Complete Systems Design Information Technology Solutions

November 15, 2011

I get the opportunity to set up and test a lot of cell phones for my clients. When I first tried out Android a couple of years ago it seemed like it was designed for geeks only and not well suited for the mass market although it did show tremendous potential. Times have changed and Android has grown up fast.

Android email integration is excellent - very comparable to the iPhone but not quite as refined as WP7 for MS Exchange integration.  You can sync several MS Exchange, gmail, hotmail and pop accounts.

Android is far more customizable than even IOS5 for the iPhone. If you feel like tweaking things and you have some technical skills, Android is more open than IOS or WP7.

One great thing about Android is the types and styles of phones available. You can certainly get much larger cell phone screens such as a 4.7" screen which dwarfs the iPhone screen should you want a larger screen. There are also even smaller model Android phones than the iPhone if you want something petite.

Unfortunatley, there is still not much in the way of high end Android phones with physical keyboards in a similar layout to blackberry phones yet (BB customers often tend to look for an identical replacement in form factor). There are some mid-range Android phones with form factors similar to BB phones but not a big selection on US carriers for that style.  I believe whoever (Microsoft, Apple or Android) creates a phone that physically similar to a BB, with a high end processor, will gain a huge remaining market share from BB.

Android has tons of applications in the Android Marketplace - very comparable to the iPhone, and significantly more than WP7. There are many free Android applications which are very useful for free. Some free applications I would recommend are:

• Tesla LED - turn your camera flash to a flashlight
• CalWidget - displays your calendar in a small box for your home screen
• Soundhound - quickly identify any song on the radio
• Translate - quickly translate any words you speak to another language
• Bubble - use your phone as a bubble level in a pinch
• Shop Savy - scan a barcode to find prices locally and online
• Pandora - listen to artists and genres of your choice the Internet
• Netflix- if you want to watch a movie or a show on a small screen
• Easy Installer - lets you copy and install apps from your PC without using marketplace
• Call History - quickly look up the length of any call

I'm on my fourth Android phone and I'm extremely pleased with my current model. Android rarely comes in its raw form unless you purchase a Nexus phone. With HTC for example you get Sense and with Samsung you get Touch Wiz. Sense seems more polished in some ways - typically more graphically polished but Wiz seems less demanding and the email notification on the home page typically seems more accurate in displaying new messages from my exchange server.

Verbal recognition for voice dictation for emails and texts seems pretty good!  I will however say that voice dialing is significantly less reliable than Microsoft Voice Command for my old WM phone.   I use instead of the native Android voice dial which is a blessing and a curse.  They release updates frequently but sometimes the newest isn't always the best.   If I want to call someone I have to wait for Vlingo to tell me how many missed events I have and missed calls before I can place the call.  It is however far more accurate.

If you get an Android phone, I’d recommend something with a slim design, large battery, large screen and fast processor such as a 1.2 Ghz dual core or faster such as the Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy SII.

BT sync with Android is simple so no reason not to get a good bluetooth headset.  I'd also make sure to get a car charger.   I use a short usb to micro usb cable on my laptop to I can charge my phone and headset off my laptop when I travel without carrying bulky chargers.