warning for anyone considering Android.

[bobbob1016]

I agree with your reasoning and point of view. :smile:

Manufacturers: HTC and Samsung-two phones-HTC EVO 3D (ics) & Samsung galaxy SII (gelly bean)

Carrier: Cellc-South Africa

The devices you describe as fine, have they at least run Android 4.0 ics or newer for more than 18 months or 1.5 years ?

If so, then you know you were one of the few fortunate people to never experience problems with Android. But unfortunately for me, I was one of the many who did.

Though to be fair, my android device is doing a lot better now, (still seldom that I have hiccups) but thats because I'm keeping downloaded apps to a strict minimum.

Well, both those companies do load their devices with a ton of extras, and have heavy mods to the UI. Others here have said that vanilla Android seems a lot better. Touchwiz on my GS4 seems fine though it's heavily debloated by hand (I removed stuff).

However, I'd be more inclined to say that instead of me being one of the few lucky ones, that you may have been one of the few unlucky ones tbh. As I said, if these issues happened with most Androids, I don't think people would stick with it. One thing to keep in mind, you've had the same Carrier (I assume) with all these phones, as well as similar apps. Could have been those too. Android lets apps do a lot more than WP so I'd be inclined to say it's possible it was a few bad apps. Also, have to ask, I'm assuming all apps are from either Google Play or the Amazon App Store?

My Evo 3D is still running like a champ (I keep my old phones), as is my G1 and so on, I do have a custom ROM on it, just my two cents.

 

[Rockfella]

Your post made my day, I just bought the Lumia 525 yesterday and I am kinda happy for what I paid for it. I was confused what to buy : Andriod or Windows phone as I wanted best possible GPS. Just a headsup: battery is only 1430 mah and drains out almost rapidly.

I know Android is great when you go and test the Android devices in the store...but ideally don't take a contract bigger than 18 months. 12 months ideally as Android tends to age very quickly. Buy this I mean that after about 18 months (or less) the phone will start becoming more and more unresponsive with apps you have always used and many times you may no longer be able to open the app as you will have to force close it. On some Androids you may experience grey patches on your photos and dont get me started on the
3G/HSDPA data connection issues (1 second your data connection is working, the next second no data traffic can go through even though the device shows your data connection is on and you have still got adequate network coverage). But you may be one of the fortune ones and not have any issues. But my advice is this, if you want android go for a device with Android 2.3 ginger bread as it is the most reliable version of Android. Trust me, there were several Androids in my house hold that gave different issues but one thing in common, they were all between 1 and 2 years old before they started to give hastles.

And this is why I'm switching to WP when my Androids contract is finished in March this year (2014) # I have my sights on the L520 or L525 if you are wondering #

Apple is just far too expensive and boring.

#note to all: if you have had no problems with Android then please indicate the Android version (it must be newer than 2.3) and also please indicate how long the device has been running that version of Android. (this is to take into account OTA updates)-thanks for contributing. :smile:

 

[radmanvr]

Things like checking your ram usage, clearing cache, clear delvek and these other tips are great and all but the average consumer does not know how to do this.

With even a hint of technological knowledge you should be able to make anything run but this is not the case with everyone.

Bottom line is things should work like its day 1 through its expected life span.

Also, being the tech guy in my family I hate it when all 5 of my siblings and parents ask me how to fix their Android Phone.

 

[jlzimmerman]

I was an Android user from Eclair up to Jelly Bean (4.2). While Jelly Bean was a blessing over ICS in response and smoothness, it still couldn't overcome the problems I had with freezing and latency.

On my Galaxy Nexus, running stock options, I couldn't have any more than three screen populated with icons or widgets before it crippled the performance of the phone. Granted, it started getting much worse with age but it never was great right out of the box, especially with ICS. Then started the random problems with the battery drain and wifi/mobile data switching not working. Although I think the wifi/mobile data problem was hardware. Comparing the Galaxy Nexus to my Lumia 928, there is a night and day difference. Both have 1Gb of RAM and 32Gb of storage. The 928 has more stuff on with more background tasks than my Nexus ever had and performance wise the 928 is 200 times better. Yeah, I know the 928 has a 1.5 dual core in it versus the 1.2 dual core of the Nexus but there shouldn't have been THAT much of an improvement, but it was.

When my wife had the Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S 1) there was nothing but problems from day one.

My Kindle Fire is almost useless. Talk about slow, unresponsive, and apps randomly shutdown. I factory reset the tablet once but it’s still a turd. The only thing was use it for at this point is so my two year old can watch educational vids and paint.

I’m sure performance is much better with newer hardware but in my experience Android is more inferior.

 

[PureView]

Things like checking your ram usage, clearing cache, clear delvek and these other tips are great and all but the average consumer does not know how to do this.

You're not suppose to do that anyway! Who said clearing the Dalvik is a solution? It's done mostly after installing a new ROM. And all these task manager apps create more trouble than they solve. The best solution is to just leave it as it is and let the OS figure it out.

 

[stalemate1]

Your post made my day, I just bought the Lumia 525 yesterday and I am kinda happy for what I paid for it. I was confused what to buy : Andriod or Windows phone as I wanted best possible GPS. Just a headsup: battery is only 1430 mah and drains out almost rapidly.

How much battery life do you get from it and do you use it extensively ?

This could be a deal breaker for me depending on how bad battery life is.

 

[tekhna]

I'm curious to hear your opinion. What version of Android do you think is the most reliable ? And what are your experiences with other versions ?

4.4 is a dream, but truthfully 4.2.2+ is rock solid. Even 4.0 is fantastic in its way.

 

[iBandar]

That's typical Android device for you. Have been using Lumia 900 since past 2 years lag free experience. But MS needs to add more feature.

 

[cckgz4]

I would recommend you NOT get the 520 or 525 if you're worried about long term lag. I'm on month 6 and this phone is having low space memory issues along with TONS of lag because of the 512 mb ram

 

[pseudoware]

I know Android is great when you go and test the Android devices in the store...but ideally don't take a contract bigger than 18 months...

Or don't sign a contract at all

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[etad putta]

Or don't sign a contract at all

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The only reason to sign a contract these days is to get an iphone at a discounted price. Android and windows phones can be purchased at a very low price just a few months after launch.

 

[xandros9]

The only reason to sign a contract these days is to get an iphone at a discounted price. Android and windows phones can be purchased at a very low price just a few months after launch.

Yes, because you can pick up a Galaxy S4 for $300 now, or a Lumia 1520 for a similar price

 

[nasellok]

I was an Android user from Eclair up to Jelly Bean (4.2). While Jelly Bean was a blessing over ICS in response and smoothness, it still couldn't overcome the problems I had with freezing and latency.

On my Galaxy Nexus, running stock options, I couldn't have any more than three screen populated with icons or widgets before it crippled the performance of the phone. Granted, it started getting much worse with age but it never was great right out of the box, especially with ICS. Then started the random problems with the battery drain and wifi/mobile data switching not working. Although I think the wifi/mobile data problem was hardware. Comparing the Galaxy Nexus to my Lumia 928, there is a night and day difference. Both have 1Gb of RAM and 32Gb of storage. The 928 has more stuff on with more background tasks than my Nexus ever had and performance wise the 928 is 200 times better. Yeah, I know the 928 has a 1.5 dual core in it versus the 1.2 dual core of the Nexus but there shouldn't have been THAT much of an improvement, but it was.

When my wife had the Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S 1) there was nothing but problems from day one.

My Kindle Fire is almost useless. Talk about slow, unresponsive, and apps randomly shutdown. I factory reset the tablet once but it’s still a turd. The only thing was use it for at this point is so my two year old can watch educational vids and paint.

I’m sure performance is much better with newer hardware but in my experience Android is more inferior.

I have the same issues with my Galaxy Nexus - I would have thrown it into oncoming traffic had it not been for my contract - well, now my contract is up, and I am waiting......waiting.....waiting.......waiting some more, still waiting for Verizon to get their act together and release the damn 929/Icon so I can forever say goodbye to Android. My Wife is in the same boat, only she has HTC Droid Incredible 2, which surprisingly has a much better use history than my Nexus - either way, she needs a new phone, and me being our in-house tech support, I have convinced her to go the WP route with me - we have Windows 8 PC / Dell Venue 8 pro tablets at home, and I have convinced her that she will love it (I base this entirely on my hands on experience with the 928 in the Verizon store), and my reading of this site. I know there are some shortcomings on WP, but they seem to be less and less as more updates are released. I was on Android since the OG Droid 1, and then the Droid X, and then the Galaxy Nexus - so 6 + years of waiting on android updates, etc. Either way, going to switch to WP, and hopefully I love it as much as my Windows 8 tablet/pc. I am really looking forward to seeing what WP 8.1, and threshold will have in store for us all.

 

[Lloydbm4]

I have a few questions, first, which company makes the devices you're having issues with? HTC, Samsung, Motorolla? Second, which carrier? I haven't had an issue (that I haven't caused) with Android, and I've had them since my G1. Not to say I don't like my Lumia, just as a point, none of my Androids have had any of these issues. I have done a lot of custom ROMs, and haven't had lag or anything, and have stock on my S4, with XPosed modules to customize it, and Titanium Backup because who wants to be forced to have Trip Advisor.

I'm tempted to call this a FUD-like post to be honest, as I don't see anything specific here. Do you think if your issues were widespread, people would continue to use Android? I mean, lag, sure, it *can* happen, but there's cache cleaners. But, the data connection issues, I don't think anyone would use it if that happened.

I like Android because it feels more like a computer in my pocket, as I can tweak whatever I want. I like WP because it isn't like a computer, it's a smart phone. Never had to go w/o my Lumia working because I tweaked it, but I have had to hobble along without my GS4 because I forgot not to mess with my EFS partition.

Edited for clarity.

The OP talks like he is in a 3rd world country. Who the hell buys an Android phone on Gingerbread these days? What are we, back in the year 2010?

But to the point, the OP's post is FUD. Pure crap. I have a Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 both running 4.4.2 and no issues. (I also happen to own an HTC One, a Galaxy S3, a Lumia 520, an iPhone 5S and a Lumia 1020.) The Nex5 is stock and the Nex7 is rooted with Xposed Modules for that custom ROM feel. The Android OS is much more mature over Windows 8 (even the Lumia Black update), but that is because of the sheer amount of developers for the platform and Google constantly updating Google Apps, not to mention the entire OS.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head when I read certain threads.

 

[fatclue_98]

The OP talks like he is in a 3rd world country. Who the hell buys an Android phone on Gingerbread these days? What are we, back in the year 2010?

But to the point, the OP's post is FUD. Pure crap. I have a Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 both running 4.4.2 and no issues. (I also happen to own an HTC One, a Galaxy S3, a Lumia 520, an iPhone 5S and a Lumia 1020.) The Nex5 is stock and the Nex7 is rooted with Xposed Modules for that custom ROM feel. The Android OS is much more mature over Windows 8 (even the Lumia Black update), but that is because of the sheer amount of developers for the platform and Google constantly updating Google Apps, not to mention the entire OS.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head when I read certain threads.

We're not in 2010, but there are many people who either cannot afford to pay full retail or their credit makes it very difficult to be on-contract. If you live in the US you'll know that we had a pretty rough time in '08 and many good, hard working people lost their collective asses. There are a boatload of GB devices on prepaid carriers that some of these people have to purchase. Not everybody can afford to have a stable as you do. Personally, I have more devices from more platforms than I know what to do with, but I consider myself blessed and fortunate. In other words, chill the **** out.

 

[dkediger]

Of course, we can't really see how our WPs are handling this, but I always taken aback by all the detritus left behind by "uninstalled" apps. That and just the free for all for where in the file system they would install or keep data.

Truly seemed like it was worse than older versions of desktop Windows.

 

[linzi7319]

But, I think none of us wants to buy older version whether windows or android. Right?

 

[tekhna]

We're not in 2010, but there are many people who either cannot afford to pay full retail or their credit makes it very difficult to be on-contract. If you live in the US you'll know that we had a pretty rough time in '08 and many good, hard working people lost their collective asses. There are a boatload of GB devices on prepaid carriers that some of these people have to purchase. Not everybody can afford to have a stable as you do. Personally, I have more devices from more platforms than I know what to do with, but I consider myself blessed and fortunate. In other words, chill the **** out.

Luckily the Moto G is 99 bucks on Verizon and getting really quick updates. By far the best deal in tech right now.

 

[tgp]

Luckily the Moto G is 99 bucks on Verizon and getting really quick updates. By far the best deal in tech right now.

True, it is excellent value. The problem with the Verizon Moto G is that it can only be used on Verizon prepaid for at least 6 months. No Verizon postpaid, no Page Plus or other Verizon MVNOs.

 

[MameTozhio]

As a dual Android-WindowsPhone user.. there are some biases in this..

Android 2.3.x is NOT reliable any more, if you want full app support at least use a phone with Android 4.0.x instead.. even then some apps won't work, a lot of groups are moving to Jelly Bean 4.1.x for app development now.

There are lots of apps on play store to help clean cache which makes the phone much faster.

But I do feel WP is much more optimized than Android.. I've been using my L520 as a main phone for the past 2 weeks and have been very impressed, and plan to use it as my main phone to the visible future.