Android UI discussion

[grkM3]

I actually got a kid to believe I had the iphone 5 today and he was jumping with joy on how awesome it looked until he figured out it was a gs3 running an iphone theme lol.

it was so awesome for a min as he thought apple put it out and then the next he was so negative about it...

rumor has it that the next samsung celly is going to be 350ppi so hows that for retina mr85?

 

[dagamer34]

I honestly think Apple produced a very good UI for many things. Manufacturers have copied them, and while I don't have an issue, I think some notable UI elements they introduced are top notch and probably best in class:

- Pull to refresh
- iPod circle navigation (look at how Creative tried the scroll wheel, dell with the scroll line, MS with the squircle? I almost barfed at the competing solutions)
- Slide to unlock
- Pinch zoom
- Spinning wheel to set time
- Horizontal launcher that's paginated (the SGS phones blatantly stole from this), and so did some custom launchers. I personally preferred the vertical launcher to differentiate but I guess Google chose to go horizontal starting ICS.

I think Google did some great things with UI too such as the notification bar.

Anyway, to deny that there are some inherent flaws with both sides' UI is absolutely fanboiish. I think we can all agree Apple should step up the game and upgrade its grid of icons UI. Android has been a lagfest and JB really has stepped up the game. Etc. Etc.

Pull to refresh was first done by Loren Brichter in Tweetie. Apple hasn't acknowledged or used it until iOS 6 which is still in beta.

 

[ilkhan]

Well what I do like about ICS is it does let you type, and it does let you scroll. I'd say that's a +1 on top of Apple's scroll only UI. However (I'm assuming here), in trying not to copy Apple blatantly, they made it non 3D and then added arrows.

My point is the arrows can be confusing.

Exibit A. Let's take the 8:30 AM example. Say I'm scrolling and I wanted to set my alarm for 8:31 AM. I'm like crap I set my alarm for 8:30. Overscrolled. Maybe it's the way my mind works, but I instinctively see the grayed out "31" below the "30" and I see the down arrow, and I hit down arrow.

Unfortunately it spins the wheel down which selects 8:29. I'm not retarded. I figure this out and probably hit the up arrow twice or scroll again to get to 8:31.

But the point I was making is the arrow can make you think either way.

- Is it acting as a +/- button? It could be. It's acting like it.
- Is it telling me to pick the grayed out number above/below? I certainly thought so.
- Is it spinning the wheel? What wheel? Given its current action it *seems* as it acts as a wheel spinner as Nikolae says, but Google never made this a wheel. To me it's a ticker tape, in which case up/down arrows should refer to up and down the ticker tape.

You realize you're birching about stuff that's a non-issue 3 seconds after you first get the phone and remains a non-issue for 2 years until you get a new phone, right?

 

[MrX8503]

everything you just said can be adjusted and changed and you dont get the point still.

ps the galaxy note has the best retina display and the nexus and gs3 screens make the tiny retina display look like an old tube tv when watching anything with black detail

here ya go carbon copy of ios5

I never said those things can't be changed. I'm just telling you that those 'changes' are wrong and are ugly. You would have never known the difference if I didn't point them out. Oh and the carbon copy iPhone isn't right either. Overall, I'm not sure why you'd do that to Android phone. Improve the stock UI, not hack it into something it's not.

You also misunderstood my retina graphics comment. Apple's UI design take advantage of retina. I brought up the contact app as an example.

 

[Eug]

The first time I saw that time setting in the Clock app I wasn't 100% sure how it was changed. However I saw the numbers above and below and tried scrolling. It worked, problem solved. So, while I think the iOS interface is more intuitive, the effective difference in this context is minor.

Also if you click on the top or bottom numbers, it scrolls to that number, giving a visual cue to such scrolling control.

In addition the top of the top number and the bottom of the bottom number are slightly shaded, giving the impression of a curved scroll wheel, although I only recently noticed that.

What I don't like though are the drop down lists in Chrome. For example, go to www.apc.com and pick your country. If you don't happen to notice the disappearing scroll bar, then it almost looks like a complete list. The main reason I know it is not complete is because it's alphabetized, and most people don't live in Anguilla. See below:

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Exactly. Only a raving loon goes off on multi-page tangents about such things.

What the hell is so great about the close button in Chrome? In fact, I use Chrome every day and I don't even know what the hell you're talking about. The little x that you click to close a tab? The same UI element that's on every other computer application and interface for the last 20 years now?


I don't know if you're actually capable of employment, but I'm guessing that since such simple things always seem to bamboozle you, you're one of those people that would get assigned to do something, and rather than do it within a reasonable deadline you can't even get it started, as the slightest minute detail sends you into a ranting frenzy. You expect 200 page documents on how to use a close button, and an encyclopedia set explaining a simple time/date interface. You think it's being some sort of 'design savant' while your boss sees it for what it is: useless bullshitter.



No, I just notice the same 3 of you Team-iOS bullshitters label things flaws that aren't, and you just bullshit endlessly about how your preference must be the only possible way of doing something. This is along the same lines as your rants over the shape of product packaging and other such bullshitter tangents.

Your whole post sounds like you're here to troll. You have absolutely no vested interest in actual design, functionality, software programming, anything.

If it's a non issue for it, then so be it.

If you can't even tell the design elements in the Chrome close button, maybe you should read the article. It details the difference between a right and left hand close button. Safari for example uses a left hand close button.

Team iOS bullshitters? What are you? I haven't seen a SINGLE post of substance from you in this forum at all. All you have done in the past few months since I've noticed you is throw up strawman arguments, dumb things down and then trash talk others. I pointed out what I feel as a flaw in the Android UI. You're free to argue it down or deny it, but instead you spend all your time shuffling your feet, throwing sand on the argument, putting the blame on me about how I have issues.

Yet when it comes to Apple you seem to have an issue with every single thing about them. I'm not sure if you understand the word being objective, but you have absolutely zero objectiveness in your posts. Sounds almost like a 15 year old posting and whining here.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

You do know that blue clock is beautiful widgets and it lets you use any color fonts and styles right?I can choose any fonts and weather styles and make it custom to fit your needs.its not like downloading different clocks its the same app that can look 100 different ways.

Mr85 does not understand that we can make android look identical go iOS and he would still say the ui sucks.

you guys are taking this to the xtreme and dont understand that my original posts were not about how purdy my cell looks and it was to show the power of android using live data widgets over blutooth to elm-obd2 to my cars can bus system and tapping into that and showing it on my display.It was NEVER ment to look good and was an example of what you can do with android in general.

You can change the calender app if you dont like it and I told you this already and having a choice is better than being stuck with what you get.

heck you could even create your own calender if it really bothers you so much.

LOL I just recorded a pull I did in my car and went into the other room and my cell told me it found a panasonic plasma tv and asked if I wanted to let it become linked and I just blasted the 1080p video right to the tv.

I didnt even know I could do this and now it found my onkyo avr and I just played an mp3 song to it over the air.

I think Im sticking to the stock gs3 rom for a while lol

Ok, I think you don't get my point. You have repeatedly emphasized that you can customize customize customize. I realize that. I'm running CM9 on two devices and CM10 on a third. What's your point?

It's been one year since the HP TouchPad firesale. Yes it was never meant to be an Android device but I'm still sitting here waiting on hoping one day the camera will work.

The Nexus S went through CM9 development without EVER having the Torch work on the notification bar. It's also a lost cause to get my i9020a to use the 2g/3g toggle correctly because it's a different beast than the standard i9020t.

The SGS2 will never get FM Radio on CyanogenMod, and CM10 is borked because of memory leaks and hwcomposer issue.

My Motorola Milestone didn't get custom ROMs til maybe 10 months after its release. It really didn't get CyanogenMod til over a year later. And when CM7 finally came around it would run out of memory in 6 hours and require a reboot. When the dev finally got around to resolving memory issues, we were in late 2011. Who the hell ran a 600mhz phone by then?

Anyway, developers have done a great job, but I feel like if your solution is customizing, it's an endless path. You're not getting a perfect product and you're waiting for an endless list of deliverables.

The fact is I shouldn't HAVE to customize to get decent capabilities out of the phone. I'm glad you have widgets that do X Y and Z, but this thread is about UI. While it can do X, Y, and Z, it also looks ugly. Sure you can make it better I hope because Beautiful Widgets is powerful. However, plenty of people have phones that look like ass (evidence: DroidForums.net desktop threads).

I remain committed to the argument that pre-ICS, Android looked like total ass. Google has come a long way, but if your solution to every problem is to customize, then why doesn't Google just ship us a linux shell as an OS and have us build everything?

 

[Red Storm]

What I don't like though are the drop down lists in Chrome. For example, go to www.apc.com and pick your country. If you don't happen to notice the disappearing scroll bar, then it almost looks like a complete list. The main reason I know it is not complete is because it's alphabetized, and most people don't live in Anguilla.

I'm sorry but I put that in the same category as the clock thing. It's common sense. Has never been an issue. It might possibly be an issue for the very first time for all of 2 seconds for a small number of people out there, but I just don't see it. I'm not afraid to simply touch the screen and see what happens.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I'm sorry but I put that in the same category as the clock thing. It's common sense. Has never been an issue. It might possibly be an issue for the very first time for all of 2 seconds for a small number of people out there, but I just don't see it. I'm not afraid to simply touch the screen and see what happens.

I think scrolling lists could've been designed better. They should leave the scrollbar as visible like in GB/Froyo.

 

[halik]

Ok, I think you don't get my point. You have repeatedly emphasized that you can customize customize customize. I realize that. I'm running CM9 on two devices and CM10 on a third. What's your point?

It's been one year since the HP TouchPad firesale. Yes it was never meant to be an Android device but I'm still sitting here waiting on hoping one day the camera will work.

The Nexus S went through CM9 development without EVER having the Torch work on the notification bar. It's also a lost cause to get my i9020a to use the 2g/3g toggle correctly because it's a different beast than the standard i9020t.

The SGS2 will never get FM Radio on CyanogenMod, and CM10 is borked because of memory leaks and hwcomposer issue.

My Motorola Milestone didn't get custom ROMs til maybe 10 months after its release. It really didn't get CyanogenMod til over a year later. And when CM7 finally came around it would run out of memory in 6 hours and require a reboot. When the dev finally got around to resolving memory issues, we were in late 2011. Who the hell ran a 600mhz phone by then?

Anyway, developers have done a great job, but I feel like if your solution is customizing, it's an endless path. You're not getting a perfect product and you're waiting for an endless list of deliverables.

The fact is I shouldn't HAVE to customize to get decent capabilities out of the phone. I'm glad you have widgets that do X Y and Z, but this thread is about UI. While it can do X, Y, and Z, it also looks ugly. Sure you can make it better I hope because Beautiful Widgets is powerful. However, plenty of people have phones that look like ass (evidence: DroidForums.net desktop threads).

I remain committed to the argument that pre-ICS, Android looked like total ass. Google has come a long way, but if your solution to every problem is to customize, then why doesn't Google just ship us a linux shell as an OS and have us build everything?

Holy This. For me the even bigger issue is that there's a million freaking custom roms with million different little customizations done by random open source engineers.

There's no good way to asses whether the creators have any idea what they're doing, so you either just randomly pick one or waste time one by one. At no point there's any guarantee that the roms are any better than the stock android system.

Android should be optimal out of the box, not optimal after wasting time looking at roms, apps, widgets, skins and other such nonsense.

 

[Red Storm]

Ok, I think you don't get my point. You have repeatedly emphasized that you can customize customize customize. I realize that. I'm running CM9 on two devices and CM10 on a third. What's your point?

It's been one year since the HP TouchPad firesale. Yes it was never meant to be an Android device but I'm still sitting here waiting on hoping one day the camera will work.

The Nexus S went through CM9 development without EVER having the Torch work on the notification bar. It's also a lost cause to get my i9020a to use the 2g/3g toggle correctly because it's a different beast than the standard i9020t.

The SGS2 will never get FM Radio on CyanogenMod, and CM10 is borked because of memory leaks and hwcomposer issue.

My Motorola Milestone didn't get custom ROMs til maybe 10 months after its release. It really didn't get CyanogenMod til over a year later. And when CM7 finally came around it would run out of memory in 6 hours and require a reboot. When the dev finally got around to resolving memory issues, we were in late 2011. Who the hell ran a 600mhz phone by then?

Anyway, developers have done a great job, but I feel like if your solution is customizing, it's an endless path. You're not getting a perfect product and you're waiting for an endless list of deliverables.

The fact is I shouldn't HAVE to customize to get decent capabilities out of the phone. I'm glad you have widgets that do X Y and Z, but this thread is about UI. While it can do X, Y, and Z, it also looks ugly. Sure you can make it better I hope because Beautiful Widgets is powerful. However, plenty of people have phones that look like ass (evidence: DroidForums.net desktop threads).

I remain committed to the argument that pre-ICS, Android looked like total ass. Google has come a long way, but if your solution to every problem is to customize, then why doesn't Google just ship us a linux shell as an OS and have us build everything?

I don't understand why it bothers you that someone else's screen doesn't look any good. It's their phone, they can do whatever they want with it. If it looks good to them mission accomplished no?

You only ever mention custom ROM'ing when it comes to customization. That's just one aspect that only a minority of people partake in (and it's very YMMV). The TouchPad, CM, that's all YMMV stuff that has no real place in this thread. I customize my phone without rooting or ROM'ing. I do it simply with apps in the market. That's what the majority of people do too.

I think scrolling lists could've been designed better. They should leave the scrollbar as visible like in GB/Froyo.

I think it's a complete non-issue. Before this thread I spent maybe 2 seconds in my lifetime thinking about it, and that was just to say "cool" when I noticed the bar fade away. Seriously, unless someone suffers from short term memory loss and forgets they can't scroll when the bar fades, this is a very trivial thing that is not an issue.

 

[zsdersw]

Android should be optimal out of the box,

It is... when you get Android in its pure form; with a Nexus. Your minor quibbles with the stock UI are no more significant than the minor quibbles others have expressed with iOS or WP.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I don't understand why it bothers you that someone else's screen doesn't look any good. It's their phone, they can do whatever they want with it. If it looks good to them mission accomplished no?

Certainly. I thought he was trying to show off his desktop as how the Android UI is good. This is a UI thread after all. Then he shows how he can hack the iOS theme onto his phone. Great, but I've been there done that. There were OSX customizations for Windows. Sounds fun at first, dumb later. Maybe something I was interested in back in high school. Or if you're going to go all out for the look, at least make it close. I can easily tell its flaws and MrX8503 pointed them out pretty quickly.

You only ever mention custom ROM'ing when it comes to customization. That's just one aspect that only a minority of people partake in (and it's very YMMV). The TouchPad, CM, that's all YMMV stuff that has no real place in this thread. I customize my phone without rooting or ROM'ing. I do it simply with apps in the market. That's what the majority of people do too.

Fair point. I felt like Android 2.x really required ROMs, kinda like pre-iOS4 required JBing. But after a while you get decent functionality out of your phones as the OS matures. ICS really helped Android mature. However, once you're on the CM bandwagon, it's hard to leave. Those features are killer features IMO, and I didn't like the GNex enough to buy it.

I think it's a complete non-issue. Before this thread I spent maybe 2 seconds in my lifetime thinking about it, and that was just to say "cool" when I noticed the bar fade away. Seriously, unless someone suffers from short term memory loss and forgets they can't scroll when the bar fades, this is a very trivial thing that is not an issue.

The scroll bar issue isn't really a big issue on my list. But the date picker is. And seeing how Google has already responded in JB, it clearly also was something they weren't too happy with if it warranted a change.

 

[grkM3]

My second gs3 is not rooted and is running stock ics and I have it setup the way I like it.you are complaing about vanila pure asop calender when 99% of the phones out there dont use that calender and google really didnt care that much to make it fit your needs.The gs3 calender smokes the living crap out of any vanila jellybean/ics calender and that is the point that you are not getting about the open andriod ui.

your going on and on about how you dont like the calender and using that as a basis that the android ui is no good.

serioulsy can you just drop it

what you dont get is that google puts out vanila android open sources and the companys take that and build there own versions with the base that google gives them.

asop calender was never ment to be magical and purdy like an ios version or even a skinned version on another phone.

how many phones come with vanila ics/jellybean?

1 maybe 2?

your going on and on about how its not about customising but the whole purpose of the andriod ui is to customise it.

htc/moto/samsung/lg all take vanila asop source off google servers and customise it to fit there needs,that is part of the whole android ui experience

if it wasnt we would have 50 different phones that all looked exaclty the same and all would have the crappy calender you dont like.

how is being able to customise android ui a flaw when it was designed that way in the first place.Your telling us the way its on vanila android is the way it has to be?I just dont get it bro.I really dont know.

I just downloaded the stock ics browser becasue I dont like the gs3 version and Im also not used to the chrome broswer since I came from a nexus and was used to the vanila one and actually dont like the jellybean version either.

so is it flawed that I had a choice to use another browser over the one that came with my phone?

 

[Red Storm]

The scroll bar issue isn't really a big issue on my list. But the date picker is. And seeing how Google has already responded in JB, it clearly also was something they weren't too happy with if it warranted a change.

I had JB running on my Nexus for a while before going back to stock, but I don't even remember the difference? And I definitely used the alarm and calendar quite a bit with both.

 

[Zaap]

If it's a non issue for it, then so be it.

If you can't even tell the design elements in the Chrome close button, maybe you should read the article. It details the difference between a right and left hand close button. Safari for example uses a left hand close button.

So you really think it's that big a deal if an x is located to the left or right of a tab? Otherwise, again, just what the hell are you actually talking about? And what has any of this got to do with the Android UI?

I close tabs in Chrome by merely pushing them off to the leftt, which is infinitely better than dickering over an x being to the left or right.

Team iOS bullshitters? What are you? I haven't seen a SINGLE post of substance from you in this forum at all. All you have done in the past few months since I've noticed you is throw up strawman arguments, dumb things down and then trash talk others. I pointed out what I feel as a flaw in the Android UI. You're free to argue it down or deny it, but instead you spend all your time shuffling your feet, throwing sand on the argument, putting the blame on me about how I have issues.

You do have issues. You and a few other iOS whiners are completely unstable, and you spend all your time presenting your preferences as fact, mislabeling things as 'flaws' that are merely objective preferences of others, scapegoating, bullshitting over nonsense like the shape of product boxes (then hypocritically trying to float that it's everyone else that does this) claiming there's only one way to do any given thing (your preference) then deriding everyone else's preferences. You just don't like that I call you on being a bullshitter. Deal.

 

[Hmongkeysauce]

Anybody know how to change that ugly looking cut-out icon used for grouped apps on the desktop in JB?

 

[ChronoReverse]

Use an alternative launcher like Apex and select a custom one.

With that said, it's just a circle. You can't really say it's ugly or beautiful.

 

[Anubis]

who uses the silly X to close tabs anymore???? mouse gestures do it all for you making it a total non issue

 

[Eug]

I'm sorry but I put that in the same category as the clock thing. It's common sense.

Well, it's not a huge deal, but it's a conflicting interface, and more so than the clock thing. When you look on a web page with those check boxes, they're usually fixed lists. It's odd that Google has chosen that same appearance for a pop-up for a scroll list.

 

[Spoooon]

So you really think it's that big a deal if an x is located to the left or right of a tab? Otherwise, again, just what the hell are you actually talking about? And what has any of this got to do with the Android UI?

I thinkt he point he was trying to make was just that a lot of thought goes into UI decisions and that Google is capable of putting a lot of thought into those decisions. Possibly the implication being that less thought was put into the Android UI (which I don't think is the case).

 

[Zaap]

I thinkt he point he was trying to make was just that a lot of thought goes into UI decisions and that Google is capable of putting a lot of thought into those decisions. Possibly the implication being that less thought was put into the Android UI (which I don't think is the case).

To which I'd say come up with a valid example, not a nonsensical one.

There isn't really any more thought put into a close x than any other way of doing the same thing, and if a lot of time and effort was put into an x, then it wasn't necessarily time and effort well spent.

I've seen this same sort of nonsense play out in real life. You've got one type of person that is given a simple challenge, a problem to solve if you will; they completely overthink it, niggle around over it forever, drive everyone who has to work with crazy, and weeks, months later, maybe they have a half-assed solution, but it's not necessarily worthy of all the wasted time and effort. But the personality type believes: "Lots of time and effort and dicking around= always matters to the result. This is the type that will have to use reams of explanation as to why his solution is so good- not that it can speak for itself.

Meanwhile, you have the other type. You present them with a simple challenge, they think about it, and maybe a few hours later come up with a solution that's either just as good, or often better than the dicking-around person's. There's no reams and reams of explanation needed, other people see the solution and instantly go, "Oh yeah. That makes sense. Great."

The dicking-around type will of course scoff and dismiss the other guy's work simply because they didn't spend weeks and months dicking around over it, and phony pride and false sense of some 'design superiority' will keep them from recognizing (or really, just admitting) the merit of the other guy's work.

I've seen this play out in real life, and I see elements of it in these discussions. "Someone didn't spend months and 5,000 pages of documentation on a close button? I insist that it's flawed! It can't possibly work right!"

 

[Spoooon]

To which I'd say come up with a valid example, not a nonsensical one.

There isn't really any more thought put into a close x than any other way of doing the same thing, and if a lot of time and effort was put into an x, then it wasn't necessarily time and effort well spent.



I've seen this play out in real life, and I see elements of it in these discussions. "Someone didn't spend months and 5,000 pages of documentation on a close button? I insist that it's flawed! It can't possibly work right!"

The link was just demonstrating that there was sound rationale behind where the X went, and so on. Just like I'm sure there was sound rationale behind the various UI decisions made for Android. To think otherwise would be absurd. What isn't absurd is disagreeing with elements of the end result.

For example, I don't think the date picker is a big deal and I like the way the ticker tape or whatever you want to call it is designed in JB. I suppose I could (kind of) see how others might disagree.

 

[Zaap]

The link was just demonstrating that there was sound rationale behind where the X went, and so on. Just like I'm sure there was sound rationale behind the various UI decisions made for Android. To think otherwise would be absurd. What isn't absurd is disagreeing with elements of the end result.

For example, I don't think the date picker is a big deal and I like the way the ticker tape or whatever you want to call it is designed in JB. I suppose I could (kind of) see how others might disagree.

The point is, because one thing was done one way doesn't make everything else that's more straightforward a 'flaw' as the false premise has been floated here.

Also, remember, we're not having this discussion in a vacuum. There's a history of nonsense from the "Everything must be Apple's way!" crowd. Case in point, on screen keyboards.

That traditionally starts with someone swearing up and down that Apple's ONE keyboard is "the gratest thing evar!!11!" and then someone countering, well no, I prefer (any of Android's dozens of alternatives of far greater design variation and features) and here's why... it does X, Y and Z that Apple's ONE keyboard doesn't. Therefore, for me, it's better.

The 'measured and thoughtful response' from the iTeam?
"No way man! Apple's keyboard is the gratest thing evar!! Your keyboard sucks! It's flawed!! Android sucks! Only Apple can make a keyboard that isn't flawed!!! blah de blah blah blah..."

Substitute virtually any discussion about Android features, UI, widgets, apps, rooting vs. stock user experience, hardware, etc. etc. and it's a variation on that same theme. It gets tiring, and its usually the same 3 or so people.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The point is, because one thing was done one way doesn't make everything else that's more straightforward a 'flaw' as the false premise has been floated here.

I think there's a difference between choosing between 2 popular choices, and having an option that's outright confusing. Google clearly recognized SOME need to change between ICS to JB regarding the date picker. Just because you don't find it a flaw doesn't mean that it's not recognized as confusing. After all Google changed it for a reason.

You missed the point of my posts. Spoooon picked it up and it was that careful analysis is done for certain UI elements. I'm also referring to desktop Chrome and not mobile Chrome. You clearly didn't read any part of the article, but that's ok. You can keep throwing insults at me without even understanding what I'm talking about. I'm using the article as an example to show that there can be a LOT of consideration put in for designing UI elements. And if you put in a little careful analysis like with the date picker, you would realize that it's NOT good UI. Maybe you're incapable of doing any analysis or even understanding what I'm getting at. The point is that many people feel like Android's UI is not fully polished. While changes are coming at a fast pace in the past year, it's not perfect. It's not just TEAM iOS as you like to put it. You can read review sites, and I think there's more than a handful of review sites who will mention the polish of the Android UI--Anand included. So why don't you feel free to copy your insults to Anand, TheVerge, Engadget, Gizmodo, Ars, etc.

Also, remember, we're not having this discussion in a vacuum. There's a history of nonsense from the "Everything must be Apple's way!" crowd. Case in point, on screen keyboards.

That traditionally starts with someone swearing up and down that Apple's ONE keyboard is "the gratest thing evar!!11!" and then someone countering, well no, I prefer (any of Android's dozens of alternatives of far greater design variation and features) and here's why... it does X, Y and Z that Apple's ONE keyboard doesn't. Therefore, for me, it's better.

The 'measured and thoughtful response' from the iTeam?
"No way man! Apple's keyboard is the gratest thing evar!! Your keyboard sucks! It's flawed!! Android sucks! Only Apple can make a keyboard that isn't flawed!!! blah de blah blah blah..."

Substitute virtually any discussion about Android features, UI, widgets, apps, rooting vs. stock user experience, hardware, etc. etc. and it's a variation on that same theme. It gets tiring, and its usually the same 3 or so people.

Are you dense or what? What's with your inability to refute any specific post on a forum without generalizing a bunch of crap? Maybe what you say is true. Maybe it isn't. I'll tell you my argument about the keyboard. What Google showed off in Eclair and Froyo was absolute trash in terms of a keyboard. The Gingerbread one was marginally better in that it added multi touch (FINALLY) but lacked good auto correction and prediction. ICS upped the game again with somewhat decent auto correction. JB brings in prediction. I don't think I'm in the wrong for having an issue with Google being BEHIND Apple in terms of developing this on screen keyboard. You can now claim that the JB keyboard is better in that it adds prediction, but the Android keyboard before has been a little insufficient.

I don't think the Apple keyboard is the BEST EVARRRIY7%#(#$ !!!111ONE like you claim. It's got good things we can learn from like its prediction and autocorrection features. It's good enough I can type without looking on my screen and for a 3.5" screen it obviously does QUITE well if people can type that well on a 3.5" screen. With the old Eclair keyboard, people were struggling even on a 3.7" screen. A lot of why Android typing is easier is also because of the larger phone. If you put it back in a 3.5" screen would people do just as well? You need some darn good autocorrect and prediction algorithms to work well at small sizes due to constant mispresses and stuff.

You've contributed to about 0.00% of this discussion. You haven't fluffed up Android's UI nor have you criticized it. All you have done is throw out insults against the iOS team and those who find problems with Android's UI. People like you should just be banned as you're just flamebait on threads like these.