yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Vibrant General] Maverick777:
Even though I'm not a fan of Verizon's pricey plans, I will applaud their efforts in marketing Android. The Droid campaign has done a LOT in terms of boosting awareness of Android.

As far as Android vs iPhone, it comes down to usage as a lot of people have already stated. If you just want something that works and has lots of things to keep you entertained, it's hard not to go to the iPhone. Sure the Android market is growing and the selection of apps and games is growing, but a lot of people (and I would go as far as stereotyping Apple users as a whole), want something that works well and has stuff now.

Android has lots of potential and there's no doubt Google will keep improving the OS. However, with choice also comes fragmentation. There's no denying that it's tough for app developers to make apps with lots of eye candy when there's so many types of hardware to consider. Users want to push developers to release their apps fast, but developers need time to polish their apps. Developers that do release their apps fast usually have bugs. In which case the users are unhappy. It's almost a no-win situation for developers with so many impatient users.

Then there's handset manufacturer support. This is where Android has a few black eyes. Knock Apple all you want, but at least their handsets are offered updates (minus the original iPhone and performance issues with the iPhone 3g on iOS 4). The Samsung Behold II debacle still poses a big black eye for Samsung. Motorola and HTC are not guilt free either. With Android progressing so quickly, there is a concern that some users, even users with high end phones will be left behind quickly. For instance, Galaxy S users are just holding their breath that Samsung will release Android 3.0 when it is final late this year/early next year. The market that Apple caters to does not like these kinds of questions marks when they're going to spend this kind of money. Android users, especially those that are willing to root and install custom roms simply assuade that fear with some assurance that Cyanogen or some other developers will continue supporting their phones long after the handset manufacturer has deemed them end of life.

At this point, I do no deem either OS's superior to one another. Rather they offer users different types of experiecnes and you have to make a choice based on what you consider as more important. The only bad choice you can make is buying into hype and buying something that does not fit your lifestyle.

I'm excited to see Windows 7, Blackberry OS6, Meego, etc bring more competition and push mobile OS's to the next level. 2011 will be an interesting battlefield for mobile OS's.

PS: Sorry for the long post. I could go on about features I'd love to see from other OS's incorporated into Android, but I'll save that for another thread.
[Vibrant General] pavvy:
Believe it or not, I had never really used an iPhone until I spent some time playing w/a few iPhone 4's recently (I've got nothing against 'em, I'm just a T-Mobile guy, and they've never been an option). I will say that I was impressed by the speed and smoothness of the iPhone's UI -- scrolling around in Web pages, using pinch-and-zoom -- it's like butter. (The immediate, silky rendering of new zoom levels in Google Maps, as you zoom in and out, was particularly "!!".)

I suppose it's Apple's custom-designed chips that make this performance possible(?) -- even speed demons like the N1 and Vibrant aren't THAT smooth, in my experience. So I can see how, for someone used to a iPhone and fine with its very limited customization options (no widgets, etc.) -- and are OK paying for the pleasure, being on AT&T, etc. -- the "it just works (really well)" aspect must be hard to give up.

That said, the thing was surprisingly uncomfortable to hold, with its hard edges! (Guess those "bumpers" solve that problem...)

/end of my earthshaking "review" of most ubiquitous phone evah
[Vibrant General] Maverick777:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that iOS uses the GPU for eye candy like pinch zooming and such and that's why it's so smooth compared to Android. Android does not use GPU acceleration outside of gaming. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but if true that would explain a lot.
[Vibrant General] PathogenX:
IMO having both used IOS and Android. I really do like both. However in an overall package i think IOS takes the cake. Its way more user friendly. The app store that's a whole other topic but apples app store makes androids app store look like a self loathing pile of crap.

Android however is way more customizable, functional and you can get android on any provider on a plethora of prices and hardware.

If android had a much better appstore one that is equal or better than apples, better updates (speaking of updates the fragmentation on android is horrific. When a new update comes out on iphone all iphones get them.) Sync software, yes android needs a sync software for android. I don't care how much of a drag and drop fanboy you are but there is nothing like pressing sync vs having to click and drag multiple folders.

Android is a great platform and has its pros and cons just like iOS.

If you asked me to choose once more well I think I would go with android.
[Vibrant General] RebDovid:
With a student or educational discount, the cost of a MacBook Pro is more reasonable. I have a PC-based notebook. Other family members have Macbook Pros. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If I didn't mind the walled-in garden, I well might have gone Mac.
[Vibrant General] erickrios:
Divx playback using rockplayer app - just watched the hangover on my beautiful vibrant screen, just dragged and dropped form my pc to the phone, no converting! Sweet!

Flash - (skyfire browser on eclair 2.1, Native on froyo 2.2) just watched hardnocks episodes using skyfire on my vibrant.

And no need to root / jailbreak to do either one of these. :)
[Vibrant General] pavvy:
Interesting...
[Vibrant General] Maverick777:
http://www.ipodtouchfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300820

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=6914

Here's 2 posts of what I was referring to. Apparently Apple apps have the option of using GPU acceleration for smoother eye candy (and there's quite a few available).

Android does not. Why? Because older handsets would be able to support it. Also, according to the post above, Gingerbread/Android 3.0 does not include GPU acceleration either.

So outside of gaming our GPU's are apprently useless. And even in gaming, developers are making games to run on the lowest common demoninator, so I guess it'll be awhile before anything comes out to take advantage of the SGX535 or SGX540 that are included in high end phones these days. :(

Edit: On a similar note. As much as I'm enjoying Android, it is missing some polish I see on iOS and even Win Phone 7. A smooth rotation animation would be nice. Launcher Pro's approach of redrawing the screen is fast, but it's kind of jarring and doesn't look very nice.

UI uniformity is anothe area that needs improvement.

Functionally, Android is pretty close to iOS (in terms of apps). But why can't we have form AND function? Hopefully that'll change as Android continues to develop. Especially with Gingerbread focusing on useability.
[Vibrant General] MrGibbage:
Wow, I started quite the flame war on mac rumors. A lot of the people there are recommending Android.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1002421
[Vibrant General] nearblack:
LUL... I read through that entire thing and luled so much.

But it just shows how ****ty it is over there, and how relatively peaceful it is here. :)
[Vibrant General] pavvy:
That's actually a pretty decent discussion, if you skim past the back-and-forth griping (between what sound like a couple of "less mature" folks)...
[Vibrant General] boystuff:
I don't think i'll do the Iphone thing, Everytime i think about getting an iphone i remember theme changing on OSX and *facepalm* no Customization, no sense of individuality. I love Apple hardware/software compatibility and stability but the customization kills me.
[Vibrant General] air2k57:
You know, I go to a school where most of our labs have new Macs, they update them every semester, some get replaced. My library has 30" imacs even lol. Every kid at school has an ibook, and I gotta say, I kind of want one. I love windows, love how much quicker I can get things done, how much easier it is for.me to multitask, how much faster it is. I have a Vaio laptop which I customized for $1500 couple of years back, it still rapes Mac. I can build a more powerful PC than an imac for 1/3 the price. Why do I want one though? Style. Apple laptops have great design, slim, just sexy looking. Just because of it all I'd overlook the flaws and use one. Same with an iPhone, people buy it for style. While vibrant is way better and has better screen contrast when you have the two side by side, not to mention how thin and light it is... it's hard to deny just how great iPhone 4 is design wise.
[Vibrant General] epicfailguy2:
Little out of topic but if you want a PC with the style of a mac you should dig the HP envy line. ;) Those are very very nice laptops, especially the envy14, I am fully pleased with it, and even my apple friends end up admitting it's a mbp13/15 killer for it's price.

Back on topic I think iOs is nice for non power users. While the stock android is kind of meh, but onces you start getting stuff like ADW launcher, desktop vizualizer, launcher pro, thaipad dialer or nubdial, and such it becomes easily superior to even a jailbroken iOS in terms of customization by fitting your needs like a glove. The lack of widgets is actually what pushed me toward the SGS rather the iphone4 I was eyeing for quite some time for it's stainless steel border (I simply forgot it when I realized I had to put a bumper/case on that since I often drop my phones and the glass back breaks quite easily). Itune forced use was also something that pushed me back.

The big cons of android currently are pretty much :

- Very hard to find the AWESOME apps, you have to either lurk on the internet for HOURS or read a good forum like xda to get everything that's good. It's way easier on the app store with the featured best apps thing.

- Slow updates to 2.2... but meh ^^ 2.1 is quite nice.

- Fail at compatibility between 2.1 2.2 API of some apps.

tl:dr

Iphone = WOW it rocks on the first weeks then meh...

Android = meh it's ok in the first weeks and then :cool: once you got it perfectly set up to your needs.
[Vibrant General] Smokexz:
Android is obviously somewhat superior, first you have better google apps(youtube, gmail, google maps, etc) then you have open source, and then you have a bigger one, tether/mobile hotspot(depending if your device has froyo or not). In the end it is great for a user, however speakimg in terms for developers it isn't so great. Piracy is very easy, so in a way if you are in it just for using it, Android, if you want to be a developer then its kinda in the middle. There are people who actually buy apps, and so this makes Android a fairly good developer platform, especially with open source. In the end its all you but I personally am a Google Geek, so I am in love with Android... Still, they are both phones that anyone would be lucky to have
[Vibrant General] bauerlucas:
Well you can get android on the iphone so there is a reason to buy an I phone but I can't think if another.
[Vibrant General] air2k57:
Problem with android is, well, more like was, is the hardware. Apple makes one phone, with their hardware. As a result, you have something that runs quite good out of the box, Ans your average user is going to be okay with everything. Has apps, it feels fast, it does everything they want it to do. Prior to the nexus one, all android phones had crap for hardware. I loved what my mytouch 3g could do, but hated how laggy it got, specially when Just typing landscape mode. I did everything I could think of to speed it up, even found out about xda. Your average user would just hate on android And go to apple, they don't know the hidden potential. Nexus one has helped a lot as good set a baseline for others to follow basically, finally phones with faster CPU and more ram came. But even the nexus one wasn't great out of the box until android 2.2. You had to root your nezus Just to use all of its available ram, it made a difference.

Look at vibrant, it is a great phone, specially with the lag fix, but out of the box, it can be laggy, I hate lag...

Long story short, while android is a better OS and can be super snappy with current hardware, it does require a little knowledge and tweaking to get most current devices up there. Most average users won't even know that it is possible. Until android screams performance wise right out of the box, I Just don't see if being as appealing as the iPhone to all.
[Vibrant General] MacGuy2006:
Here are some random observations, based on my experience with both:

Screen:

The Vibrant/Galaxy S has a fantastic screen, better than any other phone, including the iPhone 4, IMO. The Super AMOLED screen is the biggest advantage of the Samsung.

User Interface/OS:

Android OS is still less polished than iOS. The UI is inconsistent and clunkier to use. Things even crash at times, although rarely, compared to the WM6.1 I had a couple of years ago.

The ability to customize the UI is great, but for non-geeks it is largely irrelevant. I'd rather the UI was great out of the box. I am hoping that Android OS 3 will bring the UI to be on par with iOS.

The one thing that may make me leave Android one day is the UI customizations forced by the manufacturers. They are all ugly, to varying degrees, including Sense and TouchWiz. I'd rather see good vanilla UI, with customization options available in Market.

I also don't get Widgets: they just take up screen real estate, and duplicate functions which are available with one click on an app. Many are geeky and rather kitschy.

BTW, you can change the UI of a jailbroken iPhone in many elaborate and ugly ways - but it is a bit more involved than installing a launcher on Android, and only true geeks do it.

Battery Life:

The battery life of the Vibrant is the biggest drawback for me. I get between 10 and 24 hours, with a well conditioned battery, screen all the way down, no game playing. I have tried task-killers, and I have RyanSA's lag fix installed on a stock, rooted phone.

With similar use, I would get 30-50 hours on the iPhone.

I really never thought much about the battery on the iPhone. Now I constantly find myself worrying that if I look at the map or traffic too often, the Vibrant will die on me before I get home.

Adobe Flash:

This is the one thing that brought me to Android. I just got really pissed at Jobs and Apple when Jobs went on the attack. I had been getting more and more annoyed at the locked-down iOS, and Flash was the last drop for me.

--

On the other hand, I was surprised that most Androids are also locked by the manufacturer, and need to be rooted. And some are locked tight enough, they can never be upgraded, even though the hardware may support such upgrades. This one really, really sucks.

Anyway, both platforms have pluses and minuses, and neither is perfect. I have moved to Android currently, but I am not married to either. If something I think is better comes along, I have no problem jumping on it.
[Vibrant General] phr00t:
I have a co-worker who was debating to get the iPhone 4 or the Samsung Captivate (since we were on AT&T).

Our company was paying for the phone, so price was not a factor.

I have a captivate, so I tried to show off its best features -- the screen, Android's available customizations, the (low) weight/thickness etc.

However, I had to tell him the GPS out-of-the-box was an issue. The Captivate also had problems connecting to our enterprise Wifi network. Although I was confident these were going to be fixed, he did not share the same confidence. He used to have the AT&T Tilt (as did I), and we had problems with that phone that never ended up getting fixed. Thinking Apple's products "just work", he ended up buying the iPhone 4.

The day he got the phone, he started running into problems with the iPhone 4 that he assumed would "just work": he had to sync all of his movies and music to one machine, using iTunes. If he wanted to add music from another machine, iTunes wanted to delete everything on the iPhone. He'd have to buy an application to have a USB mass-storage mode... also, he had to encode a movie to be played on his iPhone...

Of course on the Galaxy S phone, we had none of these problems... and it looks like the GPS is (near) fixed with the latest ROMs rolling out (specifically i9000's XFJM6). XFJM6 also fixed the Wifi connectivity problems at work.

So, I respect his opinion about Apple's stuff "just working".. but Apple's "what works" is a small subset of what does, can and will work on an Android phone. In addition, "what works" on an iPhone only works if you do it their way, and only their way.
[Vibrant General] zephiK:
1. Don't use task killers at all, they make everything worst. Google it, there is a blog about it by a Google developer.

2. Recalibrate your battery, drain it to 0%.. keep turning the phone on until it doesn't power on anymore. When it comes to that point, plug it in and charge it up. Do this about once or twice per month, this will make your battery last longer.
[Vibrant General] reyderosquillas:
I've had Win 6.5 devices (for years, Cingular 8125, Tilt 1, Touch Pro 1, Cingular 3125), BlackBerries (for half a year, Pearl, Pearl Flip), Android devices (G1, Hero, for a year), and a 3GS (half a year).

I sold my JB and unlocked 3GS (put iOS4 on it when it was released) a few weeks ago and just got back on Android with the Vibrant. Not looking back. So nice not having to enter my iTunes password every time I want to download an app on the phone. Nice to have AIM actually running in the background, nice to have a pull down notification tray. Nice to have everything.

Would be really nice to be able to upload videos to FB in the FB app though LOL, just noticed that today.

So would having a dedicated camera button, but then I'd have to go Epic, or Evo. Not the X because I'd never pay Verizon's plan prices.

Anyway I use Gmail, FB, Twitter, and love all the integration. Android devices have always done that well, and it's even better now.

& I'm even using mine on AT&T Edge and it's still great for me (getting 1mbps down).

I do love Zune though and will probably be selling this when T-Mo get's a good W7 model, preferrably the Lightning (if they get that one), otherwise I'll wait for a sexy one (Schubert is Ugly too me, the back that is. Bad enough it looks like the Tilt 1 form factor).
[Vibrant General] MilkPudding:
Definitely! I can't look at my boyfriend's iphone 4 without missing my vibrant screen, not only the size but the clarity and color intensity. It's like a drug. LOL.

My experience with smartphones started with a Symbian phone back in late 90s. I have to say that Vibrant is the best phone that I've used so far based on my personal preferences.
[myTouch 3G, Magic General] pentacle:
Which hero rom can i use on my 32b , and is the hero rom faster then the magic roms ??:confused:
[myTouch 3G, Magic General] shoemeistah:
You can try 'KiNgxKxlicK Hero2G1' but for me it didn't work a 100 percent.

The problem for me on that ROM was that the HTC Sense kept reloading certain times. Now I use a Hero ROM and replaced the kernel and more stuff. Too much work for you nonetheless.
[myTouch 3G, Magic General] JeezyMT3G:
Ive heard most HERO ROMS are slow..i use Cyanogen ROMS which are great for daily use...Just flash a Sense theme on your ROM to give it that Sense feel..except u wont have all the Sence widgets.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Jamiec902:
When in dual mode the phone flicks between 3g and H every second and I can't get phone calls or internet???

Also at times I cannot get on the internet eventhough 3g shows, the arrow upwards lights up but the down arrow doesnt light up to show download, then after a few minutes it seems to work

Anyone any ideas other than a full reflash?

In UK and on JM1 (old version from samsungfirmwares - CSC i9000OXXJG7)
[Galaxy S I9000 General] K0v4L:
I had same problem yesterday. I was walked back home from work and decided to go on facebook and after check the xda using tapatalk. After 10 minutes I noticed that sgs is switching between H and 3g every second and I can't download any data. After few minutes problem gone, but when I checked battery usage settings I found that cell radio is 50% out of signal and draining battery. No change after night and restart. Now I'm after flash of official jm1 and everything is fine. No battery draining and 0% out of signal. Network o2 uk.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Jamiec902:
How did you flash back to official jm1
[Galaxy S I9000 General] lexcyn:
This was happening to me and all I did was turn airplane mode on, then wait a min, then turned it off. It's been fine ever since.
[Epic 4G General] Pepper90:
hey, do anybody know how long i have to wait until the (german name but same phone in 3g) galaxy s pro come out in germany?

weis jemand wann die deutsche version bei uns auf den markt kommt?

danke
[Epic 4G General] aim1126:
Probably forever. The galaxy s pro is a sprint exclusive. you have to get the international galaxy s
[Epic 4G General] NeonMonster:
NEVER. :)

The Epic is a CDMA. To go over seas, they will have to make a GSM version which is doubtful.
[Epic 4G General] a454nova:
If I was over seas... I'd be a saaad Panda right now.
[Epic 4G General] ConceptVBS:
Dont say never. If a carrier wants it or if their is enough demand for one from a consumer, Samsung will make it. Try emailing Samsung Germany about it.
[Epic 4G General] Pepper90:
I know from a good source (big online Handy Store in Germany, which already know something about the x1 before it was out) told me the epic 4g is sprint exclusive but it will follow a 3g version named "Samsung Galaxy S pro"

The shop has the phone already online but without release date
[General Topics] A2RAYA:
Hi im new to the android community.

I just bought a Samsung Galaxy S GT-i9000 and it is a really good phone, but i tried to root it and was running mcr scripts. when mcr scripts had finished i turned off my mobile and turned it back on and the opening animation wasnt there anymore just the sound.

I have tried to go into recovery mode and erase to factory settings but that didnt work. When i did that i saw that mcr scripts is still on my phone and i cant delete it.

I was wandering if there is a way to bring back the opening animation and to format my phone so it can go back to the way it was when i bought it

Thank You

A2RAYA