

Fake Steve Jobs: Why I'm Switching to Android - recampbell
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonicshifts/archive/2010/05/20/sayonara-iphone-why-i-m-switching-to-android.aspx#

======
lukifer
I'm getting really tired of reading hacky comparisons of iPhone vs Android to
Mac vs Windows. For one thing, there is not a huge price discrepancy in the
smartphone space the way there was on the desktop in the 80s and 90s, when
Macs tended to carry a 2-3x markup. There isn't the problem of too few games
on the platform; Apple currently has the advantage here, though obviously not
forever. And despite Apple's willingness to piss off devs, I would say Apple
is still providing more tools and support to developers than they ever did
when the Mac was fighting for survival.

Windows also had an advantage of a write-once, run-anywhere software
ecosystem. Other than different screen sizes, or perhaps graphic cards for
games, you could expect a consistent mouse-keyboard-screen interface. Android
has to account for lots of little differences in hardware form factors and
feature sets, and the onus is on Android devs to manage these, which was
seldom an issue for Windows devs.

Mac vs. Windows was last generation's technology battle, and it's long over.
We're now in uncharted territory.

~~~
apu
I think you're wrong about the write-once run-anywhere software ecosystem that
Windows had to deal with. There was an incredible proliferation of different
hardware -- including drivers etc. -- and it was mostly up to Microsoft to
make sure that the OS continued to work flawlessly (or at least at whatever
level of semi-stability it managed to attain) across all of these different
configurations.

This is an _enormous_ responsibility that Apple has _never_ had to deal with
-- there's a difference of at least 3 if not 4-5 orders of magnitude in the
number of different types of hardware platforms that each company had to deal
with.

Android has a few dozen phones to support. And yes, the "metaphor" is slightly
different across phones, but it's nothing like having to deal with every
random piece of hardware that every company puts out.

~~~
redrobot5050
>This is an enormous responsibility that Apple has never had to deal with --
there's a difference of at least 3 if not 4-5 orders of magnitude in the
number of different types of hardware platforms that each company had to deal
with.

Apple is supporting two gens of hardware. The iPhone OS will support the
iPhone 3GS, the latest iPod Touch, the next-gen iPhone (as of now, unreleased)
and the iPad.

Android has 19+ phone configurations (not counting carrier specific nuances in
the firmwares) to support.

I think its interesting that Mr. Lyons is "blown away" by Android features
that will be coming to his iPhone in 30-60 days, with the exception of
teathering (which isn't Apple's fault, but AT&T's).

Also, people hate to hear this, but a jailbroken iPhone provides a much better
experience and much more competitive than Androids.

~~~
jrockway
_Also, people hate to hear this, but a jailbroken iPhone provides a much
better experience and much more competitive than Androids._

And according to Jobs, the jailbroken iPhone even includes free room and board
for a few years.

~~~
lukifer
Can you back this up? I've never seen anything beyond voiding warranties.

~~~
jrockway
[http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/apple-says-
jailbreaking...](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/apple-says-jailbreaking-
illegal)

~~~
redrobot5050
FTA:

Apple's copyright infringement claim starts with the observation that
jailbroken iPhones depend on modified versions of Apple's bootloader and
operating system software. True enough -- we said as much in our technical
white paper describing the jailbreak process. But the courts have long
recognized that copying software while reverse engineering is a fair use when
done for purposes of fostering interoperability with independently created
software, a body of law that Apple conveniently fails to mention.

So, Steve Jobs can say what he wants. The courts are the final arbiter.
Jailbreaking, like "rooting" an Android phone, perfectly legal. Warranty
voiding, maybe, but legal.

------
raganwald
This article is actually by Daniel Lyons. It's true that Daniel also writes
parody articles as FSJ, but this is not one of them.

~~~
ryandvm
Man, Fake Steve Jobs is going to be pissed about this article.

~~~
raganwald
To be perfectly honest, while there's nothing wrong with the article, after
reading the title I was looking forward with a certain amount of evil glee to
find out exactly what FSJ was going to say about switching to Android.

Nothing against Daniel, but his reasons are far less entertaining than FSJ's
would have been.

~~~
redrobot5050
Agreed. Speed Increase? More Multi-tasking? Better Web Browsing? iPhone OS 4.0
has all of that. And it's release date is likely to be announced June 7th.

Now the dropped calls thing, I can't comment on. AT&T in my area is actually
great. 3G rolled out EARLY where I'm at. And I've been tethering since
December of 2009.

~~~
commandar
>More Multi-tasking? [...] iPhone OS 4.0 has all of that.

If you mean an implementation that's still more hamstrung than Android's,
sure.

~~~
redrobot5050
As long as I don't have to worry about rogue background processes (like
widgets) eating up my battery life, then yes.

------
junklight
while all the commentators and media are wetting their pants about who has
landed what blow on who I can't help feeling that the real winners are going
to be us users.

Apple will lose if they don't respond - and it would seem likely that they
will be forced to add some of these features - streaming from my media library
being one I would particularly like.

Keep landing those killer blows guys and making your products better and
better!

(mind you I have horrible suspicion that I will end up with devices from both
camps - if the production android pad is cool will almost certainly buy one as
well as an ipad)

~~~
roc
The competition is _great_ for the users. The only bad thing is the war of
words from either side that insults the intelligence of the readers.

~~~
s3graham
Agreed. The features and progress demonstrated in Android was great, but the
continuous "open blah blah" and snide Apple-Flash-whatever 'jokes' were tiring
and lame.

Did they really think they wouldn't get media coverage pointing out the
obvious comparisons if they just demo'd and explained rather than explicitly
mocking?

------
jsz0
I love the competition but if I can present an alternative view: Why I'm
sticking with the iPhone:

I plug it into iTunes and it automatically syncs everything and backs up the
device automatically. All my accessories work with the dock connector
including my car. I can still get software updates for my 3 year old iPhone
2G. Music & media players are superior to Android in my opinion along with it
simply being easier to sync content. I can play my Audible books on my iPhone.
Couldn't live without those. It's easier to buy an iPhone. There's basically
just one model or the hold-over model from last year. With Android phones I
feel like there's always something better right around the corner. I feel
compelled to research CPU speed, RAM/ROM size, and evaluate the differences in
software. I don't care for the physical buttons on Android phones. I think
it's jarring to switch between the touch-screen and menu/home/search/back
buttons which incidentally seem to be arranged differently on most Android
handsets. I think the iPhone still has a pretty big app advantage especially
for games and multimedia.

~~~
dannyr
" It's easier to buy an iPhone. There's basically just one model or the hold-
over model from last year. With Android phones I feel like there's always
something better right around the corner."

Can't believe that lack of choice can ever be a good thing.

It's like saying "It's easier to pick a job if the government is the only
company to work for. If there are private companies/startups, I feel like I
can work for another company that is better."

~~~
ugh
I’m actually quite happy that I don’t have to decide how to assemble my pants.

You rely on a myriad of choices other people make for you every day and I
would guess you are quite happy that you don’t have to make all those choices
by yourself. There is the architect who decided how the buildings you use
every day should work and look. There is the designer who decided which line
height the articles you are reading in your favorite magazine should have.

Too much choice can be a very bad thing. It can be suffocating.

------
ynniv
Why is Lyons so bitter? His arguments revolve around Android having more
"features" and otherwise being an iPhone knockoff. The features debate is old
and boring - maybe he cares, but I don't and I suspect that most iPhone buyers
don't either.

And as developers, why should we be excited at a knockoff? Do we need to
punish Apple for being successful? Unlike Microsoft, Apple has not tried to
force people to run its OS. And if Apple stops innovating the phone market, I
don't see Google stepping up as a replacement. Much as Microsoft did, I expect
large market share to result in years of the same old crap.

I understand that some people don't like the situation they are in, and I'm
okay with that. But can we stop pretending that Apple is the evil empire? They
make a great product, and you bought it. That's what companies are supposed to
do.

~~~
kenjackson
How can the features debate be old and boring when Froyo was just officially
unveiled yesterday? It's a very relevant debate.

And lets not give Apple too much credit. While the iPhone was best of breed it
wasn't nearly the innovation that the GUI was or even WSIWYG word processing.
It really felt like an evolution of the smart phone. A very well engineered
product, but not the revolution that a lot of people seem think it was.

~~~
ynniv
_How can the features debate be old and boring when Froyo was just officially
unveiled yesterday? It's a very relevant debate._

There's always something new... how does that make the discussion of
"features" versus "execution" debate change?

 _A very well engineered product, but not the revolution that a lot of people
seem think it was._

Precisely. The iPhone has been successful because they only included the
_good_ features. Competitors always talk about new features, or fewer dollars.
To the average consumer, neither of those are as important as execution.
Google will only make a better phone when they _make a better phone_.

------
edw519
1980: CPM on your choice of hardware or lock into Apple hardware & software at
a higher price.

1990: DOS on your choice of hardware or lock into Apple hardware & software at
a higher price.

2000: Windows on your choice of hardware or lock into Apple hardware &
software at a higher price.

2010: Android on your choice of hardware or lock into Apple hardware &
software at a higher price.

~~~
mechanical_fish
What higher price? IPhones cost $100 to $300 new with contracts. The Android
phones I've seen cost $100 to $300 with contracts. Most of the cost is in the
service plans, which are very similarly priced.

I suppose there may be a bunch of crappy Android phones, floating around under
my personal radar, available for even less than $100. That sounds like false
economy to me. If you're gonna get soaked for $2400 in cellular bills over two
years you might as well spend the extra 1-4% and do so in style.

Of course, this is a USA perspective. Things are probably very different
outside the USA.

~~~
smackfu
[http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-A855-Android-Verizon-
Wireless...](http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-A855-Android-Verizon-
Wireless/dp/B002UUTCKC) $20

~~~
izendejas
Verizon's also advertising two Droids for the price of 1 (or buy one, get one
"free")

------
noelchurchill
Does this also mean that Android is destined to be as disliked as Windows,
with all the problems that come along with being compatible with some many
devices from so many different manufacturers?

~~~
barake
Handset makers such as HTC and Motorola check that Android works as it should,
and fix anything broken before releasing updates to users. Carriers may also
be involved in this process. Also there are much fewer hardware combos to
support.

Windows PCs would work better if Dell (or whoever) made sure every update
worked 100% and you couldn't install new components after purchase. As things
stand now it is impossible to test Windows updates on even a fraction of the
hardware configurations out there.

~~~
nzmsv
And the phone manufacturers are also a year behind on updating older devices.
The article talks about the new Android 2.2 being great, but there are still
phones shipping with 1.5 and no firmware upgrades in sight.

I realize there is no incentive for a phone manufacturer to fix bugs and add
features to a device that's a year old. But Apple has done a decent job with
the iPhone firmware updates.

~~~
redrobot5050
Counterpoint: The open source community has rolled their own firmwares with
the latest and greatest, so you can update your phone without your carrier. Is
it unsupported? Probably. Does it void your warranty? Again, probably.

But considering I consider jailbreaking an iPhone a "feature", doing something
similar with an Android phone is also a good thing. (At least it is an
option.)

------
nlanier
I just want to take this opportunity to say that I love my Nexus One. I don't
care if Google "failed" as a marketer/distributor of the device. When I put it
side by side with an iPhone I can't even fathom wanting an iPhone. In fact,
you couldn't pay me to switch.

Kudos, Google. Kudos.

------
byrneseyeview
Here's Daniel Lyons on why the Zune has a shot (in early 2008):

<http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/053.html>

~~~
hyperbovine
I guess am in the minority here of people who have actually used a Zune (HD,
completely by accident, woke up on the floor of a Zune product manager's sweet
apt in downtown Seattle while visiting a friend, long story.) I've got to say,
I was impressed. Screen looked amazing, device is smaller and more responsive
than an iPhone. The browser was sort of lame but you could just put Opera on
it, no?

Anyways, it's true that Zune is getting trounced, but if Apple continues to
piss people off and there are alternatives that are actually a pleasure to
use, that may change.

~~~
commandar
The Zune is a great device. The biggest problem is that the Zune desktop
software is pretty much nothing more than a skin over WMP, and can't even
begin to compete with iTunes for library management.

I say this as somebody that's owned both iPods and Zunes. The actual hardware
experience was better with the Zune, in my book, but the iPod blows it away on
the software side.

------
starkfist
He's kidding himself if he thinks Google with Android has better intentions
than Apple. The guys who started Android did so with the sole intention of
selling the company to Google. They did and cleaned up. As soon as he could,
the CEO of Android removed himself from the project and now runs Google's
venture arm. The founder of the original android company doesn't really give a
shit about the product, and Google only cares about it because they want all
the mobile ad money. It is a project with no soul.

Fake Steve is wrong when he implies that Jobs is insincere about creating
beautiful products and is just trying to lock people in. Even if the edicts
and decrees often go haywire, if nothing else, Jobs and Apple believe their
own bullshit.

------
Qz
The article picture, sadly, pushes me towards iPhone (not that I would ever
buy one). The iPhone screen seems crisper, the colors are brighter, and the
interface looks spiffier. Obviously there are other factors at play, but first
impressions count for a lot.

~~~
sandipc
check out the nexus one or droid incredible screens for a good iphone
comparison...

------
es3754
If there's a 30 day backorder on the HTC Incredible you might as well check
out the HTC EVO when it hits the streets on June 4th.

~~~
runevault
Unless you don't want to be on Sprint of course. Some people really want to be
on Verizon.

~~~
tptacek
I will never, ever do business with Sprint again, after I cancelled my phone
service (twice!), threw out my phone, and they mysteriously re-activated the
account a few months later, silently accrued an account balance with late
fees, and then reported me to collections.

~~~
jrockway
I'm sure there's a story like this for every large company in existence.

~~~
ekanes
Absolutely, but the question is how frequent they happen. Are they business-
as-usual, or a gross anomaly. When it happens to enough people, and those
people tell their friends, the brand erodes.

------
nanexcool
I'd buy an Android phone if they were available in Mexico. In the meantime, I
have an iPhone and I like it.

------
tyohn
You know what I kind of like about this post? - before such a post on YC would
have been bashed by Apple fan boys... but now after Apple's policy pigeon
holed and alienated developers - I'm starting to see a real conversation about
some of Apple's issues...

~~~
tvon
I'm glad enough people agree with you that you don't feel the need to play the
fanboy card.

~~~
tyohn
Feeling a little touchy? :)

~~~
raganwald
If I were to write "Ad Hominum much?" how would you feel? Annoyed at me?
Certain labels and ways of phrasing things tend to provoke people and lower
the quality of discourse.

~~~
tyohn
I agree with you - I didn't add much to the quality of discourse. I just feel
like I need to walk on pins and needles here (YC) when I want to voice my
opinion about Steve Jobs and Apple. It's almost like I'm drawing a picture of
Muhammad...

------
Ionic_Walrus
Why do you want to use your phone as a wifi hotspot ? It'll drain the battery.
The telco's in the US are the worst of the lot. Android and iPhone are 2 great
platforms, Im happy that both are here.

~~~
zmmmmm
That's why we need those user swappable battery compartments ;-)

But seriously, this is a killer feature, I can't understand how anyone
wouldn't want this, even if it's just for very occasional use (quickly get
vital email on your laptop, etc.)

~~~
theBobMcCormick
A second battery would be pretty great to have on a long flight when you'd
actually like to make phone calls after using your phone as a music
player/gaming system during the flight. :-(

~~~
dagw
I know two iPhone owners who carry two phones for just that reason. An iPhone
for for all the app and internet goodness and an old phone, which can easily
go at least a week without needing to be recharged, for when they actually
have to make calls.

------
ethan
>Froyo also will let you buy songs over the air and download them directly to
your phone.

Nice, now if only Android could make a decent music player...

~~~
theBobMcCormick
Part of the beauty of Android is that you're not stuck using the music play
that comes with your phone. There are many, many music players to choose from
in the Android Market.

I'm currently fond of MixZing
(<http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.mixzing.basic>), but Cubed
(<http://www.appbrain.com/app/org.abrantix.rockon.rockonnggl>) seems to be
rising rapidly in popularity. There's even btunes
(<http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.bmayers.bTunesRelease>) for all the ex-
iphone users out there. :-)

Not to mention of course all the streaming apps like Pandora, LastFM,
GrooveShark etc.

~~~
joubert
With what do all these apps sync with on your laptop?

~~~
jarek
Doubletwist?

~~~
joubert
I mean, what is the music software you can use on the desktop, given the list
of phone music players presented?

~~~
jarek
Any music software you would like? Including whatever you are using right now?

------
tomlin
"It also will support Flash, something Apple refuses to do, mostly out of
spite."

Oh, so we're being honest about it now?

------
kylemathews
Wow, the backlash is in full swing.

~~~
elblanco
Love easily turns into hate.

------
CamperBob
_He's looking more and more like Howard Hughes..._

I'm amazed more people aren't drawing that parallel.

Any day now I expect Jobs to announce the construction of an unusually large
and magical aircraft, made from the finest Chinese spruce.

------
rimantas
It would be interesting to see how he will write about coming back to iPhone
when he realizes there are things more important than Flash. Comments how
Apple is chasing Google because of something Android _will_ do is also
amusing.

~~~
mortenjorck
All he talks about in the article is features. Is the day-to-day user
experience in Froyo good enough to actually compete with the iPhone yet? Is it
no longer necessary to run third-party utilities to keep the system in order?

I _want_ Android to get to this level of maturity to keep Apple on its toes,
but I've yet to see any evidence Google is there yet.

~~~
kylemathews
It never was necessary to run third-party utilities to keep the system in
order. I assume you're referring to the Advanced Task Killer app. See this
forum post for example: [http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/18334-task-
killer-ap...](http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/18334-task-killer-apps-
truth.html)

