Most Android Phones Are Crap

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Attention all you Android phone owners, this guy says your phones are crap.

Well, except for one small thing: Most Android phones are crap. As part of a New Year’s resolution, I promised to trade in my beloved iPhone 5 for an Android phone sometime in 2013. I reasoned that, as a tech writer, I should spend more time with the world’s most popular operating system.
 
I do agree with him regarding the crap manufacturers put on their phones. My sister's myTouch 4G was barely usable (for me at least) until I rooted it with CM9.

The stock Google ROM is the best IMO. No bloat, easy to navigate, simple.
 
Uhhh... yea they are called 'free' phones.

This. Get what you pay for. To insult Android altogether though is hilarious.

In addition, your inability to remove bloatware is your own fault as well.
 
Eh, heard it all before from apple fans and severe android tech heads. Fact is a lot, A LOT of people like Touchwiz and Sense. And if you don't, you can customize it, disable it, put in a new launcher, etc.

I like my phone my way, not htc's, samsung's, or apple's way.
 
In addition, your inability to remove bloatware is your own fault as well.

many of us can't be bothered to root phones and install an unsupported ROM. further still, some folks are bound by corporate policies preventing things like that.

it would be nice to have a vanilla install option. i would even pay a few dollars more. not much more, but a little.
 
In addition, your inability to remove bloatware is your own fault as well.

What planet are you from? You're blaming the consumer because of the carrier's unethical and sleazy practices? Maybe if they actually told the potential customer about this or put a warning on the product your comment would make more sense.

Phone owners shouldn't have to go out of their way and waste time rooting and modding something to remove apps that shouldn't be there to begin with.
 
Lol, that's because a good portion of Android phones have crap manufacturers that put together garbage hardware into a crap package? Pay to play.
 
The headline is crap and obvious zinger to get clicks. However, the article makes some great points.

He correctly points out that Android is amazing, but it is the phone manufacturers and the service providers that fuck everything up. He even tested a carrier subsidized HTC One and Samsung S4 versus Google Play versions (unsubsidized vanilla Android) of the same phones.

This is one of the most important advantages Apple has over Android devices. When you buy an iPhone, it works exactly as Apple intended; it’s never adulterated by “features” that the company didn’t approve. But when you buy an Android phone, even a really great one, you’re not getting the device that Google’s designers had in mind when they created the OS. You’re not even getting the device that the phone manufacturer—Samsung and HTC, in this case—had in mind. Instead you’re getting a bastardized version, a phone replete with software that has been altered by many players along the way, usually in a clumsy, money-grubbing fashion.

The worst thing about Android phones isn’t the crapware, though. It’s the “skins”—the modifications that phone companies make to Android’s most basic features, including the dialing app, contacts, email, the calendar, the notification system, and the layout of the home screen. If you get the Play edition of these phones, you’ll see Google’s version of each of these apps, and you’ll come away impressed by Google’s tasteful, restrained, utilitarian design sense. But if, like most people, you get your phone for $199 from a carrier, you’ll find everything in it is a frightful mess.
 
Most Android phones ARE crap. The higher end models is where its good. I own 2 GS3's and 2 GNote 2's. GS3 was kinda subpar due to crap battery life, GNote 2 is pretty good.
 
I love how much emotion is tied to this topic. Too bad there's rarely any room for reason or logic. :(
 
Headline 'android phones are crap'.

Actual article 'handset manufacturers and service providers screw up android phones with their crappy add ons'.

I'll agree 100% with the carrier crapware statement. The skins... not as much. Having to support mobile devices, I don't like them that much because they make things inconsistent in a world that wants step by step "android" directions which if you really need lots of hand holding need to nearly be handset specific. From a user perspective, I can't say I find anything objectionable about my S3 that work makes me use vs my iphone 4s I pay for myself.

It wasn't so long ago that you were playing russian roulette with android handsts regarding glaring hardware bugs. hardware design seems to be mature enough now that that isn't an issue.
 
Eh, heard it all before from apple fans and severe android tech heads. Fact is a lot, A LOT of people like Touchwiz and Sense. And if you don't, you can customize it, disable it, put in a new launcher, etc.

I like my phone my way, not htc's, samsung's, or apple's way.

I can't speak for the current iteration of Sense...But TouchWiz is in no way customizable short of flashing change files, unless you mean "customizable" in comparison to iOS and not stock(ish) Android...and every update to Twiz changes how everything works, what it is called, and where it is. As someone on a TWiz dev team it is really a PITA.
 
In other news this pen I grabbed from reception sucks compared to my Mont Blanc. Funny how expensive stuff seems to be better than free stuff.
 
That's what happens with an open system like Android.

You have some companies that will take it, run with it and develop something amazing (Samsung, HTC and to a lesser extent, Motorola's high end products) and then you'll have some garbage.

I'd take that any day over Apple's locked down control-freak crap.

I still love my Galaxy S3 over a year later.
 
The race to the bottom is impressive anyways. Can *you* build a cheapie Android phone for under $40?
 
so people now expect a world class phone for free?

When has anything "free" ever really compared against something you pay 500+ dollars for. I'm using a rooted and mooded Galaxy Nexus -- I only paid I think 75 dollars for it 1.5 years ago. And it's still slick as hell. 22Mbit down on LTE in my living room is a bonus.

Sure there are some sneaky and stupid companies that put out crapware android phones, catered to people who (on a good day) are able to figure out how to turn it on. What do you expect for $0

At the end of the day -- I'd rather spend an hour or to reading about what's what, and make my choice than to blindly drink the Apple KoolAid.

Five dollar says the ghost of steve jobs was giving this guy an HJ while he wrote it.
 
I do agree with him regarding the crap manufacturers put on their phones. My sister's myTouch 4G was barely usable (for me at least) until I rooted it with CM9.

The stock Google ROM is the best IMO. No bloat, easy to navigate, simple.

I'm almost positive that my work iPhone came with a carrier specific app (or 2). Regardless, there are apps that come with iOS that I deleted immediately.

As for keyboards, the stock iOS keyboard is better than Android's, but there are lots of alternative keyboards for Android, so it's not like you're stuck with what your hone comes with. OTOH, if you don't like the iOS keyboard, too bad.

I may switch back to an Android device this year (just to see what it's like now). When I got the 4s, my first reaction was it's settings are far better than android, though still not perfect (and obviously far less powerful, but for the most part I think Apple's is better).

Nevertheless, I've never felt like it was much better. However, there are many apps that are only developed for iOS, because people pay for apps on that platform and most do not on Android.

Me? I've bought one iOS app. It's not as advertised. Regardless, if I don't like the s4 or HTC One, I can always go back to the 4s, or get a 5s for a personal phone. My guess is I'll use the android device a bit more (because I always feel like I used it more than the 4s).
 
My only gripe with Android phones, is that sometimes proprietary bloatware from a carrier/manufacturer is often made so you can't remove it or remove it via flashing a bloat-free ROM for the phone.

I could understand -some- proprietary things being integrated and non-removable, like software for handset specific hardware on that particular phone. But other things that get universally slapped onto the entire lineup is inexcusable for being non-removable.
 
I had the nexus one and I now have Galaxy S3 with Sprint. I hate them both. I wont be doing the android thing next time around.
 
It's true and here makes some very valid points. Most android phones are crap and the few that aren't are likely fucked up by the carrier.

Remove all the carrier bullshit and buy a decent one and you get a phone that is flatly amazing. My galaxy nexus can still do shit the latest iPhone users wish they could. My wife's GS4 is even better.
 
I agree with the guy, phones have awesome hardware specs and android is great OS. HTC, Samsung, Motorola install so much crap and take 6 months - 1 year for updates. Cyanogen Mod is a good alternative, but hard to find out which phones work with 100% of the hardware. My next phone will be from Google. Updates will be fast, the source is released so Cyanogen is likely to work better.
 
So many people can't read and immediately label the author as an Apple fanboy. But he actually praises Android. His point is that the carriers #$@% them up with bloatware and their skins.

He says either 1) get a Google version or 2) get an iPhone. If you hate Apple with the fire of a thousand suns, then I believe option #1 is for you.
 
There's a reason I only buy nexus phones and they keep getting better.
 
I have a stock GS3 and other than the limited data plan, which is no fault of Samsung's, its everything I expect from my phone. Battery life is a lot shorter than I wanted, but functionally, it's light years ahead of my Droid X.
 
Anybody get the feeling most tech writers are full of themselves?
 
That's like someone bashing all PCs in favor of $1000+ Macs because they bought a $299 EMachines. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
iOS has bloatware I couldn't get rid of when I had an iPod touch. The stocks app for example, I have absolutely no use for. I may have a 401k but I'm not checking stocks...hmmm..like ever. Maybe it's not as bad as Android carrier bloatware but there is some. At least on Android I can move that crap off the home screen. I had to jailbreak and hide the stock app on iOS. I saw my wife piling them into a folder for a while when she had an iPad.
 
HEADLINE: Phones you get for "free" are shitty phones!

If you want something decent fork over some money for it. Otherwise shut up and eat your gruel.
 
The author makes good points about the Google play editions vs carrier editions. I believe that a lot more people might switch over from iOS to Android if the carriers and different manufacturers didn't make using Android so different from phone to phone. Even if they forced different apps on to the phone the ability to remove the different "skins" should not require rooting a phone but be something that is easily changed in the settings.
 
My Galaxy S3 runs CM 10.1 with KT747 kernel.
No bloat and i get great battery life (1%/hr at idle) and i even get great battery life with screen on.
Of course, day 1 with Samsung's stuff (touch wiz, s-voice, s-this, s-that), was pretty bad... but when i got the device, i knew i wouldn't be using the stock rom for more than a week.

That is how i always saw it, if you are someone that just wants to unpack the phone and use it as-is (which is fine!) get an apple device. If you wanna play around and get the most out of your device, get an android device for which there is a good community backing and start browsing XDA-Dev's forums.
 
For those absolutely incapable of reading the article:
Over the last few months, though, I’ve been testing two of the most expensive, most advanced Android phones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.
The author barely even touches on the aspect of low-cost Android phones.
 
I agree to an extent. It seems theres always some problem with an android phone. Whether its build quality, radio quality or battery life theres always some compromise you have to make when buying an android phone.

People like to say "its just shitty phones" but thats bullshit considering the worst offender is the galaxy series. You get so much performance, such a beautiful screen but you compromise build quality and dealing with touchwiz. Looking at my current phone the razr HD, its a solid phone with solid build quality but it has its quirks and annoyances (Mostly wifi).

When i went to iphone for a while i made a thread going through all of my android phones in the past and pointing out all the issues i had with them and the responses i got was that they where all crappy phones! The reality is when i bought them they where all flagship phones...
 
iOS has bloatware I couldn't get rid of when I had an iPod touch. The stocks app for example, I have absolutely no use for.
I still don't quite understand why Apple hasn't moved most of these into the App Store and made them removeable. It was a reasonable thing to make some of them uninstallable prior to the App Store, but it doesn't seem particularly useful anymore.

There are reasons why Apple doesn't want you removing iTunes and Newsstand, but I see no particular reason why Weather, Stocks, Compass and so forth can't exist simply as normal bundled apps.
 
That's like someone bashing all PCs in favor of $1000+ Macs because they bought a $299 EMachines. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

*gasp* I cannot imagine anyone saying "Windows is crap! M$!!! Blue screens! Windows Phone is bad and full of viruses!!" because of all the crappy PCs and old versions...

Ooo that reminds me, now that Microsoft lost money on the Surface, will "M$" become a thing of the past?!
 
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