Android As We Know It Will Die In The Next Two Years

[ultimatebob]

I own an iPad 2, a Motorola Droid X, an iPhone 3G, and an HTC Inspire 4G, so I think that I know both the Android and iOS platforms fairly well. Here are my thoughts:

1) In terms of graphical polish, I like Android with the HTC Sense UI additions the best. iOS is easy to use, but feels limited with the lack of desktop widgets and limited customization options. Motorola's MotoBlur additions to Android are sluggish and flaky, however. I'd rather have stock Android than MotoBlur on my phone.
2) Apps on iOS are usually better than the apps on the Android platform. They just seem to be more stable, and the UI's are better designed.
3) The stock navigation apps in iOS suck. Google Navigation blows them away... and it's almost as good as using a standalone GPS.
4) Likewise, the media player software on Android sucks. The iOS media player is so much easier to use.
5) Apple products cost too damn much for what you get. My Inspire 4G was only $49, and the hardware is just as good as a $200 iPhone 4S. I just wish that there was a good $200 Android tablet like the Kindle Fire available when I bought my iPad 2 about 9 months ago!

Finally, Forbes and Fortune should stick to financial news. Their technology reporting sucks.

 

[MaxFusion16]

I am a Blackberry user (love the keypads) with no desire to purchase an iPhone or Android phone and previously did not care about either OS. My exposure to iOS is very limited, having only used an iPhone or iPod Touch a few times, and each experience did not make an impression on me.

Tablets were my introduction to Android. I purchased a refurb Nook Color from B&N for $150 and have CM7 running on it. The user experience so far has been fantastic and apps run with no issues. With that said, it's not perfect (not a fan of the sliding notifications).

Thanks to my Android experience with a "cheap $100 tablet", if an Android phone with a BB style keypad were to be released, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

funny you bring up the nook color, I too have one, and I also have a blackberry from work.

first the blackberry, it's not flashy, doesn't have angry birds, but you know what, I like it, because it was designed with a purpose, a focus. It does a few things really really well, good keyboard, fantastic email capabilities, and awesome battery life.

now the nook, it works fine as an ereader, which is what it was designed for, but once I flashed cm7 on it, this became the biggest pile of excrement i've used, period.

cm7 isn't optimized, it's riddled with bugs and useless features. When are they going to learn that they need to put quality over quantity. You are pretty much running beta software all the time.

I understand you don't have a lot of experience with iOS or other android devices in general, so you probably overlooked the shortcomings, but this thing is SLOOOOW, the cpu is not designed for tablet use, probably not enough ram either, resolution is too low.

but the worst offender is that stupid virtual on screen android buttons, the nook doesn't have any physical home, back, or menu keys, so some genius thought it'd a good idea to overlay some virtual buttons over every f'ing app.

cm7 is at best a compromise, yes, you turned that $150 ereader into a tablet, but now it longer does anything well, to me it's lost its purpose.

Please take the time to play around with an iPad or full android tablet, you'll realize what i'm on about, the difference is night and day.

anyone want to buy a gently used nook color?

 

[shortylickens]

I am a Blackberry user (love the keypads) with no desire to purchase an iPhone or Android phone and previously did not care about either OS. My exposure to iOS is very limited, having only used an iPhone or iPod Touch a few times, and each experience did not make an impression on me.

Tablets were my introduction to Android. I purchased a refurb Nook Color from B&N for $150 and have CM7 running on it. The user experience so far has been fantastic and apps run with no issues. With that said, it's not perfect (not a fan of the sliding notifications).

Thanks to my Android experience with a "cheap $100 tablet", if an Android phone with a BB style keypad were to be released, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

They been out for years.

 

[MaxFusion16]

What's up w/CM7?

it's beta software, my GPS hasn't worked since I flashed to cm7.

I realize I can probably fix it, google for a day, flash around to half a dozen roms, try out each one, adjust software settings, etc.

Fact is, I just don't have the time to mess around with a billion settings and hacks to finally have it work somewhat reliably, I paid good money for a phone, I just want it to work.

 

[Leymenaide]

Android is winning everywhere except with those who have more money than brains. It is the future in the third world. It's sales show it.

 

[MaxFusion16]

Is everything "dying" to you?

Android isn't dying. Apple isn't "vastly superior."

Put down the weed.

just stating the facts, I started coming to this forum back in 99/00, and I notice the difference, it's just not the same anymore, not nearly as fun, anyone remember the friday desktop threads?

believe it or not, android is going through changes, and apple's not without their own problems, iOS is definitely lagging android in the widgets department.

if you think otherwise, bring on some data, back up your assertions, I'm all ears.

 

[Fire&Blood]

Ignore what others say. You are right. Everything is dying.

 

[MaxFusion16]

Android is winning everywhere except with those who have more money than brains. It is the future in the third world. It's sales show it.

oh you mean this third world?
http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/...-4s-china-release-sparks-scuffles-and-eggings

iphone 4s is selling for $1000 on the streets right now

 

[dwell]

Defect from apple? LOL

http://www.slashgear.com/apple-app-store-sees-6x-revenue-versus-android-in-top-apps-21203749/

Yup, they are all running to Android

Notice iPad by itself generates more than 2x the revenue of the entire Android ecosystem. No reason for devs to leave iOS. People who get $0 phones are not likely to buy apps.

 

[Red Storm]

oh you mean this third world?
http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/...-4s-china-release-sparks-scuffles-and-eggings

iphone 4s is selling for $1000 on the streets right now

Have you seen the marketshare figures? He's right. You posting an article about eggings does nothing to disprove that.

Android is not dying. Each manufacturer is trying to keep users hooked into their own version of Android by customizing it with unique looks, features, and apps. The average person - who makes up the vast majority for every mobile OS - doesn't care what upgrades are going to be available to them two years after buying a phone. Only we, the minority that make up the tech enthusiasts, care. For us there's the Nexus line of phones if that is your main concern (and the whole rooting and modding community).

I've been an Android user since the OG Droid launched. Android has grown quite a bit since then, and continues to grow. That's a fact.

 

[Zaap]

oh you mean this third world?
http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/...-4s-china-release-sparks-scuffles-and-eggings

iphone 4s is selling for $1000 on the streets right now

That article certainly backs up the 'more money than brains' point.

 

[trmiv]

Man, you guys never stop! Back and forth, back and forth. Same stuff over and over.

Look, we have choices. Some people like Android, some people like iOS, some people like Windows. Hell some people still like Blackberry! I swear it's like some of you have some kind of vested financial interest in these companies, and actually want one or the other to fail. Use what you like and be happy for the choice. I'm glad we have the competition, because it would be pretty frigging boring if there was just one platform choice.

To me between iOS and Android, the device is more important the OS. I can make either iOS or Android work the way I want it for what I do. I had a Droid 1, and I was happy with it. Switched to an iPhone 4S, and liked that too. Used a Galaxy Nexus and decided I liked the screen better than the iPhone so I got that. I like the new ICS, but you know what? If my Nexus had iOS on it, I could use that and be just fine with it. All of these smartphones are so good at this point that it's stupid and futile debating and nitpicking tiny features to say one is better than the other.

 

[MrX8503]

With the recent release of the 4S, the marketshare is 47% Android and 42% iPhone (doesn't include Touch or iPad).

I don't think Android will die in the next two years, I think they're finally getting their ducks in a row. Google recently released a design standards for the apps, which they've been lacking for years now. I think that alone will address the horrendous looking apps out there.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Question: Since Google bought Moto, does this mean that Moto will start offering phones to more providers than just Verizon?

 

[Zaap]

Man, you guys never stop! Back and forth, back and forth. Same stuff over and over.

Look, we have choices. Some people like Android, some people like iOS, some people like Windows. Hell some people still like Blackberry! I swear it's like some of you have some kind of vested financial interest in these companies, and actually want one or the other to fail. Use what you like and be happy for the choice. I'm glad we have the competition, because it would be pretty frigging boring if there was just one platform choice.

I agree with you about choice. But I don't get why people hate these android vs iOS threads so much. There's usually more actual information presented in these threads than others because some people bring pretty good points in favor of or against one side or the other. As long as it doesn't devolve into name calling what's wrong with a little passionate platform arguing? Often its more entertaining than yet another dry analysis of some dull minutiae no one really gives a crap enough about to even bring a passionate argument into it.

 

[badb0y]

Android will not die....

 

[zinfamous]

Android's growth is already slowing.

What's really going to put the hurt on Android is Microsoft is about to start writing checks to carriers saying that when someone walks into a store, recommend WP7 over Android. Given the same (or even lesser) hardware WP7 rapes Android in every conceivable way.

ah, so despite your chart showing a solid year of growth for Android, and only 1 dip in the year--surprise! the release of the 4S--this means that Android is slowing down?

lol

 

[MaxFusion16]

Have you seen the marketshare figures? He's right. You posting an article about eggings does nothing to disprove that.

Android is not dying. Each manufacturer is trying to keep users hooked into their own version of Android by customizing it with unique looks, features, and apps. The average person - who makes up the vast majority for every mobile OS - doesn't care what upgrades are going to be available to them two years after buying a phone. Only we, the minority that make up the tech enthusiasts, care. For us there's the Nexus line of phones if that is your main concern (and the whole rooting and modding community).

I've been an Android user since the OG Droid launched. Android has grown quite a bit since then, and continues to grow. That's a fact.

market share doesn't paint a complete picture, look at this stat
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/28/it...ne-world-global-smartphone-penetration-at-27/

global smartphone market share is only 27% COMBINED! are you going to tell me that feature phones are winning?

all the different flavors is one of my biggest problems with android, none of them work seamlessly, they are all half-baked attempts at differentiation.

I think you are right about the average user not caring about software upgrades 2 years down the road, but they are also not gonna know why some apps won't run on their device, or maybe run poorly.

Android developers are not gonna test their apps on all the permutations of android devices out there, thus creating incompatibilities, or they'll just have to code their software for the lowest common denominator, resulting in poor performance for the rest.

remember the netflix and skype apps? they only worked on a select few certified devices initially, took a while before being ported to the rest.

I've used a lot of android devices, and it's a mixed bag, from subpar to just adequate, it's just so inconsistent.

 

[SP33Demon]

Man, you guys never stop! Back and forth, back and forth. Same stuff over and over.

Look, we have choices. Some people like Android, some people like iOS, some people like Windows. Hell some people still like Blackberry! I swear it's like some of you have some kind of vested financial interest in these companies, and actually want one or the other to fail. Use what you like and be happy for the choice. I'm glad we have the competition, because it would be pretty frigging boring if there was just one platform choice.

To me between iOS and Android, the device is more important the OS. I can make either iOS or Android work the way I want it for what I do. I had a Droid 1, and I was happy with it. Switched to an iPhone 4S, and liked that too. Used a Galaxy Nexus and decided I liked the screen better than the iPhone so I got that. I like the new ICS, but you know what? If my Nexus had iOS on it, I could use that and be just fine with it. All of these smartphones are so good at this point that it's stupid and futile debating and nitpicking tiny features to say one is better than the other.

This is actually a very good point. AMOLED screen was a huge reason I bought a Samsung, because I'm always in the car during the day and don't want glare interrupting my Google Nav. I'm sure I would have made due with an iPhone if it was the only thing, but it's inferior in screen brightness and doesn't have any free app that rivals Google Nav (Mapquest ftl? lol). But yeah, each manuf companies' features do play a big factor into purchases.

 

[Red Storm]

I've used a lot of android devices, and it's a mixed bag, from subpar to just adequate, it's just so inconsistent.

And yet every single one of them gives you things that no iPhone does such as widgets or quick and easy file transfers. Not being locked down to iTunes or forced to use the stone age grid-o-icons are huge benefits for me personally.

I respect your opinion, but it's just that, an opinion (very much like my own). Nobody can simply say "X is the best!" or "X sucks!" and try to pass it off as a universally accepted fact.

 

[zerocool84]

I agree with you about choice. But I don't get why people hate these android vs iOS threads so much. There's usually more actual information presented in these threads than others because some people bring pretty good points in favor of or against one side or the other. As long as it doesn't devolve into name calling what's wrong with a little passionate platform arguing? Often its more entertaining than yet another dry analysis of some dull minutiae no one really gives a crap enough about to even bring a passionate argument into it.

Because it's the same people repeating the same stuff. It gets old after a while. When you've been at these forums for a while it gets tiring hearing both sides argue about the same thing all the time.

 

[dwell]

ah, so despite your chart showing a solid year of growth for Android, and only 1 dip in the year--surprise! the release of the 4S--this means that Android is slowing down?

lol

It just underscores how fragile Android's position is right now. One phone launched and it sucked the air right out of Android.

Android's biggest threat this year is not Apple, it's Microsoft. Microsoft is going to start moneyhatting carriers to push WP7 devices over Android while at the same time making it more expensive for them to go with Android over WP7 via licensing fees.

Fast-forward to Q3 2012 with Android going against the iPhone 5 and WP7 devices and they stand to drop below 33% marketshare in the US.

 

[kyrax12]

It just underscores how fragile Android's position is right now. One phone launched and it sucked the air right out of Android.

Android's biggest threat this year is not Apple, it's Microsoft. Microsoft is going to start moneyhatting carriers to push WP7 devices over Android while at the same time making it more expensive for them to go with Android over WP7 via licensing fees.

Fast-forward to Q3 2012 with Android going against the iPhone 5 and WP7 devices and they stand to drop below 33% marketshare in the US.

crap I just got an Android phone recently.. D:

I don't want it to lose support....

 

[SP33Demon]

It just underscores how fragile Android's position is right now. One phone launched and it sucked the air right out of Android.

Android's biggest threat this year is not Apple, it's Microsoft. Microsoft is going to start moneyhatting carriers to push WP7 devices over Android while at the same time making it more expensive for them to go with Android over WP7 via licensing fees.

Fast-forward to Q3 2012 with Android going against the iPhone 5 and WP7 devices and they stand to drop below 33% marketshare in the US.

Droid's ascent was way way faster than iOS ever was which is why Droid still hasn't completely dominated yet. Give it another 6 months of app development and software standards and then come talk to us about "33%". If Droid is 33%, then that means iPhone is <33 and WP7 will be the biggest gainer of all which is a sucker's bet.

 

[IAteYourMother]

It just underscores how fragile Android's position is right now. One phone launched and it sucked the air right out of Android.

Android's biggest threat this year is not Apple, it's Microsoft. Microsoft is going to start moneyhatting carriers to push WP7 devices over Android while at the same time making it more expensive for them to go with Android over WP7 via licensing fees.

Fast-forward to Q3 2012 with Android going against the iPhone 5 and WP7 devices and they stand to drop below 33% marketshare in the US.

Yeah, but it's Apple. The fact that their product refreshes are so infrequent means that in between refreshes, Android/etc will gain market share, and then experience a dip when Apple releases a new phone. Android will likely regain ground until a new iPhone comes out.

Unless Apple speeds up development or other phone makers use iOS, which will happen once hell freezes over, I'm not sure why it's such a big deal.


It's funny how easy it is to pick out the fanboys just from reading a couple posts.