
Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone - spiffae
http://www.betabeat.com/2011/07/29/why-my-mom-bought-an-android-returned-it-and-got-an-iphone/
======
yock
The real issue here is not the hardware and not Android, but what device
manufacturers and network providers cram down the throats of their customers.
Custom UI enhancements/replacements, useless bundled apps that can't be
removed, and the removal of standard, OS-delivered features. None of this
should have been new or a surprise to the writer's mom, who was coming to
Android from a feature phone. Feature phones have been plagued with the same
crap for years, except they don't have a marketplace full of replacement apps
that range from the serviceable to the remarkable.

I'm glad the author's mom found a smartphone she likes, but this isn't an
Android problem. It may very well be a Google problem, since Apple was indeed
successful in keeping the kruft off the iPhone, but Android devices come to
market in a completely different way than iPhones, and as long as we sign over
our rights in exchange for a $400 device discount we're going to have to deal
with some of it.

~~~
markokocic
But this what you explained is exactly the problem with Android. With iPhone,
carriers, phone manufacturers and such are not allowed to install their
crapware/bloatware on the phone. With Android, they can do whatever they want,
and the only sane option for an end user is to root the phone.

~~~
speckledjim
It's still a problem with US carriers. (Other countries have far better
carriers and ecosystems than the US)

It still absolutely amazes me that you guys usually pay for incoming SMS
messages.

I mean come on. W T F? If the carriers started charging each time you charge
your battery the US public would just bend over and take it.

~~~
joshmanders
> It still absolutely amazes me that you guys usually pay for incoming SMS
> messages.

What? I've never seen a carrier charge for incoming SMS.

~~~
cryptoz
Last time I checked (a few months ago), every large carrier in Canada charges
15 cents for each incoming SMS. That's Bell, Rogers, Telus...maybe some
others.

Many people have a plan addon that includes receiving some SMS for free, but
the basic stock plans do not.

~~~
Shenglong
Only Telus. Bell and Rogers are free incoming texts - or at least were, when I
bought my phone (I have unlimited texting, but I like to make sure). However,
that's not to say they don't try to jip you at every possibility.

For the last few years, texting to the US had always been at the same rate as
Canada (and covered by texting plans). Rogers decided to switch that on me
when I wasn't paying attention... although I'm pretty sure I asked, and the
Sales guy lied.

In either case. One complaint to the FCC in the USA, or CCTS in Canada will
get things your way. Both countries, from my experience, has pretty terrible
customer service. I can barely understand half of Verizon's CS team, and one
guy at Roger's CS actually told me I should just do nothing, even though I
felt cheated, because "if you sue, our company has more money than you, and
you'll lose for sure". Sigh.

~~~
reidmain
Actually all three telecoms charge for incoming text messages. Telus pioneered
it, Bell followed suit and then Rogers jumped on the bandwagon in 2009.

I called Bell to have them block all incoming text messages and they said that
they could not do it because it was somehow tied to their emergency 911
location determination service. After much prodding they said they could turn
off incoming texts (but I should hope that I never have to call 911 with my
mobile) but came back with a $3/month plan for like 500 text messages so I
just took that instead.

I switched to Rogers and am now on an iPhone plan which has text messaging but
I would love to be able to block incoming texts again if iOS 5 and Google+
gets serious traction.

------
aw3c2
That was pretty misleading. Not Android was the culprit, but the carrier's
crapware.

I never understood why people would not actually buy their phones and then
decide on a contract or prepaid to go with it? I even bought mine off Ebay in
excellent condition and almost full warranty (2 years in Germany) so much
cheaper that I still have not reached the difference to the "normal full or
subsidized price" with my monthly contract payments.

~~~
LeafStorm
From what I understand, the mobile phone system in the EU works differently
than in the US. In the US, almost all phones are bought at carrier-subsidized
prices - i.e. much cheaper than buying the phone standalone. The catch is that
you have to sign for a 2-year contract with that carrier to get the subsidized
prices. The prices for mobile phone plans in the US are much higher because
they include the phone subsidy.

And while in theory you could just buy a phone and then decide on a contract,
if you do that, you don't get a discount on your plan - i.e. you're still
paying for the phone subsidy that you never used. So, buying a phone then
buying a contract for it costs even more.

It's a stupid system, but unfortunately the carriers are all evil and don't
want to change it because it lets them overcharge and deliver crapware.

~~~
StavrosK
In the EU (well, I can speak for Greece), you get the phone with carrier
subsidies, with year-long contracts. You can choose not to get a phone and
deduct an amount off your contract each month.

The carrier-subsidized phones are usually exactly the same as the stock
devices. Some carriers install one or two apps (rarely), but I've never seen a
carrier-locked phone in the hundreds of devices I've seen. Any carrier-
sponsored phone works with any other carrier.

It's your money, anyway.

~~~
freeman478
In France, most carrier subsidized phones are locked to the carrier.

However they must unlock it for free after 6 months.

------
bcl
I am a recent convert to Android from iOS and while I'm mostly happy with it I
have to say that Android really is like a PC and iPhone is, well, like an
Apple. Android takes _alot_ more tweaking, settings aren't always easy to
discover, apps run in the background without any obvious indication, etc.

As for the battery, my Droid X2 drained it like crazy for the first day, but
as I used it it got better. I don't know why, but over time it got alot
better. I can now go a whole day, with some serious app usage, and still have
60% at the end of the night.

Even with its quirks I prefer Android to Apple. I am now able to plug my phone
into my Linux box and actually access the data on it! I am not forced to use
iTunes to download only 'blessed by Steve' apps, I can write code for it
without having to download a new 2G Xcode every 3 weeks.

Android is more free, and while it has some rough edges to it, I prefer the
freedom of Android to Apple's vision of a Utopian phone.

~~~
atourgates
I think you've hit the nail on the head.

For people like you, who want to be able to plug their phone into their Linux
box and access their data - Android in its current state is a fantastic
operating system.

For people like the author's mother (and my mother actually) who want their
phones to "just work", Android in its current state isn't living up to its
potential.

I have no doubt that if Apple allowed manufacturers and carriers to use
whatever hardware they wanted, and install whatever apps they want on the
iPhone, iOS would have exactly the same issues.

------
yalogin
Many people are saying its not Android but the carriers and manufacturers that
do not understand user experience. The average user simply does not care. To
her the biggest motivation to buy the phone is Android and it will receive the
majority of the blame whether its deserved or not. That's just the way it is.
Windows received a lot of flak because of dumb users which more or less it did
not yet recover from. So that's just how it is.

The Android brand is being diluted and sullied by experiences like this and
Apple is benefiting with its insistence on one model per device type. Google
needs to tackle this very soon. If they get a bad reputation the markets in
Asia will suffer. Android is expected to sell tons of phones in Asia and any
bad reputation couple with Apple's growing image as a high end phone will be
bad for Android.

~~~
antrix
Android is already selling tons of phones in Asia. HTC's rise as a top tier
manufacturer is on the back of Android sales in Asia. Another data point: the
Samsung Galaxy S2 has sold 5 million phones and it hasn't even been launched
in the US yet.

------
trotsky
Shouldn't this be "Why my Mom Bought a Samsung Charge from Verizon, Returned
It, and Got an Apple iPhone" ?

Kind of strikes me as similar to writing "Why I bought an American car, junked
it and bought a BMW M5" - the american car part isn't half as important as
which one specifically.

~~~
PatrickTulskie
The important thing here is that most of the Android ecosystem is like this.
When you buy an iPhone, you're getting exactly what you paid for. No two
Androids are sold the same though. Some have tons of crapware, some have an
interface you can't change, and for someone who isn't looking to customize the
crap out of their phone, hack it, uninstall things, none of that makes any
sense.

The Nexus S is a great phone because Google sold it and it didn't come loaded
with crap. Most of the other Android phones you buy from other carriers will
be as crap filled as their average feature phones.

So the article could have been called "Why my Mom Bought an Android and
Returned It." because the article is primarily about problems with the Android
ecosystem.

~~~
speckledjim
> because the article is primarily about problems with the Android ecosystem.

IN THE U.S.A.

If you want better cellphones with better carriers who don't do stupidly
intrusive things, move to Europe.

~~~
MartinCron
_If you want better cellphones with better carriers who don't do stupidly
intrusive things, move to Europe._

That's practical advice, but I still haven't unpacked after moving to Canada
to get affordable medical care.

~~~
speckledjim
It seems like Canada is half way along the awesome scale to Europe.

------
nextparadigms
Google needs to standardize the platform more, and get stricter with
manufacturers. It was good to be more open in the beginning to grow, but I
think they have enough growth right now, and getting stricter with their
quality requirements and maybe even with using stock Android (something I'd
actually like to happen) would benefit the whole ecosystem in the end, and
especially the customers.

Android should be more like Windows (not WP7 - that's _too_ strict), where
users still have a lot of choice, but it's standardized enough to work pretty
well across different hardware. The way I see it from most open to most
closed, it's something like this Linux > Android > Windows > WP7 > iOS.

I think Windows is a pretty good compromise for a multi-hardware OS, and it
has already proven it works the best in the market, granted it got a big boost
from IBM PC's early on with this standardization issue, while Android grew by
itself _because_ of the extra openness. But as I said, I think it's about time
to move to _more_ standardization now. I'm hoping they've been already working
on this issue for a while, and they will start implementing this with Android
4.0.

------
ZoFreX
Can we PLEASE stop repeating that "30-40%" return figure? Even the source
article says it only applies to SOME Android phones, which isn't really that
big of a surprise - some phones, like the Charge from the sounds of it, are
genuinely crap. No decent source is claiming that Android phones are being
returned en masse, however, in fact I have my own source on some information:
Phones 4 U (high street store in the UK) tell me that 40% of their monthly
contracts were for Galaxy S II's, and that the return rate on them was
"exceptionally low".

~~~
r00fus
The problem with this is that I can't honestly recommend my family members to
go get Android phones... they can't afford legit iphones (they're all on
family or prepaid) either.

I spent about 3-4 hours researching what Android phones were available to what
carriers, and gave up with all the potential research I still had left to do
on the dozen or so options.

The OHA (and ultimately Google) stand to blame here for not setting decent
quality standards and caring for the Android brand... a lot of ground could be
gained by having a meaningful certification process that takes into account
actual usability.

------
LeafStorm
Probably one of Android's biggest issues is the fact that the carriers keep
messing with the phone - slowing it down, installing crapware, making
unnecessary UI changes, etc. For example, any given Verizon Android phone has
a bunch of crap apps that I can't remove or move to the SD card despite the
fact that they are the primary reason that I am running out of space on the
flash memory. And they completely reskinned the Droid 2's UI, and it looks
_ugly_.

If the carriers would ship their phones with stock, performance-optimized
Android software, people wouldn't have so many complaints about Android. No
one buys "Visual Voice Mail" or "ThinkFree Office," and all it's doing is
ticking people off.

However, at this point I have given up on finding motivations for the actions
of Verizon and AT&T, and have concluded that they are just evil.

~~~
Symmetry
My take is that the carriers know that differentiation is crucial to keeping a
loyal customer base. And since they are having a hard time adding value,
they're trying to differentiate by removing value.

~~~
timclark
Carriers don't want to be a commodity, which in reality is what they are
becoming.

------
anigbrowl
So the problem here appears to be Verizon, not android. Also, the fact that
the writer bought the phone in a store without trying it out first.

I lost my Nexus one recently* and when I got around to replacing it my wife
also decided she wanted a smartphone instead of the Blackberry she had. So now
I had to look into family line sharing plans etc. and thought I'd better go to
the T-Mobile store, and that I might as well scope out the newer phones while
I was at it. So even though I'm tech savvy and know Android phones very well,
I spent a good 45 minutes asking questions and playing with the store models.
At the end of all that I decided to just get another Nexus One for myself and
the same model for Mrs Browl; 4g wasn't so important to me because I don't
watch videos or do big downloads on my phone, likewise I didn't need beefy CPU
because I don't want to play 3d games on such a tiny screen, and I decided to
stick with a naked Android phone because I didn't want all the vendor crud.
Also, you can get a Nexus One new in the box for $250 now and avoid a service
contract.

* Which is part of why I've been a bit unsocial of late IRL, btw - I owe lunch to a few people!

When I got the phones I upgraded both to the latest version of Android but
otherwise left my wife's phone unconfigured, and gave her only minimal 'tech
support' - I was curious to see how she'd choose to customize it, and also to
get a more objective look at how she'd react to Android and the Google
ecosystem (she didn't have a gmail account prior to this). While she had quite
different tastes from me in terms of how she organizes it and what sort of
apps she likes, she's been entirely comfortable with it.

Her main complaint is the rather mediocre selection of apps in the Android
marketplace (she likes apps more than I do); mine is the glitchiness in the
stock browser. On the upside, our total monthly bill for both phones is under
$100.

------
padrack
I heard from a few friends at google that there are pretty intense discussions
going on right now about what they can demand from their partners.

They had to bend over backwards for the carriers and manufacturers at first
because they were the new kid on a very crowded block. but now they are the
market leader and should use that leverage to demand a certain standard for
Android units.

~~~
cpeterso
> _now they are the market leader and should use that leverage to demand a
> certain standard for Android units._

But there is little preventing a manufacturer or carrier from using the open-
source (subset!) of Android to produce their own Android-compatible (but not
"Google Experience") phones. The manufacturers and carriers actually have an
incentive do so they can tout their "differentiated" phones.

~~~
cbs
>But there is little preventing a manufacturer or carrier from using the open-
source (subset!) of Android

Except the losses from maintaining the stack separate from google, and
potentially losing the google market might not be covered by the kickbacks for
shovelware. The real competition will be if amazon steps up to provide a
distro to phone manufactures.

------
bane
I've known a few people who moved from a BB to an Android, returned it, then
went with an iPhone.

While I love love love my Android phone, it's definitely a geek's phone that
offers a much more capable mobile platform, but at the tradeoff of more
exposed complexity. And most of the additional capability are things that most
people don't care about (yay! I can add more home screens, and I have a
tricorder app! and I've hacked my phone to run emacs!) vs. having access to
more and higher quality consumer oriented apps.

I know that the BB platform is also complex, but most people just use it as a
phone with a nice email client and one or two very basic (and very common)
apps -- like facebook. That's really all they want.

When they buy a phone and it's loaded with crap, and they don't know how to
get rid of it (or they can't for some idiotic reason that only the carrier
could ever explain), they get turned off. When they go to the Apple store they
can get a phone with just the main stuff they were looking for on the screen,
and it's relatively easy to get their facebook app or whatever and be done
with the entire experience.

~~~
hollerith
>While I love love love my Android phone, it's definitely a geek's phone

Some geeks, like the Linux-user who authored the following long personal
analysis, prefer iPhone to Android:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2811768> \-- "How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the iOS," discussed on HN 2 days ago.

ADDED. In other words, let us not fall into the trap of rationalizing
Android's lack of universal appeal by saying that the person who prefers
iPhone is not geeky enough to appreciate Android.

~~~
bane
I agree, but I _do_ find it interesting how well the iOS devices have caught
on with the geek/nerd crowd...people who are usually comfortable with having
to go to great lengths to get just that one extra bit out of their personal
technology.

Some of that is echoed in this thread
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2823502>

------
km3k
"does most of her emailing on an iPad"

If she already has an iPad, isn't an iPhone the obvious choice? I love my
Android phone, but if someone is already used to iOS and likes it, why not get
them an iPhone?

~~~
sethg
Just a couple of illustrative data points:

If you want a Verizon individual plan that’s compatible with an iPhone, you
will end up paying at least $70/month, plus taxes and what-not, and at least
$30 of that is for the data plan.

The cheapest MetroPCS plan is $40, including taxes and what-not, and includes
unlimited data (although MetroPCS doesn’t have 4G—you either put up with the
slowness of EDGE or you pay for a 4G phone—and there are a lot of gaps in
their coverage area).

So if you are satisfied by what a cheap plan offers you, it doesn’t make sense
to shell out a massive amount per month just for the sake of an iPhone.

------
buro9
I can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S2 also suffers from this.

Worse still, it's not just removing stock apps and loading Samsung ones,
they've gone and removed the stock Android keyboard too.

My girlfriend hates the Samsung keyboard, and the only other alternative on
the phone is Swype which she hates even more.

As a direct result of the keyboard not being the one she knew and loved her
use of the phone has plummeted.

She still uses the phone, but not for anything that involves touching the
keyboard. So SMS, email, web... all useless in her eyes. She uses maps still
to see where she is, and she reads Twitter (but will wait until she's home to
respond to things), but that's about it.

This current top of the range Android phone, with it's carrier dictated
keyboard, has made the smartphone a paperweight that she lugs around just in
case someone calls. She's even asked me if we can dig out the old Blackberry
gathering dust in the shed just so that she can be in touch with people again.

I searched the Marketplace, but the Android stock keyboard isn't on there. So
until I can afford a replacement for her, it looks like she'll just do all of
her communication when she gets home each evening.

The big problem: As much as I explain this is the fault of Samsung, she just
associates it to being an Android issue.

I'm just hoping it won't be too long before Cyanogen Mod is available for the
S2 so that I can fix it for her.

~~~
trezor
_searched the Marketplace, but the Android stock keyboard isn't on there._

It's called "Keyboard from Android 2.3" and it's being compiled and delivered
by someone else than Google. Works fine though and lets you download
dictionaries as you need them.

Here, have a market-link:
[https://market.android.com/details?id=com.moo.android.inputm...](https://market.android.com/details?id=com.moo.android.inputmethod.latin.free&feature=search_result&hl=en)

~~~
buro9
Fantastic, installed.

Had searched, but didn't know which one to trust.

------
sixtofour
Right from the beginning, it seems Verizon is the problem, not Android. They
went to the Verizon store. Then they went home with an unactivated phone, and
went through Verizon's crappy activation.

I bought my Epic (Sprint) at Radio Shack, and left the store with an activated
phone. I deleted the minimal crapware at home and have no complaints.

~~~
jimktrains2
I've never left a VZW store with an unactivated phone. Even with the android
devices, they set it up in the store (even if I mention that I can do it later
::shrug::).

I've only ever had to activate phones I've gotten in the mail.

------
snorkel
This is Verizon's longstanding tradition of crippling perfectly good devices
for the sake of restricting users to using VZW's media services. I had a
Verizon phone that was perfectly capable of Bluetooth and USB transfers which
Verizon's OS had deliberately disabled because heaven forbid someone may
transfer content to the phone that wasn't purchased from the Verizon
mothership.

It's plain to see what took so long for Verizon to carry iPhone was Apple
waited for Verizon to finally accept the condition that VZW can not bastardize
and cripple the OS. To bad Google didn't enforce the same policy.

~~~
stcredzero
_This is Verizon's longstanding tradition of crippling perfectly good devices
for the sake of restricting users to using VZW's media services._

Because, you know, if they force it on us long enough, we'll finally realize
it's good!

------
2muchcoffeeman
I always find the blame shifting in these sorts of threads interesting. My
only comment is, if the user thinks it is Androids fault, then it is Android
problem.

More interesting are some of the proposed solutions to tighten controls. So
basically you want to introduce enough restrictions such that there is a more
consistent UX across Android phones. Which is ... pretty much what Apple does
with the iPhone!

I think iOS consistency is directly related to Apples way of doing business.
If you want to improve Android and not end up like iOS, you may need a
different strategy.

------
alextp
It's really hard to understand all this crippling branding imposed by the
manufacturers and the carriers in Android phones. Do you really want people to
wince every time they see your brand?

~~~
tsotha
When you buy a PC it comes with all these crap "toolbars" and "dashboards" and
antivirus software installed because the manufacturer gets kickbacks from the
software vendors. I think the same is probably true for Android phones in the
US. I have an HTC Incredible (the first one), which is a great phone, but it
has a bunch of third party apps I can't remove.

------
ashconnor
Although Android wasn't to blame in this article, I have sold my HTC Android
to get an iPhone 4 as I was disappointed with the lack of international
support.

Android didn't support the Thai language I needed and had to be installed via
rooting and copying of font files. It also still doesn't have a native
keyboard for the language.

I however booted my iPhone 4 and hey presto perfect Thai fonts and a native
keyboard to boot.

Maybe it's not just Android because Thai fonts on Linux suck too.

------
revscat
It seems that Google's mistake has been in allowing the carriers too much
latitude in modifying an otherwise decent platform. The carriers have proven,
definitively, that they provide negative value for end-user experience and
overall device quality. If carrier interference isn't somehow controlled -- or
even limited -- then Android's reputation will be severely damaged.

~~~
dman
I think being pally with carriers is also whats gotten Android where it is.
Among other missteps that Nokia has done - alienating carriers with things
like Ovi is one of them - as a result Nokia phones are hard to find on most
networks and customers cant buy what is unavailable on carriers. Yes Apple is
the shining counter example but until the rest of the world figures out how to
negotiate without conceding anything things are as they are.

------
mdda
If his Mum had lusted after an iPhone, that's what they would have bought.

Instead, she lusted after an HTC Incredible, so they bought a Samsung
Charge...

In some ways, it was her son that distorted the picture, assuming that all
Android phones were equivalent. Without his conviction, his Mum would have
dragged him, and his Incredible into a store, and said "I want one like his".

------
axiomotion
She’s pretty tech savvy –uses Gmail, has a Tumblr, does most of her emailing
on an iPad

That is all it takes to be called tech savvy these days?

------
cft
This is exactly the experience I had. I bought G1 the day it was released,
then I bought Droid the day it was released. So yesterday I went to get Droid
3, and I did not buy it. Blur (Motorola's custom UI) makes the phone unusable.
I absolutely need a phone with physical keyboard for ssh, so I am stuck. The
bootloader is locked. I would actually PAY $50 extra to get a stock Android.
Perhaps this is a business model idea for Motorola- charge extra for pure
Android... I work for a company that has 10M+ users, and we have been making
decisions whether focus on iOS or on Andorid app. Until recently, the thinking
was that iOS will be reduced to 10% market share, much like Mac vs PC, so our
long term focus should be Android. But recently, with the proliferation of
custom bloatware on Android, and based on users' feedback, we are re-
evaluating.

------
pvarangot
I've had similar problems with my Android phone and LatAm carrier (Claro).

Claro has a deal with Yahoo, and they overwrote Browser's search provider
configuration, which is a file owned by root, so that when I choose Google the
search provider is really Yahoo. They also uninstall GTalk on all phones
(which can't be re-installed from the app store) and I had to rely on shady
links to .apks posted on forums to install it, and now don't have automatic
updates for it.

While I can't directly blame it on Android or Google, I beleive Google should
really be the one stepping into the mud and fighting my carrier in order to
solve this. As a customer my chances against Claro are almost nil.

------
ashishgandhi
"I’m a big Android fanboy and proud PC owner."

How are both related except being not-Apple? Almost as if you are supposed to
pick sides - one being Apple and the other not-Apple. Use what suits you.
Doesn't matter who makes it.

"... but I worry about the future."

The author's mom is much happier with an iPhone and the author suggests that
everything works. Also a friend is mentioned who uses a Nexus S which is "a
pleasure to use". Given how things are it's reasonable to say a stock Android
will always exists which Google launches with every new Android release. So
what's the worry about?

------
gommm
I just got a samsung Gio from China Telecom. The Android Market is not there,
instead there are three different lame market apps (estore, gomarket and
samsung apps), google integration doesn't work, google maps is not available
and it's really just a broken experience using this phone. I tried to install
android market manually, but there are a lot of dependencies missing...

Now to be fair, for chinese users, gomarket is probably better and most people
don't use google apps that much but it's really a pain...

------
blinkingled
I never got this ostensible iPhone good for Mom, Android bad thing. My Mom is
as technically ignorant as it can get. I gave her an Android phone connected
to her home WiFi and with little help she can lock/unlock, make and take
calls, see her GMail, visit any photo sharing links I send her etc. Similar
story with my friend's parents.

For crying out loud - it's the same simple concept and mostly the same amount
of complexity involved. Of course people have preferences - somebody's Mom
might perceive iPhone as simpler or better - but that's not a platform issue,
it's a preference issue.

Before this can be debated you have give a real thought to how people use
their phones - take use cases and compare them on both phones. Checking email
- on Android there were 3 different apps installed containing the name mail
for example and there was 1 on iPhone. Most newer phones and launchers will
allow you to hide apps you don't use - problem solved - one time thing. This
is just an example but I don't think anyone goes to this level before claiming
this is better or that - I don't think there is much difference now a days
given my experience.

Also from the article - "Want to activate your phone? Take the battery out,
write down a series of minuscule numbers" - Umm why? VZW will gladly activate
and setup your phone and so will BestBuy.

[Edit: Oh she already had iPad experience - no wonder then.]

------
teejaygreen
I recently got the Charge (from Amazon Wireless, saved a couple hundred
bucks), and I've had none of the problems listed in this article. This is my
first Android phone, I came from an iPhone, and I've found the experience to
be very pleasant so far. Perhaps I just "don't know better", but I'm still
happy.

It sounds like this guy's experience was "This phone is different than my
phone, and I can't do things the way I was expecting to. It sucks." It's like
someone sitting at a computer running a different OS then they use, and saying
"this sucks, I can't figure out where X is. In my OS X is right here, but it's
not right here now. This OS is crap". It's also like someone switching from
Office 2003 to Office 2007 and hating it because the menus are different.

Also, I feel like everyone overreacts to the installed apps you "can't" get
rid of, and not just on this phone, but any phone including the iPhone (I'm
looking at you Stocks app). I don't like or use them either, but it's not like
they're getting the way, preventing you from doing anything, or taking up any
noticeable amount of the phone's resources. For me, it's more frustrating to
not have the option of removing them, then actually having them on my phone.

------
Kylekramer
Hazards of being open to manufacturers. It is a clear trade off, one we seen
before with Windows. OEMs and carriers love this access, but more often than
not they just fuck a good phone up. Of course, there are clear benefits, such
as the ability to sell a phone for $150 outright with $35 a month unlimited
data plans. It is a compromise, just like the iPhone model has compromise. It
just happens the iPhone's compromises work better for those who have tons of
attention to detail and a few extra dollars to burn. But at the end of the
day, the Windows model works, even if it is at the expense of some frustrated
customers and the scorn of the power users. Most users won't care, smart users
will either avoid Android or go for an Android without such BS, and the world
will still turn.

Reminds me of a movie quote:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/quotes?qt0294371>

------
stretchwithme
I was torn between Android and the iPhone for a while. But fear of experiences
just like the one described eventually led to pick the one I knew would work.
I picked the one where the single responsible is the best in the world at
sanding off all the rough edges of the user experience.

Past experience with Apple Care and with other devices having multiple
responsible parties made it easy. When many are responsible, none are
ultimately responsible. Except you, of course.

Apple goes out of its way to do everything for you that has a learning curve
and where there's no point in you learning it. It just makes more sense to
write a piece of software that performs a complex task well than to expect
millions to struggle with it.

Yes, I know Android is infinitely flexible. But on a mission critical device
like my phone, I don't want to have to infinitely flex.

------
Tichy
TL;DR: not Android is the problem, but the vendor crapware. As a rule, always
only buy Nexus phones.

------
darklajid
I upgraded my Android phone (from HTC Hero to LG Optimus 2x / P990) very
recently and I still cannot stop smiling when I pull it out. It's amazing. It
is the first upgrade that actually feels like a leap forward. The Hero was
okay, but this thing is stunning.

But - I did a lot of research before, compared reviews, checked prices and
even made sure that this phone is supported by 3rd party ROMs. Obviously I'm a
niche kind of power user - I got the phone and installed CM in the first hour
of usage and tried a couple of different ROMs since then (now running MIUI).

Apart from the battery life (which, tbh, is really crap. Depending on usage
and what kind of crazy stuff I'm running atm I get between 10 and 30 hours) I
have zero complains. Best thing ever.

------
dusklight
Title is extremely misleading. Should be "Verizon Android Phone" instead of
just Android.

------
jsz0
It's frustrating how little progress has been made. In a lot of ways I feel
like the problems are getting worse not better. For the average person who has
very low expectations and a high tolerance for pain it may not be a big issue
but it really gets on my nerves to keep hitting the same issues over and over
again every single day. I would be happier using stock Android but the process
of rooting my phone is about 25 steps and requires downgrading to an old
version of Android to root the device before installing a new ROM. (even
though Motorola supposedly decided to unlock their boot loaders I haven't seen
any change yet)

------
roadnottaken
_"Why not certify and approve a few of the best components and then place some
sort of “premium Android experience” certification label on phones that pass
tests and use components approved by Google?"_

This is a great idea.

------
drdaeman
If one's nitpicky enough — there are _no_ smartphones that work _right_ — not
a single one.

The only thing that varies (mostly between users, less frequently between
devices) is what's considered "good enough".

------
jarin
My mom did the exact same thing. She wanted to finally get her first
smartphone, so she went to Best Buy to upgrade from her crappy flip phone to
an iPhone 4, but the sales rep insisted that Android was "way better".

She knows how to use a computer, but she isn't the most tech-savvy person
around. She was calling me constantly trying to figure out how to use her
Android phone. I finally said she should probably switch to an iPhone instead,
and a day after she did she was playing Angry Birds and sending me MMS picture
messages, all without any help at all.

------
mtogo
_I’m sorry what? To make the phone work right I have to possibly void the
warranty or brick the phone and load a customized operating system?_

To be fair, that's pretty much what you need to do with an iPhone, too.

~~~
glassx
That's not true at all, or not anymore after iOS 4, at least. (to be fair,
lots of Androids don't need rooting at all, too)

In fact, it's quite the opposite of what rooting is intended to do _in the
context of this article_ , which is putting the phone in a pure, clean state.

------
chulipuli
As the owner of a Motorola Charm, I can relate to the lady.

The Moto Charm sucks. It is full of bugs.

I'm not a Motorola hater, as I've had a couple in the past (including the old
v555, which lasted for a couple of years).

------
S_A_P
The onus here is on Google. They are going to have to more rigorously enforce
their platform or it will become useless. Say what you want about iOS, but I
know exactly what to expect when I use or develop for it. That makes my life
much easier. Android in its best case can be fantastic, but the problem is
that there are many cases that are far from best case. I am hesitant to
develop for Android due to this.

------
hammock
This is an open/closed debate, nothing more. The OP likes closed systems. "I’d
love to see Google somehow mandate the stock Android experience on all
phones." He is afraid to customized his stuff and just wants it to work out of
the box. Well, that's what Apple is. Go do that. Android is a different model
entirely, for a different segment of consumers than yourself.

------
keithpeter
As we are talking about portable miniature computers with phone capabilities,
does anyone know an Android/Win7 phone that can do this kind of stuff...

[http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/04/how-one-radio-
reporter...](http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/04/how-one-radio-reporter-
ditched-his-equipment-for-an-iphone-4094.html)

I'd need audio in and decent non-destructive editing

------
machrider
This has turned out exactly like the Windows PC situation, it seems. Computer
comes loaded with so much crap it's almost unusable, and you have to have a
tech-savvy friend spend a day cleaning it up (or doing a clean reinstall) to
make it usable. I wonder if Google will do more than Microsoft has done to try
to retain control of the end user experience.

------
chadillac
new Android devices should come with MIUI Rom right out of the box. ;)

~~~
darklajid
As far as I know those guys are in the process of releasing a phone of their
own right now. It should be 'ready' in the beginning of August?

They start selling it in China but seem to be open to the idea of worldwide
shipment..

------
kitsune_
The HTC Desire was the best phone I've ever bought. Especially coming from an
iPhone 3G, which was very buggy and slow.

------
haydenevans
This is why I will never buy an Android device. Device manufactures have
ruined the platform.

------
smackfu
Everything has negatives.

Android: might have to deal with crapware. Apple: oh, you can't do that on an
iPhone.

------
hippich
This is verizon problem, not android. Buy smartphone from retailers who is not
affiliated with any cell provider (i.e. without all this junk apps and
customized UI), buy SIM card from cell provider, plug it in and use. This is
how it works in Europe.

------
fidrelity
I understand that the author is pissed because of the bad UX. But all he
claims is a branding issue or a manufacturers fail.

Still it's Googles job to set boundaries to not let them do what they want.

In my opinion this is just one of many imprecised android reviews.

------
bobwebb
I guess this illustrates one of the downsides of Google Android being free
software: when just about any manufacturer can create a sub-standard phone
that runs the operating system, it can really damage the brand as a whole.

What a shame.

------
shalinmangar
I've used at least three Android devices now and I always recommend people to
buy only the flagship device of a manufacturer. They usually get
upgrades...eventually (hello Samsung?) and the experience is usually better.

------
retube
A fairly similar experience to buying a laptop with Windows pre-installed.
Tons of junk and third-party bullshit. Multiple anti-virus bollox, browser
toolbars etc. Took me an hour to clean up.

------
pen25
the user has an ipad. is used to an ipad.of course she isnt going to like
android. of those smartphone users who started out with wm or palm who has
went on most have went to android not iphone cause of its flexablity and IMHO
look and feel. some has went the iphone route and love it. me i cant stand it.
its just a feature phone to me. many android users wont buy an ipad they will
buy an android tablet. reason being is the continuity. LOL

------
jvc26
What the author actually meant to title the post was, 'why my Mom bought a
phone which was ruined by Verizon and returned it for a handset they couldn't
pollute'.

------
linuxhansl
Can we stop blaming Android for what the carries do with their phones?
Please?!

I have a Nexus S. I switched it on and it just worked.

In fact about 5 minutes after I switched it on, it informed me that there was
an upgrade to Android available. "Do you want to upgrade?" Sure. Just like
that, over the air.

Do that with an iPhone, you need iTunes installed (i.e. you need a computer
somewhere).

There's no crappy software on it either.

~~~
jsz0
Not anymore. iOS5 has OTA updates. (the last beta update was pushed OTA)

------
drivebyacct2
I wrote this up yesterday and didn't publish it because my Facebook friends
couldn't care less.

CyanogenMod releases faster, has more stable [stable] releases, uses better,
more mature, widely embraced software (mtd over bml, ext4, etc), has more (and
more consistent) features. Carriers are asking the manufacturers to lock the
bootloaders to keep you from flashing CyanogenMod on it and your mom having a
stable phone that receives fast updates.

They prefer methods of control that cause users to want to upgrade because
half their phone capacity is already being spent running Blur, Sense or some
daemons that have running to support their proprietary front ends. And none of
it, of course, is truly necessary. Extremely complex theming options are
available, again via an open source feature developed by T-Mobile and shared
with the OSS community.

And before anyone says it, my mother hated her Droid in it's later Froyo days.
It was faster and better battery than Eclair but was also more prone to
freezing and being low on memory. I installed CM7 stable, she gets push
updates that are seamlessly handled via Rom Manager. The only thing I had to
tell her was to make sure the "Backup checkbox is filled in". If need be,
restoration instructions are very simple for me to give over the phone, but in
ALL my days of flashing nightlies on several (of my) phones, I've never had
to.

Same story with the brother's Droid Incredible with the horrendous and
offensive previous versions of Sense. The sad thing is, Verizon killed the
Gingerbread update. It was leaked and largely fully functional, but no phone
will ever see it.

Not all Androids are created equally. [Just to be on the same page, I'm not
using this as an excuse. It's a huge perception problem. End users don't know
that the Thunderbolt, Nexus S, and Droid X all have different interfaces and
complexities going on in the background.] I'm also not sure if I "want" Google
to do anything about it, besides be more emphatic that the "Google" branding
on the phone makes it better. (That branding is reserved for the clean, near-
AOSP roms)]

~~~
sambeau
_"Not all Androids are created equally."_

That, in many ways, is the nub of the problem.

~~~
starwed
It is only really a problem if you somehow want android to 'beat' iOS.

If as a consumer, I'm able to buy an Android phone that makes me happy, I
think the situation is doing OK.

------
gcb
i will say that on every android article.

Android will only be relevant when we start to treat phones as PCs.

the mobile operators of today are the IBM of yesterday that rented mainframes
time.

the unlocked mobile phones of today are the PCs of yesterday that you could
install any OS you pleased. ...even that at the time you only had a bunch of
DOS and BASIC shells, now you only have a couple android distros.

dumping your $600 on an iphone is like still be paying for a mainframe to use
a slow clipper app over a slow terminal that could run 10x faster on a local
PC.

give that up and buy an unlocked android phone, root it in 2 steps (all you
need if it's unlocked), give everyone your SIP phone number (or gvoice if
you're lazy like me) and keep changing operators every year to the cheaper
promotions.

------
barista
She should have tried Windows Phone. Same benefits of iPhone with choice of
hardware

------
gcb
or, Why i got a non-subsided android phone and kept it.

yeah, it's bad to have some of my options crippled by bloatware. but i can
still choose to avoid those. and still plenty of choices, with different
screen sizes, batteries, prices, keyboards or not, etc.

iphone has lessbloatware, but no choices.

------
gcb
where are the wireles data provider start ups?

------
scriptproof
I guess the article was written by Steve Jobs.

------
juliano_q
So you made a poor choice of device for your mom and you are blaming Android?
If you know that the Nexus S is a pleasure to use, why would you buy a phone
full of crapware? Why didnt you bought the Nexus S?

I like Android, but I always make a careful research before buy one or
recommend one. I use a Nexus S and it is amazing. I will change it only for
the next Nexus.

------
davidedicillo
To all those people saying that it isn't Android fault but the carrier's: it
is Android fault.

Android wants to be open, and with openness comes crapware, just like your
gigabytes of crapware installed on your "some-how-open" Windows machine. The
solution? Make sure that carriers won't install crapware anymore, but then how
would that be open anymore?

