[Crossposted from
HERE]
Google Android. What a step in the right direction. An inconsistent user interface, slow-loading applications, and a thirst for battery power. Android is touted as a ground breaking mobile OS that’s going to change the game. Again. The open sourcey goodness is attracting developers by the flock to create some of the most useful, and novel, applications we’ve ever seen. Overall, the platform is absolutely astonishing. Let’s make like Vanilla Ice and break it down, shall we?
Right out of the gate, I just want to say that the interface isn’t that bad. It’s inconsistent, sure, but that’s really the beauty of it. Before we branch off into the dissection of the animal, I just want to stress how much of a stepping stone this operating system is. The interface being less than stellar somewhat conveys the emotion that you’re on a living, breathing project rather than a completely polished phone manufactured by a corporate giant. This is something for the people. One mans complaint is another mans opportunity to plug the hole. Every time I find something to bitch about, I can’t help but think “Hey! Someone could do something really cool with this!” And that’s what the user interface really comes down to in my eyes. It’s an empty canvas. Continue reading after the break.
Out of the box, you’re actually more limited than you might think. You can’t save photos from an SMS, set a song you bought as a ringtone, or have separate volumes for alerts vs. ringtones. One of the things that really made Android shine on day one was a little app called
Rings Extended. This bypasses first party options and allows you to send any music file as an alert or ringtone. I was frustrated that I couldn’t set the song I bought on Amazon as a ringtone (Rick Astley, for those wondering) so I took a little trip to the app store. Rings Extended allowed me to do exactly what I wanted. Quite a plus!
The browser was described as choppy by many early review sites, but I would disagree entirely. The only time it’s choppy is when the page is still loading. Unlike the iPhone, you can scroll through the page while it loads. You can have multiple windows, bookmarks, the works. Pretty standard, really, but we can’t help but pray that
Fennec is ported by some divine miracle.
The Market is quite run of the mill, to be honest with you. You have the option to choose to browse applications, games, or things you’ve already downloaded. Once you select an application, you can read other user’s reviews and a brief explanation of what you’re downloading. If you’ve made it this far, you know that it’s the apps that are going to push this platform where it needs to go. There’s quite a few handy apps out already, but not enough (as expected) to compete with the iPhone just yet.
Really, there isn’t much else to talk about aside from how firm we believe in the project. This is a platform for the geeks, not the common man. If you’re Joe the Plumber (irresistible), a soccer mom, or John McCain, there’s no reason for you to have the slightest interest in this phone. People that can appreciate the guts of it all are the ones who are going to push this past the iPhone. We’re on the brink of a mobile OS war as average Joe developers are brought into the limelight. At this point, there’s no point in developing for a close minded platform when Android is right around the corner with open arms and a warm smile.
We like to think that Google is fully committed to this project, ultimately, making it impossible to fail. If the community doesn’t adopt it, Google will gladly step in. The investment of their
Android Developer Challenge shows their pledge to pushing Android until the end. They’re putting the power in the hands of the people, for now. We’ll see how the whole thing plays out, but we’re excited to be a part of it. Hats off, Open Handset Alliance.
Overall, Android is off to a great start. We have no qualms about its current state and can’t wait until the community turns it into something even more spectacular.
-Trevor Smith