Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

The hate against Android for multi-tasking is actually an okay thing with me. I find that my usage on Android versus Maemo is radically different. I'm still unsure which one I favor, I liked the tasks running in the background (say music) that works seamlessly while doing another task (say e-mail).

But that already exists for me fully on my Nexus 7 tablet without issue. But the game changer for me has been the recent upswing of two apps at the same time for the Galaxy Note series, also on the SGS3 as well. It's not there on my Nexus 7 yet, but I'm sure it's coming since it's in testing on CM10. But 2 apps isn't multi-tasking... I know.

But at the end of the day, some of the multi-tasking that people want to do on the N900 aren't things I'd call multi-tasking either. Listening to music but no immediately available controls - I have to focus it - isn't ideal in my book. Believe it or not, I think BB10 has shown controls on minimized apps that QNX allows for such interaction. Now that has my attention. The ability to start an app, forget about it and have it finish what I had started in it - Android does that for a lot of apps that I'd consider important to that usage, such as type an e-mail, then send it and then minimize/swap while it sends and blam. It just works. But to have things switch to serial tasking, in some cases it just makes sense.

I'd hate to be playing a game and it continues playing when I answer the phone. I'd hate to be playing music and it continues playing when I answer the phone and I can't stop it quickly enough to hear the phone clearly. I'd hate to be writing an e-mail and switch to the phone and not be able to copy/paste a number from that e-mail (that happens a LOT on WP7, so many places you can/cannot copy paste easily from that OS) and above all... I don't want to try to multi-task between a limited number of apps. That's a problem for the aforementioned Samsung dual-display offering.

Who knows what the future versions of Android? Or BB10? Or Jolla?

But as it stands, Android suits me nearly as well as I need it to. Maemo got closer. But I can't say Android is fully lacking in any department other than a few iOS apps that I'd love to be there on Android too.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

So, what desktop environment does actually allow you to control windows that have no focus? AFAIK, a window needs focus, unless something else has been added, for instance a systray combined with shortcuts (as Amarok has, for instance). So, how does that make Maemo not have true multitasking?

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

@waldo Thanks, You make a very good observation. I like to look at multitasking in two different ways. One concerns the user
that is multitasking, i.e. quickly goes from one task to another. Kind of juggling multiple things at the same time.
The second view is that the device itself can simultaneously running different applications.
The video falls into the first class in that it shows the capability of making multiple windows which allows the
user to multitask in the sense that one can quickly go from one task to another. (ie. email in one window,edit
calender in another window and so forth)

I do not think the video proves multitasking in the second sense (Which I consider real multitasking) as it is not clear if
device can actively run different programs in each window. On the other hand, on my galaxy note 2, using multiview, you make a
split screen, so, for example, I can play angry birds on the bottom screen and stream a music video from youtube on the top.
(Not that this is my normal usage!) Anyways, doing multiple tasks like this is what I would consider a real
multitasking capability of the device. Although with multiview you are limited to two screens.

@stickymick I think you make a good point. On android I do not think you can currently do exactly as you describe. The closest I can come to that is when using multiview I can open, say, an editor, then open Stellarium to make a split screen. I can then open a floating window
browser to go to youtube and play some media which, again I can put in background or bring forward (as I watch the stars twinkle!). There are
also floating window resizable media players available that do the same. While in multiview I can adjust what fraction of the screen Stellarium
or the editor takes up effectively going to full screen or minimizing if I choose.

Currently, is there a mobile device in the market that can make, say, four re-sizable windows running for example, a game like angry birds in one window, a you tube video in the second, a video in the third, some other app or movie in the forth? This I would like to see!
On android it is possible to play multiple media in a floating re sizable window using an app called Stickit! You can close
and open window without it stopping the video so it plays in the background. I can also run multiple programs like a pc using
linux on android (but that is cheating!).

Anyways, when my N900 started having problems, I decided, instead of firing up my spare N900, to try out the Galaxy Note 2 on a
a regular basis. While pulling my sim card out of my N900 was a sad day for me, I've learned to adjust with the Galaxy Note 2.
It is not as good at multitasking as N900 but it has many nice features to make up for it. It is very responsive with virtually
no lag, the large screen is great for browsing and such, I like the calendar, mail works well. Very good document editors are are available
and can cut and paste easily between applications. I can connect to my home pc. I have Ubuntu 12.04 on it.
(@don_falcone Especially need hackers keyboard for that!). Also can connect to TV monitor and use like pc.
Plenty of apps available (miss cutetube). Oh, yes I forgot to mention the spen which I find more and more useful.

While android can "feel lacking" at times, largely due to Samsungs efforts and a bunch of hackers on XDA,
it is the best overall device for my needs. I also think these are exciting times and as, gerbick notes, look forward to the new developments in ubuntu phones, jolla, tizen, and bb. GN3 looks promising too!

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Been using Android for almost a year now. Wasn't as painful as i thought.

Multi-tasking is absolutely an issue. I find some apps re-fresh when bought back into focus and this isnt ideal, fine the developer should address this issue, but for me it's an Android app.

But in conclusion the difference is the behaviour encouraged by Android. Although my SG Note 2 supports 'multi-tasking', I find myself pressing the home key 80% of the time and then finding the icon for the previous app i was using to return to where i was. The 1 second or so delay in holding the home key to switch apps isnt efficient and as a result i find i have 10+ apps 'open' at all times when i do use the android app switcher to 'close all' apps. Which, tragically, is all i use the app switcher for.

I feel i've regressed 3 years.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Since you said desktop environment, my answer will only be in that one aspect. For instance on Windows or OS X, start iTunes or Spotify. Switch away, while it's playing, I can hit the play/pause button and the music will play or pause. All without even bringing the app into focus. That would bolster the shortcut usefulness of multi-tasking.

It doesn't. In fact, I'd have to say that you've missed my point wholly. As far as it goes, Maemo got multi-tasking on a mobile device more right than anybody out there. But to be honest, what people have listed as examples are rather poor examples and not ones I'd consider prime for analogies or proving points. In fact, I'm equally guilty of this myself.

By multi-tasking, people are highlighting a strength that I honestly think just doesn't matter in their usage descriptions. Great, you like to see Stellarium change between night and day. That's less than 1/4th of your screen where it's doing so in that minimized/multi-tasking view. Not something I'd call entirely useful by a long shot. You like to see a screenshot of what song is playing via the multi-task view and you can see the album cover. Guess what? Android actually does that too without a widget in 4.2.x (I think it did it in 3.x, but don't quote me).

Multi-tasking is only as useful as it is to each and every user. Not just specialty cases. And pertaining the controls, trust me. I truly enjoy the expanded controls that BB10 grants me. Listening to music, switch out to the multi-task view, switch to an e-mail. Switch back to multi-task view, I can pause or stop the music from the multi-task view since the controls are now there. That's missing from my N9 and from what I remember, from the N900. It's a movement to functional mobile multi-tasking in my very humble opinion that's beneficial to all users.

But let me iterate one thing. Maemo got it more right than Android. I truly don't mind admitting that. They brought so much to the table that I compare my user experience to Maemo 5 and Harmattan and will not accept much lesser.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

This ^, word for word... 100% agree.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I hail from the heady days of the Commodore Amiga. Now that was multitasking.

Rendering a 3D a Tornado jet in Imagine, while creating the landscape that it was going to be flying across in VistaPro, in 2 seperate windows on an A500 with a 7.9MHz Motorola 68000 CPU with 512kB of RAM. OK there was a little slowdown, but that was because there was no FPU built into the CPU.
But once I got my mitts on an A1200 with an expansion board that had a 30MHz 68030 CPU, a 50MHz FPU and 6MB of RAM I was flying.

All this was like 23 years ago. When I see today's sorry excuses for "multitasking" I wanna scream.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

The same with Epoc 32 OS 13 years ago on Psion handhelds (5MX, Revo, 7, etc), which was a lot superior than Android, iOS, Windows Phone.

Yeah, sadly we live in a dumbed-down world, with dumbed-down arguments and dumbed-down criticism.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Oh yeah? Well... well, your criticism is dumb. Take that!

</sarcasm>

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Android is an iPhone copycat. Its a cheap copy at most. That is why it feels inadequate and will always be. Why would anyone buy such blatant plagiarism????

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

My first developed (arcade) game "Ski" has had 357 bytes in Assembly, for Sinclair ZX-81 family in the 80's, the player could spend many minutes playing this game. In this context, it is nonsense to see today "Clock" in modile OS taking 15 MB of RAM.

gerbick, I agree with anyone who thinks Android, iOS, Series 40, etc, is good to each one needs.

But it is totally non-technical to say that the OS multi-tasking of Android, iOS, WP7 is better than Maemo/MeeGo/Linux/QNX/Symbian/EPOC. One totally different thing is the speed and smoothness of the combination hardware + mobile OS + GUI + softwares.

Take an Android smartphone with 4 Cortex A15 and 2GB of RAM and it will still be worse in multitasking than a EPOC OS (on a Psion Revo+) from 14 years ago.

IMHO, Android is the worst mobile OS I have ever experienced (I own an excellent hardware, Asus Transformer TF101 with Eee Dock). Many Android hardwares (smartphones and tablets) are fantastic, many Android softwares are great. But Android OS is a PITA.

I really hope Sailfish OS and Ubuntu Phone OS will succeed so in 2014 I will have some choice of smartphone with real Linux inside to buy.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

We'll have to agree that code now is bloated. A lot of things we could attribute that to, but I'll just remain reticent on why I truly think that is...

**cough**lazier programmers now**cough**

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Either your opinion blows or you've never experienced iOS or any MS mobile OS. But vanilla Android multitasking does suck.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

The multitasking on QNX = WebOS = Maego > Android.
The multitasking on Android > iOS.
The multiasking on NOTE > Android.

To me the multitasking on the NOTE is not as rigid as, let's say, QNX but its close enough. With all the advantages of the NOTE (better performance, radios, form factor, 3rd party support and Apps)... its enough to be my "n900 successor".

The NOTE 2 is definitely better, but not by a HUGE margin... so I'm waiting impatiently for NOTE 3 to upgrade to it. And possibly dualboot UFone (UbuntuForphone).

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Vanilla WebOS leaves much to be desired in regards to multitasking with the default browser. Android is a better browsing experience.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Nope, unfortunately not. But what i have seen an Android device doing instead:

- waking me up reliably, instead of deciding an alarm tone is unnecessary right now and i should enjoy my sleep

- can transfer / accept files over BT (ok that's debatable because it affects only certain N900 configs - but then you have to decide: IrMC/PBAP support, or BT file transfer)

- syncing multiple(!) calendars without a hiss, instead of having to perform some occult ritual on convoluted syncconfigs in order to be able to do so, and even then dropping out randomly

- on that particular topic: many alternate calendars available

- a multitude of stable mailclients, instead of having only two where one of them (the actual usable one, with needed features, let's call it 'claws-mail') crashes (un)predictably in every available version, and the other one - modest - is crap anyway

- talking via Skype when the other party is not on a laptop / desktop using LAN or WiFi, but instead UMTS, and you still can hear them after some minutes without noise bursts or dropped connections (it's a known issue with the N900, i hated it so much that i solely used the Touchpad for Skype after i got it - same connection / same endpoint was trouble-free)

- instantly alerting calls / the caller UI is fast enough, so that you don't miss them because the other party has already hang up in the meantime

- up2date browsers that don't have issues with certain encryption standards / setups, with functional Opera Link (both related to Opera) or are dog-slow (Fennec)

I guess it's a decision to be made what you have to rely on more... good task / process management, or being able to use the device truly for PIM

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I accept any kind of multitasking that does the following things
1. Make absolutely sure that when I leave the app to go look or copy something, it will come back in the exact state it was before, to the last char.

2. If I background the application while doing something (loading, downloading, computing) it continues to do so while I read the web or something.

I don't really care if the above is caused by real or very well done fake multitasking but this is what I want, and I have found that maemo-like multitasking fits the description because, while both of the above can be done on android, on maemo the os takes care of that instead of relying on the application developer (more consistency)

So my understanding is this: Most people who prefer "real" multitasking have some similar requirements and have seen that maemo works as it should (with the added bonus that the switcher is nearer to the user than the launcher or the desktop at any given time) and try to put the difference with android into words.

The difference however at a first glance is not so obvious. Thumbnails here, thumbnails there. Switcher here, switcher there (on 3.0+ switcher is one click away). What seems to be the difference is whether the thumbnails are live, which as a sideffect guarantees my above two points. Live thumbnail means that the gui is still there in memory so it makes sure nothing has changed to the app interface (1) and that operations that change something in the thumbnail continue to run while in the background (2).

So while I agree that watching stellarium alternate day and night through the thumbnail is pointless, it's pretty adequate to prove that multitasking as I need it is in fact there and working.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Android is the worst mobile OS within a device which I own. My mobile OS history : EPOC 16 & 32, Symbian S60v1 / S80v1 / S80v2 / S60v3, Maemo 4, Maemo 5, MeeGo Harmattan, Android.

After using iOS and Windows Phone, they were discarded in the first minutes.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Thank you for this thread.

I use Android (4.0) daily on my HP Touchpad, just for the browser (one thing crippling the - otherwise smooth - webOS) and using it is a pain. You can do all the tasks you need, but there's no joy in using the system. For me, it kinda feels like the system is a problem, stepping between me and the app.

It is no way multitasking OS - I cannot play Youtube (music) video while doing something else - I cannot even switch to other browser's tab without killing the playback in the first one. I am never sure if I am going to lose progress on what I am currently doing when I switch to another app.

Imagine a situation when you're watching a movie in the Video player (or VLC) and a friend sends you a message over chat. You need to reply quickly, but you can be almost sure you will need to find the position in the movie again. Same situation with searching a text and receiving an e-mail. I always rather open the e-mail on my N900, just to prevent confusion.

I wish there was a an image of Plasma Active for HP Touchpad, so I could get rid of Android alltogether.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Yeah, the problem with the webOS browser is that whilst it was ok 2years ago, it has never ever been updated and the system cache appears to be very low as opening multiple windows can really slow the OS down.

That said though, even with the "unable to open mime type" messages in the browser and the odd mis-placed button, it will always try to open the desktop web page, unlike the Android browser which appears to actively sniff out mobile web pages. Even when selecting the desktop view, Andriod will often still want to load mobile web pages. (They are my personal peeve)


Now I agree with many that the multi tasking is superior on harmattan and when it comes to browsing it is essential because the browsing experience sucks big time. The stock browser fails too load many of pages, way more than the other browsers that we have to resort to having multiple programs open at once just to view your desired web content.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I'm on 4.2.1, so I don't know if this is an option for you, but you can try the following setting in the Android browser. Works okay for me.

Attachment 30532

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

This is not quite right. If you have an app like Stickit! or Supervideo
you can press share in youtube and pick either app. This will make a floating resizable window that will play the Youtube video. You can let the music play in background and bring it back if you want to watch the video.

Regardless, it totally escapes me why certain apps like polaris while put in background are eventually killed by os. Especially if you havn't finished editing a file. So as a rule of thumb I always first save file or close app myself. Some other apps may not be killed by os. For example I've never seen Terminal killed by OS when in background. Similar with linux on android. However the vnc connection might be killed. But this doesn't matter so much as it puts me back to where I left off when I restart it.

While I see value in the OS trying to manage processes to save battery and such. It would be nice if one could have the option to select which process to not allow the OS to kill. This would be a reasonable compromise.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Android might have it's gray areas. But when it comes to hardware. They are super uber superior. I don't mean a specific product, I mean all the options and that is the strongest charistaritcs. Just look at CES. So man cool devices, almost all androidish. What's strange is that no one squeezing out a keyboard option every second year or so.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

that made me laugh very hard

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I certainly wouldn't like android powering my oven.

I can thing of a LOT of things that can go wrong.

For example the door force-closing with your hand inside...

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Yes it's nice but it will not completely cook your food unless you stay in the kitchen. The process manager will turn it off once you leave to do another task!

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

i felt similar with symbian and ios some years ago. to me, ios was a cold place filled with lots of apps and symbian felt like a warm home. yes, ios has great apps and stuff but even with the best jailbreak tweaks it still didnt give me the freedom i had with symbian. still none of my thoughts has changed i guess. the same is happening with meego and android. meego is always a welcoming os for me. :)

edit: still feel the same but if i were to use ios or android only i would definitely go for ios.

and after spending some time with most of the mobile operating systems, my opinion is that symbian is and always will be the most usable and spec rich smartphone operating system for the end user. ok it may look cumbersome and old (though there are some reasons behind it) but it does exactly what you wan't from it.

i don't and never will regret buying an n9 but i regret selling my n8 to buy an n9.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

this made my balls go crazy:D

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

if nokiabot was androidbot....

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

Interesting thread!

Incidentally, I sold my A4000 for parts in 2004 and built my first Windows PC. And it was only last year that I parted with my A500. ImageFX and Octamed were pretty cool. :cool:

The N900 feels much like that Amiga experience. Linux has been a bit of a learning curve, but much more related to the functionality of the Amiga rather than my PC experience.

I tried the Note at the store to see what it would be like. I wanted to use the stylus to see how it would compare... draw a quick doodle, navigate around a bit... take a few pictures. I put it down after a few minutes. It felt clunky and unintuitive.

I've since picked up an E7 mostly for the keyboard. Symbian Belle is OK. I only use my E7 for work related texting and emailing, hence the keyboard, and it's fairly good for these things. A lot of granular stuff is missing like finer details for setting up and configuring email accounts.

I'm still using the N900 as my main phone because of its computer-like functionality. I completely take the multi-tasking for granted, and I heavily rely on MicroB for desktop web browsing. I find the E7 useless for my browsing needs even with Opera.

Looks like I'll be with the N900 for a while yet. Now that the price of the 808 is coming down I'd like to try out the audio and image capture functions. Maybe a good hardware keyboard will come out one day again...

:)

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

to be frank i dont know where android lacks but here is real time comparison of my friends L9 and my N900.

LG L9 is 1ghz dual core with 1gb ram running 4.1 stock.
my N900 was 500-900mhz clocked with 256Mb ram.

my friend asked me to drop mine and go for a L9.. but i said maemo is better than android and thats where the fight started..

first v started to open apps and check the response rate.. v opened apps like conversations music player gallery etc.. (N900 won in number of locations.. My image gallery was quick compared to his.. when i asked him to show our fb msges he went to the fb messenger.. i just opened it in the conversations in a sec.. ;) ).. apps opening was almost the same rate compared to L9.

a tie b/w L9 and N900

next thing v tried the multi tasking stuff.. v opened almost 25 apps.. he fainted when i asked him to go to the media player.. i just went in a sec whereas he was still searching for it.. :D
the place where i felt miserable was he just used kill all to kill apps.. while i was closing apps one by one.. :(
his L9 had only 100mb free whereas i still had 30% free ram..

end result tie
(i hate to admit that.. killing all apps killed the end result too.)
EDIT: his phone slowed down(the response rate slowed down) but this beast kept things going at the same rate.. tks to cssu and thumb team.. :)

next v ckecked video playback speed.. i used OMP and he used MX.. shocking thing was N900 played videos very fast(like moving to next video was quick compared to his..)

N900 won

next v checked browser.. N900 didnt handle(it handled well but not as good as L9) heavy web pages effciently..
L9 won

next were shortcuts.. tks to my powerful qwerty N900 won hands down..

my camera performed excellently well.. N900 has shutter key.. he lacked that.. picture quality was superb compared to L9.. (PS: when u switch off show preview of image in N900's camera u ll experience faster performing camera.. )

N900 won..

N900 had additional IR port camera shitter qwerty and solid speakers..

places where N900 won were multi tasking,camera quality,camera shutter key,qwerty,auido quality,video playback speed and some additional support like IR port,game gripper psp joystick etc

place where L9 won were camera speed,browser, video playback(1080p) and closing all apps(killing all at once) and opening app speed(my camera app was slower compared to his)
and apps..

android may be stronger than todays maemo.. but Maemo is THE BEST for me..

EDIT: from my second N900 ;)

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

This is mad to compare a 4year old hw with a patched 4year old sw to newer Android devices, just annoyed how Nokia treated n9xx

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

this comparison was basically to tell how far N900 stands today.. when u compare N900 to a newer android it will atleast give a good fight.. but when u compare an android GB with JB it will not even have a chance.. N900 might be old specs wise but its still rocking in s/w side tks to the great work by the communuty..

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

after a few months with the nexus 4. I don't hate the multitasking, it's just I simply prefer being in charge of what stays open and what stays closed, and that's not always clear. Also I ****ing hate wakelocks

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

So I'm at 6 months now with the Note 2. Things have improved a bit as I've gotten more used to the system and found work arounds for some of the things that I couldn't get used to. Chief among them was finding a couple of good keyboards (I'm primarily using Kii for Swype like functionality plus the ability to add in a dedicated number row, and Hacker's for the traditional layout and the ability to use kb shortcuts). With Kii I can be quicker at typing out certain types of messages than I would have been on either the N800 or the N900 with a dedicated keyboard...but the downside is that it is easier to make mistakes and miss them when the keyboard chooses a wrong word. But still, having a good keyboard means I can actually use the device for more than a few minutes without getting the urge to throw it against the nearest wall.

I also like having access to the apps. In general I'm not a big fan of apps, especially the ones that could work just as well as a webpage on any system...but there's no denying that there are a lot of apps out there that can be really useful.

That being said, it has bee n6 months and I still haven't really adapted to the UI. The screen size is both larger than it needs to be,and not large enough. Too large in that it isn't that comfortable to hold securely, and while it fits in my jeans pocket fine, it isn't as comfortable there as my N800 was (which is basically the same size, just not quite as wide). But it is too small because UI elements in Android are generally really large, so it's hard to make intelligent use of the screen space. Trying to type an email in landscape means that I can only see 1 or two lines of text, because the rest of the chrome takes up all the remaining space.

Most amazing to me though is how I haven't gotten used to app switching yet. Bringing up all running apps on both the N800 and N900 became second nature in a matter of days. My boss just bought a Z10, and even though I've only used it for a few minutes helping him setup some things, I've already started trying to use the same gestures on my Note 2. By contrast, none of the ways that I can get to the recent apps screen have become ingrained in memory yet (this is more a Samsung problem for not providing a dedicated key, than an Android problem), but even when I do get to the list of "recent apps" finding the one I'm looking for almost always involves searching through a long list of apps that I'd only briefly opened to check something, but then stay in the list unless I manually dismiss them.

I used the N800 for a bit yesterday to play some music from my NAS, and it was such a comfortable experience even though I hadn't really used it in a few months.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I use Kii Keyboard (Premium) and Apex Launcher (PRO).

I'm jealous of the NOTE 2, but still happy with my larger NOTE (its got bigger bezels).

I disagree with the UX. I'm running Villain ROM, which is sort of like an AOSP ROM running on a TouchWizz kernel. The benefits of this is having Multi-Window, AirSwipe, S NOTE features (even the Samsung Market is a good addition). Also the Camera doesn't suck.

I've made the UX to what I prefer, and have grown accustomed to it.
It's not as basic as iOS, and not as cluttered as BBX... its a nice balance (though not perfect I say).

I agree the whole "multitasking" is ....shite.
Its not multitasking at all, its only a list of Recently used Apps. I agree the list is sometimes too long, not on my Villain ROM though. However, the thing that sucks is that if you're in an App (eg DrawFree), and you exit the App to check a Widget on your homescreen. When you return to the App (DrawFree), the App restarts itself. It was "savestate" but causes a refresh ---and this ordeal is found on several/many Apps.

It simply sucks.
And sometimes the Recents List is not long. And when you tap on an App you haven't used quite recently... it coldboots that App. If it needed restarting... Why The Frick Was It On The List in the first place ?!?!?!

Paranoid Android has a good implementation coming in a shortwhile, but it too is flawed. Its intrusive, selective for only a few apps, and while its great that it stops Apps from restarting... it doesn't really "multitask" them.

The only thing that really multitasks in Android seems to be the MultiWindow from Samsung (which has no AOSP alternative) and Floating Apps... which are obtrusive and don't really solve the question at hand.

I have a feeling the next Android 4.3 or 5.0 might bring some true multitasking to the table (by that I mean fix the flawed Recents List).

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I've used windows for 15 years, mac for 5 and am using them simultaneously. I do understand basic programming, used a bit of linux. I've taken apart PCs and macbook pros to fix them - I practically troubleshoot computers for relatives and friends.

I've owned an android tablet for half a year, sold it, and am troubleshooting android phones for my mum, relatives, friends since honeycomb days.

I love mac. I love PC. I love iOS. I'm cool with linux. But guess what. I really really dread androids.

I know, people do have differing tastes, but the android UI, to me, is terrible. It's very reminiscent of Nokia OS, pre-touchscreen era. And c'mon, do android fans feel proud when they see someone shopping for phone and they see the home screen on the demo android set swirl into a globe and unswirl itself when it reaches the next screen?

I also don't like the way extra options or settings are laid out. There seems to be no concept of what are the more-used options and what are the lesser used ones. Almost nothing feels like they are a couple of taps away and you're always forced to change settings whenever you download something new. In short, the design of individual apps feels extremely scattered and disorganized. Also, there IS the serious issue of android fragmentation when manufacturers all decide to add flavor to their OS. Isn't it frustrating when you get a new phone, you open a link and it asks if you would like to use the Samsung browser or Browser? Or when an android buddy asks you for help and you can't actually guide him because your phones are from different manufacturers? Setting up an android to one's liking is extremely tedious, even with google accounts.

I hear many complaints that the stock keyboard stinks or why isn't there battery percentage visible. Yes, you can install new keyboards (so can you, on Cydia FYI, but hardly anyone does that) and install tweaks. But why are these basic things omitted in the first place? Why are the keyboards so broken on so many different models? How can keyboards be broken? The phone is useless without the keyboard! Shouldn't most keyboards on different phones be pleasing out of the box? How can so many different companies fail? Why do you have to have a S3 phone and go meh, I'm gonna install my swiftkeys and then THAT dictionary? And oh, sorry, this battery percentage tweak can only be installed on a rooted phone.

My iPhones are all jailbroken. I do lots of things using my iPhone. I'm not talking about font or color scheme tweaks. Yes of course Cydia offers that as well, on top of functionality (rotation, lockscreen, weather, etc) tweaks. I use my iPhone for VPN access, I use it to hook up to my car OBD2 without buying a $150 wifi dongle and a lot more.

To jailbreak virgins, I can only say it's like Google search. One search box, and that's it. If you want to tweak battery colours or fonts or whatever, simply type in, "battery". In contrast, android users often have to scour forums, subforums, praying for some genius to be using the same phone as them so that patches, custom ROMs and what-not might be available for them.

I do understand that some people need the screen estate. That, is perfectly fine with me. Androids have their tegra, snapdragon and more, but how many people out there actually know how much of the processor they utilize? Slow? Everything is slow after you've used your phone for a while.

I guess the selling point of androids is that they come in all shapes and sizes and price-points, but would I be wrong to say that androids are the broth with too many cooks, far, far, too many cooks?

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

So another update. Broke the screen on my Note 2 (from what should have been a harmless <3ft fall onto a wood floor). Had to send it back to Samsung for repair and was without it for a couple of weeks. Once again I pulled out the N800 to serve as a trusty stand-in. And once again I was reminded at just how much I like Maemo. Certain things didn't work at first...but once they did the experience was so much more comfortable than Android. Everything just seems to be in the right place and things like app switching feel natural.

I got the Note 2 back yesterday. Completely reset to factory standards, all my data had been backed up, but as far as I know there isn't an easy way to back up all the settings for all of your various apps, so I'm trying to do it manually again. Spent most of the afternoon installing apps and trying to reset things, and I'm nowhere close to where I was (which itself was only good enough that I no longer wanted to throw it at the wall every time I picked it up).

I'm starting to think that I'm just not going to come around to Android's way of thinking. Here's hoping that by the time I'm ready to upgrade there will be something worth upgrading to.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I only recently bought my first Android phone, an HTC One. Prior to this purchase, I've had jailbroken iPhones, an N900, an N9, a BB Z10, and a bunch of other, earlier feature phones. I have my One tweaked and modded with custom everything (all free/donation based from XDA): firmware, hboot, OS/ROM, kernel, recovery, etc., so I may not be an average user, but to the people on this forum, I did what you would probably do with a flagship Android device.

I sincerely miss the multitasking advantage of Maemo and Meego. I still use my N9 a lot, so I agree that Android lacks there. Also as far as UX/UI, I think that Android needs to figure out how to avoid using the upper screen edge as a touch target in single handed use. My 4.7 inch screen makes using this area a challenge, and something like a Sailfish-type pulley menu is badly needed to avoid hand shuffling when touching or swiping down from the top.

But as for most of the problems listed in the thread, I guess that Google has figured it out by now and/or that they mostly apply to those with older devices (I'm glad to have missed those days). My One doesn't slow down, it's the best looking, best display, best sounding, fastest phone I've ever had. The app quality and diversity are tremendous. Apple and Google are absolutely dominating the competition here, and it cannot be mentioned enough. The Android development community, like here, is amazing. There are a lot of people working on Android's stuff, and the update pace and quality is insane.

So here's hoping that all the bugs and limitations get worked out, but I, for one, feel spoiled by all the great tech we get to use and play with.

Re: Why does Android feel so lacking?
 

I agree, I find when I try and pull down from the top using my thumb the moment I release it rolls up again and I end up having to do the gesture two handed to make it work. Jolla's pulley menu is a great idea.