Google Android catch-all

TheGameguru wrote:
LilCodger wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
Edwin wrote:

Sprint uses CDMA as stated earlier so they wont have a problem. The issue only happens with ONE type of Edge network.

I know. I've always had great luck with Sprint minus their lagging handset selection.

Don't forget the absolutely crappy customer service!!!

Other than that though, yeah. Hoping they get on the ball shortly.

Odd since they routinely score high.. (or at least they did)

I think part of Sprint's issue is they are completely dragged down by that horrible acquisition of Nextel.

This is their problem. They've never really merged, either. I saw a Nextel phone I liked once and asked if I could get it and do Sprint to Sprint minutes and the same plan with my wife. The answer was no.

Ugh. They do have often incompetent customer service. Especially in the stores. However, they correct the mistakes they make for us, and they usually give us more credit than the mistake they made cost us. So it's possible their incompetent customer service and very friendly retention/high level customer service is causing them to hemorrage money.

various people including me wrote:

Sprint stuff

I rarely have problems in the stores. The phone support used to be superb, but lately I can't get anywhere with them. You can ask for a supervisor, but they are not allowed to let you talk to anyone else. They are supposed to have a supervisor call you, which they never do.

I am still a Sprint subscriber because I rarely need to contact customer service.

Android desktop by an iPhone engineer. I'd like to check out the custom software he wrote for it. I wonder if it can be run on another Android device.

DSGamer wrote:
Kannon wrote:

Weird. I'm in Boise, ID (So, not exactly a center for technological innovation.), and my phone will ring through on the internet. That sucks about you having issues though.

On the sunny side, everything I've heard is that sprint is charging ahead with android phones, and they might be next to market with one. (AT&T is probably complacent with the iPhone, Verizon and "open" don't go together, and T-Mobile has one.)

Well, as stated earlier, on T-Mobile's network calls will only ring through when you're on 3G. Maybe Boise is small enough/the network good enough that you're always on 3G. I was rarely on 3G here in Portland, Or. so the G1 was a non-starter for me on T-Mobile. Waiting to see what Sprint does as their network is generally better IMHO.

We don't have 3G though. It's EDGE only here. (Though, due to a lucky mis-planning, we should be getting 3G here in Febuary.)

Anyone have a decent IM app or something for Android? Meebo keeps logging Clover out for no reason.

Edwin wrote:

Anyone have a decent IM app or something for Android? Meebo keeps logging Clover out for no reason.

Meebo does that. As soon as it gets fixed, I'll be all over that app.

Right now, I'm using Hello AIM. It's AIM only but it's good.

I don't use IM that much, but is there a reason you're not just using the stock app? It's always worked well for me. (I'm sure there's something wrong with it, I just don't know what.)

So I just ordered the G1.
Can't wait till it comes in.

What are the must have apps.
I think Locale would be great
Any other suggestions?

Kannon wrote:

I don't use IM that much, but is there a reason you're not just using the stock app? It's always worked well for me. (I'm sure there's something wrong with it, I just don't know what.)

If I remember correctly, using the stock IM app, each msg counts as a SMS msg (not an issue if you have unlimited text plan) whereas Hello!AIM doesn't. Hello!AIM also has a prettier user interface IMO.

But look at me, still lurking on the thread even after I got rid of my G1. Move along.

I don't use the stock IM myself because it does not work on my unlocked phone. GTalk does, but the other services throw a fit when the SIM card in the phone isn't a T-Mobile one.

Ah. Unlimited Data + Stock SIM = no worries, I guess.

Secret Asian Man wrote:

So I just ordered the G1.
Can't wait till it comes in.

What are the must have apps.
I think Locale would be great
Any other suggestions?

Depends on your geek level.

I've got:

ConnectBot - Awesome SSH client
accuweather
ChompSMS - The virtual keyboard is nifty for quick < 10 character SMS, and it looks better. Runs better for me, too.
SMS Popup - Pops up a screen notification when SMS come in, in addition to the notification bar. Also has a one-touch reply, which I like.
SnapPhoto - Basically the normal camera app on steroids, which is pretty nifty.
ToggleSettings - Basically a shortcut menu that lets me quick turn on/off wifi and GPS.
OscanO - A quite impressive little port-scanner.

And thinking about installing the Mono port, just for kicks and giggles.

Edit: I've also got Geodroid, because for some odd reason, that one tracks and finds me a lot better than the stock map. So for most other things, I still use the stock app, but if I'm lost, and just want to get to a street I know (Or, if I'm just wandering.), I'll use that.

Anyone know if there's going to be an android-based phone available in Canada anytime soon? I have a friend whose contract with Telus is going to expire in late February and he's looking to get a "smart" phone. Right now I can only suggest an iPhone, but a gPhone might be a good alternative for him, if it's even an option.

I heard that you can unlock the t-mobile gPhone easily... would that work on Telus' network? (I haven't used a Telus phone in a long time, but iirc they don't use SIM cards, is that correct?)

Another must-have app: aTrackDog

Monitors the Market for updated versions of the apps you have installed, and allows you to easily install the new versions.

Another must-have app: aTrackDog

I was just about to post this. Another one of those apps that needs to be integrated into the OS.

Serengeti wrote:

Anyone know if there's going to be an android-based phone available in Canada anytime soon? I have a friend whose contract with Telus is going to expire in late February and he's looking to get a "smart" phone. Right now I can only suggest an iPhone, but a gPhone might be a good alternative for him, if it's even an option.

I heard that you can unlock the t-mobile gPhone easily... would that work on Telus' network? (I haven't used a Telus phone in a long time, but iirc they don't use SIM cards, is that correct?)

Teleus uses CDMA (So, like Sprint and Verizon), so he couldn't use the iPhone or the G1. (And from working with it in verizon, I'd strongly reccomend against the Blackberry Storm yet.)

I dunno how badly rogers sucks, but they use CDMA, so he could unlock the phone onto Rogers. IIRC you can't with the iPhone because you can't get to the SIM card.

Thanks for the suggestions.
I'm really likeing the phone so far.
It made my trip less boring.

Battery life is annoying. It lasts me long enough but I have to carefully monitor it and only switch radios on when I need them.

I hope they patch that soon. We need a breakthough in battery technology.

I've got a G1, had it for about 2 months now. By far the best phone I've ever owned. Everything is so intuitive, it all works exactly how you'd expect it to. Seamless integration of Google Maps, and it saved my ass when I ended up in a snowy ditch at 5am last week Simply told it to find me, typed in "tow truck", pressed the screen a few times and I was on the phone calling for help. I use it to keep track of Twitter, my gmail account, RSS feeds, forums, websites, whatever. Nice to have when you're not home most of the day

The only thing I'm not really impressed with is the camera. Pics usually seem to come out blurry no matter what you do. I'm hoping a software update will fix this, but who knows?

Awesome phone though I'd take a G1 over an iPhone any day.

Minase wrote:
Another must-have app: aTrackDog

I was just about to post this. Another one of those apps that needs to be integrated into the OS.

The fact that it wasn't already there definitely turns me off wanting to play with a G1. Why haven't they fixed this stuff yet?

DrJonez wrote:

Awesome phone though I'd take a G1 over an iPhone any day.

It is a great phone. If only it would show up on Sprint.

PyromanFO wrote:
Minase wrote:
Another must-have app: aTrackDog

I was just about to post this. Another one of those apps that needs to be integrated into the OS.

The fact that it wasn't already there definitely turns me off wanting to play with a G1. Why haven't they fixed this stuff yet?

So you're going to give up the 100 awesome features it has because it takes more than 10 seconds to update your programs? :\

DrJonez wrote:
PyromanFO wrote:
Minase wrote:
Another must-have app: aTrackDog

I was just about to post this. Another one of those apps that needs to be integrated into the OS.

The fact that it wasn't already there definitely turns me off wanting to play with a G1. Why haven't they fixed this stuff yet?

So you're going to give up the 100 awesome features it has because it takes more than 10 seconds to update your programs? :

Ah yes that's it entirely, your sarcasm has shown me the way.

Seriously though, it's basic competence. 100 features that I use maybe once a year aren't that big a deal if the basic stuff I have to do every day is a pain in the ass. I realize this is basically a "how I use it" vs. "how someone else uses it" rant here but I don't see how something like detecting the screen has rotated via the accelerometer is something I should have to patch into the OS. I need the stuff that I use every day to just work. Stuff like having to install a 3rd party app just to get updates from the app store doesn't inspire me with confidence.

My question is really though, Google surely knows this, why haven't they fixed it yet? It's not rocket science, it's just basic competence of your software. I figured 6 months or so and Google would've straightened it out. It doesn't look like that's happening, though.

I definitely agree with the "it should already be there" sentiment. At the same time, the rant response is disproportional to the problem.

3rd party apps are first-class citizens in Android, so in practice there's little difference between opening a 3rd party app to update apps, and the desired functionality of opening Market to update apps. There's no secret code that makes included apps more "integrated" than 3rd party apps.

The only thing I'm not really impressed with is the camera. Pics usually seem to come out blurry no matter what you do. I'm hoping a software update will fix this, but who knows?

The camera is indeed complete crap. The quality isn't bad (as long as you don't mind waiting 10 seconds to take a picture), but there isn't a zoom and the exposure is set for super-long.

3rd party apps are first-class citizens in Android, so in practice there's little difference between opening a 3rd party app to update apps, and the desired functionality of opening Market to update apps. There's no secret code that makes included apps more "integrated" than 3rd party apps.

Wouldn't you have to click more to go to a 3rd party app? Does it share status with the main Market? I've never used Android before so I don't know how it works.

There is no real logical distinction between 1st and 3rd party apps. The only difference is that 1st party apps were already there when you first touched the phone, and that the "Manage Applications" area doesn't allow you to uninstall them (simply because, I believe, the pre-installed packages are stored in ROM instead of writable flash memory).

You launch aTrackDog the same way you'd launch Market - tap on its icon.

That's the real point of Android. It's a platform. Built-in apps aren't actually "built-in", they're simply included with the distributed ROM. 3rd party apps can completely replace functionality of pre-bundled apps.

Heck, in logical terms, on Android, even the phone dialer is an application. You could, I imagine, cook your own ROM that leaves that package out, and have a phone that doesn't have a dialer but still works correctly in every other way. It's a totally modular system at the application level, and basically all phone functionality is provided at the application level instead of built into the OS (which makes sense, as Android is envisioned as an OS for small computing devices, not JUST phones)

There is no real logical distinction between 1st and 3rd party apps. The only difference is that 1st party apps were already there when you first touched the phone, and that the "Manage Applications" area doesn't allow you to uninstall them (simply because, I believe, the pre-installed packages are stored in ROM instead of writable flash memory).

Right but it's still a seperate app. You have to go two different places to upgrade apps vs. install/manage them. I was wondering if there was some kind of plugin architecture where you could register yourself on the "Manage Applications" page instead of the main screen.

Sounds like it would annoy me greatly, I'll keep enjoying my integrated device that just does the stuff I want easily

PyromanFO wrote:

Right but it's still a seperate app. You have to go two different places to upgrade apps vs. install/manage them.

Sort of like how Windows Update and Add/Remove Programs are two separate things in Windows. It's the sort of thing you can argue in your head as a Big Deal but after using it for 5 seconds, you'll pretty much never think twice about it.

If you used Android, you may very well find some shortcoming that annoys you greatly, but in practice, this one probably wouldn't be it.

I'm sure it's not huge, it's just a bunch of little papercuts. The iPhone letting me click once or twice to do pretty much anything I care about has me spoiled, I think minimal clicking is pretty important in a mobile device where it's often a big deal to sit there and stare at a tiny screen and aim at buttons.

I definitely understand the appeal of the iPhone, but the excessively restricted development ecology (no real support for background apps = apps like Locale don't exist on the iPhone) make it too crippled of a device to hold my interest. Too many developers of Android apps I love have been asked, "why isn't this on the iPhone" and answered, "because this app's impossible to make with the iPhone SDK".

Easier app updating isn't of much use when the device can't support whole swaths of apps that I would want. (Nevermind that I'm about to "hack" it to install a whole bunch of UNIX command line tools - but that doesn't really count)

That said, there are certainly times when I wish for some of that iPhone sleekness.

The problem with the sleekness, is if you don't like how part of it is done, you're hosed.

This way, you can literally swap out _everything_. I'll use chompSMS as an example.

I installed chompSMS, as I liked how it did a lot of things better than the stock Messaging app. So, I installed chompSMS, told the phone that I wanted it to be my new default SMS app, and it is.

So that way, when I installed another mod (SMS Popup, because I'd prefer a popup with a reply or ignore), it just knew to use chompSMS.

That's the kind of integration you can't get with another phone. And considering that, I think that's what most people think of when they think "3rd Party App". Like Legion said, everything is swappable. Right down to the dialer.

Edit: And Legion, I wanna know how you get all those tools on there.