Apple Vs. Android - Android software

Welcome to my 3rd post regarding the subject at hand; Apple or Android? If you haven't read my first or second post, what I post about is "The Great Debate" between Apple and Android cell phones. Last post, I discussed the basic physical appearances of the two platforms, on the outside and the inside of the screen.

This post, I will go into depth about Android's software; including both its advantages and disadvantages, some cool and useful aspects and tools that Android offers, and also the software itself.

Android

The Android software uses Android 6.0 software, called Marshmallow. This software comes with multiple updates and improvements that the old version, Lollipop, offered; however, this new update in software has not been given to all Android phones yet; as a matter of fact, Android releases such updates their own phones, Google Nexus, first, and the new updates don't normally roll around to other phones months after its release date, or never at all, depending on the age of phone. This is because the Android platform is placed inside so many different kinds of phones, and each phone is different, therefore, they each require different encoding. However, this problem isn't exclusive to Android phones alone. Although Apple is much quicker to ship out their updates, it can be concluded that it is because the Apple platform can only be found in one kind of phone, and that phone is iPhones. However, Apple has a tendency to be concerned about their newest models first, in order to influence Apple product users to purchase the newest model of iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc. that Apple puts on the shelves. I'm sure that Android does this as well; however, I own a phone that is not on sale in stores anymore, and I am still receiving updates.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Back to Android,  the new Android update came with some great new features that are proven to lengthen battery life, and provide more services to the user which makes google searches much simpler, and quicker. These features include the official terms Doze (Battery-saving type app), and Now on Tap (Google Now search app). These features really improve the functionality of your device, and have proven to aid its users to get their tasks done quicker.

Google Now on Tap, demonstrating one of its useful aspects

Now that I have explained the new update that came to Android, let me discuss some of its advantages, as a platform. Android is the better of the two for the most useful features for productivity. Because it is Google software (since 2005 when Google bought Android inc.), Android products come equipped with all of the Google features, such as Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, GMail, Google Maps, Google Translate, Google Photos,Google+, Youtube and also all of the Play Apps; Music, Games, Movies, Newsstand. And obviously, Google Chrome and Google Search. The reason that I mention all of these apps is because these apps are all controlled by your Google account. Therefore, you can access every piece of data that you store within these apps on practically every device you wish. Including laptops, PC's, tablets and even other phones. Another reason I mention this is because every document, spreadsheet, calendar event, slide presentation, whatever you please, is automatically saved to your Google Drive account as you update it; therefore, you do not have to worry about any corrupt data on your device, because all of your work is saved directly to your Drive. Furthermore, all of these documents that I have mentioned and more, can be shared with people right from the app, which makes it much easier to communicate with others. In addition, Google Classroom is a great learning tool used throughout multiple school boards. This feature lets the teacher and the classmates communicate within themselves, and is approachable through every mobile device. It is useful for sharing projects and their due dates, any lessons covered in class, and any memos and notes that the teacher wishes to tell the students. My school board uses this feature, and it is very, very successful and used within my school. It simplifies the learning aspect as a student when you are able to rely on this service to remember about any homework, upcoming tests and projects.

Another feature of Android phones is its Google Now function. Google Now is a feature that is voice activated to the owner's voice, and lets the owner do a voice search through google as if he were using google, which he practically is. This offers a hands free function that is very useful when busy doing other tasks. On top of the google searches, you can make calls, send text messages, open apps, play music, set calendar events, reminders, alarms, and basically anything else you can thing of. I love this feature and use it often to check the weather, send text messages to my friends while cooking, do quick searches while typing on my laptop or doing homework and playing my playlist while it is charging. It is a very neat tool, and it is also available on laptops, as well.

Google Now

Now, the disadvantages. Although Android platform comes with all of these amazing features, in my opinion, there is naturally some drawbacks. Android phones are normally a little difficult to use at first usage, because there are so many different features and specifications that they can prove to become confusing. After purchasing the phone, it usually takes a while in order to set up every aspect of the phone, because all of its features continue to show up in your notifications bar, stating to setup this app, and so forth. You can start to lose track of all of the features your phone possesses, because there is so many. Also, as I have already mentioned, not every aspect of  Android phones are customizable, which can be a pain, considering that some of these aspects are the most used aspects, such as your apps window (the circular button with the six dots), and your lock screen, to a point.

This photo shows the Apps window (left), and a quick access control panel that you can access by swiping from top to bottom of your screen twice (right). 

As you can see by the picture above, the app window is very black and well, dark. This window is non customizable, and the apps are set by alphabetical order. This can prove to be bothersome to some users, considering that you cannot change it at all. This limits your phone's personalisation abilities, which is an unfortunate factor. Another inconvenience that Android has but Apple does not, is the ability to reply to texts straight from, either the lock screen, or when your phone is unlocked. You have to actually go to the messaging app in order to reply, which has been a bother to me, especially when I am trying to do a search that really is not fit to be done on a small screen, but in a laptop, and I have to leave my screen in order to text. However, Android fixed this problem with an app in the Play Store, called Messenger (made by Google). This is different from your phone's original messaging app, but can be easily made your default messaging app in your settings.

The Messenger app allows you to reply to messages straight from your current page, as well

In other inconveniences, Android does not provide the same apps that Apple does, which can prove difficult, when you own one device of each company, like I do, and you have to try and find similar apps on your phone that resemble the apps on your Apple device (as a comparison, I use Playtube on the App store on my iPod to watch Youtube videos, and it lets me download them to my iPod for music; there is no Playtube on the Play Store).

Also, the Android software is what is called an open source software, which means that Android can work on all devices everywhere, from cars to touchscreen fridges, to computers, to phones, etc.. this, I feel is great, but the problem is that because it is so vastly open and large, it is impossible to know every single aspect of its software, which causes complications when trying to perfect the software, as well as any updates that occur, and any glitches that may occur.

All in all, I love this platform because it has some amazing features that enhance my productivity, and as well as my entertainment with some of the apps that I mentioned. After some app downloads, I was able to enhance its communication aspect, as well, and it made me enjoy my Android phone even more. Its multiple features make searching very easy and fast, and I feel that Android has a lot in store in terms of a prosperable future that all Android users will benefit from. I recommend this platform for the productive person.

Thank you very much for reading my blog, and stay tuned, because next I break down the very popular Apple platform.

https://www.android.com/intl/en_ca/versions/marshmallow-6-0/

http://www.cnet.com/products/google-android-6-0-marshmallow/

[Personal experience and knowledge by using platform]

Apple Vs. Android - the Products and Looks

Welcome to my second post! In my previous post, I introduced my topic, Apple Vs. Android, and I explained some of the questions I will be covering throughout my upcoming posts. In this post, I will explain the most important specs of each company, or referred to as a platform, to really put a mental image in your heads. I would like to start off by saying that I am an Apple iPod Touch, as well as an Android cell phone; therefore, I have experience using both softwares. 

First off, products. Apple products consist of only one kind of phone, and these phones are iPhones. There have been 12 iPhones made in Apple history, dating back to 2007; however, I have only seen the iPhone 4s still out and about today, it does not mean that the older versions do not exist anywhere, but anything past the iPhone 5 is not for sale at any major cell phone device retailers any more (you may be able to find them online, if you want an older version). There is now available for purchase the iPhone 6s Plus. 

This photo shows the first Gen. iPhone,  3G, 4, 5, 5C and 5S. there is also 5S plus, 6, 6S plus.

The iPhone has, naturally, immensely improved since its release in 2007, improving every aspect of the phone. Apple also makes plenty of other products, such as the iMac (computer), iPad (tablet), iWatch (electronic watch) and iPod (mobile device).

Android, on the other hand, is implanted in multiple different cell phones, including phones made by companies such as Intel, HTC, ARM, Motorola, LG, and Samsung. Android was bought out by Google in July 2005, and, being an android user, I can say first hand that the platform has blossomed and has become the most popular globally used platform in the world. In my last post, for those of you that have already read it, I mentioned that the iPhone was the most popular phone among teenagers. I would like to point out the key word teengers. The Android platform is the #1 globally used platform out of all of the cell phone users. 

Because Android does not have a special phone, this photo illustrates three different devices used by the Android platform.

Android also makes other products, such as multiple tablets, T.V.'s and watches with android software.

Secondly, the looks. I feel that the iPhone's looks are better than Android's, because everything is on one page, and I like the layout of the home screen ( I will explain). Although Android has some specs that I wish Apple had, I feel like the whole concept of the phone is more appealing in looks than Android.

iOS 7

Above is a photo of iOS 7, which looks a lot like the new iOS that is out right now. iOS is the OS software that comes with Apple products. Apple is infamous for using the letter "i", which I have heard stands for Internet. However, upon research, I found that the creator of the iMac, Ken Segall, had stated that the "i" stood for more than that, but represents the product as a personal and revolutionary device, ( examples of words includes "individuality" and "innovation"). All Apple products look similar to this picture. The sleek design makes everything relatively easy to find in your phone, because every app that you install is put on the home screen, and everything is together. Apple made it easy to use by letting you move your apps around so you can organize them however you wish to do so. Whenever you move an app from its spot, any apps to the right of it (saying it is a line, if you took an app from the lefthand side and moved it to another page, the apps would shift over to the left to fill the space, and the app on the very left of the screen in the row underneath would rise and take the empty space to the right.). The design of the phone makes it user friendly, and I will touch up on that when I talk about the software. All in all, the iPhone is a very sharp looking phone, inside and out, and is very easy to use.

Above is the signature look of Android. It shows the Google features that come with the phone, which I will discuss in the Software section. The button in the middle with the six grey dots represent the "All Apps" button, which brings you to a screen with every single app that you have installed. It is a handy tool to have, especially since your home screen doesn't get filled with apps that you do not use often or at all. The one drawback that I feel is a bummer is that you cannot personalise the All Apps page on most Android phones, meaning that the background that comes with your phone is the only one available, and the apps are organized by alphabetical order, so there is no switching them around. Now, don't get me wrong, you can personalize the order of the apps once you place them on your home screen, if that is what you decide to do.

One thing that Android has and Apple does not is the options of multiple types of security codes for you phone once you lock it, such as line patterns consisting of 9 dots, Face recognition, easy and complex number and letter passwords, and simple number codes. All in all, the Android layout is simple to use, also, but it takes a couple more steps to get to that simplicity level of Apple.

In the end, they are both great platforms, and they have both have great success with their products, and I believe that Apple has the cosmetic edge on Android; however, there is plenty of more aspects that I have not gone over yet, so stay tuned!

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer them in my upcoming blogs.







https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2632371?tstart=0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

Apple Vs. Android - the Device Dilemma

Welcome to my blog! During the next eight to ten posts or so, I will be discussing the biggest technological, whether you would like to call it a debate, dilemma or question, Apple or Android? If you have taken any interest into this topic before, there is a great chance it is because you were, or are currently in pursuit of a cell phone. This is the biggest discussed topic within the cell phone subject.

As I continue to write this blog I will be explaining both sides of each company, and will be expressing my personal opinion on the matter at hand. This is a very interesting topic for me, as well because like many teenagers my age, I was looking for a cell phone, but didn't know what phone do I purchase. I feel that this is a subject that will interest most of the readers of my page, because it is a question asked by a lot of people, within themselves as well as to others. Many people do research on which is better, Apple or Android, therefor my goal is to make this a one-stop-shop for everybody, because I will be doing research and explaining the information on multiple FAQ's such as the following:

• Which one has the better battery life?
• Which one is easier to use?
• What phone do I get if I am just using my phone for contacting my friends?
• What phone do I get if I want to do a lot of internet searches on it?
• What company is the most popular?
• Which phone is less expensive?
• Do the prices for these phones outweigh the advantages of owning one?
• ETC...

These are some very good questions that I, personally have heard among my classmates, adults, teachers and everyone in between. I did not need any research to be able to pull these exemplary questions for my introduction post. 

Now, I understand  that everybody is incredibly different, and each person has their own preferences and needs in a phone, and the level of importance each aspect withholds per person. I will be speaking from my perspective as a teenager, because it seems to me that teenagers are the most indecisive when it comes to purchasing a cell phone (even more so when it is their money). Also, being a teenager, it will be more easy both for me to explain as for you to understand and to follow along, because I am presently thinking as a teenager and understand how they think. Makes sense? I believe so. 

This is a chart that shows the age groups of people who own cell phones

Now, I will tell the readers that all that they are looking for is the most popular cell phone company between Apple and Android, and they are basing their purchase off of that statistic and that statistic only, then continuing to follow my blog will turn out to be a waste of time for them; therefor, I will tell my readers now that Apple, and their only products (which I will be discussing later), the iPhone, is the most popular phone being used by teenagers. After a quick search, I received the statistic that 67 percent of teenagers own iPhones.

However, for those who are interested in more than that, I will do my best to aid these people in my following posts. Therefor, if you have any questions that you wish that I answer, please feel free to comment and I will do my best to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Thank you, and I hope you find my blog both entertaining and informative.

Siri Vs.Google Now (to be explained)

****This post was written with only my knowledge on the subject, considering the fact that it is simply an introduction post. I will be doing research and will be giving credit to where it is needed. I did use one website for one statistic, and that is distinguished by a hyperlink to the exact website and place that I had gotten the information****