- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
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Mobile Operating Systems
- Thread starter TehLeetHaxor
- Start date
Zorth
#Scoundrel
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2011
I just recently started using the iOS since I got the iPhone 5 as a Christmas gift, before this I was using the Android on my HTC phone. I don't notice any huge difference between the two, only that the iOS menu is more visually pleasing to me than the Android. 
Well, of the two that I have used extensively, iOS and Android, I'd have to say that they both suck pretty hard. I have an iPhone for day-to-day use, which is regrettable in a number of ways but overall it's not a bad device. Aside from that though, I think that iOS is a terribly designed operating system for a number of reasons. Firstly, it looks absolutely hideous. It's simply a mess of ugly-looking icons, with a very much dysfunctional notification center that also happens to look terrible. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if you could customize it and edit the interface to your liking, as is possible with Android. Unfortunately, there really is no way of actually making your interface look any good because of the fact that you're not allowed to edit anything. This leads me into my second primary issue with iOS, which is how locked down it is. Now, this issue isn't exclusive to just Apple's iPhone, but it is very prominent here. The OS is so locked down that it doesn't even have a file browser, a basic function that should be found on a device advertising itself as a miniature computer in your pocket. That speaks volumes of the way that Apple treats it's customers, and I'd rather not get into this discussion again here, but just know that iOS is terribly restricting and that is not okay.
Now, on the other hand, even though iOS looks absolutely terrible and there is no way of fixing this due to the aforementioned restrictions, that doesn't mean that Android is necessarily that much better. Even though the Android OS is a lot more open than iOS, it still takes quite a bit of seemingly unnecessary work to actually get the results that you want. It can be difficult to actually root and flash your phone with a custom ROM, or actually use a different loader because of the way that Google and phone manufacturers have things set up. In many regards, Google isn't that much better than Apple. They carry the banner of "freedom of choice" and all of those good things, yet they still restrict, in many ways, the purchase and acquisition of applications to Google Play (which, by the way is a terribly designed interface and awful storefront), unless the user has some technical knowledge. Now, the Google vs Apple debate is something else altogether, but just know that Google is not a perfect entity when it comes to the privacy and freedom of it's customers.
In a conclusion of sorts, for day-to-day tasks both iOS and Android have their ups and their downs. In the end though, they both essentially provide the same functionality and it really won't make too much of a difference to the average user if they can still check their mail, browse Facebook, and access the web in the same ways. However, to a user who likes to think of himself as technically inclined, I don't particularly like either OS. I don't have much experience in terms of developing applications for a mobile platform, but I understand that the Android dev kit is much easier to get your hands on than the iOS kit, and it's also much easier to work with because the language it uses isn't quite as proprietary. In the end though, I don't want to say that Android is better than iOS because it still have many issues that need to be addressed before I'm comfortable with calling it a superior platform. So, they essentially are both not very good platforms.
Now, on the other hand, even though iOS looks absolutely terrible and there is no way of fixing this due to the aforementioned restrictions, that doesn't mean that Android is necessarily that much better. Even though the Android OS is a lot more open than iOS, it still takes quite a bit of seemingly unnecessary work to actually get the results that you want. It can be difficult to actually root and flash your phone with a custom ROM, or actually use a different loader because of the way that Google and phone manufacturers have things set up. In many regards, Google isn't that much better than Apple. They carry the banner of "freedom of choice" and all of those good things, yet they still restrict, in many ways, the purchase and acquisition of applications to Google Play (which, by the way is a terribly designed interface and awful storefront), unless the user has some technical knowledge. Now, the Google vs Apple debate is something else altogether, but just know that Google is not a perfect entity when it comes to the privacy and freedom of it's customers.
In a conclusion of sorts, for day-to-day tasks both iOS and Android have their ups and their downs. In the end though, they both essentially provide the same functionality and it really won't make too much of a difference to the average user if they can still check their mail, browse Facebook, and access the web in the same ways. However, to a user who likes to think of himself as technically inclined, I don't particularly like either OS. I don't have much experience in terms of developing applications for a mobile platform, but I understand that the Android dev kit is much easier to get your hands on than the iOS kit, and it's also much easier to work with because the language it uses isn't quite as proprietary. In the end though, I don't want to say that Android is better than iOS because it still have many issues that need to be addressed before I'm comfortable with calling it a superior platform. So, they essentially are both not very good platforms.
Dr3W21
shoegaze girl
Android > iOS > Blackberry OS > Windows Phone.
I am certainly on the Android side of things here. As Kazumi has already stated, iOS is a lot more "locked down" than Android and even the BlackBerry OS (but not windows phone... but admit it, nobody really likes the Windows Mobile OS). Plus, Apple is generally way too strict about what they let their users do with their products (if you try installing ANY 3rd party stuff on an iOS device and they catch you, you can say goodbye to that warranty you shelled out an extra $50 for).
The thing that really sells Android for me is its customizability. You can install totally different homescreens and lockscreens without even needing to root, and if you do root your device (which I've done) you can install a totally new OS on your device. I find this especially useful when you want to update your phone's OS to a later version but can't because a certain company *coughHTCcough* is too lazy to push it to your phone.
I am certainly on the Android side of things here. As Kazumi has already stated, iOS is a lot more "locked down" than Android and even the BlackBerry OS (but not windows phone... but admit it, nobody really likes the Windows Mobile OS). Plus, Apple is generally way too strict about what they let their users do with their products (if you try installing ANY 3rd party stuff on an iOS device and they catch you, you can say goodbye to that warranty you shelled out an extra $50 for).
The thing that really sells Android for me is its customizability. You can install totally different homescreens and lockscreens without even needing to root, and if you do root your device (which I've done) you can install a totally new OS on your device. I find this especially useful when you want to update your phone's OS to a later version but can't because a certain company *coughHTCcough* is too lazy to push it to your phone.
Mudora
Innocent but not fearful.
I've only had a Blackberry and the phone I currently have now, which is an Android. Out of those two, I definitely recommend Android.
Norm
God-King of Teh Intarwebz
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2011
None of the above. Ubuntu Mobile OS FTW!