iPhone users, don't you find the single button very limiting?

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ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
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LOLOLOLOLOL

after having an android device for 3 days there is no fucking way this is true. I am constantly actively managing my tasks or else the system gets bogged down to shit.

I would blame it more on the Touchwiz skin than Android. I played with the 7" Tab 2 last week and even with everything closed it wasn't smooth and fluid. My $100 CM9 Touchpad is far better on inferior SoC and community developed rom. Stock ICS Android has excellent multitasking system and you can configure background process limit and to whether to immediately close the app upon exit. I actually think it's better than even WebOS.

The only time I miss hard button is when I'm driving and operating it blind by feel. It's basically impossible so I end up looking down or bring the phone up to my face. Other than that I love the soft buttons on my GNex. It's one less thing to break. My sister's iPhone home button needs replacement from wear.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
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I would blame it more on the Touchwiz skin than Android.

Android = allows skins = blame android


Like I said, I like the device IN THEORY but this thing feels seriously underpowered. like I'm fucking back on my 3gs/iPad1
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
LOLOLOLOLOL

after having an android device for 3 days there is no fucking way this is true. I am constantly actively managing my tasks or else the system gets bogged down to shit.

*shrug* Never had this problem with my Nexus S on either Gingerbread or ICS and the Nexus S only has 512MB RAM. People from Google that work on Android have said manually killing processes in the background unless something happened, actually hurts performance and battery life more.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
126
*shrug* Never had this problem with my Nexus S on either Gingerbread or ICS and the Nexus S only has 512MB RAM. People from Google that work on Android have said manually killing processes in the background unless something happened, actually hurts performance and battery life more.

Then imagine my surprise as I closed out all the tasks in the task manager and viola, the device was operable again. I was seriously lagging on every swipe/pinch/key press/whatever.
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,883
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How will a larger screen on an iPhone solve this problem? It would still be the same resolution, so the button itself will be bigger.

I think you are getting the wrong thing from what we are saying.
When you have every app interaction done through the screen, it cuts down on the space used for the app itself. Don't think screen size, think of the percentage of space occupied by a on-screen button.
 

bearxor

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
6,605
3
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I think you are getting the wrong thing from what we are saying.
When you have every app interaction done through the screen, it cuts down on the space used for the app itself. Don't think screen size, think of the percentage of space occupied by a on-screen button.

If the screen size increased and the resolution stayed the same, the button you use to interact would increase proportionately.

Not you so much, but there is some talk that a larger screen would seem to alleviate the issue of there having to be navigation in an app itself. Thats really not the case.
 

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,436
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People from Google that work on Android have said manually killing processes in the background unless something happened, actually hurts performance and battery life more.

Have a link for that? Unless there's something horribly wrong with Android, there's no reason why manually killing processes should ever reduce performance or battery life unless the act of killing a process were more resource intensive than the process would be otherwise.
 
Feb 19, 2001
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Have a link for that? Unless there's something horribly wrong with Android, there's no reason why manually killing processes should ever reduce performance or battery life unless the act of killing a process were more resource intensive than the process would be otherwise.
Correct. It's when people install automated task killers that kill mindlessly on an interval. If you kill every hour you might be ok, but when you start killing every 10 minutes or some absurd interval, you're probably wasting more CPU cycles closing/opening everything over and over again that its detrimental.

I've talked about this a billion times when Android first became mainstream. Yeah, it's fine when Google tells you you don't need task managers or to tweak the memory management of Android and that itll do it's own thing. Yet we've seen minfree tweaks differ phone to phone, and if anything we've learned 256mb, 384mb, 512mb, and 768mb aren't even enough to keep phones running smoothly. HTC applies a certain minfree tweak to its HTC One X series which has been reported as too aggressive. Bottom line is people loved to say that "Google says its fine" in the beginning, yet here we are two and a half years since the release of the Droid 1, and there's no golden recipe for memory management.

I think the point is that memory management was never perfect to begin with and there's many ways to setup your device, and your experience may vary depending on how you use your phone.

I still maintain there's nothing wrong with task killers as Google has basically admitted they are somewhat useful by allowing manual killing of tasks in ICS.

but we're seriously getting off topic and this is turning into an iOS vs Android thing.

On the note of the 1 button thing, while the iPhone has 1 home button, there are usually menu buttons built into the app. When people complained about Google moving from hard keys to 3 soft keys in the GNex, there was a good article saying the iPhone already uses virtual soft buttons in apps. Those buttons are there in every app. There's a setting menu, etc, etc. Even if you only have 1 hard key, the app will NEED some sort of menu button. You could cite Android too. ICS moved to a soft menu system. My Touchpad has 1 hard button. Oh no. Does this mean I can't use my tablet?

It's not so much about getting used to it as apps will be designed to have the appropriate soft keys that you NEED to navigate around.
 
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jhansman

Platinum Member
Feb 5, 2004
2,768
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Not to further digress (then why do?), but the above poster makes a good point about auto task killers. I use one, but only because it annoys the hell out of me that because Android phones are so heavily subsidized that Google lets a multitude of apps start on their own in hopes that we'll then use them and pay for some service or another; I often find Google Maps running when I never opened it. This is why we root and get rid of the bloat or install ROMs that don't have all that crap. If it matters, I have never been attracted to the iPhone or how it works (my entire extended family has them), and find the Android approach more in keeping with how my brain works.
 

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
I prefer a menu key built into the app UI itself. Whenever I use an Android device I always forget that there's a hidden menu.
 

Druidx

Platinum Member
Jul 16, 2002
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The single button works well with iOS but they definitely need a better button. We have 4 I-devices in my house, 2 of them have developed problems with a lack of responsiveness of the home button.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
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Button? I find the iPhone itself very limiting.

facepalm2.JPG


Not this again.

MotionMan
 

ControlD

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2005
5,440
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Fine, I'll bite:

What is it that 90% of users cannot do with an iPhone that they would actually do with other phones?

MotionMan

- Be able to put media on the phone from more than one computer.
- third party keyboards (Swype for example)

Those are the two that have me wishing I went with something different at this point.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
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Change the battery, sd card for cheap extra storage, bigger screen.

- Be able to put media on the phone from more than one computer.
- third party keyboards (Swype for example)

I know those are the complaints everyone likes to make, but when I ask my parents, in-laws and their friends if they would like to be able to do any of those things, they usually just stare at me because they do not know what any of it means or, in the case of the screen, they say that it is big enough.

MotionMan
 

ControlD

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2005
5,440
44
91
I know those are the complaints everyone likes to make, but when I ask my parents, in-laws and their friends if they would like to be able to do any of those things, they usually just stare at me because they do not know what any of it means or, in the case of the screen, they say that it is big enough.

MotionMan

That is probably a fair point. I guess I can't put myself in 90% of people's shoes so it's hard to know if what bothers me is common or not. I would imagine you could take any smart phone on the market right now and it would be good enough for 90% of the people.
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,883
63
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Fine, I'll bite:

What is it that 90% of users cannot do with an iPhone that they would actually do with other phones?

MotionMan
Clicking on address and having the option to open whatever the heck I want. Instead of just Apple's lame map app. Just a broken copy and paste where I can copy the the street, then manually type the rest.
Things like this are annoying as hell on a daily basis.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
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That is probably a fair point. I guess I can't put myself in 90% of people's shoes so it's hard to know if what bothers me is common or not. I would imagine you could take any smart phone on the market right now and it would be good enough for 90% of the people.

Which is exactly why I find these arguments face-palm worthy.

MotionMan
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Clicking on address and having the option to open whatever the heck I want. Instead of just Apple's lame map app. Just a broken copy and paste where I can copy the the street, then manually type the rest.
Things like this are annoying as hell on a daily basis.

Are you talking about in the Contacts list or in an e-mail?

In Contacts, if you tap the address, it launches the maps app. If you tap and hold the address, you get the option to copy the entire address.

In an e-mail, if you tap the address, it launches the maps app. If you tap and hold the address, you get the option to 1) open the maps app, 2) Add to Contacts or 3) copy the entire address.

MotionMan
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
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Fine, I'll bite:

What is it that 90% of users cannot do with an iPhone that they would actually do with other phones?

He said he finds the iPhone limiting, and then you bring up the tech illiterate Average Joes' needs as a counter?

This is a tech forum, we aren't Average Joes. Their needs/usage (or lack thereof) frankly doesn't matter.