Froyo, Um Nom Nom Nom

So I installed Froyo for my nexus one the first day it came out. I enjoy it. It's yummy. Here are a few of the points I like:

Flash Beta:

Took me a while to figure out that "embedded in the browser" really meant that you had to install flash from the app store, but once that misunderstanding was sorted out, I was watching videos and bragging about it on facebook in a matter of minutes.

Email:

Finally the stock client lets you move from one message to the next without having to go back and forth between the list of email. This was seriously lacking. I still use K9 email as well for my non-google accounts as the functionality isn't there to set it up in the stock client. I guess it used to be.

3G Speeds:

About the same, depends on where you are. Hint: If you don't get 3G when moving from Edge network to 3G, go into settings and turn off data then turn it back on. I'm not sure if this is something Tmobile has a problem with or google, either way, it's easy enough to work around.

Speed and Memory:

I'm not a bench market fiend like I used to be. It runs faster, I rarely if ever see any lag in anything I use (not that I saw a lot before). Google says it's 2-5x faster. From what I've seen, I think I'd buy that claim as legit. I think that makes the Nexus One running 2.2 the fastest phone in the world again. Memory usage is FANTASTIC. I used to run with about 90MB free when ending tasks which was fine - now I'm back over 200MB free.

Still missing:

Native DIVX/XVID support. To be on any version greater than beta stage and not have native divx/xvid support is just silly. I know everyone is moving to new standards, but if you're like me and converted your DVDs to Divx over the years and have an existing library set up, it's a pain to convert them over to another format just to watch them on your phone.

What is your favorite new feature? What do you think is missing?

Oh Google, how could you?

While researching information on the Google Nexus One and it's upcoming AT&T compatibility I ran across this article at gadgetopolis. Most of it is boring 6th grade math walking you through the differences in price between a subsidized phone and buying it straight out over two years. The interesting bit is at the end, where we learn that

"The Nexus One uses the Qualcomm RTR6285 RF transceiver chip which includes support for AT&T’s 3G frequency bands. But they are effectively disabled due to the lack of compatible power amplifier chips"

Well now, isn't that a slap in the face to all those (myself included) who really wanted the altruistic giant to set us free from the iron grip of the Phone companies. If the geek in me cries foul play, how can the geek in Google's founders not cry the same? I can only imagine a marketing weenie or a bean counter made the decision. There could have been technical challenges with clearing all the testing through the FCC in time for the launch, they do have to sell a legal product. That may be true, I don't know. I can only hope that such an oversight would put someone out on the streets, especially if they were a bean counter or marketing weenie.

I feel a little sullied, having defended Google in many debates and have been an early adopter of all of their products. It's like finding out that your hot girlfriend who is 10 years younger than you has been with twice as many people in bed than you have, and some of those since you met her.

This does open the market for "chip modders" - I know of a few guys who made bank putting illegal mod chips in PS1s back in the day, maybe it's time for them to grab some schematics and warm up their soldering irons?

Whatever the cause, I hope Google will make this right and enable the hardware before I'm ready to make my Nexus purchase. The news of a compatible AT&T handset coming onto the market has made me question my plans of buying unlocked t-mobile hardware and giving up 3G until my blood soaked contract with AT&T is up then switching the much less expensive T-Mobile when my contract is up. Neither company offers 3G in my town, both offer it where I work.

Dare I buy more AT&T hardware for part time 3G, only to need to buy more hardware in 2011? I'd end up paying full price for the data plan, an extra $20 over what I pay now as I had no reservations telling the representative that it was a plain Jane feature phone and I didn't need the smart phone package for my unlocked G1, as I wouldn't be using much data on it at all.

What are your thoughts on the AT&T bands being crippled on the Nexus One? What are your thoughts on what I should buy in the next few weeks if both versions of the Nexus One are available.

Is the Nexus One an iPhone killer?

I had to laugh when I read an article titled "Nexus One: It’s no Apple iPhone". Great, I wonder if they also ran "Water: Mostly Wet" too. Of course it's not an iPhone, and as a former iPhone owner, I'm glad.

Look, the iPhone has decent hardware, more apps than anyone can possibly use and allows easy access to your music. The Nexus One has more current hardware, more apps than anyone can possibly use and allows easy access to your music.

Let me debunk a few of the "iPhone still rulez because..." statements I've read.

1 - Multi-touch screen. Both phones use the SAME technology for the screen input. Apple has a patent on multi-touch technology. So unless licensed from Apple, it really shouldn't have it on there. A few applications have it, I don't know if they are legal or hoping they don't get caught. Either way, it's NOT that big of a deal unless you have an addiction to it. Really, I find a smart "double tap" to zoom much more useful but it's a matter of preference.

2 - Application in memory. Okay, this one is true - kind of. The Nexus One has 512MB of RAM in which application EXECUTABLES can be installed. Unless we're talking massive bloatware, the average executable is under a MB in size. So, let's be conservative and say 2MB per executable on average. That's still room to install 256 applications. That more than most people install on their PC. There are some issues as to why Google has chosen not to put apps on the SD card. First, speed. SD card access is much slower than RAM. Next is piracy. Well, it's like locking your convertible and leave the top down - just enough to keep honest people honest. Lastly, Android runs Linux. Linux likes to have it's applications on a Linux compatible file system. That means, you need to take an extra step or two in setting up the SD card to make part of it compatible with the OS. Most people would rather cram every last song they have ever listened to on their SD card than set aside a chunk of it for more applications.

3 - No physical ringer on/off switch. I'm not even sure how this is something someone would complain about. While it's true, no physical ringer on/off switch exists, since android can run applications in the background (without sucking down THAT much power, despite Apple's claims), you can run a location aware ringer control. Have it switch to mute when you're in the movie theater, or office. Have it turn up extra loud when at the bar, or to wake up your spouse in the middle of the night when the server at work pages you for a problem.

4 - No "simple" way like iTunes to store and manage music. I personally found iTunes to be a complete abomination of software. REALLY. I guess some people like having to look through every song they own (or have downloaded) every time they want to listen to something. Plus, if that DOES float your boat (you sick bastard), there are several FREE pieces of software to put your though that hell. That way, people like me are free to drag and drop our music to folders and you can have your library.

That brings us to the biggest difference between the iPhone and the Nexus One (and all android phones) - CHOICE. Android has it, iPhone doesn't. Period. For this reason alone, ALL android phones have killed off the iPhone for users like me.

If you love your iPhone, I'm really happy for you. It's wonderful that you are happy with your hardware selection and enjoy your experience. I'm glad there is another option for people like me, who want something different from our phone experience.

Just a personal note - I did manage to break my unlocked G1, but I found a replacement MB on ebay and it should be here by next week. That means I can happily give up my WinMo phone again, something I think both sides of the debate can agree on.

How about you? Which phone platform do you prefer? iPhone or Android? Which one better meets YOUR need and more important - why?

Why I'm not divorcing AT&T, yet.

After today's exciting news of the Nexus One being available, I sat down and did some hard math. I could save money each month by switching to T-Mobile. Where I live and work, the coverage maps are nearly identical and neither offers 3G at home. That's generally good news.

However, the monthly savings isn't anything to write home about. I get a pretty decent discount because of the company I work for, so even with T-Mobile's cut rate pricing, it just isn't enough to justify the switch right now. It would take over 2 years of 'savings' just to pay off the sky high EFT with AT&T.

At this point "it's cheaper to keep her" so I'm not filing for divorce just yet. I'm irritated with the quality of the network, frustrated that they are dead last to offer Android phones, and will likely fill the ones they are coming out with to the brim with bloatware. I still want a Nexus One, but I think it makes good financial sense right now to save up my pennies and dimes until I can pay the full $530 for it, give up 3G until my contract is up with AT&T, then move to whoever gives me the best pricing on GSM service with good coverage.

I should point out that I was DEAD WRONG about the Nexus One being a ADP release. I really didn't expect this to hit the main stream just yet. Google did a good job of playing their cards close to their chest and letting the hype advertise for them.

What are you thoughts? If you're an AT&T customer, are you ready to leave her for a new sexy mistress or will you endure the loveless marriage for financial reasons?

More Nexus One Rumors, fact or wishing?

With all the new rumors coming in this week, it's easy to get caught up in the hype of the Nexus One. An unlocked, HOT handset for $199 before "Google rebate" of $100 is almost too good to be true. And now they are by invite only from Google. Both a way to fairly distribute what could be a limited share of phones and an excellent marketing concept. Keep in mind, this is one of the most talked about, most reported phones of the YEAR, and it's the 2nd half of December. Google has gotten prime time marketing and not spent a dime on it. To restrict access to this only causes us poor users to droll just that much more.

What does this tell us? From my point of view, it says that people WANT Google to take a chance on breaking the phone company's iron grip on the industry. We can't count on the phone industry to change itself anymore, and legislation isn't always the right way to go.

With AT&T delivering what is really sub par phone service to a vast number of people while raking in billions in profit, yet growing their customer base because of the draw and marketing of the iPhone, there is little motivation for them to change at all. No matter how frustrated I get with AT&T's service, lack of non-iPhone smart phones, I still believe they are free to set their pricing model as they see fit. I can tell you I won't be extending my contracts and when I can afford to pay the EFT's to drop their service, then I will move to a different carrier.

With a growing number of users sharing these same frustrations (visit this thread in the AT&T customer forums), it's easy to see why people's wishing is becoming rumors. I personally still believe that the Nexus One is going to be like it's other ADP offerings, hopefully at a reduced price. Especially true since I tried to flash a bad ROM to my G1 and now have a G1 shaped paperweight.

With the hype and mentions of the "developers get first dibs" being thrown out there, I would imagine a sharp upswing in the number of people who register in the next few weeks. An extra $25 to get first in line for a 1Ghz, 512MB, 802.11b/g/n phone for a rumored $99 after rebate? Sounds like a pretty inexpensive wager to me, one I personally took up. I'm also a part time software developer, so it works out fairly well.

What are your thoughts? What excites YOU about the Nexus One, or will you pass on it for another phone?

Nexus One, savior of the cell phone industry?

I've been reading a bunch about the Nexus One that was given to Google employees and the speculations have been amazing to say the least. I won't go over the details of those speculations, but I will note that there is a trend. Early reports, those without facts to back them up, spoke to Google changing the way the cell phone industry worked.

There is some evidence of Google wanting to change how the wireless industry works. Back in 2007 Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google stated "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet." when referring to opening part of the wireless spectrum. Keeping that in mind, what do I think is Google's long term plan? To sell advertising. More products that people use means more places where Google can sell advertising and more information they can use to deliver context appropriate ads.

Now that more and more facts are leaked about the phone, the rumors and speculation are becoming a little more believable but still are looking for Google to change the wireless industry. Why does everyone think Google is going to change the wireless world? Because they want someone, anyone to enter the market and change how things work. Open handsets on an open network is what people (at least me) want. I'm not saying cell phone companies should be giving away service for free, but I do think it's time for their ways to change. The Nexus One could, if rumors of Google selling it cost or subsidizing it themselves, be a big step in allowing people freedom of networks, but only if versions come out for more than T-mobile.

My speculations? I think that Google will sell this phone directly as a developer phone and will "let" T-mobile sell the device under their branding. Just like what we saw with the G1 and My Touch. Those were both Android Developer Phones before they became T-mobile's branded handsets. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that Google does sell the phone for $100, or $200. I hope they come out with versions that work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. I hope they raise the bar with competition between them and the other manufactures in the Open Handset Alliance. Doing so would hurt cell phone carriers, but not all change comes without a little pain.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Nexus One? Will it be the savior of the cell phone industry, or will it be another developer device? Let me know!