Google I/O 2012: Jelly Bean is here..Jelly Bean is here!

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Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,049
1,681
126
Red Storm said:
The point is, it's not an apples to apples comparison.
Click to expand...
No, it's an Apple to Android comparison.

Seriously though, you do you have a point, but nonetheless it's a very different state of affairs on the two platforms. On iOS it's a relatively homogenous environment, because Apple controls both the hardware and the OS. Yet, when people are given the option to upgrade, they do. Clearly they like what they see.

On Android it's a much tougher situation because many of the OEMs are lazy and don't want to ensure a fast upgrade process, so even if people want to upgrade, they can't.

However, my point here also is that it does seem to me that the customer base on Android is different too.

Perhaps it's just my own circle of acquaintances I dunno, but it really does seem to me that iPhones are being purchased as true smartphones rather than feature phones, but on Android it's more of a mix. People get the cheap Android phone because they're better than dumb phones but still are cheap. This is a different market from say those who buy the Galaxy Nexus S3.

Speaking of which:

Samsung Galaxy S3 Variants Received Last-Minute RAM Upgrade To House Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The Verge reported, citing "a trusted source," that Samsung Galaxy S3 variants for some markets got a last-minute spec adjustment "to accommodate whatever it was that Jelly Bean would demand."

The source told the publication that the South Korean tech giant's intention was to design the Galaxy S3 as a "future-proof" device. According to the source, Samsung probably "didn't want to be left flat-footed" at a time when a new Android version was expected to be released just days after the Galaxy S3's U.S. launches.

Since Samsung's engineers were not "100 percent sure" of what Jelly Bean would demand for its hardware requirements, they added 1GB more to the smartphone's internal RAM, making it 2GB, The Verge reported.

"Our source isn't aware of Samsung's specific plans for upgrading any version of the Galaxy S III to Jelly Bean yet, but by all appearances, the hardware is more than ready to accept it (let's not forget that the nearly two-year-old Nexus S is already signed up for an update)," the report added.
 
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
Eug said:
Perhaps it's just my own circle of acquaintances I dunno, but it really does seem to me that iPhones are being purchased as true smartphones rather than feature phones, but on Android it's more of a mix. People get the cheap Android phone because they're better than dumb phones but still are cheap. This is a different market from say those who buy the Galaxy Nexus S3.
Click to expand...

But that doesn't make sense, because you can get iPhones from free all the way up to $200 on contract as well, and all smart phones require data plans, which again makes costs similar.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,049
1,681
126
Red Storm said:
But that doesn't make sense, because you can get iPhones from free all the way up to $200 on contract as well, and all smart phones require data plans, which again makes costs similar.
Click to expand...
That's incorrect. A lot of cheap Android phones are being sold without data plans. Or at least they are around here.

For example, with my provider, if you look under "Phones", they list both the LG Gossip Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Q. These are both Android 2.x phones, but they don't even offer a data plan for them. You have to specifically ask for a data plan if you want one.

Then they have two other separate categories, "iPhone", which is self-explanatory, and "Smartphones", which includes higher end Android phones. For both the "iPhone" and Smartphones" categories, they require a data add-on to qualify for the subsidized price. There is no such requirement for the "Phones" category. Furthermore, for the "Phones" category with phones like the LG Gossip Pro Android phone, the required voice contract is shorter.

Some may argue that LG Gossip Pro is not a smartphone, but LG calls it one. I'd say it's a very uninteresting smartphone, but a smartphone running Android nonetheless.
 
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Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
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I dunno about the little guy companies, but I'm talking about the big time carriers where the overwhelming majority of smart phones are sold.
 
Sheep

Sheep

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2006
1,275
0
71
Eug said:
On iOS it's a relatively homogenous environment, because Apple controls both the hardware and the OS. Yet, when people are given the option to upgrade, they do. Clearly they like what they see.
Click to expand...

Or they don't want the nag screen constantly popping up telling them an update is available. I only have an iPad 3 so I've seen just one software update, but can you permanently hide update notifications so you can stay with the older version of iOS if you choose? I didn't think that was possible.

Anyhow, anxiously awaiting a more fully-baked version of JB for my Galaxy Nexus. Judging from the comments it sounds like Google's Project Butter is the real deal and not pointless hyping of minor improvements that most people can't see.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,049
1,681
126
Red Storm said:
I dunno about the little guy companies, but I'm talking about the big time carriers where the overwhelming majority of smart phones are sold.
Click to expand...
My provider is Fido, one of the top 5 providers in Canada, with 20000 employees. No data plans required for cheap Android phones. They only have $0.8 billion in revenues though.

So I checked out Telus, which has over $10 billion in revenue, and they also have Android phones which don't require data plans. You can get any plan you want actually, but have to sign a contract.

For all the iPhones and the higher end Android phones (eg. Galaxy SIII) at Telus, there is a minimum monthly amount or you don't get the subsidized phone. But not so with the cheaper Android phones, because, well, they're cheap.
 
Sheep

Sheep

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2006
1,275
0
71
Spoooon said:
Yep, immediate difference. Very minimal perceptible lag with live wallpaper, basically non-existent if you were comparing to ice cream sandwich.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I use a relatively non-demanding live wallpaper (WP Clock 2) now and ICS still runs smoothly but I've seen other ones slow the transitions down to a slideshow.
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
AstroManLuca said:
Weird, I was able to pinch zoom to an area that large but the "Done" button didn't appear until I made the map area really small.

Wow, just went in and tried again... yup, when I made it HUGE it gave me a "map area too large" message. I was doing it wrong, or it was just being buggy.

Well cool, that makes things simpler. I thought I was limited to ~10 MB (approx. 10x10 mile) squares.
Click to expand...

it seems to be based off a max amount of data, around ~80mb from what I can tell
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
poofyhairguy said:
This made my day.
Click to expand...

flash will continue to work in "Browser"

The Nexus 7 no longer has "Browser", and flash has never worked in Chrome. So no Flash on the Nexus 7, without a 3rd party browser which supports it (lots do).

nothing to get concerned about IMO.
 
B

BlahBlahYouToo

Lifer
Jul 10, 2007
12,041
3
0
Eug said:
Personally I think the Note is totally ridiculous, to be honest. It's painfully awkward IMO. YMMV.

However, for phones I'm generally an iPhone fanboy. I have an iPhone 4, and I will be waiting for the iPhone 5 or 5S. I have checked out a lot of Android phones and I have very little interest in any of them.

For tablets I'm more indifferent. I have an iPad but I'm generally not enthused with it. No SD slot, limited media support, and too big for my tastes. Hence, my desire for an expandable (or at least high-storage) 7" Android tablet with decent screen.
Click to expand...

What's do you find lacking with:
Gnex
SGS3
One series
Razors
 
M

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
Puddle Jumper said:
There were only three Gingerbread tablets (Galaxy tab, Vizio, HTC Flyer) an all of them have been discontinued so I doubt you are seeing those in stores.

Most users simply don't care if there phone is up to date. Even on iOS you would be amazed at the number of people who ignore software updates, I've seen so many of them that I question if Apple's adoption rates are even legit.
Click to expand...

After iOS 5 all updates are OTA. All iPhone 4S's have the latest out of the box and Apple sold a bunch of em.

You're right in that most people don't care about updates though.

On Android, the only way to get timely updates is to get a Nexus. If its not a Nexus expect months to probably never. If I were to go Android, it'd be a Nexus. I hate hate hate skins.
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
NikolaeVarius said:
QueBert said:
I know they're just names, but I wonder if the higher ups at Google had a meeting where they decided to all their OS versions should have retarded sweets names.

A cupcake? a ginger bread man? "froyo" even the damn statues look lame. Razer already did this gimmick to death when their 1st million products were all named after snakes.
Click to expand...

No fun allowed. It's a simple, easy to remember, funny and goofy naming scheme. It's simple to track the progression of the OS versions because its easy to follow the names of each upgrade. Pretty Google like.

Of all things to bitch about, a naming convention is not one of them.
Click to expand...

This.

...and Apple does it too:
Cheetah
Puma
Jaguar
Panther
Tiger
Leopard
Snow Leopard
Lion
Mountain Lion
 
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