Smart Phones and other random thoughts

So... I'm bored. I could be doing work right now but it's the Friday before Memorial day weekend and I can't focus. I'm learning about capital gains, dividends, and interest income..namely how it is reported on an income tax return. It's a class I'm taking for work. Apparently, knowledge of income tax law and theory can come in handy when one works on tax-preparing software. Go figure.. Anyway, I'm behind in the class because of a vacation I took and could very easily catch up with the homework BUT.... then I'd be missing out on getting to rant aimlessly on a blog..

Anyway.. I thought I'd maybe ruffle a few feathers and try to "get out" a series of disorganized thoughts I've had for a while about smart phones: namely the "i-phone" vs "android" debate. First of all, as a sort of disclaimer, I whole-heartedly believe that Apple is a phenomenal company: innovative, creative, pioneering, pay intense attention to detail, aesthetics, and user experience. These are all WONDERFUL things. They DO make premium products.

That being said, here's the thing: don't pretend it (the i-phone) is something it's not. It's an app launcher.. That's the extent of the operating system. As far as which phone (android, iPhone) one should buy.. it is COMPLETELY up to user preference. However, I've had several discussions with friends and co-workers where the actual merits of the phones where compared, so as to reach a conclusion over which is superior. The important question is "which criteria are we using?" Which is probably more "usable" to the masses? Probably the iPhone. Which phone would I recommend my girlfriend get? Probably the iPhone.

Do I seem contradictory? (it's a known fact that I own and prefer the Android OS) I don't think so.. I'll go right out and say it. As a product (judged purely pragmatically) the I-phone is probably superior. It appeals to the most variety of people. It would likely outsell any of the higher end Android phones one-on-one if the market were such. That being said. I have also observed, in another market entirely (as you probably have as well) that the television show, "Sex in the City's" ratings have far surpassed other shows which I feel are superior (superior in quality, direction, acting, story, characters, etc..) So, obviously, one phone being a better "product" is not the "end-all-be-all."

I'll tell you why I consider the Android operating system superior. At least, by one important measurement, .. freedom (which implies versatility). Let me paint an analogy for you so that this just MIGHT make sense. Let's say that you own a piece of property ( a house for instance). You have taken the time and, sometimes, simply had the wherewith all to explore every nook and cranny of this house. You KNOW the infrastructure down to the material make-up of every last piece of hardware. Ok, that's settled.. NOW.. imagine that you no longer own the home (sold it, doesn't matter) Let's say that you re-visit the home only to find that it has a new owner. This owner, not being privy to a single ounce of context about your previous ownership and intimate knowledge of the house, proceeds to, in patronizing fashion, show you around the house. He "carefully" constructs a very linear tour of this house so as not to bombard your senses and threaten your capacity to comprehend what you are seeing.

NOW, let's say that you had no way of communicating your dissatisfaction with the "tour-guide"s approach and no way of communicating your previous ownership and consequent "knowledge" of the home. This is simply "the way it is." The experience might be pretty annoying, no?..

My point is: I FEEL this way when using most apple products (especially, in this case, the i-phone) I feel that the intelligence behind the UI (user interface), basically, considers me an idiot. Why else would I need my hand held everywhere I went. Why else would certain "quick-routes" to the things I need be withheld from me? Why would practically every piece of media and every file be stored in proprietary format inside a piece of proprietary software?

Apple does this for very specific reasons. They create a "walled" and "linear" user experience so as to allow fluid and easy use of the phone. They also do it to appeal to the "non-tech-savvy" market. All of this is absolutely fine and makes complete sense. HOWEVER, acknowledgement of this effectively removes the I-phone from the conversation over which phone is technologically superior. Again, I've already conceded the "product" debate. I'm simply talking about which piece of hardware has created an environment in which an appropriately tech-savvy person is likely to accomplish more and with more effieciency.

How can I claim this? The operating system speaks for itself. As I said earlier, the iPhone is, basically, a glorified app launcher. The home screen customization is limited to: "which apps do I want to put where.?" Oh, and you can change your wallpaper..kudos. "Multi-tasking" consists of certain (not all) apps being able to continue running "bare essential" processes that appear to the user as if each app was actually fully functioning while another app was used. For example, I've noticed, on the iPhone, that when entering an address in Maps, and in the middle switching to the browser and back again, the address entry was lost and the only process that was kept running was the core process for Maps. Yay. That's not true multi-tasking.

Back to the iPhone is an "app launcher" point: A friend of mine (with an iPhone) and myself decided to have a little contest over which of our phones could locate a particular GPS address and begin navigation before the other. We had a few minutes to prepare so as to familiarize ourselves with the sequence of buttons required etc.. The outcome? GPS navigation for the address began in about 2.5 seconds with the Android phone (Droid X) compared to about 7 seconds with the iPhone..Why? Because I created a shortcut to that particular address on my homescreen. Meaning: Android is a full, PC-like, operating system. The OS has access to more than just core processes but, instead, can access any sub-process or function inside another at ANY given time. I like to think of the Android OS as a sort of "spider-web" layout compared to the iPhone's "tree" layout. If one climbs the iPhone "tree" per se to the tip of the top branch and wishes to get down, he/she must trace their path down to the trunk. In a spider web OS format, one can simply take a single straight path back to the center/beginning.

Android OS is so versatile I can basically create a "shortcut" of sorts to ANY process, function, program, file I wish from ANYWHERE on the 7 home screens it offers. The OS also allows for third-party apps that can adjust the UI so much that, in my case, my Droid X looks more like an HTC Evo than it does a Droid X! My Droid X came with 5 linear, side-scrolling home screens with no ability to preview them all. I now have 7 previewable and cuztomizeable home screens that behave like the HTC Sense UI. Bottom line, if you don't like it, change it! There are virtually no limits to what you can do with your phone when Apps like ADW and LauncherPro exist.

More to come later... (gotta run)