| Of me... |
|
Name : Jon
Email : click here
Profession : Programmer
|
|
|
September 15, 2011 -
Sensing some frustration
After nearly two months of Androiding, I've come to a few realizations. Some of these aren't exactly earth shattering, but it's my blog, my soapbox, and I'm going to spout off.
First of all, the system is here to stay. It's robust, easy to code for, and at the risk of pissing off Apple, there's an app for just about everything I could want. DVR scheduler, sports, games, navigation... I've got them all, and for the most part, they were free. This, however, is a bit of a sore spot, as the device I bought just doesn't have enough internal space. With apps that automatically update themselves (cough, market), and the various other things going on behind the scenes, my 100MB of free space has dropped to about half that. But, whatever, my fault for not doing my research.
Second, vanilla android sucks. Yeah, I said it, and I mean it. If you're going to use Android, you *need* some sort of skin on top of it. Launchers are great, but unless you've got something that hides/massages some of the awful crap that's going on with the rest of the system, it's awful.
For example, messaging. It's 2011, and I've got 3 different applications to manage 3 message types. I've got messages for my MMS/SMS, the Yahoo mail app for my Yahoo mail, and the GMail app for GMail. If I felt saucy enough to hook my exchange server into the phone, that'd be 4 applications.
WTF!
The Blackberry, for all of it's faults, doesn't just surpass Android when it comes to messaging... it takes it behind the woodshed and proceeds to beat the daylights out of it. Even iOS has a universal inbox. This is just beyond idiotic, it's insane.
Google: Develop a unified inbox, and give providers API hooks into it. It seems to work for RIM, and there's no reason it shouldn't work for you.
Everyone slams Motorola for their Motoblur UI, and rightfully so, as it sucked when it first came out. Supposedly recent versions are better, and you know what... I'm considering buying a phone with blur just so I can get down to two messaging applications. It's just that bad.
The other reason I'd consider going Blur is Sense UI. Sense looks great. It's got some amazing widgets. It's also quite fond of crapping in the notes fields of my GMail contacts, and occasional dementia. In the last 3 weeks, I've had to reset various accounts twice because Peep/FriendStream would force close on launch. Deleting and re-adding the accounts works, but then I have to go through and fix my contact links and whatnot.
It happened again today. I haven't done the delete/re-add yet because I'm contemplating some sort of very annoyed email towards T-Mobile/HTC.
Part of the problem with Sense, I think, is that everything happens on your phone. That's why Sense users end up with crappage in our various contact notes fields on GMail.. it's Sense making it's own little notes and figuring out what to do with various contacts and links. Sure, it works, but that sort of stuff needs to happen in the cloud. For all of it's faults, Blur seems to get that aspect right.
So, I've got 3 options before me. They are:
- Grit my teeth and deal with this sense madness.
- Upgrade to the MyTouch 4G Slide and hope that the new version of Sense sucks less.
- Take a chance on a Blur enabled phone.
Anyone got any advice here?
August 14, 2011 -
Nokia and Microsoft: The perfect match
So, to start this off, can you name one innovative thing that Microsoft has done in the last 10 years? One thing where they took an idea that was so unique and new that they jumped out in front of whatever market they were competing in?
It's a hard question, so take your time.
The answer: The office ribbon. I mean, really, what else could you say...
This doesn't bode well for a company that's *trying* to compete in one of the, if not the, fastest moving technology areas around: Mobile.
If you've spent any amount of time playing with mobile phones, and have touched a Windows Phone, you'll come up with one inescapable truth: It's just not very good. Sure, the UI is decent, and a huge step up from the old Windows Mobile. But that's about it.
Microsoft's draconian measures to enforce consistency have led to a bunch of "me too" phones. Sure, some have slide out keyboards. One has a pop up speaker. And the rest are like a bunch of clones.
I get why Microsoft felt they *had* to do that. Windows Mobile had no guidelines, and it led to a bunch of weird and (sometimes) crappy designs. It also was responsible for stuff like Samsung's TouchWiz and HTC's TouchFlo (and later, TouchFlo 3D, which begat Sense). So yeah, minimum hardware requirements are good.. requiring everyone to have the exact same look... that's just stifling innovation.
To be fair, stifling innovation is what Microsoft does best. After they knocked the legs out from under Netscape, they sat on IE and let it turn into a hopeless mess of bugs. After the success of Firefox (and later, Chrome) scared the beejezus out of them, it was too late for IE. Sure, it has a majority marketshare, but it's fading every day, carried along only by momentum.
Microsoft's also managed to alienate a lot of their old developer community. These were the guys who stuck with Windows Mobile when nobody else saw any value to it. The guys who learned .NET compact and the mobile C++ APIs. The people who, for years, extended and beat Windows Mobile into something useful. These are the people who had the rug pulled out from under them with the switch to XNA/Silverlight, and most of them haven't looked back. Can you blame them? Who wants to learn yet another API...?
Contrast that to the way that Google and RIM have handled things. By using Java, and a highly tuned and optimized VM, they've made it easy for developers to write once, and just tweak across different hardware and OS revisions.
The way Microsoft neglected IE is very similar to what Nokia did with Symbian. Once it had a majority marketshare, they left the platform to rot. Sure, they did innovate with hardware, the N95 was a great example. They also were ingenious in coming up with ways to clone the same hardware endlessly, and I'm sure someone in one of those dark and damp corners of Espoo is still churning out new variants of the 5800.
Like Microsoft, Nokia has continually pulled the rug out from under developers. I'm not just talking about the Symbian signed fiasco, which broke backwards compatibility. I'm talking about the silly number of frameworks that were the "way forward" for development on Symbian. For example, we've had:
- AVKON
- Open C/C++
- DirectUI
- Orbit
- QT
Those are just the major frameworks I can recall off the top of my head. That's a hell of a lot of times to change direction, and points to a company that's totally unfocused. On top of those, you've always had java on Symbian, which (dirty secret alert) actually outperforms a number of solutions Nokia would have had developers adopt.
Will these two companies who hate to innovate manage to turn themselves around in the Mobile marketplace? As much as I loved both Nokia's hardware and Windows Mobile, I just can't see them making a go of it in the future.
July 28, 2011 -
Sprint's Epic Fail
I recently ended my 7 month affair with Sprint. I didn't end it because I got a better deal elsewhere, or anything of that nature. But before I end it, I want to explain why I switched.
I was paying AT&T 150 a month for 2 lines. That seems high, sure, and it'll seem higher when you consider I also had a 22% employer discount with AT&T. I had one line with smartphone unlimited data, and one line with unlimited texts (featurephone for the 2nd line). Considering that a *new* plan costs less than that, and gives you more, I felt I was being screwed. That screwed feeling was the reason I started looking around.
In retrospect, Sprint seemed like the perfect fit. Their network footprint is decent, their prices were/are great, and they're an underdog. And I love me an underdog. So, a couple of blackberries later, and the girl and I were on Sprint.
The first 7 months of Sprint were flawless. I never ran into any coverage issues, and I never had any reason to complain. Hell, I was absolutely delighted with the service. Then, in late June, things started going bad.
One night, I noticed I was roaming at home. Data wasn't available, and voice calls went straight to voicemail. This was happening on *both* of our phones, and it started happening on the same evening. I think the possibility of both phones developing the same fault simultaneously are very slim, so I was pretty sure it was the network (this would be confirmed later).
Even then, I wasn't going to complain. Let's be honest, crap happens. I figured the situation would sort itself out in a day or two.
After three days of no network at home, I finally called Sprint. The phone call that night set the pattern for all of my subsequent phone calls with Sprint. It went like this:
- I'd call sprint, and report the fact that I was having issues with my phone.
- We'd attempt a PRL/Profile update. This never worked.
- I'd do a battery pull.
- ... Still Roaming...
- The rep would then call a network engineer. On four different occasions, I was told:
- There was a problem with the network, dated back to when I originally had my issue (Tuesday, 6/21/11)
- The problem only affected data transmission (kinda important with a blackberry). Voice should work via roaming.
- The outage was expected to be resolved within 24-48 hours.
- The rep would then give me a trouble ticket #, and promise to call back within 24-48 hours.
- After a few days of calling, they started to mention a credit once the situation was resolved.
- One time a rep told me that he saw multiple tickets had been opened in my area within the last 6 hours, a few days later I was told I was the only person in the area to complain. The story always shifted.
During the first week of the outage, I called tech support two or three times (I forget which, to be honest). After a week, I decided I was going to call daily and keep reminding them of the situation. To be honest, I started to see this as a battle of wills, and it appears that Sprint did too.
During that second week, I was amazed at some of the crap Sprint was spewing. At one point I had a rep tell me that my problem *must* have been solved, because they saw I had dropped calls the week before, but none within the last few days. When I told her that I had stopped using my cell at home, and instead had started using my landline, she told me that I'd have to start using my cell more (and dropping calls more) in order for them to really see the problem.
I had one rep tell me that my problem was that both phones went bad simultaneously. Warranty... what warranty? I'd have to buy new phones out of pocket. As soon as I mentioned that it'd be cheaper for me to pay the ETF, he suggested sending me an Airave...
Holy crap, the Airave. After that first week, they kept pushing the Airave solution on me, and I kept telling them no. It'd be great if the coverage problem was just *in* my house, but that wasn't the whole story...
The coverage situation extended beyond my house, for about 1.5 miles or so. I roamed when I was out walking/running. Grocery store? Roaming. Spotty (and that's being kind) data while roaming. No grocery list software. No slacker. Basically, the area in which I spent half my time was a no-coverage zone, despite it having the "best" coverage on Sprint's coverage map.
After two weeks, and 15+ hours on the phone with Sprint, I basically asked for an adjustment to my ETF. Can't do it, was the reply. I countered with the fact that I had no coverage for two weeks at home, and they were going to give me a credit once "they had the situation fixed", so give it to me against my ETF. No can do, was the reply. I mentioned the fact that of the four representatives that offered to call me back, only one did. I mentioned the fact that I was getting a different story every time I called. I said I had been told for well over a week that the situation was going to be fixed within 24-48 hours. I basically said I just can't trust you guys any more, the relationship is shot.
Finally a supervisor offered me a slight credit for both lines against the ETF. I gladly took it and hung up, basking in my victory. But something just didn't feel... right. On a hunch, I called back, talked to a rep, and found out he only credited one line. So I told my story one last time, to a very sympathetic rep, who did right by me and helped me out immensely (I'm not going to go into the full details, but this was the only time that Sprint did the right thing).
I really didn't want to leave Sprint, and I kept hoping against hope that they were going to get the situation fixed. I hate making changes like that and I hate bothering people, and I really regretted having to go down the road I did. In the end, Sprint simply left me no choice.
Oddly enough, after this happened, I noticed a lot of people posting about the same problem (hell, check out today's engadget article about Sprint's quarterly earnings report to see some examples). I've got a feeling that Sprint is having major network issues, and if they're not careful, other people are going to start paying attention.
July 23, 2011 -
2 Weeks of Android
After two weeks of using Android, I'm feeling increasingly confident I'm going to be staying here. There are definitely things that aren't as good as the BB I left behind, but there are, IMO, way more pluses than minuses.
Let's get the big minus out of the way. Mail sucks. Not having a universal inbox drives me up a wall. The Yahoo Mail client is, arguably, better than the Gmail client (I use both Yahoo and Gmail pretty evenly), and the UX is nice. But I hate having to use two applications for email, and I hate not being able to switch the source of replies/forwards from within the message composition window. Yeah, I knew that mail wasn't going to be as good as what the BB offers, I just didn't realize how much I was going to miss that.
The slightly smaller minus would be IM. I'm missing BBM, and the whole BBM experience, really bad. Google Talk isn't as good. eBuddy isn't as good. I'm sure WhatsApp or Kix would be a good substitute, but I don't know anyone using those. I'd pay good money for a BBM port to Android.
Web browsing on my slide makes me forget how badly I miss BB mail. The experience is just slick as hell. After years of browsing on Symbian/WinMo/BB, I just didn't understand how nice mobile browsing could be. Sure, I'd played with the iPhone, but unless you live with something, you just don't know what you're missing. I now know what I was missing.
The sheer variety and number of available applications is overwhelming. I thought I had hit application heaven on the BB (don't laugh, I came from Symbian/WinMo, where apps are like oases in the desert), but Android is awesome. I tend to check the Amazon app store daily, and have picked up a few of their free daily apps. That, in turn, has led me to pick up a few other applications from that store (I've only downloaded a few things from the Android market, and VitalPlayer is next on my list). I'm also searching for some sort of Sega Master System emulator (yeah, really), but haven't found anything promising quite yet.
I'm also really digging the myModes feature of the slide. Basically, it's a time/location based profile switcher. I've got it set to go to a vibrate/silent mode while I'm at work. If I could get it to automatically switch on WiFi when I'm home, I'd be ecstatic.
Battery life isn't the horror story that everyone claims. I'm sure if I had gone for a dual core phone, or a 4G phone, I'd be singing a different tune... but I can make it through a work day without depleting a battery, and that's all right in my book. Not that I've got much juice left if I do that, and to be fair, I usually do top up at lunch... but it's possible to get through a day.
So, two weeks, and I'm pretty happy. Next up: Applications!
July 10, 2011 -
Android -- The first 48 hours
Due to some, ahem, disagreements with my carrier over service in my neighborhood, I recently ported out and went back to the GSM world. Since this involved getting a new phone, I decided to take a good look at my options before pulling the trigger.
In the end, I decided not to get another blackberry. The best blackberry available was the Bold 9780, which is nearly identical to the 9700 (with the exception of more RAM and a better camera) I bought two years ago. If anyone's wondering why RIM is hurting... that's why. They're nearly standing still when it comes to hardware, and I just couldn't justify springing for a warmed up leftover. That said, I do know new RIM phones are coming this fall, and there's always a chance I'll be tempted back. I suppose that all depends on how much I like this here android business.
I ended up going with a MyTouch 3G Slide. I looked long and hard at the G2 and Sidekick 4G (a QWERTY keyboard was a requirement), but really didn't like the keyboard on either. In fact, it's safe to say I absolutely hated the Sidekick's keyboard, and the G2's slider mechanism scared me just a tad. The slide had a decent amount of RAM (512MB), a GPU, and the best keyboard out of the bunch. It also has a largeish battery and, therefore, decent battery life. Coming from a blackberry, I need something that's going to last, and the slide seemed to be the best of the bunch.
The slide also has HTC's Sense. This, IMO, is a bit of a mixed bag. I love some aspects of it, such as the facebook<->contacts integration, and the cool clock/weather widget. I dislike the fact that you can't uninstall any of it, so I'm stuck with the Stocks and News app taking up valuable space. On the other hand, if the naked Android experience doesn't provide integration with facebook and twitter, even installing the apps, I shudder to think about how ugly that must be to use.
In comparison, the BB's Facebook and Twitter integration runs deep. For everyone who complains about how slow RIM is to update those applications, trust me... it's better to have the deep integration than something that just sits on the surface. Actually, I'm just going to go ahead and say something that's probably no secret to anyone who's used both OSes... the BlackBerry just provides a better experience for Email/IM/Social apps than Android does, it just doesn't have the speed and slickness of Android.
Android does have some great points though... the application selection is fantastic (anyone else want to take me on in Words With Friends), the speed of a mid-range device is very competitive with anything else, and it's very flexible.
The kindle experience on the device is also surprisingly good. It'd be nice if you could jump pages just by pressing the trackpad, because the swiping of pages gets old in a hurry, but it's quite readable.
eBuddy is handling my IM needs at the moment. It's certainly not as nice as BBM, but really... what is? It does do the job, and it does support the quasi push that android has, so I can't complain.
It has some ugly points though... the market is kind of a mess, but at least Amazon's Appstore for Android steps in to fill that particular gap. Unless I'm mistaken, neither store indicates if an application can be installed to SD, which is kind of a big deal with some larger games. It's also quite absurd that on a device with 512MB of space, you only have 120MB or so free out of the gate. Free space on android tends to disappear in a hurry.
So the first 48 hours have been good. Will I still be here when the Torch 2 hits? I suppose the next two months will answer that question. I'll blog more about my experiences as I continue my migration.
|
|
buildhigh.com