metalheadink1218

June 16, 2010 at 12:36am

i myself am a android user i used to be a iphone user until it took 9 iphones yes i had to return my i phone 9 times untin these knuckleheads got it right, but after all the hassel i went to the mytouch from t-mobile and guess what it hasent failed me yet i have double the choice of apps, the phone itself is 10x more costimisable, and i can even run my iphone apps on my google phone i think mac sould start looking outside the box.

mesiah

June 14, 2010 at 3:56pm

Yes, you can choose which sources you want to sync from the cloud. Davids phone should allow him to disable facebook syncing. I'm not sure what model he is using but to my knowledge the default for vanilla andriod is to have facebook syncing disabled out of the box.

.... I love how trying to reply when you aren't logged in makes your reply a regular comment... Oh well, atleast it looks like the spam filter is gone.

Neon Samurai

June 14, 2010 at 7:04am

The EVO is probably the first Android phone I've seriously considered; no hardware keypad, not easily updated from Google's latest firmware image... Iphone is nice for what it does but does not do what I need in such a device. N900 would be a hardware upgrade from my current PDA while retaining the a flexible OSS platform and shorter but more usefull software repository to install from. (how many different fart apps does one really need on there Android/osX mobile?)

Hopefully I can get an N900 here at a reasonable price point before Nokia ships an N910 or similar Meego only device. I'll dualboot Maemo5/Meego initially as Meego won't be my primary platform until it has all my current tools; ruby on rails, scapy, msf, GPE suite, rsync, ssh..

ifailatliving

June 14, 2010 at 7:02am

well gee whiz

mralexosborn

June 13, 2010 at 5:20pm

When I got my Droid (the original one dammit), I was quite fond of it. It was infinitely better than my previous feature phone (Razr V9m). It had every feature I could dream of. But I did see everything you mentioned in your article. I just let it slide. Then one day I came across the topic of Wi-Fi tethering and rooting Android OS. Gizmodo, in several posts, talked about rooting, but did not recommend it. But for a useless feature (to me) like Wi-Fi tethering, I thought "Why the hell not!?" Rooting my phone is one of the few smart decisions I have made in my lifetime. It allows your phone to be free from the restraints of the supposed "open source" Android OS. I have overclocked. I have removed pointless applications. I have modified the theme. I am also now allowed to install third party applications (damn Android Market). So, root your phone, and you will be happy with Android as I am.

Camerone

June 13, 2010 at 10:48am

I went from a Motorola Razr to a Blackberry Curve 8900 a while back.  THAT was one hell of a transition, as it was more like a PC than a phone in my eyes lol.  I didn't fret, however; I kept my cool, and soon figured out how to get around on the phone.  When I switched to the G1, it was a cakewalk.  Once I figured out the functionality of the touch screen and the menu button, it was a breeze to change any settings or use any app I came across.

In short, I think figuring out any app or setting is easy once you realize how the menus and such are set up, and Android phones are easy to use and customize in that respect.

festiva_man

June 12, 2010 at 10:40pm

I don't have one of these smartphones, and there is a reason why.  They do less than a laptop can.  Might you just go to a regular mobile phone.  Mine is for blue collar people, we call it the GZone.  Then buy a laptop, they ain't heavy.  Just my .02.  And though I might get flamed for it, I will quote Cheech from "From Dusk til Dawn".  "If you can find cheaper pussy anywhere, fuck it."  Hope that don't get me banned, I listen to the podcast and Gordon says worse.

r00t3r

June 12, 2010 at 3:47pm

"If you use any operating system that doesn't start with a "Microsoft"
and end with a "Windows" (and some kind of short letter or number
designation), then you have utterly failed in your attempt to keep
heathen software elements from besmirching the good name and reputation
of your precious PC. And woe unto any who utter the forbidden name of a
common Silicon Valley manufacturer of said "different" operating systems
around these parts--you can trust me on this one."

 I look forward to a picture of you smashing your android and telling us all about your difficulties with Windows Mobile phones.

ElTimba

June 12, 2010 at 3:18pm

If you would root your phone, you could uninstall all the apps you want. Maybe that's something you should take into consideration.

Urock

June 12, 2010 at 2:48pm

Should have gotten WebOS. I'm just sayin'...

greencpu

June 12, 2010 at 9:15am

I have used  an android phone for over a year.  And I could have any phone (including a new iphone) I want from work, but android just makes the most sense to me.  My wife just got an iphone yesterday, and even though I support them at work I still found a lot of her setup counter intuitive.

for example the way it handles multiple mail and calendar accounts is just dumb.  Android is WAY better.  of course, that take on it is colored by what I'm used to.

I prefer to have more options.  and android delivers that over the iphone in all but one area  (the number of app store apps)

It drives me nuts when people talk about how intuitive apple products are - they have their conventions which people are used to, so to them they may feel more intuitive, but to many of us they aren't.  For example the way the menu bar is handled in osx - to me, that is a hangover from the 80's mac when you had only one screen, and no multi-tasking.  but to the mac faithful, why would it be any other way?  And why would a program not exit when I close its last window?  again, is this more intuitive?  I would say no, but it is what some users are used to.

So much of it depends on what you are used to.  I bet if you give android a bit more time you wouldn't be able to go back to all the restrictions of apple.

 

---www.sci-guys.com - sci-fi and other cool stuff---

ushim6

June 12, 2010 at 5:37am

Yeah after reading another comment, I was wondering which phone you have David?

If you have one of those shitty social networking phones, I understand your frustration. Vanilla droid(or possibly Sense UI) is the only way to go.

ushim6

June 12, 2010 at 5:30am

Granted, if you want a phone to "just work"(but don't get me started with how crippled the iPhone really is) without any room for making it your own then the iPhone is fine.

 However, a lot of your points, as a PC user, I can't really understand.

Yes, it would be nice if we could uninstall basic things like the Music player or whatever(and you can if you root, just saying), but why can't you just ignore the player in your app drawer? We were given a homescreen for a reason! Just click and hold on the app drawer on the apps you want, and drop them on your home screen.

 Tons of options? I mean wtf? You don't HAVE to touch any of the settings if you don't want, but I'd be damned if I'm not always tweaking them, making my phone more of a personal device. With the Cyanogenmod we are given total control of our interface and options, it's fantastic. My Android is my own, there are NOT many like it, and this one is mine.

 The difference between a program like Gmail and mail is subtle, but makes sense. Gmail has an interface much more attuned to Gmail options, such as the colored labels, etc. You could simply use the email client and add the gmail account, but again, if you don't like an icon, root, or ignore it! App drawer is not how you access your email anyways! Drop your email client of your choice on your first homescreen like the rest of humanity.

 And you are simply ridiculous complaining about Facebook sync. It freaking asks you if you want to sync, and specifically what type of sync. THERE IS A "DONT SYNC WITH FRIENDS" OPTION! Holy cow! I think you just missed something really basic!

 Last, about the Market: Get and login online at: appbrain.com . It's what the market should do, and apparently will do once 2.2 is out. I've been using it almost since day one. It's funny how people complain all the time about the market, when there is clear solutions out there while I've basically not had that issue since day 1. Sign up, you won't regret it. 

 Ok. To be fair, Android is not as intuitive for sure. I'm always finding out something new I can do with the phone(especially if you join the rom scene!). But once  you set up your own desktop, iPhone users will have nothing on your personalized phone.

 

jrocknyc

June 12, 2010 at 4:40am

between what you've written here and what i've heard on various TWiT.tv broadcasts ("Android still feels like it was made by engineers, not designers", etc) ... I'll probably hold off on the Dell Streak i've been so eager to try, and stick with my iTouch + old Blackberry solution. (Even tho I hate Macs!)

 

thank you for saving me a lot of frustration & expense!

Keith E. Whisman

June 12, 2010 at 3:26am

Hey David Newb... Err I mean Murphy. LOL.. Just kidding you know I love your articles..

Any who. On the home screen you just do a long press on an Icon and then drag that Icon to the trash can at the bottom of the screen to get it off your home screen.

If you goto settings you will find an application manager that will allow you to remove most everything except for the Android basics.

You can root your phone, they have directions detailing the process at http://www.maximumPC.com somewhere. By rooting your phone you can install any number of custom Roms that have features you'll enjoy like wireless tethering and being able to truly unlock the computer side of your cell phone.

It sounds like you got one of the android phones that are built for the crazy web 2.0 crowd. You know people that can't survive without facebook, twitter and all the other crazy yuppie hippie social networking web things. I think there are two or three different android phones designed for this and if you would have done some google searching on the internet for reviews of the phone you were thinking of buying before you bought it you would have discovered that it may not be the right android phone for you.

I suggest you get yourself an Incredible, Motorola Droid or the Nexus One. That new sprint phone also sounds compelling with a larger than four inch display. 

Even those social networking themed android phones can be rooted and a new more power user friendly version of the android OS installed. Also as I mentioned earlier you can remove those social networking widgets and that is what is on your home screen. You have a bunch of social networking widgets running on your home screen and there is actually a widget manager if you long press on a blank part of your home screen a list of options will come up along with the widget manager. Here you can pick and choose what widgets run by default on your phone. Screw the manufacturers intent. have fun and don't be so quick to quit and please don't get offended. I am not picking on you. I am merely talking to you as I would to a friend with computer problems. 

Oedipus_Rex

June 12, 2010 at 3:05am

Since I have a WinMo phone and haven't tried an Android phone.  However, when I connect my phone to my laptop using active sync, I have an option on whether I want to sync my address book or not with my device.  I just do not check that box.  Are you saying that whatever app Android uses does not give that simple choice?

Also, is it really Androids fault or the HTC sense interface and apps that the Incredible comes with by default?  I have read of memory problems on the Incredible that are being blamed on the default programs that HTC loads onto their device.

I currently have an HTC HD2 and have discovered the xda-developers forum for themes and apps.  They have reported that someone has rooted the Incredible just a few days ago.  So you may have alternatives soon as to what you can do with your phone.

Mighty BOB!

June 12, 2010 at 2:18am

What model of phone and which version of Android?

mesiah

June 12, 2010 at 1:26am

Your desires seem to be in contradiction to the spirit of open platforms. If what a person likes is to have a very simple interface with little to no room to tailor things to their liking, then the iphone really is the best choice. The driving factor for android is endless customizeability. You can make your phone as simple or as complicated as you wish. It just takes a little effort on your part.

 

As for the app tray on android. I think iphone users tend to view the app tray the same way they view their iphones home screen. They don't like all those confusing extra buttons in there that they don't use. But the app tray isn't the home screen. The home screen is the home screen. You choose what to display and what not to display on the home screen. If you just want to pile app icons on there like it is an iphone home screen that is your choice. The app tray should be likened to the windows start menu. Every program you can use is on the start menu, but the ones you use frequently are on your desktop.

 

As for not being able to uninstall certain apps. Thats not really the fault of android. That fault lies on the carrier your phone was provided by. As long as your purchase is being subsidized by a third party it will never by totally "open." Although you can't uninstall the apps without using a custom rom, you are free to remove them from the home screen. Speaking of custom roms, that really does set iphone and android apart, and should make any ultra geek feel all warm and fuzzy. On iphone you can "jailbreak" and enable some locked out features. But with android you can truly replace the entire android shell with anything you see fit. It may not be for the feint of heart, but for the true tech geeks, thats as open as it gets.

 

I commend your attempt to shed the bonds of the closed apple market. I think once you adjust to no longer being spoon fed by apple, and having steve choose what you can and can't do, you will find android to be a treasure trove of tech and software innovation. You may be missing a few apps, but I firmly believe that google is working hard to develop the most bleeding edge mobile apps right now.  Where apple is just sitting back and letting third parties do their dirty work, then raking in the cash for the sales.