After 6 years of being one of Apple's loyal fans, I have recently moved to Android. What happened? TGG 30% sale on eBay combined with Samsung's $50 cashback made it hard to refuse a $457 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.
My first apple product was the iPhone 2 and my last apple product will be iPhone 5. It's time for a change.
iPod touches weren't released in 2006 hawhawhaw. Back then, the slim iPod Nanos were all the craze.
I've found Apple products surprisingly easy to use than Android in the past. They also had great technical support and they've worked so well with my Mac ecosystem.
There's no point in being a loyal fan to any of these bastards. How loyal do you think these companies are to you?
Ive used Android phones, Windows phones but generally not Apple phones as they tend to be overpriced for what they do.
As in all of these rivalries, Coke vs Pepsi, Ford vs Holden etc, the functionality of the products themselves is pretty much identical. Unless you're a complete numblety-peg you should be able to find your way around an Android phone within a couple of minutes.
The one plus I do like about Android is not having to use iTunes or Zune (for Windows phones). I thought iTunes was bad enough but gee Zune sucks.
I beg to differ on your last point. I'm predominantly non-Apple (except for the iPod Nano - I reckon they are the best music player out there). And I think iTunes is the most user friendly music player software out there. I've tried Windows Media Player and Winamp but still think iTunes have a slight edge over them. At what's best is that it's free and get regular updates!
Other than the iPod Nano, I don't see any need to fork out 20-30% more for something that the equivalent non-Apple products can do (phones, laptop, TV).
This is my opinion.
I've owned iPhones since the launch of the 3GS and to this day I still can't work out iTunes properly. I am not a smart man…
I think the point paizuri was making is that on android you don't have to use itunes/zune or android equivalent software to transfer music or movies on your phone instead you can just drag and drop.
Also I would admit itune was the most user friendly music player but after the updates and complete redesign of the interface I'm not too sure about it any more.
Android isn't really that hard to learn, only difficult part is when you want to completely customize(root/hack) the software aside from that it is pretty straight forward.
I'm a fan of paizuri
True, the argument was that you shouldn't have to load up your PC with software just to transfer media across, which I'm 100% on board with.
But also, and yes I KNOW a lot of people do not have problems I do not speak for everyone these are facts:
1> iTunes is a resource hog for what it is.
2> iTunes always installs bonjour and updaters whether you want them or not.
3> iTunes will also always try to install Quicktime, Safari as well unless you untick boxes
4> For me as well as at least another 25,000 people going by the forums (probably a lot more) iTunes will crash every time you head to the store. In the end it turns out the installer simply fails to add an environment variable which is actually a very easy fix, but unless you know, like me and 25,000 other people, you'll be hating iTunes until then. No, Apple support had no clue apart from uninstall/reinstall etc. More than 25,000 is a drop in the ocean in a world full of people but it is a fact nonetheless.
So what is the better alternative?
Android.
People still use "stand alone" music players, really? I haven't seen anyone using an iPod or MP3 player for a loooooong time now.
No such thing as Zune, that expired many moons ago, their own music service is Xbox Music and there are a variety of other music services you can use on Windows Phone now ;)
The only reason I got an iphone and ipad is when it came with the phone/data contract during the time they were subsidised. Liked the camera, apps but syncing is a hit or miss, and that photo stream! Still if it were offered free, I won't mind getting one. It's a luxury phone, much like driving a merc.
Perception. What do you perceive to be luxurious?
1> It has the same kind of electronics inside as every other smartphone.
2> There a are a number of Android phones boasting the aluminium body, a lot of which can be perceived to be better looking than the iPhone.
3> Android with it's widgets and home screen can be fully customized to look and feel any way you want. iDevices are just rows and columns of icons.
I don't mind iDevices at all, not my personal choice, but nothing against them, but this whole "Luxury, superior" thing is only in Apple user's minds. It really hasn't been more luxurious for the last 3 or 4 years.
this whole "Luxury, superior" thing is only in Apple user's minds.
its the BS they are fed by the sales propaganda and are to narrow minded to work out for themselves they have been conned.. :D
Just like cars have four doors and an engine? I can still sell my four year old iphone and buy a Nexus phone outright. Who gets the last laugh then?
Apple.
paizuri beat me to it.
Just because brainwashed zombies pay far too much for an item, does NOT make it luxurious.
A car is also a crap example.
Of course a Tesla Model S is going to cost more than a Hyundai Excel. The cost of making the Tesla translates to the sales price. What a stupid comparison.
At last component pricing, the iPhone costs less than $200 to make:
http://www.cnet.com/news/apples-iphone-5s-costs-199-to-build…
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/iphone-5s-costs-191-to-…
Sorry, what are you guys paying for it? - HHmmm. It's SO LUXURIOUS!
Apple is laughing all the way to the bank with your dollars. Congratulations.
Haha, yeah, "Oh I pay 2 to 3 times for a new phone compared to an equivalent/better spec phone elsewhere(Android/Windows Phone), but I get great resale" oh the irony. ;)
No time at all. I've had/still have an iPod touch that's now been relegated to my music and fitness tracking, but I use a cheapo Android phone because should I be (heaven forbid) robbed or it gets lost, the financial burden isn't so great. There are no iPhones that ease that burden.
Moved from an iPhone 5S to a Nexus 5 and am happy with the move! Didn't take too long to adjust at all. Been a month and still learning a thing or two but the basics anyone should pick up straight away.
Also a simple way to manage your music still through iTunes is to tell Google Play Music Manager to sync your itunes media folder and then it does the rest!
Quick question Woody if you don't mind.
I was looking at the Nexus 5 before getting the I9506 version of the Samsung S4 (same processor as the Nexus, LTE-A and strangely works out cheaper on contract than buying the Nexus outright - go figure).
Reviews say the Nexus camera was a bit disappointing and the battery life wasn't all that great. Now, the camera on my I9506 is terrible in low light, even worse than my S2 before it. GREAT otherwise to be sure, but inside/low light trying to get a sharp picture is an exercise in frustration.
How IS the camera on the Nexus in full/low light and how IS the battery life for real?
Thanks Mate.
I'm not Woody, but I do have a Nexus 5. To me, the camera is fine in full daylight. Low light it struggles a bit, but in my mind is OK. I've only had it a month, so battery should be expected to be good, and it is - at least a day on a charge, and I can go for two or three days without a recharge if I turn it off overnight and am only making calls/checking email and Facebook. If I'm using it heavily - games, etc - then yeah, I can drain half the battery in a session.
So I'm happy with the camera and battery - mind you, I'm coming from an old Huawei, with a TERRIBLE camera and, being nearly three years old, needed charging twice a day…
Battery life same as expected from most phones really and the camera is quite good.
An update released has improved the camera a lot from some of the initial reviews of this phone and some bugs are still being ironed out to improve battery life.
I bought my first Apple Iphone 3G when it was first launched in Australia around year 2008. I used it for around 2.5-3 years and I was very frustrated with Itunes. I moved to Android, first was HTC EVO 3D(used 2 years) and Now galaxy S4 (6 months). I'm very happy with Android and can just drag and drop music and videos files to watch at my convenience. No cumbersome process of going through Itunes. The only good thing about Itunes I liked was podcast.
I've owned these devices in these order:
Iphone 3G > Iphone 4 > Galaxy S2 > Galaxy S3 > Xperia Z > Iphone 5S
I'm probably one of the few with no brand loyalty. I just get the one that suits my needs at the time.
At the moment, I only use a phone for music, calls, messages and online browsing and I find the Iphones are better at doing the simple things.
Android is better if you want every single thing on your phone customized to your needs.
But one thing I notice is if the exact same apps available for Apple and Android, in most cases, it seems/feels more refined on Apple.
All IMO of course.
A lot of time "switching" is not a point in time but a process. Also,
I've never used an iOS equipment, although I did spend ~4 years using an Apple laptop until I couldn't stand Mac OS X anymore.
iPhones are boring. Everyone has them and they can function the same way an Android can function. With the difference that iPhones are overpriced and they are perceived as "luxury brands" by some. I know someone who refused to get any other brand laptop besides a Macbook for uni and her logic was that "I look richer with a macbook". Like what the hell?
In the past, I enjoyed using the 2nd gen iPod nano and that was it. I was given an iPhone 4, but I gave it to my mum to use and I bought an Xperia which did the job for a year. I had to get rid of it because of the lag which for one iPhones don't really experience I have to admit. I recently bought the Moto G and just stoked by its performance. There are heaps of android phones out there and you just have to pick the right one.
I'm on an xperia z1 now, the hardware is great, but Android is not. I'd go back to an iPhone the moment they up their screen size. I hate tinkering and customizing and going off and installing basic things like a decent music and movie player is what spoils the Android experience. The worst part is all the bundled "basic" stuff is tied to Sony and I'm sure its the same with the other brands. This is where Android needs to clean up its act, provide basic sync apps to PCs and fundamental - but functional - software (video player, music player, etc.) out of the box that is part of Android…
Hence the massive demand for Nexus devices, they come with 'stock' android, so you don't get any of the addons that companies put in their versions of android!
+1 on what Woody said.
Sync apps to PCs confuses me though - what do you mean? Android will sync it's calendar, contacts and mail with any gmail, Google Apps or exchange account automatically over the data connection, so what do you need to sync?
I mean, music is just transferred by plugging in the phone to a PC. No need for any app. You can't mean this though because I'm sure you know that already. Using iTunes to sync to a phone is the Apple way.
The true included video player and music player for Android out of the box as you say DO exist on pure Android devices, as Woody said. We have a Nexus 10 tablet. Having said that, exactly like what Apple is doing the movie and music apps are very much tied in to Google services. Think Apple store = Google Play and you get what I mean.
I'm a little surprised the Sony music player is no good, but I've never seen it. You'd think with their "walkman" pedigree they would make an excellent music player, BUT my guess is they're trying to tie you in to their services? Is that what you mean?
For true freedom, the best video player I've come across so far on Android is BS player, and for music I'm not sure as I use my native Samsung one (which is actually very good), I hear Music Boss is supposed to be good. Not sure it's free though.
Whichever camp you're in, they are both as bad as each other when it comes to tie in. Apple wants you to buy their music and movies, hence their apps have this front and centre, Google wants you to buy their music and movies, hence their apps do the same.
The big difference though it the actual power of the operating system. I've already mentioned the plug and play for transferring stuff, but the ability to have a functional home screen, not just a matrix of icons, changing out the keyboard if you don't like and having the ability to side-load applications are just what makes Android so much more free. To be YOUR phone how YOU want it.
Some people prefer to be in a smaller box with less options, on the other side some people get frustrated being told how they should have their phone.
Nothing wrong with either approach. I personally think that if I pay for a handset I should be able to do what I want with it, but I fully understand some people don't want the choice and would prefer to learn the one way of doing things and adapting to suit.
Android IS great. iOS is also great. You just use the one that suits you.
Ahh.. i'll need to try a Nexus at some point.. haven't really experienced stock android, but the Xperia I have came with Google's music and movie player as well.. they are honestly pretty crap, so was Sony's. So I ended up with VLCPlayer. Sony's walkman music player is passable, but has some usability issues, create a large playlist is a pain.
As for synching, given I'm new to Android, and I'm on a Sony handset, the default is Sony's PC Companion, which sucks compared to iTunes. This fragmentation is exactly the problem I was trying to point out.
Google needs to put a stop to it and enforce uniformity in terms of some of these basic tools like sync, music and media players and make sure when someone buys any Android handset and plug's into a Computer, the software that pops up is Google's and not Samsung/Sony/LG/HTC, etc. That way it does not matter if I buy a phone, tablet, phablet from Sony/Samsung/LG/HTC I get the same Android experience.
Agreed - I'm not a big fan of Google's music and movie players either. VLC player IS excellent, do not get me wrong, but apparently it is very bad at sucking the battery power so just watch that one.
Sony's PC companion, OK, I get it. Bit like Samsung Kies I'm guessing. I don't use my synching software. I have a Google Apps account (much like gmail) so my Mail, Calendars and Contacts are ALWAYS in sync with my PC. No need to do it manually. You might want to think about doing it that way. It is brilliant to add a contact on your phone anywhere in the world and have it sync to your other devices logged into the same account automatically. All my Chrome bookmarks and passwords sync to each other on all devices (I always have everything available anywhere, whatever device I'm using), not to mention Google+ activated on your phone/tablet can automatically back up all photos and videos you take to your Google+ account, so again, (almost) instantly available on all devices. It also knows which apps you have installed on your Android device so upgrading your handset becomes as easy as filling in your account details on the new handset, and all your apps, mail, contacts, calendar, Google+ photos, videos, is all automatically synced and ready for you on the new handset. Having software that syncs your data is a complete waste of space if you use the tools given to you and take your mind out of the days that this WAS necessary.
It really doesn't make a lot of sense to sync manually any more mate. I know in the days of the Nokia phones before there was any true network connectivity on these things it was a necessity, but it's completely unnecessary now. No need to forget to plug it in or back it up, it just does it.
As for doing it manually, again, if it's about your media, just plug the thing into your PC WITHOUT using PC companion or some other crap software. Your device just shows up under your computer as a drive and you can drag, drop, add, delete media just like a hard disk.
I think you're just used to doing things one way, but we've gone a bit beyond that now. Open your mind and try the new ways. I think you're going to love it.
I bought an iPod touch, I think back in 2006. I decided to splash the big money, and go for the 16GB version. Ah those were the days.
Other than that, I have never been able to justify the purchase of an Apple product. There always seemed to be a Windows or Android alternative that did the same things, within my technical comfort level, for a 30-40% lower price. Simple as that, really.