ASHOK GOVIND

The Nexus 4 is an excellent smartphone but…

I’d rather stick to my iPhone 5. Thanks!

I’ve been using Android for a while now and I’ve been extolling the benefits of Android to people. Some of them have even taken my advice, moved to Android and love it. Choosing an mobile device is highly subjective to one’s use and what they want from the device and I’m just inclined to list down the reasons why the Nexus 4 didn’t work for me. I’ve also been thinking about why I love my iPhone 5 so much and would die by it rather than thrive on Android. This post is NOT to bash the Nexus 4.

Following are the reasons:

1. Hardware

It is true that an iPhone 5 just can’t be used as it is e.i if you want to use it without nicks and scratches. But there is no denying the fact that the phone looks and feels beautiful. It was like going back to a loved one you haven’t seen for some time. Plus, the phone feels just right in hand and one handed use is a breeze. During my time with the Note II, things got to an extent that I used to think twice before attending a call when my bluetooth wasn’t around. The Nexus 4 was good but with the iPhone 5, a phone call becomes that much more enjoyable and pleasant.

I really enjoy accessorising my iPhone 5. There are soo many of them. Recently I bought a beautiful leather case from Mujjo that I love using. If you’re in the market for Nexus 4 accessories, slim pickings.  

2. Apps & Play Store

Android’s Play Store has trudged its way through a long road filled with rocks, boulders and stones. And has shaped itself as a beautiful marketplace buzzing with activity. Unfortunately, it is not squeaky clean. It has picked up a lot of dust and stones along the way by way of apps which it is just not able to shake away. All the apps developed by Google are completely in harmony with each other and make for a consistent experience whilst there are other apps which I’ve found to be hit or miss. It is not difficult to identify the bad apps from the good ones but when you’re after an app that will satisfy a particular need, you don’t want to be sorting through good and bad apps. Another interesting observation is the rating system in an Android ecosystem. Even mediocre apps get good ratings. My theory is that Android users are used to badly designed apps that don’t work well ever so often that they rate badly designed apps that work well highly. I maybe wrong.

3. Bluetooth

This one just did my head in. Something as simple as throwing a song on to my car’s bluetooth needed unnecessary needling of bluetooth settings. Yes, I know I can create a shortcut for bluetooth settings but if I’m creating a shortcut to fix a problem that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place, there is no point to creating a shortcut at all. When I’m playing a song on RDIO, I just can’t select a bluetooth device and throw the song on to it. When you’re fiddling around bluetooth settings for 5 minutes just to play a song, the pleasure of listening to the song is greatly diminished. I shudder when I think about the instances when I’ve driven my car without music calmly cursing the Nexus 4’s ineptness.

There are frequent occurrences when I’ve found RDIO, Spotify and Pandora just streaming endlessly with no music output. At the end of the day, I’d find out that RDIO had chewed roughly 100MB of data for very little music played through the day. Now, this may be an inherent problem with the above mentioned apps but I’ve never experienced these issues on an iPhone and hence I’m led to blame Android.

4. Design

Again, I acknowledge that Android Jellybean has come a long, long way but there is no denying the fact that there are chinks in the armour. Project Butter has made a real difference to the smoothness of Android but that’s not everything. The Operating System is designed beautifully but the design guidelines for apps seem to be completely missing. Some apps like Pulse, Flipboard, Facebook, Twitter etc., work beautifully with Jellybean and may be fuelled by Project Butter but some other apps provide an inconsistent and jarring experience.

In comparison, most apps in an iPhone App Store seem to adhere to a particular design principle and therefore create a much more consistent experience.

Apart from that, the UI on an iPhone although a little jaded in functionality is extremely beautiful. Everything from the lockscreen to the animations to elastic “rubber-band” effect not only work beautifully but are also fluid and fast. Somehow this creates an impression of stability. This is completely missing in the Nexus 4. I’m always wondering when something is going to go wrong.

5. GPS and Power Management

Having gotten rid of my in-car GPS system, my smartphone is my primary GPS device when I’m driving to an unknown destination. And I depend on it to get around different places around town and my job depends on it. I use Google Maps on both my devices and I’m quite aware of Apple’s Maps software issue. On my Nexus 4, every time I hit the navigate button I have to fiddle around with the location/gps settings turning them on or off but it is seamless on an iPhone. I know that I can leave it on but knowing it is going to be a drain on the battery, why would I do that. On the iPhone, GPS kicks off when I hit the Navigate button and stops working when I stop Google Maps. Easy.

Currently, my iPhone is sitting snug in my pocket waiting to be taken out, felt and used. And it is a pleasurable experience doing so. For that reason alone, if push comes to shove, I’d rather use an iPhone 5 over my Nexus 4. For now…

Google Nexus 4 Review - The Tight Rope Walker Phone

How long have I used it? All of 30 days and 6 hours.

Specs & Construction - Are top draw. .. Except that there is no LTE and no room to expand memory. The phone’s design is very clean and syncs well with the beautiful design principles of Google’s much honed Jelly Bean 4.2.1. The Nexus 4’s precise glass construction with the tough and rubbery banding is as sturdy as a normal phone can be and I’ve not had the misfortune of dropping the phone… nor do I intend to in the future. Phone calls are extremely clear and loud.

Speed – The Phone screams. Part Project Butter, part design minimalism and part specs?

Jellybean - I’m wowed. It is difficult to wow me as I change phones(review units) every 2-3 months or so. Everything is where it should be. I am bothered with the three dots jumping around but it is a small price to pay for all the UI leanness and richness that Jellybean brings.

Software Design – The Nexus 4 is a minimalist power-user’s dream. If there’s one thing I hated about the Android design, it was the lock screen secured by pin. Simply speaking, I hated it enough to stop using corporate email on my Android Phones. With Nexus 4, the lock screen looks far improved. I almost jumped for joy when I came across this and I find myself pressing the power button just to drool at the lock screen. If Jellybean 4.2.1 was a girl, I’d have very little trouble asking her to marry me.

Screen – Crisp and clear. I notice this every time I pick up my phone and I’m almost startled by how crisp it is. High-Res pictures with contrasts are a pure joy to watch. There are times when I stop for a couple of seconds to just enjoy the picture and realize how good it looks.

Battery Life - I’m able to eke out a day of battery life from the device. It works for me… I haven’t seen any abnormal usage spikes. But I do not use crappy apps.

Music – I am not an audiophile and I use RDIO for most of my music needs. RDIO, as with any android device chews data like there’s no tomorrow and somebody needs to stop them. Quality of audio is great on my Adidas/Sennheiser jogging earphones and equally good on my Sony Headphones. Throwing music to my Bose Sounddock is a breeze.

Videos – are good. Some low quality videos appear a little washed out. But who wants to watch them anyway, right? I love how the three capacitive touchscreen buttons at the bottom disappear and the video fills up the whole screen. Pure joy.

Conclusion – Google and LG’s maiden outing is a device of balance – between LTE, Memory and phone. The good news is that the phone far outweighs the other two considerations. Apple’s design team should be nervous. Just get the phone. Enjoy it.

Pic Courtesy: j-e-n-n-y-8-6

Social Photography Tools - Boon or Bane?

Instagram, Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Pixlr and the list goes on…

Are these tools making pictures better or are they over-complicating the simple beauty in pictures? In my opinion, there are three types users:

1. Awesome photographers who improve great pictures with minimal use of fliters
2. Normal users who’ve made these tools a part of their lives and capture and post a ton of pictures everyday
3. Photographers who take acceptable photos but complicate the pictures by using too many filters

Which type are you?

Commute to office and driving

I used to drive to work everyday not long ago. Nowadays I just take the train.

Commuting to office in a train/bus has so many advantages. It allows me to:
- Preview my calendar for the day and plan the day better
- Catch up with my messages on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google Plus
- Listen to at least one chapter from my favourite audio books when there is enough time
- Play my favourite games on my phone or iPad Mini
- I have even started micro blogging from my Tumblr account.
- Look around at my fellow commuters and see if anything interesting is going on - the other day, I saw an elderly couple narrating jokes to each other and laughing. Gives me the inspiration to live to be that elderly man and be good company to my wife
- Check my finances and pay any pending bills

So what do you do in your commute to work?