You are Android or iOS
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 2:59AM I was intrigued by the conversation between Gavin and Donald on Twitter over the weekend regarding the Samsung Galaxy S III. Here’s how it went in reverse order, as is the Twitter way-
“Donald Stidwell @crimsonsky76
@gavinfabiani But what's really becoming clear to me is that you have to invest time in learning everything the S3 can do. iPhone no match.
@gavinfabiani
@crimsonsky76 iPhone does take learning, but not as much. But then it doesn’t do as much either. The S3 is a powerhouse. It does so much
@crimsonsky76
@gavinfabiani The problem for Sammy is making sure users know all that stuff is there. I'm still running across stuff I wasn't aware of.
@gavinfabiani
@crimsonsky76 I’m sure if I had the S3 for a year I would learn everything.
@crimsonsky76
@gavinfabiani You're about as likely to keep a phone for a year as I am - which means you're not! :-)
@gavinfabiani
@crimsonsky76 well the s3 seriously is impressive. I might surprise myself :) just have to survive Wednesday :)”
I read with interest for a number of reasons, but mostly because I wondered why anyone would want to spend so much time setting up and learning a new phone. For me a phone should not be a computer, but should be a tool that helps me do the things I want to do. A device that assists me and one that I go to when I need it.
The conversations comparing the iPhone 4S to the Galaxy S III are infinite and most people are comparing two completely different things. They are completely different devices which are aimed at the same audience. 99.9% of people will never use the extra functions that Gavin and Donald will use and likely neither will anyone who reads websites about smartphones and mobile technology. We are not where the money is at- we are the geeks who love to explore and play with our phones to see what they can really do. The rest just use a smartphone for a few functions and this is where Apple arguably has an advantage. How likely is it that a new iPhone user will use more of the advanced features than a new Galaxy S III user? Very likely in my opinion because it gently guides the individual into what is available. There is virtually no learning curve and it’s all there is you want to use it. I was struck by the comment in particular “I’m sure if I had the S3 for a year I would learn everything.” There is an advantage and disadvantage in this approach from Samsung, and dare I say Android as a whole, in that geeks will love to explore what is there, but the rest may find the experience confusing and dumb down their usage even further for fear of breaking something.
Apple will launch the iPhone 5 tonight and the discussions will continue. Some will call it a trinket and patronisingly say that it is for people who do not understand how proper phones work. Well, the fact is that normal people don’t care how phones work just as I don’t care how my washing machine works. Despite my geekiness which has always been there, I still find myself struggling with the notion of a phone being a computer. That’s not I want in daily use, it never has been. From my first Psion to the Clies to the iPhones, it has always been about how useful a device can be that is with me every single day and what it can do for me. The last thing I want to do these days is tinker- with two children, a full-time job and writing, I just need an assistant and that’s it. I don’t criticise the S III for what it can do because it is an incredible device, but I have never considered it to be more powerful than the iPhone 4S in the subtle ways that make a smartphone so useful. In the grand scheme of things, a fast processor, endless customisation and clever features are well worth having, but are never the whole story.
I will wait until tomorrow to write something about the iPhone 5. I may love it, I may view it as Apple finally losing the battle in capturing the hearts and minds of masses or I may be ambivalent. Think about it overnight and add your comments to the article. Very interested to see what you all think because this is a very important release. It will signal a changing of the guard or a continuance of what we have seen over the past few years.
All News
Reader Comments (15)
In an iMessage conversation today with my son today, he asked me why I was fascinated with Android and this was my response: "I'm the guy that still screws around with Linux. The guy that loved OS/2. Preferred the Amiga over the Atari ST and PCs of that era. Who still misses BeOS. In other words, I'm that weird kid that nobody wants to play with (except now I'm cool). That's why I like Android!" A little simplistic, but there's only so much you can say when texting (or iMessaging).
I'm a tinkerer and have been all my life. The more I can tinker, the happier I am. Yeah, sometimes I even drive myself nuts with this and not all my efforts in tinkering have turned out for the best. But there's no way I can own an Android phone and not root it and "tinker". It's just in my nature.
Yet, I appreciate iOS and it still stings that some of the programs I use there don't have any equivalents in Android (and they don't - I've looked). But when you get right down to it, iOS doesn't give me the satisfaction that Android does mainly because of the amount of control I have over my Android experience.
I'm 60 years old. You'd think I'd be tired of this by now. I'm not. I love it. But you know what -- when non-geeks ask me for a phone recommendation I invariably and inevitably recommend the iPhone. Because it's exactly what folks who don't like to tinker need and want. Stable, consistent, no worries about upgrades, huge app catalog, totally controlled and curated App store. And there you have it! :-)
Sure lots of non-geeks buy Android phones. But remember, Android phones come in all flavors including some real cheap clunkers that really do Android a huge injustice just by existing. You can't move in a phone store without hitting an Android device. Of course they sell in droves - there are just so darned many of them. And some folks just have this religious hatred of Apple. So be it. But go into any venue and I guarantee you that the largest single phone type you'll see will be iPhones. There may be more Android phones, but it'll be some from HTC, some from Motorola, some from Samsung, some from Huawei - you get the point. But there will NOT be more One X's or One S's or Droid MAXX's or S3's or whatever than there are iPhones. The iPhone is truly iconic in a way that not a single Android phone is, nor will ever be. The iPhone is the iPhone and there is nothing quite like it. That one single fact always puts me in awe of what Apple has accomplished. Remember if you will, that there was no real market for touchscreen devices until the iPhone came along. Previous attempts were hacks on top of creaky OSes with resistive touch screens and styluses. Apple changed ALL of that.
There are a couple things other things that make me different from a lot of mobile phone users. First, I work from home. So I don't need to and don't go out a lot. That means I use my phone a lot less than many of you do. Secondly I have a landline in my house and insist that folks call me on that. I have a landline 1) because I work from home, 2) because the voice quality on a landline is far superior to any cell phone and 3) it's cheaper for my wife to call Europe (specifically Spain and Italy) on a landline. Also because I work from home, I'm always in a WiFi zone and I have actual computers to get my work done on. What all this comes down to is that smartphones are more of a luxury and convenience and quite frankly, toy, to me than they are to most of you. If I just want a mobile phone for communications when I'm not at home, I could be served just as well with a "dumb phone". So in the end I'm not your typical smartphone user I'd imagine and my use patterns are not the norm. It's a very rare month when I use more than about 40-50 minutes on my voice plan and I only have a 200 MB data plan that I've never once exceeded. Most months I don't even hit 50 MB of usage.
Ultimately, I'm not "religious" in my attraction to a mobile OS. To me it just comes down to which one is more "fun". And right now, at least on my phone, that's Android.
I use an iphone for several reasons - floating around
- "I spent years customising my treo/windows mobile/ etc and just can't be bothered any more"
- I just want the damn thing to work, quickly and simply.
- I've been burnt a few times with android, most recently when a minor app (ECB Cricket) downloaded 800mb before I noticed, leaving me with no internet for 3 weeks (or a choice to pay more). Presumably it could happen with iOS, but it hasn't yet.
Theres an article on the bbc news ripping into apple about the iphone 5, based just on the rumours so far. Maybe they're right or wrong, but I doubt they're the whole picture. Shame the BBC has joined the "Pre-emptive write an unnecessary article for readership" group.
I'm with Shaun - waiting to hear what is or isn't announced.
I'll then decide whether to get the 5 (or whatever its called) or switch to the sgs3. 4s is out of date (imo) but not enough yet to bother me. Another year is another matter, hence the pending decision.
It doesn't matter what the iPhone 5 is or isn't. It will sell well. It's a brand. Not everyone will use the iPhone 5s feature, or any where near them. I have seen many S3s now. At work, a female told me when I asked if that was a S3 , she said yes and she loved it, and then added you could play battleships with another phone via wifi or bluetooth. I tried not to react, that's been available for years. But different people like different things. And as Shaun says not everyone will use all the potential in a phone.
I want to know what extras the iPhone 5 has with ios 6. Is the camera market leading. Audio quality. Will it have Bluetooth codec apt-x which makes a massive difference to the sound quality. The S3 camera has some amazing options which I do use. Will the iPhone? The S3 has a fm radio. Not hitech but useful. Plus the s3 has a lovely customisable screen. Tech knowledge is not needed to understand this. That's Apple's challenge. It's taught everyone how to use a smartphone too, so now people feel more confident moving n to something new. Others stick with way they know.
As an example of the S3 camera, here's a photo I took yesterday
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/7977121049/in/photostream/lightbox/
It's seriously good , so much so I'm framing it. And this is another one I took yesterday using the S3 panoramic mode
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/7977123807/in/photostream/lightbox/
And despite the article from the BBC, which is the number 1 read item btw, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19557497 , I am myself counting the minutes and hours to the Apple event, and also the next one in October. I think it's going to be a bumper Apple quarter.
And as a contrast here is the Sky News piece with a comparison video , also comparing to the S3, One X and Nokia Lumnia 920, very balanced too. http://news.sky.com/story/983892/apple-expected-to-make-iphone-5-come-alive
I mentioned a few weeks ago about a woman I know who bought an S3 and dropped it within a week, smashing the screen. When she told me very excitedly that she had bought it I thought that it was probably a mistake. You see I remembered when she bought her first iPhone some years ago the struggle she went through getting used to that. So it was no surprise when I saw her yesterday that she was struggling with all the features of the S3. 'Far too complicated for me' she complained, 'I should have waited for the iPhone 5 to come out.' Being the gentleman that I am I reassured her that there was a solution. 'You could always buy the new iPhone and give me the S3.' I don't know how this story ends but I will let you know.
Hi Gavin - me also, even though for me, Apple needs to convince me not to switch to the SGS3. Being in the android camp doesn't mean the Apple launches don't interest.
If nothing else, the price of other top end phones will likely drop?
Peter what I like about Apple is exactly iTunes and how it keeps my media and photos and music in sync with my devices. Really miss that. Simple syncing options of photos, that are then easily and orderly displayed. Same for music and any other media.
This then can be replicated on any other Apple device, be it an iPad, iPod or Mac or Apple TV. Thats the Apple magic!
Gavin, I absolutely hated iTunes when I owned iDevices (OK, still got the wife's iPod, so I still hate it). It may sync content across devices well but it's very counter intuitive to use. Loading your own books, music, films etc is a pain, as is adding artwork for the albums. None of it seems in keeping with the simple interface of the devices it supports.
Patrick. I never found for me. Itunes does have its ways, sometimes they are odd.
When I've got stuck in the past I've got help in the Apple store and they have shown me what to do on a big Mac screen. Really helped.
I have been on Android for 3 years and love it; but I too will be waiting for the iPhone 5 to see what it offers. If it is the same as it has been, there is no attraction for me. However, if it gives me a strong enough reason, I will consider it. My problem is overcoming the UI.
One other note is that I believe that there is no power in simplicity.
Gavin, Google has helped me do what I needed to with iTunes, but I shouldn't have to resort to that for such mundane stuff as putting media on the device. Seems like a piece of software that's out of kilter with the whole, 'it just works' ethos.
Joel, I feel no matter how good the new iPhone hardware is (and a 4" screen won't do it for me) I don't want to use iOS as my daily driver. I've tried it, but we don't get on too well. I'm Android for the immediate future now.
Getting back to the original topic of the post, I think that Samsung does do a pretty good job of explaining a lot of its great new features - the problem is that there aren't just one of two really big ones, there are loads and loads of great little features, and when you first enter a region of these features most of the time you do get a little pop up that shows you how these little features work.
If you have come from another android phone these are areas that you dont necessarily need to go into as you have already brought these over from your last android thanks to the auto sync, and it is for that reason that it can take a while. My alarms synced over without a problem and it was only when I heard about the new briefing option that I went in to create a new alarm to see what it was about, and it was then that I discovered a new "hidden" feature- if I was new to Android or hadn't syncd I would have come across it the first time I did create an alarm. Perhaps they should have created a video going over every one of these new features - would have definitely watched it.
My camera was once one of the better Canon point-and-shoot models. It has full auto, so literally takes control, you just have to aim and frame. You can choose program mode which gives some control. And then there's the intermediate modes and finally full manual. So you can change ISO, white balance, focus mode, shutter curtain/sync, and various special effects.
Over time its possible to learn how to better control the camera so that I can be certain to get the exact photograph I want.
When I started with android I didn't do anything clever, but gradually learned how to do more and more clever things with it. I can now run up a VPN on it, and connect to my computer at home e.g. to transfer files, stream music, etc. I set it up so that in an emergency I could log into a server at work over a VPN and fix it. A colleague who's a fairly advnaced Apple user admitted that it simply wouldn't be possible.
Combining the two subjects, the android camera app allows control of ISO, exposure, flash on/off/auto, etc. I was stunned when someone taking photos with her iphone4 didn't even have the ability to force the flash on or off!
Now, I know many people who have no clue about photography and don't want to learn anything about cameras, of course I'd recommend they get a fully-auto point and shoot camera; there's no point in anything that would challenge them.
On the other hand, some people are keen beginners who want an easy start but don't want to be stuck forever in auto mode.
I don't think I need to spell out the similarity between smartphone user categories.