Ok there are a lot of questions about Android in a lot of different threads scattered about the forum so I thought I would make this topic.
I've had my G1 for 14 months now, in that time I've seen the upgrade from 1.1 to 1.5 to 1.6. I've rooted my device, installed a whole load of Cyanogen Roms, Hero Roms and Super D Roms. I've even installed Debain on my system.
If anyone has any questions about Android please use this thread and I'll do my best to answer them.
How many applications do you usually find yourself running at once and how much effect does it have on battery life in the real world?
Many. Android doesn't close applications it keeps them in the memory until they need to be removed (ie when more memory is needed).
On the G1 I run anything up to about 20 applications at the same time. It's never effected performance and battery life is fine. You generally find you have to charge the phone at the end of the day after heavy usage but the G1 is known for having poor battery life.
Of course you can use Task Managers etc to increase your battery life but it's not really necessary like certain articles/websites like to make out. I get around 15 hours life on my G1 and that's with sending around on average 20 texts a day, a few phone calls, some game time, surfing the net about an hour a day and going on facebook/twitter regularly over about 4 hours a day (basically anytime I'm in a lecture). I also get 2 hours of music playback via AD2P bluetooth headphones.
I've read about people saying that there is a limit to the amount of apps you can install because everything has to be saved to the ROM. (Assuming you don't root it and install it to the SD card). Do you know if this is true?
what are the advantages n disadvantages of android over the winmo ??
luckypoop said:
I've read about people saying that there is a limit to the amount of apps you can install because everything has to be saved to the ROM. (Assuming you don't root it and install it to the SD card). Do you know if this is true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this is true however the Desire has 512mb of space for you to store apps. I've got a 800mb partition on my G1 for Apps2SD and I have around 200 apps installed lol with no problems so 512mb will probably hold quite a few apps.
They're working on getting apps installed to the SD card in the next android release.
cez10 said:
what are the advantages n disadvantages of android over the winmo ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a broad question, maybe you can be more specific?
Hey brummiesteven, thanks for creating this for Android noobs like me! I've been using WinMo for quite some time. Never played with Android until just a few weeks ago when I tried running Android on my Touch Pro2.
Enough history, on to my questions...
1. Is there a native file explorer? If not, I suppose there are 3rd-party ones. Any one in particular that is considered the file explorer? (The equivalent of Resco Explorer or Total Commander in WinMo?)
2. I read in that there's no native Office doc (ie, Word, Excel, etc) editor. There's only a viewer. Again, I suppose there are 3rd-party ones. Recommendations? Does it work as well as the native one in WinMo?
I guess that's it. These are my only concerns about jumping ship to Android. Everything else, I'm going to have a blast figuring out on my own...
ohyeahar said:
Hey brummiesteven, thanks for creating this for Android noobs like me! I've been using WinMo for quite some time. Never played with Android until just a few weeks ago when I tried running Android on my Touch Pro2.
Enough history, on to my questions...
1. Is there a native file explorer? If not, I suppose there are 3rd-party ones. Any one in particular that is considered the file explorer? (The equivalent of Resco Explorer or Total Commander in WinMo?)
2. I read in that there's no native Office doc (ie, Word, Excel, etc) editor. There's only a viewer. Again, I suppose there are 3rd-party ones. Recommendations? Does it work as well as the native one in WinMo?
I guess that's it. These are my only concerns about jumping ship to Android. Everything else, I'm going to have a blast figuring out on my own...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. No native file explorer, I think Astro is generally seen as the best file exporer:
http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/com.metago.astro/
2. Again no native Office. There are quite a few office suites, I don't know which is the best as I have no use for one. Here's one of them though:
http://www.androffice.com/
It will be worth noting that there probably will be a google docs app soon. And you can edit google docs already on android via docs.google.com. There's also a program called GDocs that syncs all your google documents to your handset.
I think the reason why there's no "Native" options for these is because Initially "Stock Android" is aimed at the average customer, they wanted to get the balance right for non tech savy people who just want a phone with apps but also allow the possibility and expansion of turning it into something extremely powerful for someone of the more tech savvy type.
brummiesteven said:
That's a broad question, maybe you can be more specific?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
umm thought you might say that right let me think
- i've been mainly using symbian and winmo devices for the past years and there was some issues with stability and lag etc. on my old n95 8gb i used to get slow downs when ie had lots of apps installed does that happen on android? lags etc?
- are there any custom roms tweaks or in general droid doesnt really require much work to make it better?
- what about security of droids? as its an open source software it might be easily hacked, accessed by 3rd party users?
thats it so far i probably forgot about other more important things
well thanks anyway
cez10 said:
umm thought you might say that right let me think
- i've been mainly using symbian and winmo devices for the past years and there was some issues with stability and lag etc. on my old n95 8gb i used to get slow downs when ie had lots of apps installed does that happen on android? lags etc?
- are there any custom roms tweaks or in general droid doesnt really require much work to make it better?
- what about security of droids? as its an open source software it might be easily hacked, accessed by 3rd party users?
thats it so far i probably forgot about other more important things
well thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Put it this way, I've never experienced any slowdown on my G1 and it has like maybe a 3rd of the spec of the Desire? It is a fast operating system, wont be slowed down by installing a lot of apps but might by by having a lot of apps open but I highly doubt this would ever be a problem on the Desire (as it isn't on my G1).
2. Yes there are custom roms, mostly of different builds. For example the HTC Hero doesn't officialy have 2.1 released but there are already a few 2.1 roms for it on XDA. There will always be a way for devs to increase speed on here... even if it isn't needed speed can always be increased .
3. The only security flaw you would have is if you rooted it, this enables the root account and on a linux system the root account can do things like access system files. Having said this, if you do root the phone, the phone will ask you before it permits anything (program etc) root access. I've never heard of anyone having their phone hacked or anything like that.
I have had my G1 since it came out. Also, I rooted it as soon as that was possible. I have tried/installed over 500 apps and normally have over 100 installed at any given time. I have never had any issue with hacking or security.
That having been said! Recently, I read on an Android site where a group of individuals made an app as an experiment to see if they could access a users data. I believe it was a weather app. A majority of the users (if I remember correctly) didn't read the access rights of the weather app - as it said in the access rights it would have access to the users contacts/data. The app was able to upload user's data/contacts from those who installed the app.
So, MAKE sure you always read any applications access rights prior to installing an application. If the app is requesting access to information within your device that are NOT related to the apps functions - don't install it!
If you do that one thing - you should have nothing to worry about!
@brummiesteven - Didn't mean to highjack your thread. This is a great service you are providing for the new Androidians! Just wanted to remind them (all users) to read those app access rights before installing an application.
Hijacking? Lol don't be silly the more the better
Thanks for answering these questions. This next one is a bit more speculative....
given that winmo 6.5.x is probably going to be the last iteration before WP7S, what are the chances that some kind of emulator will be built to run legacy winmo apps on Android?
would this even be possible?
Hi Steven,
great service
One thing I really liked about my Blackberry, was the ability of customization regarding profiles and the notifications connected to it.
Is it possible to create profiles in Android, like 'Silent', 'Vibrate Only' and maybe one for the office where ringtones and notifications are very silent to avoid waking everyone up at the office
By the way, I recently stumbled over an application called cVolume that seems to enable some customization in that regard.
Is it possible to assign different ringtones for messages, mails, event notifications etc.?
(An example of what I dislike: I actually use a Palm Pre and the launch firmware didn't allow much customization. All notifications (except event reminders), no matter whether new mail, new textmessage used the same ringtone, which also couldn't be changed. That changed thankfully with a later firmware. Profiles are still not supported, you can just switch between 'ringtones on' or 'shut up/vibrate only'. --> Having used a Blackberry before, I felt kinda castrated with that few options of notification-settings )
Thx & Greetz,
69Mws
Sorry, no time to read which questions you have answered! I just copy/past my questions from another thread:
I can not call myself a WinMo veteran, since I have been using the HD2 for only 2,5 months. But the fact that it is already a dead device because of the Developers leaving to 7 Series(Adobe just stopped making flash for it, while they were very close to finishing it) makes me sad. If on 1 April there is still no word on the future of the HD2, I am selling it and getting a Desire.
A few questions to Android users!
How is the Android Market? How many apps? All useable by Desire, or is the divercity of the Android devices making the quality suffer? And only instal to internal memory right?
General Android OS: easy to use? Eye candy? Touch optimized?
Android browser: good or not? Is there Opera browser for Android?
Does HTC Sense work well with Android? Does it become 'one', or stay 2 different things like Sense and WinMo?
What should I know more about Android? What do you Android users think are the bad things about the OS and hope to see changed in the future updates?
I know it is a lot I am asking, but I am making a right decision this time so I need to be informed.
Kind regards
XDA mark said:
...How is the Android Market? How many apps? All useable by Desire, or is the divercity of the Android devices making the quality suffer? And only instal to internal memory right?
General Android OS: easy to use? Eye candy? Touch optimized?
Android browser: good or not? Is there Opera browser for Android?
Does HTC Sense work well with Android? Does it become 'one', or stay 2 different things like Sense and WinMo?
What should I know more about Android? What do you Android users think are the bad things about the OS and hope to see changed in the future updates?
I know it is a lot I am asking, but I am making a right decision this time so I need to be informed.
Kind regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no Android user yet. But I have played with the emulator running on my Touch Pro2. So I can help answer a couple of your questions.
1. Android Market is much more extensive than Windows Marketplace. Remember, it's not the quantity but quality of apps that matters. And quality there appears to be much more quality apps than WinMo. Perhaps veteran Android users can chime in regarding usability by the Desire and installation location.
2. The Android OS is so much more pretty than WinMo. There are fade in/out animations when opening/closing windows. Everything is finger-friendly. The slide-down notifications bar is extremely handy. The ability to fully customize your home screens with shortcuts and widgets is just great.
3. The Android browser is much better than Opera Mobile on WinMo. I think there's Opera Mini in the Android Marketplace. But really, I don't think there's any reason to not use the default browser. It's renders fast and accurately. I can even access my internet banking site which doesn't work on WinMo or iPhone OS.
4. There's plenty of videos of Sense on Android. Check those out and see for yourself. Personally, I think it's great. Completely different than Sense on WinMo. Sense on WinMo is just a Today-screen plugin and enlarged menus. Sense on Android includes the HTC widgets and Leap among other goodies.
5. This is something I want to know too. Most of us know about what's bad about the iPhone OS and WinMo. But what's bad about Android that you'd want changed?
does Android require soft/hard reset every now and then like those damn M$ Windows Phones ?
I asked these in a different section, but thought I would see what Answers I get here, I know some have been answered before.
1. If / when the Desire gets rooted, will the device be permanently rooted or will official updates from HTC "un-root" it?
So hypothetically, I get a Desire and it is rooted, and HTC releases Android 3.0 (for example), would I be able to upgrade to the newer software or would I have to use a "dev" update?
2. Since the hardware between the 2 phones is very similar, what is the chances of current Nexus One modded ROMs (cyanogen, enmother etc) working on a rooted Desire?
3. I imagine the community will be working on rooting the Desire so it can port the shipping version of Sense UI to the Nexus One?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Stu
69mws said:
Hi Steven,
great service
One thing I really liked about my Blackberry, was the ability of customization regarding profiles and the notifications connected to it.
Is it possible to create profiles in Android, like 'Silent', 'Vibrate Only' and maybe one for the office where ringtones and notifications are very silent to avoid waking everyone up at the office
By the way, I recently stumbled over an application called cVolume that seems to enable some customization in that regard.
Is it possible to assign different ringtones for messages, mails, event notifications etc.?
(An example of what I dislike: I actually use a Palm Pre and the launch firmware didn't allow much customization. All notifications (except event reminders), no matter whether new mail, new textmessage used the same ringtone, which also couldn't be changed. That changed thankfully with a later firmware. Profiles are still not supported, you can just switch between 'ringtones on' or 'shut up/vibrate only'. --> Having used a Blackberry before, I felt kinda castrated with that few options of notification-settings )
Thx & Greetz,
69Mws
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no option for this initially but the system does allow you to assign different notification tones to different events, eg Email and SMS.
There will be apps that allow you to have "profiles". There's even an app called Locale which is pretty much an automatic profiler, will switch your settings dependant on the time, your location etc. For example, if I'm at Uni it automatically switches my phone to silent for all notifications and vibration only.
I have a few questions about HTC desire, am very curious about this phone. I need a new phone and I would like to have one with android on it. Can you install other navigation software or are you tied to Google? And what is HTC Sense and what is the added value of this? Other than this it seems like a cool phone to me! Thanks!
Of course you can install other navigation apps, the android market is full of apps, and some of them are pretty good .
HTC Sense is a UI (user interface) that is on top of the android OS , some people like it and others prefer to install non-stock roms that are only with plain (vanilla) android.
HanVega said:
I have a few questions about HTC desire, am very curious about this phone. I need a new phone and I would like to have one with android on it. Can you install other navigation software or are you tied to Google? And what is HTC Sense and what is the added value of this? Other than this it seems like a cool phone to me! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its google not apple you can install whateva you like lol i use copilot satnav and i think its even better than tomtom, also htc is the desire default homescreen, it consitsts of 7 pages where you can place widgets, only htc phones can use sence and its awsome
Hi and welcome to xda,
for me the benefit of sense is that it brings all the content to your home screen in a fancy way. What does that mean. They made the information to sort of flow to you instead of you looking for it. For example you put some tabs on sense like mail,sms,photos whatever you need and then you don't need software to get the particular content on the home screen(s) - just 1 flick and you're reading your mail. They have integrated the contacts, so if you need to mail someone you don't need to open mail application, just go to the contact and write from there, you can also see their facebook status and albums. The other thing I like is the smart dialing - if you want to call 'John' you just type 5(JKL)6(MNO)4(GHI) and all your john's pop up as well as phone numbers containing 564.
It really has a lot of features so if you tell us what you want to use it for I'll be able to give you particular scenarios
Hello.
This is not an 'android vs iOS' thread. I'm just trying to learn some differences between android and iOS.
This could be very interesting/useful I think.
Please don't ruin this thread with flames.
My question is quite simple:
What kind of apps are possible on Android that aren't on iOS due to its architecture?
Or, perhaps, what kinds of 'actions' are possible in Android apps that aren't in iOS?
Here's what I can think of offhand.
You have the obvious ones:
1) widgets
2) file managers
2a) Titanium backup (is this true?)
2b) Programs can open any file (so to speak, like you can e-mail any file as attachment)
2c) Ways to just copy stuff on/off randomly:
Android you can ftp/wifi explorer/usb drive/external sd copy/dropbox
2d) USB mass storage
3) custom launchers/homescreens
4) custom keyboards
5) custom dialers (?)
6) Live wallpapers
7) CWM recovery for installing stuff/backup/recovery
7a) what does iOS users do if they hose their OS, if they can't flash a stock rom?
Note 2(ish) specific stuff:
1) External SD card utilities (directory bind, etc)
2) app-in window (popup video, aircalc, overSkreen, etc)
3) multi-window
But actually, I'm curious about stuff like:
1) Do programs like tasker/llama work?
Do they have access to the hardware like that?
'simple' stuff like - if I'm at home, turn on wifi?
If I plug in my headphone, turn on bluetooth? (my typical car routine)
2) Quickboot -
3) Something like droidwall - blocking internet access for program X.
Anything else?
I'm geniuinely curious what else Android folk take for granted that iOS doesn't allow for the sake of speed/stability/safety.
(which I find understandable, to be honest).
- Frank
In android you can set your own default apps (browser, dialer, MAPS ... etc). Also, apps can communicate easily. For example, if you are in the gallery looking at a photo and hit the 'share' button you'll be able to send that photo to whatever installed app that accept a photo (gmail, social networks, messaging apps, photo editing apps ...). The same goes for every type of file (music, videos, zip archives, pdf files ...).
About your tasker's question, I recently tried 'sony smart connect' on my note 2 and it works really well. You can activate tasks either manually, via events (headset plugged in, charging mode) or via the NFC enabled sony smart tags.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
I don't think this is a good section for your question. This is more suited for the General Section of XDA (Since you're posting in an Android section I can gaurentee you that you're only going to get over-positive android responses and/or Apple/iOS haters. If you are intentually posting here because you want to hear android users then ignore what I said ).
Ontopic:
I always see it like this, Do you want:
SMS
Phone calls
Internet
Facebook
Twitter
A smooth running phone
Then iOS is the way to go for you. Do you want anything more, then Android is the way to go. On an iPhone there is only one way to go, the same way everyone else is going (You know from the commercials "Think Different"...).
On Android however you can personalize everything you want. I've been enjoying Android for over 3 years now and the ammount of different rom's, theme's, hack's, mod's, etc I've had in the those years is just insane. The possibilty's are just endless and thats why I love android, you will never get bored with your phone ! Don't like something, just change it. So not only Keyboards, Launchers and dailers, everything!
Stoux
Stoux2 said:
I don't think this is a good section for your question. This is more suited for the General Section of XDA (Since you're posting in an Android section I can gaurentee you that you're only going to get over-positive android responses and/or Apple/iOS haters. If you are intentually posting here because you want to hear android users then ignore what I said ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There shouldn't be anything positive or negative about this thread - I'm hoping it stays fairly factual.
If App X requires a permission that you can't get on iOS, then that's a fact.
Whether App X is a great or stupid app is besides the point.
You are right though, that ideally I need someone answering who is fairly knowledgeable about both operating systems.
- Frank
ChodTheWacko said:
Hello.
This is not an 'android vs iOS' thread. I'm just trying to learn some differences between android and iOS.
This could be very interesting/useful I think.
Please don't ruin this thread with flames.
My question is quite simple:
What kind of apps are possible on Android that aren't on iOS due to its architecture?
Or, perhaps, what kinds of 'actions' are possible in Android apps that aren't in iOS?
Here's what I can think of offhand.
You have the obvious ones:
1) widgets iOS has that
2) file managers iOS has that
2a) Titanium backup (is this true?)iirc, this just backs up all your custom settings etc? If so, we have multiple versions of that. also, cydia automatically stores ssh..shsh? idr lol, blobs.
2b) Programs can open any file (so to speak, like you can e-mail any file as attachment) that too
2c) Ways to just copy stuff on/off randomly: yep.
Android you can ftp/wifi explorer/usb drive/external sd copy/dropbox
2d) USB mass storage and again, yep.
3) custom launchers/homescreens By launcher, you mean themes I take it? and custom home layouts? yep.
4) custom keyboards have that too
5) custom dialers (?)and yes, even this.
6) Live wallpapers yep, though I don't use them.
7) CWM recovery for installing stuff/backup/recovery We can back up everything, even repos and installed tweaks.
7a) what does iOS users do if they hose their OS, if they can't flash a stock rom? what are you talking about? if you don't want a jailbroken phone you just install iOS again and restore your settings, can't android do that?
Note 2(ish) specific stuff:
1) External SD card utilities (directory bind, etc)
2) app-in window (popup video, aircalc, overSkreen, etc)
3) multi-window
But actually, I'm curious about stuff like:
1) Do programs like tasker/llama work?
Do they have access to the hardware like that?
'simple' stuff like - if I'm at home, turn on wifi?
If I plug in my headphone, turn on bluetooth? (my typical car routine) Used to have something that worked off gps locations, but there are a few different things that iOS can use atm. I personally don't know too much about it, but I believe similar things can be done.
2) Quickboot - What is quickboot? I'll tell you if I know haha
3) Something like droidwall - blocking internet access for program X. Not sure, never looked for it.
Anything else?
I'm geniuinely curious what else Android folk take for granted that iOS doesn't allow for the sake of speed/stability/safety.
(which I find understandable, to be honest).
- Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find most people who own android phones, yes, even on this forum, are quite ignorant about iOS. But hey, I'm ignorant about android! So we can learn from each other. Oh, and we have the drop down settings menu in a couple forms, and the better one, imho, sbsettings, is customizable as to what is put in it.
Replies in red.
There will always be more posibilities behind an opened door than a closed door.
Android is getting better and better and iOS has stayed the same since 2007. All iOS has over Android is games in app store and the apps are a bit more polished. Other than that iOS is for beginers.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
SchusterIX said:
Hello.
This is not an 'android vs iOS' thread. I'm just trying to learn some differences between android and iOS.
This could be very interesting/useful I think.
Please don't ruin this thread with flames.
My question is quite simple:
What kind of apps are possible on Android that aren't on iOS due to its architecture?
Or, perhaps, what kinds of 'actions' are possible in Android apps that aren't in iOS?
Here's what I can think of offhand.
You have the obvious ones:
1) widgets iOS has that -Are you kidding me? I think you don't know what is a widget.
2) file managers iOS has that Not without voiding your warranty with jailbreak. And it is not as extensive as the ones on Android
2a) Titanium backup (is this true?)iirc, this just backs up all your custom settings etc? If so, we have multiple versions of that. also, cydia automatically stores ssh..shsh? idr lol, blobs. -Titanium backup backups all your apps with their data and you can restore them anytime you want. I don't think iOS has anything like that(I think iTunes can do it...But you cannot backup and restore from your phone itself)
2b) Programs can open any file (so to speak, like you can e-mail any file as attachment) that too
2c) Ways to just copy stuff on/off randomly: yep.
Android you can ftp/wifi explorer/usb drive/external sd copy/dropbox
2d) USB mass storage and again, yep. Maybe with jailbreak(i dont know) but you cannot do it out of the box. I stuggled with an iPad 2 and a Linux computer as I couldn't copy files without UMS
3) custom launchers/homescreens By launcher, you mean themes I take it? and custom home layouts? yep. iOS doesn't have customization to this extent. You can only change the theme of the icons and transtitions that too with jailbreak only. We can transform our phones to Windows Phone 7 style interface, iOS style interface, etc and much more!
4) custom keyboards have that too
5) custom dialers (?)and yes, even this.
6) Live wallpapers yep, though I don't use them.
7) CWM recovery for installing stuff/backup/recovery We can back up everything, even repos and installed tweaks.
7a) what does iOS users do if they hose their OS, if they can't flash a stock rom? what are you talking about? if you don't want a jailbroken phone you just install iOS again and restore your settings, can't android do that?
Note 2(ish) specific stuff:
1) External SD card utilities (directory bind, etc)
2) app-in window (popup video, aircalc, overSkreen, etc)
3) multi-window
But actually, I'm curious about stuff like:
1) Do programs like tasker/llama work?
Do they have access to the hardware like that?
'simple' stuff like - if I'm at home, turn on wifi?
If I plug in my headphone, turn on bluetooth? (my typical car routine) Used to have something that worked off gps locations, but there are a few different things that iOS can use atm. I personally don't know too much about it, but I believe similar things can be done.
2) Quickboot - What is quickboot? I'll tell you if I know haha
3) Something like droidwall - blocking internet access for program X. Not sure, never looked for it.
Anything else?
I'm geniuinely curious what else Android folk take for granted that iOS doesn't allow for the sake of speed/stability/safety.
(which I find understandable, to be honest).
- Frank.[/COLOR]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some corrections in green
Sorry if it's not visible. Turn down up screen brightness!
system.img said:
Some corrections in green
Sorry if it's not visible. Turn down your screen brightness!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use a readable colour, I'll take you seriously then. -sigh- Honestly, the unwillingness to even listen is amazing on this forum. The little I read, was that I don't know what widgets are...yes I do. And yes, iOS has them. Oh...and you couldn't transfer files? lol...my god. All you have to do is plug the phone in or use ftp. Wow...just wow.
SchusterIX said:
Use a readable colour, I'll take you seriously then. -sigh- Honestly, the unwillingness to even listen is amazing on this forum. The little I read, was that I don't know what widgets are...yes I do. And yes, iOS has them. Oh...and you couldn't transfer files? lol...my god. All you have to do is plug the phone in or use ftp. Wow...just wow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...I should have used a better color. I realised it after posting and I didn't wanna edit the whole thing again..
And plugging the phone does nothing. You cannot read the internal memory and you have to use the stupod iTunes which is not available in Linux.
But this discussion is going nowhere. Better say on topic! "What apps are not possible on iOS?" instead of saying what is possible(Even if the OP stated some things wrong)
system.img said:
Yeah...I should have used a better color. I realised it after posting and I didn't wanna edit the whole thing again..
And plugging the phone does nothing. You cannot read the internal memory and you have to use the stupod iTunes which is not available in Linux.
But this discussion is going nowhere. Better say on topic! "What apps are not possible on iOS?" instead of saying what is possible(Even if the OP stated some things wrong)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, linux must suck more than I thought. I can use a number or programs to access the memory of the iPhone, or even set it up so that winblows or OS X sees it like a usb drive.
Oh, I managed to read one more thing...WP7? iOS has that as well. You must never have owned an iOS device, or at least jailbroken it. As for backing up settings? iTunes does that, so does aptbackup etc.
Maybe you should use a better OS than linux? I want to like linux...but it supports nothing. If linux has the programs os x / windows does, I'd use it in a heart beat.
Well I can share my thoughts after spending a year with the iPhone 4 as my main mobile device.
2) file managers: iFile is good. It's like Root Explorer on Android. It did everything I needed it to do.
2a) Titanium backup (is this true?): Backing up an iPhone was HARD for me. I didn't want to use iTunes for it, so I ended up doing manual backups, pulling database files for contacts, sms, call logs and things like that from system folders using SSH. There is no Titanium Backup for iOS. Trust me. I spent DAYS looking for a good backup app in Cydia. Nothing. There are apps that back up your Cydia sources and packages, so that's useful, but they wouldn't back up system settings, sms, call logs, apps and app data.
2b) Programs can open any file (so to speak, like you can e-mail any file as attachment): There is a tweak in Cydia that will allow you to attach any file to an e-mail.
2c) Ways to just copy stuff on/off randomly: I used SSH and an FTP client
2d) USB mass storage: DiskAid, http://www.digidna.net/products/diskaid
3) custom launchers/homescreens: You can arrange your icons freely... Tweaks in Cydia will allow you to put icons anywhere without them snapping to the grid. Pathetic customization options, absolutely awful and very boring.
4) custom keyboards: Well, not really... You can theme it black if you want... and add emoji support... And add a fifth row. With Cydia tweaks, of course not if you're not jailbroken.
6) Live wallpapers: vWallpaper in Cydia. It destroys battery life though. http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/12/...per-2-live-wallpapers-get-ios-5-compatibility
7) CWM recovery for installing stuff/backup/recovery: I almost LOL'd... That's a no. :laugh:
7a) what does iOS users do if they hose their OS, if they can't flash a stock rom? Restore with iTunes (the equivalent of re-stocking using Odin)
For automatic wifi/bluetooth toggling and similar, look here: http://lifehacker.com/5908536/how-to-make-your-iphone-read-your-mind
You CAN do those things but in my experience the whole setup process is just infuriating. Many times you have to install small individual Cydia tweaks for every little thing you want to change, and it will make your iPhone slower and more unreliable, more prone to random things happening like MobileSubstrate crashes, reboots... My iPhone once mysteriously uninstalled two games on its own, they were just gone. No doubt due to my jailbreaking and all the tweaks I had, but still... Random things can happen is my point.
The iPhone is known for being smooth in operation, reliable, and a jailbreak will really mess with the stability. It's ironic, that you have to make the phone more unstable and compromise its smoothness and battery life in order to get it to do things that we take for granted on Android.
Overall applications quality is better, if not way, in iOS. We Need 100 good quality apps rather than 50 average and 50 below average ones. Frankly too much crap apps are in Play Store with top rating.
And even iOS 5 is hell of a lot smoother than JB. Still I keep using Android for 3 years as there is too much restriction in iOS.
And people who don't own an iPhone, you don't own an iPhone, so they don't have right to comment. I do, thus I did.
Sent from my GT-N7100
SchusterIX said:
widgets are...yes I do. And yes, iOS has them. Oh...and you couldn't transfer files? lol...my god. All you have to do is plug the phone in or use ftp. Wow...just wow.
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Give me examples of iOS widgets then.
And you can ftp to an iphone? or ftp from an iphone to another box?
Give a link to a video demonstrating this.
- Frank
system.img said:
2) file managers iOS has that Not without voiding your warranty with jailbreak. And it is not as extensive as the ones on Android
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I think it is still valid to include (perhaps in a separate list) what is possible with a jailbroken phone, just as I'd include stuff possible on android with a rooted phone. I suppose custom rom territory is getting a bit much, since technically anything is possible with a custom rom.
So some further questions:
My crude research says there are file transfer tools on IOS, but it's not direct. You can only send 'supported' file formats , so it goes through some sort of proxy. correct?
ChodTheWacko said:
I think it is still valid to include (perhaps in a separate list) what is possible with a jailbroken phone, just as I'd include stuff possible on android with a rooted phone. I suppose custom rom territory is getting a bit much, since technically anything is possible with a custom rom.
So some further questions:
My crude research says there are file transfer tools on IOS, but it's not direct. You can only send 'supported' file formats , so it goes through some sort of proxy. correct?
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Did you mean that you only want the answers to be about what can be done on an unjailbroken iPhone? Or did I misunderstand?
iTunes file transfer is of course massively limited, you can only send supported formats through there. But if you're jailbroken and send things through SSH for example, you can send anything you desire.
Kiahnlliya said:
Well I can share my thoughts after spending a year with the iPhone 4 as my main mobile device.
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Well, that is quite insightful - thank you very much.
I'll be updating my first post when I have time to go through your post more and the relevant links.
- Frank
Kiahnlliya said:
Did you mean that you only want the answers to be about what can be done on an unjailbroken iPhone? Or did I misunderstand?
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You didn't misunderstand - my question wasn't well formed.
To be honest, I hadn't thought that far.
As I mentioned in my first post, I'm basically trying to understand the differences between iOS and Android.
That way, if I recommend a phone (to others, or myself), I can make an informed decision based on their needs and style.
So I think it's useful to know what Androidian things aren't possible on stock iOS.
And also useful, for the more adventurous/tolerant folk, to know what's possible on a jailbroken iOS, or other unorthodox means.
- Frank
ChodTheWacko said:
As I mentioned in my first post, I'm basically trying to understand the differences between iOS and Android.
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By the way, when you have time, you should check out this video series highlighting the differences between iOS and Android: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMiY1kSTHZw
It's in five parts. VERY enlightening, well worth watching. When I still had my iPhone and was starting to feel like it was time to move back to Android, those videos really opened my eyes and helped me make my decision.