Android-Does

When having an “Android vs Apple” discussion, unfortunately it’s not uncommon for me to hear people tell me about their “horrible” experience with Android and how “they wish they had an iPhone” or “are so glad they got an iPhone”.

What’s my reply to these comments? Not all android phones are created equal. Why? Let’s get started.

The Best

I currently use the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon) but here the list of some the best Android phones of 2012 (via CNET):

• Samsung Galaxy SIII
• HTC One X
• HTC One S

Having never used any of these phones, like you, I am probably just taking their word for it; but judging from the specs of each, I doubt they disappoint.

That said, these phones all bolster some similar things; i.e. 4G speeds, dual-core or quad-core processors, large displays and plenty of memory. As of this post, none of these devices have the latest Android OS (4.1 JellyBean) but Ice Cream Sandwich is still impressive and the hardware helps out as well.

The Worst?

In my opinion, it’s anything running on Android 2.3 or lower; which according to recent reports from Google is a lot (72.6% of Android devices):

So maybe that’s a bit of generalization but as good as Android is now, I’m not afraid to admit that it has not always been so; these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. That said, Android took huge leaps forward with Honeycomb (3.1) and has been continuing to do so with every release since.

Android Progression

My first Android phone was the original HTC Incredible and although it was an impressive upgrade from my Blackberry Curve, it pales in comparison to Jelly Bean on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus. When I got the Incredible, it was running Froyo (2.2) and was upgraded to Gingerbread (2.3) shortly afterwards.

I was first introduced to Honeycomb (Android 3.1) when I bought my first tablet, the Motorola Xoom; it blew my mind. Then came the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and the improvements were incredible, again. Now I have the same Nexus with Jelly Bean (4.1) and I can’t believe I was ever impressed with Froyo or Gingerbread.

The Difference

According to the numbers I referenced above, about 3 out of 4 new android users are being introduced to much less impressive (older) versions of Android; less features and lower grade hardware. One of the great things about Android is the amount of customization that can be done. All of my devices are unlocked and rooted (it’s what we do), so even with some of the disappointments with early versions of Android, it wasn’t that difficult to get apps or mods to boost performance. Anything from menu customization to hardware accelerations are available for the android hacker; but I do realize that we are not in the majority.

Today, the rooting and unlocking process are much simpler than the past but the process can still be intimidating, especially for the new android user. People don’t want to “have to modify” their phone, they “just want it to work”. The good news is that many of the features that required root or modification in the past now come “out of the box”. The bad news is that you usually have to have one of the newest devices.

Since Google is getting into the manufacturing side of things with their Nexus line of devices, it seems that they understand that this is an issue. But keep in mind that this is not a Google issue; this is a carrier issue (one of the few downsides of Android). Take a look at this post on Google+ by Jean-Baptiste Queru (a Google employee working on the Android Open Source Project); an excerpt from the post:

“The part that blows my mind is that some variants of the Google-engineered flagship devices still haven’t received Ice Cream Sandwich (or are stuck with older versions of Ice Cream Sandwich) because of delays introduced by operator approvals. I’m very glad that Google is back in the business of selling phones directly without any middlemen to interfere, and I’ll be even happier when I see that program expanded to more countries.”

What’s Next?

In my opinion, this “carrier issue” is a big reason why people have “horrible” experiences with Android. People are stuck using a device with an older version of Android that let’s face, is not awesome because it’s cheaper, they don’t know any better or it’s simply the only one available from their carrier; there’s probably a million of other reasons I failed to mention. But if you’re a new android user, or just stuck on a older version of Android (2.3 or lower), please understand that not all android phones are created equal but with some time, this problem should begin going away and before you decide to jump ship and head to your nearest Apple Store, maybe try another Android device.

There are rumors flying around that not only will the next Nexus device(s) be unveiled by the end of year and come loaded with the latest Android OS (4.2?) but that there may be multiple manufacturers producing a Nexus device. If these rumors are true, this should help put the latest and greatest of Android in the hands of more users; allowing more people to experience how truly great Android really is. Although it’s a tablet, I believe that the Nexus 7 from Asus was a step in this direction; even when I wrote about it back in May.

What do you think? Share your comments below.

About a year ago, I uninstalled iTunes from my computer and my breakup with Apple was complete. Since I own and write for an android site, it’s no secret to those around me that I am Team Android. Because of this, most people naturally assume that I “hate” Apple and so moving away from Apple was not surprising to most. Although some of the reasons I choose Android over Apple are the same, some are not and I’d like to share those with you today.

Music and the Galaxy Nexus

Originally, one significant factor for this breakup was music. I love music and admittedly, uninstalling iTunes was a tough decision. I have a large music collection (approx. 20k songs) and had actually won an 8gb iPod Touch at a company party about a year before; I relied on that for all my mobile music. At the time, I had the HTC Incredible and at the time, mobile music options were limited. Sure I had apps like DoubleTwist, which allowed me import iTunes playlists and music but it was a third party app for iTunes and it didn’t always work right. I also used Pandora but had not yet started fully using  Spotify; although I did manage to get an early invite for the initial US launch. But still, I did not have a 4G phone and so mobile streaming was shaky at best; but then all that changed.

The first step in the change came when my iPod Touch was stolen. Yeah, it was stolen out of my car which I had left unlocked while attending a baseball game; lesson learned. Left only with my HTC Incredible, my music options were disappointing and I did consider buying a new iPod Touch. But after shopping around, I never convinced myself to buy one. Then, along came the Galaxy Nexus; with it all the hype of a Google phone and 4G speeds it was hard not to get excited. So I put some money aside and was ready to pick-up my Galaxy Nexus on release day (October); which I did.

Next, there were the rumors of Google Music and if they were true, all I needed to do was wait for the release and the upload my music; and so I did. The release of Google Music came about a month later and that was about the same time I finally started using Spotify as well. Google Music allowed me upload almost my entire music library and with the app running with 4G speeds, I could easily stream all my music with little issue; for free. I quickly forgot about my iPod Touch and was rapidly learning to love Spotify more and more. Now almost a year later, Spotify and Google Music are the primary source of all my mobile music and I don’t miss iTunes at all.

“Beware, there be dragons ahead”

Of course rooting and then modifying my OS is something I want to do. A common phrase I’ve read while visiting other forums is that, “Beware, there be dragons ahead”. This is a way of warning users that what you are about to read (then probably attempt) could ruin your phone, if not done right or just because. Regardless, modifications are something I want to do; Android (Google) makes that easy to do and Apple does not. How easy? To unlock my Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 7 all I needed to do was install the Android SDK and push this command:

“fastboot oem unlock”

I realize that there are those out there who have no desire to modify their phones and that’s fine. Of course you can “Jailbreak” an iPhone and generally it’s the same as “rooting” but it is different; but that’s a discussion for another post.

Google & I

My relationship with Google gets deeper and deeper; every day I find myself turning to Google for more and more. I’m referring to Google Services including Gmail, Maps, Offers, Analytics, Adwords, Contacts, Google Now and more. These apps run fantastically, when built as core or system apps and syncing is easy. Google’s core apps have seen some great improvements since Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0, ICS) was released and got even better with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). Now we have cool features like “Google Now”, which is a great step towards the “Star Trek Future” Google has talked about.

Technology & Innovation

But perhaps the biggest reason I choose Android over Apple is because of technology and innovation. Had you asked me which was better between Android & iPhone, when Android first entered the mobile world, my answer would have probably been the iPhone. Admit it; the iPhone changed the mobile industry.

Apple was an innovator and Android was late to the game but that has changed; Apple is not innovating any longer and Android is. Are iPhones still great phones? Yes. Are they miles ahead of the “next best thing”? Absolutely not. Take a look at this comparison chart of the just announced iPhone 5 and other comparable phones (via Mashable): Two of the phones shown are Android devices and between the four, there are only marginal differences. Not only are Android devices comparable but many are superior and that’s not based solely on my “biased” opinion; look at the specs. Now it seems that Apple is no longer interested in innovating but rather they have taken to the courts and adopted the litigation approach; including suing an online grocery store over their logo. Their recent win vs. Samsung will be interesting to watch unfold but in my mind, it’s a short term win.

People like Android and Android devices…but why? Because they are improving. Developers and manufactures are building on top of creations of others and driving innovation for Android and consumers are noticing. Here are the market share numbers from the 2^nd quarter of 2012 (via comScore): Apple is losing the market share battle because they are no longer innovating. A quote from a co-worker just today sums up why Apple is losing this battle; “I don’t feel like my iPhone is out of date”. She made this statement a few minutes after reading the announcement for the iPhone 5; she owns an iPhone 3G. I’ll say it again, Apple is not innovating.

So although I’m not a former Apple fanboy who’s converted to Android; I’m a tech lover who chooses innovation, options and quality over limitations. So now that I think about it, maybe it’s not me…maybe it is you (Apple). Share your comments below.