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How Big Is Too Big – Android Pushes The Limits With Nexus Prime

October 4, 2011 By

nexus primeSo, very interesting news today from Apple, as they take a half step with the new iPhone 4S instead of a more complete redesign of the hardware. The only thing I wonder about is the screen size. I have gotten used to my Droid X and it’s 4.3 inch screen. I do like the extra room but I will admit it’s about as large a device as I would want to hold as a cell phone. The rumors were that the iPhone would move up to a 4 inch screen; not as large as the Droid X but larger than the current 3.5 inch iPhone screen. This would have been a nice compromise and I was looking forward to it. Now, however, if I want to go back to the iPhone as I have been planning, I will be stepping down a little on screen size.

Now comes word that next week Samsung will announce the next great Android phone for Verizon (my carrier) and it’s the Nexus Prime. It will have a screen that is supposedly 4.5 inches. Like I said, I can’t imagine wanting a screen larger than my Droid X at 4.3, so 4.5 is really pushing the limits I think. At a certain point, it’s just too large for a cell phone isn’t it? At a certain point, you just want to to straight to 7 inches and call it a tablet. but your phone you want to keep smaller and lighter. I don’t see how pushing the cell phone screen larger and larger is helping anything.

I am still disappointed to not get at least a slightly larger screen for the iPhone but I think I will hold to my plan of moving back anyway for many of the reasons I previously outlined. iPhone 4S isn’t everything I hoped for, but it’s still a very good phone.

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Why I Am Going Back To The iPhone

September 2, 2011 By

iphone5I primarily changed from an iPhone to an Android phone two years ago not because I disliked the iPhone but to get away from AT&T and their terrible network. Now, my contract with Verizon is up and I can choose a new phone. Since the iPhone is not on Verizon as well, I have a real choice. Stick with Android or go back to the iPhone. I have a Droid X Android phone, which is fine enough, but I’m going back to the iPhone for a couple of reasons.

Media Management

The Android platform is terrible at managing and playing media. It always has been and I am shocked to this day Google has not vastly improved this feature. Syncing songs and podcasts with iTunes is no trivial matter and the media player application itself leaves so much to be desired. Third party apps help but there is nothing I can find that comes close to the grace and elegance of the iPod features built into the iPhone. Google Music helps a little, but that service wants to stream all your music and with stricter data caps coming to all wireless carriers, I don’t know how that’s going to play.

Apps

It’s all about the apps these days and which Android has made vast strides in the apps that are available, I have found a few that I am interested in that are iPhone only. Also, it appears to be that iPhone development is still getting more love than Android development. A company may have support for both platforms but they will almost always update the iPhone app first. The big double edged sword as well is Apple’s approval process for apps. Since Apple goes through everything with a fine tooth comb, iPhone apps are generally of higher quality, both in their look and feel as well as stability.

Accountability

Here is another double edged sword. Apple controls everything in their ecosystem from the hardware to the software, so they can provide a more seamless experience. Android, by definition, is fragmented. Different hardware all with different specs. Even the operating system is different as hardware vendors put their different skins and extras features on top of Android. No two Android phones work exactly the same. My Droid X, after upgrading to the latest Android OS had a nasty bug where it would randomly reboot itself in the middle of playing music or a podcast. Now who is responsible for this bug and who do I complain to? Google, Motorola, Verizon? With the iPhone, the buck always stops with Apple and they are very agressive about fixing bugs, especially one as serious as mine. I waited months for the bug to be fixed on my phone. With an iPhone, a bug that serious would have been fixed in days.

Carrier Control

With iPhones, the wireless carriers have very little if anything to say about what goes on the phone and how things operate. On Android phones, carriers put all kinds of bloatware and apps that you never asked for on the phone. Carriers also decide which operating system updates you will get and when. I am sick of carriers telling me what I can and cannot do with my phone. All iPhones come clean, with only the software Apple wants and virtually all iPhones get software upgrades at the same time and when Apple releases them. Part of this goes back to Apple’s control over the ecosystem as they can better ensure updates will work on all iphones. Every time Google updates Android, carriers have to update their special interfaces and that takes time.

Things I will Miss

Is there anything I will miss about my Android phone? Probably the biggest thing is the Google integration. Especially Gmail on the phone, which is great. Also, Android has the best sharing features I have seen anywhere. If you are sitting on a webpage or in Google Reader, the universal sharing interface that lets you use just about any installed app to share that content is second to none.

The timing couldn’t be better. My contract is up and the iPhone 5 is just around the corner. I’m coming home.

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My New Computing Life

July 25, 2010 By

I have just finished a complete overhaul of my computing life. I made some major decisions that go along with my new philosophy of what is happening in the technology world and changed things accordingly.

For a long time now, the desktop computer has been playing second fiddle to the laptop. Laptop machines have become more powerful and innexpensive. You can get very near the power of a desktop and the mobility too. But things are changing, primarily due to the smart phone and portable tablets.

Smart phones like the iPhone and Droid phone are packing a great deal of power and functionality into our palms. Smart phones are so good now, they can take on many of the rudimentary tasks of a notebook. Add to that the new iPad and things get even more interesting. I’ve tried using an iPad as a notebook replacement and I will tell you it’s not there yet, but I do believe the platform will get there soon.

The other big realization I made is that I rarely use the power that my notebook has when I am mobile. When mobile, I mostly like to consume content and blog. I don’t generally produce a lot of audio or video. I would prefer to do that on a larger screen at home. The power of a big laptop, than, is wasted. What I really wanted was something at home that was big and powerful and that could be hooked up to large screens; a desktop machine. For mobile, I wanted something very light and with tons of battery life.

What I did was get a 21″ iMac for home, connected to a second 21″ monitor. For mobile, I went for an Asus Eee PC. Now you may asking me why Iwent for a netbook instead of an iPad. It’s a good question and I’ll tell you why. The iPad is an elegant, beautiful piece of technology, but it has several drawbacks. I do think it’s a little heavy, especially after you have been holding it for awhile. Also, the sides don’t provide enough space to grip it and my fingers always slip into the touch area, resulting in unwanted actions. They keyboard is surprisingly good for a touch device, but still not quite as good as a physical keyboard. In addition, I have not found a good way to lay it in your lap while typing. The angle never seems to work. With a netbook, you have a hinged screen, so I can adjust the angle at will. Like many Apple products, the second and third generations of the iPad are the ones to wait for. There is also the fact That I was able to get my netbook for around $250 whereas an iPad would have cost me at least twice as much.

Is the netbook perfect? Hardly. The keyboard is good but small and so harder to get used to. The screen does seem tiny, smaller than the iPad even though both are 10 inches. But for now the netbook works for me. I assume that I will indeed transition to a tablet, but not until some good Android tablets come out or possibly a second generation iPad. My new computing architecture now lines up as follows: Droid Incredible – small, Asus netbook – medium, iMac – big. At every level, I’ve got it covered, and notice that it also happens that I end up with three different operating systems, Mac, Android and Windows. The best tool for each need and I overcome the OS by living as much as I can in the cloud. I don’t think much about OS anymore, I think more about apps and function.

I’d love to Hear what you all are thinking and doing with your environments. Let me know in the comments.

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I Have Touched The Hand of God: The Nexus One

December 22, 2009 By

Ok, that was a little bombastic, but it was pretty exciting. I was fortunate enough to hold and play with a live Nexus One or The Google Phone last night.

Here is what I can report.

It’s fast, really fast, much faster than my iPhone 3G.

The screen is fantastic. Again, better than my iPhone 3G.

It’s simple and elegant. The most elegant phone, both in hardware and software next to the iPhone. Does it surpass the iPhone? Hard to say and it may just be a personal judgement call for most. But thank goodness, this is the first real, serious competition for the iPhone and it should get Apple scrambling to innovate and improve things on the iPhone. This will be great for customers.

Here’s my bottom line. For more technically savvy users who are getting tired of Apple’s maniacal control over the iPhone, the Nexus One from Google will be great. They will love it and it will sell well to this market. The geek cread on this phone is off the charts. For the mass audience who doesn’t know or care much about the inside baseball aspects of the market, they will likely be perfectly happy with the iPhone. What they will get unhappy about is the continuing problems with the AT&T network. If AT&T exclusivity does run out next year and Apple is able to open up to more carriers, I think AT&T is in real trouble. I do think Apple does need to distance themselves from AT&T as they are like a boat ancor that will bring the iPhone down eventually.

Android phones up to this point haven’t been exciting or interesting at all. The Motorola Droid was the first to change that and this Nexus One will move things along even faster. 2010 is going to be a fun year for mobile. It’s Android vs. iPhone. Game on!

Posted via web from David Jacobs’s Connected World

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