fuzmeister: Departure
I've been a customer with a certain major wireless provider for going on ten years. I've never been upset about the coverage area or even their customer service.
However, Kate and I recently made the decision to change to Straight Talk wireless. Partially, this is due to the cost. A huge factor for us, though, is the ever-growing bloat from providers on phones. The fact that I can't uninstall the NFL Mobile app from my phone without rooting it because my carrier flagged it as a system app is just ridiculous.
I'm not an iPhone advocate, but I appreciate that iPhone users are getting a standard experience for the most part. Android is open-source (which I think is pretty great), but the fact that carriers and vendors feel like they need to constantly customize it and alter the look and feel really irritates me. It also tarnishes Android's image as an OS as I feel the general public generally can't understand what is standard and what is tacked on by the carrier or vendor.
No matter what it is, being with something for almost ten years make it hard to change. In this case, however, I am eagerly waiting for my Nexus 5 to arrive so I can finally have a "pure" Google experience and use Android the way its creators originally envisioned.
Mood: Hopeful
Music: The Airborne Toxic Event - Elizabeth
Tags (beta): phones, android
I've been a customer with a certain major wireless provider for going on ten years. I've never been upset about the coverage area or even their customer service.
However, Kate and I recently made the decision to change to Straight Talk wireless. Partially, this is due to the cost. A huge factor for us, though, is the ever-growing bloat from providers on phones. The fact that I can't uninstall the NFL Mobile app from my phone without rooting it because my carrier flagged it as a system app is just ridiculous.
I'm not an iPhone advocate, but I appreciate that iPhone users are getting a standard experience for the most part. Android is open-source (which I think is pretty great), but the fact that carriers and vendors feel like they need to constantly customize it and alter the look and feel really irritates me. It also tarnishes Android's image as an OS as I feel the general public generally can't understand what is standard and what is tacked on by the carrier or vendor.
No matter what it is, being with something for almost ten years make it hard to change. In this case, however, I am eagerly waiting for my Nexus 5 to arrive so I can finally have a "pure" Google experience and use Android the way its creators originally envisioned.
Mood: Hopeful
Music: The Airborne Toxic Event - Elizabeth
Tags (beta): phones, android
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The fundamental difference between the Google approach and the Apple approach has always been their core business, not their philosophy on user experience. Google's end goal isn't selling products to you, but selling your attention to advertisers. In order to do so in needs to be on as many devices as possible. Apple's business exists in a nether-realm between products and the digital marketplace. Sometimes the device is the profit center, other times it's just a portal to the iTunes store. To achieve the latter it must limit access to its systems.
It's interesting to see how things will develop as we approach the singularity. I believe one of these giants is going to have to eat the other one if either is to survive. I think it's going to be Google on top in the end, but that's not the future I want.