mooper

Correct. Older Android phones sometimes have "fragmentation" problems, much like current iPhones suffer problems when upgraded. The best iPhone from just over one year ago requires a shortcut to be created to work around the loss of YouTube and the installation of decent third party maps to override the broken Apple ones. That's why most Apple users are avoiding the iOS6 upgrade. In contrast, all high-end Android phones from the past six months and going forward and almost all Android phones released in 2013 will have v4.x and so such issues... simple, smooth, free upgrades that "just work".

I stand corrected: one year and three weeks ago, not just one year flat. The advantage of early iPhones were that they were simple and "just worked". To have to download alternative working maps and place shortcuts on your home screen to replace something that used to be available by default sort of goes against this, don't you think? Siri is also missing, and some report problems that make them regret they performed the upgrade. As a result, most people are passing on doing it.

If anyone questions whether the iPhone has really lost is luster with this latest release, they need only look at the rapid divergence that has taken place in market share over the past quarter. Past iPhone releases saw Apple gain share temporarily, taking Android a few weeks each time to resume its climb. With this release, customers are seeing the iPhone and jumping ship to faster and better Android phones that cost less and offer choice. In other words, the iPhone 5 has hastened Apple's decline for the first time.

PS> This isn't OMNI. You should note that my negative opinion of Apple is not an attack on you, so I ask that you give the same respect and set the ad hominem aside. Thanks.

planemechanic

LOL

When people lie they should get called on it. Stop lying and you won't have to worry about it.

mooper

And this lie, specifically, was?

planemechanic

Clear and obvious for all to see. Except the blind, such as yourself. Been there, done that, you are blinded by your Apple hate. You refuse to see the evidence, and will claim it doesn't exist. Won't bother to play that game with you again.

nkedel

Of course, so will the iPhone 4S and 5 on the last.

As for fragmentation, it's overstated. Not counting Amazon's not-quite-Android on the Kindle Fire(/SD/HD) the vast majority of applications (and pretty much all of the ones anyone would actually want to run) will work on all phones with Froyo or newer. Yeah, skins are different, and some of the phone-type functionality is tied to the skins, but most of the "fragmentation" is in how they skin the home screens and widgets, and it's pretty easy to just replace those with something you like better if you don't like the skin they use.

A lot of the me-too manufacturers are also disappearing; really, you've got HTC, Moto, and Samsung selling virtually all the high end phones, and then a couple of others competing in the midrange.

Tried it; it came on my Epic. Feels even less natural than pecking out letters on screen, and it (or the Samsung version of it) is a terrible keyboard if you don't use the swiping motion -- I had to download the stock Gingerbread one.

acunningham

Agreed. For most real-world Android development, fragmentation is a fairly minor issue, and one that can be easily overcome. The main exceptions are games, which are much more demanding in terms of screen layout and hardware performance.

nkedel

Screen layout is a solved problem on the PC side. Hardware performance, and I'd imagine some GPU quirks as well, not so much... and in that sense, Apple certainly has an advantage since there's a single spec per generation (although a pretty long trailing edge of generations, on either.)

From my end, I don't really see either iOS or Android as a good gaming platform; touch screens suck for serious gaming since you lose a lot of visual area to on-screen controls, and they're wickedly imprecise. Further, nobody seems to be willing to pay console/PC game prices on phones, which means they won't support the same quality of titles (on their own) as consoles/PCs or even gaming handhelds (which already have to have cheaper games.)

That said, while I don't personally get the appeal, there sure seems to be plenty of money to be made on both casual games, and porting older titles back to the phone market.

mooper

Is CNET lying when they say the YouTube app isn't included by default and needs to be downloaded from the App Store and placed as an option, per the instructions these other liars offer?

Of course, this isn't as big of a deal as the other missing app, Google Maps, but in Apple's defense, there are workarounds to get some decent third-party maps on the iPhone as well. With just a few more tweaks and hacks, you can fix the WiFi and light leak glitch, then you can buy an adapter to make your old ones work and you can get a protector for the phone that will help mitigate the fact it is scratched more easily than competing phones. As long as you've purchased a model with enough memory to suit you (remember, Apple won't let you change/expand/remove memory like other phones), you'll have a good device... as you should, given that its' the most expensive phone available.


For Android 4.x, it is a *non* issue for all intensive purposes. If you're looking to buy an older low-end Android phone running 2.x, it's something to consider because when Android was in its infancy, there were some issues, but as long as you're looking at 4.x you can disregard.

nkedel

Oh no, you need to download it.
Seriously, I have no use for Apple, but if it's as simple as typing "YouTube" and clicking "download" in their market, who cares?

I think you mean "for all intents and purposes", and I think that overstates it. It's certainly true for most purposes of most users, but *lol* given the kind of power usage you push ("how can one live without LTE?" to parody it) that's exactly the point at which the difference between different CPU/GPU combinations (or different resolutions) will make a difference in some less common cases.

mooper

I correctly stated that iOS6 removes YouTube and was accused of lying. I never said it was difficult to add it back. There are several easy steps one can take to correct the various bugs and deficiencies present in the new iPhone, but that sure counters the old perception that it is a product that "just works out of the box".

Darn Android keyboard auto-fill. Time to switch to Apple!

planemechanic

No, you said "you lose youtube and google maps". And that is quite clearly a LIE, and now you are backpedaling on it.

planemechanic

It is that easy, but mooper cares because he can use it to support his hatred of all things Apple.

planemechanic

Again, No, you lied by saying you lose access to youtube, and you don't. You can access it through the app or through the browser. You LIED.

nkedel

You said "Just as iOS 6 placed on an iPhone 4 (the latest iPhone just 1 year ago) will lack Siri, YouTube, and good maps."

I wouldn't call that lying, but it is rather over the top overreaction, for something readily re-added via the market (not the case with Google Maps -- although there may be some non-identical substitutes, and an eventual Google-written app, /maybe/, and of course, no Siri for those easily impressed.)

Time to get a real keyboard

sard

My 2 biggest concerns with the s3 is:
1. A bit too big
2. Its almost 6 months old. Isn't 6 months ancient when it comes to cell phones?

Is there going to be a S4 coming out soon?
How does the HTC One (one x?) compare to the S3 in terms of specs?

Thanks