iOS vs android apps

Associate
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21 Oct 2002
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Hi all,

I am due an upgrade to my ip4 and am trying to decide which route to take for my next handset. I mainly use my phone for calls, texts, Facebook, twitter, satnav, browsing and listening to music. I very rarely play games on it.

I hate the Facebook app on iOS as it just doesn't work with notifications and messages and status' disappearing. Is it any better on android? How comparable are the browsers (I use atomic web) and sat nav?

I've not looked into te hardware side of things yet but just want to check how the os' compare first.

Thanks all
 
Man of Honour
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On average, the apps are better on iOS, that isn't to say they are a lot better, but there tend to be some differences.

Many Android ones are equal now though, I'd say the Facebook one is close. They both seem fine for me but I'm not someone who sits on it all day.

For what you've said:

Facebook - even.

Twitter - the official apps are both even but there are some better third party ones on iOS such as Tweetbot.

Sat Nav - you can't beat TomTom on iOS but it's not cheap. If you have a data connection Google Nav is free on Android.

Browsers - I think that Safari is the best browser but it doesn't do an awful lot, there are loads on Android (probably more than iOS). Good ones too.

Music - the built in iPod and iPhone audio quality tends to be better, if you buy music via iTunes you can't beat that either.
 
Soldato
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Earth, for now
Fo GPS on the Android platform you can use...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navfree.android.OSM.ALL

Once downloaded, for free, you can then download the UK map and the required postcode file and it will then work without a data connection. It is a very good and for free it is very hard to beat.

For an Android browser I use Browser+, although, as noted, there are many others.
 
Associate
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Not one for Facebook to be honest.

However, i do like:

Twiccca (Twitter client)
Opera (Browser)

And another +1 for NavFree, however, Google Maps is not far off it.

And not to forget the official GeoCaching App! - Available on iOS & Android ;)
 
Soldato
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They are all pretty much equal on both platforms. Facebook and Twitter are horrible on both platforms imo.

It's worth noting that you'll have a choice of bigger and sometimes better screens with Android so your web browsing is going to be a whole lot better there for starters. Then if you have an ICS phone, you can use Chrome which is awesome (syncs your bookmarks and history/tabs if you use the desktop Chrome signed in). You can also load Flash if you wanted to on any website.

Navigation will be free on Android unless you want something more specialised like Navigon or CoPilot. I personally don't like TomTom so I avoid them.
 
Soldato
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FB app is so bad I have a suspicion it's that bad to stop you using it. It's about equal for me these days as long as you have a well supported handset on the Android side.

On a side note, the dumb iphone users* crying about Android getting instagram is comedy gold, you should really check it out if you want a laugh.

*This is not everyone with an iPhone before you all turn into babies about it.
 
Soldato
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To be honest I've not had many problems with the FB app lately - it has the odd brain-fart but aside from that seems to work fine.

The Android app used to be a fair bit behind the iOS one but they're much the same these days. I think it's mainly just a container now anyway, with all the actual content served via HTTP, hence why it looks identical on all platforms and the same as the mobile website. You'll also notice how they tweak the interface quite a bit without needing to deploy a new app.

As for apps generally, having moved from Android to iOS six months ago, I have to say I find the apps a fair bit better on iOS. That's a genuine observation, not a fanboy comment at all.

Even with some of the mainstream apps like BBC News or Autosport, it feels like 80% of the development effort goes into the iOS version and the Android one is sometimes little more than an afterthought. I guess this makes sense from a business/market perspective though. Android support and quality is improving a lot recently though, probably because the developers are waking up to how much the market has grown.
 
Man of Honour
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I use Android; Facebook is surprisingly poor for such a mainstream app IMO.

Sat Nav seems to do the job (Google Navigation) and is free, I only use it on foot or in other cars as we have a dedicated sat nav though.

As for the browser I just use the default one on my HTC Desire HD, seems fine to me (word wrapping when zooming especially), for some reason on my wife's Galaxy S the word wrapping doesn't seem to work as well.
 
Soldato
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Sheffield
The Blackberry one is pretty good, and seems to still somehow be the only one that properly supports push notifications. ;)

The WP7 version seem's quite good at giving me my notifications. The App itself however is absolutely pants.

Good job the People/Me tiles are so good really.
 

Hxc

Hxc

Soldato
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London
Which never seem to work :p (for me at least)

The only way to get push notifications is to log into your account on a Blackberry, enable notifications on there, then go back to your android phone.

I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it works.
 
Soldato
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I have the facebook app installed for push/uploads but use 'Tinfoil for Facebook' to browse, basically the mobile webpage in a app.
 
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