[OT?] Android phones

[Evan Leibovitch]

On 29 March 2010 10:15, Robert F. Kennedy <rfkennedy-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:

While we know Android is getting to be quite popular, at the
> moment we're not prepared to commit to ever developing an Android
> version of Pleco, and here's why.
>

I read some rationalizations here, but also a couple of good points.

The rapid evolution of Android has meant that there is quite the diversity
of OS revisions. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 isn't out yet, but its release
of Android is older than that of the Nexus One or Droid/Milestone. And
certainly some makers have toyed with the UI (ie, Motoblur) and one or two
had actually tried to put in a decent media player.

The proliferation of OS levels is indeed hard for a developer to track, but
it generally shouldn't matter unless the API changes. And while the FOSS
nature of Android does allow any maker to mutate it, making changes that
disqualify most apps from running on a phone would strike me as
self-defeating.

In any case, I too have had recent screen breakage of my old HTC S621
(bought when nobody had heard of HTC). But while it gave me decent service,
I'm not crying over my loss of Windows Mobile. Syncing email and contacts
from that thing to a PC without Outlook was truly painful. But it had wifi
(rare in something bought three years ago) and Skype.

I am also following the various industry moves. My 3-year contract expires
next month; I will wait until the entry of Mobilicity (why couldn't they
have kept the name "Dave Wireless"?) and see how they stack up against Wind,
Rogers, Telus and Bell before I make a move.

What I would really like is for Rogers to get the HTC Desire (almost
identical to the Nexus One without Google branding) but I don't think that
will happen. I know that Rogers is getting the Xperia X10 (
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/pre-order-x10) but there's no indication
of when -- and its reviews have all indicated an older Android version
(1.6). And it will be $200 even as a locked phone and 3-year contract.

I'm really leaning towards the Nexus One, even though there's no discount in
the telco plans for having your own unsubsidized phone. What appeals to me
the the completely unlocked nature of the phone, meaning that when I travel
I can buy a short-term SIM at my destination and save quite a bit over
Rogers $4/min roaming fees. It also means that I won't have to complain why
they won't unlock a phone after the contract expires (and the subsidy is
supposedly done).

- Evan
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