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Comment by sardonicbryan | Hacker News Reader

I don't see why this is surprising -- after all, the Nexus S is a previous generation phone released 9 months ago. A more fair comparison would be with a Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Nexus.

Personally, I love my S2, as it's remarkably faster than my first gen Galaxy S in pretty much everything.

And since I hardly ever see anyone extolling the actual feature benefits of Android, here are 5 Android only features I could not live without:

1) Swype - Delightful, much faster one handed, much much better in portrait mode, don't have to change the way I hold my phone to start typing

2) Shortcuts to Contacts on Home Screen (two tap calling, texting, IM or email! Best flow for actual communicating after Blackberry's "Just start typing their name")

3) Widgets (Calendar, Time + Weather, Evernote, Live Weather background, Wifi Hotspot)

4) Dolphin HD Browser - I can use my volume buttons to change tabs!

5) Chrome to Phone - Really easy to clip notes to myself for later

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This, a thousand times this.

I think it's a shock to nobody that Apple has made damn sure that their UI is lag-free and smooth while Android hasn't. It seems like they've put a lot of work into ICS on this front, but still.

But I've always loved what I can do with my Nexus One that I haven't been able to do with my iPhone. Everything on your list, including:

* Google Maps: the client continually gets better, and built-in turn-by-turn audio navigation is amazing. * Locale / Tasker. It's not a "can't live without" but it still feels like the future when my phone detects its location and environment and changes settings based on that. * Swype gets a second mention because it's just that awesome. In fact, being able to replace just about every stock function on the phone is great.

I think this gets lost inside most android comparisons, but I find the lack of an intents system and more importantly, a global back button completely jarring on ios, the most common example would be, from clicking a link in email, to opening that page in the browser, then pressing back to go right back to my email. the same operation on my ipad means clicking a link, going back, being confused closing my browser, opening email and finding the email again

Double click the home button, select previous app, you are back to where you were.

The back button on Android is a double-edged sword (based on what I have read/heard), because its function is overridden by apps in inconsistent ways, so you are never sure what effect that button press may have. Am I correct? (i am an iOS user, so don't know)

I love Android's back button, but yes, I think you're right about the overriding problem. The browser, for example, arguably shouldn't be using it to go back to a previous page.

> I don't see why this is surprising -- after all, the Nexus S is a previous generation phone released 9 months ago

My girlfriend's 3GS is a couple of years old and is snappy as hell.

Agreed. I gave my old 3GS to my kids (minus the SIM of course) when I got my 4. With IOS 5 it's still very smooth and responsive. We also have an old 3G, though, and that's dog slow. But no one should be surprised by that - the 3G has an ARMv6 chip in it without thumb2. The 3GS with its ARMv7 chip was a huge step change in performance.

1) I have not myself used Swype, but one thing I know is that it is not as fast as iOS keyboard, since I have beaten friends in typing speed (they were using swype and I was using iOS keyboard). Overall iOS's default keyboard is much better than default keyboard.

Is (2) still relevant after Siri?

3) I personally think Widgets clutter the desktop and consume unnecessary power, and they don't provide as much utility to compensate for that.

4) Thats a very minor thing. Mobile Safari is a great browser. There are lot of third-party browsers also available on iOS like my favorite Atomic for iPad which has a ton of extra features and flexibility.

5) Am not sure what that is, but is that relevant after Siri?

1) Swype - It's just much less awkward to type with Swype because you don't have to shift the phone from its natural position -- holding it with one hand and interacting with it with the index finger of your other hand. Also, much easier to type one handed by Swyping with your right thumb, which is useful when you're, say, carrying something in your other hand. Plus, even over a year later, it's still fun to wave your finger around the screen and make words. YMMV.

2) In my opinion, the home screen shortcuts to individual contacts is way better than Siri. Tapping is faster than talking. Plus, I can see if they're online and IM them if they are. I even have one click video chat with Google Talk Video Chat natively supported. Here's a screenshot of what I mean http://twitpic.com/73xo6d

3) My Galaxy S2 can run for almost 40 hours on a charge with light usage, and probably around 24 hours of heavy usage, so battery life is not an issue as it was on the original Galaxy. I like being able to see my calendar at a glance or the weather forecast without talking to my phone, or toggle on a wifi hotspot in one tap. YMMV.

4) It seems minor, but makes using the browser a much better experience. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

5) Has nothing to do with Siri. It's a Chrome extension that works with your phone. I just click a button in my browser, and it sends a notification to my phone with a link to whatever page I have open. Really nifty for grabbing an address before heading out the door, and sending stuff to read later on the train.

1) I can do all of that with iOS keyboard as well, and very conveniently. I am not sure why you feel you need Swype to do that. Perhaps because the size of android phones is larger. 2) Ok, I agree that is powerful -- but I don't need it, but my wife and almost all friends have iOS5, so iMessage can serve me without checking whether they are "online". Overall, I see it provides value, but really my home screen estate is precious and i am not sure if I have place to keep contacts there. Anyway, I give a small plus point for Android here -- but its a philosophical difference -- android is for power-user or for making the phone feel like a computer with lot of flexibility, (which it is really not, and most people don't want it to be), iPhone is for making a pleasant appliance-like experience, not as powerful and flexible as a computer. It is intentional. 3) I am happy with the stock and weather widget in pull down notifications. I don't want to use my iPhone as a computer. 4) What if you actually wanted to change the ringer volume when you are using the browser? 5) iOS5 has synchronized reading list and synchronized bookmarks.

regarding 4), it may be minor, but it's occaisonally handy yet doing it would get you banned from the Apple App Store.

Previously camera apps have been told not to provide this feature, yet now it's heralded as part of iOS 5.

> "Just start typing their name"

You can almost get this on the iPhone by swiping to the left of the first home screen and using spotlight. I use that all the time, for contacts and to launch apps hidden in folders I rarely use.

In Android you could use the universal search widget and start typing, but it's just not the same. I don't regret giving up my Blackberry, but having the physical keyboard there definitely made a lot of interaction flows better (RIP Blackberry Bold 9000).

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