10 Things I Hate About Android Smart Phones

danatheteacher 14 months ago

I love Android, but I also find zero fault with your list ;) Its a great list! I hate the fragmentation too --- this is probably my least favorite part of the Android experience because I have constant "other Android" envy and the frequent version updates makes me feel pretty left in the dust at times. I have little doubt, however, that the market will sort these weaknesses out in a few years of vetting. You are so right --- no phone is perfect. Objectivity and recognizing faults is the first step to making the device and software better in the future.

Adroit Alien 14 months ago

Dana,

I was in a bad mood when I wrote this. As cool as Android can be, it can also be very frustrating. As a supporter of open source, I hope Android gets its act together.

You "Other Android" envy is all too familiar. It feels like you only have a month or so to enjoy the latest and greatest feeling as a new "top droid" enters the market. Suddenly your "new" droid is out-dated.

nicomp 12 months ago

Android is software, hence battery life doesn't really apply.

Adroit Alien 11 months ago

nicomp, it sure does apply. The "software" is heavy and requires a lot of energy. Widgets running in the background still draws power.

liquidvortex 11 months ago

You nailed it dead on the head! They give you the illusion of it being open. I have a few apps that I don't want but I cannot delete them.

Jenna 8 months ago

Instead of Android get the iPhone because it is way better than stupid android

anonymous 8 months ago

I take this to offense because I have a droid phone and I love it, though I do agree with some things you put (the freezing, memory hogging widgets/apps, the fragmentation) but the battery life being short shouldn't be something to complain about because I don't, but that's because when you use apps, web, etc. your battery life is going to be shorter and if you don't like it see if you can get a larger battery but I am not sure on how long those last. I don't see a problem with the force close I rather have force close than freezing, but maybe the force close inturrupted you with something important which is understandable. What's so wrong with the fact the soft keypad shows you what your typing so you don't have to fix it? That was one thing that attracted me to my phone because I'm not use to touch screen phones. The desktop appearance it has is nice and why put that under something you hate about the phone when you clearly mention it could be YOUR fault not the phones. Also stop comparing droid to apple. The iphone has a shitty battery life like the droid and for the same reasons. Just because apple happens to make good computers doesn't say much for their phones especially I hear and see more iphones and ipods with broken screens than about droids. I don't hate the iphone and I can't say much about them, but comparing the droid to apple is silly, well at least to me because same goes for them, just because they're popular doesn't make them good. Sorry, but I really like the droid and I don't have any problems with it except a once in a great while it freezes, but I also have the latest droid phone.

Adroit Alien 8 months ago

@ anonymous,

Please don't take offense. This is just my opinion. Battery life is a perfectly legitimate reason to complain. When I have to turn brightness down all the way, install task-killers, turn off all the radios except the network, I think I have a valid reason to complain. Granted my experience was on a very old Samsung Moment, my friend just gave his G2X to his brother and had similar issues. Desktop appearance looks pretty but at the end of the end, Android is a computer OS trying to be a phone. I can't stand the lag when trying to pick up a call only to have it hang up. Then I have to play phone tag with the caller just to get start the call.

I understand that Apple is not Android but as long and the two are still making phone OS, they will be compared. And I'm not an Apple fanboy. I currently use a BlackBerry. This baby can last me a full day without having to hunt for a charger. I've gotten as long as 4 days. like powerful Alienware laptops, what good is all that power when their batteries only last 3 hours? Same thing applies on phones.

Why get offended because someone doesn't like your phone's OS? I'm not hating on you, personally. It just doesn't work for me. If it works for you, that's great, but no need to get offended. Thanks for the comment though.

Xenonlit 6 months ago

I'm like danatheteacher. I love my Android, but cannot disagree with your complaints.

I hate having been robbed by Apple so many times that I will never buy their instantly obsolete products again. I never had a crack berry. I like my Android because it is what I have.

Next January, I plan to get a tablet and will probably go with an Android platform. Maybe Blackberry needs to make a tablet!

Blackberry seems to be incredibly popular, even with the RIM debacle.

Adroit Alien 6 months ago

Xenolit,

BlackBerry(RIM) does have a tablet. It's called the PlayBook. It is actually really nice. For every RIM "debacle" there's an Android security flaw or worm/malware.

Yon 6 months ago

Get an iPhone, problems solved. :)

Adroit Alien 6 months ago

Yon,

Yes, iPhone will solve all these problems while bringing some more of its own.

Julz09 6 months ago

Great information for what to watch out for before purchasing an android phone.

Joe 6 months ago

Being a software engineer by profession I do a lot of article reading (and some writing) with my primary focus being on technology, software, hardware and modern conceptual thinking. Reading this article made me laugh for a number of reasons. The biggest being the almost militant comments flying in over iPhone, Android, even BB. Second being the complete lack of understanding shown for certain aspects of the Android Operating System and architecture.

So firstly, why the anger? If you have an iPhone, great. If you have an Android, great. Only if you are unhappy with your phone should you be bothered. Why should you care about what some two-bit journalist using an alias thinks. He is entitled to his opinion whether they are based on fact or not. For what it's worth, rather than dispense bile, I'll address some of his more humorous points.

1. Every phone has 'Force Close' like issues. I've seen plenty of iPhones with app's that crash, or freeze. I've seen plenty of Blackberry's that... well, just don't work in general. At the end of the day, this point is completely invalid. You're talking about something that is far too widespread. Are you talking about OS functionality crashing, or apps you downloaded from the Market? Sure, if you look through the Market. Sure, if you go looking for the most obscure apps in the world and find ones with 100% 1 star reviews, you can fabricate this point. As it is, I've downloaded well over 50 apps and very few have caused regular Force Close.

2. The Android Keyboard is like most other soft keyboards... sh*t. Replace * with appropriate letter. iPhone's soft keyboard is just as bad. Part of this comes from using innacurate capacative touch screens. We could all switch back to resistive which would be much more accurate yet less sensitive and less fun (no multi-touch).

3. I'm not sure you quite understand the point you are trying to make. If you do, then it's not a sound one. New apps, depend on a newer platform. Word 2010 won't run on Windows 95. Just like plenty of apps for iPhone 4 won't run on iPhone 3G. This isn't because of a 'fragmented' operating system. This is because of a natural evolution in technology. Hardware improvements, software improvements, API differences etc etc. For what it's worth, you'll find that older Android phones have a much greater chance of running new apps than iPhone. Android phones loaded with the 2.1 Eclair tend to have no problems running apps made for Gingerbread 2.3.3. Even phones loaded with Donut 1.6 are able to run quite a lot of apps compiled for Gingerbread. When was the last time you saw an iPhone 3G running an iPhone 4S specific app...

4. I've never used this particular function so I can't comment.

5. This is where your limited understanding of Android (and OS's in general) completely invalidates your argument. Lets address your first incredibly watery point. Littering icons across your desktop is a choice you made. My desktop is quite clean with only a clock and icon to the settings. You do not HAVE to use icons just because they are available. You don't have to use it LIKE a PC because it offers functionality you associate with your home computer. The 'huge' menu you talk about was a concept designed years ago. Symbian OS, iOS, webOS, etc all use a similar concept. I suggest e-mailing your opinion to their mantainers and seeing what they think. Your final point truly exposes your lack of understanding. Android uses a stack based system whereby the most recent Activity is placed on top of the stack. If you press the back button, the OS simply pops the last Activity off the stack. Simple as that. Nothing to do with Apps acting differently or whatever. You'll find the API specifically states that any interaction with the back button end with a call to the superclass, to allow provide back button operation. In simple terms, if you open an Activity up, whether it be the root (first) activity or not, pressing the back button should pop it off the stack. If it's the root activity, that closes the app. If it's not the root activity, but the last remaining activity of a particular app, that closes the app. If its not the last remaining activity on the stack for that particular app, you will pop it off and the previous activity will become active. Simple hey?

6. I've already addressed this. If you look hard enough, yes, you can find crap Widgets. But if you download good apps with an excellent reputation, you'll find Widgets pretty useful. Widgets are like programs, if you have too many open, they will slow your machine down. That's just the same as your iMac... sorry home computer.

7. Now this is the only point you've really made where software and hardware interlinked cause poor performance, and yes to those commenting saying battery is hardware only, software does affect battery performance. However, it is by far the most context sensitive point you've made in the entire article. It's affected by absolutely everything. Battery size, phone type, software version, software running etc etc etc. To answer your questions:

What good is a huge touch screen and all these smartphone luxuries when I have to turn off WiFi every time I leave my home?

Regardless of the device you use, you should turn off WiFi when not connected to an access point. If you are connected, most devices are able to place WiFi connections into a sleep state that preserve power. Leaving WiFi enabled but not connected usually results in constant scanning or scan intervals both of which use more power. This can actually be disabled in most OS's by the way and Android is no exception.

Why do I have to turn my brightness down just to squeeze in an extra hour?

Not sure, but the way I have my phone setup means that the brightness is dependent on the conditions it's being used in. This way the device is able to conserve power when lots of light isn't necessarily required.

Why do I have to get a task killer and babysit these background apps?

Good question. You don't need it. So long as you use the back button, safe in the knowledge that what I told you stands true, Android OS is very capable of suspending and terminating tasks correctly. For your information, the last 7 or so apps are kept in a suspended state after they are quit. This is primarily to increase the speed if you need to return to them. They aren't running and use little, if anything in terms of battery. That is probably why if you use ATK, you see those apps even after you have quit.

Probably the biggest question that comes to mind is why do companies make these awesome smartphones and put tiny batteries in them?

Physical size restrictions? They can stick a battery in that will last for a week, but do you want a phone the size of a house brick? You can't compress energy. That is a reference by the way to these dodgy Chinese guys in eBay selling batteries with patented 'Japanese Energy Compression Technology'.

For what it's worth, here are some simple tips to genuinely improve your battery life. Go into Settings, Accounts and sync and turn off:

Facebook Sync (you don't need it, everytime you load up Facebook it syncs posts etc), Skype sync (you don't need it, Skype uses a service to deliver messages), GMail all three sync options (E-mail is sync'd when you load GMail App, Contacts rarely need to be sync'd yet use a lot of battery, Calendar can be sync'd manually via the app) and others using a bit of common sense in the process. If you turn them all off, I'd suggest turning off Background data as well. This simply turns off Sync ups. Apps that uses services like Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp will still work perfectly, and you will still get push updates.

Second tip, turn on Power saving mode in Display if you have it available. This uses image analysis to adjust the LCD Brightness to represent the colours in a power power efficient manner.

There are plenty more and if you want an entire list, feel free to e-mail me skezza at inbox dot com.

8. Never used a Samsung Moment so I can't speak for your experience. It's difficult to be objective on this particular point. Sluggish is a weasal word and what c

Adroit Alien 6 months ago

Thanks for the book Joe "Shmoe." Forgive me if that's your real name and not an "alias." Raise your hand if you use your real name on the Internet. I didn't see your hand up Mr. Professional Software Engineer.

If you read the title, you will notice that this was an editorial piece, therefore everything I've written is suppose to be taken as an opinion.

Isn't Android a Linux OS? Hmmm... what's Linux....? Having such limited knowledge of OS in general, I must not know a damn thing about it. If you browse through my other articles, you will notice that I am somewhat familiar with Linux. I use Linux every day. In fact, I'm running Kubuntu at the moment. While certainly not a "Software Engineer," I know my way around the GUI and command line. Are you going to continue to stroke you e-peen and pretend to be superior? Because you are addressing an editorial.

Your book is invalid if your read the title. I really don't feel like answering all of your points (I simply do not have the time), but I did enjoy reading them.

I'm still waiting on Konion cells, LiFePO4, and even Lithium Nano Phosphates to power our cell phones. That way I could bare with Android a little more. It just so happens that Konion cells are made by Sony. A dodgy Japanese company. I used Cheap Chinese LiFePO4 batteries to power my e-bike. Took me 40 miles per charge. I guess you can say I'm a "Bicycle Engineer." I wouldn't. Thanks for the comment.

Adroit Alien 6 months ago

The rest of you. Relax. Don't lose sleep over this article. LOL, learn from Joe.

nikashi_designs 5 months ago

Great list, have purchased several high end Androids all with the same end result, returned... I do like the whole interface and the selection of apps. The majority of my phones have always been Blackberry with no problems ever. My main problem with Android is battery life or I should say lack of battery life. When a phone doesn't even make it to lunch time with basic usage then that is when it stops being useful. Just recently I purchased the Blackberry Torch 9810, second version. Hands down this phone kills Android. It has almost as many apps available, comes loaded, fast touch screen, and keyboard. I use it all day, max out the apps, use excel, and make a couple dozen phone calls. By the time I get home in the evening, my phone still has half the battery left. So Apple and Blackberry are both masters of battery conservation, why is Android so far behind? Thanks

Joe 5 months ago

"Thanks for the book Joe "Shmoe." Forgive me if that's your real name and not an "alias." Raise your hand if you use your real name on the Internet. I didn't see your hand up Mr. Professional Software Engineer.

If you read the title, you will notice that this was an editorial piece, therefore everything I've written is suppose to be taken as an opinion."

You know, that's a brilliant response and I enjoyed reading it :) Joe "Schmoe" haha, you could have been a little more creative, but if I'm not careful I'll digress (bit like yourself) so let's keep to the matter at hand.

Yes, it's an editorial piece, it's an opinion. If you end it with a name, you immediately stamp your seal of approval, your backing that you wrote this article with prior forethought and with the intention of expressing the opinion of you... Jonny NoName. If you leave it anonymous, your opinion isn't worth shit. It's basically equivalent to some turd on a forum telling you how and why Pentium II's are still better than Core i series processors. If you put your name, you immediately authorize the journalistic haven of questioning. Why? What made you think that etc? Instead, you made it anonymous, which just made it another worthless rant with no credibility (see anti-immigration rants on various blogs).

Example in a more literal sense: If someone posts their opinion on some certain topic through my front door without a name at the bottom, I usually put it straight in the bin. Anonymity is worthless unless you are specifically trying to circumvent a law. If you're expressing an opinion, you may as well put your name to it. The water might get murky when it comes certain sensitive issues but most of the time, putting your name by an opinion gives it way more value. Yes, Joe is my real name, and skezza is my nickname from school based on my second name. I have no reason to hide my name.

I don't really understand why you put emphasis on the fact I said I'm a Software Engineer by profession. It's not hard... go to College/University, work hard for a few years, get your degree. The market is full of jobs for Software Engineers. If I sucked dick in a back alley for a pint of vodka, I'd be a prostitute... but I don't, I sit in an office, typing in mostly C++ (and some Java) getting paid an okay wage. What's the issue?

Isn't Android a Linux OS?

Yes... yes it is.

Having such limited knowledge of OS in general, I must not know a damn thing about it. If you browse through my other articles, you will notice that I am somewhat familiar with Linux. I use Linux every day. In fact, I'm running Kubuntu at the moment.

Excellent point and with that kind of transitive property, that means just because I own a Volkswagen and know how to change the cylinder heads means I'm well and truly qualified for Formula One vehicle maintenance and servicing. No. It doesn't work like that whatsoever. Just because you've used Kubuntu, doesn't mean you know a damn thing about Android... or Linux for that matter. 'Linux' is just a kernel, it does nothing without the relevant layers of API's above it. Android works completely different to (K)Ubuntu (Debian with a few programs). They share very little in common aside from the fact they both use a Linux kernel (not necessarily the same Linux kernel either). The car analogy still holds here... stick an engine on the floor and it does nothing. Stick the same engine in two different fully built cars and you will get two very different experiences.

While certainly not a "Software Engineer," I know my way around the GUI and command line. Are you going to continue to stroke you e-peen and pretend to be superior? Because you are addressing an editorial.

You don't have to be a software engineer to know the points I'm making. Most of them are common knowledge with a few just being common sense. It doesn't take a genius to Google "Android Activity Stack" and see that your paragraph on that is inaccurate. At no point did I claim to be superior because I'm a Software Engineer. At no point did I claim to be superior at all. I simply pointed out my reasons for reading articles about modern technology and the fact that I read a lot of them. I didn't have to justify it at all... I could have pointed out the mistakes in your article before I had a degree in software engineering, so again, enough with that.

Your book is invalid if your read the title. I really don't feel like answering all of your points (I simply do not have the time), but I did enjoy reading them.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading it, as I too enjoyed your response. The title is 10 Things I Hate About Android, correct my 'book' is totally invalid... IF I was addressing the title. I'm addressing the content. The factually incorrect content. No doubt some of what you have written is perfectly valid, but there is a lot of things you claim as fact without really understanding the details. At no point did I address the title or your personal qualms with Android aside from the one about the keyboard (which just seemed very Apple fanboy'ish). Most of your opinions are littered with incorrect facts and it is those that I have addressed. Take your point 'Poor UI'. If you'd said "I don't like the pull down menu, it doesn't offer anything"... That is an opinion. It's personal, subjective, and something which you personally endorse without including any factual content. Instead, you included some dross point about how you'd placed too many icons on your desktop... barely a point at all really and then you'd included a totally misinformed explanation on how Android deals with activities and the back button. You actually didn't say it was a Poor UI, because you don't like this or don't like that. You tried to wrap misguided facts in a rant and that is why I wrote what I did.

I'm still waiting on Konion cells, LiFePO4, and even Lithium Nano Phosphates to power our cell phones. That way I could bare with Android a little more. It just so happens that Konion cells are made by Sony. A dodgy Japanese company. I used Cheap Chinese LiFePO4 batteries to power my e-bike. Took me 40 miles per charge. I guess you can say I'm a "Bicycle Engineer." I wouldn't. Thanks for the comment.

Firstly, I never said anything about 'dodgy Japanese companies'? To clarify, I actually said dodgy Chinese companies... and trust me, there are plenty of knockoff companies that will sell you a low quality Lithium Ion battery that is labelled as being bigger than the stock product and yes, they are mostly located in China or Hong Kong. I'm glad your Chinese battery worked out well.

I wouldn't say you're a bicycle engineer either. Engineer's usually have the letters BSc, MSc or PhD in front of their name. I guess at a stretch you could call yourself an amateur mechanic.

For what it's worth, I lost no sleep over this article, but thanks for showing concern :-)

Deon 5 months ago

@Adroit Alien, just ignore "Joe". I've had my Samsung Galaxy S for more than a year (after the iPhone 3G) and unfortunately I threw the damn thing against a wall just a week ago.

I won't go into the details but just know that part of the reason was almost exactly everything you've mentioned here. The final straw was the fact that Android doesn't have a decent, consistent desktop application that instinctively backs up all your important user data. And because of the fragmentation and inconsistency in Android even backup utilities tend to give problems, one slip, and you lose tons of customization and user data (phone numbers not stored on Google, Notes, app. data etc.)

Android needs to "grow up" before I'll use it again. It has many great options etc. But the problem is that as a mobile OS I need something that's more consistent and stable, otherwise the copious amount of time spent constantly "babying" it just doesn't justify the benefit of having a smartphone in the first place.

Adroit Alien 5 months ago

Joe,

you continue to move the goalpost. First you said I had limited knowledge of computers, then you said just because I know use a linux distro doesn't make me a pro. Which one is it? You can't have both. Either way, you continue to move the goalpost for which this will be my last reply to you.

My opinion is so worthless, yet you write another novel. You're the professional here. Don't you have some apps to program rather than inserting walls of text on an "Anonymous rant" as you put it?

Anyways, the reason I emphasized "software engineer" is to prove a point. You don't need to be a profession to have an opinion. And you're whole Volkswagen argument is a strawman. I never claimed to know a everything about android. Just what I hate about it. Ask 50 random people if they know how an internal combustion engine works. I bet nearly all wouldn't know everything single aspect about it. Does that mean they are unqualified to drive? Does my not knowing every ins and outs of Android make me unqualified to have an opinion?

Okay, let me explain why "poor UI" IS factually correct. Ready? Most newer Android devices now have full touch screen. Relics have trackpads. I'll use the Galaxy Nexus(a flagship Android phone) as an example. Fitts Law of ergonomics states it is easier to hit a large barn that is close than a far shack. All forms of UI follow Fitts Law to some degree. That's why start menus are in the corners, close buttons are also in the corner, panels are on the edge, etc. You can "hit" larger icon better than small ones. The Galaxy Nexus, one flagship android phone, relies totally on touch screen and touch sensitive buttons for input. No hardware buttons with tactile feedback, no trackpad with greater accuracy. This forces the consumer to "trust" that the phone will respond to the input which it sometimes does not. Without feedback, the phone is prone to mis-press, double presses, and such. This is the inherent flaw on all touch screen devices. They tend to relieve this issue by vibrating on keypress or making an audible sound. Back to UI. Without a "proper" pointing device like a trackpad or tactile buttons, the user must rely on his/her fingers to hit small icons and they are prone to mis-taps as well. Sure you can leave your home screen bare but then you have to hunt them in the cluttered applications menu. This is alleviated by organization but the problem is still persistent for certain consumers, say one that downloads lots of games. Windows Phone 7 tackles Fitts Law by relying on swipes and gestures. Android mainly have icons that are not fit(no pun) for touchscreens. Happy now?

Anyways, I did work as an entry level mechanic FWIW a few years ago but since I never did any engine work, I'm probably not qualified to have an opinion on cars. You know when I said "Bicycle Engineer", it was a joke, right? Your response to that proved my point. Hold onto your title Mr. Skezza. That horse of yours is very tall.

@ Deon,

how dare you have a negative opinion about Android. You probably don't have a..... DEGREE in Software Engineering. You are not qualified to speak on the subject. Anyways, enough of that crazy talk. I totally get why you threw it against the wall. My sister is about to throw her android away also.

Jane 5 months ago

I went into AT&T yesterday looking for a new phone. My contract with TMobile was ending and I wanted to see what they had to offer. I had an old HTC MyTouch but I was getting sick of Android. I went in looking at all the new Android and was quickly familiar with it. The new crop was faster and more responsive but I feel like my initial problems with them will eventually surface. Phone not responding to call pick-ups and bad battery life. I was looking at the Windows Phone and new Bold. I like the tile design of the windows phone. I'm thinking about picking up the Bold. A friend of mines never had a problem with her blackberry so I'm tempted to jump ship.

tedwilder23 4 months ago

This is why im gping with a windows phone when my contracts up my friend introdice me to the windows phones and i fell in love.

Joe 4 months ago

If I could convey emotions textually without typing a * at the start and end I'm not sure how it would look, but I can't so here goes... *sigh*

@Androit Alien

I'm glad it's your final response as this is mine. Fiddling semantics does not make your opinion any more or less valid and trying to discredit mine by over-analysing the way I've worded it just proves my point. Of course, I could systematically dismantle your wording too, along with the rather remedial grammar but the reason I commented was actually to do with the article content rather than giving an English lesson.

I am allowed to write an opinion. You allowed me to. You made this article publicly open to comments. You remind me of these kids on YouTube (I consider it as somewhere between arrogance and Fascism) who upload videos for comments then don't like it when someone writes negatively. Hell, some even have this 'review' activated, so they can personally make sure each individual positive comment is published while negative ones are deleted. Of course, they're happy for some douchey fanboy to write a lot of congratulatory bile (Thanks for the shoutout Deon).

Of course you don't have to be qualified to have an opinion. I was voicing my opinion on articles like this when I was at school. The only reason I raised the fact I'm a SE was to justify WHY I read the articles I do. You've taken something I wrote totally out of context and made it out to be a massive thing (probably because you can't respond to any of my points without resorting to pettiness).

Thank you for addressing your 'Poor UI' point. It's taken three posts but you've eventually done it. Your main worry seems to be whether the hardware will respond correctly to touch input. True enough, hardware buttons are more consistent than touchscreens, but this isn't really a fault of Android. Higher quality capacitive touchscreens found on better phones generally provide a greater user experience. My particular Android phone has an excellent response and is very accurate, but my Android tablet is not so good as it's one of the lower end models. Hardware buttons also have their cons so I guess this one is down to personal preference. Apple iPhones have NEVER included hardware buttons (aside from the Home button of course, which my Android phone also has). To go Back on an iPhone, you have to 'trust' the supposedly inaccurate touchscreen and for many other features, you have to do the same. iOS shares a lot of UI similarities to Android so I'm surprised you haven't done an article criticizing Apple's method of user interaction. Is it only Android? In the interest of equality, I believe the same problems exist on all models of the iPhone, but I like how you've ripped Android while blissfully skimming over Apple products. Just Nokia and Symbian now (you've done Blackberry), then you have the full arsenal of Apple evangelist articles. Regardless of that, I understand your point but I genuinely believe that as users get more acquainted with their Android device, they begin to use it more precisely. As I said before, we could always return to resistive touchscreens and those problems in the most part would go away, but who wants to?

Of course I realize the bicycle engineer part was a joke and my response was as equally crass and unforgiving as always. For what it's worth, I'll say this, all I've done is address what I think was wrong in your article. There's nothing to say I'm not allowed to. As a blogger, you've repeatedly resorted to name calling and sarcasm which is pathetic (considering you clearly aren't stupid). Pettiness personified. That said, I've enjoyed writing my 'novels' (a novel is usually fiction by the way lol!) and quite enjoyed reading your responses. I've also checked out your other articles and actually enjoyed reading some of them. Cheers anyway.

@Deon

Well done. I'm glad you threw a perfectly good phone against the wall. Now that you don't use an Android device, you can bask in the glory of being free from the evil oppressive regime. Why not get another Apple iPhone and then you can feel even smugger than ever. Backing up an un-rooted Android phone is easy enough and if you find it that hard to backup/restore numbers, perhaps you should stick to telegrams. On a rooted Android phone, you can backup absolutely everything very quickly and much more efficiently than on any iPhone, jailbroken or not.

Adroit Alien 4 months ago

Joe, I'll have to break my word give you another response since you raised some interesting points. I understand that iOS and Android are very similar in terms of UI and I didn't bring it up to start a flame war. Ergonomics and Fitts' Law are topics that deserve their own articles and I didn't think it was necessary to bring absolute science into an article about my opinion.

It's true that I have written about BlackBerry and they have their own articles. I didn't want to even mention Windows Phone 7 but I felt it was necessarily to use it as an example.

There are several reasons why I skipped Apple products. For the record, I am not a fan of Apple products so it's not because I'm a fan-boy. I have never owned an Apple product and my experiences with them are limited. That's why I don't write about them. I don't feel I have the experience to have a say. Even if I were to write something on them, my opinions would be drowned by a sea of articles that are much more informative.

You said, "I genuinely believe that as users get more acquainted with their Android device, they begin to use it more precisely."

That is a true statement. However, I don't want to confuse familiarity with efficiency. I didn't use Android for a day and gave up so it's not a matter of familiarity. I'm all for capacitive touch screens and new technologies, but I don't confuse the poor(yet familiar) use of computer-style icons with efficiency. As a Linux fan-boy, I'm not embarrassed to say Microsoft got it right. WP7 and their large, live "tiles" adhere very well to Fitts' Law. If I was out to prove something in this article, In hindsight, I might have answered your question earlier and saved all this drama.

As far as some of the loose strings, I don't put my real name on this because this is the Internet. Most people don't put their real names and other personal information because they value their privacy. I'm not sure why you brought that up or why it's even an issue. People learn to take everything they read with a grain of salt and using a pseudonym shouldn't be a talking point.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my other articles. I don't spend much time on hubpages because I'm working on my own website. As much trash I get to say on here, there are some things hubpages won't let me say. I come here to moderate some of the comment and your posts has taking me out of the usual grind. Thanks.

Hari 3 months ago

I still use an ordinary mobile phone. Not so dumb for me. Battery is great, platform is stable and it does have the features I want. So what if it's not a computer? A phone is meant primarily to make and receive calls and messages.

Everything else is frill.

Sal Saldana 3 months ago

I can say I've add both the iphone and android, well my opinion android sucks!!! On iphone Ive never came across apps freezing or and thing like that, but a few months with dorid apps freeze and keep me out left and right. I thought I made the right choice to switch from iphone to droid but boy was I wrong. My biggest dissapointment was with its Dorid market, App store is 1000 times better then dorid and why you may ask? Well thats because the app store apps all work!!!! The dorid market seems to put up anything and everything regardless if it works or not. So with being said goodbye dorid iPhone I'm sorry for leaving you and I want come back to you!!

Daved 7 weeks ago

Samsung phones are the worst I think at freezing I've had 3 my newest is this junk they call the samsung galaxy indulge no more samsung for me

Kwipster 7 weeks ago

I am huge android fan, have used it for years. I got the G1 when it first came out. I have finally reached the same point of view. I got my wife a 3GS and jailbroke it and the phone is amazing. I was never an apple fan but they make a great phone that always works and has great battery life. I always here about widgets and while they are cool how hard is it to open an app to get the information you want. I feel that if android is going to work Google needs to do business the same way Apple does. Make there os for one phone that they develop and stop making an os for these other companies to put on their phones. If they did that they might truly challenge the iphone. It should not be hard with all the patents they are buying up.

Jordan 3 weeks ago

After reading the comments (yes, I read most of them) I realize that I have to first point out that I am not a professional. I have dabbled in Linux, Windows, RIM, and Apple mobile operating systems. They all have their flaws. It is impossible to say that one is better than the other. However, some are more stable, others have more "eye candy". My main gripe about WP7 is that you are very limited with the apps you can get. Android and Apple have more flexibility and variety with the apps available on their app markets. Out of everything, I feel WP7 has the most intuitive (and prettiest) UI. Apple is more mainstream and simple, and Android is the most customisable. Blackberry is great for business-oriented people, but for today's standard consumer, Apple, Android, and Windows are the best bets. Personally I favour Android for it's customisations. Yes, there is more instability with Android, but there is also more support for it. If an iPhone has a problem, you bring it in to the shop and you might have to pay for it. With an Android phone, you google the problem which is a pain in the neck, but it saves you (most of the time) on replacement fees. What I personally like about Android is that you can swap external storage devices, ie micro sd cards. You can not do that with Apple or Windows devices. For both Windows and Apple, you need specific software to load content onto your device. For Apple, it is iTunes. For Windows, it is Zune. For Android, it is your file browser. You can use Android as a USB stick. You have full access to the file system. You have to jailbreak an iPhone and use iFile to do this. You have to use Chevron to do this on a Windows phone. This is just a specific point, but it's a very significant one.

Adroit Alien 3 weeks ago

Jordan, thanks for the comment.

I worry about the current state of Android. I've noticed that the newer Android phones, especially flagship phones do not offer any more microsd or removable storage. Another trend I'm seeing with Android is not having a removable battery like the droid razr. This "apple-fication" of Android has made me a bit worry where they are going.

You remind me of the ongoing joke about android support. "Google it." I remember searching for solutions and sifting through pages of forum posts. Not fun.

I agree with you that WP7 has the best UI... for now. I'm still holding out for BB10 to see if their UI will top Microsoft's. BTW, using the phone as a mass storage device can be done on BB too. Thanks for the comment. I didn't know about Chevron for WP7.