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Android Hardware Thread - 2009 Edition

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Beezy said:
Am I the only one who prefers the Droid's sharp edges over the curved ends and corners of all these other Android phones? Something about it makes them look cheap imo.
The Droid has to be one of the ugliest phones recently released. It's a sharp, clunky brick.
 
Bboy AJ said:
The Droid has to be one of the ugliest phones recently released. It's a sharp, clunky brick.

fully disagree.

i'm in agreement with Beezy. the sharpness makes it look significantly better. many of the newer phones have overexaggerated curves in places where there's no added value or appeal.

i think it's one of those trends, because there's been other devices now that are starting to get sharper.
 
I don't see it as a trend, and if it is, sharp angles are terrible for putting comfortably in pockets. Honestly, the only reason I didn't get the Droid over the Eris was the form-factor. I don't like the hardware keyboard either, but I could have just never used it. Pocketing a Droid just isn't a comfortable task to me.
 
SimleuqiR said:
I like the edges myself. But have you held a Nexus One? Pictures and videos don't do it justice. Even with the grayish industrial color, the design of the phone (mainly it's curves) make it look very high-end. It just feels and looks right.

Again, not knocking the edges on the Droid. I actually home Moto keeps making phones with similar designs.

Edit:

And the teflon back gives it a very nice soft texture to it...nothing cheap about it.
I didn't say it was actually cheap, it just makes it look that way imo. The pics of the HTC Espresso is why I made my previous post. I honestly don't like how it looks. It looks more like a toy than a tech gadget.

Also, the Nexus is probably the best looking out of all of these curved phones.

XMonkey said:
I don't see it as a trend, and if it is, sharp angles are terrible for putting comfortably in pockets. Honestly, the only reason I didn't get the Droid over the Eris was the form-factor. I don't like the hardware keyboard either, but I could have just never used it. Pocketing a Droid just isn't a comfortable task to me.
Comfortable task? You wear skinny jeans or something? I can't remember ever feeling any of my phones in my pocket.
 
These phones might look sharp round the edges, but they are actually pretty comfortable to put in your pocket. I would be amazed if a company making a high end smartphone didn't think about how it would feel when designing the casing. Stranger things have happened tho i suppose.
 
When I first saw the Nexus pictures, I thought it was hideous. It looks much better in person but I still think the trackball makes the phone look a bit too long. I would have liked them to get rid of the trackball and the space it occupies. Then just give us a small indicator light at the top of the phone. That would have been ideal for me.
 
I just got the LG Android

What are you guys so excited about with an Android? It's like a rubbish iPhone with a terrible interface and far fewer apps.

I seriously don't get the appeal.
 
McBacon said:
I just got the LG Android

What are you guys so excited about with an Android? It's like a rubbish iPhone with a terrible interface and far fewer apps.

I seriously don't get the appeal.
The apps is a legitimate complaint. Otherwise, your post has little substance to it. Are you just trying to troll or do you have legitimate beefs? If you have legitimate beefs, speak. Otherwise, fuck off, junior.
 
Bboy AJ said:
The apps is a legitimate complaint. Otherwise, your post has little substance to it. Are you just trying to troll or do you have legitimate beefs? If you have legitimate beefs, speak. Otherwise, fuck off, junior.

I'm not trying to troll, I know my original post was pretty flamey but I'd just got an Android phone and was disappointed - I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

Adding a new home screen certainly makes it look better, that's for sure. But the interface is still messy and obtrusive, the app store is still pretty vacant and it doesn't really do much more than my old Windows Mobile phone, outside of apps.

Based on the number of GAF Android topics, I was expecting to be bloooooown away, like when I got my iPod Touch and spent weeks downloading apps and putting cool hacks on it (I understand that the Android isn't as old as the Touch, so I'm not expecting the same amount of fun stuff), but It just feels like yet another phone interface. Nothing special.

Also, I'm not a junior :)
 
McBacon said:
I'm not trying to troll, I know my original post was pretty flamey but I'd just got an Android phone and was disappointed - I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

Adding a new home screen certainly makes it look better, that's for sure. But the interface is still messy and obtrusive, the app store is still pretty vacant and it doesn't really do much more than my old Windows Mobile phone, outside of apps.

Based on the number of GAF Android topics, I was expecting to be bloooooown away, like when I got my iPod Touch and spent weeks downloading apps and putting cool hacks on it (I understand that the Android isn't as old as the Touch, so I'm not expecting the same amount of fun stuff), but It just feels like yet another phone interface. Nothing special.

Also, I'm not a junior :)

You bought the wrong phone, dude.
 
Yeah, you're probably right. It's a review phone, so I'm not out of pocket, but I'll keep that in mind.

Do you think I can update the firmware? I think its on 2.0 or 1.5 (it's cupcake or something).
 
Vyse The Legend said:
Engadget has found FCC filings for a Nexus One sporting AT&T 3G bands. It looks like Google's vision for their store, namely that it will house Android flagship phones that are available unlocked or subsidized on each carrier, is coming true.
Wonder why it doesn't say Nexus One on it like the Nexus One does *ponder*
 
McBacon said:
I'm not trying to troll, I know my original post was pretty flamey but I'd just got an Android phone and was disappointed - I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

Adding a new home screen certainly makes it look better, that's for sure. But the interface is still messy and obtrusive, the app store is still pretty vacant and it doesn't really do much more than my old Windows Mobile phone, outside of apps.

Based on the number of GAF Android topics, I was expecting to be bloooooown away, like when I got my iPod Touch and spent weeks downloading apps and putting cool hacks on it (I understand that the Android isn't as old as the Touch, so I'm not expecting the same amount of fun stuff), but It just feels like yet another phone interface. Nothing special.

Also, I'm not a junior :)
What about the interface is messy? My interface is pretty clean. Then again, I'm on 2.1. I had a 1.6 G1 and it wasn't that nice. When I say I had a G1, I only bought it just to fool around with. I owned it for a day before giving it away.

I'm not sure what it is about the iPhone interface that blows you away. It's a chiclet browser. I've owned an iPhone since the 2G model and just sold off my 3GS. The iPhone interface isn't as nice as Androids. Widgets, live wallpapers, notification bar. There is nothing on this end that the iPhone has over my Nexus.

There are applications to do most everything the iPhone can do. The only difference is the amount of polish on them.

The iPhone is a lot more polished in other areas, like multimedia and apps (BeeJive, Tweetie 2). But interface? You're being too vague.
 
McBacon said:
I just got the LG Android. What are you guys so excited about with an Android? It's like a rubbish iPhone with a terrible interface and far fewer apps. I seriously don't get the appeal.

McBacon, you bought the worst Android handset on the market. No capacitive screen, clunky design and running LG's horrible interface and an old version of Android. You can get it on a cheap deal, but you should really get the Hero as its the best available UK Android phone on contract, miles better than the LG. Either that or wait a few months for the new range of HTC android handsets which should be hitting these shores soon (or the Nexus One which Vodafone will be stocking if memory serves).
 
McBacon said:
Doh.

Thanks for your help! It's for review btw, so I didn't actually waste my cash.

No problem. It's the handset that's the problem rather than Android itself. It is the cheapest Android handset on the market but theres a reason for that. Give me a shout if you need any help with the review as i've hands some hands on time with the handset.
 
McBacon said:
I'm not trying to troll, I know my original post was pretty flamey but I'd just got an Android phone and was disappointed - I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

not being tied to AT&T is a big, big bonus for a lot of people. Currently I'm using an HTC hero on sprint's network, which means for me MUCH better data coverage plus a plan that runs me about 50 dollars for nearly unlimited everything. How much does a similar plan on the iphone cost again? Exactly.

Adding a new home screen certainly makes it look better, that's for sure. But the interface is still messy and obtrusive, the app store is still pretty vacant and it doesn't really do much more than my old Windows Mobile phone, outside of apps.

HTC sense renders all of the above complaints totally invalid. HTC sense is a freaking brilliant interface, and fully customizable.

As for the app store, Yes it's less than the total quantity of apps on the iphone, but I've yet to NOT find an application that did what I was looking for, and new ones are constantly being added on a daily basis.

Oh, did I forget to mention running more than one app or widget at a time is simple to do AND the phone supports Flash AND multitouch?

Based on the number of GAF Android topics, I was expecting to be bloooooown away, like when I got my iPod Touch and spent weeks downloading apps and putting cool hacks on it (I understand that the Android isn't as old as the Touch, so I'm not expecting the same amount of fun stuff), but It just feels like yet another phone interface. Nothing special.

Also, I'm not a junior :)

so the problem is that your expectations are out of whack, not that the Android platform has any actual flaws. I see.
 
Manmademan said:
not being tied to AT&T is a big, big bonus for a lot of people. Currently I'm using an HTC hero on sprint's network, which means for me MUCH better data coverage plus a plan that runs me about 50 dollars for nearly unlimited everything. How much does a similar plan on the iphone cost again? Exactly.

McBacon is UK based if i remember correctly so you can't expect him to have an in-depth knowledge of US plans/carriers. As for the rest you are correct but this is his first Android handset, he hasn't used HTC Sense and has to put up with a handset seriously hampered by a resistive touch screen (which doesn't suit Android at all). Then theres LG's interface which is actually worse than vanilla Android and miles off HTC. If this was your first Android handset you'd probably not understand the fuss either.
 
McBacon said:
I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

Network preferences, higher tolerance for less pretty interfaces, hardware lust, fear of Apple, love of openness, affinity to tinker, etc., etc.
 
McBacon said:
Doh.

Thanks for your help! It's for review btw, so I didn't actually waste my cash.

I just looked into that phone...

Good god. Please don't judge an entire operating system based on one company's late-entry basic-level phone with a pointlessly reskinned UI. It has a resistive touchscreen for chrissakes!
 
OriginalThinking said:
http://phandroid.com/2010/02/01/steve-jobs-flips-out-goes-on-anti-androidadobe-tirade/

Anyone read this? Not quite sure why Jobs feels so threatened, i don't see Google as wanting to kill the iPhone, i believe the devices are different enough to appeal to different userbases and thus co-exist.

IMO Steve has always been a bit of a child. That works to his advantage in some ways (getting UI design exceptionally right, thinking outside the box) but whenever something approaches "his turf" he throws a hissy fit. Problem is he usually isn't able to see the faults with some of his inventions so they inevitably lose market share. iPod notwithstanding.

Edit- Though if I recall the iPod was one of the things Jobs didn't have much input with. I think.
 
McBacon said:
I was seriously trying to understand why anyone would buy one over an iPhone.

My sister isn't happy with her iPhone because it seems it can't even accomplish basic tasks you'd expect from a Smartphone according to her.

She's looking at the X10 and in every way it seems better than the iPhone.

Picture_073_540x804.jpg


The interface is contact-centric and is perfect for her.

She also likes taking pics and the quality of pics on the iPhone doesn't compare to this Android phone.

Can an iPhone take a picture like this?

http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/DSC_0030.jpg

For her Android is a no brainer.
 
this probably isn't the right place to ask this, but since search function isn't available to me this thread seemed the most appropriate.

in any case, has there been any news whatsoever about android on netbooks? It was my understanding that they were supposed to launch last fall. any info is appreciated :)
 
McBacon said:
I just got the LG Android

What are you guys so excited about with an Android? It's like a rubbish iPhone with a terrible interface and far fewer apps.

I seriously don't get the appeal.


Open source all day baby
 
cabot said:
this probably isn't the right place to ask this, but since search function isn't available to me this thread seemed the most appropriate.

in any case, has there been any news whatsoever about android on netbooks? It was my understanding that they were supposed to launch last fall. any info is appreciated :)
Chromium OS should come on a bunch of cheap netbooks and tablets late this year, at the earliest. I'd bet on it being next year, though. In the meantime, there will be a lot of Android tablets that should fare well against the iPad. PEACE.
 
Pimpwerx said:
Chromium OS should come on a bunch of cheap netbooks and tablets late this year, at the earliest. I'd bet on it being next year, though. In the meantime, there will be a lot of Android tablets that should fare well against the iPad. PEACE.

There are some Android netbooks hitting as well
 
cabot said:
this probably isn't the right place to ask this, but since search function isn't available to me this thread seemed the most appropriate.

in any case, has there been any news whatsoever about android on netbooks? It was my understanding that they were supposed to launch last fall. any info is appreciated :)

http://phandroid.com/2010/01/12/exploring-android-at-ces-with-charbax/
Hivision PWS700CA [Link 1]
HP Mini Android [Link 1]

Raistlin said:
not to my knowledge

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385807
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385605
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385663
 
Anyone know what the dillio is on Android phones available in South Korea?
 
El Papa said:
Acer came out with one that dual boots Android and Windows.

I'm thinking that netbooks and ultra-thins will shift to ChromeOS instead of Android. Tablets and MIDs will probably stay with Android because of the touch interface. Though when you think about it, Android has the advantage of a large and robust app market that Chrome OS doesn't.

Ah, but doesn't it? Problem is Android also has access to all of Chrome OS's "apps."
 
Counts as hardware?

androids1case2.jpg


http://www.vinylpulse.com/2010/02/android-minis-s1.html

Smart phones are taking over the world. I rely on mine daily as do many of you. Now they are assimilating designer toys. Andrew Bell has teamed up with Google’s Android project to bring you Series 1 of the Android blind-boxed mini-figs featuring the mobile platforms cute ‘bot mascot. Featuring a dozen 3” designs with articulated heads + arms, the Android minis will drop later this month from DYZplastic and select retailers. While the Android cross is interesting (perhaps a novelty), these have promise as futuristic platform figures on their own.

image001.jpg
androids1case1.jpg


I want the one in the tie!
 
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