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Repeat after me: There is no perfect smartphone

Summary: Bottom line: There is no perfect smartphone. A lot of these devices are starting to blend together. And they will all annoy you, but in different ways.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Jason Perlow wants to break up with Android. He's disillusioned because the Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon just doesn't get updated. Toss in fragmentation, updating policies and bugs and Perlow has just about had it.

On the other side of what's becoming a smartphone duopoly you can spin in a circle and hit someone who is an uber-fan of Apple's iOS. And yes there are RIM supporters along with Windows Phone fans too.

Bottom line: There is no perfect smartphone. It's a personal preference and while companies can screw up royally---RIM for instance---a lot of these devices are starting to blend together. And they will all annoy you, but in different ways.

Jason Perlow: I'm sick to death of Android | Nexus S: Even Google can't do Android updates

I learned this no-dreamphone lesson a few weeks ago when in London. My personal phone happens to be a Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon---it's all about the LTE for me---and the work phone is an iPhone 4S. CBS Interactive hands out Android devices and iPhones today.

In short, the iPhone on AT&T would work abroad. The Verizon CDMA/LTE device was a brick in London without Wi-Fi.

My smartphone world.

Like Perlow I've had it with Android in many respects. The icons are getting old. Ice Cream Sandwich is nice, but not groundbreaking. I still see too many force closes.

As a result, I figured I'd use the iPhone exclusively and then see the light that every Apple fan boy told me I'd see. Sure enough, I really liked the iPhone 4S. However, I missed the large screen of the Galaxy Nexus. I also missed some of the Android features and habits I had with the operating system. Android is geeked out and requires some tweaking, but I've played along and apparently enjoyed it a bit. Google integration is also helpful with tools like Docs. The small-ish iPhone screen was a bit of a bummer over time.

Meanwhile, playing with a Windows Phone device is an eye opener of sorts too. It's simple. It aggregates data nicely. It could win me over.

But rest assured, a Windows Phone would probably annoy me after a few days too. As a former BlackBerry user I already know there are quirks that would irk me.

In the end, smartphones are a lot like spouses---they aren't perfect and once in a while can annoy the hell out of you. Nevertheless, we humans keep chasing the dream and search for perfection.

Topics: BlackBerry, Hardware, iPhone, Microsoft, Mobility, Security, Smartphones, Verizon

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25 comments
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  • No

    No, there isn't but, some are closer than others.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • ok, but

      Of the top mobile OS's- they are all very similar in their capabilities and it really comes down to a matter of preference. Want the most polished app experience? iOS. Want the most flexibility, phone choice, and customization? Android. (I don't have as much experience with BB or Windows7phones so I can't say what they excel at :p) Obviously there is much more to these OS's than those examples, but I'm just illustrating the choices you must make. Some are 'closer [to perfect] than other' for YOU, but it's not the same for everyone. People (I'm looking at you, fanboys) really need to keep that in mind when touting their OS of choice- hopefully you made the best phone choice for your own needs, but assuming it's best for everyone's needs is ridiculous.
      Uninterested_Viewer
      Reply Vote

      • And yet....

        there are lots of people who try to tell you that one phone is better than all the rest. It may not be perfect, but it is the closest you can get and everyone should own one.

        Again, like spouses, I think the key is finding one that you can deal with the annoyances.
        AudeKhatru
        Reply Vote

  • Be careful, the Minions will fall upon you like the plague.

    From what I keep hearing there is one perfect mobile Os, then there's Android, iOS, and Rim's offering. if you listen to these person's, you'll hear that this one Miricle OS will save us from our phones, "Really", it will. This miracle OS will even blend with the most secure OS ever written. If the whole world would use just one OS, Wars would all suddenly end, Famine would be a thing of the past, the end of the world would be avoided.
    Jumpin Jack Flash
    Reply Vote

  • Right tool for the job

    Same for phones, same for most things. I have an iPhone and hate it (more dropped calls than I've had on any phone). I have been a long time RIM user, but the last one I had was not so great. If I was to really pick at them I'd have only one choice left: two tin cans and some string.
    happyharry_z
    Reply Vote

  • Agreed

    I absolutely love my Android phone and could never go back to Apple, but occasionally I run across something that I miss from iOS. And don't even get me started on battery life.

    Granted, I could never switch, because the stuff I'd miss from Android way outweigh what I miss right now from iOS.
    Aerowind
    Reply Vote

    • Ditto

      While iOS has got better over time, there is simply no way I could now ever go back to an iPhone. The interesting thing is that I don't really miss anything at all about iOS except that I'd like to see the fluidity in the UI on Android phones. My wife has a Samsung Galaxy SII and it's as fluid as the iPhone. But that's the only Android phone I have seen that displays this.
      os2baba
      Reply Vote

      • iOS is a simple paradigm, hence its appeal

        Once live widgets are allowed, as in Android, that requires:
        -- manual placement to keep their info visible, and icons then need placement as well
        -- true multi-tasking to keep the live widgets upto date
        -- new apps are added to an app area separate from the display, as some 'apps' only contain widgets.

        These things were enough to keep pre-iPhone smartphones off the front page, but Sense and Touchwiz provide a default layout of a few common widgets so that new non-tech users don't have to work that out up front.

        However, we now seem to have got to the stage that many can handle the extra level of 'complexity' that widgets require.
        Patanjali
        Reply Vote

  • Goodbye Android

    After owning two Galaxy S phones (1 and 2), neither of which ever really worked like they should have, I switched to an iPhone. I'm the exact opposite from a few previous posters. I will never go back to Android after using the iPhone. No lag, no battery pulls, no force closes, no shady apps in the app store, etc. The smooth scrolling, the wireless syncing with iTunes, the ease of use and the (in my opinion) superior apps for business make the iPhone/iPad something I cant live without. The user experience and the polished apps would make it hard for me to ever go back to Android. For my needs, the iPhone is the perfect phone.
    bkohler
    Reply Vote

  • Fragmentation.

    Whenever I see an article that mentions fragmentation I instantly shut off. What is this 'fragmentation' that is so bad on your Galaxy Nexus? Or are you just regurgitating something seen elswhere?
    beaverusiv
    Reply Vote

    • Burying your head in the sand

      will not help the issue go away.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

      • True

        That's why they feel the need to vote dissenting views into oblivion. If you don't agree with the Minion's view, you are obviously unworthy of having an opinion. I happen to not agree with them and have been singled out for elimination
        Jumpin Jack Flash
        Reply Vote

  • Finally!

    Someone else who get it. There is no perfect phone, no perfect PC (generic usage), no perfect OS... I've used Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iOS, and Android and there are things I like and dislike about each platform. And I'm sure there are things I'd like about Windows Phone 7 - I haven't used it enough and I'm not likely to as I'm not a fan of the Metro interface... but that's a personal preference. I find it mystifying how the fanbois of the various platforms can religiously deny the failings of their favs while going for the jugular over minor issues of their "rivals"... I have to admit I just like to stir the pot a bit...
    athynz
    Reply Vote

    • ?????? ?????????? - ?????? ?????????? 2012

      http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1837
      http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1837
      http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1593 ?????????? ??????????????

      ?????? ?????????? http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=415

      ?????? ?????????? 2012 http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=415
      http://7fiz.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1351 ??????
      sofo
      Reply Vote

      • Just a lot of ???? and links to an Arabic site here

        Perhaps the poster can explain something about it in English (just because the text is likely to be readable everywhere, instead of substituted with ??).
        Patanjali
        Reply Vote

    • For me, it the hardware has the most significant critera

      The Galaxy Note is about the hardware most of all, and that the software sufficiently supports using it.
      Patanjali
      Reply Vote

  • Great article!

    Finally, someone understands this!

    http://www.tech-thoughts.net
    sameer_singh17
    Reply Vote

  • Perfect smartphone?

    I agree, there are many things I don't like about my iPhone 4S, but, at least, I can hope for them to be fixed before my 2 year commitment is up. I got the iPhone on 2 Dec., 2011, and already have had two OS updates, free of course, and unlike OS updates on desktop computers, these updates have added features, as well as fixing bugs and patching security holes. The many OS updates vs the total lack of them for the Android and Windows phones was the reason I chose the 4S over then Galaxy S II.
    rphunter42
    Reply Vote

  • maherrr

    http://www.3un-h.com/vb/t19692.html
    ghrorak
    Reply Vote

  • mmhhhhh

    <center><a href="http://www.3un-h.com/vb/t20504.html" title=" "> </a></center>
    <center><a href="http://www.3un-h.com/vb/t19692.html" title=" "> </a></center>
    ghrorak
    Reply Vote
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