Android

So I have a confession to make… I carry 4 devices. It’s a little embarrassing to know all the functions can be accomplished by one device. But instead I’m an idiot and carry 4. Here’s why…

Each of the following devices do one thing REALLY well. But no single device does EVERYTHING well. So I’ve opted for a strategy that optimizes the strengths of each device, without the weaknesses. The downside to this is carrying a bunch of unnecessary crap around a lot of the time. But when it comes to function, I’ve got the right device for the job!

I’m not preaching that mono-function devices are better; I’m simply stating that sometimes when a device does one thing well and everything else badly, it’s not worth the sacrifice of dealing with the crappy experience.

Phone – I carry a feature phone. It does one thing really well… make phone calls. The secondary function is text messages. It does that really well also. In fact it sends text messages better than my experience with Android. Best of all, I save myself $30 bucks a month. Because when I had the Android Phone I wasn’t getting the value out of the data package. Frankly I’m connected 90% of the time anyway, so don’t have a NEED for the mobile data. When I travel, I re-activate my android for the mobile benefit. Read the full article here.

Pro’s: Phone calls, text messages, low cost.
Con’s: Lacks mobile internet.

Android ‘device’ - I carry a Android Incredible. Mostly it’s used for games to entertain my 3 year old. The rest of the time it’s my backup MP3 player, podcast player, audible player, SNES player, camera, internet device [wifi], twitter client, weather checker, email client, instant message client, and google voice client.

I was disappointed the android phone didn’t fit into my life. I tried really hard but it just didn’t fit. It’s a really good device that does a lot of ‘stuff’, but really doesn’t fit my needs for anything necessary or relevant to my productivity. I tried to re-adjust my life around it… but it was too much work to adjust ALL the applications. I tried Evernote and didn’t find it useful. Instead I use Google Voice to send myself instant message reminders which fit into my workflow within email. I use remember the milk, but it was slower than just calling and leaving a message (which I do via phone). I was most disappointed by the keyboard. Text messages just took too long to type. I probably should have invested in a keyboard client like ‘swiftkey’ but that shouldn’t be necessary.  Again… I really like android, but it just wasn’t the right fit for my standard workflow and life. Read the full article here.

Pro’s: GPS, Music player, camera, internet.
Con’s: Cost, size, keyboard, interface time, spouse couldn’t figure it out.

iPod Nano - I like my iPod. I’m not a big fan of apple products, but they did this thing RIGHT. It’s an awesome little device. I love the form factor. It’s perfect for use while running and listening to audio books. But unfortunately doesn’t interface with my work computer (locked machine). So regular transfers like podcasts don’t work unless I manually plug it in at home. I hate plugging this thing in because I forget it on my desk, I lose the cord, or I’ve got better things to do while on my home machine (like killing zombies). So it does some stuff well, but doesn’t quite fit.

Pro’s: Light weight for running, easy to use, great battery life.
Con’s: Hassle for regularly schedule podcasts, and iTunes sux my left… thumb

Sansa MP3 player - Yeppers. I carry this piece of crap for my podcasts. It’s the cheapest POS on the market and it’s great for hard working utility. Of all my devices, this baby gets the most use. I leave it in my car. It cooks in the heat, freezes in the winter, gets sat on, thrown around, lost occasionally, and frankly I don’t care. Because it always works. The drag-and-drop file system kicks the crap out of that idiot proof / outdated / crappy iTunes interface. It works on my locked work computer. If it breaks… who cares; I’ll buy a new one.

Pro’s: Cheap, replaceable, bulletproof, dead simple CPU interface.
Con’s: Storage size, menus, less features than iPod, ugly.

I realize this isn’t a perfect system. But none of these are the perfect device. Show me a low cost, easy to use, ultra-small, light weight, rugged, phone, GPS, mp3 player, game device and I’ll buy it. Until then I work with what I’ve got.

Related Articles:

• Android Sucks (as a phone)
• 15+ things you can do with your android phone without a cell phone contract

Image Source: www.xatakamovil.com

Android devices are becoming more and more common as wifi only devices. Android tablets are going to start flooding the market soon, and these functions are becoming increasingly popular. Personally, I use a standard Android Incredible phone as an around the house quick & dirty wifi internet device. It’s perfect for the little things and random apps. Here’s a collection of stuff I do offline or via wifi. For a full list of my apps, check me out on AppBrain.

Functions you can do offline or via wifi internet

1. Surf the web
2. Play Games
3. Play Music
4. Play Nintendo Roms
5. Automatically download audio books or podcasts
6. Search movie showtimes
7. Google Voices client
8. Facebook / Twitter Client
9. Find a recipe
10. Check your email
11. Check the weather
12. Check your bank account
13. Take Pictures
14. Teach your kids
15. Read Comic Books
16. Try out a different android build

Things you CAN’T do without a contract.

1. GPS Navigation
2. Mobile internet
3. Mobile streaming music
4. Make phone calls (Note: this is possible… but advanced)

Related Articles:

• Android Sucks (as a phone)
• Why 4 Devices are better than 1

What are some things you do? Comment now!

A couple weeks ago I switched from my Android phone back to a basic feature phone. I still carry and use my android… but simply not as a phone. I’ll make this very clear – I like android, but I think it sucks as a phone.

Things I like about Android:

• Apps
• Games
• Convenient web browsing
• MP3, video, and streaming music
• Quick & convenient photos
• Quick & easy sharing to twitter, facebook etc

Fortunately I still have about 90% of the functionality. But I’m just offline when I’m out of wifi range. I’ve lost mobile calling, GPS, and mobile internet. I’m not a frequent traveler, and my life is quite predictable (so I’m connected 90% of the time anyway). The benefits of those features were definitely not worth the extra cost per month. I really wasn’t getting my money’s worth out of it. When I do travel; I’ll simply switch my plan back to the android phone, and enjoy all the mobile perks. My carrier makes it super easy to change phones on a whim.

I suppose if I was more mobile, I’d think about keeping it. But I really didn’t like dialing out on it, nor sending text messages. The on-screen keyboard took forever to type (after correcting the mistakes). Maybe an aftermarket application like swype might have helped… but the platform should be complete without that kind of crutch. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I like hardware keyboards, but I think they’re just too bulky. The Android phones are big enough without adding that extra weight. Feature phones have nice hardware keys, and they’re easy to send text messages (t-9 / not qwerty).

I want my phone to do one thing great, and one other thing well; make phone calls and send text message. Android just got in the way.

I was a little taken back this week when I realized my mobile tweets had been a tagged with HTC.com. All tweets are tagged with the ‘source program’. Examples of these are web, twitter for Mac, Twidroyd, and Twitter Mobile. When using a twitter client, it auto-tags which twitter client you’re using. Unfortunately my tweets accidentally went out with HTC.com on them.

I felt a bit violated by this. I’m okay with my tweets tagged with Twidroyd, Twitter Mobile, or other because I’ve expressly gone to that location or downloaded the application (which inherits the permission to append the tag). HTC’s tag was a little different. I didn’t expressly give them permission to tag. I was (unknowingly) using the built-in twitter client (HTC Peep) instead of the Official Twitter App. HTC violated my permission to advertising using my tweets (via my mistaken use). I accept responsibility, however it just felt a bit slimy that HTC did it.

This misbehavior is a symptom of the problem that the phone manufacturers are installing crap-ware on the android devices. Crap-ware is a strong word for an application I was actually using… however the price the application came with was unwanted crap. I wish we could get a de-crapifier utility for android that would un-install all the manufacturer specific applications and strip the platform back down the it’s intended state. However the only way to accomplish that right now is to root the phone, which is frankly more effort than I’m willing to put in (at this point) with unknown risks.

Crap-ware on my phone:

• Amazon MP3
• City ID
• HTC Peep
• My Verizon Mobile
• Skype
• Slacker Radio
• Stocks (aka Yahoo Finance)
• V-Cast Apps
• VZ Navigator

Phone manufacturers are getting worse as they get more experienced. I was fortunate enough to get an early generation phone. I’d hate to see how much garbage they’re putting on it today. The alternative is a Nexus or iPhone. Talk about the lesser of three evils… I’ll take the HTC Incredible.

Google has tried and failed using the “with Google” label. The brand label is too saturated now and any smart phone with the ability to dial and talk gets the stamp of approval. Sadly the pure Google experience is now reserved for the Nexus S.

This is all growing pain for android. But it’s the nature of openness to let your product into the wild, and see how it evolves. HTC and other manufacturers are bastardizing the experience. It’s up the geeks of the world to rise to the challenge and overcome. Until I get off my lazy arse and root damn the phone, I’ll sit on my soap box and cry a little more.

The Good

• As a Gadget, this thing is super cool. I really like the application variety. Twitter on the go is good, games are fun, utilities are very functional.
• The touch interface is stellar. It’s responsive, intuitive, and very smooth.
• Overall: Best Gadget I’ve ever owned.

The Bad

• Battery life.
• The touch-screen / keyboard size. I guess I like hardware keyboards, but I refuse to have a QWERTY keypad on a phone. Auto-correct sux also.
• Overall: Probably not the best as a phone.

Update 2 Weeks later
So I guess I like the android platform. However so far it’s just a toy. It could be that it needs time to fully integrate into my life, or that I’m afraid to integrate ANOTHER piece of technology into my routine. The platform is nice, but frankly the only thing I’ve found VERY useful so far is the GPS. I also really like the camera. Everything else seems largely just a toy. I think of myself as practical, and really wanted some productivity application. I’ve tried dropbox, but unfortunately I can’t use it at work or school without the web interface (which eliminates ⅔ of the useful locations). Google Docs meets my needs where dropbox doesn’t. Everything else is thumb-drive driven.

The other part of the equation is price. I hate paying my cell phone bill. Largely because I hate talking on the phone (200 or less per month). I also try to keep my bills minimized. So adding on another ~30 bones to the tab doesn’t make me happy. Option 2 here is the 150mb data plan – however if I’m paying any amount, I’d expect a realistic allowance (which is more than 150mb).

I still haven’t decided if I want to keep the phone. I might switch back to my 4-year old feature phone (which I loved). Fortunately the android phone cost me nothing, so my investment loss here is nil. Stay tuned.