To me it seems an issue with marketing and branding. Given the right approach and supporting technology / software, Android could really take off.
A few weeks back, I sold my iPhone 3G in favour of an HTC Hero. To me the reviews of the Hero have been unfair - whilst never touching on the thing that really mattered to me - how I want to use my phone! There are some bugs with the software (as you'd expect for a new device), but I would certainly not want to swap back to iPhone any time soon. The interface of the iPhone was ample (in 1.0) when we only had 15 icons... navigating through even 3 pages of icons frustrates me. I want my own dash board that summarises my calendar and an OS wide notification system that doesnt take over my phone when i get an SMS. What about an email notification when my screen is locked? Android fits that bill.
That said, I have every respect for Apple and their design decisions. The success of most of the Apple's product lines are through their simplicity and user friendliness. Their devices appeal to the masses, look simple and elegant, perhaps easy to set up. To me, this has been their biggest selling point besides hitting the early adopter / tech savvy people with something that does something slightly differently. The simplicity is (to me) also the products biggest downfall. I want to tweak, adjust, play, disect the OS and add bits of functionality that the SDK will allow me to make. How about a simple mode in Android? or an advanced mode in iPhone?
All in all, I'm glad that both Google and Apple (and Palm, but I live in the UK) have done things differently - it will really encourage innovation and learning from each others benefits and mistakes. I will however continue to lust after new devices, especially the ones that fit my needs the best. I'm just glad I realise the differences and dont rely solely on the advertising.
Slashdot Mirror
To me it seems an issue with marketing and branding. Given the right approach and supporting technology / software, Android could really take off. A few weeks back, I sold my iPhone 3G in favour of an HTC Hero. To me the reviews of the Hero have been unfair - whilst never touching on the thing that really mattered to me - how I want to use my phone! There are some bugs with the software (as you'd expect for a new device), but I would certainly not want to swap back to iPhone any time soon. The interface of the iPhone was ample (in 1.0) when we only had 15 icons... navigating through even 3 pages of icons frustrates me. I want my own dash board that summarises my calendar and an OS wide notification system that doesnt take over my phone when i get an SMS. What about an email notification when my screen is locked? Android fits that bill. That said, I have every respect for Apple and their design decisions. The success of most of the Apple's product lines are through their simplicity and user friendliness. Their devices appeal to the masses, look simple and elegant, perhaps easy to set up. To me, this has been their biggest selling point besides hitting the early adopter / tech savvy people with something that does something slightly differently. The simplicity is (to me) also the products biggest downfall. I want to tweak, adjust, play, disect the OS and add bits of functionality that the SDK will allow me to make. How about a simple mode in Android? or an advanced mode in iPhone? All in all, I'm glad that both Google and Apple (and Palm, but I live in the UK) have done things differently - it will really encourage innovation and learning from each others benefits and mistakes. I will however continue to lust after new devices, especially the ones that fit my needs the best. I'm just glad I realise the differences and dont rely solely on the advertising.