back to article Victory on mobile belongs to Google in 2013

It's clear. The way to win in mobile is to solve an exceptionally difficult problem. Apple first did it by streamlining the mobile experience through an integrated OS and app-discovery and installation experience. Google then went a step further and crunched mountains of data to make mobile services breathtakingly powerful. The …

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  1. LarsG
    Meh

    An article by an Arsenal fan should be taken with a pinch do salt.

    1. Chris 3

      Indeed

      Perhaps they should add. It to the ever-lengthening biography at the end.

      1. Darryl
        Coat

        Re: Indeed

        Especially an Arsenal fan who thinks that iOS is more polished than Android

        1. Martin
          Thumb Up

          Re: Indeed

          Agreed.

          Arsenal fans, like iPhone users, still believe that they have the slickest and most polished product available, despite the clear evidence to the contrary.

          (And I'm an Arsenal fan. Sigh. Though I'm NOT an iPhone user.)

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            @ Martin

            Don't know whether to down vote you for being an Arsenal Fan or up vote you for your choice of phone?

          2. Mark .

            Re: Indeed

            slick: Superficially attractive or plausible but lacking depth or soundness

            Actually, I'd happily describe iphones and so on as "slick". But unfortunately the people who describe it this way don't seem to be using it as a criticism... (Well, I guess it's standard Apple fan logic - even a negative point is actually a positive point.)

        2. phr0g
          Coat

          Re: Indeed

          But while they say "You can't polish a turd", Apple seem to do just that a couple of times a year...

          1. NBCanuck
            Headmaster

            Re: Indeed

            "But while they say "You can't polish a turd" "

            ...actually...there is a show called Mythbusters, and they have proven that you CAN polish a turd. Just saying.

        3. Narg

          Re: Indeed

          iOS is more polished than Android. You'd have to use both to know, and most folks don't.

          1. stephajn

            Re: Indeed

            Actually I have used both. and yeah, I would say Android is more poolished. Just the very idea that it allows me to use my phone the way I want to and not having to go back to the home screen just to switch tasks that I have actively on the go is great. The fact that my data is open for many applications to share on my device means a lot to me. I love that I can choose to have multiple readers for one file type on my phone or tablet and all of them have the same access to everything rather than each application having its own silo of data.

            True, some would say, "Ah...but what about malware on Android?" Well, I grant you this, it may get malware, but at least I can use it MY way and not how Apple thinks or forces me to use it.And when I compare my Jelly Bean based Nexus with my friend's phone who is running iOS 6, it just feels like iOS is starting to really show its age and lacklustre features to me as a user. It feels like I am putting Windows 2000 and Windows 7 next to each other. Battleship Grey vs Aero polish.....I would never choose the former.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Indeed

              So, double tapping the home button and being able to switch app whilst stuff runs in the background isn't quick enough for you? i manage this daily.

              hmmm how about those PDF's and ZIP file's i can choose to open in either WinZIP, Preview, Adobe PDF or those XLSX i can CHOOSE to open in Numbers or the default Preview app??? seems like there is choice.

              You must be really sad to get 'bored' of a Mobile Phone OS... seriously who ever needs that flexibility on a iPhone can jailbreak which is akin to rom-ing or root-ing your Android which most 'power users' have to do to tweak anyway.

              Please.... try actually being PRODUCTIVE on either platform before spreading fud..... the register is full of fandroids who just think it's cool that google have ALL their data and no privacy :)

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Indeed

                "the register is full of fandroids who just think it's cool that google have ALL their data and no privacy :)"

                Far more aware of privacy issues than the standard iPhone user in their walled garden, keeping them safe from the baddies!

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Indeed

            "iOS is more polished than Android. You'd have to use both to know, and most folks don't."

            ....and then you wake up!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Indeed

        @Chris 3

        'Perhaps they should add. It to the ever-lengthening biography at the end'

        just like 'Astronaut' Howard Wolowitz .......

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I don't know or care how Google does it.

    Yes, perhaps best not to think about it; because, if you actually consider it for any length of time, you might find yourself feeling a significant degree of concern about handing over so many intimate details of your life to a gigantic faceless entity.

    1. frank ly

      It's ok .....

      ... his Google account isn't under his real name. :)

      1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

        Re: It's ok .....

        Sadly, even if he does, they have his approximate and / or work address if he has ever used Wifi at home or work,along with various other details, including, possibly any people he has called.

        1. BigG
          Meh

          Re: It's ok .....

          Thankfully, his tinfoil hat will save him from the worst.

    2. Guillermo Lo Coco
      Unhappy

      I hate people with face, and still cant do anything.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Up

        Meme of the Month

        " I hate people with face, and still cant do anything. "

        I don't know what you meant to say, but this is brilliant. Upvoted for creating what deserves to become El Reg's version of "All your base are belong to us"

  3. Sander van der Wal
    Facepalm

    Doesn't the winner in business makes the most money?

    Apple's profit is bigger than Googles revenue stream last quarter: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-profit-was-higher-than-googles-revenue-last-quarter-2012-1.

    1. Khaptain Silver badge

      Re: Doesn't the winner in business makes the most money?

      That all depends on the duration. Lots of money one week, nothing the next, does not a winner make.

      1. Son of Steve

        Re: Doesn't the winner in business makes the most money?

        @Khaptain Why not use Google then to look up relative profitability let's say since Google's IPO. Or cash. Or revenues. Or gross margins. Or indicated satisfactions and replacement rates. Will that always be the case? Obviously not. But I'm not too worried about a company with $121Bn in the bank (as at 3/12/12).

    2. Mark .

      Re: Doesn't the winner in business makes the most money?

      Only if you're a shareholder. This isn't some competition. The argument that most people are interested in having, if at all, is which is best (which, in some cases, could be argued based on which is most popular). For some reason Apple fans[*] have become expert at deflecting the argument into "Which company makes most money", even though that's not an argument anyone else is interesting in having.

      Never in the most heated Windows vs whatever debate did someone go, "But look how much money Bill Gates has".

      [*] Which sadly includes much of the media - you'll never see a pointless comparison article like that for any other two companies; only when the "winner" is Apple. If a company is making less profit, who cares - that tells me they're doing more to pass savings onto the customer. A company with higher profit _by definition_ has more overpriced products. And Google are a special case their products are given away, so their revenue is going to be lower too. For us, that's good.

      Is Linux crap, because the revenue (let alone profit) that the Linux developers make is zero? You'd argue that Windows is better, because it's more expensive and makes MS more money? That's a ludicrous argument.

      1. ptmmac

        but where does the money come from?

        My biggest problem with Google is that it doesn't charge anything upfront. It just takes your data and says oh that will do. If Google and Apple were people who would you trust? The one who told you where they are making their money and charged fully for what they sell or the one who says "Just take it for free, you can pay me back later with a favor...".

        So no the question of who has the most income is not irrelevant. Will Linux be there when you need them? Maybe you feel that it is worth it to use Linux, and I would agree with you if it were a simple product and I really had someone who was responsible for what I was buying. If there is a professional vendor then I prefer to get what I pay for, not trust some one that "free" actually is free and not expensive later.

        1. Richard 12 Silver badge

          Except that Apple are doing the same thing.

          As are Microsoft and RIM on their respective platforms.

          So is it better to pay up front and hand over your data anyway, or get it for the price if handing over your data?

          Perhaps it's better to consider the merits of the actual product - in my opinion iOS6 is the runaway not-winner as it has very little functionality compared to the others - heck, there isn't even a way to see the complete current date ("Sat 5" is not a date!) on the home screen, let alone time in other time zones.

          Yet that's trivial on phones that support widgets, like Android.

  4. Mike Bell

    Is the Google Now Teletubbies music optional?

    Not sure I could live my life thinking that I'm living in Teletubby Land.

  5. handle

    Much more interesting...

    ...are the Google vs Siri video links which appear at the end.

  6. A n o n y m o u s

    I have concerns about using any company that makes money by effectively mining my data to sell ads and if I were a GOOG investor I would be concerned that about 99% of their revenue comes from search.

    Do people ever stop to consider how easy it would be to switch to an alternative if it were as good / better / you got too concerned about Google's privacy? 10 seconds.

    Maybe Apple should buy Google?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      that's the point.

      What are the chances that anyone can develop a search engine (with backing data, of which they have decades) that will compete with Google?

      1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

        Re: that's the point.

        "What are the chances that anyone can develop a search engine (with backing data, of which they have decades) that will compete with Google?"

        You do realise that people said pretty much the same about Lycos, Excite, Yahoo and Altavista? All of whome have been beaten by Google.

        Remember, all it would need is for someone to build a better search engine and Google lose the basis for their business.

        1. Richard 81

          Re: that's the point.

          Build a better mousetrap...

    2. DaLo
      Black Helicopters

      Isn't that a great thing about Google?

      Anybody can make a search, lots of people already have. Anybody can switch search with absolutely no hardship or outlay or even need to transfer any legacy data.

      I could switch search from Bing to Yahoo, to Ask, to Google, to etc for every other search in a day with no impact whatsoever (assuming all the searches provided the results I need)

      However Google has remained dominant in search for so many years. As an investor that would be a big positive.

      As for mining your data to sell ads - every company 'mines' your data to sell you anything. Any company with something to sell and has a significant marketing budget tries to get as much information about their customers as possible to sell them something. You can bet your socks that Apple and Microsoft are taking as much of your data as possible to do the same thing.

  7. Tom 38

    Google Now

    Is there an easy way to sign up for this magical service that allows a computer to predict everything that you interested in and sell that information to anyone interested keep you fully informed about the world.

    1. Andrew Jones 2

      Re: Google Now

      Yes, work has started on bringing Google Now to Chrome.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hmmph

    How about solving the difficult problem of making a phone that works well as a phone?

    1. Andrew Jones 2

      Re: hmmph

      My Nexus 4 does a wonderful job of working as a phone. I still prefer voice calls to text messages - mostly because there is still no guarantee that a text message will reach it's intended destination - a problem that even these days still afflicts email too.

    2. csumpi
      Go

      Re: hmmph

      "How about solving the difficult problem of making a phone that works well as a phone?"

      Yeah, I know what you mean. I know exactly when the person on the other end has an iPhone, because I can't hear anything they say. Then they have to call back every 10 minutes because their iPhone dropped the call. It's pretty pathetic. My first cell phone (some Ericson model from mid 90s) had better call quality.

      Maybe it's some conspiracy with the providers to push up minute usage. Like:

      "Garble garble ten garble."

      "What was that?"

      "I'll be garble garble garble."

      "Come again?"

      "Garble there garble garble minutes"

      "Oh, you'll be here in 10 minutes?"

      -- call dropped --

      -- ring ring --

      "Garble garble dropped."

      "Oh that's ok. So you'll be here in 10?"

      "Yeah."

      "Ok see you then."

      "Garble."

      -- hang up phone, and smirk about polish --

      But hey, they can play Angry Birds, so what do they care.

    3. why-can-i-not-just-use-my-real-name
      Thumb Up

      Re: hmmph

      Yep, and not just call quality but usability too. Like, on a blackberry or an older nokia you can redial the last number in two clicks - green and green again - without looking. I do this a dozen times a day, and often need it in a hurry. On an iphone or nearly any kind of android, even those with a keyboard, it is not only loads more clicks but you have to look to see what you are doing. A crazy step back IMHO.

      Quite happy to have my phone do smart things as well but first things first - doing the things I do most often with it reliably and easily.

      So either a) most people with an android, iphone etc hardly use their phones as phones or b) they put up with constant inconveniences in their most frequent interactions with it, for the sake of shiny apps, or c) they actually spend more time using their phone for smart apps than for phoning, texting, mailing. In which case they need to get out and get lives.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple polish.? Google already have that...

    Keep up....

    http://gizmodo.com/5973073/an-iphone-lovers-confession-i-switched-to-the-nexus-4-completely

    Apple have absolutely nothing left against a handset like the Nexus4. Not only is the hardware and OS better, smoother, more flexible, the maps are better. Chrome is better, the cloud sync is better.

    I can't think of a single area where the iPhone5 is better (I don't live in a LTE area).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple polish.? Google already have that...

      iOS, security and all my iTunes media for a start - those are big issues.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        Re: Apple polish.? Google already have that...

        Well security on Android is just fine (unless you are a pirate and untick the option that prevents you from downloading dodgy apps from random websites). Shopping on the Google Play store is as safe as iOS. Of course AntiVirus sellers won't tell you this, so you have to suffer endless half-truths about Android Malware...

        iTunes. Don't make me laugh. It's pretty clear you haven't tried Google Music.... free storage of 20,000 of your own songs, free scan and match and available to pretty much any device on the planet that has a browser. The Android Google Music app is superb. You have everything in the cloud, and pin the stuff you want to download locally to your phone, I have a "everything rated" playlist with 1000 or so tracks, pin that along with some of my other mood playlists, and voilla, I have the best of both worlds. The vast majority of music I want, on my device all the time, and ALL my music available anywhere as long as I have a data connection or have a device with a browser.

        THAT is a million times more useful than needing a local music collection, and a proprietary music transfer program like iTunes...

    2. csumpi
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Apple polish.? Google already have that...

      Pick up chicks/dudes with iPhones?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple polish.? Google already have that...

        "Pick up chicks/dudes with iPhones?"

        Can we aaume then that iPhone users are FUGLY and need a phone to make them more interesting!!

  10. Rupert Stubbs

    Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

    This is not a flame - this is my experience. Although I use a Mac at work, I'm not an Apple apostle - my work keeps me in contact with many new phones - pre-release - to produce documentation for them. Let me tell you about the latest one.

    It is a mid-range Android phone, 4.5" screen, running Jelly Bean. There is no Home button, so whenever the screen powers down you have to reach up and click the power button on the top of the phone to start it up again - I very quickly set the power off time to Never.

    Important icons are scattered all over the place, with no consistency. In the Phone app, switching between the Phone section and the Contacts section is done at the top of the screen (hard to reach one handed), with the Options icon at the bottom. In other (native) apps (like Messaging) the Options icon is up at the top right.

    When browsing, the bar that slides down to actually allow you to switch tabs etc is maddeningly inconsistent as far as the way of triggering it is concerned - sometimes it comes down, sometimes it doesn't. Same with gestures - you just don't know if something's going to work or not.

    Now, this may be due to pre-release bugs, but I've been through enough Android phones to feel that it's not. It's certainly better than previous Android versions in many cases, but the overall experience for someone who's used an iPhone is TO ME, decidedly sub par.

    This is just my opinion, obviously.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

      and you are wrong.

      Pick up a Nexus 4 and tell us it's not better in every single area than an iPhone5, but at half the pricetag.

      1. Arctic fox
        Headmaster

        Re: "Pick up a Nexus 4 and tell us it's not better.......................

        .................in every single area than an iPhone5, but at half the pricetag."

        I entirely agree about the various positive qualities of the Nexus 4 but your comment concerning the price-tag is a major fail. Google are selling the Nexus in limited numbers at a near cost price (they have "only" shipped 400k units in the three months since release so as not to piss off their OEM partners). They could not (at current costs in today's market) possibly sell the Nexus at the current price as normal business practice. They are essentially selling the phone at cost to raise the profile of the latest iteration "jelly bean" - and as far as one can tell they are playing a blinder as far as generating attention is concerned. I have rarely if ever seen so much coverage for a non-Cupertino device in the media (rivalled only by the attention that the SGIII has generated - we can expect a writ from Apple any time now).

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

        It runs Android = fail for security, fail for fragmentation etc. Most people do not want a phone to tinker with their own apps / root it etc.

    2. Mark .

      Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

      "There is no Home button, so whenever the screen powers down you have to reach up and click the power button on the top of the phone to start it up again"

      You mean, you unlock by a button on the side rather than the front - why is one better than the other? My phones have always done this on the side, and that works better for me - in particular, it's where my thumb or finger is naturally located when I hold it, and pressing the home button is more effort. Sure, I realise you're saying your personal preference, but you're phrasing this as if it was a failing or design flaw, or something missing.

      "done at the top of the screen (hard to reach one handed)"

      I find icons at the bottom just as hard to reach, if not harder, one handed.

      (Also, how do you use multitouch on your iphone with one hand? I find it odd that lately, using a phone one handed seems to be this argument that Apple fans have latched onto, yet years ago, they were praising Apple because multitouch was apparently the single biggest innovation ever. Personally I've always thought that multitouch is the biggest pain when trying to use a phone one handed, and the problem is that multitouch phones tend to be lazy and forget to offer singletouch alternatives.)

      The options menu is always bottom right (portrait mode) for me, and I have Jelly Bean - which phone do you have?

      If you don't like the browser, have you tried another one? Because, you know, you do get a choice, unlike iphone. It's like saying Windows is poor because of IE. I'd recommend looking at Chrome, Firefox and Opera Mobile, and picking what you like best.

      "but the overall experience for someone who's used an iPhone is TO ME"

      Well people often tend to get used to what they've been using. I found Android confusing after using Symbian, and could find some faults in it, but I don't see the media praising Symbian that was there years before iphone.

      Thing is, if the biggest arguments you can find are small things that are a matter of personal preference, it just confirms that there's no best OS, and it's all just personal opinion, with nothing significant between them all.

    3. b166er

      Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

      So you're judging Android on a device that you interestingly fail to name?

      There is a clue where the problem might lie though, you're comparing a mid-range nameless phone with a very expensive phone.

      How is anyone supposed to take you seriously?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

        @b166er

        You didn't read all the words in his post did you?

        He's writing documentaion for phones that are NOT YET RELEASED.

        Isn't it obvious why he's not naming it?

        1. Arctic fox
          Headmaster

          Re: "He's writing documentaion for phones that are NOT YET RELEASED."

          Yes indeed he is, thus placing himself in the convenient position of rendering it impossible for all other contributors to the thread to evaluate for themselves the comparison he is making. In practice he is comparing an iPhone/iOS with some unknown Android phone loaded (he says) with jelly bean, likely skinned with some manufacturers UI etc etc. We have no means of validating or disputing his comparison from experience that some of us might have had with a known Android phone that has actually been released. Oh and there is no need to shout - just use italics as in "not yet released" - much pleasanter.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

          "@b166er

          You didn't read all the words in his post did you?

          He's writing documentaion for phones that are NOT YET RELEASED.

          Isn't it obvious why he's not naming it?"

          You didn't expect an iPhone user to examine all the facts before jumping to conclusions did you?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

        "So you're judging Android on a device that you interestingly fail to name?

        There is a clue where the problem might lie though, you're comparing a mid-range nameless phone with a very expensive phone.

        How is anyone supposed to take you seriously?"

        WTF? iPhone was expensive when released LAST DECADE!!

        They are as common as their owners (Pikeys, chavs, Jeremy Kyle auditionees)

    4. csumpi
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

      This is exactly why I switched back to my first car, a 1975 Fiat 850. It's so much easier than all the buttons, displays, numbers, dials on modern cars.

      Want to open the window? no fussing with buttons, just use the crank.

      Want to turn on the radio? Just turn the volume dial. Want another station? just fiddle the __only__ other knob on the radio.

      The dash is also so much better designed. Shows the speed, engine temperature and how much gas there is. Doesn't overwhelm me with too much information. Helps my inner peace.

      And why on earth are they sticking all those controls on the the steering wheels on new cars? Radio volume, change channel, toggle dash display, toggle audio source, cruise control? First of all who needs cruise control? And all those other buttons? Duplicated functionality!?! MAJOR DESIGN FAIL!!!

      1. Crazy Goat Man Al

        Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

        Csumpi totally agree give me a car pre 1990 over the shit they makes these days everytime. 2 of mine are from the 70's and one from the 80's! Oh you were taking the proverbial, but I bet mine will last longer than the stuff they are making these days!!

        Agree though that all phones are pretty similar these days there isn't much to choose unless you want to nail your colours to either mast.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

          That just says it all - you probably need 3 cars to ensure at least one will work.

          1. Crazy Goat Man Al

            Re: Using Android reminds me why I stick with the iPhone...

            Well the two British ones maybe! But my golf does 12k a year, is 25 and had one advisory (a windscreen chip) on the last mot! Bullet proof!

  11. Dave N
    FAIL

    So last year...

  12. Tony W

    Better for what?

    I use an Android phone myself but I bought my wife an iPhone because I thought as a non-geek she would find it easier. I think this was probably correct, but over the last 2 years she has seen the things my phone can do that hers can't, and decided her next phone will be an Android.

    However my phone crashes (or apps develop obscure faults) about once every week or so and it needs to be be rebooted, while this hardly ever happens to her phone. I don't think this is because I'm working my phone harder, because she lets our grandchildren play games on hers, while I won't have any games (or children) on mine. Personally I find this annoyance worth the extra flexibility but I can well understand that others don't.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Better for what?

      Funny that you experience is the exact opposite of ours.

      My wife went for an android Samsung and now regrets it dearly and is dropping hints that I should upgrgade my iPhone so that she can have my old one.. She even prefers to use mine to make calls!

      As for my iPhone crashing - well perhaps once or twice in the last 12 months. We have foster-children and they are forever playing games on my iPhone - not once have they managed to make it crash.

      As they say

      YMMV - in every single case

  13. OrsonX
    Big Brother

    Just switched to Android (G.Note)....

    ....loving it, my only concern is, that even the most innocuous Apps want access to EVERYTHING!*

    *messages, phone logs, contacts list, gallery, full internet access, ability to modify phone, etc., etc.

    And no I'm not taking about a malware fart app., just look at some stock Google apps for example.

    In this respect iOS is MUCH better!

  14. Mark 65

    Google now

    Sounds like an Orwellian nightmare. It knows when you're going home, it knows what team you support etc. sounds like they have their hooks into literally every piece of data that passes through your device. Still, nevermind, it's all convenient and for our own good and would never be put to a non-beneficial use would it?

    1. messele

      Re: Google now

      Putting phones and operating systems aside, I DON'T WANT Google having this amount of knowledge about my activities, movement patterns, buying habits etc.

      We've seen how employers are increasingly turning to Facebook etc. and I've reacted by simply not using these services to the degree that I once did. Google is no different. I don't allow any emails to pass through my gmail account now apart from spam. Nothing important.

      Google Now and Google Drive so they can stalk me and data mine sensitive documents? I don't think so. I WILL BE IN CONTROL OF MY OWN POSSESSIONS THANK YOU.

  15. Barry Rueger

    Ah, but What of Blackberry

    I'm not an Apple fan (three years with a Powerbook cured me of that fetish), and consequently wound up with an Android phone. Although I generally am happy with my now ageing Nexus S, and with JellyBean, I have to say that I'm very interested in seeing what RIM comes up with this month.

    At the end of the day my phone is used more as a computing device than a telephone, and the ease with which I can create documents and communicate them is what matters. I don't have a real need for Instagram or Facebook, but I do often need to write e-mails that span several paragraphs - something that's just too much hassle with a screen keyboard.

    Between trying to compose in wet or cold environments, and battling the insanity of auto-correct, I usually leave anything important until I'm back in front of a desktop machine.

    Yes, I want real clickety click buttons to type with.

    Beyond that, although I use Gmail and Google stuff for most tasks, I do keep running into barriers. Even something as simple as resending an e-mail that somehow never was received - something that can't be done with Gmail. I just don't find that Google is really set up for for someone that uses mobile computing for business, and suspect that RIM will do this much, much better.

    For those who jump up to exclaim "But RIM is going down the drain!" let's remember that not too many years ago Nokia RULED the cel market, and couldn't be touched, then Apple, which surely Google could never match, and now Google. It's silly to think that any of these companies can't fall from grace, and equally silly to think that any one of them (OK, Microsoft) couldn't reinvent themselves and regain the dominant position.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Ah, but What of Blackberry

      Apple has never rules the phone market - it sells a lot of Smartphones but in overall volumes think it's only around 15% - still very good for a single maker. RIM are offering a product people wanted 5 years ago but failed to move with the times. Nokia same - complacency and now trying to play catch up with Windows Phone.

  16. Ivan Headache

    android usage

    We keep seeing figures saying that Android 'outsells' the iPhone and that it is the dominant mobile system. However, when I look around, I don't see the phones to back up those figures.

    I've done 2 train journeys today, one on the Northern Line and one on the District Line.

    The NL train was not very busy and I could only see 5 phones during the journey from Finchley to Embankment, but 4 of those were iPhones (1 i5 and 3 i4/4s). On the District Line I could see 12 phones, 9 of them being actively used for texting, gaming or whatever - including 2 deaf guys using them to communicate). One was slightly obscured by a reflection in one of the glass panels and I couldn't make out what it was, but of the remaining 11, only 2 were not iPhones (and they were not the deaf guys).

    The 4 and 4s is the commonest model iPhone (you can't tell them apart by just looking), the 5 is still a bit of a rarity on the tube.

    I did see a chap with something that looked about the size of a 3.5inch Hard-drive clamped to his ear earlier in the day - he looked like an idiot.

    Also in my web stats - Android still lags iOS. It's getting closer but it's not 75% in front like the 'sales figures' suggest it should be.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: android usage

      On the other hand, on my wander in to the office and roundabouts the area it's in, I haven't seen ONE iPhone. Its all Samsung or LG, and EVERYONE has a phone.

      But then, I am in S. Korea right now. It's is so COMPLETELY dependent on location. I bet at Silicon Roundabout, you only see iPhones,

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Re: android usage

      Firstly, you are in London, and it's full of pathetic hipsters who all work in advertising.

      Secondly, iTards are far more likely to WANT to flash their phone around, as it's a status symbol (or so they think. My builder and the chav next door have them, so it's clearly not that much status).

      I work in an Engineering company, and 80% of smartphone users are Android. The 20% that aren't again work in Marketing or are too stupid or lazy to know what they want and have to be told by the telly.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: android usage

      I think the 'installed base' figures would be more telling. Android phones get binned at the end of contract (not always but mostly) whereas iPhones are recycled. Apple will be growing their installed base and have active smartphone users where a lot of Android users are basically just text and calls.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: android usage

      When you look at figures for actual web usage iPhone / iPad completely swamp the others - so that is what people are actually using day to day for mobile web.

  17. Richard Lloyd
    Meh

    Customisation is the key

    For me, the ability to customise the look and feel of the way my phone or tablet operates is key. I don't even feel that stock Android 4.2.1 has quite enough config options (even though it still has far more than iOS *ever* will). My particular customisation needs are:

    * If I want pattern locking, maximise the number of dots in the grid to make the pattern more complex.

    * Battery percentage remaining figure - i.e. as an actual number - in the status bar (crucial IMHO - I will reject any custom ROM that doesn't allow this and it really should be an option in stock Android)

    * Two home screens with the ability to maximise the number of home screen grid icons (hence the need for only 2 screens). I have 49 icons per home screen on my Nexus 7 for instance.

    * Possibility to change the DPI either globally or per-app basis (this isn't crucial - the media's claim that many Android apps aren't "tablet-optimised" is utter guff because of the way Android scales its layout)

    * Root-style apps (e.g. sshdroid can then run on port 22, Goomanager to put new ROMs on etc.).

    * Ability to change scheduler performance (e.g. ondemand vs. powersave vs. performance vs. interactive) and the scheduler too.

    * Soft keyboard with long hold for numbers on the top row (which is infinitely easier/quicker than faffing with the awkward ?123 key then the number then the ABC key). I haven't run stock Android 4 for so long that maybe Google make this the default now?

    I've settled on "stock" CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies for the moment and they give me pretty well all the configuration options I'll regularly use. Oh, I turn off all keyboard sounds, vibrations, auto-correct (or any spelling suggestions) and never use Google Now at all myself (yes, that annoying Google bar was removed as fast as I could manage when I first got my Nexus 7 :-) ).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Customisation is the key

      sssshhh, you are the sort of person that Apple say is a typical Android user....

      However the reality is of course, Android caters for everyone. Noboy needs root, or even need to add a desktop widget, and Android phone is perfectly functional without either of these things.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Customisation is the key

      Yeah typical user - not. Most people want to just use their phones and have never dreamed of custom roms.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Jellybean is MUCH more polished than iOS

    It's just a shame you are more likely to see big foot on the tube than someone with a phone that is running Jellybean

  19. Toothpick
    Pirate

    Pantomine season......

    ......is upon us.

    My phone is better than yours!

    Oh no it's not!

    My mobile OS is better than yours!

    Oh no it's not!

    I want to customise my OS!

    Oh no you don't!

    I don't want to customise my OS!

    Oh yes you do!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      Re: Pantomine season......

      It' worse than tha!

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Google got where they are by being well known and by giving the OS away and by practically being the only available (to OEMs) modern Smartphone OS in town before Windows Phone. It's pretty hard to compete with free and available.

    By the time Microsoft got WP7 out the Android market was well established.

    It's hardly like Android won on merit, there simply was no other option for OEMs at that time.

  21. igottheflag
    FAIL

    iTunes..

    Latest version is a pile of shite. They did a Microsoft and took something easy and intuitive to use and turned it into a fucking nightmare of "where the fuck do I find that now". Someone shoot the developers three times to verify the first two times did the job. Then click "undo" several times and release that version..

  22. toadwarrior
    Trollface

    Google now: Letting you have some benefit to being spied on 24 hours a day. That is until this is retired a year later.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Are you on drugs?

    "Except, of course, that Android isn't as good as iOS when it comes to polish. "

    WTF? Your either off your face, or blind, deaf and dumb! (Mind you, you did select iPhone, so the second option is more like reality)

  24. armyknife

    Greens and Blues

    Oh look the OS 'banter' wars continue into 2013; didn't ancient Byzantium have a solution to this problem?

  25. Furbian
    Thumb Down

    Scary..

    I find this whole idea of guessing what I want to eat quite intrusive. The 'tracking where I am thing', photographing our houses roads and streets, swiping wi-fi accounts etc. we've largely given away, this looks downright Orwellian. "What are you thinking? Let's try to work it out..."

    The 'best routes' thing, I've spent most of my working life commuting between English cities where there were usually only two alternative routes and one could easily tell before setiing out which to use. Maybe this will work in the US and possibly London. Oh I now bike a few miles to my workplace, on a route impervious to congestion (for a bike).

    As for the food thing, actually, I want to be surprised, and like to try different things. Sometimes I'm grateful that what I want is not available, it allows me to try an alternative.

    Oh and underpinning this wonder that may change our lives this year, is a pathetic third rate payment system that I'm banned from using, unless I give them a copy of my passport as well (http://furbian.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/my-google-walletplaycheckoutwhatever.html ). I've since switched to the other great information leach Amazon's App Store, the lesser of the only two evils available for buying Android Apps.

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