android vs apple

Trying to search for the nearest branch of a cafe last night on a Apple iPhone 4, updated to iOS 6 is that the Maps application is virtually useless in the Philippines. I have read complaints from users abroad saying that it takes them to the wrong place. No similar problems in the Philippines. It won't know the place exists in the first place. 

Google Maps finds every branch in the country, and even some obscure places with the same name I did not know existed.

The problem would be a poor database. For places in the database, trial and error will be needed to find out if they are in the correct place.  Another issue, could be typographical errors so the Map will not identify the place you are looking for. A friend of mine on her iPad 3 tweeted "check out UPD map. Kalayaan residence hall typed as 'Kalayaan Schoolicidence' haha!." A simple spell check should have detected that. 

Over time that will probably be corrected. But this habit of Apple launching beta software is getting tiring. Last year, it launched Siri, as a beta, but from Apple advertisements you would not think it was beta software. But, it was not a big deal. It was an additional feature which you could simply ignore.

Mapping and locations software is one of the key features what makes a smartphone a smartphone. Apple's iOS5 had a very good map and locations software, in Google Maps and Places. iOS6, well it uses Apple Maps, which should not even be called Apple Maps Beta. It should be considered an Alpha release. 

So while Apple wows us with supposedly better 3D views and features, basically, iOS6 throws all the nice hardware in the iPhone 5 back to the stone age.

Apple, please fix Maps. In the meantime, give users back Google Maps.

In the first part of this article, I wrote about what Google where Google should be conservative with its Google Nexus S II. But there are several areas where the new Nexus should step up.

5 MP camera to 8 MP. When the Google Nexus One came out it had a 5 MP camera, big for its day. While not a great shooter, the specs sheet looked right. Two versions later, the Nexus phone is still on a 5 MP camera. When the Galaxy Nexus launched last year, it was the only "flagship" grade phone with a 5 MP camera, everyone else having moved on to 8 MP or larger camera. Google should rectify that this year. 

Micro SDCard slot.  The last two Nexus phones, drop the MicroSD card. This year HTC and Sony followed suit with most of their phones. Samsung, the top selling Android manufacturer, keeps a MicroSD card on its phones. This is a feature Android users who already have 32 GB, 64 GB and even 128 GB MicroSD cards on their phone want.

Bigger battery. Increases in processing power will be felt only the gamers, and with Android 4.1.1, every phone fortunate enough to get it will run faster. But longer battery life is someone everyone can benefit from. It is also the weakest spot of Android top competitor, the Apple iPhone 5. 

If Motorola can put a 2530 mAh battery in its 8.4 mm Motorola DROID RAZR HD, and keep the weight down to a reasonable 146 grams, Google should consider doing the same with its Galaxy Nexus S II. This alone will make this phone a compelling option in the sea of Androids. 

Super AMOLED Plus Display? Another thing the Galaxy Nexus was scored for was the 720p Super AMOLED PenTile matrix display. I have no issues with the 720p display on the Galaxy Nexus, putting a Super AMOLED Plus display will keep the purist quite, and would give the phone more of a wow factor. Still, I am fine with the current display.

So, will a Galaxy Nexus, with a faster processor, upgraded camera,  MicroSD card slot and bigger battery be enough for you to make a buy decision on a Nexus phone?

Rumor is Google will be building three Nexus phones this year, which should be on sale be the end of the year. One Nexus, to be built by Sony, is rumored to be focus on the camera. A second Nexus, to be built by LG is said to be a waterproof and dust proof Nexus phone. The the third, well it would be the successor of the Google Galaxy Nexus, and is rumored to be built by Samsung.

Windows Phone 8 devices now match the specifications of high end Android phones. The new 4-inch Apple iPhone 5 basically matches the specifications of what a high end 4-inch Android would be like (if high end 4-inch Android phones were still constructed, the smallest high end Android phones these days are 4.3-inches). What should Google do with its next Galaxy Nexus S?

4.65-inch display. The 4.65 inch display of the Google Galaxy Nexus, with the onscreen keys is about the equivalent of a 4.4-inch display with dedicated hardware buttons. It is not a monster phone anymore by current Android standards These days, 4.7 to 4.8 inch displays with dedicated hardware buttons are the new Android monster phones. Google could come out with a 5-inch phone with dedicates software keys. This would essentially be a Samsung Galaxy S III with on-screen keys. But I think Google should leave the monster smartphone clash to its OEM's. The large a phone gets, the more it serves a niche market. 

Instead Google should focus on building a slightly smaller frame around its current 4.65-inch display. Cut 1-2 mm from the width, and 2-4 mm from the height, and give the same sized display in a smaller package. 

1GB of RAM. The Google Galaxy Nexus already has 1 GB of RAM. It could go to 2 GB's just to upstage the Apple iPhone 5 and it Windows Phone rivals. To me this would make little sense. A Nexus phone runs vanilla Android. Much lighter than the OEM versions with TouchWiz, Sense or other interface which eat more RAM. 

The Android OS should not evolve to something that needs more than 512 GB of RAM for at least the next version (Key Lime Pie) and not more than 1 GB of RAM for the 2014 version of Android. Google should keep its next Nexus to just 1 GB of RAM. Google should leave the 2 GB frontier to its OEM partners.

The processor. While you now have quad core Kraits and ARM Cortex-A15's being available, for the same reason that Google's Galaxy Nexus need not have 2 GB of RAM, it also does not have to come with the most spectacular processor. The Qualcomm's S4 with its dual core Kraits in would be a fine option. If Samsung or Nvidia can get an on-chip LTE solution in their chipsets on time, a Exynos quad or quad core Tegra 3, a quad core chip would be a strong marketing point, though not necessarily better than an Qualcomm S4.

The cheap feeling case. Whether you make a case from aluminum or plastic or some other premium quality material, if you want to remove the last trace of creak in a case, it is easy remove the battery cover. But Android owners expect a user replaceable battery, and a bit of creak is worth having the option to replace batteries or replace it with an extended battery.

So basically, what I am describing here so far is a Google Galaxy Nexus with an updated processor in a trimmed down package. But there are some area where Google should make substantial changes, to one up the competition.

Part 2 of this article is here.