NOTE: This post is here because of two reasons: my blog is currently in a state of "flux" (I'm in the process of developing a custom theme and moving to a different blogging engine) and the fact that I usually don't participate in platform wars.
This is a reply to: http://virtuosovidit.blogspot.in/2013/01/the-curiously-boring-phone.html
“So, iPhone is boring. Its got this same UI for the last three years, and the same Apps launcher ever since its launch in 2007. Its boring. Its boring. Its Boring. What’s interesting is widgets, adventures with Viruses! clunky heavy themes. Quad Core processors, GBs of RAM, We want More Cores, We want More RAM! Even if we don’t know what it does! Bigger is better. More is Better. Larger is prettier. That’s just 4”, People have ‘upgraded’ to 6.3” phones. That Lumia is more colorful! iPhone’s only black or White, more color is always cooler, its interesting! Why, Apple won’t do that. They did, they’re just looking after market share now. The Apple that was, isn’t now! Maps! Oh My God! I’ll get lost in the woods and be beaten up by Centaurs and Trolls if I buy an iPhone, no I Love my life, i’ll instead donate it to the good cause of customizing my phone for ever!“
These aren't empty demands: people want faster and more powerful phones so that they can experience better graphics and multimedia on the devices they carry with themselves almost all the time. The smartphone is gradually chipping away at the traditional PC/laptop (at least for regular users) and this is a natural consequence of that. In the future, a smartphone might power a dumb terminal, eliminating the need for laptops at all (see Ubuntu for Android for an idea about this.)
That’s the crass people speak or intend to anyway, when they have to defend their decision of buying an Android/ Windows Phone instead of the iPhone.
Did you mean "crap"?
I mean it.
10 Days after buying a phone, I don’t care about how it’s home screen looks, I don’t just care which widget’s i’ve got to add today. On a busy monday morning, I’d rather jump straight into my email app and send that important mail. Or I’d rather just bring in the Notification center and check the stock update. I DON’T want to customize my phone, or play with its settings all day. I just want to get things done and quick (1).
I don't want to scroll through several screens of icons to find my email app either. Instead, I can simply compose an email from my email widget. Or read emails. And do a lot of other stuff just from the home screen, but I wouldn't expect you to know (because you're an Apple fanboy.)
Android Phones are prone to viruses and malware. My old PC had viruses and I’d always install that disturbing anti-virus which hampered the productivity of that PC popping up whenever not required to. I don’t want the same to happen to my Phone. Its just a phone. Let it stay free from malware or viruses and most importantly “Anti” Viruses.
What a load of crap! Stock Android, unless rooted, is very secure. Almost all virii on Android work on rooted phones. Android's security system is based on the tried and tested system from Linux. An ordinary user simply doesn't have the permissions required to modify system-level stuff, so virii can't really do much damage.
Its a phone! Its supposed to fit into my hands properly. But perhaps most premium Android phones are too large. They either come at 4.8” , 5” or even 6”. To most larger-screen size means better, just because its a better way to watch multi-media content like videos. But for me, a phone ought to fit in my palms, I want to be able to use it to call my friends, not just watch videos or play games. And Content creation is still pathetic at 6” so it doesn’t matter if Its 4” or 6” , I’d rather buy that 9.7” inch tablet if i had other things to do like read books, create documents on the go.
There is exactly one 6” Android phone as of now, and it hasn't been released yet. SAMSUNG, HTC, Sony and Motorola, all have good sub-5” phones on the market.
All phones are either to simple to be called smart (Windows Phone doesn’t even have a notification center) or are too complex to be called smart. (Android) After all I don’t want to run things like Task Manager, File Explorer on a phone or any device. Its the dirty job which I’d love to keep away from on any device, be it a phone or PC.
Allow me to offer a different opinion: iOS is too stupid for me. When an iOS app locks up, you have absolutely no way to restart it, except to reboot your device. The lack of a user-exposed FS in iOS also makes sharing files between apps very difficult - I should be able to use multiple apps to edit the same document, but I can't, because of iOS's asinine FS design.
You can't just abstract something like the filesystem away - the Law of Leaky Abstractions will always get you in the end.
The app experience in iPhone is far more fluid and intuitive than other devices like Android Phones or Windows Phones. But you may say, that Android and iOS apps are almost same! After all, Twitter on iOS is the same as Twitter on Android. But my point is, that you need far more power and there are far too many options to choose that right phone which offers a fluid UI without making me feel bad about buying it. No thanks, I’d rather stick to easily choosing the boring iPhone which is still smart enough to run apps nicely.
That sounded the same as:
The app experience in iPhone is the best! Nananananan~~~ I can't hear you!
Subjective. See also: proof by belief.
Even if Apple Maps are quite bad. I’ve got alternatives. I’ve got alternatives for almost every native app which i don’t feel like using. Be it maps, reminders, weather, there’s an app for what’s not natively available and an alternative for the native apps. So there is no ‘-’ point yet.
Cool! Please give me an alternative for the Podcasts app (that can download stuff in the background.) And an alternative for the launcher?
True, Apple’s approach to the OS is restricted. They ‘approve’ apps. As a developer, I can tell you exactly what stuff doesn’t end up on the store. Its the malware, the Apps that don’t do what the intend to, or apps that leek memory or slower your device, or the apps which are counter-productive providing unnecessary pop-ups etc. Its the stuff that I don’t want anyway. And as a user, I feel safer to download or buy an App from the store. True, the numbers would have been larger if the apps that were rejected were actually approved but then I wouldn’t buy an iPhone if they didn’t screen the apps before giving them to the consumer. Good Job Apple!
In parts:
As a developer
I'm hard-pressed to find evidence to support that claim.
Its the malware, the Apps that don’t do what the intend to, or apps that leek memory or slower your device, or the apps which are counter-productive
Porn, in my opinion is quite ... productive.
Its the malware, the Apps that don’t do what the intend to, or apps that leek memory or slower your device, or the apps which are counter-productive providing unnecessary pop-ups etc. Its the stuff that I don’t want anyway.
It's also the cause behind delays to vital security updates, but you'd know that if you were a developer.
It costs quite a lot. But then it lasts even longer. As an iPhone user, i can expect it to work well for at least three years. That’s a longer life-span than most phones. Also, given what I am getting at pushing a thousand bucks more to the seller, I am getting infinitely more. As a whole, its a good experience. I don’t have to sulk everyday just because my phone won’t do something that i desire.
My three year old Galaxy Ace begs to differ. And that's something I bought without having to sell an arm, a leg and a kidney. (I kid you not, someone really did that!)
A short note on the term “boring” : iPhone’s design has been iconic. Partially the reason why so many phones want to look like an iPhone. Its simple and just clicks. Coca-Cola’s ‘iconic’ bottle design never gets boring, the iconic beetle design isn’t boring even though, the front has only been given minor tweaks ever since its launch! So iconic is not equal to boring. And iPhone’s Springboard UI and Hardware design is iconic. You know an iPhone from the circular home button, the rounded rectangle screen, its always going to stay charming and fresh.
See: proof by realization.
But Here’s how Apple’s condition is better than what it was in late 1980s and 1990s. Unlike Windows, Android cannot betamax Apple. Simple reason, the mobile market is governed by apps today. Developers can’t afford to stop making apps for iOS. That’s where they get their bread and butter from. Android can hardly provide a stable platform for mobile purchases. So its only Android that’ll always live in the threat of being knocked off by a competitor. All these theories of Apple failing are nothing but mere speculations. Apple’s got a far more stable system this time. They’re dominance isn’t going to end so soon. Meanwhile, I’ll always enjoy the state-of-the-art productive, premium and boring iPhone!
- You're comparing Apples (literally) to oranges. (Apple vs. Android)
- Android is not Samsung; Samsung is not Android.
Android is free, open source. This means that at any given time you can have N number of devices running it, ranging from a cheaply made Shenzhen "iPhone" to a premium Android device. So you can't knock off or beat Android - you can only beat a specific manufacturer.
P.S. You might think I am an Apple Fanboy, I am not. I just happen to like a few of Apple’s products and am open to accepting good competition. As a matter of fact, the new blackberry 10 is awesome. If there’s an OS that’s as simple and productive as iOS its gotta be Blackberry 10 OS. So don’t judge this as a fanboy article. :D
BBX hasn't been released yet. There's more to an OS than looks, y'know?