Impressions about Android

[Thiago_TES]

Guys, I use Windows Phone for about 3 years (started with Lumia 710 and now I have a 920), but since last week I have an Android phone that nobody was using and I started to play a little with it. It's not even a top phone, it's a Razr i, and I'm liking the experience, of course, the camera from 920 is very superior but the apps like Whatsapp, facebook, instagram and the browser are really smooth on the razr.
So my question is, what are the real problems that the users from WP think that Android has, and don't you think that our WP phones should be smoother? (because I really think that scrolling in apps and browsing on an Android is better than on WP)
Thanks.

 

[EBUK]

I have recently moved from Android to WP. My Android phone is the Moto G 4G which is a very good phone except for one thing - the AWFUL camera. It's seriously bad.

Good points about Android:

• it's highly customisable and if you root your phone, you can do some amazing things with it.
• The is a great range of apps.
• With so many manufacturers, there's a huge range of handsets to chose from
• Quick toggles are better - you're not limited in the same way as with Windows Phone.

I wouldn't say Android is smoother than WP. Most of the time it's slightly clunky, but sometimes it can be surprisingly smooth. I use Telegram and find that swiping between photos is much smoother on Android.

Good things about Windows Phone

• With identical processor/gpu/RAM WP is faster and smoother.
• Unified interface, so icons are consistent between apps making learning new apps easier for beginners
• Customisable live tiles.
• Smoother interface leads to a better user experience
• Location services are better (Android has low, medium, and high accuracy modes - GPS only, GPS + wifi, GPS + wifi + data - whereas WP uses GPS + GSM)
• Here Maps is superior to Google Maps as they can be downloaded for off-line use.
• Notification count on live tiles.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of good points.

Bad things about Android:

• It's fragmented. Manufacturers are allowed to alter the stock Android experience, and the like of Samsung destroy what Android should/could be.
• Manufacturers are either very slow to offer updates, or don't update Android to the latest version at all. Samsung is guilty of this, as are many of the cheap Chinese phone makers.
• Stock Android does not give on-screen message counts. You need to use a custom launcher for them to appear, or use widgets.
• You can side load apps without having to connect to the Play Store.
• Being able to root your phone makes it easy to brick it!

Again, not a comprehensive list.

Most people who praise Android I suspect are not using stock Android, and if they are, then they have rooted phones with apps that add additional functions. My Moto G is rooted and I use Xposed Framework modules to add features. When I recently had to 'factory reset' my phone, I found the stock Android experience to be inferior to Windows Phone... and that was after just three days of using my Lumia 735.

If I could improve Window Phone, it would definitely be on the quick toggles - I want quick one-press toggles for network mode (2G/3G/4G), wireless, data, bluetooth, NFC, rotation, screen brightness, ringing mode (ring+vibrate, ring, vibrate, totally silent, flight mode), torch, and location/GPS. The toggle menu should be scrollable, or expand automatically.

And I would like to be able to dismiss notifications one by one.

But I do love my Windows Phone. Nor perfect, but it works reasonably well with no need to tinker with it the same way as you do with Android.

 

[MKD_Bitola]

Never been a fan of Android. Always preferred iOS or WP.

 

[RZR666]

I switched from Windows Phone to Android a few years back and have never looked back, I wanted to like Windows Phone but back when I had it, it clearly had been rushed out the door to compete with iOS and Android.

 

[tgp]

I'm probably one of the few here who uses both WP and Android, but prefers Android overall. I would basically agree with EBUK's post above. Although since I've been using Nexus devices, I really can't find any downside to Android's performance. My experience has been rock solid, more so than with WP actually.

A lot of the complaints I see here about Android have more to do with Google than Android itself. At this point I have no problem with Google's so called data mining. I believe there may be some truth to it, but is overblown. Microsoft and Apple do it as well; they're just not as good at it. :asleep:

 

[gapost]

I've used WP since 7 and some iOS, but not much Android. I just started using an Android phone a couple of weeks ago and already have it rooted with a custom rom. Anyhow, I did talk some trash about android and the privacy issues, but actually, I'm pretty impressed. You can find almost any app you need and the android phones I've used, Droid maxx and Lg G2, are in general, way faster than my Icon ever was. Battery life, at least on these two phones is so much better than my Icon and even the HTC One M8 I used. Some of the apps looked better on WP, like USA Today and there a more ads on Android. I for one wish you could pay a little for more apps and opt out of the ads. I have read a lot about the Samsung software being bloated, but if you really want, it's pretty easy on most androids to root and at least, make custom mods or remove apps. It's also easy to find a pure android rom that can be fast and smooth. I like WP, but it will be hard to go back to it after using all that android has to offer.

 

[NaytG]

I don't thing there is anything wrong or better with one OS over the other. WP is just what I am enjoying right now. Use what you like.

I have to admit - I'm seriously tempted by both the iPhone 6 Plus and the Nexus 6. And I just ordered my 1520 last night! I have a problem...

 

[anon(5789608)]

Satya Natella likes. New apps are becoming like Material Design UI.

 

[JacobV]

Android's definitely gotten way better than what it used to be in terms of user experience, but it still has room for improvement to compete with iOS or WP in my opinion.

 

[Thiago_TES]

I have forgotten about this thread, and I just saw ur reply today, do you still use the Nexus 6 as your primary device? What's your opinion? Is it good? As for WP, I also have a Lumia 920, so I think our experience is very similar.. and well, I'm thinking that my 920 is becoming slower. Thanks.

 

[tgp]

I have forgotten about this thread, and I just saw ur reply today, do you still use the Nexus 6 as your primary device? What's your opinion? Is it good? As for WP, I also have a Lumia 920, so I think our experience is very similar.. and well, I'm thinking that my 920 is becoming slower. Thanks.

I assume this is directed at me? If so, yes, I still use the Nexus 6 as my primary device. I have 0 complaints. In fact, I'm kind of dreading the next Nexus release because I'm sure I will have to get it (I always get the new Nexus! ), but I don't like the thought of giving up my Nexus 6!

I use my 920 mainly as a toy for playing with updates. Just last week I was able to officially install the W10 preview on it. The phone is not active, so I don't use it too heavily. As for yours slowing down, that's not unusual. Even electronics can wear out, and sometimes the OS needs a refresh. Have you done a factory reset lately? The 920 is a 2.5 year old design, so it's aged very well. Even today it's a decent device, in my opinion the finest overall with the Lumia name on it. I might give that tag to the 1520, except its size makes it a niche device and definitely not for everyone.

 

[crystal_planet]

I've been with Windows Phone since I got my Nokia 800 and just recently switched to Android. Thoughts:
- You can spend a week just tweaking your phone - I'm an IT dude, so this is right in my wheelhouse.
- I had to add apps just so I can get unread counts on my mail icons - :winktongue:. How is this something I need to work for? Coming from WP it just seems like it should be a given.
- Almost all my Google services are either turned off, disabled or uninstalled. I'm running all my Microsoft services in their place.
- This is the part that has my knickers in a twist: almost all Android MSFT apps are better than their WP versions. Are you kidding me? That one hurts. A lot.It's like Microsoft has no user loyalty.

With this move, I've decided to be platform agnostic. Maybe next time around, if WP still exists, I'll be back. Or maybe iOS. (That's a bit of a stretch - I hate Cook and hated Jobs even more)

 

[Jack Neill]

Platform agnostic is the way to go.