So I have tried Android and iOS now.

[Tempered81]

If iOS had a ~4.5" screen device I would go back to iOS.

Yeah pretty much this. IOS is much smoother. When is apple going to release a ~5" screen device?

 

[ponyo]

Yeah pretty much this. IOS is much smoother. When is apple going to release a ~5" screen device?

Well we’re going to get that for sure, maybe not this time but the next time.

 

[s44]

Well we’re going to get that for sure, maybe not this time but the next time.

Hahaha.

I love Samsung commercials.

 

[WelshBloke]

You don't think the new one is much better and faster than the old one? There have been several posts from people upgrading and the improvement looks to be significant. It should be obvious why, before this release, iOS users were trying to explain why the old android version sucked.

Like I said I didn't use the old one so I can't comment on it. I was asking about the current one and why it sucks compared to the ios one.

 

[TuxDave]

Like I said I didn't use the old one so I can't comment on it. I was asking about the current one and why it sucks compared to the ios one.

The current one is on par with the iOS one. However the current one is very recently released (like 1 week ago). The equivalent iOS one has been out for four months. So most of the comparisons were referring to the older android one that lacked many features and was much slower. If you had used the older one and then upgraded to the newer one, you would have been able to directly see the difference.

In fact this thread was created before Facebook 2.0 was released to Android. So simply put, you're not seeing what everyone was seeing when this thread was created and back then, it was a pile of turd. That picture scrolling news feed thing is new in 2.0.

I hope that clears up your confusion.

 

[WelshBloke]

The current one is on par with the iOS one. However the current one is very recently released (like 1 week ago). The equivalent iOS one has been out for four months. So most of the comparisons were referring to the older android one that lacked many features and was much slower. If you had used the older one and then upgraded to the newer one, you would have been able to directly see the difference.

In fact this thread was created before Facebook 2.0 was released to Android. So simply put, you're not seeing what everyone was seeing when this thread was created and back then, it was a pile of turd.

I hope that clears up your confusion.

So problem solved, apps are on a par and fanboys on bothsides can sleep easy (or gnash their teeth)?

 

[TuxDave]

So problem solved, apps are on a par and fanboys on bothsides can sleep easy (or gnash their teeth)?

Don't you think it's a little too aggressive to conclude all apps are on par based in one? That's like saying that since Flipboard is out on Android tablets that Android tablet apps are on par. Personally I think android phone apps are close to par on most popular apps. Games and "new" apps are still lopsided for iOS. It's even more so across the board for tablets.

 

[WelshBloke]

Don't you think it's a little too aggressive to conclude all apps are on par based in one? That's like saying that since Flipboard is out on Android tablets that Android tablet apps are on par. Personally I think android phone apps are close to par on most popular apps. Games and "new" apps are still lopsided for iOS. It's even more so across the board for tablets.

I was just talking about the Facebook one.

EDIT: and Flipboard sucks, the new Google currents spanks its arse and calls it Susan (on a phone that is).

 

[TuxDave]

I was just talking about the Facebook one.

EDIT: and Flipboard sucks, the new Google currents spanks its arse and calls it Susan (on a phone that is).

Oh, yeah the Facebook argument can rest until Facebook 3.0 comes out. Then it'll be back.

Flipboard was designed for tablets first and all the hype you hear about it is for the tablet. The phone version came afterwards and I think it's far better than Google currents. However I've been told that it's stupid to argue the merits of Flipboard on a phone because the tablet one is orders of magnitude better to the point where the phone one should've just had a different name all together.

 

[WelshBloke]

Oh, yeah the Facebook argument can rest until Facebook 3.0 comes out. Then it'll be back.

Flipboard was designed for tablets first and all the hype you hear about it is for the tablet. The phone version came afterwards and I think it's far better than Google currents. However I've been told that it's stupid to argue the merits of Flipboard on a phone because the tablet one is orders of magnitude better to the point where the phone one should've just had a different name all together.

The new Google currents is good, it's a lot cleaner and less fussy than Flipboard on a phone. It still seems a bit arbitrary in the direction it wants you to scroll/swipe but it's an improvement on Flipboards silly folding nonsense.

 

[TuxDave]

The new Google currents is good, it's a lot cleaner and less fussy than Flipboard on a phone. It still seems a bit arbitrary in the direction it wants you to scroll/swipe but it's an improvement on Flipboards silly folding nonsense.

I guess it's a matter of personal preference. I went ahead to redownload Google Currents to see what you were talking about and it's still not as good IMO. I don't like how Google currents is still button driven. Flipboard you can swipe up and down to go to the next page and swipe left to go back a hierarchy. And plus I prefer the gigantic picture presentation of Flipboard. Again, just personal preference and after trying Google currents again, I think I'll stick to Flipboard.

(ignoring the choppy scroll and the fact that it crashed the first time I loaded it)

 

[WelshBloke]

I guess it's a matter of personal preference. I went ahead to redownload Google Currents to see what you were talking about and it's still not as good IMO. I don't like how Google currents is still button driven. Flipboard you can swipe up and down to go to the next page and swipe left to go back a hierarchy. And plus I prefer the gigantic picture presentation of Flipboard. Again, just personal preference and after trying Google currents again, I think I'll stick to Flipboard.

I just find flipboard really clunky to get anywhere.
Flip up to see your feeds then click on the big button or flip up some more if the huge buttons have taken up too much room. Too much is hidden and the flipping is still too gimmicky.

At least with currents its easier to see what's available. Pick your category and you can swipe through your feeds and scroll through the stories, and it's got full offline support.

 

[TuxDave]

I just find flipboard really clunky to get anywhere.
Flip up to see your feeds then click on the big button or flip up some more if the huge buttons have taken up too much room. Too much is hidden and the flipping is still too gimmicky.

At least with currents its easier to see what's available. Pick your category and you can swipe through your feeds and scroll through the stories, and it's got full offline support.

I guess this is where we differ. I don't think it's clunky. It's so braindead simple that it's hard to be clunky. Swipe around to browse, click to open. It's probably because you're just not used to it, just how I actually think Currents is clunky as hell (because it's completely different ways of organizing the data). But again, personal preference and if you really want to go debate the pros and cons, we can take it to PM.

 

[Nothinman]

I guess this is where we differ. I don't think it's clunky. It's so braindead simple that it's hard to be clunky. Swipe around to browse, click to open. It's probably because you're just not used to it, just how I actually think Currents is clunky as hell (because it's completely different ways of organizing the data). But again, personal preference and if you really want to go debate the pros and cons, we can take it to PM.

How is something braindead stupid if one has to get used to how it works?

 

[TuxDave]

How is something braindead stupid if one has to get used to how it works?

Because it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks if you get my drift.

 

[WelshBloke]

I guess this is where we differ. I don't think it's clunky. It's so braindead simple that it's hard to be clunky. Swipe around to browse, click to open. It's probably because you're just not used to it, just how I actually think Currents is clunky as hell (because it's completely different ways of organizing the data). But again, personal preference and if you really want to go debate the pros and cons, we can take it to PM.

I'd rather not go to PMs as it's a fairly polite and good natured discussion so far but if you don't want to continue that's fair enough, as you said it's a subjective subject and they are both great apps.

With currents I can get to any feed with two taps and I have a ton of feeds. With flipboard I find myself flipping up for ages to get to where I want.

Then when in a feed there's a really neat continuous scroll with a cards effect as each story pops in. With flipboard you can only see one story heading before flipping to the next.

 

[TuxDave]

I'd rather not go to PMs as it's a fairly polite and good natured discussion so far but if you don't want to continue that's fair enough, as you said it's a subjective subject and they are both great apps.

With currents I can get to any feed with two taps and I have a ton of feeds. With flipboard I find myself flipping up for ages to get to where I want.

Then when in a feed there's a really neat continuous scroll with a cards effect as each story pops in. With flipboard you can only see one story heading before flipping to the next.

You probably have a lot more feeds than I do. I have about 8 total and so I haven't had to deal with what you have to go through because it's all in one page. Switching feeds for me is 1 swipe from the left and 1 click and so it's really fast. I subscribe to many tech and photography feeds and for the photography feeds, the advantage of the Flipboard presentation sticks out because you get these gorgeous full screen photos you can to flip through. Half the time I don't even read the articles first but instead flip through all the pictures first!

But as you have inferred, I generally try to avoid nerd fights that eventually boil down to personal preference. You definitely found your usage model. I play with Currents for only about 30 minutes and I just didn't like it. It felt like I was browsing websites all over again. But yeah, I'll probably bow out of anymore Current vs Flipboard (unless a post later comes proclaiming me as an idiot) because it's like iOS vs Android. You can probably debate that for eternity.

 

[WelshBloke]

You probably have a lot more feeds than I do. I have about 8 total and so I haven't had to deal with what you have to go through because it's all in one page. Switching feeds for me is 1 swipe from the left and 1 click and so it's really fast. I subscribe to many tech and photography feeds and for the photography feeds, the advantage of the Flipboard presentation sticks out because you get these gorgeous full screen photos you can to flip through. Half the time I don't even read the articles first but instead flip through all the pictures first!

But as you have inferred, I generally try to avoid nerd fights that eventually boil down to personal preference. You definitely found your usage model. I play with Currents for only about 30 minutes and I just didn't like it. It felt like I was browsing websites all over again. But yeah, I'll probably bow out of anymore Current vs Flipboard (unless a post later comes proclaiming me as an idiot) because it's like iOS vs Android. You can probably debate that for eternity.

It wasn't my intention to try to start a nerd fight (love the expression though ) I do find it genuinely useful to discuss apps.

For instance I've just tried two apps that I hadn't used (or hadn't used for a while) and decided to stick with one because of this thread.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I just find flipboard really clunky to get anywhere.
Flip up to see your feeds then click on the big button or flip up some more if the huge buttons have taken up too much room. Too much is hidden and the flipping is still too gimmicky.

At least with currents its easier to see what's available. Pick your category and you can swipe through your feeds and scroll through the stories, and it's got full offline support.

I understand Flipboard for the phone is less useful. But have you used it on a tablet like the iPad? THAT was what it was meant for. It's a Twitter reader designed to make your news feed cool.

It's quite useful now on Android tablets, and yeah they took almost 2 years to finally bring it to Android tablets, but there's a reason this app won app of the year in 2011.

Google Currents works well for phones, but on tablets only the 2.0 update makes it half useful.

Flipboard was meant for a tablet anyway, so I find that very nice. The fact that there's standard feeds on Flipboard and that I don't have to add 8 individual feeds is nice. On Currents my only option to read about tech is to add Engadget. Gizmodo, Verge, Techcrunch, Mashable, and flip between all of them. On Flipboard I hit the Tech feed and I'm done for the day. That's why Pulse is to me quite usable in that I can see multiple feeds PLUS the Pulse Tech feed and multiple articles at once. I think that's what users want anyway--the ability to choose between a variety of articles. So while Pulse isn't the prettiest, its quite functional. Flipboard on tablet by showing multiple articles across different sources is useful too. Google Currents needs that.

 

[WelshBloke]

I understand Flipboard for the phone is less useful. But have you used it on a tablet like the iPad? THAT was what it was meant for. It's a Twitter reader designed to make your news feed cool.

It's quite useful now on Android tablets, and yeah they took almost 2 years to finally bring it to Android tablets, but there's a reason this app won app of the year in 2011.

Google Currents works well for phones, but on tablets only the 2.0 update makes it half useful.

Flipboard was meant for a tablet anyway, so I find that very nice. The fact that there's standard feeds on Flipboard and that I don't have to add 8 individual feeds is nice. On Currents my only option to read about tech is to add Engadget. Gizmodo, Verge, Techcrunch, Mashable, and flip between all of them. On Flipboard I hit the Tech feed and I'm done for the day. That's why Pulse is to me quite usable in that I can see multiple feeds PLUS the Pulse Tech feed and multiple articles at once. I think that's what users want anyway--the ability to choose between a variety of articles. So while Pulse isn't the prettiest, its quite functional. Flipboard on tablet by showing multiple articles across different sources is useful too. Google Currents needs that.

I was specifically talking about phones, I've tried neither the new currents or flipboard on a tablet so that's not really relevant to what I was talking about.

You can see articles from a variety of sources in currents. Just hit the breaking news section in whatever section you want.

 

[zsdersw]

IOS is much smoother.

False.

 

[Eug]

IOS is much smoother.

True.

When is apple going to release a ~5" screen device?

What I actually want is a big Android manufacturer to release a top of the line 4.3" device, and without a bloated OS skin.

I'm hopeful for Google/Motorola in 2013, with Jelly Bean 4.2 or Key Lime Pie and 61 mm wide.

 

[dagamer34]

True.


What I actually want is a big Android manufacturer to release a top of the line 4.3" device, and without a bloated OS skin.

I'm hopeful for Google/Motorola in 2013.

If only Motorola had used the 4.3" 720p display in the HTC 8X in the RAZR M, we might have a real competitor, as the skin on the RAZR M is extremely light. My hope though is that with 5" 1080p displays, some of that tech will make 4" 720p displays more feasible and cost-effective.

 

[zsdersw]

True.

Wrong. Pure Android is as smooth as iOS. Any occasional differences neither meet nor come close to qualifying as "much".

 

[vi edit]

Originally Posted by Tempered81 IOS is much smoother. True.

Eh, my Note 2 is as smooth, if not smoother than my iPhone 4. Of course it took 4 cores, 2 gigs of ram, and a dedicated project by Google to get it there.

After almost a month of Android ownership there's not really anything I'm really *missing* on the device that I can't live with. And there are some things that I still prefer over iOS. But that being said, if Apple ever released a 5" iPhone I'd probably move back over to that platform.

Nearly any application I've used between the two just simply works better on iOS than on Android. Android and it's apps are still glitchy and a 2nd effort product than what iOS offers.