Top Bananas | Tag Archives: Android

The End of Microsoft Windows Mobile/Phone

Posted on January 21, 2019 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Microsoft officially announced the end of support for their mobile operating system Windows Mobile 10.

Before Apple introduced the iPhone, Google was trying to make a Blackberry clone called Android and Microsoft had morphed their Palm Pilot clone (Windows CE) into a phone operating system. Then Apple introduced the iPhone and redefined the touch screen interface for smart phones.

Google quickly rewrote Android to mimic iOS and Microsoft abandoned Windows CE in favor of creating a new operating system from scratch. That took time and by the time Windows Phone 7 came out, Android and iOs were already dominating the smartphone market.

Even worse, Microsoft decided to rewrite their mobile operating system again and come out with Windows Phone 8, which was incompatible with Windows Phone 7 apps. That meant developers had to rewrite their apps all over again for Windows Phone 8.

Then Microsoft changed Windows Phone 8 to Windows Mobile 10 and forced developers to rewrite their apps once more. Even worse, the official language for Windows Phone development was Silverlight, a Microsoft clone of Adobe Flash.

When Adobe Flash started dying since it couldn’t run on mobile devices, Microsoft Silverlight also died. Now developers had to rewrite their Windows Phone 8 apps to run on Windows Mobile 10.

With all this constant changing, is it no wonder that Windows Phone/Mobile failed? To make matters even worse, Microsoft was so fixated on Windows Phone that they failed to anticipate the iPad, which forced Microsoft to come up with a separate tablet operating system called Windows RT.

Now developers had to write separate apps in different languages for Windows RT and Windows Mobile 10. Instead, developers simply abandoned Windows RT and Windows Mobile 10. With few apps, users started to ignore Windows Phone/Mobile as well.

The lesson is clear. Mere copying of a successful product is rarely the path to success. The real path to success is originality. Come up with a new solution that’s better than existing solutions, not simply a copy of the same solution.

Microsoft Silverlight was a slightly better version of Adobe Flash, but solved nothing new. So people tended to stick with Adobe Flash and when Flash died, so did Silverlight.

Fortunately with Steve Ballmer out of the way, Microsoft no longer seems content to copy other successful products and hope it pays off in the long run like the Xbox. In the meantime, Windows Phone/Mobile wasn’t a bad idea, but it showed that unless you make a dramatic leap like the iPhone did over Blackberry and Nokia, there’s little reason to adopt it.

So rather than blatantly copy, companies should strive to solve problems that aren’t currently met by today’s technology. The iPhone’s touch screen interface solved the problem of tiny screens and physical buttons. Windows Phone/Mobile solved nothing over Android and iOS.

Nobody will miss Windows Phone/Mobile. Even Microsoft’s employees stopped using that operating system years ago. The lesson is copying rarely leads to success so strive for solving the problems of today, not the problems of yesterday that are already being met with today’s products. Just that simple lesson alone could have saved Microsoft billions of dollars and years of wasted development.

Why People Switch Between Android and iOS

Posted on August 29, 2018 by admin Posted in Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: PC Magazine surveyed Android and iPhone users to see why they might switch to a rival operating system.

PC Magazine recently took a survey to find out why people switched mobile operating systems (Android and iOS). Not surprisingly, the results reflected the general consensus about both operating systems.

Android users often switched to iOS for a better user experience (47%). On the other hand, iPhone users often switched to Android to get better prices on a smartphone (29%). As a general rule, iOS and the iPhone is less of a hassle to use while Android devices offer greater variety and lower prices.

Basically, if you value money and don’t mind putting up with inconvenience, pick a rival product. If you can afford it and don’t want to deal with annoying nuisances, then pick an Apple product.

This general finding works for smartphones and computers. Most people choose Windows PCs because they’re cheaper and upgradeable. Most people choose a Macintosh even though they cost more and have fewer expandability features because they prefer the simplicity and reliability of the Macintosh over Windows.

Most people choose Android because of cost and variety. Yet that same cost and variety means Android users need to be more knowledgeable about hardware to get the best deals. For people who don’t want to hassle with researching different devices and simply want a smartphone, it’s easier just to choose an iPhone since most Android devices mimic the iPhone anyway.

Apple continues targeting the high-profit end of the market while rival products (Android and Windows) are more attractive to bargain hunters. Generally, computers and smartphones work mostly alike so it’s largely a matter of personal preference which one you like best.

Android Collects 10 Times More User Data Than iOS

Posted on August 21, 2018 by admin Posted in Business, Software Leave a comment

What it is: Android sends more data to Google than iOS sends to Apple.

Google recently admitted that they continue to track user data even after the user defines privacy settings explicitly stating that they do not want their data sent to Google without their permission. Yet Google collected their data anyway. So if you’re worried about privacy, Google should be one of the last companies you should trust.

That means avoiding anything related to Google including their search engine and their Android operating system. Now the latest study by Vanderbilt University’s Prof. Douglas Schmidt suggests that Google collects ten times more data than Apple does with iOS. So not only is Google harvesting more data, but it will continue collecting your data even after you tell it not to do so.

Given these massive privacy violations, why do people still use Google? The answer is simple. Convenience. In exchange for convenience, people are willing to trade their privacy away. In most cases, Google won’t use this data for malicious purposes such as stalking you like a serial killer and wiping out your home. However, the idea of any company collecting your data without your permission should be at least eye-opening to anyone. Given a choice between Android or iOS, the safest choice is definitely iOS.

If you don’t mind giving up your privacy in exchange for a lower cost smartphone or a better search engine, then keep using Google products like Android. If you value your privacy, then avoid Google and stick to rival products like iOS. If more people would take privacy seriously, perhaps companies like Google wouldn’t be able to get away with collecting customer data even when specifically denied permission.

Privacy is a serious issue. The more people realize this, the better choices they can make.

Will Google Use Fuchsia to Replace Android?

Posted on July 20, 2018 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: Google has been developing an alternative operating system to Android called Fuchsia.

One reason why Android dominates the mobile computing market is because Google gives it away for free. With so many developers creating Android apps, it only makes sense for manufacturers to use Android rather than create their own operating system like Samsung is trying to do with Tizen or that Microsoft tried to do with Windows Phone. At this point, people won’t buy a smartphone if it doesn’t come with lots of apps and developers won’t write apps for any operating system that isn’t popular so they can make money.

That’s why Google’s work with Fuchsia is so interesting. Whatever improvements Fuchsia offers over Android won’t mean anything if there aren’t apps for Fuchsia. If Fuchsia allows Android apps to run on it, then there’s no point in using Fuchsia and developers will continue writing apps for the larger Android market.

Fuchsia is meant to overcome the flaws in Android, but that still means people will need to embrace it so developers will embrace it. Even with Google’s backing, Fuchsia faces an uphill climb to overcome Android simply because so many Android apps already exist. Because Android is so successful, Fuchsia will have a hard time succeeding.

If Google tries to switch everyone to Fuchsia, Android will still be around since it’s open source. Without Google’s official support, Android risks withering away slowly, but that assumes Fuchsia can catch up to Android in a hurry. No matter what, any transition period between leaving Android and embracing Fuchsia will be a time of confusion, which will simply give Apple a chance to snare more customers away from Android.

Dumping an entire operating system to replace it with a new one will be a huge challenge even for a company like Google. Fuchsia’s success will likely only come with steady growth at he same time as Google continues updating Android. Only when Fuchsia becomes nearly as popular as Android could Google dump Android, but if that never happens, expect Fuchsia to linger as a niche product while Android marches on.

Ultimately, the success of Android spells the failure of Fuchsia.

To learn more about Fuchsia, click here.

Essential Smartphone Not So Essential After All

Posted on May 25, 2018 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware Leave a comment

What it is: Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Google’s Android operating system, started a company called Essential, which is now trying to sell itself.

There’s a mistake people make all the time. If one person has success, they automatically assume that person will always have success from now on. What they don’t realize is that sometimes success is more of an accident than a well-planned operation.

Such is the case with Andy Rubin. Andy helped create the Android operating system which originally was designed to mimic Blackberry OS since Blackberry smartphones were considered the elite smartphone at the time. When Apple introduced the iPhone, Andy immediately knew Android’s future had to mimic the iPhone. Because the iPhone was limited to a handful of carriers at first, Android could mimic the iPhone and give people an iPhone-like experience without getting an iPhone.

Andy later left Google to form a company called Essential, which tried making their own line of smartphones. Amazingly, investors once valued Essential as a $1 billion dollar company before they even shipped a single product. All of this high valuation came about because Essential was created by Andy Rubin who also created Android. Therefore, according to investors’ logic, Essential should also be valuable because it would soon dominate the smartphone market like Android did.

Of course what people failed to realize was that Essential created nothing more revolutionary than another Android smartphone. With Android smartphones available from dozens of manufacturers, there was no compelling reason to buy an Essential smartphone just because it was made by a company run by the creator of Android. People don’t care who makes a phone just as long as it’s cheap enough and useful enough for their needs.

Essential had to cut the prices of their smartphones to sell more and now they’ve announced they won’t make any more smartphone. That’s because they never had a viable business plan in the first place. Why would the world care about another Android smartphone when most Android smartphone makers are losing money selling smartphones?

Essential likely will disappear from the world because it literally has no reason to exist in the smartphone market. The company may try to survive as a smartphone device manufacturer and that may give them more success, but as another Android smartphone maker? Even LG Electronics and Sony have trouble making money selling Android smartphones. Why did anyone think Essential would have an easier time?

Human beings are basically illogical. The Essential smartphone wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything special either. The Android market is tough because Samsung dominates and most other companies just lose money selling Android smartphones. Even Google can’t make money selling Android smartphones, so why did anyone expect Essential to have massively better luck?

Because Android is a free operating system, it’s turned Android smartphones into a commodity, and if you can buy an Android smartphone from any company, there’s little reason to stay loyal to any particular company. Android may have massive market share, but its worst enemy is itself.

Beware of Pre-Installed Android Malware

Posted on May 24, 2018 by admin Posted in Software Leave a comment

What it is: Anti-virus company Avast has found malware is pre-installed on many cheap Android phones.

Originally Android was designed as a Blackberry clone because Blackberries were the most popular smartphones available. When Apple introduced the iPhone, Google quickly rewrote Android to become an iOS clone. While Android and iOS continue to copy each other, the bottom line is that Android wouldn’t exist in its current incarnation if Google didn’t deliberately redesign it to mimic iOS on the iPhone.

As an operating system, Android is decent and there are many features of Android not found in iOS (and vice versa). The huge difference between Android and iOS lies in security. Because Apple curates apps on its App Store, the chances of malware getting displayed on the App Store is minimal although it has happened several times. On the other hand, Android allows anyone to install apps with no curation at all, which means users can often be tricked into installing malware.

While many people can avoid malware by simply avoiding visiting suspicious sites, Avast Threat Labs recently discovered that many cheap Android phone makers are pre-isntalling malware on the phones before anyone even buys or uses it. Thus you can buy an infected Android phone and not even know it.

The problem isn’t Google’s fault but the fault of dishonest Android phone makers. If you’re going to buy a smartphone running Android, make sure your smartphone is certified by Google. Failing that, make sure you run anti-virus software to keep your Android phone clean. For even less hassle, just buy and use an iPhone.

Malware is the main reason why Android’s open source policy isn’t always a benefit. The main idea behind open source is that users are free to install any apps they wish from any place they wish. The drawback is that users must also watch out for malware.

The iPhone isn’t immune to malware but because of its walled garden approach to apps, it’s far less likely to get infected by malware. No device is immune but given a choice between minimal risk or maximum risk, why would anyone want to choose maximum risk?