Opinion: Android continues to blow Apple out of the water

[AbsolutHokie04]

The latest iOS updates were basically Apple catching up with what Android has been doing the past couple years.

What Google is unveiling right now with 4.1 Jelly Bean ... iPhans you definitely have something to look forward to in 2 years when Apple implements this stuff.

[AbsolutHokie04]

[AbsolutHokie04]

RIP Amazon Kindle Fire

[MEHOKIE]

RIP Amazon Kindle

Do you mean the Kindle Fire? The New tablet will be released 7/31

http://www.pcworld.com/article/25833...d_of_july.html

DigiTimes reported earlier this month that the Fire 2 would have a 1280-pixel-by-800-pixel display and sell at $199, the price of the current Fire models. Like Apple, which dropped the price of its iPad 2 when it introduced its new iPad, Amazon would drop the price of the older Fire to $149.

[AbsolutVT69]

Aren't most Android devices still waiting to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update? Doesn't really matter how "cool" the features of an OS are if only a handful of devices have it.

RIP Amazon Kindle

Amazon is about ready to bring out the next version of the Fire so I wouldn't bury them just yet.

[AbsolutHokie04]

Aren't most Android devices still waiting to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update? Doesn't really matter how "cool" the features of an OS are if only a handful of devices have it.

Of course it matters. Don't be silly.

You're right though - the fact that the software and hardware development is in the hands of two separate companies is an issue. Throw in carriers (like Verizon) controlling roll-outs of updates is a pain.

But many top phones are either shipping with ICS (Nexus, S3) or have been updated already (Razr, Razr Maxx).

[AbsolutVT69]

Of course it matters. Don't be silly.

You're right though - the fact that the software and hardware development is in the hands of two separate companies is an issue. Throw in carriers (like Verizon) controlling roll-outs of updates is a pain.

But many top phones are either shipping with ICS (Nexus, S3) or have been updated already (Razr, Razr Maxx).

It's not silly. If you can't get software on your device then it doesn't really mean anything to you. If you're already locked into a phone that has yet to even see ICS what are the odds of it getting the new stuff any time soon? According to Android's own numbers, as of June 1st only around 7% of Android devices have ICS compared to 65% on Gingerbread. So my point is who cares about features when <10% of the devices have the software.


Sidenote... can we just do away with naming OS versions? I feel like an idiot talking about Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwiches and Apple's going to run out of ferocious members of the cat family soon.

[AbsolutHokie04]

It's not silly. If you can't get software on your device then it doesn't really mean anything to you. If you're already locked into a phone that has yet to even see ICS what are the odds of it getting the new stuff any time soon? According to Android's own numbers, as of June 1st only around 7% of Android devices have ICS compared to 65% on Gingerbread. So my point is who cares about features when <10% of the devices have the software.

Really?

Yes. If you have an old or "budget" phone, you won't see Jelly Bean or even ICS. That is the drawback of multiple manufacturers designing Android phones. No argument there. Props to Apple for having 1 hardware developer and ensuring that a large number of their users will get updates as time goes by.

But the innovation is there. Google is doing what a developer should do, breaking new ground and unveiling new technologies. If you want to stay up-to-date on technology, you have to buy new technology.

[AbsolutVT69]

Really?

Yes. If you have an old or "budget" phone, you won't see Jelly Bean or even ICS. That is the drawback of multiple manufacturers designing Android phones. No argument there. Props to Apple for having 1 hardware developer and ensuring that a large number of their users will get updates as time goes by.

But the innovation is there. Google is doing what a developer should do, breaking new ground and unveiling new technologies. If you want to stay up-to-date on technology, you have to buy new technology.

Is it really "old or budget" phones though? My work phone is a Droid 4. It doesn't have ICS on it. Sure it's "scheduled" to get it at some point but that doesn't mean it will happen any time soon if at all. And it's a phone that I got when I started in March so it's not like it's an old phone by any stretch. And I'm not sure it's possible to "stay up to date" on technology. By the time you buy the "newest tech" then the next newest tech is on the horizon. Phones are the worst simply because you end up locked into a contract which means you're going to have to pay a ton of money to "stay up to date".

[BayouGobbler]

Is it really "old or budget" phones though? My work phone is a Droid 4. It doesn't have ICS on it. Sure it's "scheduled" to get it at some point but that doesn't mean it will happen any time soon if at all. And it's a phone that I got when I started in March so it's not like it's an old phone by any stretch. And I'm not sure it's possible to "stay up to date" on technology. By the time you buy the "newest tech" then the next newest tech is on the horizon. Phones are the worst simply because you end up locked into a contract which means you're going to have to pay a ton of money to "stay up to date".

Carriers choose to make the upgrade window approximately every 2 years, and they stop supporting the phones less than a year later. My wife's droid charge was top of the line (i.e., the most expensive phone verizon sold) when she got it last May and it will never have ICS. That is a ripoff if you ask me. I'd even say it is objectively a ripoff.