[laingman]

I have never used windows phone7, but I am sure that webos is way superior to android and iphone. Its not even close.

[millertime]

I feel webOS is a decent OS with some good ideas. But I don't think it is necessarily better (or worse) than android (never used an iPhone.) More to the point, it seemed better back a year and a half ago, but then android progressed and webOS stagnated.


Taken as a whole (hardware, OS, apps, everything) for my money, right now, android offers more than webOS (even before the meltdown of last week.)


-Suntan

Suntan, you need to use an iPhone if haven't. It's better than Android.
I personally do think that elegant is important. If WebOS was offered on as many phones as Android, I don't even think that Android would exist today. Just like if Mac OS was on as many computers as Windows, Windows wouldn't be able to compete either. IF you need a cheap big smartphone and can't afford an iPhone, then Android is the best you can get.
iOS is like Windows 7 for phones, and WebOS 3.0 is like Mac Lion for phones. Seriously. Just look at the startup page for Mac Lion, iOS and WebOS, and tell me which two look the most alike?

[laingman]

Please stop confusing apps and developer support with how the thing works. Webos runs circles around those other things.

[wynand32]

I've used webOS (18 months), then WP7 (60 days), and then Android (9 months), and I'll say that each OS has its strengths and weaknesses. The one I liked the best overall was WP7, except for one glaring omission: no multitasking AT ALL. If WP7 would have had at least Android-like multitasking, I probably would never have switched from it to Android.

Comparing Android 2.3.4 to webOS 2.X, the only place where webOS clearly wins out is in multitasking. Android has the most important parts of notifications, Synergy, and on-device search, and has a few capabilities (like an extensible share-to infrastructure) that webOS can't match. So the delta between webOS and Android is actually pretty small overall in terms of day-to-day use.

The bottom line, though, is that smartphones and tablets are only as useful as the apps that are written for them. As the market has shown, people want to do more than browse, email, and Twitter on their devices. Getting the cool apps when they're released is quite refreshing after spending so long in the webOS desert.

[barrysanders20]

The bottom line, though, is that smartphones and tablets are only as useful as the apps that are written for them. As the market has shown, people want to do more than browse, email, and Twitter on their devices. Getting the cool apps when they're released is quite refreshing after spending so long in the webOS desert.

I have to agree.

[UncleKeg]

What do you call people that led around on promises of new hardware, updates, app store build up, core app capability etc. for over 2 years just to come to EOL after a month and a half of a flagship product?

Sheep get herded and led.

Touche sir, touche.... but we are black sheep, therefore much cooler.

[SnotBoogie]

I can promise you that webOS is a far superior ....

but I am sure that webos is way superior ... Its not even close.

Such statements are exactly the kind i'm referring to before. "Superior" is subjective but people insist on declaring absolutes. It's superior to you.

But the bigger issue is that a "superior" O.S. does not matter. It's not enough. It's never been enough. Not for the life of webOS products. Especially when other platforms offer much more then yours. I don't think you can make absolute statements of superiority especially when so few people actually bought a webOS device. Someone else mentioned "real multitasking." No offense but the delusion is thinking that that distinction makes a material difference when it comes to selling a smartphone to the layperson in 2011. Some multitasking is good enough for most people. To me the disconnect is that so many people are utterly unable to see that there are all these people, the vast majority, that don't think webos and the phones and tablets are perfect and that those opinions have merit. It's dismissed. Like when people didn't want to hear that the touchpad was thick.

[laingman]

All I know is every time I use one of my friends android phone I cant wait to give it back to them.

I suspect that if moved over to android for whatever reason I would probably come in here saying that webos is not that great, and this and that app and document editing, etc., but truth be told there as never been a better phone in the history of mankind than a pre2. (Dont know about windows phone though, never used one)

[Dune#AC]

wynand32 <- you sir have posted the most clearheaded response thus far.

My experience: WinMo 6.x for 1.5 years, WebOS - Pre for three weeks, WebOS - Touchpad for 24hrs, Android - phones and tablets for 1.2 years, iOS - owned both iPads, Win7phone - in-store demo

My take: The WebOS disciples are a little bit delusional (but that's what makes them so fun!). Almost everything I hear them say is unique to WebOS is not unique. Synergy, multitasking, task management, etc is all VERY functional on Android. The only thing I think WebOS has on Android is a more elegant way to bounce between apps. But even this advantage is gone - now that Android Honeycomb lets you do the same thing with less touches/gestures.

It all comes down to functionality - or lack thereof. I can't edit documents on the Touchpad unless I use the browser based google docs. I can stream my music collection in from Amazon or my other cloud storage sources, I can't access ANY of the google apps (other than through the browser), I can't use my nook app, no native ebook reader, no rear camera, no good camera apps, missing all the top-tier partnerships/apps/value/ports. Cards are not as efficient for getting information as Widgets.

It is also a poorly optimized OS. My 1.2 year old Android phone loads every webpage faster than the TouchPad (I tested for some time today)... and this is post optimization of the TouchPad!

To add insult to injury - I was recently testing the HTC Sensation (Android) which runs on the exact same silicone as the Touchpad... and it destroyed my current Android phone in speed... and like I said above, my current phone destroys the TouchPad in speed... that should not be happening - that is just a poorly coded OS.

WebOS and the 'cards' is a great idea for visual organization of running applications - but it does not really let me 'use' two cards at the same time. Synergy is great. Preware is fun/necessary. In 24 hours I have installed updates, preware, patches, uploaded music and media, synced accounts...but friends, this platform is VERY limited. It is making me miss the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that I returned to save money!

Speaking of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - that tablet is sleek, and lightweight. The TouchPad is not either of these things. It feels and works like a 2009 device. It is a great idea without all the pieces. It is a great idea that has been screwed by poor marketing and poor management. It is now a platform that is easily 2 years behind the big dogs. It needs to be bought by someone who will start innovating with it again... because there are some good ideas there.

In the end I am VERY happy to have a great tablet for such a great price!!!!! But as a consumer product it does not compete with the best of Android or iOS. It is a simple, elegant, and easy to use 'window to the web' and that is good enough for me until the Holidays bring the next round of tablet innovation. At that point, I will give the TouchPad to my mom and never look back.

- Thanks! I hope I have not insulted anyone - just calling it like I see it. Happy to be here and using the Touchpad.

p.s. The best part of the web is Google apps... Google apps are the best apps on Android and iOS. It is a big hole in the WebOS armor to not have Google involved. I also miss the customization of Android. The launchers, themes, diversity of apps, skins, tweaks, and widgets allow for a totally individualized experience - more so than any other platform.- also, the apps are all free on Android... I am not used to paying for so many apps!

[SnotBoogie]

but truth be told there as never been a better phone in the history of mankind than a pre2.

lol. if you say so. glad to see you can be totally objective.

[spikea4]

Putting android on the TouchPad would not have made it sell much better, the hardware just wasn't up to the competition (and this is from someone who likes his touchpad a lot).

And there were plenty of issues with webOS, app performance especially that was never really addressed. Enyo helped some, but I still see random slowdowns on my TouchPad where apps won't respond for a bit.

Not for nothing, I thought maybe WebOS was the only phone that did this slow down/freeze. Until my friend at work was showing me how fast his 4G was on his HTC Thunderbolt. Almost everything he opened took time to respond. Some apps he had to close and reopen! So I felt 10x better knowing its not a WebOS thing!

[spikea4]

On another note about apps.

I am the only WebOS user at my work of over 300 employees. Of which have Android and Apple. I play with the devices all the time.

Now I know that Android and Apple have a lot of apps, but I noticed that everyone's device I played with had very few apps on them. (on one page on my Pre 2 has more on it then their whole device). So I though maybe everyone I work with is just cheap!

So I asked them "why with all the apps in your market place, why don't you have any apps?" All of them said the same thing (all asked at different times) "Most of the apps suck!"

[webosfreak]

1- WebOs is unknown to people. I have seen many IT people who are not aware of its capabilities.
2- WebOs has a learning curve. You need to spend 15 minutes to learn it. People get crazy, when they cannot work with in the first two minutes.
3-It is badly marketed and presented in Tech shops such as BestBuy, Staples and Fries. At best buy, they tried to convince me not to buy it! At Staples, the manager said it is crap!

[jokkel]

I don't have phones or computers to use an operating system. I want to complete certain tasks with it. The main ones for me are: e-mail, browse the web, send SMS, manage contacts, use calendar, read RSS feeds, play a small game, phone calls, google maps. I switched to Android because I could a lot of those tasks quicker than on webOS. Mainly because the apps launch a lot faster on Android.
The most glaring example is Google Maps. It takes ages for my Pre to start google maps. My Nexus S just takes two seconds. If I have a low signal, maps on webOS will just refuse to show anything and report that no internet connection is present. Every Android app asks to try again if the network fails. So if I am lost or looking where to go Android is a lot better. I'll not even mention things like traffic info, public transport, street view in maps on Android.
When browsing the web I want to be able to upload files and pictures. All Android browsers do allow that. webOS browser does no text reflow when zooming in. The most current version of flash for webOS is 10.1 beta. On Android 10.3 is running fine (as fine as flash does on mobile).
One thing I use all the time on Android now is QR codes. The one QR code app in the App Catalog uses a web service and never worked for me. On Android there are a handful of nice QR and barcode scanner apps.

Small things where webOS just isn't good:
Selecting text for copy and paste on webOS is painful, moving the cursor a chore, and booting takes ages.
webOS should be called waitOS, because every takes so long.

The superior multitasking that is thrown around a lot is not so superior at all. Does anyone remember the too many cards error? Even if you only want to play a game and have no other apps running? This just doesn't happen on Android. Android will kill the least used apps when the memory is full. Yes, cards are nice. But switching to an app by long pressing home and selecting the app isn't that hard also. You can easily slow down any webOS device to the point of being unusable by opening to many cards.
The main advantage of the cards on webOS for me was always, that you can do something else while waiting for apps to launch.

[errsta]

I don't have phones or computers to use an operating system. I want to complete certain tasks with it. The main ones for me are: e-mail, browse the web, send SMS, manage contacts, use calendar, read RSS feeds, play a small game, phone calls, google maps. I switched to Android because I could a lot of those tasks quicker than on webOS. Mainly because the apps launch a lot faster on Android.
The most glaring example is Google Maps. It takes ages for my Pre to start google maps. My Nexus S just takes two seconds. If I have a low signal, maps on webOS will just refuse to show anything and report that no internet connection is present. Every Android app asks to try again if the network fails. So if I am lost or looking where to go Android is a lot better. I'll not even mention things like traffic info, public transport, street view in maps on Android.
When browsing the web I want to be able to upload files and pictures. All Android browsers do allow that. webOS browser does no text reflow when zooming in. The most current version of flash for webOS is 10.1 beta. On Android 10.3 is running fine (as fine as flash does on mobile).
One thing I use all the time on Android now is QR codes. The one QR code app in the App Catalog uses a web service and never worked for me. On Android there are a handful of nice QR and barcode scanner apps.

Small things where webOS just isn't good:
Selecting text for copy and paste on webOS is painful, moving the cursor a chore, and booting takes ages.
webOS should be called waitOS, because every takes so long.

The superior multitasking that is thrown around a lot is not so superior at all. Does anyone remember the too many cards error? Even if you only want to play a game and have no other apps running? This just doesn't happen on Android. Android will kill the least used apps when the memory is full. Yes, cards are nice. But switching to an app by long pressing home and selecting the app isn't that hard also. You can easily slow down any webOS device to the point of being unusable by opening to many cards.
The main advantage of the cards on webOS for me was always, that you can do something else while waiting for apps to launch.

I'm a huge webOS fan and agree with everything you mentioned.

I also never understood the omission of something as basic as bluetooth file transfer. The hardware is there - why not the functionality?

[jokkel]

Bluetooth! All the time I used webOS I even forgot that it even existed. Sharing contacts over Bluetooth is a basic feature for a smartphone. I could never get my old Nokia bluetooth headset connect to my Pre.

Compared to the other mobile OSs, webOS made the least progress during the last two years. iOS and Android had several speedups on the same hardware. webOS 2 on the other hand was slower than webOS 1.

[barrysanders20]

I have a feeeling that the Touchpad's design was based off the HP Zeen (their unreleased Android tablet.) To add insult to injury, HP still has a tablet they are still fully 100% behind. It's their HP Slate 500 running Windows 7. Even with that, HP dragged their feet deciding if they were going to release it.

[Xethur]

I can't say that WebOS is superior, but I can say that it meets my needs and I like the way it functions. But to be honest WebOS is not better. I love the way WebOS functions when it comes to multitasking and I will keep using it because of that.

now WebOS people here make subjetive comments, but there are a lot subjetive comments from andriod and IOS fans here as well. Yes there are millions of apps for both but saying that is like saying the lottery is up to 100 million. Yes it's a bigger number but I fail to see how that makes it better. I counted two people who actually mentioned apps they have that aren't on WebOS. Most of the loudest people here just mention a big number rather then a logical argument. Yes you like the way andriod or IOS does.... You liking it doesn't make it better. And the way that people hint that andriod or IOS has no glitches is the same thing us WebOS fans do. We learn to live with them because we LIKE WebOS. And finally, If andriod or IOS were as perfect as all that you would have never bought a WebOS device or bothered to look up this forum.

[Garfonso]

It all boils down to what you want to do with your phone...
If you need something that always has the latest apps you can show off to your friends, you better go with andriod or ios (like the "i am rich"-App that existed for iOS, which costed 800$ and just showed off some icon ).

What I am doing every day is reading news feeds in my google reader app and opening some of the news entries in the browser for full reading. This usually is done in an area with only GPRS coverage (so it's slow). This is something you can do on every "smartphone" out there... basically. But it gets VERY painful, if you don't have multitasking (browser will kill news reader, take ages to load page, is hogging the whole device for waiting on signal, if you finished you need to fire up the reader again, who might update everything, which again blocks the whole device waiting for some data to arrive).
If there is multitasking, but no decent control of that (like on android and winmobile), you can do it, but it's not so much fun. On webOs you can tap on that stupid "take me to the webpage" link, it will fire up the browser with the url and go into card view and you can just select the feed reader again, so basically you don't even need to switch the task to load up webpages in the background for later reading.

Of course some (or all ) apps could come up faster... but honestly on the 512MB phones I won't get a TMC-error even if I leave open everything I use regularly and can even fire up a game from time to time (it needs a bit longer to come up, but it's working)... So, leaving open your e-mail, messaging, facebook, weather,... is a possible work around.

Still, it all boils down to what you gonna do with your phone... If you constantly need to switch apps, there is nothing better than webOs, it's just like that. Maybe someday other OS' will catch up, but I'm not going to adapt to pressing home buttons and things again... I did that for some years and it's pain.

[Suntan]

now WebOS people here make subjetive comments, but there are a lot subjetive comments from andriod and IOS fans here as well.

Subjective comments are fine. Saying that, “The Pre2 is the best phone ever made.” Is not subjective.

Yes there are millions of apps for both but saying that is like saying the lottery is up to 100 million. Yes it's a bigger number but I fail to see how that makes it better. I counted two people who actually mentioned apps they have that aren't on WebOS. Most of the loudest people here just mention a big number rather then a logical argument.

Everyone has different needs for apps, citing one or two is rather pointless because you always get someone else barking back that, “I have no need for that app so that doesn’t matter.” Personally, my sticking point was Netflix. WebOS doesn’t have it, android does. But there are a number of other ones too. If WebOS has (had) all the apps you ever wanted, then that’s great. We’re just saying that you appear to be in the minority compared to the entire smartphone public. Crying “all fart apps” isn’t going to change that.

And the way that people hint that andriod or IOS has no glitches is the same thing us WebOS fans do.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think anyone has claimed that android or apple “has no glitches.” I think you are being a little too defensive. We’re all here because we like (liked) WebOS, some of us are just tired of the endless apologists that never allow for frank discussion of WebOS’s faults/limitations on the boards.

And finally, If andriod or IOS were as perfect as all that you would have never bought a WebOS device or bothered to look up this forum.

Again, nobody has said they “don’t like WebOS” or think some other system is “perfect.” For me, as I said earlier, WebOS was the best option for my needs a year and a half back. But it stagnated while other options improved.

-Suntan