Team-BHP - Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRide (Post 4449604)

Thanks guys. So here's goodbye to android. Tried hard to find a quality 4in sample within android world and failed, so jumping fence to other side.
Ordered an SE and should get it by tomorrow. SE appears to be the very last of compact units. I needed a phone that looks like a phone and screen sizes are getting ridiculous these days.

You definitely won't regret this phone. It is super handy and sturdy for day to day use. Typing on a small screen will take some time getting used to but irons out soon enough. All the best !

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRide (Post 4449604)

Ordered an SE and should get it by tomorrow. SE appears to be the very last of compact units. I needed a phone that looks like a phone and screen sizes are getting ridiculous these days.

Welcome to the club ! There is not many of us who want a compact smart phone.

Before I got my SE, I looked out for the rumoured Huawei compact - it never came. Sony had some smaller ones, but these didnot have fingerprint feature. So the SE only choice.

The one thing I did not like about the iOS is the way sms messages are handled. In the list of messages, if I swipe message to left, and hit delete then the entire conversation is gone.

Suggest to keep regular back-up's of your data.

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveenroy (Post 4449625)

Comeon guys. This is an android thread. If one of our flock goes over to the dark side, willingly, let us let him go. No wishing luck and all. Hahahah.

Ditto! As a (forced) iPad user, I know just how much of a pain iOS is, once you are accustomed to Androids. The limitations hit you hard, but then to each his own.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy_libran (Post 4449653)

Ditto! As a (forced) iPad user, I know just how much of a pain iOS is, once you are accustomed to Androids. The limitations hit you hard, but then to each his own.:)

True, there are limitations with the Apple products. But is there any other tablet that works as well as an iPad ? There was nothing that was close enough, at least three years back when I got the iPad. Thankfully, Samsung, Google and even OnePlus give us comparable products when it comes to the Phones. Though it's a long time since I used an iPhone(5s) , I suspect they still have some edge as complete product but probably not much to force us to switch..

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveenroy (Post 4449625)

.. goes over to the dark side, willingly, ....

Most unwillingly, let me assure you.
Very comfy with android and not too keen on ios. But iam done with phablets stuffed into pockets. I wanted a powerful small device that will not get outdated atleast for a couple of years. Hence the SE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRide (Post 4449955)

Spend an year with the iPhone, and you wouldn't want to go back to Android.

Quote:

Originally Posted by civic-sense (Post 4449988)

Spend an year with the iPhone, and you wouldn't want to go back to Android.

I had borrowed an iPhone 7+ from my office QA team a few weeks back, for some "research" purposes. It has been carrying one of my numbers since then, and I have been sort of hating it.

1. The default keypad doesn't have the number row. When you have to enter passwords several times a day this is a big downer.

2. The app drawer is paginated (Android has infinite scroll), and no search for apps in the drawer. If you have too many apps sometimes it is tough finding the right one.

3. Haven't figured out how to type in Malayalam using English letters (the full Malayalam keyboard I have seen and used). I don't think this is available.

4. No in-car navigation at all. What is the point of Carplay - only Music? This was a real downer.

Many other minor niggles. Some are probably me just being used to Android.

One that I feel will certainly bite if I switch is that WhatsApp history is not transferable at all. If this affects other apps I routinely use then it is a bit of a problem that completely locks me in the Android universe.

A few years back I had similarly borrowed an iPad from the QA folks, and that experience too was quite terrible. So when I wanted to buy one went for the Nexus 9 instead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4450015)

Yes, there are quite a few niggles when moving platforms, specially when you are used to one.

1) Apple unfortunately does not allow third party keyboards for password entry. Using thr inbuilt password manager "keychain" does make life easier though. iOS 12 next month will also bring third party password manager support.

2) there is an app search. Either search on the screen on the extreme left, or swipe down from the centre of the screen on any page, to open a search window.

3) No clue. You will have to look for 3rd party keyboards.

4) Google maps support for carplay will come with iOS 12 next month.

Yes, whatsapp history is non transferable, and that is a huge downer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4450015)

I had borrowed an iPhone 7+ from my office QA team a few weeks back, for some "research" purposes. It has been carrying one of my numbers since then, and I have been sort of hating it.

You miss whatever you are used to in your current platform. iOS is simple and easy to use. People used to iOS will find themselves lost in wilderness when they migrate to Android.

There was a time when I had a 5S in my left pocket and a nexus 5x in the right. A long time. When I had to make a call, I used to reach for the iPhone. For that quick photo, the iPhone. Music, again the iPhone. But for general, browsing, facebook etc, it was always the Nexus, which I guess was more due to the screen size.

There is only one thing I loathe in the iPhone, the top-left mounted back button.

Quote:

Originally Posted by civic-sense (Post 4450033)

You miss whatever you are used to in your current platform.

True, that. Especially if the new platform doesn't have things that you are used to. I had a similar struggle (which went on for quite a long time, possibly years) when I switched from Linux to Windows. But the latter had a redeeming feature (Microsoft Excel) that made me stick to it.

But even today, to cobble together a quick Perl script that can process a large csv file - I still need Linux. Not 100% on the Windows bandwagon, yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by civic-sense (Post 4450033)

You miss whatever you are used to in your current platform. iOS is simple and easy to use. People used to iOS will find themselves lost in wilderness when they migrate to Android.

While you are right in saying that many users buy an Android to tweak, flash, boot, modify etc.. it doesn't describe all of the Android users.

I've never done anything to Android, and even though it is flexible, I'm not tempted to, either. I've kept it stock with minimal apps and a couple of games I play once a month or so. Android when left alone is just like Apple software, it is simply more flexible than Apple when it comes to downloading stuff, transferring songs, videos, changing the look etc and that's all I need.

Today flagship phones of Android are faster than that of Apple's too. If Apple were about 25-30% cheaper than their current pricing, I might've thought of buying one but I never found the value in paying top dollar and then being forced to use the phone in a way that Apple thinks is suitable for the whole world.

Apple will satisfy 80% of its general buyer base, 20% might complain of its rigidity.. Android will satisfy 90% of its user base and 10% might call it overly complex. No phone is perfect.. however I laugh at both ideologies, in the end we communicate and use the phone for entertainment for a max of an hour a day (that's my avg usage), and both OS's deliver for those requirements in plenty.

The obsession with phones is so high today that anyone with barely acceptable spoken English and a camera become armchair reviewers in YouTube with bajillions of followers asking them in the comments section on what they should or should not buy.

I threw (ok, gave) away my last Android phone because the makers had made it too restrictive and I hated it. I don't imagine I'd last long with apple!

But to someone happy to use the phone, with default apps, out of the box, would, no doubt, be very happy with that phone. And even I miss its camera!

I don't see any reason that the out of the box user will find Android more complex. In fact, looking at iPhones belonging to friends, I wonder how Google for away with such a rip off of the UI!

In much the same way, notwithstanding a professional background in Unix administration, 99% of my Linux life is almost identical to Windows. A visitor would be confused by my personalisation of the desktop, not by the desktop itself. (In fact, they'd soon find a menu, much like Windows (XP,. Which is the last Windows I used).

The differences are in the possibilities, and the possibilities are not obligatory!

And, I found out, even within Android, it is possible to get a phone one hates!

Only thing is... I do envy the photos people get with iPhones. But hey, probably they are better photographers than I am!

I am looking for an Android Phone between 15k-20k. Apart from basic needs, just want something durable/ robust and a good battery. Looking for opinions on the following phones releasing this week;

1) Nokia 6.1 +
Good looking phone with good specs. Advantage of stock android (android one)

2)Samsung Galaxy A9+
Good looking phone and Samsung name, but I believe the processor is very weak?

3) Xiaomi POCO F1
Most of my friends are suggesting this phone, because of the specs being equal to the much higher priced One Plus 6. However, it doesn't look as good as the other two. I'm also apprehensive of cost cutting in other areas because of the excellent specs.

TIA