Android: General Chat

[AVFCforever1991]

Whats the battery life like on the Nexus??

[The_Rev]

Nexus one?

Nexus S?

Galaxy Nexus?

Nexus 7?

[darrenm]

Assuming Galaxy Nexus, it's the same as most smartphones. A day of medium usage.

Play games for hours with the screen switched on and don't charge anywhere and you'll find it low mid-afternoon.

I bought a battery for £20, then keep 1 charged in the cradle (£7 off Amazon) at all times and swap over if needed.

If I'm out on a long journey I just drop the 2nd battery in my pocket. I couldn't get by without the ability to swap batteries now.

[leviramsey]

The National Broadcasting Company has ten ways Android beats the iPhone 5

Apple may have mollified the masses by adding significantly better specs to its smartphone offering, but when it comes to innovation, the iPhone 5 just can’t compete with the latest Android handsets. Sure a larger screen, 4G LTE support and a faster CPU are welcome additions to the world’s number one phone, but Apple is a year late and $199 short, because Android has provided all these features and more for some time now.

In fact, even after Apple’s johnny-come-lately improvements, Android phones have a number of key advantages over the iPhone 5.

1. Screens larger than 4 inches

Apple may be patting itself on the back over its move from a 3.5-inch to a 4-inch display, but in the smartphone size race, the iPhone 5 trails the field by a wide margin. In the Android world, the 4.3-inch Droid RAZR M is considered a "compact" phone, the 4.8-inch Galaxy S III is mainstream and the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II is large.

Why would you want a phone with a larger screen? A larger display makes videos more exciting, text easier to read, and keys on the keyboard easier to target with your finger. And if for some reason that doesn't appeal to you, the Android ecosystem also has smaller phones.

2. NFC support

If you own an iPhone 5, you can just forget about using mobile payment systems that let you touch your device to a reader in order to conduct a transaction. Instead of MasterCard's Tap and Pay, you'll be using tap and pray as you rap your fingers on a table and hope that Apple provides NFC support on the iPhone 6 in 2013.

With NFC support, the latest Android phones can not only send out payments, but also share photos, contacts, videos and more, just by tapping their backs together. Since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the OS has built-in NFC sharing software called Android Beam that any third party application can use for seamless sharing. Task management app Any.Do even lets you beam assignments to friends and family. I'm sure Apple will add this functionality just in time for iOS 8.

3. Custom widgets on your home screen

Congratulations iPhone 5 users! You now get an extra row of icons that you didn't have with the iPhone 4 and 4S. That means you can see your TweetDeck icon and tap on it without scrolling over. The Times Square billboard writes itself: "iPhone 5: Now with More Icons!"

However, if you use any Android phone, you get more than just a static set of application icons on your 5 to 7 home screens. You have a working desktop you can fill with interactive widgets that show everything from the weather to your latest social media updates. I particularly dig the circles widget that Motorola includes on its Android phones, which shows you battery life, time, text alerts and local weather.

4. A micro USB port rather than a proprietary connector

If you're like me, you have a drawer full of USB cables and, if you can't find one, you can always buy another on any street corner. When you upgrade from an old phone to a new one, you can still use the same old wires and charging plugs, because micro USB is a standard. In fact, the European Union requires phone manufacturers to use micro USB for charging, because it reduces waste as users hold on to their old cables rather than tossing them in a landfill.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 uses a proprietary connector it calls "Lightning" instead of standard micro USB, but gets around the EU regulation by offering an adapter.Why not just use micro USB like every other company? Then you couldn't make a mint selling proprietary wires and making every iPhone 4S owner that upgrades buy new accessories, because older iPhones had an even larger proprietary dock connector.

5. Third-party software keyboards

With the iPhone 5, you can have any keyboard you want as long as its the stock iOS 6 keyboard. If you're using Android and you don't love Google's default layout, you're free to install a third-party keyboard that suits your needs.

Some of the best Android keyboards include Swype, which lets you create words by tracing between letters on the keyboard, and SwiftKey, which predicts the next word in your sentence to save you keystrokes. Heck, you can even buy an Android slider like the Motorola Droid 4, which has a real physical keyboard.

6. Attach any files you want to your email

Apple doesn't gamble on immature technologies so perhaps its understandable that the company has yet to include this new-fangled thing called "email attachments" on its iPhone 5. While previous versions of iOS Mail didn't even present you with any attachment options in its message composer, the new iOS 6 mail on the iPhone 5 gives you the option to attach images or video only.

What if you need to send your boss a PowerPoint presentation, a Word doc or some other type of file? You will need to have an app that opens that kind of file, go to that app and send the file from there. In other words, there's no way to simply attach the file(s) of your choice when composing email in iOS mail. There are workarounds and third-party apps that address this problem, but Apple's approach here could not be lamer.

Just like Windows or Mac OS, Android allows you to attach any files you want to any email message. Whether you're using the Gmail app, its stock email app or any of a dozen third party email clients, there's always a prominent attachment option on the composition screen and, when you hit it , you're able to browse your gallery, your file system or any other apps you've installed that organize files (Dropbox, Quickoffice, etc).

7. Share using any service you want

With Android, every relevant app from the browser to the photo gallery includes a share button. When you tap share, you're given an extensive and universal list of apps you can share with. And that list grows, depending on what software and services you have installed, from Facebook to your SMS messenger to Bluetooth transfers. So if, for example, you join Pinterest and install its app, you can share directly to that from any app with a search button.

Rather than providing you with one share list to rule them all, the iPhone 5 lets each app developer create his or her own share menu, which has a finite list of services that developer feels like supporting. The default Safari browser and iOS photo gallery apps can only share to Facebook, Twitter, email and messaging. Google, Flickr, Pinterest, Google Talk and any of 100 other services need not apply.

8. Visible file system

Try plugging an Android phone into your PC and mounting it as a storage device. You'll have access to all the files and folders, just as you do when you browse through your WIndows computer's C drive. So, if you want to copy a raft of MP3s or PowerPoint presentations to your Android handset, you can just drag and drop them.

Say you record a memo with Droid Record and want to grab its output files. You can navigate down to its folder and move, copy or share them directly from there. If you run a file browser on the phone itself, you can also dive into the file system from there.

So what happens when you plug the iPhone 5 into your PC? You get access the digital camera (DCIM) folder only so all you can do is drag and drop pictures. Yes, you can iTunes to transfer media files back and forth, but you still can't go directly into file system because Apple just doesn't trust you enough to let you see the folders on the iPhone 5 that you bought from them. Whose phone is it anyway?

9. Haptic feedback

Most Android phones offer optional haptic feedback, which allows you to get a nice tactile vibration when you type, long press on the screen or tap the navigation buttons. While some people dislike haptics, the vibrations give you a strong acknowledgement that your touch has registered so you don't have to tap twice. Unfortunately, with the iPhone 5, you don't have a choice; just a flat screen that provides no feedback.

10. Pen support

"If you see a stylus, they blew it," Steve jobs famously said of pen-enabled computing and, like its predecessors, the iPhone 5 does not support pen input. Yes, you can get third-party capacitive styluses that will work on the iPhone 5, but these little sticks do nothing more than give you a thinner finger.

Want to scribble down some notes like you do on paper? On Android, you can. Samsung's Galaxy Note and LG's Intuition both offer large screens, active styluses and deep pen integration into the operating system.

On the upcoming Galaxy Note II, you can hand write notes on your calendar, on the backs of JPGs and in half a dozen other places throughout the OS. You can even get previews of emails, photos and videos by hovering the Galaxy Note II's stylus slightly above the screen.

[leviramsey]

Here's a question, would be hurt more by Samsung ditching Android? Google or Samsung? Was a hypothetical question posed on engadget mobile podcast.

It's hard to know, really depends on how good windows phone 8 is. I think it's damage for both, but probably damage Google ever so slightly more.

Will never happen thought, Samsung making trucks of money from Android.

Would not be that surprised to see Microsoft broker a shotgun wedding between HTC and Nokia... HTC seems to be shifting their attention to Windows Phone, after all.

[AVFCforever1991]

Nexus one?

Nexus S?

Galaxy Nexus?

Nexus 7?

Galaxy Nexus.

[CVByrne]

Conor, glad you've experienced both sides now so you can have an objective view. Butter on Jellybean is going to be lovely on the S3 eh?

Anyway, I know the camera hardware on the S3 is definitely better, but real world results do speak for themselves

Perhaps I'm just such an excellent photographer, I can make anything look good

I was at a wedding at the weekend and used the Galaxy Nexus on the Friday and the S3 on Sat. The camera software on the S3 is far better and easier to use than the Nexus, plus the ability to take good shots regularly on the S3 without any playing with settings is a big advantage. From my use I'm quite sure the S3 has the better camera, for me it does anyway and it's lauded by most tech sites as the best cameraphone around to boot.

But I like JellyBean, the Nexus is slick slick slick, I mean kudos to Google for doing project butter. It's excellent. Stock Android is an eyesore though, the menu system, c'mon how hard is it to make something better than that black boringness? Also the notifications while amazingly granular in JB is still ugly. Samsung to their credit, Touchwiz looks lovely. The S3 has more screen to play with too and I'm a fan of the physical home key and a dedicated menu button on the S3. I have more use for a menu key than a multitasking key. Most people would be that way too I'd say.

It'll be interesting when the S3 gets JB. I like touchwiz, personally I think it's a good skin and the only drawback is the fact it takes 3 months to get the latest version of Android. But that's clearly a standout benefit for the Nexus, gets updates quickly and will get them for the forseeable future.

The device I haven't mentioned so far is the note. I'm using it right now, I have to say I really like this device. I am on older Touchwiz and it's noticably slower than S3 and Nexus. But the extra sceen space is great, the fact it's wider is key to this, it just feels the most comfortable to type on, also certainly the best for internet browsing. I'd be really interested to have a go on the Note 2 at some point as I miss smart stay. With the big screen you spend longer reading witout touching the screen so that feature would be welcome.

But I have to say there is so little between the three phones, we're at the stage where it's down to individual preference on what phone is best or preferred. I like all 3 phones for different reasons. But right now, if I had one phone of choice, it'd be the Nexus as it's got JellyBean, but I'd imagine it would swing back to the S3 when it gets the update. Interestingly the note is the phone that gets the most interest. Even in the Airport security I was answering questions about it. Though it was amusing putting 3 phones down beside the Nexus 7 and Series 9.

I think I've buyers for the S3 and Note though. So I'll be Nexus only in a few weeks.

[darrenm]

So I'll be Nexus only in a few weeks.

Welcome to the club

Glad you've seen the niceness of butter now. The first time I used it I realised it was a massive change for Android. Fluidity was the main thing that drew people to iOS initially and Apple are still living off of that. (Although to me, the iPad feels definitely laggy).

While I don't agree so much about the stock look and feel vs Touchwiz, that's your preference which you're perfectly entitled to.

I really, really, hope that the Nexus phone with KLP will have a class-leading camera. A quality audio DAC wouldn't go amiss either.

[CVByrne]

Yeah, 4.1 really is a milestone in Mobile OS. It's without a doubt the most powerful feature rich OS. Add in the silky smooth navigation and native chrome cannot be overlooked either, that browser is a cut above all else. It's a fantastic OS and makes you wonder what else Google can do now? Future updates won't be coming with loads of cool new features. I hope Google tackle battery life, Android lags in that area as an OS, mainly due to real multitasking.

I've said it often already, but I am really excited for the Lumia. I couldn't get a chance iphone because iOS is cripplingly inadequate OS, but WP8 could be close on key features with JellyBean. So it could be a very good phone experience, especially the camera.

Other than that, LGs mega phone comes out this week, HTC with the 1080p 5inch phone too. But neither really interest me to be honest. Spec chasing is so 2011, quad cores for example don't really matter.

But leaving a Nexus to use a Nokia I'll be moving from the pinnacle OS to a new one. Really interested in how I'll take to it, I bet it'll be a mix of great and terrible.

[BOF]

You guys must plough a fair amount of cash into keeping up with the Joneses. I read this thread and think to myself you guys must own every phone at some point before ditching for another.

[CVByrne]

Not really, with thanks patience and ebay I got a couple of bargains last week. Mainly to try out, but actually I'm gonna keep one.

I've owned mainly just the Galaxy series of phones. After owning the awful Xperia X10. But yeah, the smartphone world has me hugely interested. The ability to have the internet in your hand is such a leap forward in technology. To have decent cameras too. It's becoming the most important device to own. More important than a laptop.

[AVFCforever1991]

Tech Junkies

[CVByrne]

Tech Junkies

Ive owned 9 Android devices in 2 and 1/2 years. 7 being phones, I currently own 4 phones.

Maybe a tech junkie.

But like to think we've steered plenty of people towards good phones. HTC and Samsung ones basically.

[BOF]

Well I still have my Desire S and yes, thank you for steering me towards it

[AVFCforever1991]

Tech Junkies

Ive owned 9 Android devices in 2 and 1/2 years. 7 being phones, I currently own 4 phones.

Maybe a tech junkie.

But like to think we've steered plenty of people towards good phones. HTC and Samsung ones basically.

Yeah I probably would not have got the One S without the input from there. Glad I came on and asked the question. Cheers

[jim]

S3 will be with me tomorrow/wed, be prepared for a gazillion questions

[mykeyb]

The new LG looks like it might set the bar higher than it is at the moment. That Handset running pure Android could be a really challenger to Samsung.

[CVByrne]

It won't run stock though. It'll run a LG skin.

[mykeyb]

Yep I got that. If the rumour of several manufacturers all bringing out Nexus devices then that handset for LG could be the pick of the bunch.

[CVByrne]

The strong rumour is that HTC are bringing out a vanilla android phone. Combined with the early access it should mean updates at the same time as nexus devices. HTC could save themselves money ditching sense.