Android Companies Keep Pretending That Android Doesn't Exist (theverge.com) 168
Europe's biggest tech show IFA is underway in Berlin currently. Companies from around the world are showcasing their new smartphones at the event, chearleading the advancements they have made on the hardware side. Pretty much all these devices are running Android, but the way they are presented, you wouldn't be able to tell if that really is the case. The Verge's Vlad Savov writes: Sony would have us believe that buying an Xperia phone grants us a pass into the exclusive Xperia experience. The stuff actually differentiating the Xperia brand is junk and bloatware: the Xperia assistance software is a mobile version of Microsoft's Clippy. Huawei is even worse in its Android omerta, deathly afraid to utter the green giant's name. I understand that hardware companies want to spend more time talking about their hardware, but all these launches feel lobotomized without a proper discussion of the software driving their devices. Tell me about your implementation of Android. Tell me why you think it's okay to launch a phone without the latest software. Reassure me that I won't be left behind the way that many 2014 Android flagships already have been, and explain to your users why they don't need smarter multitasking, improved notifications, and baked-in VR support. Yes, those are harder issues to discuss, but dodging them is what makes customers untrusting of Android manufacturers.
This is why I buy LG. (Score:5, Insightful)
LG devices have standard connectors, microSD cards, removable batteries, and best of all: they are well supported by Cyanogenmod. My devices are always up-to-date and functional the way I want them.
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Sounds like you shouldn't have kept dropping the phone in the fire. I have a G3 with CyanogenMod and it works great.
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So, you not taking your malfunctioning phone into the supplier's for repair is someone else's fault? That is what warranties are for - persuading people to get their devices (which presumably have fallen on the unhelpful side of th bathtub failure rate curve) off the street and fixed, instead of floating around pissing off their users and damaging the brand's reputation.
I note there are no cla
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Hmmm... my LG built Nexus 5X doesn't have a removable battery, uses a USB-C connector, no removable MicroSD card.
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Well, it's a Nexus, they are made according to Google's specs, and Google seems to dislike microSD.
SDXC requires patented exFAT (Score:2)
Google seems to dislike microSD.
I wonder how much of this dislike comes from the SD Card Association's having made a Microsoft patented file system a requirement for the microSDXC logo. I forget where I read it, but Microsoft reportedly made more money licensing patents to Android device makers than it ever made on Windows Phone 7 and later.
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Cyanogen is to much microsoft
Re:This is why I buy LG. (Score:5, Funny)
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Not as well-supported as they should be. My Optimus V still runs Gingerbread.
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LG devices have standard connectors, microSD cards, removable batteries, and best of all: they are well supported by Cyanogenmod. My devices are always up-to-date and functional the way I want them.
So what you are saying is that you don't even EXPECT the phone's OEM to support their POS phone; bug rather have to depend on the largesse of coders working for a company who has absolutely NO accountability if something goes wrong with an update.
Are you insane?
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LG devices have standard connectors, microSD cards, removable batteries, and best of all: they are well supported by Cyanogenmod. My devices are always up-to-date and functional the way I want them.
So what you are saying is that you don't even EXPECT the phone's OEM to support their POS phone; bug rather have to depend on the largesse of coders working for a company who has absolutely NO accountability if something goes wrong with an update.
Are you insane?
I expect the phone's OEM to support their hardware, to make it standards-compliant, well-documented, and compatible with the most common phone operating system(s), one of which should come pre-installed. I expect them to leave the software to the experts in that field who are developing usable mobile operating system software suitable for all phones, and not try to force users to deal with their own idiosyncratic, buggy, advertisement-laden Android offshoot. Let the best smartphone and the best mobile opera
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LG devices have standard connectors, microSD cards, removable batteries, and best of all: they are well supported by Cyanogenmod. My devices are always up-to-date and functional the way I want them.
So what you are saying is that you don't even EXPECT the phone's OEM to support their POS phone; bug rather have to depend on the largesse of coders working for a company who has absolutely NO accountability if something goes wrong with an update.
Are you insane?
I expect the phone's OEM to support their hardware, to make it standards-compliant, well-documented, and compatible with the most common phone operating system(s), one of which should come pre-installed. I expect them to leave the software to the experts in that field who are developing usable mobile operating system software suitable for all phones, and not try to force users to deal with their own idiosyncratic, buggy, advertisement-laden Android offshoot. Let the best smartphone and the best mobile operating system win—separately!
The OEM should be accountable only for the hardware and whatever OS they choose to pre-install. You should be able to install AOSP with full hardware support through open-source drivers. If you prefer to have someone to hold accountable for software updates and support, you should be able to select the most suitable hardware for your needs and an operating system (perhaps based on AOSP) with a paid service contract designed to run on any smartphone, just like you can buy a commercially-supported operating system like RHEL or Windows and run it on any standards-compliant PC.
It's a fucking PHONE, get over it!
It's a Goddamn APPLIANCE, an EMBEDDED DEVICE!!! It may ACT a little like a computer; but it is not. It is a tightly-integrated system between software and hardware, with precious few resources and even less energy to wasted on software designed by those who don't know ALL of the tricks that can be leveraged by those who designed that particular assemblage of hardware.
What you propose would do nothing but make software that would have to be designed around the lowest com
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It really is. :)
The real problem (Score:2)
Average Person (Score:1)
The average consumer doesn't care about the operating system of their phone. They probably don't even know what Android is in detail and they wouldn't care or notice that they are running an out of date OS or that there are different skins of Android. They just install and use the apps they want and then if the phone is slow they just buy a new phone.
They are telling you (Score:5, Insightful)
Reassure me that I won't be left behind the way that many 2014 Android flagships already have been
The are telling you what they plan to do; which is exactly the same as they have been doing. There will be no updates.
Just because you don't like the message doesn't mean they are not being clear.
Why would they talk about Android? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why would Sony want to market their phone by talking about how awesome Android is? Any smartphone you get (that's not an iPhone, obviously) will be running Android. If Sony's sales pitch is, "You should buy an Android phone!" it doesn't differentiate them from other phone manufacturers. It doesn't tell you why you should buy an Xperia phone.
So every phone manufacturer is trying to differentiate itself. They want to make their phone different from the other Android phones, and then their sales pitch is going to focus on those differences. For some manufacturers, those differences might be good, and for some they'll be bad, but there is a need to be different. Even Google's Nexus devices are, to some extent, marketing themselves on the premise that they're the reference design. You're getting the true, pure Android experience without all that pesky manufacturer interference.
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Kind of like the market for Windows PCs. Again they all 'differentiate' their products with piles of crapware. This is 'business school' thinking, and the evidence of the crapware mess on both Windows and Android ought to be evidence enough that, in the case of computer equipment, this 'market differentiation' mindset just plain does not fucking work. What we need is stuff that is as uncluttered as possible and just works. Apple used to do that very well with macs mid last decade, then got carried away with
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in the case of computer equipment, this 'market differentiation' mindset just plain does not fucking work. What we need is stuff that is as uncluttered as possible and just works.
I'd look at it a different way: If you can genuinely add something of value, then you can differentiate your product from the competitors. However, if all your competitors are trying to do that and failing miserably, then there's an opportunity to differentiate yourself by *not* installing crapware.
On the other hand, the reality is that part of the reasons these businesses do these things is that it works. They say, "Buy my product because I've added value by installing our custom 'CoolStuff' interface.
Re:Why would they talk about Android? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes. That's why my next phone is likely to be a Nexus.
No, it won't. [androidpolice.com]
Google v. Oracle (Score:2)
Does this behavior have anything to do with the ongoing legal battle between Google and oracle over the API's?
It's a commodity (Score:3)
Why advertise that which your product shares with your competition? You emphasize it's advantages. Simple marketing.
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That's a good question. Let me think about it as I type on my laptop with an "Intel Inside" sticker with a Windows logo......
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Being loaded with crapware and nonstandard UI is hardly an advantage, at least for the consumer. What you're seeing is a desperate attempt to fight against smartphones becoming mass-market products with low brand loyalty and thus low profit margins.
Seems logical enough. (Score:5, Insightful)
Moral of the story, you are a low-margin, interchangeable, and largely expendable partner if you don't provide either the OS or the high-value components; with conditions moderately better for companies that can at least make money on SoCs or screens or batteries.
Plus, some vendors still cherish the delusion(despite 'smartphone' having been a thing for some years now) that phones are just 'consumer electronics' and so consumers will dutifully consume them based on the 'features' the vendor shoves in to differentiate the product, rather than just loading the applications that provide the features they want, as with a real computer.
Now, while I can't exactly blame the handset OEMs for wanting to avoid being just board stuffers who basically exist just to install Google's OS on Qualcomm's hardware; they have the crippling little problem that you can't put yourself in the position of being a value-added software contributor just by wanting to, or just by shipping software. You have to not suck at it. And that...hasn't exactly happened. Even after years of trying, OEM bloatware is considered to be doing atypically well when reviews describe it as 'subtle' or 'inoffensive' compared to stock Android.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
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Many of the handset OEMs have direct experience with being box-stuffers for Wintel PCs; and the ones that don't have had plenty of time to observe the ones that do.
Moral of the story, you are a low-margin, interchangeable, and largely expendable partner if you don't provide either the OS or the high-value components; with conditions moderately better for companies that can at least make money on SoCs or screens or batteries.
A smartphone, even one running stock Android, has many more points of meaningful differentiation than a typical desktop PC, such as
I for one would love to be able to buy suc
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When it is very hard to distinguish your product, except on price, corners tend to be cut on everything that isn't easily visible on the spec sheet or the showroom floor. With laptops prices stayed low and CPU s
But they're not Android companies (Score:1)
They're phone companies. They're going to want to talk about phones. Samsung has been meddling with forking/making a new phone ecosystem to get away from Google.
Google is the Android company. Don't conflate.
Android is terrible, but no alternatives atm (Score:2)
I've used a lot of Android devices, and still use them with my current Galaxy S5 running CM13. It's obvious that despite all Apple's shortcomings in its walled garden approach, their ecosystem is a lot more unified and provides a consistent user experience compared to Android-based phone manufacturers. Among Android devices, I have to say Samsung's blend of Android is definitely one of the worst. The UI is broken, inconsistent garbage and it takes a very long time to turn off all the on-by-default annoyance
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What are you trying to compare here? One moment it's OSes, the next it's hardware manufacturers.
There's iOS vs Android, and then there's Apple vs Samsung vs Huawei vs LG vs Moto. It's that iOS is limited to a single manufacturer, that's why it's all the same.
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There's also ecosystem vs. ecosystem, and Android-based phone manufacturers obviously differentiate their products' Android installations and thus provide differing user experiences.
marketing 101 (Score:2)
Its marketing 101. Even if its true, admitting that its Android-based is the same as telling you that their product is just like everyone else's.
What's "their implementation of Android"? (Score:2)
First thing I do before buying an Android phone is make sure there's a root method and supporting decent mod. First thing I do after buying an Android phone is root it, remove the crap the manufacturer put on there, and install decent mod.
Tell me about it... (Score:2)
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Well, iPhone is certainly a lot more brain dead easy.
You can find quality Android devices, but it is harder and you have to do considerably more research.
With an iPhone, you know what you are getting. IMO that is the main reason people stick with iPhones.
There is too much choice in the world these days. If you don't have any choice, then the decision is easy.
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Well, iPhone is certainly a lot more brain dead easy.
You can find quality Android devices, but it is harder and you have to do considerably more research.
With an iPhone, you know what you are getting. IMO that is the main reason people stick with iPhones.
There is too much choice in the world these days. If you don't have any choice, then the decision is easy.
Well, i got disappointed at SAMSUNG, LG, Motorola devices multiple times, i really didn't want to any more research with Android, which would have meant spending even more money, and went actually for a good quality phone. I'm not saying that Android phones are all bad, there's one Android phone that i actually quite liked, but my Galaxy S2 died on a toilet accident. I was actually interested on getting a Huawei phone before the iPhone, but people that owned it told me it wasn't good.
the Ulimate in Consumer Friendly Droids (Score:2)
It should be LAW that if you BUY a phone then you should be able to Root the phone and do want with the software that does not mess with the actual phone software (which should be a separate downloadable ap package).
(oh and "design decisions" that make it hard to get Root should require that OEM to provide at no cost the needed materials to bypass)
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Disagree. There should be no law that dictates what you can do with something, as such a law is often impossible to comply with.
What should go is that horrible US law DMCA, which makes reverse engineering illegal and which in turn encourages making root access hard - results of which are felt all over the world.
Do not buy their phones (Score:2)
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This.
Very happy with my latest generic Chinese phone, which has nice features like dual sim and minimal bloatware, (that is easy to desactivate)
Samsung bloatware (Score:2)
After the latest update, my Samsung Galaxy S5 has so much bloatware that I almost can't use it anymore. The camera app refuses to take pictures unless I have an external SD card installed, and some apps refuse to download from the app store. 16GB RAM - 5.46GB OS - 7.11GB apps = 3.4GB left. After you include the Google Maps cache and voice mail cache and a few other things I have 1.1GB free. You can't move the built-in apps to the external SD card. My wife has the same phone, with no apps installed, and
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This has been done for a Long time.
Branding the Crap out of Windows so far as long as MS will not sue them. Adding additional stuff to give you the company X advantage.
Heck I remember on my Amstrad CPC1512 it came with MSDOS (Red disk) labeled in such a way that you really didn't know it was MSDos 2.x And they prefered that you booted with the Blue Disk that brought you into GEM Desktop using Dr Dos. I think the Yellow Disk (Perhaps the Green One) loaded Dr Dos alone.
Re:No surprise (Score:4, Insightful)
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Anyone with any sense already knows what the OS is,
Yeah, the OS is TouchWiz. Oh sure, *you* might know that it's based on Android, but most people don't.
Though it's good for Android that nobody knows. TouchWiz is horrible. Followed closely by Emotion. Sony's is pretty bad, but HTC and Oppo get it right. Sense and ColorOS are the only two I've used that are better than stock Android. TouchWiz and Emotion are worse. Sony's is close enough I'll be generous and call it a tie.
Samsung's plan was always to have TouchWiz build an ecosystem of TouchWiz only
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Amstrad CPC1512? Mixing your old machines: CPC464 and PC1512...
Amstrad had their own version of MS-DOS on the system disk, 3.2.0, which no one else had; 3.2.1 was the official release version from Microsoft.
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Android is clunky, has a history of terrible security, and invades your privacy thanks to Google. If I was trying to sell a smartphone, I wouldn't want to be associated with Android, either.
"Clunky" is subjective, personally I find stock Android to be very intuitive compared to iOS.
Android's security has historically been just as good/bad as iOS's as well. The difference is that carriers and OEMs prevent upstream security updates from being installed for Android. Blame them for that.
I don't know of any datamining that Google does that also isn't done by Apple.
Android security (Score:2)
"Clunky" is subjective, personally I find stock Android to be very intuitive compared to iOS.
Maybe but very few devices have stock Android on them. As for me the Android devices I own are definitely more of a pain to use that the iOS devices I own. Possibly I have the wrong ones but my experience with Android is that it requires (and allows) considerably more fiddling than iOS. Whether you like that or not is a matter of personal preference.
Android's security has historically been just as good/bad as iOS's as well. The difference is that carriers and OEMs prevent upstream security updates from being installed for Android. Blame them for that.
If the security isn't available on the device then it may as well not exist. It is not important if Google or the handset maker or the telecom is to blame.
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Android's security has historically been just as good/bad as iOS's as well. The difference is that carriers and OEMs prevent upstream security updates from being installed for Android. Blame them for that.
My phone gets security updates. It's just about as secure as an iPhone is. It's not my problem that other people buy phones that don't get updates.
Apple isn't in the advertising business to anywhere near the degree Google is. As a result Google does CONSIDERABLY more data mining than Apple does because Apple doesn't need to do nearly as much. Whether you have a problem with this or not is a matter of personal perspective. Apple screws you in different ways than Google. Pick your poison.
Google's business model is that they broker advertisements to you through Google Search and YouTube. Both of those are available on iPhones and Android, so there's no difference there. As to what datamining they do to you just from the Android OS, it's about the same as what you get using iOS.
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So it's just as secure until a security vulnerability is found. When there is a security vulnerability found in iOS and it's patched, Apple releases a patch that goes out to all iPhone users worldwide. Right now, to all phones introduced in the last 5 years.
When a security vulnerability is found in Andro
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So it's just as secure until a security vulnerability is found. When there is a security vulnerability found in iOS and it's patched, Apple releases a patch that goes out to all iPhone users worldwide. Right now, to all phones introduced in the last 5 years.
When a security vulnerability is found in Android, Google might create a patch, the OEM might integrate the patch, and the carrier might release it.
On a Nexus here; neither my OEM nor my carrier blocks any updates, so I get them as they're released by Google.
"Google might create a patch." And they might not. Which is also true of Apple, so no difference there.
I don't have to wait on Dell to get a patch for Windows. I get it straight from MS.
MS also gets all the data from the spyware ingrained in their OS, so have fun with that. Your computer also runs a serious risk of being bricked every update because Microsoft is the sole dealer of updates and they don't rigorously test all available hardware, since that really should be the OEM'
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So the only way you get guaranteed updates is by buying the one or two Android phones that Google markets? So much for Android giving you lots of choices, You're stuck with just one vendor just like iPhones.
When has Apple not patched a published vulnerability? Currently Apple supports all iPhones
patch from MS? (Score:2)
Iphone updates, android updates through the carrier, that is to say not at all.
Google really has to lean on or bypass the carriers.
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Android is the worse of all possible worlds when it comes to updates.
Apple (iOS/MacOS): they control the hardware and write their own drivers for their hardware. They aren't dependent on third parties for their drivers. They also have a mostly stable ABI for MacOS where third party drivers don't break on every update. They provide updates without third party interference.
*Stable ABI where the kernel isn't tightly coupled to drivers and the kernel can be updated independently.
Microsoft: They provide drivers
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Android's security has historically been just as good/bad as iOS's as well. The difference is that carriers and OEMs prevent upstream security updates from being installed for Android. Blame them for that.
You're either a liar or illiterate. Nobody in their right mind would make that claim, even with your disclaimer.
I don't know of any datamining that Google does that also isn't done by Apple.
Then you haven't been paying attention, or are again, illiterate or a liar.
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Android's security has historically been just as good/bad as iOS's as well. The difference is that carriers and OEMs prevent upstream security updates from being installed for Android. Blame them for that.
You're either a liar or illiterate. Nobody in their right mind would make that claim, even with your disclaimer.
Google's still pushing updates for Android 4.4. The only reason phones running KitKat aren't getting those updates is because OEMs and carriers are not allowing those updates to go through. This isn't obscured in any way, it's widely known, I don't know what you're so panicked about.
Then you haven't been paying attention, or are again, illiterate or a liar.
Please show me the exact data that's collected from Android OS and by iOS and tell me what the substantial differences are.
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Actually studies found that Android users are more honest then apple user so I'd assume your full of crap
Citatation?
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https://www.cvedetails.com/top-50-products.php?year=0
facts disagree with you, liar.
That's FIXED vulnerabilities.
However, the big difference is that, On Android (unlike iOS), even though those Vulns are fixed, there AREN'T any fixes forthcoming for the VAST majority of their vic^H^H^Husers.
And that is the difference that makes all the difference.
Dispute that.
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lol a fixed vulnerability is still a vulnerability . you apple worshippers are such a dull lot.
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/16/09/02/1345200/android-users-more-honest-and-humble-than-iphone-users-study-says
and dishonest.
Ok, by that measure, Linux is #2 on that list, and actually has 200 MORE Vulnerabilities in the most recent year (2016) than #1 OS X; but more significantly, over twice as many EXPLOITS (which are Vulnerabilities that have actually been "realized") than OS X for that same year.
As for your supposed "study", so many people run each platform that, like with the Bible, you can literally "prove" anything.
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lol a fixed vulnerability is still a vulnerability . you apple worshippers are such a dull lot.
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/16/09/02/1345200/android-users-more-honest-and-humble-than-iphone-users-study-says
and dishonest.
Ok, by that measure, Linux is #2 on that list, and actually has 200 MORE Vulnerabilities in the most recent year (2016) than #1 OS X; but more significantly, over twice as many EXPLOITS (which are Vulnerabilities that have actually been "realized") than OS X for that same year. As for your supposed "study", so many people run each platform that, like with the Bible, you can literally "prove" anything.
Rereading that list, I realize I was looking at the total, not the 2016 row, for which I apologize.
But the rest still stands. Depending on the category, Linux and OS X are pretty much neck-and neck; but Linux has had almost THREE TIMES as many EXPLOITS as OS X overall (29 for Linux, vs 12 for OS X) and it is EXPLOITS that are the dangerous ones. Everything else is, an UNREALIZED, theoretical threat.
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really.. so apple FIXED more vulnerabilities that they THEMSELF introduced into their toxic hellstew of an operating system and you want to applaud that? Makes me wonder how many hundred more bugs there that other people will have to find for apple
you sir have no business in a discussion about technology and are not worth anther second of my time,
You will note that Linux is #2 on that list, right behind OS X.
And if we are counting EXPLOITS (which are the only Vulnerabilities that actually matter to USERS), Linux had nearly THREE TIMES as many as OS X. Everything else is completely theoretical.
So, it looks like Linux is absolutely as big of a "Toxic hell stew of an operating system" as OS X.
Remember: I didn't bring up the CVE list. You ACs did.
Everyone with half a brain cell knows that every OS has Vulnerabilities; but it is the ones that act
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Smartphones are clunky, have a history of terrible security, and invades your privacy thanks to EVERYONE. If I was trying to sell a phone, I wouldn't want to be associated with Smartphones, either.
FTFY.
But seriously, folks.. my first impression about this? That manufacturers marketing departments think like this:
Android, LOL, we don't make that, right? That's that skeezy 'open source' thing, isn't it? LOL, don't even mention it, downplay it as much as you can, and talk up what we put on the phone, that's what the customers are paying for, otherwise they'll know we're ripping them off by charging them for something that doesn't cost us anything
Basically, I think manufacturers use Android like a $20 whore and DGAF, and try to make it look like their shitty bloatware apps are what are running the phone. That's what the average consumer sees, not the underlying OS, so that's what they think is running the phone. It's like your grandparents thinking that the monitor is the computer, not the box next to it on the desk.
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ry ANYTHING non Android
Translation: "Hi, I am an apple fanboi"
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ry ANYTHING non Android
Translation: "Hi, I am an apple fanboi"
Not necessarily and not defending the Apple Fanboi.......for some idiotic reason, I got an HTC One M8 Windows phone with my last phone upgrade and it is a pretty fast operating phone. Battery usage is VERY low (could probably go 2 days before recharging, but I charge every night (with 80% charge left) out of habit)... if the app selection was a little more diverse I wouldn't mind keeping it in the long term.
But the other day a friend of mine got a new Samsung phone with Android and out of the box it actua
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new Samsung phone with Android
There's your problem ;) Samsung isn't just "android" it is TouchWiz on top.
Having had a Samsung, and having used both Touchwiz and close to stock (CyanogenMod) on it, the differences were remarkable.20% better battery, and it seemed both faster and smoother running CM
And I haven't ever seen Windows Phone in the wild, I can't say anything else about it.
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I'm on a Windows Phone, actually.
Behold an endangered species if I ever saw one. What is its current global market share, less than 1%?
Re: No surprise (Score:5, Informative)
Completely disagree. As a long time iOS user who switched to Android about six weeks ago I'll say it's been a great change. It's not as polished as Apple's walled garden but it is hardly clunky. Perfectly usable and I feel like I'm using a computer instead of an appliance, plus I'm running all of the same apps as I did on iOS.
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For me, the problem was that I have no interest in 'phablets.' Unfortunately, there isn't a single Android manufacturer that offers a smaller cell phone that's not also totally stripped of performance and features.
You're gonna have to explain how moving to iOS solves that. The iPhone is a 4.7" and above device, with the 4" iPhone SE being an concession to people holding onto older handset. It's not a "regular iPhone model" so who knows if it will ever get upgraded again.
Meanwhile, there are many Android phones available in 4.7" size, including higher end models like the new Xperia X Compact [gsmarena.com], and manufactures like BLU making devices as small as 3.5".
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You're gonna have to explain how moving to iOS solves that. The iPhone is a 4.7" and above device, with the 4" iPhone SE being an concession to people holding onto older handset. It's not a "regular iPhone model" so who knows if it will ever get upgraded again.
Apple has seen impressive sales figures on the SE; so there is every likelihood it will remain in the lineup, and be updated along with the other variants. Probably not next week; but next time around.
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im sure it has its own planned obsolescence path as all apple products do
I don't think that any Fandroid has a single word to say about "Planned Obsolescence".
Speaking of which, I had been avoiding Upgrading my iPad 2 and iPhone 4s for a little my, long time, due to all the horror stories about "Upgrades making your old iPad and iPhone unusably slow".
So, imagine my surprise when, after I just upgraded both of the, to the latest version of iOS (9.3.5), not only were they not slower, they were actually faster, especially the iPad! In fact, it seems about 25% faster in all resp
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Motorola makes the Moto G line which is not huge and gets pretty decent performance. Runs a vanilla version of Android with very little bloatware.
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Yes, but the grandparent is right: while some manufacturers make smaller phones, they are usually stripped down versions. The Moto G is not exactly small - the Moto E is, but it is also anemic. The same applies to the Galaxy S mini series. Sony is the only manufacturer producing small phones with decent spec: the Compact Z series was legendary. Of course they cannot pack the same components in a smaller case, so compromises are necessary. Sony balanced that really well in my eyes. (Shame they discontinued t
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Windows Phone doesn't have any apps, and will be dead in a year or two.
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Windows Phone doesn't have any apps, and will be dead in a year or two.
That's why it doesn't "feel like a toy" to the AC. It's feels like a serious phone because you can't do much on it other than make phone calls and use the prepackaged apps it comes with. It's kinda like the Nokia Asha phones in that way, but those get much better battery life.
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I work at a telco/ISP, so I've handled plenty of phones of all configurations, with every possible OS.
Windows phones have great build quality (thanks to Nokia), and the OS itself is quite good, it's a well-designed touch interface. But as I said, there are absolutely no apps worth a damn.
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Oh yeah, I remember my HTC Hero. What a heap of junk that phone was.
Re:No surprise (Score:5, Informative)
Try ANYTHING non Android and you will see how clunky and ridiculously sluggish Android really is.
I have a Nexus 5X. My mother has an iPhone 6. For what it's worth, doing assorted things seems faster on my phone than hers.
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Agree. It is a basic fact of computer science that you can write sluggish and unusable software for any platform. Whether you can write efficient software is another thing. Whether it is easy to do so is yet another. Most app vendors aim to do just enough to get paid.
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Re:No surprise (Score:5, Interesting)
false.
I have the misfortune of having to carry my employer's Apple phone when on call
my Android phone is much faster at any task
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The mobile standard has a 5-20 second call setup time and transmit time. Any perceived difference you may think you have is totally decimated by whatever tower you're currently connected to.
As for text. Yes the lack of swype on iPhone keyboards makes sending emails or any text message significantly faster on Android. The stock gmail app seems to be lighter and run better than the iOS one.
That smell, it's a rotting Apple, and like the person you replied to I also curse the damn iPhone my employer gave me.
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Bullshit. Learn to type. I turned off type ahead, autocorrect, and suggest on my keyboards.
Typeahead? Autocorrect? Sounds like someone has never used Swype. But hey if you feel like I've threatened your manhood then more power to you.
However, the only rotting thing is the version of the OS on your android device.
Oh so my 2 generations behind S5 that Marshmallow on it pushed by the vendor not as an after market hack is rotten and out of date. What next you're going to accuse me of being a luddite because I'm not part of the Windows Insider fast look program? Nice try, thanks for playing and better luck next time.
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If you have to touch them exactly (like typing)
You don't.
You are one of the fortunate few then
I am the happy owner of the most popular Android device released in 2014.
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how much does sony, huawei get from play market?, probably nothing, 0, should they care about 2 year old phones?, why should they?
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... should they care about 2 year old phones?, why should they?
Depends on if you're asking in a short term or long term context. In the short term, they gain nothing. In the long term, users might turn away from your product if you don't support it. Ultimately it's probably more beneficial to screw your users because consumers have such a short term memory anyway, and... oh, look, shiny new feature!
Exactly (Score:2)
I have bought multiple Motorola phones because I like the service and experience that I have gotten through the years. Now that they are Lenovo owned that may change but until it does I will continue to buy Motorola. That is the long term play.
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My mother smashed her "superior" iPhone into small peaces
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My mother smashed her "superior" iPhone into small peaces
Perhaps she should consider some anger management; she is obviously emotionally fragile.
Re: By design (Score:4, Informative)
I find my employer's iphone to be inferior to my android in every way, why people pay 2X the money for something half as good I'll never understand
UI freezes on Nexus 7 (2012) running Lollipop (Score:2)
Where "best" means speed (? that one always seemed weirdest for handhelds, but maybe because I've never had a slow one)
"Speed" means not having to wait several seconds for the UI to unfreeze. Lag like this is typical of Nexus 7 (2012) tablets upgraded to Android 5 "Lollipop", especially if you don't clear the cache often. I think what's happening is that Android 5 loses all the RAM efficiency gained in the Project Svelte focus of 4.4 "KitKat", and apps end up terminated more often to reclaim memory. A bunch of applications saving state to the N7's relatively slow-to-write NAND storage in reaction to an onTrimMemory signal [android.com]
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I replaced my 2012 Nexus 7 tablet which was slower than molasses with a 2013 Nexus 7 tablet which to this day runs fine even running the latest Marshmallow. I believe the 2012 Nexus 7 just doesn't have enough memory.
No updates = no purchase (Score:5, Insightful)
You want new features, buy a new phone. There is no money to be made supporting old handsets.
You mean "features" like security updates? Or existing features that don't work quite right out of the box? Yeah I don't really give a crap if the vendor makes money on those or not. If they don't provide updates I won't buy their product in the first place. So at least from me there is no money to be made in NO supporting old handsets.
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So buy a Nexus. Or an iPhone, if you'd prefer more-polished-less-flexibility.
I don't really understand people who complain that Samsung/Lenovo/LG/whoever don't provide security updates. You're right, and it's terrible, but it's always been that way so you knew it before you bought your last phone. But you still chose to buy one that would never get regular updates rather than one that would.
What Nexus? (Score:2)
So buy a Nexus.
That works as long as Google continues to sell Nexus devices. There already isn't a Nexus tablet since late May [theverge.com], and Nexus phones appear to be on their way out as well since a couple days ago [bgr.com]. Or did you mean a used Nexus?
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You want new features, buy a new phone. There is no money to be made supporting old handsets.
Tell that to Apple.
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My Android Nexus 6 is over 3 years old. While I had to replace the battery in it, it still works fine and is running Marshmallow with the latest security updates. I always try and stick with Nexus phones since they don't come with all the bloatware that others have and they can be unlocked so I can install 3rd party firmware in the future if I want. Supposedly Nougat will be released soon for my phone.