Posted on 05/23/2011 10:28:29 AM PDT by Swordmaker
Lifehacker’s Adam Dachis takes a look at the top 10 ways Apple’s iOS beats Google’s Android.
Following that, Whitson Gordon attempts to come up with the top 10 ways Google’s Android beats Apple’s iOS.
We offer both lists, so you can easily compare exactly what’s being claimed to be “better” about each platform.
Which list has more things of actual importance to the typical end-user?
Top 10 ways Apple’s iOS beats Google’s Android:
10. The iTunes Media Store
9. AirPlay
8. Find My iPhone
7. A Better Support System
6. Better Battery Life and Management
5. iTunes and Tethered Syncing
4. No Crapware
3. A Bigger and Better Variety of Apps
2. A Well-Designed, Intuitive User Interface
1. Consistency
Top 10 ways Google’s Android beats Apple’s iOS:
10. Alternate Keyboards
9. Automation
8. Custom Home Screens (spawning this sort of abject fugliness – MDN Ed.)
7. Widgets
6. Removable Storage and Battery (hardware features available on some devices)
5. Wireless App Installation
4. Custom ROMs
3. Controlling Your Phone From Your Computer
2. Flash
1. True App Integration (Set phone’s dialer to use Google Voice all the time; in iOS you have to tap Google Voice to use it.)
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, most of Android’s so-called advantages consist of absurd geek tweaks and minor niche hacks which very few, if any, regular users will utilize at all, much less to any real advantage. Some of the things on Android’s list, like Adobe Flash support and Custom ROMs, are downright disadvantageous – leading to meaningful end-user advantages for iOS in better battery life (helping push the Web forward instead of anchoring it in the past by killing Flash is also a nice feeling iOS users should have) and consistency (iOS’ lack of fragmentation is, as Dachis states, of important value: “Knowing what you’re getting and that you’ll be receiving updates for at least the next two generations of devices increases the value of an iDevice long past the date of purchase.”
For some reason, security goes unmentioned. It shouldn’t; it’s a very real, very big advantage.
In the end, simply comparing these two lists, not to mention reading the full articles (links in the first sentence above), makes it plainly obvious that Apple’s iOS is the superior choice over Google’s flawed clone for anyone except the most delusional “Apple Haterz,” ignorant consumers, or those unfortunate souls who find themselves with carriers who are not yet authorized to carry Apple products.
True...then you veer into non-sequiturs.
If people aren’t buying Sybmian, RIM, and iOS devices because they don’t want Symbian, RIM, nor iOS, that doesn’t mean they _want_ Android because they liked what they saw, it just means it sucks less.
I wouldn’t say “X beats Y” if both X and Y suck, even if X is marginally preferable to Y given the limited sucky choice.
bump for later
>>>I would not rule anything out. The justification process is amazing... Having Flash support, and being able to customize your own phone to suit your tastes or needs, are both bad features. ;)<<<
Don’t you understand? Freedom can lead some to make bad decisions, so freedom is evil. If you have no choices, you can’t make any bad choices. /sarc
I find it extremely ironic that Apple is the company that put out the famous 1984 ad and once used the slogan “Think Different”.
Now Apple tries to be Big Brother and tells its customers that it will do all their thinking for them.
I recently gave in and bought an iPhone. I think for the most part it is better, but it does have it’s shortcomings. Mainly, I don’t like that the battery is not replaceable, and that I can’t locally install whatever apps I want (I think Android may have the same limitation, though).
Not huge deals, and for the most part, it’s a great device.
I have a motorola flipside, now if I can just find a teenager to hang around with me to show me how to use it I’ll do fine.
I shouldn’t have to disable the functionality of software simply because the designers of the operating system made a clearly bad implementation choice that they appear unwilling to address.
Furthermore, there are notifications you can’t disable: like failed email checks. I live and work in skyscrapers so I frequently lose my signal when walking to and from the core of buildings....when that happens, I literally receive 10 popups telling me that the phone can’t sync my 5 email accounts.
10.
It’s ridiculous.
There’s a concept video someone put together that would be brilliant:
http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/apple/iphone/iphone-5-how-notifications-should-be-handled/
If Apple doesn’t fix this, at least with the iPhone 5 update, I’m switching.
Also, unless I misunderstand what he means by “Alternate Keyboard”, you can select from different keyboard sets on the iPhone (does he mean actual physical keyboards?).
I’ve got a co-worker who’s a tablet/e-reader nut. Has all the main market e-readers and most of the big tablets. He says his rooted Nook is the best of the bunch, has all the functionality he likes from all the others except some GPS stuff on the iPad and cheaper than the lot.
>>>I have a motorola flipside, now if I can just find a teenager to hang around with me to show me how to use it I’ll do fine.<<<
I’ve found watching video reviews of Android phones to be very helpful in figuring out how to use them. Here is one for the flipside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjPgxp2cbjg
The rooted Nook is great. I play chess on it. I can visit all my favorite websites including those that use Flash video. I can swap micro SD cards out if one gets full. I don’t need a computer to backup since I can use Titanium to store on the card. You can even run custom ROMs from the sd card if you want.
All the information is at http://www.nookdevs.com
I’m glad it doesn’t have GPS since Apple, Google, and Microsoft believe their marketing trump my privacy. I may switch to a Droid phone so I can tether and use 4G.
the fact that i can use my android phone as a wireless modem without haveing to hack the iphone to get an app not availbale in the app store, I can simply connect my phone to the computer and use my 3g connection with my laptop anywhere there is a 3g signal not just free wireless, which has been very usefull on many business trips
Thanks for the link!
Apple produces a specific product with a clear vision. It is not taking away anyone's freedom, any more than a restaurant with a prix fixe menu is telling you what to eat. If you don't like what they're offering, go elsewhere.
You don’t need to jailbreak the iPhone to tether it, and you don’t need an app of any kind. It’s in the stem settings. That critique is from a couple of years ago. You do have to sign up for a tethering plan with your carrier, if they require it (as AT&T and Verizon do).
Android users have been able to get around that, but the carriers are cracking down.
Do you KNOW what advantage to more magapixel there is in a phone camera? All you get is the ability to print a larger picture! What you LOSE is the ability to take a picture in lower light. There is MUCH MORE advantage to having glass lenses like you do in the iPhone than the plastic lenses that the Android phones have. . . And the superior light gathering ability of the 5megapixel CCD over the 8 is demonstrable..
As to screen size, the lather the screen, the larger the phone and heavier weight... there's a point of diminishing returns. And speed? Fast enough does the job.
It's just a couple of bloggers having a difference of opinion. The Android list's author at least put his name on it.
Sure, tiny screens, slower processors and photos that can barely be used for anything larger than thumbnails are ADVANTAGES, when the iPhone is saddled with them. /sarc Oh yeah, and Flash is bad too.
The Samsung Infuse is thinner and 6 grams lighter than the iPhone 4, despite having a 29% larger screen. And the Infuse is considered to be far inferior to the, soon to be released in the US, Galaxy S2 series, which is even thinner and much, much faster.
There is simply no denying that the iPhone’s hardware is no longer up to par with that of the better Android phones. It is not even close.
I
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