Windows 8...

I, like a great many others, was quite taken aback by Microsoft when then released Windows 7.  Here was an operating system that not only looked great, but it was brilliant in it's workflow and usability.  MS had made all the necessary changes to Vista to make it a far more complete OS without losing the familiarity of XP.  XP was the last time that MS really out did themselves in upgrading a new OS and I guess if you look at the pattern of their releases it came as no surprise that Windows 8 is an utter hash job.

 Windows 7 is a robust and user friendly OS, but it's also a systems administrator friendly OS.  It's SA friendly for a couple of reasons, the first being that it protects itself well from people accidentally making errors and but it also didn't lose functionality and familiarity of XP.  This was awesome because when you sat a user down in front of their newly build Windows 7 machine you were able to say to them "You're familiar with Windows XP?  Well this is pretty much the same but you have all this great added functionality such as aero snap, an intelligent explorer search function, pinning applications to the taskbar and a massively more functional start menu".  Within all of this they had also made it a damn sight prettier.

Windows 8 is only one of these things.  It's prettier.  I personally believe that Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot with this release for a couple of reasons but I will get to that in a moment.  Microsoft have always lagged behind in the 'cool' market.  Despite having a huge presence in the gaming market with XBOX they still don't have an image of cool or desirable.  Their mobile phones have historically been a non event, and even sometimes worse, they've been borderline offensive in how unusable they were.  Their Zune brand has been a flop despite the hardware being stunning simply because they don't have the marketing prowess of Apple.  It's because of this that they constantly strive to get a foothold in the home and mobile marketplaces.

Historically Microsoft has made the majority of its revenue from the enterprise market, Server, MS Office, SQL, Sharepoint etc.  In recent years their home PC and Entertainment divisions have been picking up a fair amount of their overall revenue but they have begun to see this fade off a bit.  The reasoning for this is that consumers no longer see a need for a fully blown desktop.  They can play games, check email, browse the internet and watch movies all on their iPads, Android devices and on a whole host of netbook style devices.  Tied in with this is that stylistically, Apple especially, these devices have a desirability about them and an extremely well marketed 'cool' factor.  For every PC that would sell with Windows on it MS would be making money.  If consumers don't need or want a PC because an iPad or their mobile phone/phablet/tablet does everything they need, why spend 2,3,4 times the amount on a Desktop that will only take up space and ultimately become a virus and spyware filled liability?

Enter Windows 8.  Windows 8 is not Microsoft's first foray into the mobile tablet form factor nor is it the first time we've seen the 'Metro' interface.  This first popped up in the recent version of Windows Mobile.  What this is is a change in the way that Microsoft has prioritised it's desktop operating system.  Windows has primarily been about covering all bases, both home and enterprise.  Windows 8 is not about this, I suspect that Microsoft would like to think that it is, but I would beg to differ.  The reason I say this is that the overriding UI is aimed at touch screen mobile devices and translates into swipes and gestures for the greater part of it's functionality.  That's great for those using a tablet or touch screen device, not so great when you're using a mouse and keyboard.

I mentioned that I though that MS had shot themselves in the foot with this release.  My reasoning is relatively simplistic, and it goes like this.  I said that when you put Windows 7 (or any previous iteration of Windows) in front of a normal office worker, they can intuitively figure out where they should go to find stuff (and I say intuitively because they've spent the last 15 years using the same form factor).  Windows 8 is not like this.  It has no start button, when you go hunting for it you'll find that it kicks you back to the Metro interface completely overriding the desktop.  I can only imagine the frustration that this will bring on with secretaries, legal staff, accounting staff in fact all staff other than the most tech savvy.  This is only one example of changes, they've altered the way search works, it's now not so immediately context driven and it doesn't present smart results like Windows 7.  

There are a whole bunch of ultimately frustrating and needless changes that have been made and I believe that this will do two things.  One, it will alienate those users that are not 'power users' that come into work, push the power button and expect familiarity.  Change is not great for these people.  It increases their work load and their frustration spreads around all the people they work with.  Second, if they have a bad experience with Windows and Microsoft product at work, then they sure as hell won't be going home and saying "we need a new PC, let's go buy another Windows machine".  They're going to pull out their iPad and go "this is nice and simple to use, let's get a Mac!"

To be fair the majority of enterprise environments will likely still be migrating the last of their machines from XP to Windows 7 so they will pass over this version, but for a company that is so driven to get a foothold into the home and mobile market, it seems foolish to me to alienate their enterprise customers.  I've already seen that Apple are gaining in a big way in the corporate environment with iPhones and iPads.  If Microsoft doesn't back track in one way or another with Windows 9 to attempt a hearts and minds win then I think we'll see more and more people moving to Apple.

Personally I won't be touching Windows 8 with a 10 foot barge pole.  It has no appeal to me, it gains me no added functionality and promises too many frustrations.  I guess we could see some changes in SP1 (it's a common rule with MS operating systems to wait for the first service pack releases) but I don't believe we will see them backing down from the overall functionality because Microsoft are so desperate to get into the tablet section of the market.  Personally I don't see it, just like I don't see their Windows Mobile Phone devices doing well either.  For all the prettiness, Microsoft just isn't 'cool'.

Windows 7 Phone? Succeed or Fail?

The Windows 7 Phone is on it's way to the wild and it's raising a really interesting question - will Microsoft succeed or fail with it? There are two perspectives on it - one from the tech geek and one from the every day Joe Bloggs user.

Honestly I think that MS have gone down the correct path with this device. It has an extremely smooth and simplified UI. Now this doesn't seem like the ideal solution for us. We can't hack it, mod it, change it to be individual. But this was the beauty of the Apple OS. It was clean, basic and ultimately utilitarian. The every day user just wants their phone to work, no faffing, limited set up and instant gratification.

Microsoft have something of a 'Tech stigma' bought about by years of dealing with mediocre products and half assed approaches to support and updates. Even among the techy, MS have somewhat redeemed their image with Windows 7 - which I personally believe is the superior desktop OS out there - even more so (dare I say it) than OSX. MS have the advantage now of seeing who the market leaders are, what their devices are capable of and ultimately what the end user wants. Undeniably the iPhone has been the final word with smart phones in the past 3-4 years especially when it comes to UI and hardware design. It is stunningly simple and, up until the OS 4.0 roll out which broke anything below the 3Gs) slick as you like!

Android has been the result of a backlash against Apples aggressive and money-centric marketing strategy. 'Everyone wants Apple product so we'll screw them for every bit of cash we can and whilst we're at it we'll take the service providers as well'. Basically if you treat someone like crap for long enough then eventually they'll wake up to it and look somewhere else. Google with the Android OS has provided this outlet. Lets be honest about the Android operating system. It works, on the right hardware it's actually pretty slick. In it's basic form it's not terribly pretty and again, if we're being honest, this is where Google excels - they take and idea and get it out there as quickly as possible in a working and usable form. Design gurus they are not. It has been left with the likes of HTC to work on the GUI and make it attractive and far more functional. There have been other iterations out there not the least being Sony Ericssons X10 - but as we all well know the more these things are modified the slower they are to be updated.

So I believe that Microsoft could actually be onto something with the Windows 7 Phone. It is designed to appeal to the average joe user that 'just wants it to work'.

This brings me to where I think it could fail. Microsoft's strong points have never been making something funky or design-centric unless you take the XBOX into account (however I think that XBOX is a brand solely aimed at a youth market). For them it has always been the enterprise potential of their products and this is reflected in their earnings. The vast percentage of Microsofts profits come from it's desktop and server side operating systems and tools. Their one major entertainment success has been in XBOX and that largely has been down to having the right 3rd party developers on-board and some cunning price points on the console.

So clearly MS has the Enterprise side of things down pat, but every recent foray into the mobile entertainment market has been met with at best indifference and at worst scorn. Zune - failed, Windows Mobile (outside of enterprise) - failed with a current 5% market share, Kin smart phones - failed, tablet PCs - failed, Web-TV - failed, MSN Music - Failed. The problem with the majority of these things is that there was a better and more functional offering out there. Whether it was Tivo, iPod, iPhone and more recently the iPad, there has always been something more desirable and ultimately more functional for the every day user. Where this could fail is not in that it's a Microsoft product, not that the operating system is lacking, and not in the pricing but in it's desirability. When presented with a selection of phone and mobile operating systems, will the average joe go for a stock looking touch phone with a slightly flashy OS? That's the hard question with an even harder answer in my opinion. The possible saving grace? Android has proven that people are ready for something different and the risk to Android? Windows 7 Phone may just be that bit more polished, that little more pretty and have the right element of 'it just works'.

Kogan Agora Android Phone

Source: iTWire
The second Google Android phone has surfaced and it's in the classic Blackberry shape and it comes from Down Under from a company called Kogan. It's called the Agora Pro and is on sale now for $399 AUS or £175 without lock or contract. Great news for the masses that want to get their hands on the new OS and its, from personal experience, great applications.

SPECIFICATIONS

Operating System	Android™
Google Mobile Functions	Google Search™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Maps™, Google Talk™, Google Calendar™.
Display	2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 262K QVGA (320 X 240 pixel) resolution
Device Control	5-Way Central Navigation Key
Keyboard	QWERTY keyboard Keyboard backlighting
GPS	GPS navigation capability with Google Maps™
Connectivity	Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11b/g
Camera	2.0 megapixel colour camera
Audio	Built-in microphone and speaker Headphone output Ring tone formats: MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
Video	Video formats supported: MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
Mail attachment support	Viewable document types: JPEG,GIF,WBMP,MIDI,AMR,MP3,WAV
Dimensions (HxWxD)	108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm
Weight	130g
Battery	Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery Capacity: 1300 mAh
Talk Time	Up to approximately 400 minutes
Standby Time	Up to approximately 300 hours
Processor MHz	624 MHz
Memory	256 MB On-board + 128 MB Flash microSD™ card expansion slot
Network	UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Features Available:

• Handsfree
• FM radio
• JAVA 2.0
• SMS
• Email
• MMS 1.0
• WAP 2.0
• WAP Push
• Web Browser
• Bookmarks
• Video Recording
• Media Player
• Instant Messaging
• Phone Book
• Ring Silencer/Quick Silent
• Scheduler/Organiser
• Mini-USB Connectivity (charging, headset)
• Phone Book
• Integrated Antenna
• Fast Text Editor
• Lunar calendar, Calculator and Alarm Clock

Holy Android Flash Batman!

Quoted from Apple... "I've got that sinking feeling" (ok I'm joking but the following is a massive kick in the teeth for the iPhone)

Source: InternetNews.com

Google has a new ally in its battle for smartphone dominance: Adobe.

The companies today revealed that that Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) has made its Flash technology compatible with the Android smartphone operating system developed by the Google-backed Open Handset Alliance. As a result, the enhancement may give devices like T-Mobile's G1 smartphone and other Android-based phones access to a key feature that's lacking from the industry's darling, the Apple iPhone.

Andy Rubin, Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) director of mobile platforms, and Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch announced the effort today at Adobe MAX, the company's developer conference. The two presented a demo of Flash 10 running on a G1, which is manufactured by HTC.

Other than a price drop on the mobile contracts to get the G1 adding the option of adding Flash to Android (including the G1) is going to get these handsets moving out the door quickly.

There is quite a bit of argument as to who is competing against who. Is Googles Android in competition with the Apple iPhone or are they in competition with the likes of Symbian and Windows Mobile (Microsoft).

To answer the question I think we need to look at why we are differentiating Apples iPhone from other smart phones. In my opinion the reason is that when the handset first was presented to the public is was not as the classic 'smart phone', such as the Blackberry and the MDA Vario, but as an everyday device for everyone that happened to have a very slick UI (user interface) and an extraordinary web browsing experience. Since the 2.0 OS update on the iPhone Apple have been working to change this and have integrated a massive list of enterprise capability such as push email and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and I believe that we should no longer be differentiating the iPhone from Windows Mobile or Symbian Devices.

Currently in these early days of Android it is in the same place that the iPhone was at initial release. It has no enterprise application but it holds the potential and as such it's difficult to make a 'smartphone' comparison with Windows Mobile and Symbian devices but easier against the iPhone as the majority of its users are everyday consumers.

Of course there will never be a case of Google holding their hands up and saying "yep we're directly competing against Apple on this one" for two reasons. The first is simply that they are attempting to change the mobile device landscape (no specific target) with a very different and open minded approach to development and the second is that Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google) is on Apples board of directors.

The addition of flash is a fairly major differentiation against the iPhone as Apples current Terms of Agreement for developers expressly forbids the use of Flash type technology on the iPhone hardware.

Source: WIRED Mag

"An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise," reads clause 3.3.2 of the iPhone SDK agreement, which was recently published on WikiLeaks. "No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."

This can be fairly quickly changed but I don't see this happening any time soon, more likely Apple will develop a type of secure 'Flash player' to enable the use of specific websites and apps. Whether this will eventuate or whether it will be the best solution only time will tell. As for the other breeds of smartphones out there I think we will see them following suit sooner rather than later.

T-mobile G1 – The first of the Google Android Phones. Part 4

Web Browsing

My experiences with mobile web browsing have come in several forms, the obligatory laptop, the stripped down mobile and the seriously slick iPod Touch/iPhone. Of all of them so far my favorite has to be Apples implementation. It's simple, fast and instantly intuitive. In my personal opinion this is the standard that Android and the G1 was competing with. Has it succeeded? Lets take a look.

The first thing you notice is that the web pages are generally presented in the manner that you expect from PC browsing or from the iPhone browser with the exceptions of sites that offer a stripped down version like Google.co.uk


Hitting the menu button will open the browser options. Go to URL, Search, Bookmarks, Window, Refresh and under More: Close Page, Forward, History, Downloads, Page Info, Bookmark Page, Share Page, Zoom and Settings.

Under Settings there are a myriad of options including popup blocking, Turn off image loading, Enable/Disable Javascrip, Open new windows in the background and the ones you come to expect from a browser like cookie management and cache clearing.


As with the Apple browser you navigate around the page by dragging a finger. When you interact with the screen the Zoom buttons automatically come up and clicking on them will produce the expected result. It's this function that I find a little clumsy when compared to the multi touch of the Apple devices and after having used them I still find myself pining a little for the naturally intuitive fingers out, fingers in process of zooming.

There is a second way of working your way around a web page and that is by clicking on the cross arrows in the bottom right of the screen. This maximizes the web page so that you can see almost all of it and provides you with a magnifying square which can be dragged around the page and then released when you are satisfied that this is what you want to view.


The Android browser also has a version of tabbed browsing that is accessed via the Window option. This opens a screen that displays the pages that you currently have open.


When the phone is flipped onto it's side and opened it will give you the option to add another page. I think since the last update There is now the same option when the orientation is vertical.

You can change the orientation of the browser without opening the phone by going into the Menu then the More submenu and selecting 'Flip Orientation'. This is a clumsy and counter intuitive method of using the browser interface especially considering that the phone has a fully functional accelerometer. Hopefully this will be addressed in later OS updates.

The browser has some great functionality however it does need some streamlining. The G1 touchscreen interface does lend itself to a fairly pleasant browsing experience as does the keyboard. Small things like the screen orientation responding to the accelerometer and perhaps a different way of zooming the screen would make the experience a little more intuitive.

T-mobile G1 – The first of the Google Android Phones. Part 3

I'll start off first with the basic Android phone functionality.

The phones interface is predominantly touch screen with any text input or search functions using the keyboard. There are two ways to select an option or 'click' that is a short click or a long click. The long click either allows you to move an icon for repositioning or brings up a contextual menu. Long clicking on the Home screen backdrop opens up a menu with the options to add an application, shortcut, widget or to change your wallpaper.

As I mentioned in Part 2 sliding the screen open re-orients the screen sideways. This is fairly logical but I have found many times that I would like to have been able to tilt the phone without opening the keyboard. The G1 hardware has the full gamut of accelerometers the same as the Apple iPod and as such this functionality may well be enabled in a later update.

Making a phone call.

The phone has four different menus in the calling option. The first is the dialer that can be accessed directly via the icon on the home page or indirectly by using the keyboard to start typing in a name of the contact you wish to dial.

The second is a historical method using the call log which works in the expected manner. The Third is via the Contacts list and the fourth through the favorites list.

The first of my gripes with the calling system is an inability to assign fast dials to the numbers. Holding down the 1 button will fast dial your voicemail so clearly the capability is there however at this early stage there is no facility for assigning your contacts to a number. Developers have created a nice little app called Anycut that among other things allows you to place fast dials onto your Home screen but it would be nice if there wasn't the need for a work around.

The Contacts list is in my opinion fairly well constructed. You can drag up and down to browse through the list of names, if you need to move a bit more rapidly you can use a tab on the right hand side that then displays the alpha fields as you move through them.

Clicking on a contact will then take you into the contact details and from there you can choose to Call them by either clicking on the phone number listed or hitting the dial button. From the same screen you can call any alternative numbers, email, SMS or see their online status of things like Google Talk, MSN or Yahoo Chat.

Long clicking on a contact (i.e. hold your finger on it) will bring up a menu giving you similar options as are available by clicking in but also allows you to delete them and add them to your favorites list. This is another issue that I have with the first version of this software, if you add a contact to your favorites list they are no longer in your normal contacts list. I find this frustrating as really you end up using one or the other - you shouldn't have to search through both.

The call quality on the G1 is excellent as is the reception of the handset and I'm hoping that the open nature of Android will lend itself to applications like Skype being added as it's permanently connected to the Internet.

SMS is also very straight forward and is as simple as either hitting reply to a message or going into your contacts and selecting SMS. The keyboard makes the whole process fairly painless.

Calendar

The calendar that comes with the phone is surprisingly good especially since I use the Google Calendar as does my fiancé. It automatically synchronises with both mine and hers and gives me a very good visual breakdown of busy times and daily events across the top. Creating a new appointment is as simple as holding your finger down on the day and time you wish to use and it then asks you if you'd like to add a new event, full day appointment or if you would like to view your full day/week/month agenda.

E-mail

Android comes with two packaged e-mail clients. One is the expected Gmail client and this works seamlessly with your online account. The front end is exactly the same as the one that you may have seen on the Apple iPhone, simple and intuitive. Having he G1s slide out keyboard and trackball make editing a pleasure.




The second is a generic client that you can add any online account details to and it will then integrate it into your phones alerts and functionality. I personally don't have any use for this as I use Gmail almost exclusively but for those with MSN Mail, Yahoo or another 3rd party mail shouldn't have any problems will adding this to your phone as long as there is POP3 or IMAP access. The phone will recognise which one you have set as your primary account and all e-mails will be sent from this address. You can set up as many accounts on the phone as you like. As for Enterprise access I don't believe there is sufficient security on the phone itself for this use. Again I imagine this is something that would be addressed at a later stage and as Google are aiming for their products to be used in an Enterprise situation it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

In Part 4 I will go over the Web Browser

T-Mobile G1 - The first of the Google Android Phones. Part 2

After being left disappointed by the hardware of the G1 we get onto the really interesting part; the Android OS.

So what is Google Android?

Quoted from Wikipedia: Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel, developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance.^[2]managed code in the Java language, controlling the phone via Google-developed Java libraries,^[3]. Applications written in C and other languages can be compiled to ARM native code and run, but this development path isn't officially supported by Google.

The intention of Google Android is to produce an open source operating system that is able to be installed on any mobile hardware and subsequently be developed for by anyone using the free developers kit from Google. There are some fairly obvious restrictions that have been put in place when it comes to what the developers can access. Specifically the end users personal data and contacts. From the Android Docs:

Security Architecture

A central design point of the Android security architecture is that no application, by default, has permission to perform any operations that would adversely impact other applications, the operating system, or the user. This includes reading or writing the user's private data (such as contacts or e-mails), reading or writing another application's files, performing network access, keeping the device awake, etc.

An application's process is a secure sandbox. It can't disrupt other applications, except by explicitly declaring the permissions it needs for additional capabilities not provided by the basic sandbox. These permissions it requests can be handled by the operating in various ways, typically by automatically allowing or disallowing based on certificates or by prompting the user. The permissions required by an application are declared statically in that application, so they can be known up-front at install time and will not change after that.

This is the core to many peoples misgivings for the OS and hopefully their intention holds in the end product. We have already seen that the initial release has a major security hole in that it executes every typed command as Super User meaning that with a couple of key presses any user can inadvertently brick their phone. Not the best way to endear peoples trust in you looking after your personal data.

All the technical information aside lets get down to the T-Mobile G1 implementation of Android.
When you turn the phone on you are presented with the expected G1/T-Mobile splash screen and then a nice little pulsing Android Logo. After that you're presented with a locked status screen.

When you press the MENU button you are presented with one of the first cool innovations on the G1. Instead of a numeric or password based security lock Android uses a user defined pattern that you then repeat to unlock the phone. The share number of variations of the patterns is pretty mind boggling. After 5 attempts it starts giving you time outs before finally requiring you to enter a PUK code to unlock the phone. I'm not looking forward to my first drunken night out trying to unlock this sucker!

We're in! The front screen is actually one of three panels that can be accessed by a sideways sweep of a finger. Each screen can be customised with folders, widgets and shortcuts to anything from fast dials to web pages and applications. These can be organised by holding your finger down on the icons or widget and dragging them around or down to the tab at the bottom of the screen which becomes a rubbish bin. The wallpapers extend across the three panels rather than repeat which makes the wallpapers of a higher resolution than the phones 320x480 to 640x480.

There are two 'blinds' on the home screen. Across the top there is a notification blind that displays any conversations, text messages, emails and download/install status for any apps that you install from the Market. This is accessed by dragging the panel down with a finger.

On the bottom there is the Application Blind that is pulled up in the same manner as the Notification Blind. It can also be extended by tapping on the tab. This tab contains all applications including any that you have installed. They are organised in an alphabetical manner and once you have installed a few apps this becomes quite cluttered. I think that in future versions of the OS they should think about being able to change the organisation of this blind to allow defining of folders and/or arranging by relevance or use. The icons are a bit small and do not allow for a rapid recognition so you do end up searching a bit. Any of these applications can be dragged up onto the home screens by holding your finger on them, the blind will automatically close, then you can place the icon where you like. When there are more icons than can fit on one page of the blind you can scroll up and down by using a finger and dragging as you would intuitively expect.

When the phone is opened sideways the screen automatically rotates to the side and the Application Blind is accessed by a sideways drag or a tap. I would've expected the contents of the Apps Blind to then be accessed by a side scrolling motion but you still scroll up and down. Personally I find this a little counter intuitive however until someone else uses it to confirm it may well just be me.


I will go into the applications and settings in Part 3.

Google Android - T-Mobile G2?

It seems that the rumour mill has started and it's heading in a pretty predictable direction - Android is supposedly coming to the HTC Touch HD that I have previously mentioned.

Quite the bonus really - not only will it be coming to a piece of hardware far superior to the Apple iPhone but it will also be a later iteration of the Android OS which can only be a good thing. Staying away from early adoption is in many circumstances a good plan.

Android vs iPhone OS - Is open source to be feared?

With the impending arrival of the T-Mobile Android G1 phone there has been plenty of discussion online regarding the merits of the open source nature of the Android OS versus the closed nature of the Apple iPhone OS.

There is an inherent fear in users of having their personal information stolen and used for nefarious means like emptying bank accounts and credit card fraud. As our mobile devices become more usable and gain functionality they also increase the amount of personal information stored and as such increase the number of ways that thieves can get at our personal details.

There appear to be lots of pros and cons being discussed however there is one that really caught my eye that being the idea that Googles open source approach to development has some inherent issues when it comes to information security and venerability to viruses. In a recent Cnet article there seemed to be a confusion bought about by a statement of comparison between the iPhones locked down nature and Googles Android wide open nature.

On the majority of these websites there is opportunity for readers to comment at the bottom and once you ferret through the usual fanboy rubbish you eventually hit some people who are voicing some perceived concerns. Things like:


"Let the viruses, trojans, spam, and porn begin! Has no one learned from Microsoft's example?"

and

"There is nothing wrong with 'openness'. However, Android frightens me a bit. The idea of leaving it open to developers for modifying the OS can lead to issues. For example, I wouldn't want a scenario where I find an app and download it to later find that it's malicious. And then, it will track or steal my personal data. To me, it's all about user security and privacy. Apple's approach, however, I'm in much favor of. Now, that's not to say that Google's approach is malicious or harmful to privacy. It's just more exposed and a bit more vulnerable. Whereas Apple's much more guarded yet, still retains it's 'openness' in a safe manner."


One of my old managers used to hit us with a line that has stuck in my head for a very long time and I try to remember it as often as is possible, "Perception is reality", meaning that regardless of actual fact, a persons perception is their reality.

Android touts its main selling point in that it's an open source OS, that anyone can develop and publish applications for it, and eventually it will be available for any piece of hardware. This is all well and good but it has left an opening to other vendors like Microsoft and Apple to point out that open source means a field day for hackers and thieves. A very brief search will quickly bring to light that this is not the case. Googleing "Android Security" takes you directly to this page which outlines the measures that Google has taken to protect their users from malicious elements.


"A central design point of the Android security architecture is that no application, by default, has permission to perform any operations that would adversely impact other applications, the operating system, or the user. This includes reading or writing the user's private data (such as contacts or e-mails), reading or writing another application's files, performing network access, keeping the device awake, etc."


This is a pretty clear statement and further reading of the structure of the Android approach to protecting their users leaves me feeling confident that I am going to be safe using it. However if we go back to the "Perception is Reality" idea then I personally can see an issue that Google should perhaps be highlighting in a more active manner, that being that open source does not mean an open field day on a users personal information.

Currently the thing that puts me off Apples iPhone, i.e. it's closed control freak nature, is the one of the main things that allow people to feel secure using it. If there is anything that Steve Jobs is a genius at it is altering and controlling end user perception and in my opinion Google should be taking a page out of his book and be working to remove any doubts instilled by their competition. Security in both their applications and on their devices should be something highlighted as a main feature not just mentioned in passing.

Back on the Android T-mobile G1

Browsing through the online WIRED magazine I came across an article on the G1 phone and Android - brief but it does echo my initial sentiments on the state of the OS and the hardware.

From: WIRED Magazine
On Android:- "Google's Android OS for the T-Mobile G1 is pretty freaking on-point for a first-gen software release. Sure, it has bugs — web pages don't automatically resize and the zoom feature blows — but it's also remarkably polished, bristling with nifty tricks."

On the HTC G1:- "The keys are useful, but their physical location is a problem that ties into the most noticeable G1 bugaboo: its size. This is a big annoyance for us — nearly a half-inch thick — and its problematic girth is made worse by an annoying button bank."

I would say that T-Mobile have pulled off a pretty solid coup in the mobile world if they can remain the soul provider of Android phones for an extended period of time. Android is an infinitely more applicable OS than the, albeit flashy and well laid out, Apple iPhone has to offer. I have a hacked/Jail Broken iPod touch and I love it however I dislike the feel that I am being pressured into conforming to what Steve Jobs believes my user experience should be. Android comes from the opposite direction and is an 'enabling' OS that allows the user to define their mobile experience. I believe that as it develops Android will only get more applicable and more user oriented. I think Mr Jobs would do well to consider this sooner rather than later.