Okay, Jelly Bean is *very* impressive

[desura]

I've been critical of Android in the past, but having just installed JB on a device I own, it is significantly better than ICS or any previous android I"ve ever used. The leap to Jelly Bean is one of the larger improvements I've seen in OS usability, probably on-par with like MS rolling out Windows XP.

 

[Graze]

The leap to Jelly Bean is one of the larger improvements I've seen in OS usability, probably on-par with like MS rolling out Windows XP.

I guess you never you Window 2000. When I made the transition from 9x to Windows 2000 it though it was the best piece of software I ever used, bar none.

Windows XP was windows 2000 with some added gimmicks.

 

[zerocool84]

I guess you never you Window 2000. When I made the transition from 9x to Windows 2000 it though it was the best piece of software I ever used, bar none.

Windows XP was windows 2000 with some added gimmicks.

Yes but XP was the consumer friendly version of 2000

 

[Bateluer]

Yes but XP was the consumer friendly version of 2000

It straight out was the consumer grade OS.

I find it ironic though, that everyone remembers XP fondly when it was derided and criticized at release. Will perceptions of Vista be different 10 years from now or did Nvidia's shitty drivers forever damn Vista's reputation?

 

[shortylickens]

I think the fact Vista was immediately corrected by Win7 means that even Microsoft knows its junk.

 

[Bateluer]

I think the fact Vista was immediately corrected by Win7 means that even Microsoft knows its junk.

Immediately? It was 4 years. Microsoft's normal OS dev cycle.

 

[grkM3]

Immediately? It was 4 years. Microsoft's normal OS dev cycle.

Vista came out in 2007 and windows 7 came out in 2009 it also had a public beta a year after vista was out.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Vista had its issues. Nothing is as bad as Windows ME though.

 

[gorcorps]

I've been critical of Android in the past, but having just installed JB on a device I own, it is significantly better than ICS or any previous android I"ve ever used. The leap to Jelly Bean is one of the larger improvements I've seen in OS usability, probably on-par with like MS rolling out Windows XP.

More like ICS was windows xp, and JB was the much needed service packs. People seem to forget that xp wasn't an immediate success... It took a lot of updates and at least a service pack for a lot of people to bother. I know I couldn't even use my built in NIC on my mobo until service pack 2.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I love jelly bean on my phone. The main problem with android is that your phone can be on jelly bean, but the skin the manufacturer puts on top of it makes the phone all but unusable. I'm talking to you Sense and Touchwiz.

 

[zerogear]

I think the fact Vista was immediately corrected by Win7 means that even Microsoft knows its junk.

Vista was problematic because a lot of the OEMs were too "lazy" to develop proper drivers for WinVista since they changed many of the architecture since WinXP. The transition to Win7 is much smoother since by that time, most drivers for WinVista were out and so driver for Win7 was minimal effort.

Many OEMs blamed Microsoft (on their website, publicly) saying that it's MS's fault that the drivers did not work.

Either way, off topic.

 

[Lyfer]

I agree as well. My last android experience was pre gingerbread on my droid X and it was awful. The difference is like going from green-scale to 1440P.

 

[Bateluer]

More like ICS was windows xp, and JB was the much needed service packs. People seem to forget that xp wasn't an immediate success... It took a lot of updates and at least a service pack for a lot of people to bother. I know I couldn't even use my built in NIC on my mobo until service pack 2.

Yep. The long cycle of XP also worked in its favor too.

Vista was problematic because a lot of the OEMs were too "lazy" to develop proper drivers for WinVista since they changed many of the architecture since WinXP. The transition to Win7 is much smoother since by that time, most drivers for WinVista were out and so driver for Win7 was minimal effort.

Many OEMs blamed Microsoft (on their website, publicly) saying that it's MS's fault that the drivers did not work.

Either way, off topic.

Also yep. Nvidia especially. Microsoft released documentation that had some 30% of all Vista BSODs were from Nvidia display drivers.

There was also a pretty big issue with OEMs selling 'Vista Capable' machines, with the bare minimal specs for Vista which were bought up by people who thought they could run Vista on these machines. Microsoft ended up being sued and baring the bulk of the poor PR for this. Rarely can I defend Microsoft, but they didn't deserve to pay for the screw ups of others. :/

 

[BrightCandle]

Having gone through every little Android change since 1.0 I don't really find Jelly bean all that impressive. The biggest jump for me was 1.0 -> 1.1 where the performance improved enormously on the same phone. The move to 2.0 was equally massive with sweeping core app changes for the better and significantly more performance improvements. 4.3 was a really minor tweak, its a little smoother but at the cost of some operations taking longer. It tricks you into thinking its quicker because it responds faster but it just holds you in an animation. I personally find its slower to use than its predecessor but mostly I don't find it a particularly impressive change.

 

[Yuriman]

Having gone through every little Android change since 1.0 I don't really find Jelly bean all that impressive. The biggest jump for me was 1.0 -> 1.1 where the performance improved enormously on the same phone. The move to 2.0 was equally massive with sweeping core app changes for the better and significantly more performance improvements. 4.3 was a really minor tweak, its a little smoother but at the cost of some operations taking longer. It tricks you into thinking its quicker because it responds faster but it just holds you in an animation. I personally find its slower to use than its predecessor but mostly I don't find it a particularly impressive change.

On my S2, 4.0 (ICS) to 4.1 (JB) was a rather insignificant change but AOSP 4.2 brought an entirely new level of UI smoothness. The changes in 4.3 are almost unnoticeable.

 

[lopri]

My Android experience began with 4.1, haha. 4.3 has been wonderful for me, better than 4.1 -> 4.2/4.2.2 transition. It's all around more polished.

 

[shortylickens]

Vista had its issues. Nothing is as bad as Windows ME though.

ME is the Hitler of operating systems.

 

[shortylickens]

I agree as well. My last android experience was pre gingerbread on my droid X and it was awful. The difference is like going from green-scale to 1440P.

I started with a G1 using 1.5 (I think). Went away until they came out with 2.1. Kept it for a bit, left until 4.1 was the norm.

I'm happy now and not going back to WP or anything else.

 

[88keys]

Gingerbread = Windows 98
IceCreamSandwich = Windows 2K/XP
Jellybean = Windows 7

 

[SlitheryDee]

Jellybean is quite nice. 4.3 on my 2013 nexus 7 is as fast and smooth as I've ever seen android. I'd say it has closed probably 90% of the gap between android and iOS as far as perceived smoothness and general speed goes. It's still not there yet though. My ipod 5g still feels a bit more polished than my nexus 7, and it's running on underclocked ipad 2 level hardware.

 

[zerocool84]

I started Android with 1.5 and it's world's better now than it was in the beginning. It had tons of functionality back then but was much more raw and unpolished. IMO, Gingerbread 2.3 really marked the turning point of Android getting much better.

 

[QueBert]

Jellybean is quite nice. 4.3 on my 2013 nexus 7 is as fast and smooth as I've ever seen android. I'd say it has closed probably 90% of the gap between android and iOS as far as perceived smoothness and general speed goes. It's still not there yet though. My ipod 5g still feels a bit more polished than my nexus 7, and it's running on underclocked ipad 2 level hardware.

Maybe compared to an older device, my Iphone 4 feels faster than my Nexus 4 running 4.3, next to an iPhone 5 4.3 isn't going to be anywhere close to 90% of the perceived speed. It's a step in the right direction for Google, but unless they come up with some magic they'll always be a few steps behind iOS speed wise. I will say from 4.2 -> 4.3 the speed boost is pretty nice.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Maybe compared to an older device, my Iphone 4 feels faster than my Nexus 4 running 4.3, next to an iPhone 5 4.3 isn't going to be anywhere close to 90% of the perceived speed. It's a step in the right direction for Google, but unless they come up with some magic they'll always be a few steps behind iOS speed wise. I will say from 4.2 -> 4.3 the speed boost is pretty nice.

Complete BS. 4.3 didn't introduce anything new in terms of noticible speed improvements. No project butter improvements or anything. Thats exactly how I know you're full of FUD. The Open GL stuff only applies to game graphics and not to general usage. So to me its funny how you try and "scientifically" quantify speed differences between iOS and Android even though they literally have no backing at all except for your little fanboy eyes.

Also the iPhone 4 is slow as molasses. My GS3 can load maps and go back to the home screen faster and load maps again in the time it takes an Ip4 to load maps in the first place.


Warning for mild personal attack and profanity, and post edited to remove profanity
Please discuss the points that a poster makes and not the poster him/herself. And avoid profanity in the technical forums.
Moderator PM

 

[ImDonly1]

Maybe compared to an older device, my Iphone 4 feels faster than my Nexus 4 running 4.3, next to an iPhone 5 4.3 isn't going to be anywhere close to 90% of the perceived speed. It's a step in the right direction for Google, but unless they come up with some magic they'll always be a few steps behind iOS speed wise. I will say from 4.2 -> 4.3 the speed boost is pretty nice.

I just upgraded from an iPhone 4 to a Galaxy S4.

There is no way you can say an iPhone 4 is faster/smoother than a Nexus 4.
iPhone 4 was super laggy, especially web browsing.
Try loading up www.theverge.com on Safari, it will freeze for 10s.
Open 4 tabs, everything starts to re-load because it doesn't have enough memory.
Google maps was laggy too.

iPhone 4 is way outdated.

 

[Lyfer]

Complete BS. 4.3 didn't introduce anything new in terms of noticible speed improvements. No project butter improvements or anything. Thats exactly how I know you're full of FUD. The Open GL stuff only applies to game graphics and not to general usage. So to me its funny how you try and "scientifically" quantify speed differences between iOS and Android even though they literally have no backing at all except for your little fanboy eyes.

Also the iPhone 4 is slow as shit. My GS3 can load maps and go back to the home screen faster and load maps again in the time it takes an Ip4 to load maps in the first place.

My iPhone 4S is pretty slow, although its nearly full.