- You must wait for applications everyone is talking about to get ported over.
- All the good games are on the other platform.
- People at work wonder why you’re using something different than everyone else.
- You can use themes just like Kaleidoscope for Mac OS 8.5 (your elders will remember).
These are just a few observations. We all know how Apple turned out in the 2000’s. I wonder what’s next for Android…
Note: I’ve switched to Android from iPhone for the time being to learn about “that other platform”. I know: We just released Basecamp on iOS. I love the app. You should download it now!!!
Damien
on 14 Feb 13It’s funny that you feel the need to justify that you are an Android user and why so. I think it’s even more an argument ;)
Note: I’ve switcher to iPhone from Android last fall because I couldn’t find any convincing android phone.
Thomas
on 14 Feb 13Well, I guess you live in the US. Android is in fact selling better than iPhone in most other countries, and it’s just sad that US companies that has some kind of goals outside the US to just put out iOS apps. Of course, a lot of companies here (in Norway) does the same. Create an iPhone app and just waits way to long to give something to the Android users. But yeah, looking forward to the time that people see that Android has way more to offer than iPhone, and that companies catch up to the public.
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@Damien: Nexus 4 is pretty good out of the box. Being Android I had to modify it a bit though :P That’s probably the biggest hurdle to Android. It’s still pretty techie/neckbeardy.
@Thomas: True. I’ve been reflecting on this 90’s Mac user similarity. I think Google needs to make a “Think Different” ad campaign now. It would totally work. “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the round pegs in the square holes…”
Ivan Vásquez
on 14 Feb 13It may be so on your office, but your statement is hardly backed by the numbers. Whereas Mac had pretty low market share on the 90’s, Android has (according to half the studies you see out there, anyways) the biggest piece of the pie these days.
Note: I’m a longtime Android phone user (still have my G1 lying around somewhere) but I love my iPad and my Macbook.
Stefan Fidanov
on 14 Feb 13I’ve been an Android user since the beginning and I never felt this way, and Android people that I know don’t feel that way, too. It seems that you would wish that they feel this way and that you feel this way.
Plus, during the 90’s Apple was marginal player with marginal sales, where as Android is dominating the smartphone market right now.
So it seems to me that you could not be more far from the truth on how most Android users feel and are like.
Shahor
on 14 Feb 13To me, this post sounds like : “Oh no, Android is so bad because you doesn’t make you a sheep you know, that’s sad”.
These are not arguments, at all. I switched from iOS (was on iOS since the beginning) to Android this year and can’t be more happy about that change.
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@Ivan + Stefan: You’re right. The numbers tell a different story. I’m new to the platform after being a longtime Mac/iPhone user. It must be different in your countries. Very few people I know have Android phones. Maybe I need to expand my horizons.
I don’t mean to speak for ALL Android users. I guess I’m speaking from the “Long-time Mac user trying Android for the first-time recently” perspective. :P
Funny anecdote: I told my Android friend that I was switching platforms. He said, “Welcome to the Darkside.” I’m enjoying the Darkside so far. It’s more fun to be a Sith than a Jedi right?
Barry O'Donovan
on 14 Feb 13This is the kind of typical naval-gazing I’ve come to accept and expect from your typical Apple user / fanboi and, unfortunately, less than I’ve come to expect from the 37signals blog.
Posting one link to one report about the corporate use of Apple products is quite misleading. Afterall, one swallow doesn’t make a summer! Here’s another link that may be of interest: Android dominates the global mobile platform in the consumer market. In the enterprise, Apple’s iOS gets an iPad boost and leads. Apple may be doing well in the corporate world but it’s far behind in overall sales with Android ahead by a mile.
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@Barry: I’m sorry my post wasn’t clear. I LOVED being a Mac user in the 90’s. That’s a GOOD thing. Being a Mac user in the 90’s was great. You felt like a pirate, a misfit, an outsider.
That’s why I’m drawing comparisons to Android. I hope the platform progresses and develops. “We all know how Apple turned out in the 2000’s. I wonder what’s next for Android…”
GeeIWonder
on 14 Feb 13Are you kidding?
Android is fantastic. Everything is available, and everything just works on my tablet. Plus, my hardware is better than ever before.
It’s the future over iOS by a mile. Open beats closed everytime. It’s nice you have a new iOS Basecamp app, but I’ll never see it.
The only remaining question in my mind is whether things like Ubuntu can displace everything.
Jason Mulligan
on 14 Feb 13The only game I waited for on android was Simpons Tapped Out; and I’m a little bitter that I have to wait a year before I can get the same holiday stuff my wife has on her iPad. I’ll take Tegra3 graphics over an iPad any day (circa 2013).
Mike
on 14 Feb 13Jamie – haters gona hate? ; ) “You must wait for applications everyone is talking about to get ported over.” – do I realy need this applications? “All the good games are on the other platform.” – what if somebody doesn’t play games? “People at work wonder why you’re using something different than everyone else.” – viva communism! I don’t think this line is what I expect after “Rework” You can use themes just like Kaleidoscope for Mac OS 8.5 -WHY SHOULD I?
Mike
Neal G
on 14 Feb 13It’s more like this
Apple is like Apple in the 90’s Android is like Windows in the 90’s
Apple: closed system, makes their own hardware and software Android: open system, primarily just makes the software, hardware is made by other companies.
Ultimately, Android will win out (much like Windows did) just be shear number of competitors vs. Apple’s one or two phones currently on the market.
If you walk into a phone store, there’s a handful of iPhones and possible 100+ Android phones to look at.
clif
on 14 Feb 13And just like the ‘90s, if you want a computer that just works? You pick up an Apple.
I HATED all the themeing engines and all that which came along with OS7/8/9…I hated quite a few other things that you needed to do to make it usable. The themes were ‘fun’ but quickly trashed the OS and caused bugs that would wipe the machine.
However, out of the box, it was far more usable than Windows and far more stable…if you just didn’t screw with it to make it more nerdy.
I get the same feeling with Android…when I’ve used stock Android, it seems fast and stable. However, when I use the crap phone companies put out? It is like they put on the ‘90s Unstable Kaliedoscope with the most useless theme ever just to prove the phone company is actually a part of the design. Lets hack this into the OS to snoop a little more. Lets make this a little more unstable.
Stock Android rocks…the Mac of the ‘90s? Rock’d until you added all the shit that users added. Luckily, unlike 99% of the android phones, the Mac of the ‘90s came stock.
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@clif: Truth.
Uzo Olisemeka
on 14 Feb 13Been a long-time Android user (since the Galaxy S) and as much as I’m not quite of the same mindset as Jamie I can see many merits to his points.
The phone is by default a social device. A device designed for interaction. When the people around you are using a totally different phone, or all playing a game / using an app you don’t have access to, you can feel a little bit left out.
The future is definitely Android-flavored, as many developers are starting to open their eyes to. It’s a really good platform and ecosystem. I understand it’s harder to develop on (thanks to the myriad of screen sizes and resolutions) but those who build for people will sooner or later eventually go where the people go. All the numbers tell us the people are going Android. So unless this is one of those metric / imperial system things were iOS flourishes in the States and only there (and devs are totally happy with that) then we should expect to see people looking at the numbers and the extra work needed to build for Android as “cost of doing business” and reaching the people enmasse. I’ve digressed though.
Welcome to the Dark Side, Jamie. Spread the taint through 37s and hopefully we can get an awesome Android native app. Right now Everest isn’t quite doing it for me. The web app is worlds better …
Dan
on 14 Feb 13My first computer was an Apple IIc. The Mac was a breakthrough product. I’ve used Apple products for decades. As someone who likes to tinker, I prefer open systems to closed systems. I prefer flexibility to rigidness. I prefer systems that don’t crash, but I realize there is a price to play for open, flexible systems. I want a lot of choices (and competitive prices) in peripherals, and I love to crack open the box and upgrade components to extend the life of technology devices. I like to buy inexpensive OEM replacement batteries and change them myself. I don’t need a “Genius” to do most technical things. Regarding Android, I’ve never felt there was a tool Apple offered that wasn’t also available in a similar form on the Android platform. Android is the young upstart who is changing the landscape and challenging the status quo. Apple wants to be ubiquitous and controlling. They are not the same company they used to be when they were beloved for being the thorn in the gorilla’s side. Apple is no longer the company for “The Rest of Us.” They are the establishment. The Man.
David Miller
on 14 Feb 13I’ve had an iPhone for a long, long time now and I’m getting bored by it. Yes, maybe more of the cool apps are on iOS first, but I don’t really use that many of them right away. I’m due for a new phone and thinking about getting a Android phone to see what it’s like and to help me clarify why I like the iPhone.
To anyone who’s made the switch recently – I’d love to know your thoughts.
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@David Miller: I am using a Nexus 4. It’s unlocked, so if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile you can just put your iPhone SIM card in Nexus (reboot) and you’re good to go.
You can even switch back to iPhone anytime. It’s pretty low commitment. I recommend that route. Welcome to the Darkside. :P
Anonymous Coward
on 14 Feb 13Why not this title:
“Being an Android user is a lot like being a Linux user in the 90’s.”
37Cowards
on 14 Feb 13Oh my god, I just realized this today, if you send a comment in this blog but forgot to fill the NAME, automatically you will be tagged as ANONYMOUS COWARD!
Wouldn’t be more professional showing a message warning about the empty Name?
Jason
on 14 Feb 13I find it amusing that people think you need to be technical to use Android. Android works pretty well right out of the box… I haven’t found anyone who really needed help when switching from either iOS or a dumb phone (though some basic “You can do THIS on a smart phone” helps there). There’s a phone button to call people, you have contacts, there’s an app store, email is built into the system, as is texting and a browser, and they are all right there and easy to use.
The biggest difference, to me, is that once you master those basics, there is a TON of other stuff that you can do on an Android phone that you can’t do on the iPhone (swap your default keyboard, SMS, share to pretty much any app FROM pretty much any app, etc.).
I will grant that there are games (and a few, but not many, other apps) that are iOS only/first, but they’re not the kind I (or most people) play on a smart phone (they seem more at home on a console… the games, I mean). It used to be worse, but now most apps and games come out at pretty close to the same time on both platforms.
PS – I’m really looking forward to the rumored X-Phone from Motorola/Google… the first real competitor to the iPhone, as far as I’m concerned (i.e. hardware/software designed by the same company, and that company also knows how to advertise/market properly).
Jon Shaw
on 14 Feb 13Had an iPhone 3GS and fancied a change. Jumped over the midi-chlorian fence 18 months ago to an HTC Sensation XE and would agree that some app functionality takes time to filter across. However, the time delay between formats seems to be shortening. My two gripes… 1. HTC phones are not as reliable – I get “display” reboots every day even after a pitstop with HTC 2. Transferring music to the HTC other than via drag and drop is a right royal pain compared to the comfy slippers of iTunes/iPhone
Now thinking about jumping again to Windows just in case the grass is greener and I know it’ll pee off my iPhone AND Droid fanboy buddies :)
Jamie
on 14 Feb 13@Jason: You’re right. Out of the box Android is fine. Get a Nexus 4 then it’s even better (with stock Android).
Where it gets weird is learning what it can do. It isn’t hard, you just have to do some Internet digging. Most regular people wouldn’t do that.
Here’s what I just discovered today: The Nexus 4 can act as a wi-fi hotspot out-of-the-box. No additional fees or anything. You can’t easily find that out on their marketing site—or really any of the Nexus 4 reviews out there on YouTube.
It’s an awesome feature (that I’m sure carriers hate). It’s not hard to do, but you need to do some research to figure out how to do it.
GeeIWonder
on 14 Feb 13I think you’re begging the question here a bit Jamie. Android is like Mac was, because it, umm.. is like Mac was.
Android is awesome and stands on it’s own, and doesn’t need any sort of particular hardware or qualification or comparison to be awesome. iOS is frickin’ horrible, getting worse, and loaded with all sorts of questionable technical and moral judgements, just to name a few. If I want my hammer to tsk at me and passive-aggressively tell me I should really be using a screwdriver when I’m about to drive a nail, then I guess I’d buy an iOS hammer.
Android is as intuitive as anything I’ve ever used, and I’ve used it all. Everything just works, and you can do all kinds of cool things stock. You don’t need any extras, and if you put a bow on your hammer and that stops your hammer from working, well then that’s on you, not the fault of the hammer.
I don’t know who a ‘regular person’ is, or why we’re assuming they can’t or wouldn’t use the Internet (which are replete with iPod/iPhone forums, BTW), but every person I’ve run across who’s used Android seems to love it and get it instantly. All apps are free to try, refunds are swift if you’re not happy, everything works, etc etc.
Get past being surprised about ‘no additional fees’ or the fact that your maps work. Start wondering why you put up with the alternative ‘option’ in the first place.
Expecting Better
on 14 Feb 13This kind of post on Signal vs. Noise?? Really? I expect better from you guys. Feels like one of the “let’s start a flame war” posts from TechCrunch.
AJ Siegel
on 14 Feb 13In terms of Device Sales, Android is clearly winning. What is missed when you only look at sold devices is how those devices are used. comScore released a report in 2011 highlighting market share of mobile traffic by OS. iOS led with 58.5% of the market compared to 31.9% for Android. (http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/10/apple-ios-accounts-for-majority-of-non-computer-traffic-in-the-us/) What this tells me is that while lots of Androids are purchased, they are not purchased for use as smart phones.
Sen
on 14 Feb 13Many Android users here in Asia, but I would say a large portion of the ones I know, are not what we would consider techy, and as mentioned in a lot of reports, not willing to spend money on apps.
An anecdote, my uncle came in one day asking me how much I bought my iPhone for, I said about $500 or so? And he said he could get one in Indonesia for $70, because it is made in China and that it’s better because it’s was lighter (made of plastic), had a larger screen and so I was an idiot for spending 7x more than necessary.
Yes, it is but a mere anecdote from one person in a tiny Asian country, but from what I see around me, the young, technically knowledgable people buy iPhones, and also buy apps. The rest, buy ‘iPhones’, and don’t spend a single cent more.
Michael Butler
on 14 Feb 13Yes, I suppose there are some similarities but like others have said, there are far more Android phone users than Apple phone users now. It’s just that most Android users are quiet about it, or don’t care about their phone that much—they just want to text, browse, and use e-mail & Facebook.
T
on 15 Feb 13AJ is right. A large percentage of Android device purchasers are not using those phones the same way most iPhone (IOS) users use theirs. Not sure what exactly it means. But, it appears the majority of IOS users use those devices to their fullest(?) vs a smaller percentage of Android users. My company hosts 1900 nonprofit websites. 12% of total traffic to those sites is mobile. 52% of that is iPad. 27% is iPhone. The rest is mostly Android devices.
ton
on 15 Feb 13In two years, there will be Apple, premium Android (with reference Google specified hardware, premium Google store – for that hardware – mainly Samsung Galaxy phones), and rest of the world (fragmented Android). I think, this is the way for Android. Saying this on a little (2 month) vacation with a Nexus 4, but I’m heading back to my everyday life with iPhone 5. Great device, amazing google softwares, with no strict directions, and unacceptable 3rd party software quality. Without knowing what could give me the iOS world, I’ll be more than happy with the Nexus 4!! I’d love to be a ‘pirate’, but i think they need to make this premium labeled closed store and hardware. Not for me, but for the 3rd parties to be able to ship great software. In a year I’ll be back for another try, because time works for them.
Jon
on 15 Feb 13Sen, tech hipsters (e.g. 37 Signals) buy iPhones. Most technical people buy Android. The number of pointless restrictions imposed by Apple is pathetic.
Johnny
on 15 Feb 13That’s cool
Javier [ http://www.emastudios.com/ ]
on 15 Feb 13As a web developer and game designer I can say this is relatively not true. Android had much more support than Apple in the 90’s. It is getting faster and faster. Today we just saw STEAM coming to linux and it won’t be long until it gets integrated with consoles like the OUYA which run on Android and from there, we get it on every smart tv by default. From the web point of view, you have the android market, something Apple didn’t had (obviously) on the 90’s, and from the game market, well, everyone is betting on Android.
Apple had to build not only their only platform, but their own software and public.
Noname
on 15 Feb 13“All the good games are on the other platform.” – This implies that there are no good games for android which is very far from truth and it will only get better, see Ingress or google for OUYA. “You must wait for applications everyone is talking about to get ported over.” – This is personal experience but I have yet to see an app that exists for iOS that I can’t find for Android or that it doesn’t have a replacement on Android. “People at work wonder why you’re using something different than everyone else.” – This is very US centric view. Here (Germany) almost everybody uses Android. Samsung Galaxy S3 (and S2 before) were huge hits. “You can use themes just like Kaleidoscope for Mac OS 8.5 (your elders will remember).” – Never had a Mac so I wouldn’t know, I’m a Linux guy.
JZ
on 15 Feb 13I think the difference is that iPhone buys are intentional. Up until recently there was not a free or even cheap iPhone. People that bought them did so at a premium. They knew what they were buying and why, what it could do, what they could do with it.
That often isn’t true on Android for the buyer that’s interested only in the cheapest (or free) phone they can get when they sign a new contract. They may not know it’s capabilities, may not care, may not have even wanted a smart phone at all – it’s just what the carrier foisted on them. Empirically there seem to be a lot more Android buyers that fit this description than iPhone ones.
I’d add the extremely non-technical people to the Android camp, too.
Marush
on 15 Feb 13You sir are wrong!
Mac still has 5% of users next to 90% of Windows – even 20 years later. Android on the other hand is selling better than iPhone – high and mid/low level devices. Game developers first develop for Android, since it’s easier to be done and then do it for iPhone. The rules of the game have been changed. Try to keep up with them.
GeeIWonder
on 15 Feb 13That often isn’t true on Android for the buyer that’s interested only in the cheapest (or free) phone they can get when they sign a new contract. They may not know it’s capabilities, may not care, may not have even wanted a smart phone at all – it’s just what the carrier foisted on them. Empirically there seem to be a lot more Android buyers that fit this description than iPhone ones.
This is more nonsense. Constructed nonsense.
It’s possible that you’re right, I suppose—that normal people can’t read the manual, use the Internet, figure out a Google Play, pick apps, pick a phone/tablet with an operating system they intentionally want to use for reasons varying from price to maps to overall quality of experience. That IS all possible. People could really be that dumb I suppose.
OR you’re just a regular mainstream person in this respect—maybe even a latecomer to this particular party, and stuck on the fact that sliced bread isn’t yet mainstream, even though it already is and has been for some time.
If you can figure it out, maybe that’s because at this point, anybody can.
Jamie
on 15 Feb 13@GeeIWonder: If you’re ever in Chicago let me know. I’d love to meet you in person.
GeeIWonder
on 16 Feb 13@Jamie: Cool. Could take you up on that if I have some time to kill next visit.
GeeIWonder
on 16 Feb 13Until then, here’s the takeaway: Android is not a cult, it’s not a niche, it’s not something few people choose to use.
And, despite what some people apparently think, perhaps either out of a vested interest in iOS or because it’s unfathomable something cool and mainstream has gone unnoticed for so long, Android is not something people are being cleverly tricked into, or blindly bumbling into as they try to find their pants, or that is so obscure it need esoteric support systems like ‘the Internet’. Android support, and fan groups, like those for people who order nuts or vegetables, are plentiful and online.
Winfried Maus
on 18 Feb 13iOS is a castrated platform with an unbelievable amount of artificial restrictions. Using an iOS device is like using something that you borrowed and that does not belong to you. iOS is only there to empower Apple, it’s not there to empower its users. The crippling experience was the reason why I switched from iOS to Android and haven’t looked back since. I live in Europe, and you see many more Android devices here – and in the rest of the world, by the way – than you see iOS gadgets. Android is the mass market, iOS only occupies the high price segment. Sure, statistically iOS users spend more money in the AppStore than users of other platforms – but that’s because they have to if they want to make their gadgets somehow usable; an average Android device comes with pretty much everything pre-installed that a normal user will ever need. Its openness made Android the leading mobile platform on this planet (and since you mentioned the 90s, that relative openness was what made DOS and Windows the leading platforms of that time). Especially in second or third world countries, where people cannot afford to buy an expensive toy, iOS is a complete no show. But since the first world market already is saturated, those low budget markets are the future. In case you find that funny, you should keep in mind that Africa, for example, is currently leapfrogging an entire century of communications infrastructure—the continent jumps directly from virtually no communication infrastructure to the age of wireless, mobile Internet. Huaweii and others sell low end, cheap Android-based smartphones on these markets that are simply not being made available in the US or Europe where people can afford to spend more than a hundred bucks on a gadget. I think it’s time for you guys in the US to check your reality again and wake up to the shocking fact that there is a whole world outside your borders whose markets work differently than yours.
LeM
on 19 Feb 13“The Nexus 4 can act as a wi-fi hotspot out-of-the-box. No additional fees or anything. u can’t easily find that out on their marketing site—or really any of the Nexus 4 reviews out there on YouTube.” I guess it is because this feature is present in any Android 2.2.x smartphone (not only the Nexus), in other words, since 2011. Only searching in google “android wifi hotspot” you’ll see a lot of videos teaching you how to do such thing.
This discussion is closed.