iPhone 4 or Samsung Captivate (ATT)

[zerocool84]

Another things is lack of any decent notification system on iPhone. Once you've had a notification system that actually does something, you'll never be able to go without it.

 

[pm]

Another things is lack of any decent notification system on iPhone. Once you've had a notification system that actually does something, you'll never be able to go without it.

Could you be more specific? What makes the Android notification system better than the one on the iPhone?

 

[TheStu]

Could you be more specific? What makes the Android notification system better than the one on the iPhone?

Well, on the iPhone if I get a Text, or call or voicemail, it shows up in a bubble on the screen. If the phone is locked, that bubble will stay on the screen until another notification comes up. Then the bubble changes and all you will see is (for example);

Text Message (2)
1 Missed Call
1 New Voicemail

But you don't get notified about emails. Once you unlock the device, you only know what has notifications based on the numbers on the app icons.

Android on the other hand has a centralized notification area, all your notifications get sent there and (I think) from there you can get to each app in question that has an update for you.

Honestly, on top of the better notifications, I would like lock screen customization. I would like to hit the button on my iPhone and see not just the date/time, but also maybe the weather, and calendar entries or something.

 

[zerocool84]

Could you be more specific? What makes the Android notification system better than the one on the iPhone?

Pop-ups here, pop-ups there, pop-ups everywhere. Pop-ups while you're doing something important. They're so damn intrusive. Who cares if they copy Android or Palm, well they're probably going to copy Palm with the guy they took, but it's not that hard to make notifications that don't interrupt everything you're doing. Android's isn't as good as Palm's way of notifications but it's miles better than the iPhone. Also if you ignore the notification, it disappears.

 

[zerocool84]

Honestly, on top of the better notifications, I would like lock screen customization. I would like to hit the button on my iPhone and see not just the date/time, but also maybe the weather, and calendar entries or something.

This is something all mobile OS's need to implement.

 

[TheStu]

Pop-ups here, pop-ups there, pop-ups everywhere. Pop-ups while you're doing something important. They're so damn intrusive. Who cares if they copy Android or Palm, well they're probably going to copy Palm with the guy they took, but it's not that hard to make notifications that don't interrupt everything you're doing. Android's isn't as good as Palm's way of notifications but it's miles better than the iPhone. Also if you ignore the notification, it disappears.

How does WebOS do notifications? I don't know anyone with a Pre or Pixi, and have played with one for only about 45 seconds.

Also, I asked this earlier but never got an answer, how is multitasking in Android different from iOS?

 

[zerocool84]

How does WebOS do notifications? I don't know anyone with a Pre or Pixi, and have played with one for only about 45 seconds.

Also, I asked this earlier but never got an answer, how is multitasking in Android different from iOS?

This is a pretty good overview of what's different in iOS4 multitasking:

Apple's own apps have always been able to truly multitask (you can get iCal alerts while playing a game, for example, or listen to music from the iPod app while reading a webpage), but third parties can now take advantage of a limited set of multitasking capabilities in order to make things easier on the user.

Why "limited"? Because iOS multitasking isn't really multitasking in the traditional sense—it's certainly not what you get on a desktop computer, or even what you get from Apple's own iPhone apps. Apple claims that it only allows for certain functionality so that the OS can continue to preserve battery life and performance in a sane manner. So, what exactly can you do with this new feature? Really, the answer isn't so much that apps will be "multitasking," but rather that they'll be "doing a few things in the background":

What can't your third-party apps do while in the background?

Grab new updates: those of you who were hoping that your Twitter, IM, or IRC client would pull down updates while hanging out in the background will be disappointed. Unless those apps make use of push notifications to alert you of new messages (as the AIM app does), apps won't be able to check for updates on their own unless they're in the foreground.

Work across the entire OS: users have long hoped that some of their favorite apps (such as TextExpander) would be able to work in all parts of the OS, such as Mail and Messages, but that won't be the case. This isn't Mac OS X here—Apple still wants to keep each app to itself for the most part.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/06/ars-reviews-ios-4-whats-new-and-notable.ars

Here's a link to a youtube video of the WebOS notification system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zplVSI0M93o

WebOS multitasking/notifications IMO are still the best out there.

 

[TheStu]

Right, that doesn't answer how it is different from ANDROID though. I get that it isn't multitasking like on a desktop OS, where i can have 2 or 10 windows side by side. And that it is ultimately more of a background process friendly sort of thing. BUT, how does ANDROID do it?

 

[zerocool84]

Right, that doesn't answer how it is different from ANDROID though. I get that it isn't multitasking like on a desktop OS, where i can have 2 or 10 windows side by side. And that it is ultimately more of a background process friendly sort of thing. BUT, how does ANDROID do it?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194350/apple_iphone_vs_android_multitasking_a_comparison.html

Basically Android background apps have no restrictions and Apple's do.

 

[TheStu]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194350/apple_iphone_vs_android_multitasking_a_comparison.html

Basically Android background apps have no restrictions and Apple's do.

But it is still just background right? So at the end of the day, Apple is just giving iOS less of the same? What additional background stuff can Android apps do that is outside of what Apple allows? I mean, between Push notifications, and the music playback support and whatnot... I must be missing something.

 

[pm]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194350/apple_iphone_vs_android_multitasking_a_comparison.html

Basically Android background apps have no restrictions and Apple's do.

Nice link. Thanks, Zerocool.

And thanks for the explanations on the notification system on Android. It is very slick - I looked at a couple of youtube videos - and it is definitely better than what the iPhone does.

Hmmm... I'm starting to feel tempted to go drop a load of money and pick up a Captivate. I worked through these feelings about two weeks ago and convinced myself to stick with my 3GS... but now I feel the pull again.

 

[qwertyaas]

The only thing I feel that I would be missing on the Captivate is that front facing camera. It's a shame they left it out even though they have the slots for it in the front...

The weird thing when I go to ATT.com to upgrade/renew my plan - if I add the Captivate to my cart, I can't select a data plan for it at all. It only allows me to add an accessory. For the iPhone I have to select a data plan [I don't have a data plan at the moment]. So for the Captivate, will I have to just add the data plan once I get the phone (if I get the Captivate that is)?

By the way, is there an iChat app for Android? Or will that not be possible to make (most of my friends have iPhones... who doesn't right )...

 

[kaerflog]

Nice link. Thanks, Zerocool.

And thanks for the explanations on the notification system on Android. It is very slick - I looked at a couple of youtube videos - and it is definitely better than what the iPhone does.

Hmmm... I'm starting to feel tempted to go drop a load of money and pick up a Captivate. I worked through these feelings about two weeks ago and convinced myself to stick with my 3GS... but now I feel the pull again.

I see Captivate selling on Craigslist for $400obo so I imagine you can sell your 3GS and only need to put in $100-$150 for the Captivate.

 

[Scrodes]

iPhone 3Gs and AT&T captivate user here.

I got my captivate three weeks ago and I love it. Honestly I have no complaints at all, in fact I don't miss my I phone for a moment. This is the fastest phone I have used to date, the ui flows flawlessly.

The phone can be rooted but I haven't done so yet because at&t chose not to cripple the phones capabilities. There are a few preinstalled apps but that's all. The GPS has a little quark out of the box but a simple calibration fixes that in less than a minute.

Seriously get the captivate, you'll love it and if you don't you always have the 30 day no questions asked exchange

PS. I'm posting this from my captivate. Also The screen is beautiful and the level of customization android offers makes it superior to any other mobile OS.

 

[dguy6789]

But it is still just background right? So at the end of the day, Apple is just giving iOS less of the same? What additional background stuff can Android apps do that is outside of what Apple allows? I mean, between Push notifications, and the music playback support and whatnot... I must be missing something.

The two are different because you can run any and every Android application you could ever want at the same time and switch between them instantly and resume right where you left off as much as you want. The only limitations are if your device is powerful enough to handle everything you want to run in parallel.

Something as simple as "alt tabbing" between a web browser and an AIM conversation, copy and pasting the link, and discussing the article is not so simple to do on an iPhone and easy as pie on Android. Suppose you have several browser tabs and several different IM programs; things get even more insane on iPhone but nothing changes if this was on Android. The number and type of apps you have running does not change the ease/difficulty of switching between them on Android. Suppose you want to do all of this while listening to music over Pandora or Slacker. Suppose you're on a bus or train and want to know how far you are away from your destination. Android wouldn't flinch at such special demands. There's also the added bonus that notifications don't pop out at you in the middle of the screen interrupting whatever you were doing on Android.

Android multi-tasking is just as powerful as Windows multi-tasking. The only difference is that you can only have one window maximized at a time and the rest will be minimized unless you count widgets as little apps(which you can) then you can have multiple applications running on one screen. This is a lot different from iPhone which can run one app in the foreground and can have "services" in the background.

 

[TheStu]

The two are different because you can run any and every Android application you could ever want at the same time and switch between them instantly and resume right where you left off as much as you want. The only limitations are if your device is powerful enough to handle everything you want to run in parallel.

Something as simple as "alt tabbing" between a web browser and an AIM conversation, copy and pasting the link, and discussing the article is not so simple to do on an iPhone and easy as pie on Android. Suppose you have several browser tabs and several different IM programs; things get even more insane on iPhone but nothing changes if this was on Android. The number and type of apps you have running does not change the ease/difficulty of switching between them on Android. Suppose you want to do all of this while listening to music over Pandora or Slacker. Suppose you're on a bus or train and want to know how far you are away from your destination. Android wouldn't flinch at such special demands. There's also the added bonus that notifications don't pop out at you in the middle of the screen interrupting whatever you were doing on Android.

Android multi-tasking is just as powerful as Windows multi-tasking. The only difference is that you can only have one window maximized at a time and the rest will be minimized unless you count widgets as little apps(which you can) then you can have multiple applications running on one screen. This is a lot different from iPhone which can run one app in the foreground and can have "services" in the background.

You are talking about switching from one app to another... that is exactly what you can do on the iPhone. I am in the browser in a 'tab' I can copy something from there, hop back to home, bring up the running app list, go to Notes or AIM or whatever, select it, and it will put me into that app exactly where it was left off.

I don't know, maybe I need to see this to understand, it still to me sounds like what is available on the iPhone. Anyone have a link to a video? My friend with a Droid is out of town.

 

[MrX8503]

I think webOS has most elegant multitasking. I noticed on my iPhone I rarely double click to get to the bottom tray whereas on the webOS you don't have to do an extra step. On top of that you get a preview of the window through cards

 

[qwertyaas]

While reading up on Android forums, it seems the Captivate has quite a bit of issues that aren't resolved or will not be resolved. Things like GPS not locking on, random restarts and freezes, interface Lag, poor batter life, syncing issues...

As much as I want this phone as opposed to an iPhone, I'm not sure I want to deal with the headaches people are having with it just to have an Android... I might still pick it up and if it does have the issues stated, I will probably exchange it for an iPhone.

If just another High-end Andoid was available at ATT. It sucks because without these issues (that should probably have been caught prior to release), this phone seems amazing.

 

[tatteredpotato]

You are talking about switching from one app to another... that is exactly what you can do on the iPhone. I am in the browser in a 'tab' I can copy something from there, hop back to home, bring up the running app list, go to Notes or AIM or whatever, select it, and it will put me into that app exactly where it was left off.

I don't know, maybe I need to see this to understand, it still to me sounds like what is available on the iPhone. Anyone have a link to a video? My friend with a Droid is out of town.

This is my understanding, although I'm not an expert on either system:

Essentially iOS lets you have some background services in some specific tasks that are the most common (music, gps, etc). Android lets you run anything you want in the background. I use an Application to backup my text messages to sd/internet. Restoring this can take 15 minutes or so, and on Android I can switch to another app and my backup app will continue to restore my messages in the background. On iOS I believe it would be forced to pause until the UI is shown again.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

While reading up on Android forums, it seems the Captivate has quite a bit of issues that aren't resolved or will not be resolved. Things like GPS not locking on, random restarts and freezes, interface Lag, poor batter life, syncing issues...

As much as I want this phone as opposed to an iPhone, I'm not sure I want to deal with the headaches people are having with it just to have an Android... I might still pick it up and if it does have the issues stated, I will probably exchange it for an iPhone.

If just another High-end Andoid was available at ATT. It sucks because without these issues (that should probably have been caught prior to release), this phone seems amazing.

Radon restarts, freezes, and a sluggish UI are news to me and I have been using a Captivate for two weeks now. So far the phone has been absolutely flawless, the UI is extremely intuitive and responsive and the phone is simply blazing fast. The GPS issue is a knows problem but Samsung is working on a fix plus there are plenty of workarounds online to mitigate the problem.

 

[qwertyaas]

Radon restarts, freezes, and a sluggish UI are news to me and I have been using a Captivate for two weeks now. So far the phone has been absolutely flawless, the UI is extremely intuitive and responsive and the phone is simply blazing fast. The GPS issue is a knows problem but Samsung is working on a fix plus there are plenty of workarounds online to mitigate the problem.

Good to hear! Hopefully those issues are more individual issues and not widespread.

Hopefully I'll be picking up the phone in a week or two and I'll see how it is.

 

[MrX8503]

This is my understanding, although I'm not an expert on either system:

Essentially iOS lets you have some background services in some specific tasks that are the most common (music, gps, etc). Android lets you run anything you want in the background. I use an Application to backup my text messages to sd/internet. Restoring this can take 15 minutes or so, and on Android I can switch to another app and my backup app will continue to restore my messages in the background. On iOS I believe it would be forced to pause until the UI is shown again.

This is semi true. Multitasking on the iPhone is determined by the developer, fast app switching is only one of a few different multitasking features a developer can incorporate. If an app needs to still load, then it's up to the developer to incorporate it.

These multitasking features are made to save battery life, this is kind of a double edged sword as it doesn't offer real multitasking but it does offer stellar battery life

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Good to hear! Hopefully those issues are more individual issues and not widespread.

Hopefully I'll be picking up the phone in a week or two and I'll see how it is.

I was concerned by all of the people complaining on forums too but either I got lucky or those people were unlucky.

To be fair though the battery life could be better but pretty much all smartphones have that problem.