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by barrkel 5172 days ago
I struggle to think of a single time Android has crashed on me. The iOS browser, on the other hand, crashed 3 times in my first day with an Apple device.

But the primary reason I use Android is that it has features iOS doesn't; proper cross-app integration with intents, a replaceable launcher, a user accessible file system and best of all, I never have to deal with iTunes. I absolutely loathe iTunes.

I've never had problems with fragmentation (probably helps that I run Nexus devices - I've had more issues running older iOS on iPod Touches that hadn't been upgraded owing to upgrade fees); and I find UI more consistent - or at least did, before the menu button was deprecated (I happen to like menus for their discoverability). The back button is awesome. It's been some time since I was in the Apple app ecosystem, but I still don't think they let you have things like AIDE, Tasker or Locale.

I do think iOS devices have higher frame rates, fewer dropped frames and lower touch latency. ICS recent apps button latency is a joke - nearly a second on my galaxy nexus at times. The iOS text selection mechanism is better. And having switched from HTC to Samsung, I'm not impressed with the hardware (though the margin between iPhone 4 screen and Galaxy Nexus screen is quite small). But I also think iPhone 4 glass back is a triumph of style over usefulness.
1 comments
myspy 5172 days ago
User accessible file system? Are you kidding me? It's one of the great things to get rid of this thing. I see no advantage in there. Especially on mobile devices. Only another thing to understand and handle to get things done.
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barrkel 5172 days ago
I'm talking about what I want in a device and OS. The file system isn't directly in any of the default apps, and nor is it visible in most apps. But if you want a file browser, you can install one easily; and nor is data siloed inside specific apps when it doesn't fit into predefined categories like Photo | Video | Music.

That's right: I want control over my data. I don't want apps from third parties thinking they're in control of my data.

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