Archive for category Computers
Android vs. iPhone
Posted by Matt in Microsoft, Smartphones on February 24th, 2010
I just got my first Android-powered smartphone last week and have been transitioning my life away from my Palm Centro and iPod Touch–the two devices that kept track of my music, calendar, contacts, email, and so on. Yes, the Centro can do most of those things by itself, but I didn’t have a data plan at the time and could never get it to sync properly with Windows 64-bit. It didn’t have Wifi either, so I needed the iPod in order to get email, web, and more on the go. Annoying to carry multiple devices, but so worth it–especially on trips.
iPhone OS is good. It provides a smooth and intuitive interface, things are easy to use, generally easy to find, and it’s a powerful platform with some excellent multimedia capabilities built in. It really was almost an iPhone–just without the phone and on-the-go data portions, so it’s a pretty accurate comparison. I’ve now explored both types of devices in depth and here’s what I’ve found.
Hardware
This comparison is more about software than hardware, but I just wanted to take a minute to examine the iPhone hardware vs. my Droid Eris.
As far as specs go, the iPhone hasn’t changed a whole lot over it’s three iterations so far. Sure, there have been some additions like a faster CPU, more ram, better sensors, and a radio allowing for faster data transmission (although AT&T’s network doesn’t yet support the new HSDPA+ 7.2 standard). We have yet to see what the next iteration holds, but the differences probably won’t be earth shattering.
My Eris’s screen is a tad smaller than the iPhone’s, but it is far sharper and more vibrant. There’s almost no comparison–even at it’s highest brightness setting, the iPhone just can’t match the beauty of the Droid’s screen. Match it up against the Motorola Droid or the Nexus One, and there really is no comparison. The Android phones blow the iPhone away in resolution and clarity. The Eris has a 528mhz processor and some say it’s a little sluggish. I’ve noticed a slight delay from time to time, but it’s not bad and the Android 2.1 update coming in the next few days may resolve that completely. The Eris has more RAM than the iPhone.
The iPhone has one main button. I know Steve Jobs likes simplicity, but seriously? Sure, the one button does what it needs to do, but I really feel like navigation on the device could be more intuitive with dedicated call buttons or a quick way to jump to MMS or the Phone function itself. I like my Android-device because it has a dedicated “back” button that sends you back to the last place you were. So even if I jump from one app to another, I can immediately go back to the previous app. Pretty slick.
As far as battery life goes, it differs from device to device. Google’s Nexus One has some of the most amazing battery life I’ve seen to date. Comparing my Eris to the iPhone, Apple’s device edges it out just slightly according to specs from their website. The Eris can go 8-10 hours with the standard battery and light-moderate usage.
All in all, I can’t say one device is better than the other. They both work well and provide good feature-sets.
The OS
According to some, the iPhone OS is the gold-standard by which all other phone and OS makers must match, but I tend to disagree. The iPhone OS is one way of interacting, but there are other good ways of using the feature-set of an OS. On a side note, it’ll be interesting to see how Windows Phone 7 stands up against everyone else with it’s completely different interaction philosophy and UI design.
App Navigation
So the iPhone OS looks good and is easy to use, but I see serious oversights by the designers and architects of the system. First, navigating from one app to another is cumbersome. Let’s say I’m reading through a meeting request I just received via email. I’m not sure if I’m free, so I hit home, find the Calendar app, open it, check my schedule, and then hit home again, find Mail, and re-open it. That’s a lot of steps.
With Android, if I’ve recently had my calendar open, I can just switch to it and immediately switch back with maybe two taps. Even if I had to go locate my calendar in the apps menu, it’s incredibly easy to flip back to my email since I just came from there. Perfect example? No, but there have been plenty of times using the iPhone where it’s just driven me nuts how ridiculous it is to have to hit the home screen every time I need to switch apps.
Winner: Android
Notifications
That’s a good workflow example, but here’s another one. On the iPhone, the only way you can tell if you have new emails is if you locate the Mail app and check to see if the “new items” indicator is attached to the icon. If you were reading a book, surfing the web, or updating Facebook, you’d never know unless you exit the app and manually check. The only way to bypass this requirement is to jailbreak your iPhone–something I’d recommend that every iPhone owner should do. It’s completely worth it.
Android makes this process so easy you don’t even have to think. The top section of the screen contains a status bar just like the iPhone, but this bar also updates it’s left-hand corner to show all kinds of notifications. Facebook updates, new emails, new text/pix messages, calendar appointments, and more are all possibilities that might show up. I can then expand the status bar to reveal additional details about the alerts, and if I deem one of them important enough to interrupt whatever I’m doing, I can tap it and open the corresponding app. If I don’t need to see it, I can clear it away just as easily. All without ever leaving the app I’m currently using. This is 2010 and Android knows it. It’s so easy.
Winner: Android
Apps
The iPhone has somewhere around 120,000+ apps these days. I doubt if more than 20,000 of those are actually used on a regular basis, but it’s clear that users have a great selection for the most part (except in those cases where Apple rejects perfectly legit apps–but that’s a separate issue). The Facebook app for iPhone is better and more evolved than it’s Android counterpart. Starbucks hasn’t even written an Android application yet. Most big-name banks have made iPhone apps, but not necessarily ones for Android. The iPhone comes out ahead here from this perspective–although I haven’t yet found an app that I absolutely cannot live without. Most of the mainstream iPhone apps have Android siblings and they generally work equally well except in cases similar to the ones noted. Then again, the iPhone app store has been out at least 12 months longer than the Android Marketplace and with 25,000+ applications, Android is quickly catching up.
The place where I find myself once again loving the Android experience is found in one area: multitasking. The Android platform does this so seamlessly it’s almost funny how obvious this feature is to today’s advanced devices. Even Palm’s webOS does superb multitasking at little expense to battery life. I don’t get why Steve Jobs is so resistant to this feature, but it’s definitely something the iPhone needs in order to keep pace with today’s mobile devices. You’re lookin’ a little old and decrepit there, iPhone…
One app (available only on Android) that deserves specific mention is Cnet’s Scan & Shop. This little jewel allows you to scan any barcode using the phone’s camera and immediately find reviews and price comparisons for that particular product. Now, you can price out that elusive LED TV in BestBuy and find expert reviews in addition to better prices. Everyone needs this app.
Winner: Tie, Android edge. The iPhone having 100,000 apps is somewhat irrelevant if I can’t use more than one at a time, but Android needs some more major players.
Network
Do I even need to mention this area? Everyone knows the AT&T network seriously limits the iPhone OS’s abilities. Android has devices across multiple networks making the devices more portable when moving from one network to another (if you are unhappy with your current provider). The multiple-carrier philosophy and openness of Android devices also means that as they continue to grow in popularity, I’ll meet more and more Android users every day. This can only mean good things for Android users.
Winner: Android
Multimedia
I mentioned the fact that my Eris has a much better screen than any iPhone, but it’s multimedia capabilities also one-up the iPhone’s. In addition to playing music and movies in tons of different formats, Android can also play music from services like Pandora, Last.fm, and Lala in the background while I do other things. This is excellent news since I can read ebooks, surf the net, send and receive texts, and comparison shop all without stopping the endless stream of music over Verizon’s robust 3G network. I streamed Pandora all the way home the other day without a hitch.
Winner: Android
Sync, PIM, and Backup
I’m free of iTunes and that alone makes me want to shout for joy. Regardless of my feelings from that angle, Android has some great syncing features. First, it supports push Gmail and DirectPush MS Exchange technology. In addition, it syncs up your Google Calendar, contacts, links your Facebook contacts and profiles (if you so desire), and natively supports many other Google services. Depending on the manufacturer, the phone will also sync to a PC running Outlook.
The iPhone has Exchange support, but for the most part, the honeymoon stops there. Mail is pull-only, although if you’re patient and determined enough, you can partially get some Google services to push to your device. This mechanism is unreliable at best. I had no end to problems with it. Basically, if you have an iPhone, you’d better be prepared to use iTunes or you won’t be able to back up your device or update your device. Major caveat. MobileMe offers a lot of services similar to Google’s, but who seriously wants to pay $99/yr for that?! Google services are free and I’m more than happy to let Android push my data into the cloud.
Winner: Android
Conclusion
The clear winner here is Android–by a wide margin no less. Pretty good for having been released long after the iPhone’s initial offering. Analysts see Android-powered devices taking over the #1 positioned smartphone by 2012 and I fully expect this to be the case. I wouldn’t be surprised if it surpasses all other U.S. smartphone offerings well in advance of this projection. Just as Apple is a niche product in the PC market, so the iPhone is quickly following in it’s footsteps. This really reminds me of the “battle” of old between MacOS and Windows. Apple released MacOS well in advance of Windows, yet Windows still controls 98% of the worldwide PC market. We may not see the exact same plot unfold in the smartphone market, but things are shaping up in that direction already.
iPhone with the early lead…Android closing fast. Better watch it Apple or your face is going to be rubbed in the mud once again…
Can Windows Mobile Survive 2010?
Posted by Matt in Microsoft, Smartphones on February 13th, 2010
I’ve almost never been a fan of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform. I’ve rarely defended it, been quick to judge it, and in recent years have been largely unimpressed. Just like you, most likely. I’ve been a Palm user since the Palm Pilot Personal/Professional of 1998 and up until last night (when my Palm Centro suddenly went kaput), I’ve used Palm PDAs and Smartphones across the board. I’ve owned the Palm Pilot Professional, a couple different m505’s, a Tungsten T|5, and finally the Centro. They’ve all been–for the most part–fantastic devices and I’ve defended Palm as a company even through their years of non-innovation–always touting PalmOS 6 as the game changer we’re all waiting for.
Well, obviously PalmOS 6 never saw the light of day and has since been replaced by webOS, but that’s not what this article is about. There was a period in 2005/2006 where Microsoft really surged ahead with it’s Windows Mobile platform both in the PDA and Smartphone arenas. First with version 5, then 6, and then 6.1. They surpassed Palm in the PDA market by hitting over 50% and it was looking rather likely that Windows Mobile was the OS of the future. It really did look that way only 4-5 years ago and I remember thinking that perhaps it was time to give in and move to the Windows Mobile camp. Looking back, I’m glad I never did.
Back then, there was no iPhone, no Android, and RIM’s Blackberries were only beginning to gain traction in the corporate and enterprise markets. Most Smartphones ran either PalmOS or Windows–those were your choices. Symbian/Nokia were doing a lot of business overseas, but even today don’t hold much of a marketshare in the US. Nobody saw what smartphones would become. Nobody imagined that Microsoft would drop from almost 50% marketshare to a little under 20% in 2010. Nobody knew what direction things were headed or how quickly things would begin to change. Nobody.
At this point, I think we need to look at the iPhone and see it for what it really was–the reset button. I don’t feel like it “changed the game”–instead it really just threw out the current game and started over from scratch. A sort of “market reboot” if you will. Even though the most vocal of Apple’s fanbase had been begging them to create a smartphone for years, Apple just wouldn’t do it. Apparently, they just felt that the time wasn’t right–that is, until they finally launched the first iPhone iteration in 2007. That event really woke companies up to the fact that the Smartphone market had stagnated. It took other companies over a year to develop any sort of response to the iPhone, although the lack of application support really held things back at first. Without apps, the iPhone was really just another phone that also happened to have email and Internet support built-in to a nice touchscreen interface.
I look at this period in Windows Mobile’s history in the same light as most of us now see Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft had captured the marketshare majority and decided that they could just quit. Obviously, that never works. Someone will always be around to come back and take you out if you aren’t careful. Like Firefox did to IE, the iPhone did to the entire Smartphone market (excepting RIM). That’s not to say that it’s the best phone out there–it’s just to say that it helped restart the market and get things moving. Consequently, the market has sent Windows Mobile marketshare plunging because that particular OS still feels like it belongs in the early 2000’s. And for the most part, it probably does.
But the thing to remember is this: Android devices, Blackberries, and iPhones now dominate the US Smartphone market, but that really doesn’t mean a thing. (Well, not much of a thing, anyway.) Microsoft is gearing up to release Windows Mobile 7 and none of us really know what’s coming. We know bits and pieces, but until it’s officially unveiled, we won’t know what’s really happening. In the Microsoft arena, the number “7″ has a lot going for it at the moment. Windows 7 has been a huge success and when people think of Windows Mobile 7, they will associate it, consciously or not, with Windows 7. That could end up being a very powerful marketing technique if Microsoft plays things properly. Of course, the OS will have to stand on it’s own merits, but just as today’s most popular smartphones were once non-players, Microsoft could potentially take back a large percentage of it’s former marketshare.
I’ll be closely watching the announcements and press regarding Windows Mobile 7 over the next several months–if nothing else, just to see what’s coming down the line. I’ve just chosen an Android-powered phone to replace my dead Centro, but who knows what the market may look like 2 years from now when I’m ready to replace my phone once again. Competition is good, and we’ve certainly got plenty of it…
No, the iPad won’t cook your breakfast!
There are people in this world who tend to get hostile whenever I talk about an Apple product in a negative way. They call it “Apple Bashing.” Apparently they haven’t yet realized that I’m entitled to my own opinion and to make that opinion public. In fact, they are entitled to the exact same thing. Wow, who’d have thought?? So let me say this before you close the tab and turn me off: if you’re willing to read an article about how great the iPad is will be or how it has changed will change the world, you should be willing to take 5 minutes of your ever-so-busy life to read the following. You never know what you might be missing…
Anyway, I keep reading tweets, comments, news articles, blogs, and the like talking about how Apple’s iPad will be a revolutionary device. How it will open dead people’s minds to the idea of computing and make your grandparents computer programming prodigies. Okay, so that’s an exaggeration, but you can’t argue the fact that every time you turn around, someone is explaining why the iPad will revolutionize, reincarnate, revitalize, or generally reinvent certain industries. And, unfortunately, I have to ask: are you kidding me?? I mean, seriously! Let’s think this through…
Statement #1: The iPad will revolutionize photography.
Okay, right. Now, how is this going to happen again? The iPad lacks a camera. The iPad lacks photo editing or manipulation software. The iPad lacks a file system. The iPad lacks a high-resolution screen. In fact, the only thing the iPad does that has any connection to pictures, is that it can display the ones you sync from iTunes. So, what that means my friends, is that in order to put pictures on your iPad, you have too import them into iTunes and then sync them to your device. (Oh, I suppose you could email them to yourself as well, but that’s just slow and convoluted.) So, you’re telling me that this “yet to be approved by the FCC” Apple device is going to revolutionize photography. Well, you let me know when that happens. I have a feeling we’ll all be waiting awhile…
Statement #2: The iPad will revolutionize ebooks.
Okay, seriously–hold it right there! All you people who keep saying this just need to stop! Take a deep breath and look at the ebook market. Who do you see? Yup, that’s right. Amazon. The so-called revolution of ebooks has already happened, and trust me–it wasn’t started by Amazon either. In fact, I’d say we can trace this at least to the era of PalmOS-based PDAs. Suddenly, 3rd party developers were able to build apps that could read brand-new ebook formats. I read many ebooks back in the day via that method. In fact, half the time, I’d just send .txt files to my Palm and then open them in a reader that supported plain-text formats. Worked fine.
The Palm era of ebooks really wasn’t something that the masses could appreciate. Most average consumers didn’t have PDAs and the few who did probably weren’t interested in reading books on them. So, that’s why I ultimately look to Amazon and it’s incredibly popular Kindle device as the true ebook revolutionaries. Do you not remember the day the Kindle was first released? I mean, at first, most people were asking “what in the world is that!?” which was then followed by everyone and their mother buying one. In fact, Amazon sold out of Kindles nearly immediately, they were so popular. To me, that says “wow.” It says “I’m a revolutionary.” And ultimately means that Apple, in this case, is just a copycat. Face it, people. The only thing the iPad brings to ebooks is multi-touch. And I honestly can’t remember the last time I had the slightest urge to multi-touch my ebook…
Statement #3: The iPad will revolutionize digital media.
Sigh! Please not this again. If all reports were to be believed, the digital media industry has been revolutionized about 3 billion times by now. Don’t believe me? Well consider these: VHS, DVD, flat-screen monitors, flat-panel TVs, Bluray, iPods, HD radio, and now…the iPad? Yeah, I really don’t think the iPad fits in that list. Yes, the iPod does because it really did kickstart digital music, even if iTunes has been nothing but a pain in the neck. The iPad is not going to be nearly as “revolutionary.” Not even a small chance. None. ZERO. That’s partially because it lacks an open ecosystem coupled with it’s lack of support for industry standard file formats already in use by every other media device on the planet.
I’m not saying the iPad is going to be terrible, although I certainly do have a strong opinion regarding its success. All I’m saying, is that Apple’s marketing slogan, reading “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device…” is just that. Marketing jargon. There isn’t a shred of truth to it, guaranteed.
And no matter what anyone else tells you, it will most certainly not cook your breakfast…
“New World” Computing is a Lie
I clicked a link earlier today which led me to a blog (which, for now, will remain unnamed) in which the author began talking about personal computing, tech people, “regular” end-users, and the ultimate future of computing. I really don’t want to rehash everything he said, because it was a rather lengthy post full of logical fallacies, so I’ll just explain the basic premise.
The days of multi-purpose computing are over.
What that means according to this particular author is this: computers which can do “everything” and run full fledged operating systems like Windows or Linux are going to slowly fade from our lives only to be replaced with “computing devices” that perform one or two specific tasks extremely well. The iPad and iPhone are cited as examples of devices that will move us into the “New World.” The author (who clearly thinks Apple is going to be the vehicle by which world hunger is solved) surmises that end-users don’t care about things like multitasking, file systems or formats, or understanding how computing works (and on and on). While the last of those statements may be partially true, I’ve met more than my fair share of “average end-users” who care very much about those things. They care about being able to organize their lives into files and folders (because honestly, that system makes sense).
Take a paper-based system for instance. We don’t throw all of our important documents into a big box and hope that we can find them later because that’s stupid and doesn’t make any sense. Instead, we categorize everything, file things away in file folders, cabinets, drawers, safe deposit boxes, and so on. What about that system doesn’t make sense? Hmm…I’m not sure. But I can see how someone long ago thought–”Hey, this paper filing system works pretty well. Why don’t we apply that to computers?” And boom–you have a system of files and folders on modern PC’s that the world just understands. You don’t need more than 5 minutes to figure out that the files and folders on computers are remarkably similar to the ones in your filing cabinet. Except you can search through the digital kind–which is a huge reason as to why they’re better.
Okay, honestly…how can you think that multitasking is completely unnecessary to regular people? How many people type emails, converse via IM, and listen to music all at the same time. Umm…maybe like everyone? (Okay, okay–almost everyone). To do that, you have to have the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. Plus, if suddenly you decide that nobody needs multitasking abilities, you begin to throw away billions of CPU cycles along with processors having multiple cores. What waste.
Should I go on? Or have I made my point? Task-specific computing is Old World Computing–cause it’s certainly not the new enlightened way. Don’t get me wrong–there are cases in which computers meant for a specific purpose are necessary–perhaps in medical or government situations this would be the case. Perhaps in automobiles, although I would argue that as “traditional” computers continue to decrease in size and increase in power, the more generically applicable these systems become.
To believe in task-centric computing for everyday people is to place yourself in the unique position of spending $25,000 on various “computing devices.” One to do simple things like email, web browsing, and editing documents. Another for banking. Another for developers. Yet another for doing X and another one for doing Y. It’s total lunacy.
You don’t need multiple cars for everyday life. One for the grocery store, one for the gym, and yet another for taking the kids to Grandma’s??
Or do you?