[EVO 4G General] Mecha2142:
You state your opinion that iPhone OS is the superior operating system as if it were a fact, while it clearly isn't. Android OS is not supposed to be compared to iPhone OS. Not now, not ever. You're also stating your opinions as opinions shared by everybody who purchases smartphones. SOME people are looking for simplicity, not all of them, and Android isn't designed to be 'simple' in the first place. Android is targeted at people who need their phone to do a lot of things at the same time, while the iPhone is more suitable for one's grandmother.

You don't HAVE to install a ton of rom upgrades in a week. You don't HAVE to install rom upgrades at all. It's a little thing called choice, and it's given to Android device owners. They can customize every single element of the phone to their liking if they WANT to. It's not mandatory. In contrast, Apple has their phone under lock and key, keeping it brain-dead simple so that nothing has to be changed or updated. Some people like that, other's don't. For those who don't, there's Android.

Yes, you have a point. Android was once a very unstable operating system. However, your experience comes from using three of the oldest Android phones on the market; you have absolutely no idea how far the operating system has advanced since then. The G1 is the first Android phone, so of course it's not going to be stable; Android is Google's first foray into the hardware and phone software business, so they obviously require time to work out the kinks. Apple has been making computers for YEARS, so they're obviously going to know a thing or two about keeping their operating system stable. The Mytouch 3G and Hero are on the bottom end of the Android scale as well; hell, they both run 1.5 on the same hardware as my Touch Pro.

That being said, phones like the Evo running 2.1 are day to night in comparison; Google has had some time to work out the software kinks, and it shows; battery life is a lot better than it once was, the operating system runs a lot faster, and it's just more refined in general. If you haven't used any of these recent Android phones for more than a few minutes, you've really got no authority to talk about it's usability today.

Multitasking is useful for quite a large number of people, in case you didn't know. Having the ability to juggle various applications while still using your device is a feature praised by Android users. Like I said, you've used phones with the same hardware as my Touch Pro from 2008, so it's pretty obvious that you're going to experience memory issues while multitasking with less than 256 MB of RAM. It's pretty obvious that Apple agrees, because it's going to be unveiling multitasking in its next revision of the iPhone OS. Is it still all that bad? Regarding the ability to be on the phone while using the device for other data-centric purposes isn't an iPhone exclusive features. All GSM phones have the ability to do this.

Yes, the Evo has changed all of this, along with the Nexus one and the Droid Incredible. Furthermore, the Evo is doing a lot more than simply 'waking up a giant', which isn't as giant and powerful as people love to proclaim. The Evo is the representation of the best features that the Android operating system has to offer. It really doesn't care what other companies think it might be doing instead.

You're right, the Android experience with Evo owners will be nothing like yours thanks to the year of hardware and software advancements you missed with the Hero.