So I have tried Android and iOS now.

[sygyzy]

When wallpapers, premium keys, and other stuff counts as an "app" on Android, I wouldn't say there is a meaningless difference.

It's like saying one paint company has more colors than another (650k versus 640k). Sure, it's 10,000 colors but chances are, if you are looking for green you'll get some sort of green. You might not Evergreen Green but Forest Green is pretty close. I can probably find hundreds of apps that appear on iOS and not Android. Years ago when this literally meant there was no map program or not photo editor, then this was a problem. I assure you that the vast majority of Android users are able to use their smartphones and be productive despite this *gasp* disparity in app count.

 

[TuxDave]

Just found out that you can do it on tinfoil just not in the news feed. If I'm in a time line i can swipe through the photos without leaving it, if I'm in my news feed it just shows three photos from the album.

Shows how much I use it I guess.

Nice! You sometimes wonder why companies with that much money can't do the simple stuff that smaller companies can pull off.

 

[tdawg]

Google Now is enough to keep me from going to Windows Phone at this point. I was ready to make the move until I got 4.1 installed. I can't picture leaving the Google ecosystem now and will be jumping to a Note 2 when my contract ends next week.

 

[Aikouka]

Here is what you may want to read. Android categorize 6 types of apps for memory management purposes.

How the low memory killer works

I'm not so worried about memory but rather whether a program is allowed to run in the background or not. I'm curious if I would see better battery life if I could tell the majority of my programs to save state and close upon returning to the home screen. They could also just reside in memory like what iOS does.

I know some people don't like the iOS "multi-tasking" as it isn't really full-fledged multi-tasking, but it does seem to help avoid excessive background processing. The only issue is that you can't have third-party apps access certain functionality. For example, if you want a clock app to have an alarm feature, you need to leave the app running and turn off your screen. It would be nice if you could say, "I want this clock app to be able to run in the background," but everything else remains the same.

If you, you know, actually use the two, the Asus wins by a mile.

Why do you say that? I have used them both, and I still prefer the iPad. In some ways, I think the keyboard dock actually ruins my TF300 experience as it makes me want to use it as a laptop when it's still probably better to default to the touch screen for the majority of the activities. I also wish the TF300 would turn on when I open it up much like laptops do and how the iPad turns on when you lift the magnetic cover. It's a small feature, but it's rather nice.

 

[TuxDave]

For example, if you want a clock app to have an alarm feature, you need to leave the app running and turn off your screen. It would be nice if you could say, "I want this clock app to be able to run in the background," but everything else remains the same.

I just downloaded a random alarm clock app, set the alarm, closed the app (pushing the home button), turned off my screen.

It still went off so that functionality is available to run in the background. I don't know what features can run in the background besides music (and apparently this) but at least I can confirm that for alarms it will continue timing in the background.

 

[Eug]

On the Nexus 4 with the native email app that it comes with, it looks and behaves just like the iOS version with regards to multiple email accounts. You can choose one account or others, or as many as you want together, and then color code emails from the them, or just have them all look the same. It's more or less the same on the two platforms, although if I objectively look at the apps, the iOS one is maybe slightly better than the Jelly Bean one in terms of features (server-side search is one). But they are equivalent enough to call it a draw.

Strangely enough I can't use native email app on my Nexus 7 with Yahoo Mail at work. It works fine at home. However, the Yahoo Mail app works fine with Yahoo Mail at work and at home. So, I use that, even though it's quite ugly and ad supported.

And then there's the Gmail app. It's strange though that Google has two completely independent apps for mail though. It's just not necessary to do this.

And, for what it's worth, I generally find that the battery life of my iOS devices (iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPad) is substantially better than the battery life of my Android devices (Asus Transformer, Nexus 4).

Well, I'm not hugely impressed with the battery life of the iPhone 4. It's OK but not stellar. My iPad's battery life is great though.

I'm hoping the Razr HD will have significantly better battery life than the iPhone 4 though.

 

[lopri]

I'm not so worried about memory but rather whether a program is allowed to run in the background or not. I'm curious if I would see better battery life if I could tell the majority of my programs to save state and close upon returning to the home screen. They could also just reside in memory like what iOS does.

I am not sure what you're trying to say. The old adage applies here: Unused memory = Wasted memory. Memory is there to be used, not to sit idle.

Now, whether there is a background app running, "freezed" in a state, or completely wiped off of memory are all related to how OS handles memory and how much memory a system has. Of course a modern mobile OS will attempt to find a balance between number of background processes with available memory as well as power usage. In this regard there is no difference between iOS and Android.

For example, my original iPad has paltry 256 MB and can't even hold a web page in its browser, so every time I switch tabs a page needs to refresh itself. It's much improved in later hardware and for example my iPhone 4 can hold 3~4 tabs.

As you can imagine this is a delicate balancing act. Holding tabbed pages takes up more memory space, thus sips more power than having just one page open. However, refreshing a page may use even more power since it has to use the bandwidth again. Browsers also come into play to help, and certain mobile browsers (such as Opera mini) will render user-requested page on its own server before displaying it on user's screen, thus reducing data transfer and power usage. It's one way for browsers to compete in the market.

I do not know which OS has more robust power saving scheme. That wasn't my contention when I compared iOS and Android for simple multitasking. I simply noted the ability to go back to previous stages (apps or otherwise) without detour in Android, unlike iOS. AFAIK, in iOS that's only possible between Apple-controlled store fronts (e.g. from iTunes to iBooks to iTunes U), which is.. dumb and even offensive.

 

[Eug]

I just had to wipe my Nexus 7. Weird power issues and Google Play download issues. Neither Google nor Asus could help me.

 

[lopri]

I mean, if you believe Apple should not improve iOS's multitasking capability for the sake of battery life, then that's your opinion which differs from mine, and I agree to disagree.

My opinion is that an OS should constantly strive to find a balance between multitasking and performance/battery along with improving hardware.

Edit:

I just had to wipe my Nexus 7. Weird power issues and Google Play download issues. Neither Google nor Asus could help me.

Make a thread about it? This thread is iOS v. Android.

 

[Eug]

Make a thread about it? This thread is iOS v. Android.

I already have. The point is I have never had to do that with any iOS device. I've owned three so far. OTOH, a couple of months into owning this one I've had to do that. I've never even rooted this machine. (I did the first couple I had, briefly, but both had the screen lift issue so I returned them.)

The worst I've ever had to do for an iOS device is reboot.

EDIT:

Four. I forgot about my Apple TV.

 

[lopri]

I missed the excellent summary by vi edit in post #71. I agree for the most part, and the part I can't affirm/deny is due to my lack of experience. (e.g. Windows Phone) Though I note that some of his summary is device/app-related, which is not innate to the OS itself.

 

[phantom404]

I much prefer the WP approach to mailboxes--you can combine different mailboxes as you see fit. While my wife was in school and working I had her email on my phone so I could let her know when anything important came in. I could combine my email accounts in one linked inbox, and her accounts into another linked inbox.

As for apps, in general I haven't had any problems with finding what I need in WP(7, fwiw). But I mostly just browse the web (and like IE9 for that matter), stay in touch with email/text/messaging (integrated FB and MSN, have jiTalk for gchat), have an app for GV texting pinned to start screen with push enabled, the integrated MS Office and Skydrive works like a charm, app for accessing our WHS remotely, weather and Key Ring pinned, multiple shared calendars from different people, and with my ancient Zune Pass (with 10 song credits included) the Bing Music search works awesome in the car.

For that matter...I haven't run into anyone from here in the real world for a comparison like this (which helps my cause ), but anytime I have run into a "we need to look something up" whether maps, info, etc the iOS and Android users are usually still poking around for an app

The voice commands/searches work very well also and leave most people looking rather amazed

Hopefully Verizon gets a nice Lumia with the improved camera at some point.

edit: I think iOS and Android still have a lead for sure in that if you have a specific need for a certain app and it isn't available on WP, that is a dealkiller which is understandable.

I completely agree with you. I've had an iphone4, and pretty much every verizon droid device up to the galaxy s3 and I'm currently on the Nokia Lumia 822. By far I enjoy the Windows experience the most. Heck I even kept my nexus 7 around just so I could play Words with friends and draw something but those have been released for WP 8 now.

I'm with you there isn't really an app I needed that I haven't been able to find and IE 10 works great. Yes it doesn't do flash but it looks like pretty much everything else is moving away from flash as well.

Also noticed how someone mentioned earlier the lack of notifications on wp. The notifications for the most part are in the live tiles. All the missed calls, new text, email, facebook notifications, games, calendar...etc are all displayed on the tiles.

 

[s44]

Why do you say that? I have used them both, and I still prefer the iPad.

Because you were talking about battery life, and the TF+dock objectively destroys the iPad.

But hell, it's use case too. If you want a toy that you ignore for weeks and play with every once in a while, the iPad is definitely superior. If you want an actual device you can do work on as well as mess around, the keyboard and battery make it no contest... though next month's Tegra4 version will be even closer to ideal.

 

[s44]

ack, double

 

[Eug]

My colleague uses an exact fit Bluetooth keyboard / metal case with his iPad. Very slick.

 

[juebao]

Anyhow, i like Android devices.

 

[Fingolfin269]

After using an EVO for about a year, then an iPhone 4S for about 6 months, and now having a Nexus for a couple of months I've basically come to the following conclusion. If iOS had a ~4.5" screen device I would go back to iOS. But that will probably never happen so I'm stuck with Android unless WP8 pulls me in.

 

[notposting]

I completely agree with you. I've had an iphone4, and pretty much every verizon droid device up to the galaxy s3 and I'm currently on the Nokia Lumia 822. By far I enjoy the Windows experience the most. Heck I even kept my nexus 7 around just so I could play Words with friends and draw something but those have been released for WP 8 now.

I'm with you there isn't really an app I needed that I haven't been able to find and IE 10 works great. Yes it doesn't do flash but it looks like pretty much everything else is moving away from flash as well.

Also noticed how someone mentioned earlier the lack of notifications on wp. The notifications for the most part are in the live tiles. All the missed calls, new text, email, facebook notifications, games, calendar...etc are all displayed on the tiles.

The best ideas I've heard in regards to notifications on WP are to either offer a screen to the left of the Start screen (apps to the right, notification center to the left, have a listing of missed toast messages, unpinned notifications) or integrate it with the app listing somehow.

How is the 822 camera? Pretty much need a decent indoor camera (not low light even, but just indoor lighting). Kind of holding out for a 920 variant at the moment. The camera on the Trophy is practically unusable.

 

[zsdersw]

I already have. The point is I have never had to do that with any iOS device. I've owned three so far. OTOH, a couple of months into owning this one I've had to do that. I've never even rooted this machine. (I did the first couple I had, briefly, but both had the screen lift issue so I returned them.)

The worst I've ever had to do for an iOS device is reboot.

Then you obviously have never dealt with volume quantities of iOS devices. I have, and I have to wipe a few of them out on a somewhat regular basis.

 

[Eug]

Have you dealt in volume Android devices? If so, what is your comparative support times and necessary wipe rates?

 

[zsdersw]

Have you dealt in volume Android devices? If so, what is your comparative support times and necessary wipe rates?

It's not relevant to my remark about your lack of experience with volume quantities of iOS devices, but yes. It's similar to iOS devices.

 

[WelshBloke]

I was implying you would download the official Facebook app to try it out so you can compare and contrast if you were really curious about the difference. But you don't have to.

Sorry old bump but just flashed a new rom and installed the official Facebook app.

You can indeed scroll sideways through photo albums in the newsfeed.

So I'm still at a loss as to why the Android app was described as far inferior to the ios one.

 

[Dulanic]

Sorry old bump but just flashed a new rom and installed the official Facebook app.

You can indeed scroll sideways through photo albums in the newsfeed.

So I'm still at a loss as to why the Android app was described as far inferior to the ios one.

The Facebook app was just recently updated for android and is finally decent.

 

[TuxDave]

Sorry old bump but just flashed a new rom and installed the official Facebook app.

You can indeed scroll sideways through photo albums in the newsfeed.

So I'm still at a loss as to why the Android app was described as far inferior to the ios one.

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.

 

[bearxor]

It's not relevant to my remark about your lack of experience with volume quantities of iOS devices, but yes. It's similar to iOS devices.

Your users have to be doing something wonky. I've got about 300 iOS devices and 350 Android devices and the only time I wipe devices is when a new employee gets a phone.

I will say, that we've had about a dozen RAZR users "restart" their phone because its locked up or something, and they've done it by opening the back up and removing the battery. And then plugging the battery back in. Of course, their phones typically don't work after that. When asked why they did it, they said "that's how you restart a blackberry." Then I sit in horror as I just thinking to myself "how can you start trying to open it up an not realize there's no place to open it. How much force do you exert and plastic do you snap before you might start to think 'hey, maybe this battery isn't removable'".

It forced me to draft an entire document on just restarting smart phones.

Unsurprisingly, I've never had such an issue with iPhone users.