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Comment by Lewisham | Hacker News Reader

Things were dramatically improved with Jelly Bean, which is the first Android release I think really stepped up to the plate with iOS. The little things were, by and large, dealt with. Matias Duarte has done a fabulous job.

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And new release of Android 4.2 added some more "little things" http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/11/19/android-4-2-gate-her.... I find it amusing that major tech news sites are very quit about it while they were beating drums about same issues happening in Windows Phone 8 devices just two days ago.

4.2 has dozens of tiny UI/UX touches that Duarte added in that I've not found documented anywhere online.

Well by "little things" I also meant bugs. Clock UI and new lock screen designs etc are matter of personal preference.

Those are features. Besides not giving my N10 back after showing it to her, my mother also wanted to know how to get her calendar to show up on her lock screen. It does have value and isn't just cosmetic. That I can check my email and calendar by simply turning on the screen is very valuable to me. Additionally the clock now includes the additional functionality that CM had just added (though I don't think the code is shared amongst them).

Besides, I was referring to small UX/UI details (new swipeable gestures, new bits of polish here and there, new icons for core apps, new even smoother/slicker/amazing multitasking animations [much less disorienting than 4.1 in my opinion], etc).

I'm personally quite aware of the Bluetooth, etc bugs (though I can't reproduce battery issues on ANY of my Nexus devices, it's obviously an issue). They're obviously problematic. I understand why they replaced the Bluetooth stack but they didn't do a very good job of it.

Glad to hear. I have a Nexus 7 on the way, so hopefully it will be awesome.

It's awesome, I'm writing this comment from it right now in my bed. I particularly like the new input method in 4.2 where you don't need to actually press the keys, you just need to let your fingers slide over the keys and it guesses the word you meant to type. As you see, it's pretty accurate too. I hope this before a standard for tablets, is life- changing. I don't any bad things to say about the tablet either.

After reading the last two sentences I can't tell if this is serious or satire.

> Things were dramatically improved with [X release]

I've been hearing this argument with every single Android release to date. Like your comment's parent, I try out another Android device every 18 months or so, and I still have yet to be impressed.

I haven't tried Jelly Bean though. Maybe it is really the release that makes everything better.

I was absolutely in the same boat as you: everything was better, but still not able to match iOS. I was happily surprised when I tried out Jelly Bean. The Holo theme is taking hold, Project Butter did really well (although I hear rumblings of regressions in 4.2).

Project Butter did really well (although I hear rumblings of regressions in 4.2).

It's frustrating that this happened in Ubuntu as well. They spent a couple of releases focusing on fast boot times, and it paid off. A few releases later, and now boot times are slow again.

> Like your comment's parent, I try out another Android device every 18 months or so, and I still have yet to be impressed.

And I try out an iOS device every year or two, and I have yet to be impressed. The notification system is still inane, Mobile Safari still lags when scrolling, all your app icons still show up on your home screens, and you still can't use widgets on the home screen. When is Apple going to fix these glaring UX flaws?

Ok, not trying to start an Apple war here, but:

> The notification system is still inane

No comment, haven't seen Android's version

> Mobile Safari still lags when scrolling

I haven't experienced this (iPhone 4 w/ iOS 5). Can you give specific URLs where this happens?

> all your app icons still show up on your home screens

You can make folders for your apps

> you still can't use widgets on the home screen

Not sure what this means (again, haven't used Android).

@defen, Android lets you put widgets like weather, clock, stocks, etc, in your home screens. Something like this: http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07...

Things were dramatically improved with Ice Cream Sandwich. Jelly Bean is just an incremental change in my opinion. (I am a happy Jelly Bean and iOS user.)

Things also keep getting better as apps convert their design to work better with Holo and Android 4.x. That is a gradual improvement that continues.

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