Yesterday my slightly over two year old LG Versa gave up the ghost and I hurried to the Verizon Store to select a new phone. I’ve gone over to the dark side and gotten a smartphone, in my case a Motorola Droid 2 Global. Fortunately, I was able to save the contact list from my LG which had suddenly become insane.
I was pleased to find that there’s more standardization among phones than there was a couple of years ago, in particular I was pleased that the charger for my LG (which I dearly love for its USB connection) may be used on my new Droid. Same car charger, too, of course.
The features which made the Versa stand out a couple of years ago happily appear to be standard now. Android hasn’t proven difficult to learn or use. A bit clunky in some ways, I think. Most important of these is the apparent willingness of apps to hang around in limbo indefinitely. I downloaded and installed an app to manage tasks which appears to be a necessity under Android.
I also downloaded and installed a miniaturized version of the Opera browser—I prefer it to the built-in one.
I found the app store absurdly difficult to negotiate.
My Droid 2 Global expends a charge with alarming rapidity, so much so that I’m thinking of taking it back to have it looked at. Sitting idle overnight was enough to discharge it almost completely which doesn’t sound right—the old LG didn’t need charging for several days, even a week.
I haven’t tried the camera yet. I found the Versa’s camera horrible. Honestly, I haven’t been satisifed with any of the digital cameras I’ve had since my old Agfa (which I loved). But that’s the subject for another post.
I’m just starting to goof around writing Android apps. I plan on writing a bunch of apps, progressing from the crappy to … well, as high as I can go. Three crappy apps down so far.
I’m still developing with an emulator and don’t have a phone yet. My iphone contract expires today, as a matter of fact. I kind of plan on an Incredible, because you can get it free with contract (via Dell), and it’s probably good enough for 2 years. Then on to 4G.
I’m surprised about the hangs, but I’m a newbie.
I’m going to try to meet some other Android programmers for beers tonight. I’ll ask them about hangs.
I had problems with my iphone battery when I first got it as well, though not as bad as that. I down loaded some free ‘battery hint’ type apps and i found them fairly useful most of the advise was obvious, turn screen brightness down, but some was more useful like turn wifi off if your not in a wifi area since the phone will turn the power all the way up on it’s receiver to find a signal. I always turn it off now on trips, same goes for the 3g.
I don’t know if droid has any battery apps but there probably a web site if nothing else.
After 2 years with an iphone 3G I’m happy with the battery. I do charge most days. Given that these phones have a 32-bit unix operating system with graphic presentation layer crammed in, I think that’s a reasonable expectation.
Basically, the architecture in these smart phones is the same that used to be used in refrigerator-sized unix computers (30 years ago).
For what it’s worth though, I also notice some apps are worse than others, and leaving the wrong one in “foreground” can drain the battery surprisingly quickly.
I think if you exit (maybe “return” or “finish” in Android) to the main screen, rather than simply switching to main screen(?), you will suspend more actions.
I’m not totally clear on how the buttons on my emulator map to buttons on phones, but the arrow that looks like a “U” on its side is a more complete exit.
(It was bugging me that my iphone was sluggish, but then I discovered that I’d been logging a “track” for my “hike” for the past week and a half 😉 )
I love my iPhone 4. Not for phone calls — ATT is useless — but for everything else. Battery life, video, still camera, the apps, the huge memory.
If I were n0t a Java programmer I’d stay with the iphone. No complaints. It’s just that with an Android I can write an app I want and stick it on the phone.
Speaking of apps michael, do you think the Color Nook has possibilities for any sort of interactive fiction? Have you thought about how you’d use pages that can “come alive?”
My understanding is that while eReaders will be slow at apps in general, they do leave open the question of how good “slow moving” content can be.
I agree with Michael – I love my iphone 4. Zero complaints except for AT&T.
Dave,
My neighbors got new droid phones recently and battery life problems too. They found an app to kill extra processes that helped a lot. Also, like other said, running GPS and WIFI in the background will kill it too.
If it’s not too late though, you should get an iphone instead 🙂
My phone is primarily that—a phone. Good reception and transmission are necessities, not niceties. My carrier is Verizon and likely to stay that way.
One of my nephews works for ATT as, essentially, an iPhone salesman. Needless to say he’s very high on it and has tried hard to talk me into one. Maybe a year or so after they’re available for Verizon.
Heh. Maybe I should’ve answered James’s post over at OTB about how you know you’ve become old by saying, when you use you cell phone primarily to call the wife and ask if she needs anything else at the store.
JP:
I’m all over it, actually. I got tired of writing memos to my publisher all of which amounted to, “The end is nigh, the pad cometh, we must prepare the way!”
Two years ago they thought I was nuts. I actually had Jake build a very spare mock-up of an enhanced book at http://getfre.com/0/ because in publishing it’s still mid-19th century. (Bear in mind that this was a very minimal example, just to sort of explain the concept to publishing people.) Then about six months ago publishing snapped awake. “Hey, what’s this enhanced e-book/app thing all about?”
Too late, too slow for me.
So what I’ve done is put together a consortium of The Shadow Gang (acting as a sort of producer,) Egmont Publishing (acting as, well, book publisher and banker, and very smart folks,) and Campfire (the digital marketing guys.) The only piece not yet in place are sponsors, but we haven’t started that push yet.
I created a young adult/sci fi concept called BRZRK which we will build essentially simultaneously as books, enhanced e-books, apps and games.
If it works I’m a genius. If not, well . . .
anything GPS is a big battery drainer. Turn off bluetooth and don’t leave maps running or let anything used location based service you plan to leave running. But yeah, in general phones have gotten smaller and more powerful, but batteries are still about the same in mAh per cubic inch. I charge my iphone every day and need it on an external battery if I want to hike with gps more than a 1/2 hr.
We should find an app for Dave.
Michael, I’m thinking that the old text adventure thing could be rebuilt for readers. Rather than a “page” with nothing more than:
“You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.”
There could be a full pad-sized page of (hopefully) interesting and amusing text.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/zork1.html
I feel comfortable saying that in an open forum because the problem is by now well known, how to create “fiction” with multiple paths.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction
It was never super popular though, perhaps because “gamers” moved with the graphics as they evolved, and because “readers” were at that time a not too overlapping set.
(comment in moderation)
Heh. My wife and daughter jut have to have iphones. She loves all the apps. Of course, if you try to call her, the odds that she will answere ar about 1 in 10. And the battery is always dead, and she always has to get the latest………oy.
Me. I make my living on the phone, basically consulting with partners and principles and giving them direction. I have a good old Blackberry Bold. Verizon based. I just need a good phone, and emails. I really don’t care that I can look up the weather in Mobile Alabama, or download crappy music, or or see what Newsweak has to say……..
Heh. My wife and daughter jut have to have iphones. She loves all the apps. Of course, if you try to call her, the odds that she will answere ar about 1 in 10. And the battery is always dead, and she always has to get the latest………oy.
Me. I make my living on the phone, basically consulting with partners and principals and giving them direction. I have a good old Blackberry Bold. Verizon based. I just need a good phone, and emails. I really don’t care that I can look up the weather in Mobile Alabama, or download crappy music, or or see what Newsweak has to say……..
JP:
We did some choose-your-own-adventure kinds of books with Animorphs. (Actually, hired a ghost.) Of course today we’re going as far as the tech will allow, which is obviously a whole lot further.
One of the reasons we formed this consortium (probably not the right word) is that in this environment we need to be able to grow things simultaneously across platforms, and indeed customize for different experiences. Gamers like control of the narrative, traditional readers don’t, different age groups have different needs, etc…
I think the two big trends in publishing are toward self-publishing in digital by established authors (to take more control and earn bigger profits) and the move to books as apps/enhanced books. That second one may be the salvation of the major publishers if they get their heads out of their rear ends.
JP,
That’s an interesting idea. Thanks to the iPad and its descendants, I could imagine a different sort of interface for interactive fiction, where instead of typing in a command the reader would simply choose a particular “page” to turn to. Do you know of anyone who’s tried that yet?
BoingBoing covered a recent paper on choose-your-own fiction:
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/14/academic-paper-in-th.html
So, perhaps the eReaders are reigniting interest.
Nifty – thanks!
FWIW, after Dave’s comments I had more battery-wariness. I went with the Droid X because it got top battery life here:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/android-battery-test-reveals-droid-x-lasts-longest-amoled-handsets-trail
And because I discovered that you can get it for $20 at NewEgg (new contract). Pretty hard to beat (in-store price $199 with contract)
I stopped by a Verizon store to see if they could match. They couldn’t, no biggie, but what’s funny is that every Verizon shop-person I meet is looking to write apps. It makes me thing the app market isn’t all mined out, yet. Anyway, I tip them to App Inventor and wish them well.
JP:
If Choose Yer Own Adventure comes back it may be less about the pads per se and more about the growing legitimacy of self-publishing. The Big 6 aren’t doing CYOA because it’s a niche thing and risky at the moment. But they are losing control of their business. You can self-pub quite easily. You could do one yourself.
That said marketing remains the elephant in the room.
Related:
link