Analyst: ICS Does Not Solve Android's Main Problem

[watcha]

[citation][nom]torque79[/nom]This analyst is out to lunch. There's already a massive differentiation between Apple and everyone else's tablets: the requirement for itunes. The removal of a bloated inconvenient software from the picture, so we can just drag and drop files to a tablet/cell phone (even via wifi) from our computer, is a MASSIVE advantage for Android. too bad most people are too ignorant to realize this.[/citation]

You don't need iTunes anymore

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]torque79[/nom]I use Windows Explorer to sort my music into folders for music types. When I feel like rock, I drag my rock folder over, etc. How can any software compete with that simplicity and ease of use? I use tag+rename for tagging when I feel like wasting some time, because all tagging seems to get me is pretty pictures displayed while I play music (which is not a visual medium). with Itunes you HAVE to tag every song, or itunes has no idea what genre it is, or you can't find it if you would categorize the genre differently. I have not used itunes much, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but there is not even an option for viewing the music in its folder structure that you established, is there? Why is it so hard to include that?[/citation]

Even before iOS 5 came out, which completely removes the need for iTunes, I was using Windows folders to drag and drop mp3's for my iPhone 4.

You don't have to tag anything, you really don't know what you're talking about.

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]watcha[/nom]You don't need iTunes anymore[/citation]
What if you want it? Hundreds of millions do.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]lamorpa[/nom]What if you want it? Hundreds of millions do.[/citation]

You can still use it. It's now optional.

 

[house70]

[citation][nom]quantum mask[/nom]Amazon's tablet runs Android[/citation]
Yep, but being ericburnby he does not understand that.
Funny how the article is criticizing the very same thing that applies to iOS: uniform user experience, in that case taken to the boring extreme. It's like all iOS users are "dating" the same prostitute.LOL at them.

 

[win7guru]

"The main challenge in the tablet market continues to be differentiation," Shim wrote in a blog post. "There are still too many tablets offering similar usage experiences, making it difficult to compete with the entrenched player, Apple and its iPad, and leading to a price-driven market."

What a dumb statement. I think Android has differentiated itself and even more so now with the Android Beam technology. I still think tablets are way overpriced.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]win7guru[/nom]"The main challenge in the tablet market continues to be differentiation," Shim wrote in a blog post. "There are still too many tablets offering similar usage experiences, making it difficult to compete with the entrenched player, Apple and its iPad, and leading to a price-driven market."What a dumb statement. I think Android has differentiated itself and even more so now with the Android Beam technology. I still think tablets are way overpriced.[/citation]

You are both right guys, but what he's trying to say is that Apple is made just by one company, and they are 'different' because they are iOS - a different operating system, with quirks like iCloud, Siri, etc - you know, Apple stuff.

Android is differentiated from iOS, but his point is that Android phones find it difficult to be differentiated compared to OTHER Android phones. In other words, Apple has a USP (whether you like them or not) that they make their own operating system. Samsung, Motorola, etc, aren't able to differentiate themselves from each other because they are both using the same OS. This means that Android as a whole is very popular, and that's great, but it's hard for one particular Android manufacturer to be 'much' better than other Android phones.
[citation][nom]house70[/nom]Yep, but being ericburnby he does not understand that. Funny how the article is criticizing the very same thing that applies to iOS: uniform user experience, in that case taken to the boring extreme. It's like all iOS users are "dating" the same prostitute.LOL at them.[/citation]

 

[jeremy88]

[citation][nom]watcha[/nom]No, over the 'cloud'. iTunes is not required at all anymore.How are you 'locked down' more when you buy an Apple than an Android? As I see it, whichever phone you buy, you're stuck with that OS and Hardware, and when your contract runs out you again have the option to buy ANY other phone. Where's the problem?There are so many downsides to fragmentation, so many Android handsets never get the updates because they have to wait for their phone manufacturer to release the updated software, sometimes months after it comes out, sometimes never. Did you somehow miss the many posts telling you that you DON'T .... NEED ... ITUNES, at all. 36 million people can at least read.Did you continue to say that you don't care if you drop it because it has hardly any apps, ridiculously slow performance and awful touch screen, and is not even remotely comparable to an iPad? You know, the full story instead of the sugar-coated 'I'm cheap so I'll buy an old Ford and claim it's the same as an Aston Martin' story?[/citation]


HEY iDiot Newfag... STFU, nobody cares about your iDied fanboy BS

 

[torque79]

wow... comparing any high end Samsung phone/tablet product to an old ford is ludicrous. I don't think you have actually tried both. Performance is great, and so are the screens. If only they didnt cheap out and kept OLED for tablets they would be BETTER than iphone (in my opinion). Give me better contrast and colour over slight differences in pixel density any day.

OK ok it's wonderful that you don't need itunes... IF you have IOS5. So basically if you're a hardcore ifanboi, paying more than you should for every product Apple sells and prices never go down because they just release a new version next year with a shinier home button and voices that talk to you... THEN you don't need itunes. congratulations.

 

[viciouz2000]

I am forced to use itunes, i hate itunes and iphones and apple in general because its overrated. I have an original iphone i use as ipod touch for music because my alarm clock has the iphone/ipod docking station and im too cheap to buy something else. Once android phones were out, i have already switch to android phones, t-mobile G2x and left apple behind, theres no point in getting new version of an iphone when there is everything else besides apple to choose from.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]torque79[/nom]wow... comparing any high end Samsung phone/tablet product to an old ford is ludicrous. I don't think you have actually tried both. Performance is great, and so are the screens. If only they didnt cheap out and kept OLED for tablets they would be BETTER than iphone (in my opinion). Give me better contrast and colour over slight differences in pixel density any day.OK ok it's wonderful that you don't need itunes... IF you have IOS5. So basically if you're a hardcore ifanboi, paying more than you should for every product Apple sells and prices never go down because they just release a new version next year with a shinier home button and voices that talk to you... THEN you don't need itunes. congratulations.[/citation]

1 - I have tried Samsung tablets, and be very careful to notice we're talking specifically about tablets here. The phones are good. iPhone 4s has a far, far more powerful CPU/GPU combination, the Samsung Galaxy S2 is slower with a larger screen. The tablets are not. People can debate about iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy S2, and reasonably so, they are both excellent phones, but the same debate can NOT be had regarding Samsung Tab vs iPad 2.

Performance is in another league:
http/images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4445/38764.png
http/images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4445/38767.png
http/images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4445/38768.png

Battery life is in another league:
http/images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4445/38762.png
http/images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4445/38761.png

There are way, way, way more Apps for iPad 2,
http/geekrevolt.com/2011/07/09/final-round-samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-vs-ipad-2-apps/

Sorry but they are just not comparable. And they cost the SAME too! Anyone buying a Galaxy Tab is a mug, objectively.

Quote:

' IF you have IOS5. So basically if you're a hardcore ifanboi, paying more than you should for every product Apple sells and prices never go down because they just release a new version next year with a shinier home button and voices that talk to you... THEN you don't need itunes. congratulations.'

You know, you Android kids really lose any credibility when your failure to read continually surfaces. iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are all compatible with iOS5 and now ALL of them no longer need iTunes to Sync. Please just, educate yourself before you spout so much silly nonsense, you make a mockery of intelligent Android fans.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]viciouz2000[/nom]I am forced to use itunes, i hate itunes and iphones and apple in general because its overrated. I have an original iphone i use as ipod touch for music because my alarm clock has the iphone/ipod docking station and im too cheap to buy something else. Once android phones were out, i have already switch to android phones, t-mobile G2x and left apple behind, theres no point in getting new version of an iphone when there is everything else besides apple to choose from.[/citation]

Unless you still have an iPhone 3G then you don't need to use iTunes.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]Jeremy88[/nom]HEY iDiot Newfag... STFU, nobody cares about your iDied fanboy BS[/citation]

Good points, my educated friend.

This: http/www.anandtech.com/show/5016/googles-nexus-one-not-getting-android-40-update is exactly what I was talking about. 15 month old phone, no longer supported.

 

[torque79]

Watcha, you do make some convincing arguments and I respect that you're backing them up with benchmark links. Unfortunately due to being on the market for less time of course any competing tablet is going to have less apps available because developers want to make money with a larger market. Of course volume of apps does not always result in superior quality, but I concede that it's inevitable that some good apps must be available exclusively for ipads with no alternative equivalent app for other platforms.

That being said, I've still felt there are a decent number of apps even for Playbook (which is obviously FAR behind) because it has few, but useful, apps. I appreciate the method it uses for multitasking too. Without actually testing any games for the 2 platforms I'll say it's likely that ipad2 can play slightly more powerful games, but let's face it it's still a tablet, not a gaming pc (which I'd rather play on). A more powerful GPU is of little importance to me, and so far I have not felt disappointed by the CPU in even the playbook.

I don't feel there is enough significant difference between different tablets to decide one is terrible and another is better. If you were on a very long flight overseas then 13hrs battery vs 9 hours I'm sure would be a concern, but for most of us we'd proably never notice. I am betting those hours would be greatly reduced if you were watching HD video the whole time though, which is what I would be doing. I don't understand why battery power is generally only benchmarked doing things like web browsing, when I'd rather know how much video I can watch.

 

[thaile4ever]

[citation][nom]torque79[/nom] If you were on a very long flight overseas then 13hrs battery vs 9 hours I'm sure would be a concern, but for most of us we'd proably never notice. I am betting those hours would be greatly reduced if you were watching HD video the whole time though, which is what I would be doing. I don't understand why battery power is generally only benchmarked doing things like web browsing, when I'd rather know how much video I can watch.[/citation]

That's because using Wifi takes more power then just watching a movie with wifi off. If you look at his second battery link it shows the battery times for just video playback. That's one of the things I feel Apple did right was list the minimum run time instead of the maximum run time like most other companies.

While I love my transformer, there are some battery draining bugs with the dock that I hope they fix with the Transformer 2.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]torque79[/nom]Watcha, you do make some convincing arguments and I respect that you're backing them up with benchmark links. Unfortunately due to being on the market for less time of course any competing tablet is going to have less apps available because developers want to make money with a larger market. Of course volume of apps does not always result in superior quality, but I concede that it's inevitable that some good apps must be available exclusively for ipads with no alternative equivalent app for other platforms.That being said, I've still felt there are a decent number of apps even for Playbook (which is obviously FAR behind) because it has few, but useful, apps. I appreciate the method it uses for multitasking too. Without actually testing any games for the 2 platforms I'll say it's likely that ipad2 can play slightly more powerful games, but let's face it it's still a tablet, not a gaming pc (which I'd rather play on). A more powerful GPU is of little importance to me, and so far I have not felt disappointed by the CPU in even the playbook.I don't feel there is enough significant difference between different tablets to decide one is terrible and another is better. If you were on a very long flight overseas then 13hrs battery vs 9 hours I'm sure would be a concern, but for most of us we'd proably never notice. I am betting those hours would be greatly reduced if you were watching HD video the whole time though, which is what I would be doing. I don't understand why battery power is generally only benchmarked doing things like web browsing, when I'd rather know how much video I can watch.[/citation]

Fair enough