The latest on smartphones (and other gadgets)

If you still have a Touch HD lying around or maybe in daily use, you can now run Google Android on it, thanks to a bunch of developers over at xda-developers.com. The software is not in rom format yet, which means that when your phone starts up it will start up in WinMo as usual. You then have to run Android from Start->Programs. I tried it. Works. Seems quite slow. Too slow too really use, especially if you have experienced Android on a fast phone. But still worth a little play. And as it is not a rom, you can go back to trusty old WinMo by simply pulling the battery and restarting the phone. Follow this link for the instructions and file to download. The instructions are good but left out one step:

After you have unzipped the contents of the downloaded zip file into the root of your sd memory card (and remember to use path names when unzipping so that the subdirs unzip into subdirs on the card), you need to run Auto-setup.exe which you will find in the root of your memory card. This will install the Android app. Thereafter you will find Android under Start->Programs.

What has been the best and at the same time the worst feature of the Mototola Droid? Its keyboard. It was its best feature, because at the time of its launch, there were a paucity of high-end phones with qwerty keyboards. In fact, I recall that it was the only Android phone with a keypad, except for the original G1 of course. It was also its worst feature, because as keyboards go, it was a shocker, made worse by the portruding edge on the right side of the phone.

Well, it looks like Motorola has fixed the bad aspects of the keyboard on the upcoming Droid 2, giving its keyboard more tactile feedback, slightly raised keys, and dropping the d-pad. The right side of the phone, when in held in landscape mode, is still wider than the left side but a lot less so.

The Droid 2 will also have a faster processor than its predecessor.

I used to think my Motorola Milestone was big. That was until my brother in law lent me his HD2. He went back to his Blackberry Bold as his wife only chats to him via BB Messenger. Hear that RIM? Guess it is exactly what RIM wants. Anyway back to the HD2. That thing is big man. Could have its own zipcode it’s so big. An SA Airlink pilot can land a plane on it it is so big. But it is surprisingly thin and light, so not too uncomfortable in your pocket.

The second thing you notice after the size, is the screen, which fills the entire front of the device. It is a 4.3 inch screen which I think makes it the biggest mobile phone screen out there. And with 800 x 480 resolution it is a thing of beauty. Brilliant for watching youtube videos. Don’t need no reading glasses for this one gramps. To top it off the screen is capacitive not resistive like Windows Mobile touchscreens have been since the iMate Jam. The capacitive screen coupled with the superfast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (which is as fast and snappy as it sounds) makes the HD2 very responsive. Scrolling through your mailbox is a pleasure and applications can be launched in a blink of an eye. It must be the fastest mobile phone available today. Certainly the fastest I have used. It begs the obvious question, why now only. This is the type of hardware that Windows Mobile has been lacking – a fast processor and a fast screen. Actually makes Windows quite usable, especially in its HTC Sense disguise. Too late now. Microsoft is bring Windows Phone 7 out soon, so Windows Mobile is basically dead.

Unfortunately as with all its Windows predecessors the battery is not really up to the task. I had Lotus Notes Traveler running on it the first day, in full push mode which kept a GPRS connection live all the time, and by lunchtime the HD2 was ready for bedtime. Switched Traveler to manual sync mode, installed Bandswitch to auto drop the GPRS connection when idle, which helped somewhat. Still if you are going to buy an HD2 you may want to invest in a long life battery. Like this one:

And Windows being Windows you are still going to have to manually switch off the wifi and bluetooth to stretch that battery.

The HD2 comes with a good set of software including the usual Office Mobile with mobile versions of Excel, Word and Powerpoint. Not as good as Documents to Go on Android (which even has track changes if you need it), but it is free. Also comes with the free Adobe PDF reader, which is the only slow thing on the HD2, and it comes with Opera 9.5 which is a pretty good web browser. Not as good as the latest breed of Webkit browsers on Android, iPhone and Palm, but usable, and with the HD2′s monumental screen, you are unlikely to complain about the browser. And then of course there is a huge collection of Windows Mobile software available, but not via Microsoft’s Marketplace which only has a few hundred. Don’t expect new Windows Mobile apps though. The dev community has already turned its efforts to Windows Phone 7 Series.

Did I mention that the HD2 does not have a physical keyboard? It has an onscreen keyboard like many of the new mobile devices since the iPhone. It works ok, but I still prefer a real qwerty. As an interesting alternative try Swipe, which is a new onscreen keyboard app for WinMo (so much for no new WinMo apps). Allegedly lifted from a Verizon Omnia II this keyboard app lets you drag or swipe your finger over the screen instead of poking at it. People are saying that it is the best keyboard for the HD2. Going to give it a try myself. Check it here. Looks similar to SlideIT, but is free.

Unlike most of the phones I spout forth about on this blog, the HD2 is actually available in South Africa from the mobile networks on contract. So, if you want the fastest mobile phone with the biggest screen and you don’t mind that it runs a defunct and clunky operating system, go get the HD2. You will not be disappointed. If you can’t bear Windows Mobile, then go get its newer Android sibling the HTC Incredible, aka the HTC Desire. Or even the Google Nexus One. Both has excellent, but somewhat smaller than the HD2, screens. Both run the latest Android and both have the self-same Snapdragon processor. Neither are available in sunny South Africa via contract yet, but can be picked up for a song (an expensive song at ZAR9000 or US$1200) from internet retailers. Or you can wait for the HTC Supersonic, which rumour has it will be exactly like the HD2 except it will run Android.

Check this graph from Business Insider. Tells a story doesn’t it. RIM has been steadily increasing its smartphone market share in the US, mainly by expanding into the consumer market. I have been seeing this strategy here in South Africa as well, with multi-coloured Blackberries heavily advertised on TV and print media, clearly targeting non-business users. The fixed-price surf-all-you-can subscription is a good strategy that is winning many new users.

The graph also shows how badly Microsoft needs Windows Phone 7. Apple has had a strong run but have leveled off recently, maybe because people are waiting for the next OS release. Google’s Android going the right direction also. I guess Symbian has yet to break into the US market, but what can be said about Palm? Or more importantly what can Palm do to reverse the trend? WebOS is excellent, but I think Palm needs better hardware, it needs a killer device. In the meantime it needs to push the Pre/Pixie through as many networks as possible, in as many countries as possible, it needs to spend aggressively on advertising, and of course it needs to open its app store to everyone, not just to US users.

I thought I saw Mark Benford, played by Joseph Fiennes, use a Palm Pre in this week’s episode of Flashforward. Couldn’t be sure as the phone was not displayed prominently enough. Anyone else see it?

Motorola Backflip

Backflips and splits are what the Motorola engineers are resorting to. I kid you not. The Backflip is another Android phone, but this one has a trick up its sleeve. It has a reverse hinge design that flips the keyboard behind the screen with the keys facing out when not in use. The keyboard also functions as a stand. Check it:

If that doesn’t perplex or impress you, have a look at the Split. Details are still sketchy for this Android phone, which may hit the market place late this year. It will reportedly sport a split qwerty keyboard. One half slides out the base and the other half out the top of the device. Rumours of a 1Ghz SnapDragon processor is giving extra bounce to this story.

Motorola Split

Better give Motorola 10 out of 10 for these efforts, otherwise they may just send the Devour to sort you out. Yet another Android phone, this time with a slide out qwerty:

Motorola Devour

When I zoom in on a page in the web browser, which I frequently have to do as my eyes cannot cope with the default small font, the Palm Pre does not wrap the text to fit the screen. Ok, that is not entirely true. Zooming in by double-tapping the screen results in a wrapped screen, but the font is still too small for my eyes, and subsequent double-taps have the same effect as asking Santa to this year remember that special present you asked for last year.  As a result I have to zoom in using the two finger stretch gesture which gives nice big font but requires scrolling left and right again and again in order to read the text. It is a major drawback that I hope Palm will fix soon. Try the same thing on the HTC Hero, running Android 1.5, and it re-formats the page beautifully, both in the default browser and the brilliant new Dolphin browser. See what I mean in the picture below:

The Motorola Droid has been launched in the US with a lot of media activity.

It is being touted as the phone to resurrect the flagging Motorola brand, and of course the usual iPhone-killer claims are also being made.

It will eventually make its way to South Africa as well, 1st quarter 2010 I heard, but if you can’t wait that long, head over to www.cacell.co.za who is selling it as the Motorola Milestone. Apparently the Droid moniker was dropped for markets outside the US. Why, I don’t know. And why Milestone I also don’t know. Personally prefer Droid. Milestone too close to millstone (of the around my neck variety).

Anyway the phone looks promising. I have been using an HTC Hero aka G2 Touch for a while now, in between using the Palm Pre, and have been very impressed with Android. Have often felt the Hero would be the perfect phone if it had a real qwerty keyboard. The Droid has a real keyboard. Of course HTC’s Sense user interface added a lot to the slickness of the Hero. Will have to see if Motorola’s use of the native Android interface works for the phone.