Tuesday, August 27, 2013

So ... How's That Android Treatin' Ya?

In a previous post or two, I noted that I was thinking of moving from Apple to Android in the world of smartphones.  After much trepidation, I pulled the trigger and got an HTC One.  How did it go?  I am the proud owner of an iPhone 4S.

You might ask what the heck was wrong with the HTC?  Do you really want a review?  You do?  Suit yourself.

1)  Transferring info from the iPhone to the One was presented as an easy thing to do.  Just click the synch button on the program downloaded into your Mac and voila!  Instant synch.  NOT.  I actually had to download two programs and manually move everything into the HTC.  On top of that, the AT&T bloatware that is unremovable caused lots of problems with my address book and photostream.  Fail!
2)  The main screen that cannot be changed has a "feature" that is constantly updating with your Facebook, Twitter, news, etc.  It's big, and ugly, and after five minutes I wanted it gone.  But wait!  You can't!  It's part of the HTC operating system laid over Android.  Fail!
3)  Creating ringtones is supposed to be easy.  You just go to your music, find a song, click "make a ringtone", change the start and finish points, and there you go!  Not.  There are two ... count 'em ... two music players on this phone, and when you find the right one, they make it impossible to figure out how to slice and dice!  The speakers and sound are great, when you can find the song you want.  Fail!
4)  The Google Play store is a mess, since they allow anyone and everyone to put apps out there.  Some look like the app you want, but if you look at the creator you find that it isn't the right one.  Deceptive, opportunity for viruses, annoying, and ... yes ... Fail!
5)  Downloading a document is easy.  Finding it once it has been downloaded is virtually impossible.  Fail!
6)  Fail!  (Just because.)

Between yesterday evening and this morning, I spend about 6 hours playing with the phone, trying to like it.  I didn't.  So, at noon, I went back to AT&T, got my money back (less a restocking fee ... criminals), and had the sim card put back into my old iPhone 4S.  At which point, I went on to Gazelle.com, got a quote of $220 for the phone, clicked "Accept", and began my wait for the shipping materials to be sent to me.  I have until the end of September to send it, by which time I will have either an iPhone 5, 5C, or 5S (6?).  There may not be many new bells and whistles to the new iPhone, but I'll wager to say that it works, works well, and makes sense.

I usually learn my lessons by getting hit by a two by four with a nail in the end.  Chalk this one up to another scar made by that rusty old nail.  I am, and for the foreseeable future will be, an iPhone fan.  Win!

No comments: