Mango vs. Gingerbread

[Meelosh]

WP7 Mango vs. Android Gingerbread

I just switched from an Android Device to an HTC Arrive on the Sprint network. I am pumped for WP7 and never really clicked with Android.

A friend of mine is a HUGE Android homer, and as experienced users, I was hoping you guys could help me compile a list of things WP7 (including things with the Mango update) that separate it or make it different than Android.

Of course, they look a **** of a lot different, but I am talking about apps, functions, and anything that you can do on WP7 Mango that you can't do and you would want to do on Android.

He said, "there is not a single that WP7 can offer, even with Mango that I can not already do on Android".

Is that true?

Either way, I am excited to make the switch (getting the phone for cheap) and look forward to Mango and what new phones come out in time for my upgrade in May.

Thanks fellas!

 

[Bballbenb]

Zune...Android doesnt have that. They have Google Music, but you can not purchase music from there.

I also believe, someone correct me if I am wrong, but the integration of Microsoft office products. Yes google docs is nice, but no where near as nice as these separate products. To the best of my knowledge, most people use Word over Google docs still.

XBOX Live integration. Google doesnt have a gaming system (maybe a small partnership with sony) but nothing like the xbox live WP7 and Mango has.

 

[Reflexx]

The difference isn't so much about what you can or can't do. It's about HOW you do it.

Windows Phone just uses a completely different paradigm. It's people/task-centric as opposed to being app-centric.

 

[selfcreation]

Well im pretty sure you can’t make MANGO PIE with a ice cream sandwich.

deppends whats your favorite dessert is.. lol


but seriously ... nothing a WP7 can do that iphone or androdi cant alredy do and Vice versa....

But i think WP7 offeres the best of all worlds .. apps , gamming , Office work , ect...

one thing that MANGO does better then Android.... it doesnt crash every day ..and u dont need to battery pull ocne a week.

 

[foosball]

He has outdated icons and widgets. You have live tiles.

But aside from the whose **** is bigger arguments the question remains, why would you want to use Android to get anything done anyway? If they accomplish the same things wouldn't you choose the one which is less buggy, graphically superior, more battery efficient, etc anyways?

 

[thed]

The difference isn't so much about what you can or can't do. It's about HOW you do it.

Windows Phone just uses a completely different paradigm. It's people/task-centric as opposed to being app-centric.

Exactly. It's not just about being able to do things. It's about how you do things. Reducing everything to "can I do X?" is overly simplistic. But it's an easy talking point so people will always bring it up.

How about a marketplace that actually gets policed for malware? Getting through a full day on a single charge? Rock-solid stability? Those things matter too.

 

[Dusteater]

one thing that MANGO does better then Android.... it doesnt crash every day ..and u dont need to battery pull ocne a week.

Exactly, you can send SMS messages to people and have them go to the person you want. So funny, my sister had an Android device and SMS messages would send to random people on your contact list, definately bad news!

 

[mcetlinski]

From an Enterprise perspective. More reliable EAS heartbeat. I have not once heard of anyone having synchronization issues with a standard Exchange environment utilizing EAS, aside from potential issues with how certificates are generated. With Android I am involved in an effort to find the reason why the EAS heartbeat does not Always re-establish itself as it is supposed to.

Ease of support. WP7 - it just works. Android - like linux, or other os's that people like to tinker with... good luck finding a solution to a problem because it's very difficult to keep the base of the OS the same, and with many underlying bugs support goes from a simple process of walking someone through how to do something to a trial and error (big emphasis on error) procedure and hoping you can get it to do what it should be doing.

Security, again Android is too customizeable, and allows for applications to have too much access to it's base OS code.

To further break things down; Android is great from the perspective that yes, you can do anything you want, BUT the question becomes more of what do I have to do to make it work in a seemless non buggy way? Anything developed for WP7, and the OS itself is much more bulletproof - better testing, higher quality, and is probably the easiest OS you'll find.

 

[tsaunders80]

I found this article:

The Great Windows Phone Mango Feature List | Anythingbutiphone

 

[Judge_Daniel]

I must say that the threads feature on WP7.5 is a great feature to flaunt. You can text, fb chat, and chat on windows live all in one area.

 

[ninjaap]

Android = Windows Mobile 6.x

It's funny how every one talks about how bad WM6 was and how it left a bad taste in their mouths and how they will never go back. But Android has all the advantages and disadvantages of WM, in an iPhone's clothing.

 

[Jazmac]

Apps don't force close. I don't need to pull my battery. Apps never freeze up. No lag or stutter on my tiles. My battery lasts 2 days with moderate use. Hardware is optimized for the OS. My phone (HTC Arrive) Boots in 24 seconds. I don't worry that my phone won't function when I need it to. I don't need task killers or battery stuff. I don't need to download separate apps to do Twitter, Linked In or Facebook.

And most importantly to me is WP7 is software centric and people/family focused. Android hides behind hardware spec. Which is probably why every android commercial is of some dude inside a spaceship or some chick wielding a sword. Its called "Android OS" but none of the phone developers or the ad agency itself ever say anything about it.

 

[Umm Yeah]

A WP7 can run for more than 4 hours between charges. If you are on Verizon at least, you can delete all their crapware on WP7 but it's locked down on Android, unless you root it. You can take a picture even when the phone is locked. You can look at how cool your WP7 phone is and just smile.

 

[jimmy1one]

The difference isn't so much about what you can or can't do. It's about HOW you do it.

Windows Phone just uses a completely different paradigm. It's people/task-centric as opposed to being app-centric.

It's the paradigm along with the intuitive application of the programing. It is a very clean "Digital Minimalist OS. AS to what it can do that Android can not simple it works and there is someone watching the store. The problem with Open Source is the lack of control hence the high failure rate of Android

 

[anon(5329904)]

I ditched Android back in February. Why?

1. The tiles are a lot easier to access. I can one-hand the phone a lot easier than any Android phone out there. The tiles and keyboard are a lot easier to peg than the little round icons.

2. The UI is sexier. Android can't come close to the smooth scrolling and screen wipes of Metro. I don't think iPhone looks as nice as Metro (we have 3G's and 4G's around), but it's UI is solid ... Android's UI is a clunky mashup.

3. Xbox Live integration. Android just doesn't have it, and I'm a big Xbox gamer.

4. Office. Android doesn't have it. Sure, you can get Google Docs on Android -- but I don't like Google Docs, I don't use Google docs at work, so big deal.

5. Zune. Nobody has anything like Zune ... not iTunes, not Google Music (Google Music is a bad joke compared to any other popular service), not Rhapsody, etc. The Zune UI on WP7 is sleek and sexy, the organization features are convenient and well thought out, the additional info provided is interesting, etc. I have the Zune Pass, too -- I can stream and download anything in the catalog anywhere and anytime -- and every month I get to keep 10 songs DRM free forever. Zune's SmartDJ blows away Genius, Ping, etc. ... I use SmartDJ almost everyday -- gotta have new music. If your friend even brings up Google Music, I would just laugh at him.

6. Reboots. I haven't rebooted my phone in weeks. Got that? ... weeks. Compared to at reboot Android at least once/day. I couldn't stand the Android lock ups and slowdowns, especially during a call or navigation.

That's off the top of my head. Now here comes Mango, which I didn't think would happen until mid to late 2012 -- oh baby! 3 updates since February. Know how many my LG has had since then? Zero.

 

[TheWeeBear]

That's some good praise there DigTheNoise for sure, and a warm welcome along to WPC.

 

[kallemia]

My favorite thing about WP 7 is the implementation of hubs. There is nothing like it in either Android or iOS. It's pure MS genius. WP7 is about integration. iOS and Android are about segregation - their apps don't truly interact with each other, or connect. How about the way the Music + Video hub shows videos from other video apps you have used, or the way the people hub will allow me to see emails and text messages to/from an individual in one space.

And neither iOS nor Android has the Start screen. Those live tiles are about to become even more lively and all you can do with Android is widgets.

A major difference is that most of these features are baked into the OS and are accessible to developers in a big way. Which means I don't have to fiddle with the phone's OS to get it to do what I want. It just does it.

I gave up my iPhone4 because of the antenna issues (and I had a bum phone) that if I had had it replaced by Apple I couldn't have returned within my 30 day period. I returned the dud and asked for a refund. I went back to WM 6.1 on an old BlackJack. During that time I shopped around. I looked at Android really closely. Almost bought a Samsung GalaxyS AT&T model, but decided to wait til WP 7 came out and I could check it out. So glad I waited. Even got a good deal - paid $150 less than I had paid for my iPhone for a Samsung Focus via Amazon. Great deal. Great phone. Great OS.

I showed my phone to a guy who had an Evo 4g and he had nothing but praise for WP7.

The truth is that each phone OS does something that the others don't do, or does the same thing differently. I just really prefer the way WP7 does it. I hope it succeeds. Praying that Nokia will be a real hit. I already plan to upgrade next Spring to whatever the best Nokia model is at the time. I love that company (Samsung is great too) and want to see it survive.

Kalle

 

[cdook]

WP7 is a great phone to show off to people. I can pull it out and play with the tiles and people are impressed with the smoothness and flashiness. I've gotten comments like "woah it's really fast" and "what kind of phone is that?!" I've had my friends show Android to me, only to have things stutter and crash. At the end of the day Android is a phone. It does a lot of stuff well, but it doesn't have the appeal of WP7.

 

[sinime]

Aside from XBL & Zune software, it just seems to run smoother and doesn't feel thrown together.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums

 

[KingCrimson]

Can anyone explain me why live tiles really work for them, instead of just being a distraction and power drain?