Current State of Mobile Computing: Tablet or Laptop

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad.

Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited.

Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

Third T-Mobile Android Device On Sale Oct 19th - Does It "Cliq" With You?

On the whole, things can't be better for the Android platform in its young life than at any other time.  Sure, there are some rumbling of developer discontent with Google but that's nothing most Android mobile warriors need to worry about in the long run. There are seven known Android devices and a dozen or so more will be available worldwide.  In recent weeks, the attention has been focused on Motorola and its first Android device, Cliq, and T-Mobile will be the first to offer it to its subscribers.

Well, we finally know the details.  The Cliq will be available for pre-order from T-Mobile on October 19th through November 1st and available on November 2nd. Other details we know:

• $199 with a two-year agreement (ouch).
• Available in titanium or winter white.
• Available for sale national-wide or online.
• Like other Android devices from T-Mobile, data plan will be required.
• There is a sweepstake for folks who register to receive updates.
• Will run MOTOBLUR.  It supports "Updates to contacts, posts, messages, photos and more are streamed together and synced from sources including Facebook^®, Twitter™, MySpace^®, Gmail™, and work and personal e-mail. "
• 3.1" Screen
• 3.5mm Headjack!
• 5MP camera
• 2GB of SD card for external storage.
• More specs on the Cliq, please visit Motorola's Cliq page.

My first impulse was to get this as soon as I humanly can and drop my G1.  But after I've taken a breath or two, gotten some oxygen into my brain, reality set in.  $199.  I like Facebook.  I like Twitter.  And I like the idea of being able to access all my contacts and updates easily.  As nice as MOTOBLUR is, it's not for everyone.  And at $199, it isn't for me.  

I've looked through may comments from Android owners and potential buyers and while there is a lot of excitement, the price was higher than most expected.  Then there's the Boy Genius Report hands-on with the Cliq.  Like the HTC Hero, the Cliq suffered from sluggishness.  More damaging in my mind is the report about the battery life.  In BGR's words, " the Motorola CLIQ has possibly the worst battery life of any phone I’ve tested in recent memory with the current software. Maybe Motorola’s BLUR back-end isn’t optimized yet, maybe the phone software isn’t final, but this is ridiculously bad."

Bottom-line here:  If you're in the market for a smartphone, you can't go wrong with the G1, myTouch, Hero, or the Cliq.  Android is a rock-solid mobile platform supported by Internet giant, Google.  Having said that, the inner workings of these devices are more than a year old.  That was also the concerns of many commenters.  Not much has changed since the G1.  Given the price of the Cliq, one would expected better battery life and faster CPU.  Some more along the line of the jump from iPhone 3G to 3GS.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.

For currently Android owners, I preach patience.  For instance, the Acer A1 sport a 768Mhz CPU, a 45% increase over the 528Mhz CPUs used by the current Android lineup.  That's what I'd wait for.  And when Android 2.0 comes out, Android devices may require additional resources and horsepower that the current Android devices will have trouble keeping up.  For instance, Android competitors sport 8-32GB of internal storage.  

Still, like I said above, things are looking up for Android fans and I expect better devices in 2010.  Should the Cliq drop to $99 or less, I'll revisit my decision.  After all, the iPhone can be had for $99 and the Palm Pre as little as $79.  T-Mobile and Morotola needs to do more to draw in more adopters.

I'll be visiting my local T-Mobile store on November 2nd so I can play around with one.  And I suggest other Android fans do the same.

More on the Cliq pre-order, here is T-Mobile's press release and the pre-order page.

Android Versus Chrome OS

It's been a week and still, I don't get why Google decided Chrome OS is the way to go instead of putting more into Android.

But today, I think I finally learned why. The future isn't Android. The future is still the Web. Android is just something to hold things over until the Web finally takes over. And perhaps, Palm might have it right with its WebOS that relies heavily on the Web and HTML codes.

Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering, used his 5 minutes of fame to state that app stores like the insanely popular iTunes app store will go the way of the dinosaurs as webapps become more and more robust and useful.

The reasons he offered does make a lot of sense. There are quite a few mobile platforms out there and Google can't support all of them. So if an 800-pound you know can do it, what hope do the little guys have?

Hence, robust and powerful browsers in the next few years. That's what. And eventually, they will supplement the app stores as folks start to develop for it, instead of four or five different platforms. Develop for one, the Web browser, and it'll work for nearly all mobile platforms.

So, where does that leave Android? Well, folks, looks like we've been had. Android is just to hold things over until Chrome OS is ready for prime time or whatever else that Chome OS will morph into. Android is like to remain a priority for Google in the next couple of years. Google can't well tell its Android partners that it's got a new toy to play with and abandon it.

Plus, it's a good hedge just in case the webapp takeover doesn't happen in the time frame Google hopes.

Like I said at the top, I don't get Chrome OS. If it's just a browser, what's the OS that supports it? Well, we know it's Linux, just like Android is. The key implementation is the Web browser. In Google's case, it is Webkit, the open-source browser that powers Android, Chrome, Safari, iPhone's Safari, Palm, and some of Nokia's Web browsers. If it works on Webkit, it'll work on all the mentioned platforms.

Hope to gain more traction, Gundotra invoked Steve Jobs when he told developers to "build for the web" when the iPhone first came on the scene. Perhaps, Jobs was right but he was a few years ahead of the times.

I have to say that Pre's WebOS is pretty sweet and if anything Google's working on is even close, I am excited. More so if it runs on top of Android.

So, is this like Android versus Chrome OS as the title of this post states? Too early to tell. It does feel like Android is no longer the number one mobile priority for Google but I am still excited about webapps and cloud computing.

Sources: Financial Times (Must Read), Fierce Mobile, Wired, Mobilecrunch (must read)

Note: Apple has a directory for webapps that it first ask developers to create. It is still updated and perhaps this is the reason. Look there for useful apps. Since Android devices, iPhone, and Pre all use Webkit as its underlying technology for browsing, those webapps will work for all these devices.

G1 Shows Versatility On Sad Day

I'm not shy (or afraid) to admit that I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan.  And living in LA, we get a sort of celebrity sightings, news, and follies.  Of course, living through OJ's slow freeway chase, MJ's trial, and good things like movie premieres in Westwood, I've seen my share of stars.

But today's tragic news about Michael Jackson's untimely death came to me via my G1.  I've complained about the horrible battery life on the G1 and just about mobile devices in general, it was G1's ability allow apps to run in the background that alerted me to a new flash via Twidroid.  MJ had been taken to UCLA Medical Center in Westwood after suffering cardiac arrest.

Of course, you don't assume that the first piece of information is correct.  So I waited.  Then more tweets came through as I was confirming these information via Meebo (which I discussed in an earlier post that the app keep IM accounts connected unlike Cupcake's IM app) with Dave the Mobile Warrior and what he was hearing through his sources.

He IM'd me back that MJ had indeed been admitted to the hospital but no more info than what the LA Times and tweets were telling us.  At the same time, I was receiving e-mails, all without quitting Twidroid and Meebo.  Eventually, TMZ was the first to report that Michael Jackson had passed.

As far as mobile app implementations go, Apple has decided to go the route of push notification and I'm hold judgment until I see it in action.  So far, there isn't much to go on but I've concluded that whatever the battery life, allow apps to run in the background is a must for mobile devices.

Palm's Pre has unique scheme for background operations and no matter what the mobile platforms do to allow simultaneous apps to run, battery life will always be an issue.

But G1 worked flawlessly, albeit slower than I would like, as I switched between apps to get the latest information on Michael Jackson.  I had hoped that the initial news was simply sensationalized like much of celebrity news in LA is but in the end, that was not the case.

Android Update

Word on th blogs is that an Android update is coming.  There's a name for it.  There are even screen shots.  Just as on Onxo and On Apple, we don't traffic in anything but concrete data though we certain have no qualm about wild speculations and such.

Where am I coming from on Android and my beloved but subpar G1?  Let me first say that I'm one of the first mobile warriors to have a G1.  3G.  Sure, love it!  But at the time I went from an iPhone to a G1.  Folks, Android shows promise but is not the iPhone.  Let's be honest.  But I've got a lot of hope for what Google and company will be able to develop and improve on what we're getting currently from T-Mobile.

In the next few months, Android will not only be going up against the iPhone 3G and Storm as has been in the last quarter but it'll have to go up again resurging Palm's Pre (assuming Apple doesn't sue them out of oblivion). 

From what I've seen, the Palm Pre could be going after the same folks G1 has been going after.  Pre will be debuting on a fledgling network, Sprint, just as G1 did on T-Mobile (not as in bad a shape as Sprint).  Just as the G1 was a stopgap against the iPhone, the Pre will be preforming the same role for Sprint, against everyone else.

However, Pre feels new, fresh, and fast.  And the form looks pretty cool.  G1, well, is a bit beta-ish.  And this is why I'm hoping with the new Android update, we'll finally get out of beta and see promises of Android fulfilled.

Once we get the update and have had a chance to play with it, then I think I'll finally write my G1 review.  But I hope there are a few features I like to see coming out of this update:

• Background apps.  Right now, not all the apps run in the background as it should.  Since Android's native IM doesn't stay logged in, I tried with Meebo.  No luck there.  Strangely, other apps like Twidroid and DoggCatcher had no problems running in the background. 
  
• Fix IM - my gTalk account is able to stay connected.  I'm sure everyone else would like to see their Yahoo, MSN, or AOL Messenger accounts stay connected as well.  Not everyone use gTalk.  Not everyone who has a Google account use gTalk.
• Leaner OS.  More optimization.  My G1 runs out of memory from time to time and it takes more time to go from task to task, app to app.
• Ability to use more than one Google account.
• Better e-mail implementation.  
• Somehow, squeeze more out of the battery or greater efficiency.  I'm charging the G1 twice a day and, luckily, I am always near an outlet.  
• On screen in put.  A keyboard.  
• Better calculator.  It's not something I should have to download a 3rd party app for an adequate calculator.
• Not really Android related but here's hoping future G1 or other Android phones will have more than just 1GB of memory.
• More crisp touch implementation.  Multi-touch would be nice (to be implemented without being sued by Apple).  More and more games are coming that may require touch and variety of gestures.
  

 We'll know soon how much improvement my G1 will offer.

Note:  Anyone interested in an Android-based phone, it's my opinion that you wait a bit and see what the new update offers.  We might be surprised with a new Android phone. 

Another note:  Some good news.  App development on the Android seems to be picking up steam.