troll. Contrary to what you may think, you seem uneducated when using foul language.
@ Lady,
And yet the “writer” of this article got you to display such emotion over a “PERSONAL THOUGHTS” piece.
ha ha, she said “blogosphere.”
And how would *you* know? Damn, another party I completely blacked out on!
Jarrett personal thoughts about anything is emotional…feelings about a phone…not so much
hahah,fright
why i can’t do hahaha