So I have tried Android and iOS now.

[ControlD]

And too bad, Android has crap for tablet customized apps. I'm a Nexus 10 owner.

Is screen layout and app selection dependent on tablet customized apps?

 

[zsdersw]

BTW, it's insanely stupid you can't easily set up the Nexus 7 without an active WiFi connection.

Can't setup a new out-of-the-box iPad without either WiFi or connecting it to a computer (iTunes), either.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Is screen layout and app selection dependent on tablet customized apps?

No and Yes. Apps on iOS iphone are all available on the iPad. Not all Android phone apps can be installed on my Nexus 10. One of my most used apps - WEEI Live, I can install on my Nexus 4 but can not install on my Nexus 10.

So, I can't customize the app's location on my Nexus 10 b/c I can't install it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

All I see is a large amount of wasted screen space.

A tablet, moreso than a smartphone, is just begging for home screen customization to make better use of all that resolution. And no, folders in a grid doesn't count as customization.

ok its not customization. you know what's a large amount of wasted space? the ridiculous margins that they put on the Nexus 10 and Android tablets in general. Look at that fat margin on the app drawer. Might as well make it a 4:3 tablet huh?

Not everyone's into customization. And half of the show your homescreens on Android forums look like ass. Ugly black and fluorescent red fonts. If that makes you happy, sure. I don't really have time to keep skinning my Android devices left and right to get some crazy awesome layout. Most people don't either.

I do like widgets and stuff and I miss them on my iPhone 5, but stop making it seem like the lack of desktop widgets means death. Most of what you need to do can be accomplished with apps, and if they're one tap away from the homescreen. That's excellent.

I'd say Android's customization is a pro, but the availability of apps on iOS is a pro to balance that out.

 

[openwheel]

how many apps do people actually use? Don't they have real work to do? Real people to talk to? People always name random apps as "examples" of how great an app is over another platform, but do we really care?

Who needs half a million apps? Both iOS and Android.

One thing is true, having customization is better than not having the ability to customize. At least android devices can still have grid icons if one chooses to do so.

 

[ControlD]

how many apps do people actually use? Don't they have real work to do? Real people to talk to? People always name random apps as "examples" of how great an app is over another platform, but do we really care?

Who needs half a million apps? Both iOS and Android.

One thing is true, having customization is better than not having the ability to customize. At least android devices can still have grid icons if one chooses to do so.

That is pretty much true. I think people get into downloading and "collecting" apps and end up with a couple hundred on there for no good reason. I did the same thing when I got my iPad. I recently upgraded to a new iPad and I think I have about 10 downloaded apps on there and honestly that is all I need. I imagine both platforms have the essentials covered just fine.

 

[openwheel]

Folders. Learn them; live them; love them.

I've got all my iPad's apps on one screen. According to my Settings:About page, that's 261 apps -- all no more than two taps away. (Yes, I could get rid of 2/3 of them and never notice the difference; I'm lazy.)

In theory, you could fit up to 400 apps per screen on an iPad; or (I think...) 256 on an iPhone 5 or 144 on an earlier iPhone.

That looks horrendous. I know you were trying to go for the "neat" look, but this totally fails imho.

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, if I start coming up on 30 installed apps, I'm like "Woah, woah, woah... What is all this crap?" I've got 53 now and it's bugging the crap out of me. I need to delete games that I don't play and some utilities I downloaded because I needed to use it and don't delete them. I guess there's no time like the present.

Also, I've tried the "folder approach" and hate it. Much rather just have everything out of the folder.

Edit: 40... I guess I can live with that. I know I still have a ton of stuff I don't use.

 

[ControlD]

Yeah, if I start coming up on 30 installed apps, I'm like "Woah, woah, woah... What is all this crap?" I've got 53 now and it's bugging the crap out of me. I need to delete games that I don't play and some utilities I downloaded because I needed to use it and don't delete them. I guess there's no time like the present.

Also, I've tried the "folder approach" and hate it. Much rather just have everything out of the folder.

Edit: 40... I guess I can live with that. I know I still have a ton of stuff I don't use.

Yeah, somehow folders just make things more complicated many times. Unless you are really careful about what apps go into what folders it can be hard to remember where you have stuffed something. About the only folder I really use is down on my dock with my most used applications. That way no matter what screen I am on I am two taps away from what I need.

 

[zsdersw]

The problem with having all your apps into folders is you can easily forget where you put something. Even the most accurate of folder names and the most OCD end user cannot overcome a dizzying array of folders when trying to find a specific app, particularly ones you may not use very often.

 

[bearxor]

That's what happens to me. I'll organize things with how I think it's perfect for me, and then a day later be like "Why did I put this in here?"

 

[Eug]

Wow, that'd be terrible for me. I guess if you like it that's fine, but I don't want my #1 apps buried in folders. And I do want that stupid Newstand app off the screen. So I put it on a second screen. It's stupid we're forced to keep that app on its own.

Can't setup a new out-of-the-box iPad without either WiFi or connecting it to a computer (iTunes), either.

Indeed. No such connecting it to a computer option on Android.

 

[bearxor]

Wow, that'd be terrible for me. I guess if you like it that's fine, but I don't want my #1 apps buried in folders. And I do want that stupid Newstand app off the screen. So I put it on a second screen. It's stupid we're forced to keep that app on its own.

It's kind of weird for me. It's just like it's two different thought processes on iOS and I'm not really used to that. Newsstand is included in the core OS, but iBooks isn't. Why not? You include the App Store. You include iTunes. Why isn't iBooks just on the device instead of downloading it from the App Store?

This is something that Google has done totally right. The apps that provide major functionality shouldn't be in the core OS. We shouldn't have to wait a year for revisions to these programs. For the iPhone, that's Maps, Mail, Newsstand, Camera, Photos, Music, Videos, Game Center and Safari.

You can still preinstall those apps, but they should be updateable through the App Store, not require a new iOS version.

 

[Red Storm]

I just can't imagine that people use more than a dozen apps on a regular basis. Am I the only one that just puts the main things I use on a page so you just always know where they are?

This is why I'm not really happy with iOS or Android. Sure, Android stuffs everything in to an "app drawer" but I'm still going to make shortcuts on the desktop for stuff I use. So if I have 30 icons on my desktop (which is the count I have on my RAZR HD right now) then I don't really see any advantage of the Android way.

I'm just a bored of an icon grid as everybody is. But I don't see a magical solution in any alternative platform. There needs to be a complete rethink about this. iOS was a great idea because the interface type was so new what they did made the most sense. Android took a more traditional desktop approach, with essentially a "program menu" with desktop widgets. WP tried a slightly different approach, but I'm still going to be pinning little icons to a screen and scrolling through them and then using a program menu to find less used stuff.

Widgets.

Some Android detractors only think of widgets as "ugly fonts" or think that when someone posts what their homescreen looks like that means you're supposed to like it and do the same. Uh no, it's about choice, both in form and function. Widgets provide you with at a glance info without needing to launch an app for every little thing and so makes your smartphone use faster and more efficient.

Having to launch an app to do everything is the old, slow way of doing things... well, on Android anyway. Widgets makes things faster and easier, but Google Now has taken that streamlining to an even further level and has obsoleted a lot of apps and widgets. To me it's not even funny how much more advanced Android is in this regard. The iPhone has had only one significant advancement in this area since the original model, and that's the notification pull down. It's still reliant on the user tapping on a multitude of app icons to get you what you want/need to know. Meanwhile on Android we've had widgets to negate that need to launch apps, you can get a lot of info by just glancing at your homescreen. Google Now is the next step of this process, not only does it negate needing to launch apps to get information you need, it automates the process so the info comes up when (it thinks) you need it. It's not perfect yet, but it's damn close and has been a real boon for my life.

 

[TuxDave]

That is pretty much true. I think people get into downloading and "collecting" apps and end up with a couple hundred on there for no good reason. I did the same thing when I got my iPad. I recently upgraded to a new iPad and I think I have about 10 downloaded apps on there and honestly that is all I need. I imagine both platforms have the essentials covered just fine.

Ignoring all built in apps....

Yeah I would say I use 10 apps (all on my front page) daily. There's a pile of useful apps that I find myself using a couple times a month like various travel apps, movie reviews, QR readers, translation/conversion tools, translation tools. And then there's a pile of games which count around 20. So I definitely don't think I could narrow my usage to 10 only.

Both platform may have the critical apps but there is a quality difference. And we're not talking about RANDOM apps.

http://marketingland.com/apple-twitter-poster-child-android-failure-7485

Sure you specifically may not use them but if you're judging a platform for random people, you better take into account all popular apps even if you don't use them. Facebook for example. Some people don't use them, but a large truck-load of people do.

 

[bearxor]

I tried widgets. It didn't work out for me.

I don't see the point in wasting the screen real estate for something like an email widget, when I'm just going to have to swype to it to see it. I'd rather just tap the icon.

The only widget I found was useful was a weather widget, and I can recreate the functionality in the notification center, which is the only thing I use notification center for anyways. So widgets may be great for you, but they're not for everyone.

For me, the grass just isn't greener on the other side of the fence. If anything, the grass is really the same shade of green and there's yellow patches in the grass from where the dog's urinated and the patches are in different places on each lawn... yeah... that's it...

 

[zsdersw]

Indeed. No such connecting it to a computer option on Android.

I find connecting it to a computer less convenient than using WiFi.

 

[Red Storm]

I find connecting it to a computer less convenient than using WiFi.

Especially when it requires installing a bloat load of software. No thanks.

I tried widgets. It didn't work out for me.

I don't see the point in wasting the screen real estate for something like an email widget, when I'm just going to have to swype to it to see it. I'd rather just tap the icon.

Wasting the screen real estate... from what? More icons?

I used to use a weather widget combined with another widget that let me customize the shortcuts that would launch by tapping various parts of the widget. So on that one line where I had my weather and time displayed, I could get to 7 day forecast, my alarms, my calendar, my note taking app, the wifi and bluetooth settings, etc. Whatever I wanted.

I'm always browsing other people's homescreen setups not because of their looks (as certain Android detractors only focus on), but because I want to see how other people are speeding up every day processes on their phones. This is how I discovered most of the shortcuts I use today. It's hard to realize the immense benefit of widgets on your own IMHO.

 

[ControlD]

I tried widgets. It didn't work out for me.

I don't see the point in wasting the screen real estate for something like an email widget, when I'm just going to have to swype to it to see it. I'd rather just tap the icon.

Some widgets are really useful although I do agree with you for the most part. One widget I just can't live without on my iPhone is having music control on my main screen. I use my iPhone as my main music device and being able to play, pause, etc. without always having to go into the music app (or Slacker, Pandora, etc.) is awesome. That and a weather widget are all I really need though.

 

[MrX8503]

I have a ton of apps on my phone, but my iPad is scaled way back. I don't use an iPad app unless its considerably better than the phone version.

 

[vi edit]

Another 2 year iOS user and recent convert to Android.

I've been on Jelly Bean for over a week a week now on my Galaxy Note 2.

A couple initial impressions....

1) Still a bit overwhelmed with the settings. It's options, checkboxes, sliders, this setting ,that setting, buried menu after menu. I appreciate having the options, but don't really need that much control over things.

2) The app management seems clunkier to me. I don't know how much of it is touchwiz vs. stock android but after I install an app I have no clue where it stick the shortcut. I have to flip through windows to find it. Which is another thing I find weird...my "home" screen is actually the "middle" screen. You swipe left to right to get to other pages. It's not worse than iOS, just different.

3) Controlling active apps seems somewhat more clunky to me. Holding down home brings up some things that are running...but not all. Ending them from there doesn't *really* end them. They are still running in the back ground and you need to go into a nested app management menu and force close them. Which I've had to to *far* more often than I've ever had to on iOS.

4) App quality of the same app is worse on Android. ESPN fantasy football for example. In iOS you can sort stats by clicking the column header. Can't do that on Android. Slacker on Android is a huge step backwards than on iOS. No lock screen controls or logos. No song data is displayed on my head unit like on my iPhone. Plus about 75% it won't start on it's own like my iphone did. A huge step back in feature and polish than the iOS app.

5) Chrome/Dolphin/Basic samsung browser have some nice features, but still lack the refinement of Mobile Safari. iOS Safari has the best native fonts and scaling of any mobile device (including WP8) that I've tried. It also has the best touch response on clicking on links of any other mobile browser by such a wide margin you could drive a cruise liner through it. I can make do with the browser options, but simply put, iOS is a much more accurate, intelligent, and easy to use experience when it comes to navigating links and browsing through pages.

5) Battery life is worse than iOS. Simply put my old iPhone 4 was a battery sipper. In similar use my Note e is down almost 15% at any given time to what my Iphone was at...and that's with the massive battery it has. At idle Android is much more inefficient and hungry. Maybe it has somethign to do with that massive list of options and check boxes to flip through.

6) Some little things are missing...like you can't "copy" an image from a website and the "paste" it into a message. You have to save it then attach it. Unless there is something that I'm missing, when holding down on an image the only choice given is to save it or open it.

7) All of the app default popups..."Do you want to do this...always...just once?" Rinse and repeat a billion times. And even when you tell it always it still asks you another 20 times. I mean it's nice to have the option...but jeeze you get beat over the head with it. Just open the damn link!

8) I already mentioned the app quality but that's really the truth of it. It's just not a rock solid OS/app development. In just a week I've had more app freezes and hiccups than I did in months of iOS. That's the double edge of being more "open" I guess.

It's not all bad though....

1) There's some stuff I *really* do like. It's nice being able to 1) use old video game emulators and 2) download the .zip files containing the ROMS right from the mobile browser on the device and then 3) using a file manager to move them to a new folder I created on the file system on the phone and 4) have that said folder be on a removable SD card!. That's 4 things in one basic workflow that I can not do on iOS.

2) Being able to manage content from windows explorer is great (although WP8 can do the same thing).

3) Notification shade has tons of useful information. I might prefer the more information'centric manner of the iOS notification more, but I appreciate the control and robustness of the android one.

4) NOTIFICATION LIGHT IS AWESOME. Ok seriously...such a simple concept. Yet so useful.

5) Integration with other apps/cloud content/ect. I can send pictures right to my skydrive account from the gallery "share" function. I couldn't do that with iOS. Same with other functions within the OS.

6) Endless customization/bootloaders/widgets/ect. Sky is the limit really in making the device your own. But that comes at the cost of battery life, reliability, ect.

----------------------------------------

Having used all three main OS's in the last month essentially back to back to back has really given me some interesting perspective on each one.

Here's kinda how I evaluate them....

(not in order)

iOS Strengths
- Best app market (not just numbers, but quality) of any OS
- Best UI...accuracy and response of the screen
- Integrationw with other Apple products
- It's just a more reliable device and has less app drama, battery concerns, ect.

iOS weaknesses
- Boring. Just is. Not much you can do with it short of jailbreaking.
- Closed off. Missing a lot of little features here and there that the jailbreak community usually adds and then Apple steals innovates into a future iOS update
- Just lacks the flexibility and freedom of Android
- Need iTunes (or itune alternative) to manage just about anything on the device
- One new phone model per year. So you take what apple gives you and you like it.

Android Strengths
- Sky's the limit on options/tweaks/control/management
- File explorer on the phone & drag and drop options from PC
- Attachments and downloads are possible from the browser
- More robust notification shade
- More hardware options (because admittedly that is what drew me...)

Android cons
- All that freedom comes at the cost of reliability and refinement. It's just clunkier and more prone to hiccups and app crashes.
- Battery life seems to be quite a bit worse for similar use patterns
- Missing iMessage & Facetime with my entire extended family & friend base that have iPhones
- Same apps are less functional/refined/reliable to iOS
- It's just a more busy system IMHO

WP8 Pro's
- It's a quirky and fun OS. Live tiles are awesome and what make the platform
- Interesting hardware options between the Lumia 920 & HTC 8X. But limited hardware options compared to Android. And each have their issues.
- Awesome text messaging integration with Bluetooth
- Fast, fluid, and reliable OS.
- Nice integration with Hotmail/Skydrive
- Can drag and drop movies, music and pictures from a PC with no management app needed
- "People'centric" nature is very refreshing, especially if you are a very social being. Very fun integration and people "hubbing" functions compared to the other two.

WP8 cons
- Apps apps apps...lack of...lack of quality...just an overall failure compared to the other two. If you can survive with the total and complete abyss of missing apps then more power to you. I could not.
- If you think iOS is closed down on options, WP8 is even more so
- IE a TERRIBLE web browser. By far the worst of any of the three devices
- Stock keyboard and the only one you get is worse than Android/iOS
- Complete lack of notifications center
- Multi tasking/active app management is terrible
- Needs another major update (AKA WP8.5) to be a serious contender to the other two. So many glaring ommissions and lack of function compared to the other smart phone OS's.

 

[Red Storm]

FYI you don't "need" to remove apps from the recent apps list. I never use task managers.

 

[vi edit]

I'm still trying to figure out how to best "kill" an app that crapped out.

Slacker seems to be the worst offender for me. More than half the time I get into the car I have to go into settings --- app manager ---find slacker --- tap it --- force close and then relaunch to get it working again.

If I had issues under iOS I could just double tap home, hold down on an app, and then click the "minus" sign. Relaunch app.

Seems much clunkier in Android unless there's a shortcut.

--EDIT--
I use task managers as easy way to hop between apps instead of finding them again on a homepage or in a folder if I was previously in them. It's like my "alt + tab" function in Windows.

 

[Anubis]

Slacker has lock screen controlls - it may be an option you need to turn on but they are there. as for the headunit thing yea it wont do that, the one benefit of apples dock connector is that it send that info - a line out jack will not

 

[Anubis]

but i generally agree slacker is a coded like crap. pretty much every time i open it i have to hit the icon once, itll open and them immidetly close, then i open it again and its fine