Posts tagged android
Google’s Nexus One Discontinued. Wherefore Art Thou, Open Android?
Jul 19th
So today the last shipment of Nexus One devices were delivered to Google. Once the inventory runs out, that’s all she wrote for the now-famous direct-buy, no-carrier phone. For its time, the phone’s specs were some of the best ever seen, and really still have not been far eclipsed in the seven months since its online-only release.
The beauty of the Nexus One was in its flexibility and the ease in which it could be hacked to its owner’s content. The open bootrom, in layman’s terms, meant that should you find the stock OS insufficient, a couple lines on a command prompt later you could potentially load any number of user-designed OS’s based on Google’s AOSP (Android Open Source Project). One of the more famous ones now is CyanogenMOD, which is a group project to bring many custom improvements, both visual and performance-wise, to the platform.
The business model was not without its detractors, however. To purchase the phone was to buy it outright (except through T-Mobile): it came unlocked for any carrier, you just chose the radio inside the phone (for T-Mobile/WIND or AT&T/Rogers/Bell/Telus). For $529, this was not the cheapest option, but the fact that there was no contract that needed to be signed. In a sense, the phone, once purchased, was about as free and open as you could possibly imagine.
But the experiment didn’t work: Apple sold millions of iPhones in the time that Google sold only 135,000 Nexus One devices. Perhaps people in the United States just weren’t comfortable buying a phone outright; their allegiances to the subsidized carrier prices were too strong. And what’s a two-year contract in the long run? For me, it’s two years too long.
So now what? What happens to open Android? Where does one go to get his hackable Froyo? For all we’ve heard about Motorola making it practically impossible to hack its new Droid X phone, the move seems to be away from the open concept of Android and into the OEM-controlled UI changes and awful pre-loaded junkware of AT&T and Verizon. When we purchase a phone, we should have the right to remove programs we don’t want and don’t need. But the carriers feel that with their subsidies they have the right to lock down the devices we buy. It’s ludicrous.
So the Nexus One may go down as a failure in Google’s pocketbooks. But the community that has derived from its open nature is far more important. Thousands of people band together on forums like XDA-Developers to try and crack the problems that Google couldn’t. No 720p video recording? No problem. Battery life getting you down? Install a custom Linux kernel. It’s all possible with the Nexus One, and my fear is that in the future Google will be too scared to pursue the same results with a different phone.
The Nexus One will still be sold via Vodafone in Europe, KT in South Korea, and perhaps some other vendors. But when the inventory runs out on Google.com/phone, it will be the end of an era. I don’t think we have to worry about the success of Android as a platform: the Droid X and Droid Incredible are still out-selling most other smartphones in the US, and Android was the only platform to gain users in the Feb-May time period. But for open Android, it’s a different story.
(via ReadWriteWeb)
This Week in Android 4/11-4/17
Jul 17th
It was kind of a slow week for the Android community with the iPhone signal issues and press conference stealing most of the spotlight. Still, we had two highly-anticipated device launches this week–the Motorola Droid X and the Samsung Vibrant. The Droid X and the Samsung Vibrant launched Thursday the 15th for Verizon and T-Mobile respectively, each priced at a dollar short of two benjamins with a two-year agreement. With the launch of the Droid X there was a lot of hubbub surrounding Motorola’s inclusion of an eFuse chip which could potentially halt hackers’ attempts to unlock the bootloader. It still isn’t confirmed that the eFuse will actually brick the phone if it’s meddled with. Even Motorola’s highly-hackable original Droid had the same eFuse chip onboard though it wasn’t implemented to stop modification of the software.
We also got word that the Motorola Droid is nearing its end of life. If the Droid X proves to be too much for Android modders then the Droid may be the last truly open Motorola handset we see. Time will only tell if rooting the Droid X will be a reality, but I have a feeling nothing will stop the Android community from opening up this phone. Check out this week’s Android news after the break.
Will the Droid be Motorola’s last hackable phone?
Motorola Droid, Droid Devour, and BlackBerry Tour End of Life Imminent
Will the Droid be Motorola’s last hackable phone?
Jul 16th
Uh-oh.
Here comes the cavalry. According to a leaked doc from the Droid-Life forums, the first and perhaps only moddable Motorola Verizon handset is going bye-bye. If that is true, and as a result the phone is discontinued to make way for the Droid 2, it is likely that the Droid will become somewhat of a collector’s item amongst Verizon users looking to mod their devices.
Though, in reality, if you haven’t picked up a Droid yet, you probably never will. Since the Droid X was released yesterday, and is much more appropriately named, I feel like most people won’t miss the device too much.
There is a possibility, however, that Google would have asked Motorola not to lock down the bootloader on the Droid 2 as well. But since the direction Motorola is going seems to be once of draconian eFuse domination, I doubt that’s going to actually happen. But what of the legacy of the Droid? It’s important to know that Motorola has vigilantly prevented users from hacking their phones, encrypting the bootloader and threatening to brick the phone if the user tries to mess with it. While the eFuse technology is not confirmed to actually brick the phone, the momentum has already left Motorola getting defensive. They’ve already claimed that if you want to buy a hackable phone, get it from another manufacturer.
I like Motorola’s phones. I think they make good hardware and they don’t try to screw up the user experience too much. There is something to be said for a company that learns from its mistakes. But this bootloader issue doesn’t seem to be a mistake. It’s a calculated business decision, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. I am disappointed in the company, though not really surprised.
Let’s hope Google coerces Motorola to keep the bootloader hackable on the Droid 2. I don’t think it will happen, but it’s been a hot summer and magic may still strike.
Motorola Droid, Droid Devour, and BlackBerry Tour End of Life Imminent
Jul 16th
There was no surprise that RIM’s BlackBerry Tour was hitting its end of life soon seeing how it’s been replaced by the BlackBerry Bold 9650 (see our review here) which is now out for both Sprint and Verizon. Through an image posted by DroidForums.net we see that the much-loved Motorola Droid and the less favorable Droid Devour are also getting the boot soon. Obviously Verizon is making some room in their lineup for the Droid X and the original Droid’s successor, the Droid 2.
It’s a sad thing to hear. The Motorola Droid is without a doubt, the device that truly put Android into the hands of mainstream consumers. Sure people had G1s and MyTouch 3Gs, but until the Droid hit the scene most people (especially CDMA users) had no idea what Android was. We salute you Motorola Droid. Thank you for raising the bar and putting Android into tons of consumers’ hands.
You can still buy the Motorola Droid of course, in fact you can still get one free with every one you buy on contract. However, this won’t last forever as the production of Droids has likely stopped or is currently grinding to a halt.
[Via DroidForums.net]
Holy Android – Modding Kills Droid X’s!
Jul 15th
What a disturbing piece of news. Apparently, one of the crowning achievements in Android ownership is being brutally disabled in the new Droid X. It’s called “eFuse.” If a verification fails, it sends a command to corrupt the freaking boot process – permanently bricking the phone. To fix it? Why, it requires a hardware repair by Motorola. So this means, no special ROMS — heck, maybe sideloaded apps will trigger this thing.
To the average user, this presents no problem. To the geek that wants to trump iPhone people, stay away. Thankfully, the nature of Android means you’ve got options. While it’s too early to be worried, I’d at least be wary of this becoming a trend. While there will likely be an “open” option from x manufacturer, it may not be the best phone on the market if this continues. Assuming this permeates and affects all Android devices – would they still be worth using? Looks like Droid Doesn’t.
via MobileCrunch
T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant Photos Emerge
Jul 14th
Can’t wait till July 21st to feast your eyes on the Samsung Vibrant? Then you’re in luck because we have a couple shots of the to-be-released T-Mobile handset for you. Now the actual device isn’t going to be released for another week but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited with some leaked photos of it in the wild. As you will recall the phone is part of Samsung’s Galaxy S line and features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor along with Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen of the 4″ variety. If you’re on T-Mobile this is sure to be their next (and one of few) high-end smartphones, so get excited. Hit the break for a shot of the backside of this bad boy.
Verizon Summer Catalog Shows Upcoming Motorola Droid 2.
Jul 13th
Verizon Wireless’ summer catalog has just leaked out, and you may notice right away that the unannounced, but heavily rumored Motorola Droid 2 is front and center. As you peruse through the catalog you will also see the HTC Droid Incredible, LG Ally, and of course the Droid X which we know and love. You may notice that Verizon’s version of Samsung’s Galaxy S line–the Samsung Fascinate, is nowhere to be found. No telling if it just didn’t make the catalog or if this is a sign that the device may not launch as soon as expected. Don’t get too hung up on it just yet.
The Droid 2 is packing the same features that had been speculated–1 GHz processor, EVDO Rev A, 512MB RAM, 8GB built-in storage, 5 megapixel camera, assumedly the same screen as the original Droid, and an 8GB microSD bundled with the phone. There is also mention of built-in WiFi hotspot abilities just like the Palm Pre, or any device running FroYo. Unfortunately catalogues like this one don’t include release dates so we’re still left to guess when we’ll see the Droid 2 for real, but one has to think we will hear something official any day now. While you’re waiting hit the source link for the post from BGR and a chance to see the full catalog.
[Via BGR]
Price Drops Coming For Rogers Android Handsets
Jul 12th
Rogers is usually pretty competitively priced with their phones. They can have such large subsidies because in Canada, with three-year contracts, they are guaranteed a certain amount of revenue per customer. And Rogers’ monthly charges, especially for a smartphone, are not cheap.
So a few handsets are coming down in price, and while none are earth-shattering, they bring the devices down to a certain level where, when the iPhone 4 arrives, they will still be attractively and competitively priced.
Firstly, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is coming down in price from $149.99 to $99.99. This is a very nice Android handset that has just received a nice little upgrade to improve performance and battery life, though in reality if it’s not Android 2.1 no one really wants it.
The Motorola QUENCH and Acer Liquid e are both coming down from $49.99 to $29.99. These are capable phones, but I would take the Acer over the QUENCH, since the specs are much better and the screen is gorgeous, and it currently runs Android 2.1 while the QUENCH runs Android 1.5 on top of Motorola’s MOTOBLUR skin, which is great for quick messaging and terrible for everything else.
The long-in-the-tooth Samsung Galaxy Spica is coming down from $29.99 to $9.99. This is also a nice phone, great specs and is very hardy, but is still running Android 1.5! So the faster this phone gets off the market, the better for Android fragmentation.
And lastly, the brand-newly launched Samsung Wave is already receiving a price cut, from $99.99 to $79.99. This phone runs on Samsung’s own bada OS, and has not really been proven to give any advantage over existing platforms. Read my editorial on why the Wave will likely flop in Canada (and elsewhere).
Remember, all these prices are for new customers who sign a three-year contract. So take that into account when buying a phone you are likely going to spend a lot of time with over the next three years.
YouTube Mobile Updates With HTML5 for iPhone and Android Devices
Jul 7th
YouTube today revamped their mobile website for WebKit browser-equipped devices, specifically the iPhone and devices running Google’s Android OS. The new site uses HTML5 for video viewing which allows mobile browsers to view YouTube videos without the need for flash capabilities. With the new version of YouTube’s mobile site, even the native Android YouTube application seems unnecessary and outdated, not to mention the iPhone’s app, which hasn’t seen a significant update since it’s introduction on the original iPhone. The new mobile version of YouTube also allows high quality video to stream over 3G, whereas the iPhone’s YouTube application limits this functionality to WiFi connections. The mobile site also allows users to subscribe to user’s YouTube channels from the browser, as well as like/unlike individual videos.
Check out the video of YouTube’s new mobile site in action on both the iPhone and Nexus One after the break, and feel free to give m.google.com a looksy if you have one of those newfangled iPhones or Android handsets.
iPhone: Great Since Day One
Jul 7th
While blatantly copying someone else’s amazing work is definitely a faux pas, I couldn’t pass up the chance to pass along something I found to be brilliant.
Marco Arment, developer of the fabulous Instapaper application and employee at Tumblr, wrote a fantastic article about being great from day one. Basically, Marco suggests that Apple makes things that are great from the start, even if they lack key features. It doesn’t matter, the products stand on their own.
Conversely, Android is a platform built on, “we’re always getting better…” but will never actually be great. The promise that it will be good someday isn’t, and shouldn’t enough. It’s a similar argument between Windows/Mac and Linux, that “next year is the year of Linux.” His reasons for distaste in the Android platform are valid (if overstated), and it’s the execution and clear thought that make his ideas worth reading.
Read Marco’s post after the break:
From Marco.org:
The original iPhone was great on day one. It couldn’t do as much as today’s iPhone, but it performed its feature-set extremely well. There were almost no rough edges or unpolished areas in its hardware or software, and nearly everything seemed justifiable, well conceived, and well executed.
Apple tends to do that a lot. It’s deeply ingrained in their culture, priorities, and product development practices. In brief, their philosophy seems to be to ship only what’s great and leave out the rest. That’s why, instead of having a bad copy-and-paste implementation for the iPhone’s first two years, we just didn’t have one at all.
Android as a platform, both in hardware and software, doesn’t reflect this. Nearly every hardware and software release has major shortcomings or rough edges. Many details and design decisions are lacking, wrong, or inexplicable.
Neither Google nor the current Android device manufacturers embody the part of Apple’s culture that allows them to release a great product on day one. They have a different pattern: It’s always getting better. We’re always supposedly one or two releases from it being really great.
Much like desktop Linux.
The joke of “next year will be the year of Linux on the desktop” is almost as old as the internet, but it’s true: desktop-Linux fans always say it’s “getting better”, and there’s always a major distribution update a few months away that’s about to be awesome. But it never is. And it never will be, because the reasons why desktop Linux isn’t awesome today will still hold tomorrow: it’s still an extremely fragmented development community for which the non-geek user experience is one of the lowest priorities.
What keeps nearly every Android device and OS release from being truly great are deep-rooted issues that have no apparent solution for the foreseeable future. The device manufacturers aren’t very good at software, yet they keep writing their own. The OS has no consistent hardware platform to target. The manufacturers produce devices with inconsistent build quality (the Droid’s battery door, the Nexus One’s button misalignment) and lots of why-is-this-here moments (the Droid’s keyboard, the Nexus One’s trackball). The current must-have Android phone changes every few months, and they’re often radically different from each other, making it difficult for consumers, developers, the press, and the carriers to build loyalty toward any of them or entrench them in the market. The OS needs to be updated over the air with three involved parties, only one of whom is motivated to update it. Features are added when they can be, not when (or if) they should be, or if they can be done well. Nearly every usability detail appears to be an afterthought, as if “design” is relegated to a coat of paint at the end of the development cycle rather than a deep-rooted philosophy throughout it.
How many of these problems will be significantly alleviated or eliminated in three months? How about in three years?
The Android ecosystem doesn’t seem capable of producing devices that are great on day one. Yet Apple consistently pulls it off.
I never make technology-buying decisions based on future promises, rumors, or potential. I let other people be the bleeding-edge extremely early adopters, and I stick with what I know will work and stay out of my way. I don’t buy things that are “getting better”, because they usually don’t. Whatever caused them to be lacking in their current release will usually prevent them from being great in future releases.
I buy things that are great today. They’re usually things that have been great since day one. And, more often than not, they’re Apple products.
I suggest readers also check out Marco’s post about Verizon and the Droid platform.
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