Review: The Android G1 vs. the iPhone 3GS

It’s been a month since I switched to the iPhone 3GS from the Android G1 and it seems worth giving my reflections. When I had the G1 I loved it. The Android operating system is awesome- Google’s effort in opening up the mobile phone is very impressive, and they’ve proven over the last year they’re committed for the long haul. Here’s what it does well: The interface is great, much more like a computer operating system. Simple things like an information bar, which makes it more like Windows, may seem unnecessary to Apple but the reality is status updates like new email & text message alerts are important and often lost on the iPhone. Also, the Google apps integration is fantastic, and for the world outside of work (i.e. Microsoft Exchange) that’s much more exciting. You can sync Gmail and Google Calendar to iPhone, but it’s not native and it kills some of the reasons I joined Gmail in the first place, like threading. Also Android lets 3rd party apps plug in to the OS, which is important for things like taking a picture with the camera and then having your choice of where to upload to, rather than on the iPhone where you have to pre-select which program you are going to use to upload even before you take the picture (or after you exit the camera all together).

Other features of Android like desktop widgets are cool but I don’t really find them necessary. iPhone lets apps do small updates through the icons, and leaving widgets on the G1 had two huge side-effects- it killed the battery life, and slowed the OS significantly. This is also my feeling on multitasking; in most cases, you really don’t need it. If iPhone apps were a little better at holding your place when exiting and re-opening them, and there was a normal info bar for push notification & other message alerts, I can’t see many reasons I’d need multitasking, especially considering the likely trade-off between that and battery life.

So what the iPhone 3GS in the face of this? Well as much as I loved the G1, I really haven’t turned it on since getting the new iPhone. There’s a lot to love about Android, but the 3GS is by far and away a better phone. First a caveat, it would definitely be fairer to compare the new iPhone to a more modern Android phone, but I don’t have that luxury. So after a month of using an phone that is all together faster in every way, from using applications to browsing the web, I can’t imagine having it any other way. Also for all of the suckiness of OS lockdown, it’s amazing how beautifully consistent every experience is on the 3GS. Every time you open an app loads just as quickly, and the usability of many applications is also comforting. What I really miss the most about the G1 is the keyboard, which in all honesty I’d take on the iPhone in exchange for a bit thicker phone. But the iPhone’s typing auto-correction is actually pretty impressive, making onscreen touch-typing much more functional than on Android.

So in the end it comes down to this. From my experience, the iPhone 3GS does the things I care about the most significantly better than the G1. That probably means that Android needs to be installed on a phone that’s worthy of its breadth of functionality, which it looks like the upcoming Verizon Droid will do. If that happens, then Apple needs to take the iPhone OS to the next level to compete. If not, then I’m sad to say I’ll take less functionality for an overall better experience, as much as I didn’t want to come to that realization.

Hoping for a Verizon Android Phone Soon

My phone account is up in May and in this day and age that's a pivotal moment - my decision right now effects the next two years!  What service and what phone do I go with?

I'm on Verizon, which is generally considered to have the best service but the worst options for phones.  Over the last few months I've had the opportunity to test the Google G1, which is on Sprint.  Since using it I can't see myself walking away from a smart phone with a tangable keyboard.  However, I don't want to be on Sprint, and the G1's lack of Microsoft Exchange support may be too much in the long run.  On the other hand, I love the application support, as minimal as it is compared to the iPhone.

So what about the iPhone?  It has exchange support, the best application platform, and is generally an impressive phone.  However, the touch keyboard doesn't seem like it would suit me; I type too much full content on the phone.  Also, Singular is still considered a questionable service.

So where does that leave me?  As boring as it sounds, I may just need to settle for a Blackberry.  Slowly the applications are coming, there is a full keyboard, and I can stay on Verizon.  It's not interesting, not boundry pushing, but it will give me the most capability without loosing the features I need (service, a keyboard, and applications).

Or, Verizon could put out an Android phone.  The Boy Genious Report is suggesting that the phone pictured above is a Motorolla Android phone that has been built for Verizon.  It is slick, has a slide-out keyboard, and runs the Android interface.  Right now it's a rumor, but if it's real then Verizon may just have me sold on a new contract.  If not, then the new iPhone that is expected to be announced in June at the Apple developer conference has a shot at moving me to Cingular, or I'll find the best Blackberry available at that time.

Skydeck Turns Your Mobile Phone Call Data Into a Social Network

Tonight I decided to give Skydeck a try - it's one of those social utilities you probably haven't heard of but might really enjoy using.  You connect it to your mobile phone company's website, and it scrapes your phone bills to build out a social network around your call and text information.  From here you can see who your true contacts are ranked by the amount of time you spend communicating with them.  It's on the growing list of social utilities that takes your every day behaviors and unlocks the social value, as well as the deeper personal utility, behind the data.  Think about how Xobni organizes your outlook info, how Last.FM leverages your music listening habits, and Mint organizes your financial data.

Skydeck has a lot of potential - it's sitting on very personal and very revealing information that speaks directly to how a majority of people do most of their communicating - their mobile phones.  However, right now it's missing many of the features that would make it great. I'd like to see more data - for example, where are trends?  I want to see minute and text usage per month, as well as per day, and per hour.  I would love to see recommendations on how to improve my phone bill, such as "most of your calls are nights and weekends, lower your day-time calling", or "you consistently go over your txt message allocation".  It needs to take a cue from Mint in terms of features.

Also, Skydeck highly touts its ability to connect with other social tools to merge with the rest of your important contact data beyond the phone number.  However, it currently really only connects with desktop tools and Plaxo, which means it's more for the business class.  The people I email with using Outlook are rarely the same people that I contact with my cell phone, so I need Skydeck to connect with Facebook, where most of my friends update a significant ammount of their contact information.  It could also potentially work well with Linkedin, just as Xobni does.

All in all, I'm looking forward to seeing how Skydeck develops - if it can add more features and create more utility, it will be a killer application.

Using Jott to send emails from a phone call

You don't need a blackberry to have a multimedia phone - lately I've gotten in the habit of using a voice tool called Jott. Jott enables me to call in and voice a command of a location, such as "myself" or "calendar" and then leave a voice message. When I hang up, a transcription of the message (and a link to the message recording) is sent to the location I directed. Through the Jott website you can link email addresses, calendars, blogging tools, and more. Right now I have it set so when I call Jott I can leave a message for myself and it sends an email to my work e-mail address. This way when I am out at night and remember something I need to do the next day, I make a quick phone call and have it waiting for me in the morning. You can also set up a text messaging option, for when you can't make a phone call. On Jott itself you can keep track of your to-do's that you've sent to various locations, listen to your messages, organize them, set reminders, and more.

Google Spurs Change

Google Operating System has an interesting post called "winning even when you lose" where they discuss how Google spurs change in industries regardless of if it loses the apparent arms race.  The few examples given, of which there are likely many more, are:

Email - 2004 - Gmail launches with 1GB of free storage compared to Yahoo's 4MB of free storage.  In response, Yahoo grew to 100MB, then 1GB a year later, and finally, is now uncapped, while Google is only at 6GB for free (although it's growing at all times)

Instant Messaging - 2005 - Google Talk launches as an open standards chat program meant to exchange IMs with all open IM clients (although at the time that meant none of the big 3 competitors - AIM, Y! Messenger, or MSN Messenger).  In response Yahoo and Microsoft teamed up to link their IM services later that year.

Mobile Phones - 2007 - Google announced that it would bid for the 700MHz spectrum in the US, declaring four conditions of open applications and devices.  Later that year Verizon Wireless finally announces that it will open its wireless network to 3rd party devices and software.

Social Networks - 2007 - Google launches OpenSocial, an open widget application platform, and a month later Facebook announces it will open it's widget application platform for use on other social networks.

Do I care about the iPod Touch ?

Apple released three new iPods yesterday - a widescreen video iPod Nano, a gigantic iPod Classic, and an iPod Touch.  The iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without a phone/data network, and with the newly added functionality of wireless iTunes when a wireless network is available.

At first glance I was extremely excited about the iPod Touch.  It is an iPhone with a bigger hard drive, a slimmer (under a third of an inch), lighter figure (4.2 ounces is lighter than my camera), full screen video, and wireless browsing via Safari web browser.  Do I run out and buy one as soon as its on the shelves?

But then I started to think.  $399 plus tax and insurance, will probably run close to $600 all said and done.  I don't buy music from iTunes though, so wireless iTunes means nothing to me.  I don't even have new mp3's anymore since I am hooked on Rhapsody,  so 16gb isn't that important to me.  And wireless browsing without guaranteed access due to lack of wi-fi in many areas means I can't keep up on RSS feeds the way I want to throughout the day.  So what am I really getting out of this?

If I buy the iPod Touch it will be the smallest version, probably without a rebate, and I will mostly use it as a mobile computer whenever I'm on a trip. And it will be because I can't resist playing with the browser.  Otherwise I'll buy  the Creative Zen 16 GB which lets me play divx files and use Rhapsody, and a Backberry Pearl 2 when it comes out for Verizon in November.

Technorati Tags: apple , ipod , ipod touch , ipod nano , ipod classic , nano , iphone , creative zen , blackberry pearl , blackberry , wi-fi , wifi , safari

What would stop you from buying the Apple iPhone?

This graph represents a survey of people who have already stated that they would buy an Apple iPhone. That said, what factors weigh in on the quickness of executing that decision? 60% say that switching carriers isn't an issue; 6% say they would pay over $400. So it will take some time, and it will take a price drop, for Cingular to capture the approximately 20% of iPod shoppers that said they'd buy an Apple iPhone.

Technorati Tags: apple, ipod, mobile, iphone, cingular, music phone

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