Android vs. iPhone

A friend gave me an iPhone 5s when my HTC Inspire finally bit the dust. This 5s is my first iPhone and therefore my first chance to compare the two operating systems so this entry is intended to be a loose list of differences, pluses, and minuses I find as I explore the iPhone and either cheer something I could not do before or mourn the loss of something I took for granted. There's no science, testing, or formal comparison in this entry. Just ramblings of a user switching from Android to iPhone.

There are people who swear by Apple products and would not touch a Microsoft (Windows) or Google (Android) product if their life depended on it (well, maybe if their life depended on it, but they'd have serious doubts it would save them). There are people who never touched an Apple product simply because the opportunity never arose. I fall in the later category. I recently was gifted an iPhone 5s by a dear person (son of a friend) when my Android finally became too problematic after six years of reliable dedicated frequent use. I knew how to do everything I needed to do on my old Android and though it had limited memory and poor battery, I adjusted because it did what I wanted it to do.

Now I am learning the iPhone features and so far, the only one jumping out is the talk to text feature because that did not work all the time with my Android (it would not work when I was connected to WiFi for some reason... it was a cutting dge phone ahead of it's time six years ago, but definitely limited by 1Gb memory). Still, I miss the ease of use that came with familiarity. Not faulting the iPhone (yet) as I hope to learn to do most of what I did and am a little excited about learning new tricks my old Android could not do.

To this end (whatever end this may be), I am going to keep two lists in this blog entry. On the left will be the new things I can do that inspire my smile. On the right will be the missing and the flaws, things I used to be able to do that I no longer can do. Hopefully none will be deal breakers for the iPhone for me, but that is why I am keeping track. Part of me already wants to move back to Android. This list will help me see the benefits of the iPhone and let me measure them against the losses.

I think I will start each feature or flaw in the iPhone 5s simply because it is the phone I use at the moment. The Android had many flaws, though some may have been the age as it was at least four years old. Unfair, I know, but whoever said life was fair? :)

Flaws in the iPhone 5s

Serious flaw - No ability to save a draft text message. With Android I was used to tying out a text message anytime and saving it in draft for a more appropriate time for sending (like a late night text I would rather send in the morning or a text I'd rather send when someone got off work). In fact there was the ability to send a text on delay. No such feature in the iPhone.

Possible Dealbreaker - The inability to save a draft text is bad enough, but the suggestion I read online was to type out the text then close the phone. The trouble is, if another text message comes in, the temporarily saved message is gone. That is the first potential dealbreaker I've found in the iPhone 5s. I researched online and found Apple has no phone that saves draft text messages, so while the decision not carved in stone, I may go back to Android when I replace this phone.

to be continued (if I remember)...

Fila Slide Sandals

PRO: The best thing about these Fila Slide Sandals is the material. It is comfortazble and the material shrinks with heat to mold to your individual foot. I have several pairs and love them for the fit (especially after they are broken in), convenience of a slip on, and the price ($14.95 at Kohls). The footbed is textured and padded in three layers to add to comfort and grip. It is made of EVA so it is completely waterproof, great for any weather, showers, and pool wear. CON: These sandals will seem stiff at first, but the mold well. The worst thing about these sandals is they shrink, so they usually run small and you might find big differences in the same size even when new, even within pairs. I would not buy them without trying on both in the box. If you leave them in the sun or in the car in 90+ degree heat, they will shrink a couple of sizes. If you have kids that might not be too bad, but unless you know someone with smaller feet who will wear your shrunken sandals, don't leave them in the sun or hot places. If you live in a hot climate, they will eventually shrink and need to be replaced or handed down to a smaller foot. I will definitely buy these again and keep a couple of pair of these around.

Always Dailies Xtra-Protection

PRO: Very low cost, about a nickle a piece. Very lightweight. CON: They are small and thin, as advertised (the box says 20% thinner, 5x drier, though those claims always lead me to ask than what? as exactly what the product is being compared to is missing from the comparison). Heavy perspiration will soak them. The box does not reseal or reclose well and they are not invididually wrapped, nor are they in an airtight wrapper within the box, so the sanitary and dryness aspect comes into question and you must package them in your own plastic bag for storage and travel, especially after the box of 50 is opened. They have no wrapper for disposal. They will protect clothing, but only for a very short while.

legal addiction

I found a very odd name for a site comparing itself to medical marijuana and relaxation. From my perspective, it makes no sense to emphasize the law and substance abuse if you are trying to offer an alternative calming peaceful therapuetic experience to people. THis is one person's opinion of sound therapy, but the first five minutes felt like a reasonably calming sleep machine, but the wind down after five minutes felt like a let down, a slow fall, and then the lower tones after that felt like sitting in traffic on the highway culminating in an annoying alarm clock buzz in the last thirty seconds. Just because they call it marijuana does not mean it is...

inexpensive local buffet

A great local find for Orlando, The Wild Rice Asian Buffet at 843 Lee Rd. Orlando, FL 32810 has an excellent price to product ratio. Staff are friendly and attentive. The place is clean. A wide selection of Asian and American hot and cold foods is served on eight serving tables with a dozen dishes on each. There is a separate counter for choose-your-own-ingredients for hibachi, another for choose-your-own-ingredients for asian noodle soup, a not so impressive sushi counter, and a couple of cold dessert tables that include a soft ice cream machine and a hard ice cream freezer. All that for under $10 including a soft drink and tax for lunch. Just over $12 for dinner ($1 more fri/sat nights, $3.99 per pound more for steamed crab at dinner). Very fair discounts for children. Overall, excellent prices for the selection, the quality is above average, and the cleanliness is well above average. I found this place yesterday just cruising for an inexpensive lunch and I returned with five friends today and they liked the place too, so yay, two days in a row of yummy asian buffet that definitely reminded me how much i love buffets, especially asian buffets... yes, i like them enough to link them like this...

hope you had something yummy today too :)

Apple vs. Microsoft: Which is better at Planned Obsolescence?

As much as i enjoy supporting the underdog and for years have applauded the ad campaigns for the Apple Corporation that encourage the negative perspective of huge corporations like Microsoft, are they really any different? A fundamental screw-job for you and me as consumers that most manufacturers deploy is planned obsolescence. Some, usually those with an interest in business, might justify technological changes and suggest reports are just conspiracy theories, but are they? Ask yourself how many items have you purchased in the last decade are you still using? For instance, cell phones?

While the Microsoft Corporation have long been pros at wallet-milking, the Apple Corporation may be even better, seriously. The difference is that Apple is more creative at pointing the finger at Microsoft.

Politics, I mean, business as usual. And we get fooled again. But there is hope, we hope.

buy this... a lot

You get home from work and the sun goes down and you turn on the lights because you don't want to sit in the dark... what if you could turn on the lights without using any electricity?

Little Sun from Studio Olafur Eliasson on Vimeo.

and the next step?... is it so far fetched to believe that solar energy cells can power everything we need if we just invest in the technology to convert solar radiation into power for everything we need?... just a little over a hundred years ago people would have laughed at the idea of something replacing candles and gas lamps... if humanity wants to survive, we will... believe it... work for it... invest in it...