Now I wouldn’t say I’m a Google fan per se, but its software and services are generally very good. Samsung’s attempts so far have been clumsy and unreliable. I’d *rather* use Google atm, so Samsung shutting it out is actually off-putting for me.

What is Barry rambling on about? Samsung Hub, Apps & ChatOn have been on Samsung phones since at least the first Galaxy S. They haven’t pushed Google out of the way and they won’t be soon, either. Google services are some of the best things on any Android phone. Especially Google Now and Voice Search.

The day I read a positive review on an Android phone (or Windows 8, for that matter) without the “BUT” statements, I’ll drop dead of shock.

The problem I’ve always had with the likes of Samsung, HTC etc isn’t that the products they provide are out of date as soon as the next one comes out. I’ve had Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets which seem to be dropped from being updated the second a newer one comes out (which seems like it’s every month!). At least Google provide some support for their older devices.

I’m sure most people don’t really care about this tho – they upgrade every 18-24 months to the newest thing.

C

Google Drive has nothing to do with navigation or S Voice Driver.

Google Drive is a storage medium just as Sky Drive and Dropbox.

“The day I read a positive review on an Android phone…”

Brian, you’ll note that the Galaxy S3 is currently PC Pro’s A-listed smartphone, ousting the iPhone into second place. Criticising something doesn’t equal bias, perhaps it is your own bias that leads to such comments.

Apologies for the Google Drive error. Now corrected.

Barry Collins
Editor

I personally have a Samsung Galaxy SIII and I have never used any of the samsung apps…actually I find them rather annoying…

The sad thing is, if Samsung released all there software innovations to all of Android then they might end up with what they would like, people actually using them and some traction. Ive had an S3 for the last year and i love it, best phone I’ve ever had, but I’ve never used ChatOn, I know no one on it, I’ve never used the Samsung App store, I’ve never used Samsungs modified NFC to share a picture by bumping phones, as I can only do that with someone else with an S3…. But if I could use them with everyone some of their half baked software innovations might just catch on. If smart stay was an app on the android store, everyone would use it. I like the S4, looks like a very worthy upgrade, and I did watch the whole of the launch, it helped me get to sleep last night.

I prefer Android because of the relative freedom it gives me. Samsung’s attempts at lock-ins is not doing it any favours. However the biggest problem with the S4 for me is just how ugly and chintzy it looks. No matter how far ahead it may be in specs, I’d still be embarrased to show it in public.

I’m pretty miffed that the HTC One hasn’t got a removable battery and the same goes for the Nexus 4 but I’d still prefer either of those to the S4.

Going to have to make some hard decisions soon. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that the battery life on the HTC One will be good enough for me. I’m not that much of a fan of vanilla Android (it’s the lack of joined up core apps, not the OS itself that I don’t like) so the Nexus 4 is pulling me less than it ought to but a working phone is better than a non working phone so if the HTC One’s battery is crap, that’s where I’ll be heading.

Samsung Hub has been around for ages, and is clearly differentiated from Google Play – in the main, by being useless. Samsung Apps is even more sickly. And who, even on phones as popular as these, is going to use Samsung’s social network?

It’s good to see some competition for things Google could be trying harder at, like voice control, but Galaxy phones will continue to act as gaping inlets to Google’s heaving coffers.

Android is Samsung. Period. If it were not for the hardware that us churned out by Samsung Android would be third string – perhaps lower with Apple being first and MS and Blackberry battling it out for second and third. By cutting Google out of the money generation for services, Samsung is now one step closer to building it’s own operating system. That will happen – period because Samsung has built a cult following for it’s products. Android is a Linux / UNIX based kernel that can easily be replicated – and in fact improved upon by Samsung. Slap a flashy / catchy name on the new OS and Android is dead. Think I am wrong? Isn’t that that what Apple has done? Cool products, great marketing, catchy OS name which results in and identifiable brand that Apple controls from end to end. These two companies will control the hardwrae space for a long time because of branding butthe rela money is the intregartion of teh cloud and serivces with computing. IBM and Microsoft are the undisputed leaders of the field because they invest billions every year in research. MS already has the integration in full swing with corporations and is doing the same with consumers. Google gets almost all of it’s revenue from Marketing (re: Advertisements on their web pages). They have no dog whatsoever in cloud computing, online professional services and integration. None – period.