I’ve been using a Google Nexus S running Android OS 2.3 as my phone for the past week and I like it. It makes for a very decent smartphone. Frequent needs can be met quickly with a minimum of amount of fuss. (Accomplishing the same task on iOS, though pretty, is not as easy nor as fast.)
For example, I could cite the non-modal Android notification system, which allows me to switch to an incoming message by swiping down from the top of the screen. Or I could mention the excellent Android auto-correct; I’ve never typed as fast or as error-free on my iPhone.
But, while I found that I enjoy accomplishing tasks quickly on my Android, I never enjoy using it for more than a minute or two. I often lie in bed in the morning and use my iPhone to check email, shared links, tweets, and new software. I never even wanted to do the same with my Nexus S, because Android is simply not a pleasure to use for prolonged activity. Android eschews user interface elegance for quick interactions and convenience; which makes the Nexus S feel utilitarian compared to iOS.
With that said, it’s unlikely that I’ll be switching to Android permanently any time soon. Let’s get into my good and bad picks of the Android OS:
The Good
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Notifications
Text messages don’t interrupt me at all, and switching between apps is a breeze. Faster than iPhone, and I love having no badges to dismiss.
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Auto-Correct
I’ve never been able to type as fast or as accurate on my iPhone. Hit delete after an incorrect guess and I get my original word back, rather than having to delete the word letter-by-letter.
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App Drawer
I keep frequently used apps on my home screens, everything else goes in the drawer ordered alphabetically — excellent. I hope this feature comes to iOS. Managing folders is a hassle.
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Dedicated Back, Settings, Search buttons
Touch-sensitive home row buttons provide haptic feedback when used, and free up screen real estate to make way for more content.
Using the dedicated Back button at times works as an extremely efficient form of multi-tasking. Instead of double-tapping a physical Home button each time I want to switch to a previously used app, I simply tap the Back button until I’m back where I was.
When I went back to my iPhone or iPad, the physical Home button felt clunky and inelegant compared to the smooth, touch-sensitive home-row buttons of the Nexus S.
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Omnibox Search
It is so great to have one box to search the Web, Apps, and your phone. Same thing in the Browser: Location plus Google Search is great, as it is on Chrome.
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Hardware toggle buttons
Eliminates multiple steps needed to toggle WiFi, BlueTooth, GPS, and Brightness. I’ve wanted this for iPhone since the 1st generation.
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System-wide Contacts app
This system app allows other social apps to add their specific metadata. I can view phone numbers, emails, latest tweet, and last song scrobbled to Last.fm in one view. This would, and is rumored to be, a killer feature on iOS.
The Bad
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Browser
This is a big one for me. It’s slow. Text is ugly. Text reflows are ugly. Two finger pinch-to-zoom is rough, and two big ugly floating buttons for zoom in/zoom out cover the bottom of the screen entirely too long. There is no “scroll to top” action. Makes casual browsing into a whole deal. Yuck.
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Notifications while display sleeps
No way to see text message notifications if the display is asleep.
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Battery life
Sucked for me the first few days. Turning off the active wallpaper helped, but I had to disable WiFi, Sync, Location services, and dim the display to make the Nexus S last all day. Never a problem with my iPhone 4.
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Lack of quality apps
Beautifully designed, immersive apps with seamless touch gesture support is what keeps me hooked to my iPhone. In my limited trial on Android, there was nothing I saw that encouraged me to use the phone longer than I had to.
Conclusion
As an Apple enthusiast, I would often scoff at friends and family members that had Android phones, though I had never used one. Now I see why casual users are so complacent. If you’d never had an iPhone, Android makes a pretty decent smartphone. Overall, the polish of the UI sucks and offers nowhere near the rich experience of iOS, but the Google Nexus S is usable for “mere mortals”.
For accomplishing routine, smartphone tasks, Android excels. For any kind of extended use, iOS prevails.
Read other accounts of iPhone users experimenting with Android: Chris Clark’s Month with the Nexus S; Ryan Heise’s Dinner with Android.
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