Dr. Android or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot

Follow-up to the Nexus 4 review: A few words about what made me switch back to Android.

Back in early 2012 you already had an Android phone. You couldn't wait to get rid of it. What changed since?

The phone I bought in early 2012 - the Samsung Galaxy W - was ok for its price. It also suffered from several issues which bugged me. TouchWiz and its crashes being the main problem. Maybe it was just me, quite possible that it works for other users - I had constant problems with the launcher rebooting itself out of the blue. I tried other launchers like GO Launcher Ex, but even with them I wasn't overly happy with the phone. Therefore I exchanged it for a Nokia Lumia 800.

What changed is the state of both Android and its ecosystem. In my not so humble opinion it offers the most compelling mobile platform.

I seem to recall that you were really happy with Windows Phone. Why didn't you stick to the platform?

The ecosystem is lacking. Windows Phone itself is a great operating system with innovative ideas, sure. The stock applications are pretty decent also (yes, this includes Internet Explorer mobile). Alas, really good third-party apps are far and few between. Take a good look at popular apps like Facebook or WhatsApp. Their Windows Phone versions pale compared to their counterparts on other platform. During the entire time I used the Lumia 800 I was waiting for the ecosystem to improve; this never happened. And I don't see a lot of improvement with the release of Windows Phone 8.

Another point: Microsoft pretty much abandoning Windows Phone 7.x once 8.0 was out doesn't exactly instill confidence in the future of the OS. Who knows if Microsoft aren't going to drop out of the smartphone OS race entirely if WP8 fails to gain traction?

Lastly: Support for Google services. I am one of the users who rely heavily on Google products. Be it search (sorry MS; I keep giving Bing a try only to go back to Google immediately), email or cloud storage. Support for the Google services on Windows Phone is sub-optimal at best and will only become worse with Google having announced how they won't build apps for Windows Phone 8 as well as turning off support for the Exchange ActiveSync protocol come January 30th, 2013. Sure, I could convert to Microsoft services. But why should I when I might as well use a mobile OS with tight Google integration?

Let me get this straight: Using Android 'Jelly Bean' on your tablet turned you back to the light side?

Yes. Using vanilla Android on the Nexus 7 made me realise how much both the operating system itself and its ecosystem had improved. In addition the very competitive pricing for the Nexus 4 made switching back a no-brainer. 

Mind you, I wouldn't have switched back to a Samsung or HTC Android phone with OEM 'optimisations'. Vanilla Android with guaranteed upgradeability or bust.

Admit it: You just wanted a new gadget to play with.

Maybe. ;)

But but but... iPhone!

GTFO.