THE UPDATE

There’s a big update on the cellphone front. I reported my HTC Magic stolen in the hopes that I could just get a new one. The problem with that? Rogers had discontinued the Magic due to the 911/GPS issue and the only Android phone they had available was the LG Eve. Nuh-uh. I bought a new SIM card “for use with an old phone” but just put it back in my Magic. I decided to give updating my Magic to the latest firmware one more try and lo and behold it worked! Not only did it update my phone to the latest firmware, which includes the incredible HTC Sense User Interface, it fixed my accelerometer! I’ve experienced far fewer random shutdowns, however they do still occur.

THE IMPENDING UPGRADE

And if it weren’t for those few random shutdowns, I probably wouldn’t be upgrading to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. While talking with Rogers about my “lost cellphone”, it turns out I’m eligibile for a hardware upgrade, so as soon as the Xperia X10 is released I’ll be first in line to make the switch. I’ve even decided that it will become my mp3 player, thus leaving my beloved iPod Touch by the wayside. I hope to repurpose it, and may have found a great way to use it in the kitchen as a timer/recipe book courtesy this post on Unplggd. We may have to use Heather’s old iPod Touch instead since hers is a second generation Touch with external volume control and a built-in speaker, whereas mine is a first generation.

I CAN HAZ COVER ART?

And actually, that sorta leads to the next problem I’m tackling. Last night I began the painstaking process of using iTunes to embed the cover art into my mp3s. It’s a simple yet arduous task, and one I will simply do by default from now on. The problem is that iTunes doesn’t automatically embed artwork into the mp3s, it simply stores it in the library file. Friggin stupid. Well, when I start using my Xperia X10 for an mp3 player, it’s going to get the artwork from the mp3’s ID3 tags where the coverart is embedded, not read from the iTunes library file. If it weren’t for Heather having an iPhone I’d ditch iTunes entirely.

PODCASTS

I was worried that part of the problem of moving from iPod to Android for my mp3 player would be the ability to play podcasts. I don’t subscribe to any video podcasts, but the management of podcasts in iTunes is obviously so simple. Luckily, Google has their own podcatcher for Android called Listen and it’s great so far. Being a Google product, it will only get better with time. There are other Android podcatcher apps available (some free, some not) but with Listen being a Google product, it’s sure to be well supported.

Now the only problems I have are waiting for the Xperia X10 to be released, and whether or not to get it in White or Black. Hmmm.

Photo courtesy Gizmodo

It’s no secret that a few months back (end of October if memory serves) I dropped my HTC Magic in an RX1 beer. Since then I’ve had a few problems with it such as random shutdowns, accelerometer is busted, and I am unable to mount the phone as a USB device on my computer. This was due to a large lack of foresight on my part by not properly drying it out before turning it back on.

I’ve managed up to this point and was willing to continue to do so until such time as a new phone came out that I was willing to purchase. More on that later. Unfortunately, Rogers has shut off internet access to my phone until I can perform a firmware update to fix an issue where GPS was interfering with being able to call 911. That’s all well and good except that I have to hook the phone up to my computer in order to do so. Now I’m left with a dilemma. As the phone is no longer under warranty due to the liquid damage, I have two options:

1. Report the phone as lost and get a new one at a lower cost (not quite as low as a brand new contract cost) but have to re-up for 3 years from that point.
2. Have the phone repaired at my own cost.

I unfortunately have no idea which of these two options is the cheapest. I had originally planned to just upgrade my phone instead of fixing it and was simply waiting on the next generation of Android phones to get released. Since then the Nexus One has come, but I’ve mentioned how in Canada it’s not a 3G phone. The Motorola Droid (or Milestone as it’s called in Canada) has yet to be released but is a Telus exclusive regardless. The next viable solution for me would have been the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 with it’s beautiful 4″ touchscreen but it doesn’t have a release date. Its also rumoured to be TRES EXPENSIVE.

From a cost perspective, this is an easy decision, and although the gadget geek in me is screaming otherwise, I’ll just report the phone lost and get a new Magic now and perhaps think about upgrading to a new Android phone sometime next year. I think this is a solution even my wife (@heatherRberg) can get behind.

Photo from Gizmodo

You may remember a while back I debated getting an iPhone vs G1 and despite my constant tweeting to that point about getting an iPhone I ended up with an HTC Magic.

To clarify, the the T-Mobile G1 in the States is the HTC Dream in Canada, and the T-Mobile myTouch 3G (which was expected to be called the ‘G2′) is the HTC Magic in Canada. Both run on Android 1.5 (Cupcake) in Canada.

It’s no secret that I’ve had some second-thoughts about my decision to go Android. My HTC Magic is tragically under-powered, and still quite buggy, not to mention the fact that neither Rogers nor HTC has released an OS upgrade (Android 1.6 Donut) to the Canadian version of the phone, which has been out and available for quite a few months now.

Leading up to the release of these “Google-phones” in Canada, I had been desperate to get my hands on an iPhone, so why did I finally decide to go with the Magic? I think it has a lot to do with my tendency to be an early-adopter. When it comes down to it I love having something new that not many people have. Add to that the fact that I’m a Google fanboy, and despite the fact that at the time Android was still in its infancy and only starting to get its legs, it had an allure to me. But for the first few months I was seriously regretting my decision.

I’ve griped recently on Twitter about dropping my phone in a cup of beer and all the problems I’m having with it since (random shutdowns, acccelerometer doesn’t work, SD card not always recognized), but regardless it’s still doing most of what I need it to do.

So despite the fact that the iPhone is probably the easiest phone in the world to use, and the fact that the number of high-quality apps available for the iPhone far exceeds that for Android, I still no longer regret my decision.

Here’s where I get into the “why”.

If you haven’t noticed, there have been a lot of Android phones coming out recently (in Canada, we’re still a little behind most when it comes to release dates). There’s the original Android phone, the G1, then came then HTC Magic, then follow that up with the HTC Hero with the custom Sense UI, a few others which don’t quite interest me as much, then there’s the Motorola Droid (pictured above) (Milestone on Telus in Canada). This baby runs the same processor as the iPhone 3GS, has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (although according to some it’s not that great of a physical keyboard), and it runs Android 2.0 (Eclair).

According to almost everyone, this is the closest any Android handset has come to being an “iPhone killer”. It’s fast, it’s slick and it’s got lots of great features such as being the first handset to have Google Maps Navigation, a GPS turn-by-turn navigation system, FOR FREE.

The Android community is growing. In fact it’s exploding. Perhaps not literally as I’m picturing in my mind, but in terms of the number and quality of developers creating apps for Android, and the number of handsets. You might be thinking about those other smartphone OSes such as Windows Mobile, Blackberry OS and Symbian (Nokia), but in terms of growth I do believe that Android is outpacing all of them (especially WinMo). But don’t take my word for it, google it. In fact some handset makers are even ditching WinMo in favour of Android. TAKE THAT MICROSOFT!

But I think that’s what excites me most about Android. I can look forward to dozens of beautiful (and some not-so-beautiful) handsets from multiple handset makers on multiple networks (yes I know the iPhone is on all three major Canadian networks now) and not be tied in any way shape or form to the Apple empire.

Now, there’s no question in my mind (although my wife might disagree) that I need a new phone. With the Milestone coming to Telus in early 2010, I’ll either be looking at getting access to an unlocked Milestone, or figure out if it’s economically worthwhile to buy myself out of my Rogers contract and switch to Telus.

I’m not trying to convince you that Android is better than an iPhone. People have become quite attached to their iPhones over the years, and I’m not attempting to convert any iPhone lovers. I’m not really trying to convert anyone, but if you’re thinking of making the switch to a smartphone, don’t just automatically think the iPhone is the way to go. Android, quite simply, is the best alternative to an iPhone and seems like the safest bet at this point to challenge the iPhone as the top smartphone in the world.

If you’re following me on Twitter you might know that I’m extremely excited about upgrading my cell phone in a couple of months to the iPhone. I currently have an army of gadgets I carry around with me most places I go: my dumb-phone (Sony Ericsson S500i unlocked on Rogers GSM), my work cell phone (BlackBerry 8830 World Edition) and my MP3 player (16GB iPod Touch 1st Gen). Recently, however, Rogers brought the G1 (an HTC Dream running the Google Android Mobile OS) to Canada and this has made me rethink the iPhone. Continue Reading…

I posted about this yesterday on my Twitter. If you don’t know what Twitter is you really should check it out.

See where you are in relation to your friends

Without going into too much depth (that’s what I do, I pretend like I’m going to explain everything about something, but I don’t because I rarely know enough about anything to going into too much detail) Latitude is like the awesomest stalker-friendly app you can get for your smartphone (sorry iPhones, you’re not supported yet). Basically, you download the Google Maps app for your chosen smartphone, choose “Join Latitude”, add your friends, and then you can see where they are at that exact moment. You can even put in a status, get directions to your friends location, or search for restaurants and/or businesses in the area around your friend. Seems pretty awesome to me. Now if only I had more friends with smartphones…

Of course, I wouldn’t suggest adding your co-workers unless you want them to be able to see that you’re not at work yet when you’re running late and hope no one notices. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on your suspected cheating boyfriend/girlfriend, unless they’re smart enough to hide their location before committing said indiscretions.

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