Not anymore... they haven't officially unlocked it yet, but they're planning on unlocking it. As far as this deal goes, I'm excited as an Atrix owner because I'll finally get updates a little faster. Ice Cream is about to come out soon, hopefully it'll be released for Motorola phones in a reasonable amount of time. I don't think Google plans on messing with Motoblur or any of that right now, but it would be nice if they eventually took that out of their phones in the future. I wouldn't say they're behind in app development. They just haven't had the type of success the Apple has had with the amount of deals with developers. Honestly, all the problems you're listing are all problems that you and only you may be having. It's really all about preference. I used to own an iPhone... and it was nice. Android is a better fit for me because of all the Google products/services I use. I believe iOS is a much more simpler OS, while Android is more for the tech savvy group.
Android is all about dialing it in. With iOS you're boxed-in. I get great battery life out of my Infuse after setting it up in an efficient way. You can use customizable launchers to exact a feel that's right for you. The OS feels "finished & refined" to me once I've done the legwork. It's not for everybody though. Apple's OS is intuitive, you get started quick, not a lot of work involved. For me, I feel boxed in, for others, maneuvering the iOS comes quick and easy. Its just a preference thing. You guys read the castles & moats theory about Google? Fun read -- http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/25/search-googles-castle-moat/
I'd pretty much agree. I did all the launchers, skinning, icons etc but there are some inconsistencies and design flaws that make it more difficult to use. For example, copy and paste still isn't uniform throughout the OS. Another thing that used to bother me was this scenario: Say I have a text msg thread open. I then switch over to another app. I want to text someone else now. When I switch back to SMS, I get the original thread I was in. Now, to go back to list of all threads, I cannot simply press the back button as it will take me to the homescreen. I have to go Menu -> More -> All threads. 3 clicks to move back is just bad design IMO.
I think this is a good move for google, personally, but not so much for the manufacturers that they have OS deals with. If it isn't unlocked yet, then his statement was correct, no? I think they are behind in app development, whether you'd say it or not. Lots of good reasons for that which have nothing to do with how the phone/os compares to others, but they are behind in terms of volume and variety. I suspect they will catch up soon enough. As for his complaints on the battery life, who knows, they all hog resources and deplete battery life quickly if you let them. Tech Savvy? This blanket statement gets thrown out a lot. I consider myself pretty tech savvy but have an iphone. Doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy an android, it's just my preference, for a lot of reasons. I wouldn't say liking a somewhat more intuitive and somewhat less customizable interface makes me less tech savvy than someone who prefers the android experience any more than I would say anyone who likes an android phone is obviously someone who just hates apple. Perhaps I could get more with a statement like "the ios is more inviting to the less tech savvy" but I don't even know about that.
unless you want to do lots of gaming on your phone, there's very little difference between the 2 platforms I have the Nexus S as well, and I like it very much, heck I like it so much that this may be the first phone which I don't ditch immediately when my contract is up
It isn't currently unlocked, but it is in the process of being unlocked, possibly within the next major update of each of their phones. I have mine unlocked unofficially. You make a good point about app development. Battery life can be managed. I've never had an issue with my phone, but then again... I also know how to manage my battery. I think this rolls with any smartphone you have, no matter the OS or the phone. For example, if you have GPS on all day and don't use it very much, it's almost pointless to keep it on. I'm basing the "tech savvy" statement based on what I see. When I refer people to a phone and tell them to try it out, they often pick the iPhone for its simplicity and ease-of-use. I think that people who have more of an idea about what they can do with their phone besides the usual have a better interpretation that Android is more open and therefore has a lot more opportunities to expriment with the OS itself. I agree though, it's all about preference. It's not that I'm taking a shot at IOS, my statement about the tech savvy leaning towards Android is more geared towards the fact that you can do a little bit more if you're a developer (because of it's openness) than you can on iOS because of some of its limitations.
seriously? have you ever thought its because you're not pressing the back button to leave the app. try that again, open your text message app, decide to go to another app, press the back button to get to thread list or home screen, and you're done. you could also use go sms
I highly recommend switching to GO SMS which also gives you POP up alerts or handcent. To explain why this happens is because in Android you get pretty legitimate multitasking. Your sms app was left in memory, the key thing that people need to know about android is stop pressing the home button to get out of apps, and expect them to restart like iOS. You completely leave an app by pressing the back button to get out of what you are doing. You own a Nexus S, not happy with the OS functionality, try CM7?
Not really sure what benefits Android's "legitimate" multitasking brings over iOS method, but I don't want to get into that. Apps in iOS however do not restart when you press the home button and then open it up again. As for CM7, I have tried to run it a few times, but too many bugs and reboots convinced me to go back to stock.
Data transfer and streaming. In iOS, download speedtest.net, run the speedtest , get out of your app, go back to it and its like you didn't run anything In Android, do the same, go back to it, and you'll see the end of your speedtest result. Things stay in memory properly in Android, not to mention the notification system is alot better.
Good buy by google. I like it, but I hope it finally sheds google of their white knight facade that people buy into it. Google wants money just like the rest of them. If microsoft and nokia can make their deal work, so can google and motorola...
Have been using Defy for months. Frankly I am quite disappointed. It can merely handle a Class 10 SDHC card properly.
