If we don't yet have a true iPhone Killer, at least we have a serious iPhone competitor in the new Motorola Droid. NYT's David Pogue gushes:
Its Verizon service delivers better cell signal. It offers both glass-typing and keyboard typing. The software is free and customizable. And there's this:
the Droid's multitasking pays off in two situations: when you want to listen to Internet radio while you work in other apps, and when you're switching between programs a lot. Since they're already open, you don't have to wait for them to start up again with each switch.That sounds pretty computer-ish for a phone. This is where the Droid -- and other "app phones," to borrow Pogue's term for super-smart phones -- moves beyond the phone-o-sphere into territory normally reserved for netbooks. The ability to work on simultaneous programs is a key step toward phones functioning as small computers, as opposed to smart phones dabbling in computer functions.
In his final tally of the Droid-iPhone showdown, Pogue reports:
the Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store). The iPhone wins on simplicity, refinement, thinness, design, Web browsing, music/video synching with your computer, accessory ecosystem and quality/quantity of the app store.Look at Droid's wins: GPS. Speaker. Keyboard. Look at the iPhone wins. Simplicity. Refinement. Design. Apple's wins aren't really features. They're more like feelings. Maybe Pogue's just expressing a latent bias. Or maybe Apple's advantage in the smart phone race really is somewhat ineffable.
Interesting that someone who's often a Mac fanboy (look at all his Mac titles at O'Reilly) likes the Droid so much.
So basically Droid wins in all the hardware components of your review and loses in the fields that google/verizon can fix in the future with software updates. My money is going towards the Droid.
But it's unlikely that Google/Verizon will 'fix' these issues. Primarily because they won't see them as anything requiring fixing. It comes down to user experience design. Apple is currently better at it than anyone else, not only with the iPhone but in the computer market too.
Microsoft is proud of Windows 7, and rightly so, but it's still not nearly as nice as the last few revisions of OS X. It's easy to criticize Apple for their pricing, pretentiousness, and lack of openness. It's a lot harder to deliver a product that is more enjoyable to use. That said, it sounds like the gap between the Droid and iPhone is probably narrower than the one between Windows and OS X.
If Apple is so great att what you call the user experience design...what happened to the iPod shuffle design...what a joke.
They were simply cashing in on consumers looking for an Apple product at a low price point. There's no doubt that many of their products have serious flaws. Don't mistake me for an Apple fanboy.
iPhone wins on simplicity? Unfortunately, consumers are now bored with the same old simple functions of the iPhone. Today, consumers WANT True Multitasking operating systems offered by the Palm Pre and Droid..this may sound complex to newbies but is a wonderful feature for many and an easy concept to overcome just many of us no longer have second thoughts about the multitasking features on our desktop/laptop machines.
iPhone's refinement? Don't think so. It took iPhone 2 years before they could finally refine the iPhone OS to include MMS and paste/copy feature? That's really disapointing.
iPhone's design? No longer impressive. Consumers want what the Droid and Palm Pre already have. An optional real keyboard, interchangeable batteries, microSD expanded memory slot, etc. iPhone's design is getting old and out of style - the Palm Pre today wins in the best design.
I agree that iPhone still has a few shortcomings, but let's be a little more realistic.
Multitasking - Many people have no interest in this. It may have a few perks, but we do not feel like we are missing anything. The point was simplicity and multitasking (in many cases) is the opposite. It clutters things up.
Refinement - the iPhone is very refined. Keep in mind that the MMS issue was not a fault of the phone or software, but a limitation enforced by the carrier. I will give you copy/paste though. I think Apple simply underestimated the demand for this feature. It is corrected now though. Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't we be focusing on the current iterations of these phones and not going back into the archives?
Design - if the design of the Pre and Droid are so much better, why is the Pre continually loosing ground to the iPhone in sales? The Droid may or may not actually compete. Time will tell. It has some nice features and may grab a slightly better market share. We will see. The real keyboard is a very personal choice. I have used Blackberries, Treos and various texting/slider phones. I would hands down choose the virtual keyboard of the iPhone again and again. It did take me a week or so to get used to, but now it is so much nicer than those (usually) tiny little buttons that tend to suffer from mechanical breakdowns. Even my Blackberry-addicted daughter has decided that she wants to switch to the iPhone. She started using her iPod Touch to send emails while on WiFi and quickly grew to prefer that interface. Again, that is a very personal preference based on experiences with each. But, as evidenced by the staggering iPhone sales, it appears that it is a non issue for a large majority.
I guess I am what they have labeled an "Apple Fanboy". If that is what you call someone that has extensive experience in many platforms and has chosen the one that brings the most enjoyment, fire away with the labeling. But as soon as someone steps and and makes a better product with a better ownership experience I will give it a fair shake and switch if it is truly an improvement. Until then, Apple is my preference.
Why are Apple's actions seen as so incomprehensible? They had a good business plan:
--Release unfinished, buggy phone at high price point, so only gadget hounds with higher tolerance would buy them.
--Work out kinks, then drop price for the masses, at same time as super-easy-to-use App Store opens, leaving further development of phones abilities to 3rd party companies, with a strong profit motive.
--Deliberately set limits on what 3rd party apps can do, and allow only 1 to run at a time, so you can be sure that average user will always have a trouble-free (within reason) smooth experience, w/o the chance that some 3rd party app running in background is making things unstable or using too many resources on small cellphone processor.
--Once other companies try to catch up, they are not only catching up to Apple on a hardware level (not too hard to do), but with the combined efforts of a massive community of innovators with a strong profit motive. Good luck.
Apple does not have a patent on innovation or making the best hardware, they just have a smart business plan for creating solid, smooth-running products. It really boggles my mind how something like last year's Storm or other similar products are even released, with their vague promises of "working better real soon"...
Now, as for the initial lack of cut & paste....don't know what was happening with that.
The Iphone is old news maybe like yourself too. People want new and better products. Yes the Iphone had is time and it is a good product, But not everybody want to keep their old "Dodge" for ever.
http://gizmodo.com/5397528/why-you-should-think-twice-before-dating-an-iphone-user
"Maybe Pogue's just expressing a latent bias. Or maybe Apple's advantage in the smart phone race really is somewhat ineffable."
pogue doesn't have to be *biased* to say those things about the iphone
i am NOT an iphone lover and i agree w/ pogue completely - the iphone is *beautiful* - its simple - its smooth ---- and its got some achilles heels
and that's why i don't love it - i can't get past jobs' iron-fisted control-freak grip he's got on the app store (and the devs that have to bow and scrape to him for entrance into his palace) - nor do i like single-tasking - and i feel its optimized for "play" and entertainment, not *work*
but.. i think pogue was right
and, i don't think he has an inherent apple bias
You hit the nail on the head.
You state that the iPhone is "optimized for "play" and entertainment, not *work*". Absolutely! The iPhone was not conceived to be a business platform. It was designed to enhance your "digital lifestyle". More people in a day play games, music or videos on a mobile phone than review business plans or spreadsheets. The numbers are on the casual user side here. The iPhone is not the best option for the corporate world. It has made a few strides, but that is not its niche. This is not a new concept from the Apple camp. Their computer lineup is obviously geared that way as well (again with recent strides toward a business application).
Steve Jobs' "iron-fisted control-freak grip" is a huge part of what makes Apple work. By controlling the entire user experience, they can virtually eliminate the pitfalls of the competition. System crashes that occur because certain components don't play well with various programs...not likely on Apple. I for one am perfectly happy with how Jobs/Apple use that choke hold. It isn't stopping me from doing what I want or need to do on their products. At most I simply have to spend a few extra minutes in selecting from the available/approved products. That is much better than spending hours dealing with tech support for three different companies because no one will admit that it is THEIR product causing the issues. It isn't the scanner, it is the OS... It isn't the OS, it is the scanning software... It isn't the software, it is the hardware... BLAH BLAH BLAH! I haven't had to do this with one Apple product since I switched in 2002.
TMHALE, Have you spent much time checking out the Droid? I know what you're referring to and it just isn't this way at all. Not to say there will never be a system-related challenge, but there are issues with the iPhone too.
When a person settles with Apple's level of control exercised on the iPhone platform, to me it's reminiscent of the way prisoners become institutionalized and are uncomfortable outside that environment.
ps... your guys' website is sloooooooooooooooow
put your IT guys on it
Driod will be strong competitor to the iPhone. The handset technolgoy is good. It has Google's support, 2 free killer apps Google Voice and Google Navigation. It is even rumored that the popular app NeuroMobile will be on the Droid soon. I'm not ready to switch yet but it will help keep Apple sharp.
Droid hits the mark and here's why. It makes up for the iPhone's shortfalls, which are: locked down device with tightly controlled app choices, single-tasking, second rate coverage and expensive monthly fees on ATT.
With a corp/gov discount on Verizon and family plan with 4 or 5 people, the Droid is $48-$53 per month for essentially unlimited minutes and sms. 1400 min Basic family plan and $29 Data Plan for each droid, that's it. With Google Voice, SMS (text messaging) is done without purchasing it through the carrier. Then there's the unparalleled free navigation!
I appreciate the simplicity of iPhone OS using my iPod Touch for alarm clock, email, RSS, twitter, facebook, games, etc. around the house. It is definitely refined. Now that I have the Droid though, the Touch is just an alarm clock. I think of Android OS as being very much like the iPhone OS with more versatility and customization. It's far from being complex. In fact, my Mom whose is 66 has a Droid and loves it. My 7 year old daughter, who is used to playing with the Touch, picked up my Droid, found games to play and never thought twice.