Google Android Personal Thoughts∞
Boy Genius has a scathing critique of Android—Android as a platform, mind you, not just any one device.
His main complaint is that Android has no “emotion”, which is to say it’s difficult for the user to connect with their device on a level deeper than they would with, say, a hammer. Google thinks of Android as a tool, and as a result it feels clinical and systematic.
The problem with Google is that they are an engineering company through and through. Doug Bowman (of Stopdesign fame) gave a good account of some of the obstacles designers face there.
Yes, it’s true that a team at Google couldn’t decide between two blues, so they’re testing 41 shades between each blue to see which one performs better. I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case.
Google approaches everything as an engineering problem, even when they absolutely shouldn’t. Yes, you’re creating a sophisticated piece of technology, but designing what the user sees is an art, not a science. The engineering ends where form takes precedence over functionality: the interface.
And the interface is arguably the most important part of any system. Pack Android with as much awesome functionality as you want—the thing people will judge it on is its interface. Apple understands this, which is why Apple does not release anything—ANYTHING—unless they can design it well. That is why it took two years for Apple to release copy-and-paste on the iPhone, and that is why people develop a connection with their iPhone that they never will with their Android phone.
As so often happens, John Gruber put it best:
Apple is a design company with engineers; Google is an engineering company with designers.
Philip K. Dick Estate in Pursuit of Google’s Nexus One ∞
Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” was about a detective pursuing a fugitive android (a “Nexus 6” model). The just-announced Google device is called the “Nexus One” and the platform is called “Android,” so I think we can all be reasonably certain that it’s a reference to the novel. I’d also like to call bullshit on Google’s “it wasn’t a reference, we were just using the word to mean a place where things converge” excuse. Sorry, guys.
As for the legality of the claim: as far as I know, trademark claims like this only hold water if there is a likelihood for confusion between the two products/brands, which seems unlikely in this case.
This also isn’t the first time that an Android device has used a sci-fi pop culture reference in its name—the Droid gets its name from the Star Wars universe, a privilege which Motorola paid for (“Droid” is a registered trademark of George Lucas). The article notes that a double standard may be in place:
Reports of the estate’s objection have led to accusations that the estate is just grubbing for money, though few seemed to think the same of George Lucas when Motorola paid him to use the name Droid for their Android OS-powered smartphone.
Personally, I don’t think Google/Motorola/HTC should have had to pay for either of those names, (“Droid” or “Nexus One”) but I guess it all comes down to which side has a strong case legally.
webOS Needs A Developer Phone∞
Jonathan Ezor over at PreCentral argues that webOS needs a developer phone.
Palm needs to release a webOS developer phone sooner rather than later.
Whatever the price for the device (and without a carrier subsidy, it could be significantly higher than those of the Pre, Pixi and even other Android devices), being able to purchase it as a standalone unit, without being tied to a carrier, will help developers explore and expand its capabilities.
I think the issue is less that Palm needs a developer phone (whatever that is) and more that they need to get developers excited about webOS in general. You can sell all the unsubsidized, unlocked phones you want; nobody’s going to write apps for your platform if they’re not interested in it themselves.
Zealotry Sucks And So Does The Droid∞
Lots of negative publicity for the Droid.
(via Daring Fireball)
The Droid Battery Cover Problem∞
John Gruber:
Funny, I’ve never heard of any problems with the iPhone battery cover falling off.
Zing!
Palm’s Next Steps#
With the Pre out a bit less than six months and the Pixi coming out tomorrow (well, today) I think it’s time to speculate about where the might be going. Or at least, where I think they should be going.
Palm, clearly, is at a significant mind share disadvantage. The iPhone, Blackberrys and Android phones are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. My brother, upon showing his Pre around his high school, has been asked (multiple times!) “is that the myTouch?” I’ve talked to people who want to get the Droid but have no idea what the Pre is.
The solution to this problem: advertising. Palm desperately needs to get the word out about the Pre and the Pixi. There need to be billboards, ads on the subway, and constant TV ads—and not the shitty ones with that creepy chick talking about jugglers. They need to make sure that people can’t go five minutes without hearing about the Pre or the Pixi in some way. This would also be good for Sprint, which has been absolutely hemhorraging subscribers.
Palm also needs to get webOS in better shape, NOW. The highest priority things to add are video recording and OpenGL ES. A good Facebook app would also be really nice—other than the browser, that’s probably the app that people most use as the baseline for comparing phones. In Robert Scoble’s review of the Droid, he describes the Facebook app as much worse than the iPhone’s. He says:
Most people will see this and say Droid sucks. Just this one app will affect millions of people’s decisions as to whether or not the phone is a real product. If I were Google I’d make sure that Facebook had BY FAR the best app on Android and if they weren’t willing to play ball with you I’d build my own and put my best engineers on it.
He’s absolutely correct, and Palm needs to be taking this very seriously as well. And while they’re at it (although this isn’t nearly as urgent) they need to make the Google Maps app stop sucking. It’s way too slow.
Speaking of apps, Palm needs to get the App Catalog out of beta and officially open, stat. I know they’re working on this, but it needs to happen faster. They also need to make sure that they treat developers well. They’re already doing better than Apple by supporting the homebrew community rather than trying to undermine them, but they need to treat actual developers well too. There’s already been one App Catalog horror story; we don’t need any others. Palm needs to make it easy for developers to get their apps into the catalog, and ABSOLUTELY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES REJECT APPS FOR STUPID REASONS.
The final, and least obvious thing Palm needs to do is directly go after the iPhone, and not in the stupid way they’re going about it now (the whole iTunes sync debacle). They already have two webOS phones: the Pre and the Pixi, the Pixi being a slightly worse version of the Pre. Both of them, however, go after RIM more than they do Apple. Palm needs to jump on the bandwagon and release a phone with no physical keyboard—a phone with the form factor of the Pixi but the function of an iPhone.
First of all, that would round out a nice trio of webOS phones, three just being a nice number. It would also allow Palm to cater to the (decidedly large) group of people who prefer a virtual keyboard to a physical one. And an extra nice screen on a webOS device would be, well, extra nice.
Mostly, though, it would allow Palm to beat Apple in their own market. If they could release a phone that directly compares to the iPhone, but better—and I do truly believe that they could do it—Palm could seriously establish themselves as a serious contender in people’s minds.
Ultimately, all the problems with webOS and Palm’s lineup of phones notwithstanding, that is still their biggest obstacle.
Dell Confirms Android Smartphone∞
It seems like everyone’s itching to dump Windows Mobile these days.
Engadget Reviews Motorola DROID∞
A little late with this one. Am I the only one who thinks it’s really, really ugly?
As long as it doesn’t steal people away from the Pre, I’ll be rooting for it.
