Steve Wozniak perfers Android

[Hemi-Cuda]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...he-iphone.html

“My primary phone is the iPhone,” Woz says. “I love the beauty of it. But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do.”

Woz says voice commands work better on Android. Android’s built-in navigation system, where the phone acts like a GPS system, is another advantage, he says.

Android phones aren’t as simple to use as the iPhone, but they’re not that much more complicated, and “if you’re willing to do the work to understand it a little bit, well I hate to say it, but there’s more available in some ways,” Woz says.

basically mirrors my belief that for technically uninclined people, the iphone is the way to go because it's so simple. but if you know what you're doing and want the most out of a mobile device, Android is king. i like the comparisons to the Windows/Macintosh battle in the 90's, though things are a little different now since Apple is so much bigger than it was then

[Notorious Honey Badger]

ya but i think we can both agree woz knows what he's doing yet he uses the iphone as his primary device

[MickMcGeough]

Hey sweet I was just thinking about starting an iOS vs. Android thread to see if anyone had any thoughts.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

ya but i think we can both agree woz knows what he's doing yet he uses the iphone as his primary device

what i took from the article is that he likes the iphone hardware the best, but likes the power and modability of the Android platform. also saying that Android has better voice functionality after all the hype around Siri is pretty funny

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Steve Wozniak

"The people I recommend the iPhone 4S for are the ones who are already in the Mac world, because it’s so compatible, people who are just scared of computers altogether and don’t want to use them.

The iPhone is the least frightening thing. For that kind of person who is scared of complexity

Haha, that quote didn't exactly come out right in how it was written.

Wozniak is an absolute genius. Read about some of the stuff he designed while still in high school. He basically came up with the working models for personal computers and other kinds of technology we take for granted these days on paper because he couldn't afford a real computer. He did everything in his head or on paper.

Strangely, from the gist of the article, the iPhone doesn't "just work". Apple really needs to work on their voice recognization and get a competing provider for mapping and navigation that is as capable as Google because that is huge leverage.

The GUI also needs an update because as we've discussed in other threads, the cluttered pages and pages of apps and folders just isn't the latest and greatest anymore. Apple practically invented the app dock on desktops and they could definitely do something great with that on the mobile version. Some kind of app drawer would be good as well as having some nice widgets.

Android has it's own problems. It's so fragmented with hundreds of models and everyone has different roms and firmware and there are dozens of marketplaces. That's fine and good for those of us that like tinkering and freedom but that hurts their business model.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

basically mirrors my belief that for technically uninclined people, the iphone is the way to go because it's so simple. but if you know what you're doing and want the most out of a mobile device, Android is king. i like the comparisons to the Windows/Macintosh battle in the 90's, though things are a little different now since Apple is so much bigger than it was then

I'm not sure I really see the analogy. Obviously there are similarities, but I think there are fundamental differences which make it not all that comparable. Back then it was a clear battle of market share, whereas now it's more complex.

Windows had (and has) 85-90% of the market share in a sector where they can charge up to $200-300 per license which has led to them dominating the computer market. But with Android, Google gives it away and makes almost all of its money off of ad revenue. In fact, given the number of searches done from iOS devices (Google testified in a Senate hearing in September that 2/3rds of mobile searches come from Apple devices) I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that they're still making as much or more money off of iOS than they are off of Android (and with none of the costs of development).

Google is really the winner because they make money off of pretty much every mobile platform because they're the de facto search engine. But it's not like the PC OS wars where what's good for one company is generally bad for the other and vice versa.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by opendoor

I'm not sure I really see the analogy. Obviously there are similarities, but I think there are fundamental differences which make it not all that comparable. Back then it was a clear battle of market share, whereas now it's more complex.

Windows had (and has) 85-90% of the market share in a sector where they can charge up to $200-300 per license which has led to them dominating the computer market. But with Android, Google gives it away and makes almost all of its money off of ad revenue. In fact, given the number of searches done from iOS devices (Google testified in a Senate hearing in September that 2/3rds of mobile searches come from Apple devices) I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that they're still making as much or more money off of iOS than they are off of Android (and with none of the costs of development).

Google is really the winner because they make money off of pretty much every mobile platform because they're the de facto search engine. But it's not like the PC OS wars where what's good for one company is generally bad for the other and vice versa.

it's similar in that one OS is only available on one piece of hardware, and the other is available on countless devices and is starting to overpower the other by sheer numbers. if Apple keeps losing market share in the mobile market, they could face the same problem they did with the Macintosh because they're too stubborn to try a different business model

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

it's similar in that one OS is only available on one piece of hardware, and the other is available on countless devices and is starting to overpower the other by sheer numbers. if Apple keeps losing market share in the mobile market, they could face the same problem they did with the Macintosh because they're too stubborn to try a different business model

And it's different in the way that Woz said: Android is actually a great looking and functional software and can compete with Apple in that department whereas Windows was always a bit clunky and ugly in the 90s.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

it's similar in that one OS is only available on one piece of hardware, and the other is available on countless devices and is starting to overpower the other by sheer numbers. if Apple keeps losing market share in the mobile market, they could face the same problem they did with the Macintosh because they're too stubborn to try a different business model

I don't think Apple gives to farts about the market share they have. They're still dominating in profits. Is that short sighted? Sure it is, especially when it comes to developer relations and things like in app purchase, subscription content. BUT, they're successful because they've created a trusted ecosystem for e-commerce. Android indeed leads the world in mobile OS usage, but how much are developers seeing from that? There's a reason why it's still second fiddle when it comes to app development.

My personal preference for OS is WP7. I think it's incredibly elegant, very simple, and it SHOULD be great for developers, but they're so late to market that people won't invest time in developing for the platform. I seriously consider switching to WP7 if only they get a nice device in Canada that isn't a giant 4.3in screen. I hate huge phones, one reason why I'd never switch to something like the Galaxy Nexus.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

it's similar in that one OS is only available on one piece of hardware

Or eleven, but who's counting?

[sclitheroe]

Meh, he lines up for devices like everyone else at this stage of the game, so he's entitled to his opinion. I'm glad he's found a phone that helps him navigate to steak houses.

[PeteLFan]

The op continues to make threads about android being better then iPhone. Like he is trying to convince himself he didn't make a mistake. Who care what one person thinks, everyone has there own preference.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

The op continues to make threads about android being better then iPhone. Like he is trying to convince himself he didn't make a mistake. Who care what one person thinks, everyone has there own preference.

Unless you are Steve Wozniak and you realize how stupid it is to play favorites and have a bunch of phones on you at all times. I remember a time he used to say he carried 4 phones with him...well that's just eccentric but you get the best of both worlds.

[Russic]

I read the whole article and I didn't really see where it says he prefers Android. I see him say he prefers it for some things, but I also see him say he uses the iPhone as his main phone.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, Woz has always been the tinkerer that wanted to give everything away for free and let people screw around with everything. It's amazing him and Jobs ever got along as their philosophies seem totally different.

I officially find these debates about as enthralling as the atheist vs. religion conversations. Nothing ever gets settled, eventually it goes way off the rails into negativity and when the dust settles nothing changes. It's not that the debate shouldn't occur, it's just to the point I finally find myself not wanting to weigh in. Sorry, I realize I'm not adding anything to the conversation... just had a sudden urge to vent.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Russic

just had a sudden urge to vent.

Dammit, now I got a sudden urge to find a steak house.

Seriously, on either side of the debate, unless you simply want to emulate a hero or role model, who cares what Woz uses. He hasn't been relevant in the industry AT ALL since he wandered off from Apple to build...programmable remote controls.

He was once a great innovator and leader in a nascent personal computer industry, but now his observations about either platform are completely pedestrian and about as salient as any other consumer's. "I heard it takes a long time to get apps approved", and "my iphone gets bad battery life" and "I need to find a steak house" sound like conversations I could hear about phones on the CTrain.