A rant about frustration [not a question]
asked 2015-08-30 02:38:02 +0200
Oh,
oh, have I suffered since December.
My previous phone was a HTC Desire Z, which I chose for it's physical keyboard. It was an absolute gem, but the tides of time were heavy on it's hardware; the 384 MB's of RAM and 800 MHz's of single core processing were just too little for modern apps, despite the possibilities of rooted firmware. Different CPU governors and such blew new life to my beloved device, but only for so long. My joy was near from limitless, when I learned the possibility of a more modern option; Jolla, with an upcoming The Other Half-keyboard and Android support! From the ruins of the abandoned Meego, this was a possibility of endless opportunities; I would gain more, and retain the capability to use my well-known and -tested software! I knew, that I would have to wait for the keyboard, and I knew, that it would be an unofficial third party accessory. But I didn't care, I was full of hope and trust. And my new phone would be mine before Christmas, so plenty of time to fiddle around with it during the holidays!
But my reality, as I soon realised, would be an endless stream of frustration and disappointment.
As a former Android user, my focus was (and still is) on Android apps, Whatsapp being the most important. Because let's be honest: any form of communication is as useful as it's prevalence. Sure, Telegram is more secure, and has a Sailfish client, but could YOU persuade all your contacts to switch to it? And you, previously Android user, is there still a reasonable Sailfish replacement for your favorite Android app?
But I digress. Soon I started to realize, that things once obvious were not so obvious anymore. Sharing any file through bluetooth? No, rename to .jpg, share through gallery and have the recipient change the extension back to original. Copy-pasteing text from a website? No-go, just no. Changing the default browser? Well, technically, if you hack using peer forum advice. But as a menu option for a "I'm used to useability"-user, no. And so on, and so on. In this state of mind I can't even bring myself to recall all the things I feel lacking as normal smart phone functionality.
I am fully aware, that this thread will fill up with defending views, ranging from "if you don't like it, why don't you go back to Apple!?", to througly argumented points on the benefits of Sailfish as compared to Android. But this doesn't reduce the weight of my original view: this phone/OS is not ready for the use of an "average" user, but they conveniently forgot to mention that, anywhere.
Any and all views will be appreciated, feel free to vent your frustration in a constructive manner.
I think most of all owners here will agree. But this is also what we're here for. To push this system forward and make it attractive for everyone. In my opinion, the hardware is not good enough and I'm not talking about the performance, but the whole package. There are too many flaws that come together and they're too many to list them up here in this comment. SailfishOS itself is a great OS, but the team is rather small and if we keep that in mind, they have achieved impressive results as of today. Sure, there are bugs here and there, sometimes they're really annoying or render the phone almost useless (ie. sudden random reboots during calls with the latest update). But all in all, I don't feel comfortable when using Android, iOS or Windows Mobile. Other OSes are out of competition. They're either too old (MeeGo, Symbian) or can't keep up with SailfishOS (FirefoxOS, Tizen). This is why I'm sticking with my sub par jolla device hoping that we'll see a high end successor anytime soon.
Anna ( 2015-08-30 03:49:09 +0200 )editI can only agree. There are so many deficiencies, and even simple things, like the calendar, are insufficiently implemented. I am constantly on the brink of switching the device. To be honest, we are still in the beta phase. But, as Anna writes, Jolla has my trust, and I feel uncomfortable to use a Microsoft or Apple device, or Android. Let's hope that not too many users turn their back to Jolla because of this disappointment. It is difficult to get them back and to correct negative public image.
Stefanix ( 2015-08-30 06:27:03 +0200 )edit"As a former Android user, my focus was (and still is) on Android apps".
Well, you should have bought an Android device.
eson ( 2015-08-30 06:46:24 +0200 )edit@eson: Jolla advertises being Android compatible. Telling everyone finding deficiancies that they bought the wrong device will certainly not contribute to Jolla's success. I would call this arrogance. Jolla needs (unfortunately) Android compatibility.
Stefanix ( 2015-08-30 07:23:47 +0200 )edit@Stefanix You may call it whatever you want. That is an important part of freedom of expression in the democratic world.
eson ( 2015-08-30 08:00:59 +0200 )edit