I'm coming back to Symbian - maybe temporarily

[siddha]

Okay I started a thread several days ago about how I was moving on to Android OS. I purchased a Nexus One and it hasn't gone well.

For the moment I have pulled my SIM card out of the Nexus One and I'm using my Nokia n85 again. I can't return the Nexus One because I had my name engraved on it (not a bright idea). I may purchase a Blackberry 9700 soon.

I am very disappointed with Android OS. Let me explain why:

1. I cannot move music or video files from my computer to my phone. After reading some Android forums it sounds like there may be an issue with 64-bit computers running Windows 7 Ultimate. I have a HP Touchsmart 64-bit running Windows 7 Ultimate. I understand how to transfer media using Android (it's a little tricky )and I even went a step further and purchased something called MountUSB (an Android app) but it didn't work. I get the same error message: "can't read the source file or disk." I don't see any way to correct this problem.

2. There aren't any security apps that I can find for Android OS. On Symbian I use something called SPB Wallet to store all kinds of sensitive information in case I need it. It's encrypted with a standard alphanumeric password. There doesn't seem to be any equivalent app on Android. With Android the security is passed on tracing a patter on the screen to lock and unlock your phone. If someone sees you do this they can open you phone and get access to anything because there aren't any separate security apps to store valuable data. Everything is out in the open.

3. The tethering app PDAnet requires a USB connection or Bluetooth connection. It's nowhere near as fast as the connection I get with my Nokia. It's actually quite slow. This is really important to me - I've always said Joikuspot is the one app that keeps me tied to Symbian. I'm just not willing to sacrifice that much speed when I'm browsing the web on my laptop.

4. With Android I cannot display my contacts in groups. Although groups are supported in gmail they are not available on the phone. This is a huge inconvenience because I have over 130 contacts and I don't want to scroll alphabetically or search using a Google widget. I like to have "friends" group, a "medical + pharmacy" group and so on.

5. As a phone the Nexus One is sub-par. Basically you have a little "phone app" that doesn't support touch tones at all. This is another inconvenience because when I call certain companies I have the extensions stored in my n85 as touch tones. I also do this when I call my insurance company. I don't want to type things in manually all the time. Answering a call with the Nexus One is difficult. I have to make a swiping motion to do it - and that's if my phone isn't locked out. The phone locks out after a few seconds if you stop touching the screen so you would have to unlock the screen and then make a second swipe to answer a call. It's very difficult to make the correct swipe if you are in direct sunlight because you may not be able to read the screen.

6. Overall the OS feels very dumbed down. You have four buttons on the phone and one of them is a "menu" button. That's it. Basically the only thing you can ever do to get more options is press that menu button, and pressing it a second time doesn't bring up any additional information. I feel like I'm using a child's toy. the customization options are *very*limited compared to Symbian. I felt like I was getting dumber because of the phone.

7. Multitasking. Not great on Android. How can I explain this? okay with Android almost every app you download is constantly running all the time. You have to manually go in and kill certain tasks/processes just to keep from getting constant twitter alerts.

The device does not feel like a finished product. We often talk about the future where we will have MIDs that also do telephony. That's what the Nexus One is and in this case that's not a good thing. The OS has no hardware integration for the phone - and that's a problem because the OS as a whole is so dumbed down that you don't have anything to fall back on in terms of using the device efficiently as a phone.

The Nexus One is outstanding in the way that renders Google Maps. That's one compliment I will give to HTC. Also the touchscreen is good. I prefer a real keyboard though. The problem is that I need a smartphone with a real OS - not just a collection of random sloppy apps. To me apps are *extra*. They add functionality to a robust OS. With Android you have an OS that seems entirely geared toward widgets. Wtf? It's disconcerting to see a news widget on your home screen and feel like that's about all your phone is good for. When it comes to using the device as a phone - call handling, support for contact groups etc. this device is *inferior* to most feature phones on the market. I'm not even going to compare it smartphones because the nexus one isn't a true smartphone IMO. It's a glorified Tom-Tom with support for widgets. The device is somewhat difficult to use in certain areas - like transferring media from your computer to a smart card - and so IMO the OS is not even comparable to palm's WebOS which is somewhat simple but also completely user friendly.

My next phone will be a Meego device from Nokia or a Blackberry. I hope people read this and think very carefully before buying an Android phone. I just wasted about 600 USD and I don't want you to have the same buyer's remorse I have.

[THETRUTH#34]

I said this befoire and i will say it again, the grass isnt always greener on the other side, thats why its all about the way a user uses his device, happy you tried andriod , sorry it didnt work out for you, i am sure there are some things that are outstanding on it, but if the negatives outweigh the pros then what can you do.

[ceebz]

Okay I started a thread several days ago about how I was moving on to Android OS. I purchased a Nexus One and it hasn't gone well.

For the moment I have pulled my SIM card out of the Nexus One and I'm using my Nokia n85 again. I can't return the Nexus One because I had my name engraved on it (not a bright idea). I may purchase a Blackberry 9700 soon.

I am very disappointed with Android OS. Let me explain why:

1. I cannot move music or video files from my computer to my phone. After reading some Android forums it sounds like there may be an issue with 64-bit computers running Windows 7 Ultimate. I have a HP Touchsmart 64-bit running Windows 7 Ultimate. I understand how to transfer media using Android (it's a little tricky )and I even went a step further and purchased something called MountUSB (an Android app) but it didn't work. I get the same error message: "can't read the source file or disk." I don't see any way to correct this problem.

Why not just move your data using a card reader?

2. There aren't any security apps that I can find for Android OS. On Symbian I use something called SPB Wallet to store all kinds of sensitive information in case I need it. It's encrypted with a standard alphanumeric password. There doesn't seem to be any equivalent app on Android. With Android the security is passed on tracing a patter on the screen to lock and unlock your phone. If someone sees you do this they can open you phone and get access to anything because there aren't any separate security apps to store valuable data. Everything is out in the open.

I have found several wallet apps that use a master password to gain entry. I suggest you look harder.

3. The tethering app PDAnet requires a USB connection or Bluetooth connection. It's nowhere near as fast as the connection I get with my Nokia. It's actually quite slow. This is really important to me - I've always said Joikuspot is the one app that keeps me tied to Symbian. I'm just not willing to sacrifice that much speed when I'm browsing the web on my laptop.

Easy Tether works very well if you're willing to use a cable. If you're willing to root, Wireless Tether works just like Joikuspot.

4. With Android I cannot display my contacts in groups. Although groups are supported in gmail they are not available on the phone. This is a huge inconvenience because I have over 130 contacts and I don't want to scroll alphabetically or search using a Google widget. I like to have "friends" group, a "medical + pharmacy" group and so on.

Have you looked for a phone book app with this functionality? I agree that the phone app could use some expanded functionality.

5. As a phone the Nexus One is sub-par. Basically you have a little "phone app" that doesn't support touch tones at all. This is another inconvenience because when I call certain companies I have the extensions stored in my n85 as touch tones. I also do this when I call my insurance company. I don't want to type things in manually all the time. Answering a call with the Nexus One is difficult. I have to make a swiping motion to do it - and that's if my phone isn't locked out. The phone locks out after a few seconds if you stop touching the screen so you would have to unlock the screen and then make a second swipe to answer a call. It's very difficult to make the correct swipe if you are in direct sunlight because you may not be able to read the screen.

Strange. Even when my phone is 'locked out,' I only need to swipe once. I personally have no issue with doing the swipe without even looking at the screen. It's not like you have to be in an exact spot to swipe. Just put your finger/thumb on the lower portion of the phone screen and swipe. It'll work.

6. Overall the OS feels very dumbed down. You have four buttons on the phone and one of them is a "menu" button. That's it. Basically the only thing you can ever do to get more options is press that menu button, and pressing it a second time doesn't bring up any additional information. I feel like I'm using a child's toy. the customization options are *very*limited compared to Symbian. I felt like I was getting dumber because of the phone.

I actually laughed when I read this comment. Because the OS is set up more efficiently, you feel dumb? What are you going to do when Symbian finally rids itself of all that menu tunneling?

7. Multitasking. Not great on Android. How can I explain this? okay with Android almost every app you download is constantly running all the time. You have to manually go in and kill certain tasks/processes just to keep from getting constant twitter alerts.

This is incorrect. You know that menu button that made you feel so inferior? Go into your twitter app, hit that stupid menu button and turn off background alerts.

As far as Android multitasking goes, I think it works fine. You just have to give it a chance and let it do its thing.

[jontymisra]

If you want to use a Joikuspot like app - Skip the Blackberry.

[Dro]

I have no problem transfering media from my 64-bit win7 pro to my phone using USB. What problem did you encounter? Once I connect the usb cable from my computer to the phone, I go to the phone's notification panel and select Mount USB. Then the computer detects the USB mass storage device and displays all the files in my phone's memory card.

Wireless tethering is there if you are willing to root your phone.

I also want to know how to do touch tone too.

[Rcadden]

This is incorrect. You know that menu button that made you feel so inferior? Go into your twitter app, hit that stupid menu button and turn off background alerts.

As far as Android multitasking goes, I think it works fine. You just have to give it a chance and let it do its thing.

Have to disagree with you here - the menu button doesn't show you the apps still running, only the last 6 apps that you used. It's a shortcut menu, NOT a multitasking menu.

Plus, why should you dig down to the settings of an app like Seesmic or whatever to disable background notifications and then re-enable them later?

Multitasking on Android is a horrid experience cause it gives the user ZERO control, and it's not always the most efficient thing, despite what fanbois say.

On my HTC Eris, I have resorted to using 2 different apps to really get things usable - Advanced Task Killer and Automatic Task Killer - both are free. Advanced Task Killer lets me manually kill any apps that I need to, while Automatic Task Killer let me specify which apps I *always* want killed (it does so any time you turn the display back on). On my Eris, I have a problem with Voice Dial and the MP3 Store autolaunching in the background. No matter how often I killed them with Advanced Task Killer, they come back (hence Automatic Task Killer). Since installing Automatic Task Killer, my phone is faster and the battery life is improved at least 60%.

It's just sad that I needed 2 separate apps to do what I can do easily with Symbian right out of the box.

[RogerPodacter]

I font know about all those issues. all I know is that my productivity with the nexus more than doubled compared to using symbian. its lightening fast to read an email, load a web page, copy and paste text, etc. no contest, that's all I care about.

and you know that you can place direct dial shortcuts to any contact on your homescreen. just devote an entire screen to frequent contacts. even better you can place a folder on the homescreen and then put a group of contacts into that folder. this is what Google intended users to do for groups I think.

you can also place bookmarks or maps directions as shortcut onto the homescreen.

[Snotick]

I font know about all those issues. all I know is that my productivity with the nexus more than doubled compared to using symbian. its lightening fast to read an email, load a web page, copy and paste text, etc. no contest, that's all I care about.

and you know that you can place direct dial shortcuts to any contact on your homescreen. just devote an entire screen to frequent contacts. even better you can place a folder on the homescreen and then put a group of contacts into that folder. this is what Google intended users to do for groups I think.

you can also place bookmarks or maps directions as shortcut onto the homescreen.

I have no experience with Andoid. But I wonder if Nokia would be just as productive with a faster processor. (and more ram)

[ceebz]

Have to disagree with you here - the menu button doesn't show you the apps still running, only the last 6 apps that you used. It's a shortcut menu, NOT a multitasking menu.

I never said it was any of those things.

Plus, why should you dig down to the settings of an app like Seesmic or whatever to disable background notifications and then re-enable them later?

I have them disabled and leave them that way. It's a personal preference and I can see how it would be irritating if you sometimes wanted background notifications and at other times, did not.

On my HTC Eris, I have resorted to using 2 different apps to really get things usable - Advanced Task Killer and Automatic Task Killer - both are free. Advanced Task Killer lets me manually kill any apps that I need to, while Automatic Task Killer let me specify which apps I *always* want killed (it does so any time you turn the display back on). On my Eris, I have a problem with Voice Dial and the MP3 Store autolaunching in the background. No matter how often I killed them with Advanced Task Killer, they come back (hence Automatic Task Killer). Since installing Automatic Task Killer, my phone is faster and the battery life is improved at least 60%.

It's just sad that I needed 2 separate apps to do what I can do easily with Symbian right out of the box.

I will agree that Symbian does multitasking better out of the box. However, in my experiences, that is the ONLY thing that Symbian does better. And as you just pointed out, multitasking can easily be controlled with two free apps which take only minutes to install and configure.

[THETRUTH#34]

I font know about all those issues. all I know is that my productivity with the nexus more than doubled compared to using symbian. its lightening fast to read an email, load a web page, copy and paste text, etc. no contest, that's all I care about.

and you know that you can place direct dial shortcuts to any contact on your homescreen. just devote an entire screen to frequent contacts. even better you can place a folder on the homescreen and then put a group of contacts into that folder. this is what Google intended users to do for groups I think.

you can also place bookmarks or maps directions as shortcut onto the homescreen.

s60 does this also, nothing new

[jplunks]

is it true with the androids when you install a app it can ONLY be onstalled on the phone memorty and not the memory card?

[Dro]

Yes it is true. However, Google officially said that they are working on it to change it.

[RogerPodacter]

s60 does this also, nothing new

I don't think s60 does it with maps/navigation where you save an address then save it as shortcut on your homescreen, so its one click and it calculates a route for you. or am I wrong?

I know bookmark does it. but also the direct dial and direct text is a nice android feature that I don't think s60 does.

[gwapz]

Now this is what I'm talking about.. lolz!!

After encouraging people to move to Android...

Now that the person that moved to Android is unhappy.. All they can say to this guys is..

"Oh It works for me."

"Who does that with Mobile device these days"

"Just accept it, there are more cool things about this device."

So its 1 million times better than Symbian eh? The best OS is the OS that works for you.. Does not matter if its an Apple iPhone OS. If it works for you.. I'm happy for you..

[Dro]

A couple of things that I missed on my N85: Fm radio/transimtter, better audio quality and signal reception.