Unparanoid Android I - Choosing a Phone
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I'm no gadget freak. These days, I don't have the money to buy shiny new toys. But touchscreen phones are nice. So when the opportunity came up to get one without no extra fees, why not take it?
Last Monday, I decided to get myself a new mobile. My two year plan with Vodafone, my existing provider, was nearly up. For another twenty four month contract, they'd throw in a new phone for free. I've had very few problems with them, and they're no Optus nor Telstra. The existing plan was how I scored my existing beast - a Nokia N95, a smartphone with the standard numeric keypad - which would be handed to my wife. So why should I choose? I decided to go HTC: their latest touchscreen models run Google Android, an operating system derived from Linux. It was either that or the iPhone, and I didn't want to buy Apple. By their website, I knew Vodafone was stocking the things; so off to the shop I went, accompanied by wife. The two choices were the HTC Legend and the HTC Desire, with Desire preferred by me. Which to choose?
It turned out that I had no choice in the matter. In the shop, I learned Telstra had arranged a deal with HTC: they were the exclusive distributor of the Desire for six months. Vodafone had a similar arrangement involving the HTC Legend. Well, I preferred the Desire, but not so much that I would go on a Telstra plan. So it was either the Legend, or wait six months, which would almost inevitably have the Desire eclipsed by a newer piece of kit. It helped that Darren the Vodafone salesman had his own Desire (which he had purchased separately from a plan) so I could see what I was missing. It's a little bigger and bulkier than the Legend, with a larger screen, but that's about it. There were more programs than the store model Legend, but Darren had installed them himself. After all, they're both only phones, and it is no use wishing what could have been. So the contract was signed.
Do I have any regrets? None. Firstly, it's slimmer than the Nokia, and fits nicer in the hand. It looks nicer too, as it appears that the case is a solid piece of Aluminium metal rather than plastic or metallic paint over plastic that is almost ubiquitous to the industry. But the real reason is that it is so much easier to type messages on the Input Message Editor - the jargon for the on screen keyboard that one taps on with their fingers - than it is on a numeric keypad. I discovered this when I got my first text message - from Darren. It turned out I've left the paperwork for the purchase at the shop; could I come back sometime and collect it? So I had to tap out a reply Even on a bumpy bus home, I found it was three to four times faster to type a message than on a numeric keypad like the N95. On the fifteen minute ride, I exchanged three or four messages with him, using near perfect grammatical English. (Not txtspeak - I've never liked to write it, and the touchscreen makes it unnecessary.)
There are disadvantages with the Legend, but most disadvantages arise from resources available to it that were never present in the Nokia N95. For example, Android - and hence the Legend provides a "Market" application where users can download applications from Google HQ. The Nokia had nothing similar, probably because there were fewer apps for it, which was almost certainly because developing for its Symbian OS was such a pain. (Android apps are generally written in Java; Symbian uses some non-standard version of C++ with lots of "gotchas" built in. No contest). But downloading apps brings disadvantages: larger bandwidth necessary, and thus larger phone bills. The other problem is that most apps don't come with an "Exit" button. They run in the background, even if you switch to something else. Now, multitasking is good, but it takes a toil on the battery. With these machines, it is just safer to make sure you recharge it every night.
Some apps are fun to download and install, I have to add. For example, there's a musical tuner app - it shows you the frequency and the nearest musical key to the frequency you're playing on your instrument. (You can sing into it as well.) There are some chord apps, which show you the layout for simple chords.
Then again, some apps are necessary to download and install. For example, since there's no "Exit" button on most apps - how do you kill them? With another sort of application called a "task manager", and there's an app (or two) for that. And they do kill apps.
Then again again, some apps come with undesirable side effects. For example, Task Manager (by Rhythm Software) would kill tasks, but stay in the background itself, and sometimes push adult dating ads onto whatever else was running. The only crash I had on the Legend was when I was running this crap. Neither of these things are acceptable behavior, so I uninstalled it as soon as possible. Avoid. Fortunately, alternative exist, such as "Advanced Task Killer Free", which both kills tasks (including itself) and is free. It shows ads as well, but only G-rated ads, and only when it is the main task running.
I could have avoided the issue of dodgy advertising (and the dodgy programs that run them) by choosing an iPhone instead. All apps are only available through their "Apple Store", and need to be verified by an Apple employee. It's a lot safer, and Steve Jobs is famously puritanical in his approach to porn-friendly applications on his platform. But I have issues with this approach. Describing them will have to wait for another post. Let's just say I am happy and content with the Legend, and have no regrets for now.
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