More thoughts

Since my last blog I've been thinking a bit more about what I do and don't like about Android. One of the things which I'm finding more about Android is that it feels fragmented. Instead of the overall feel of it being the 'Android Experience' it feels more like a series of apps or interactions which are all made by different people and then thrown into a central melting pot and given the Android touch. One great thing is that they all do seem to interact with each other and the number of different options you are presented with when pressing Share is fantastic - although some of the options seem a bit strange.

This fragmented feeling may be caused by the fact that the experience I'm having isn't the stock Android one - it's the Samsung Touchwhiz version and I am yet to be convinced that this is a good thing. I've never tried the HTC version Sense 5 but I get the impression this is probably similar.

10 months in....

Last October I made the switch from being a staunch iPhone user to an Android user and at the time I was very enthusiastic about entering the open source world on my newly acquired Note 3. Almost ten months down the line I think I'm now trying to make a decision as to whether I like Android or not?

The reasons for me switching were boredom with the iOS operating system, the locked down nature of it all where you can only do what Apple wants you to do; plus the attractions of Android looked like a whole world of fiddling, customising and new features! I thought the idea of widgets interesting and thought I'd have loads.

Ten months in I think I've now got to know Android well enough to make an assessment of my use of it and whether I like it or not.

The Note 3 I got obviously comes with the Samsung Touchwhiz skin loaded with the usual bloatware, I stuck with this for a while until I got used to the phone but I very quickly wanted to change. Thanks to the option to download new themes I immediately began trying out all the different ones and settled on Nova however I have subsequently switched to the Google Experience Launcher. One of the great things about Android is the App Store, more often than not if you can think of something you want your phone to do there's an app for it. The Android app store reflects the open source nature of Android and allows any kind of app but still had rigorous checks provided by Google to make sure it's not a danger to the handset or user. One thing I really like about the app store is that you can get a refund on any app if you don't like or in the first 5 mins (I think it's 5 mins) and before you install any app the Play Store lets you know exactly what the app needs to access on your phone.

One common comment I get is about the size of the Note 3, for me it's fine as I have large hands but the general comment is "that's massive". I think one of the issues and things I now dislike about Android are the number of niggly errors which keep happening which I think are connected to the Samsung build of Android rather than the stock version. There are issues with WiFi connection - the regular appearance of 'your network connection is unstable' is very annoying and now music, YouTube videos are pausing for no reason - each update of Samdroid seems to fix some issues but create the same amount of new ones!

Having an OS which is issued by Google but then changed by each of the handset makers for their devices to me dilutes the experience and opens up an opportunity for faults and issues!

Now I've got my phone set up for me I have no widgets on my screen, I never use the S-Pen, and often find myself searching Google for Android equivalents of iOS apps!

So I'm thinking, do I like Android - stock version yes, skinned versions - not really! do I like my Note 3 - not really, are there other handsets on the market currently I like - not really!

Guess I'll see what comes out over the next few months and make a decision! Is the grass greener? Definitely not!

Compen

There is something which has seemingly become part of British society which I have to say really annoys me, the expectation that if a person has something which wrong then they should be compensated for it. It is a part of life that not everything goes either as expected or on a rare occasion genuine mistakes will made, it annoys me that as soon as a part of a process goes wrong there is an expectation that compensation should be paid. In my eyes compensation should only be paid out to people who have actually suffered loss or damage and not purely as a good will gesture, companies are too eager to hand out vouchers etc just to keep customers happy. The rise of the blame claim culture and the exposure all of our opinions (regardless of whether they are right or wrong) have through Social Media terrifies businesses, it's so easy for one negative message, status update or comment to be seen by hundreds of people in only a few minutes and in doing so feed the expectation Joe Public has of receiving a hand out.
 
In the long run I guess the more people do it then the business will have to compensate for the free money they give out by putting prices up - and that hits us all!

I've only gone and done it!!

So then, after I'd written my last blog about iOS 7 it triggered something in my mind! Why do I persist with the iPhone when I know over in Camp Android there are some equally if not better handsets and more importantly a operating system I think I'll get on with! As you may have guessed by now on Sunday afternoon me and the rest of the family took a trip to the O2 store on Team Valley, traded in our iPhones and are now both signed up members of Camp Android, my wife traded in her iPhone 4G for a Galaxy S4 and I swapped my iPhone 5 for a rather marvellous Samsung Galaxy Note 3! For some reason as I was sitting talking to the very pleasant guy there I realised that I was nervous - all over changing to an unfamiliar phone!

So two days in and I can't belive I waited this long to move, the difference between iOS and Android is enormous - Android is amazing! Although it is the Touch whizz version of Android is still marvellous! So far the customisations, swipe keyboards, the play store, widgets have all impressed me! I've still got a great deal to learn and work out but at this point I can't see me ever going back!

Oh yeah and in the Note 3 I think I've chosen well for my first handhighlyset - is a spectacular handset and I'd recommend it to anyone - unless you've for tiny hands as it's massive!

iOS 7

As I'm sure I've mentioned on here quite a few times I've had an iPhone since the first one was released - the first I didn't bother with was the 3GS but other than that one I've pretty much had the lot! With all of these phones obviously came the varying versions of iOS or OS as I think it was originally! Through time iOS started to become a bit stale for me - no major overhaul, instead adding new elements such as Games Centre and Newstand! I had reached the point where I was thoroughly bored with iOS and started to look what else was out there from other providers! Then Apple announced iOS 7 - seeing it for the first time when it was announced at a WWDC I though it looked amazing, they'd changed the way it looked, behaved, and it felt as though it would be like having a brand new operating system! 

Its been a month since iOS 7 was unleashed on my phone and has it turned out to be the iPhone saviour that I'd hoped it would be?..........erm no! When I saw it on the initial demo from Apple I thought the colours were spectacular however when I downloaded it my phone felt a bit like my 4 year old had gone a bit nuts with her crayons! One thing I hadn't released before release was that everything zoomed in and out each time it's opened or closed, if I'm moving between apps etc then it gets annoying! Instead of wasting a second having it zoom why not do away with that and open the app quicker!?  I'm not alone in hating the new calender - I used to find list view really handy but it's not there anymore! My phone and wifi signal appear to be weaker - I'm sure I have No Service in the top left more than I used to (not proven though) and the processing time for the more significant apps like Facebook are noticeably slower - given the number of people using Facebook I'd have expected Apple to work with Facebook to make sure they worked perfectly together - it doesn't feel like they did! 

There is however one thing I really do like and use a lot - Control Centre! I love not having to dive into menus etc to just switch on and off Wifi or Bluetooth and the built in torch has replaced an app I had! 

In summary after a month iOS 7 just feel like iOS 6 with a rather flamboyant new coat on! Combining this with each iPhone now having the same form factor things from Cupertino are going a bit stale for me! 

Drivel

When it comes to updating my blog I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to regularly update their blog but really cannot think of things to type about! I'll often think about something to type about and then decide that it's rubbish and not worth posting! Maybe I should do that and see what comes out - after all a lot of the blogs I read are absolute arsing drivel! 

Manchester

I think I've been to most of the major cities in the UK, all of which have seemed like pretty decent places but often there's something very samey about a lot of them! Obviously and from a completely biased point of view Newcastle is my favourite and I will always have a soft spot for London after living there for a while. Irrespective of architecture etc i think cities have a 'feel' and that's what I pick up on! Manchester is one of those cities which I really like the feel of - there's an atmosphere to it which (in my opinion) places like Birmingham and York for example don't give me! Don't think I'd move there though!

Premium Build Quality

From the hundreds of documents, articles and YouTube videos I've watched recently on the latest smartphone handsets there seems to be one phrase which is used in every review! Premium Build Quality! Most seem to come to the conclusion that although it's a great phone and maybe the best ever - they're all not quite as good as the iPhone 5! Having owned an iPhone 5 since launch day I can confirm that although it's well put together, feels good to use and probably has Premium Build Quality - they scratch and crack far too easily which to me doesn't scream quality! As soon as I got my iPhone I bought screen protectors and a plastic cover which I think completely removes the look and feel that Apple were going for! So despite this protection mine has chips in the paintwork on two edges and when scratches underneath where the cover (Belkin) has been! So is a phone with 'Premium Build Quality' a good thing - not anymore to me! If it doesn't look like it'll scratch far too easily then I think that's more important to me now!

Apple Control

I'm sat here flicking through my usual morning trawl of various websites, I normally start at BBC News, pop to a couple of Newcastle United ones, maybe a cheeky peek at Flickr and technology ones but I always seem to end with a peruse through the latest updates on macrumors.com.

One of the articles made me wonder whether Apple are getting a bit too big for their boots and believing their own hype! The story I read was one about Apple banning an app called AppGratis from the the App Store - the app basically finds good deals, promotions etc for other apps however Apple have decided they don't like how it's done and so they have killed the app! As with any iPhone user the apps available to me are those which are tightly controlled by Apple, instead of being able to find an app that does what I want, I'm instead limited to one that Apple will let me have! They claim that it's to protect the iPhone and maintain the experience but I think this is becoming a problem! I used to enjoy each week waiting for the time when the App Store was refreshed with all the new apps by Apple but however I often look through and am disappointed! I suspect that there are lots of developers out there with some amazing ideas for apps which will significantly enhance the iPhone user experience but are instead being blocked by the very tight control Apple has around the App Store! I wonder what would happen if Apple loosened their grip but still kept a close eye on the security element!?

Facebook

Sometime back in 2007 the Social Network as we know it today was still quite a new concept and I'm sure most people had accounts at MySpace, Friendster and Faceparty - then along came Facebook! Initially I loved Facebook and as more people got into it the bigger it became, I'm pretty sure it got to the point where eventually it became one of the main methods of communication for those people using it. It is great for arranging events, catching up on what people have been doing and generally being all round nosey! At first it was all about status updates, photos and general Tom Foolery - however it's now gone a bit rubbish!

My love of Facebook is now dying very quickly - my timeline is now no longer full of updates - instead they've been replaced with very annoying adverts for things I will never buy! Also the use of the share button is annoying the hell out of me - why people feel the need to constantly share every photo of a lost dog, every tacky and awful Christian poster and all round vomit enducing slogans is beyond me!

The only reason I stick with Facebook is that I have friends and family all over the country and world so Facebook is the best way to keep in touch - if it wasn't for that I would have deleted my account ages ago! In the mean time I can see a lot of people in my friends list being hidden or deleted!