The Year of the Geek

Holy cow, a third update in two days?!?  Yep!

Today Motorola responded to all of the eFuse nonsense with something that makes the situation a bit better.

Motorola’s primary focus is the security of our end users and protection of their data, while also meeting carrier, partner and legal requirements. The Droid X and a majority of Android consumer devices on the market today have a secured bootloader. In reference specifically to eFuse, the technology is not loaded with the purpose of preventing a consumer device from functioning, but rather ensuring for the user that the device only runs on updated and tested versions of software. If a device attempts to boot with unapproved software, it will go into recovery mode, and can re-boot once approved software is re-installed. Checking for a valid software configuration is a common practice within the industry to protect the user against potential malicious software threats. Motorola has been a long time advocate of open platforms and provides a number of resources to developers to foster the ecosystem including tools and access to devices via MOTODEV at http://developer.motorola.com.

This is very good compared to bricking the phone.  At least the phone can be recovered by the user instead of having to ship it to Motorola for a repair(not sure of the complete details and how warranty would work).  I’m also happy to see that Moto responded so quickly to the public.  However, this still does not sit well with me as Android was developed with developers and tinkering in mind.  If I want to mess around with my device, why can’t I?

(Thanks to Tom for pointing this out for me)

Let me set the stage up for those who don’t know much background. In 2005, Android, Inc. (a small company in Cali) was acquired by Google. Android, Inc. was a start-up whose business was in developing software for mobile phones. In 2007 Google helped fund the Open handset Alliance (OHA) which is a consortium of several technology companies whose purpose was to develop open standards for mobile devices. Motorola, Samsung, and T-Mobile and among these companies. These companies should all be first in line to make phones more open and free, right?

Well…

Yesterday’s post has already shown us that Motorola should really rework some of their business practices, but it also puts them in a precarious position in the OHA by going against what the OHA is exactly trying to stop, carrier and corporate lockdown of mobile devices. Some even think that because of the eFuse Moto should be asked to leave the OHA, and I’m not entirely sure that they’re wrong in asking this. If they are supposed to abide by the OHA terms, they should. No deviations.

Now for another punch in the OHA/Android face, T-Mobile and Verizon are now installing “junkware” in their new Android phones that cannot be removed in most circumstances. The LA Times blog is reporting that, “the Droid X comes loaded with several nonstandard applications for Google’s Android, most of which cannot be removed” and that T-Mobile’s new Samsung Vibrant is also loaded with some extra apps that cannot be removed. What kind of apps are installed? Here’s a few snips:

Among the [Droid X's] so-called junkware is a Blockbuster video app and a demo for an Electronic Arts game called Need for Speed: Shift….The EA racing game, which provides limited functionality and a large button on the introduction screen urging players to buy the full version, can be removed…

Skype, which is included with other Android handsets Verizon sells, is a permanent fixture, as is a utility called City ID. The latter program provides location information about phone numbers on the incoming call screen. But it works for only 15 days before asking users to pay $1.99 per month…

The T-Mobile Vibrant phone from Samsung, meanwhile, has four of these extra apps staring you in the face.

One is the movie “Avatar,” permanently loaded onto the device…Another is a live video channel called MobiTV — good for only 30 days. The third is a link to install an EA game called The Sims 3: Collector’s Edition. The last is an outdated version of Amazon’s Kindle app.

There’s also Slacker Radio, which cannot be used before providing an e-mail address, and a button leading to Gogo Inflight Internet’s website, which includes a one-month trial for Web surfing (only on plans that provide the service).

Try as you might, none of these apps can be uninstalled.

That is an awful lot of software to load onto a phone that runs an operating system that is supposed to be “free” and “open” for it’s users. The fact that most of them cannot be uninstalled is the most enraging part. I’m also sure that these apps take up a good deal of storage space.

Samsung, Motorola, Verizon, and T-Mobile are completely going against the principles of the OHA which they are all (with the exception of Verizon) a part of. But I’d probably blame the carries more because in the end, they are the one’s with final say on what is loaded on their devices.

So, should all of them be asked to leave the OHA? I’d say that if they continue this trend then yes. The OHA should give them an ultimatum to stop and they should take it or leave. If the OHA fails to even deliver on that then what is the point of the OHA? If you’re not going to stand by one of your most basic principles then you have failed.

While I don’t think this is worse than the eFuse in the Droid X, it certainly is something that needs to be resolved just as rapidly. Putting a few small applications on a phone specific to your company is not really a problem, not allowing your customers to remove them is.

Last year I bought my first smartphone, a Motorola DROID from Verizon. This is my first Moto phone since I got a RAZR many moons ago and swore off Moto forever because of their shitty product. Now, I love my DROID, it does everything I need it to do and more, and I really think Moto got it right with the DROID (I also applaud Big Red for finally making their phones more open). Since the DROID came out Moto has yet to release another kick-ass Android-based phone; the CLIQ is a piece of junk so don’t say that. Verizon has released the DROID Incredible (an HTC device) which is also making the rounds as being an amazing phone, but people were waiting for Moto’s next DROID. The Droid X was to be the next amazing Verizon/Android/Moto Android phone but with its release something has popped up on the tech radar; the eFuse.

According to a source at My Droid World (and Motorola themselves), the Droid X has an eFuse chip installed in the device. The long and short of it is that Motorola has installed this eFuse in the new Droid X which checks the phone for the proper kernel, boot-loader, and ROM and if the proper software is not found it will automatically “trip a fuse” to corrupt the phone’s boot-loader forcing you to get it repaired and will most likely void your warranty. Oh and did I mention that the phone can ONLY be repaired by Motorola, so the Verizon Store won’t help you (well, they’ll ship it to them for you) and you’ll most likely end up pay for a new phone.

Why is Motorola doing this to their phones? According to the Motorola blog:

We understand there is a community of developers interested in going beyond Android application development and experimenting with Android system development and re-flashing phones. For these developers, we highly recommend obtaining either a Google ADP1 developer phone or a Nexus One, both of which are intended for these purposes. At this time, Motorola Android-based handsets are intended for use by consumers and Android application developers, and we have currently chosen not to go into the business of providing fully unlocked developer phones.

Now if I read that correctly, Motorola just told people to buy an HTC device (the Nexus One or a Google ADP1 dev phone) and not their product because their “Android-based handsets are intended for use by consumers and Android application developers.” So, the DROID was a fluke? Well…

When we do deviate from our normal practice, such as we did with the DROID, there is a specific business reason for doing so. We understand this can result in some confusion, and apologize for any frustration.

You’re joking, right? You deviated on the DROID for a “business reason” and now that everyone loves your Android-based phones, you’re going to change it? How stupid does that sound?

First, if you’re going to say you have a reason you could at least tell the people what that reason was even if it’s most likely about money. Secondly, why would you want to change something that has worked already? You know the whole “no fix if no broke” thing? The DROID was probably the best smartphone released last year because of it’s features and it’s openness. Taking one of those key selling points away is really going to piss people off. Also, not only is it frustrating, it’s just a punch right in the face of all the people who praised your phone for it’s openness.

What happens when (like the MyTouch 3g and G1, etc) the developers stop caring about a phone so much that they don’t release a new version of Android for it, when their phones are still capable of running them? Or if Motorola decides not to update the SenseUI on the phone and you’re stuck with whatever they stop with? Well, of course you’re supposed to buy another phone from them, but it probably won’t be a Moto phone if the eFuse is still there. But there are a lot of people want to get all they can from their device (I mean, you did pay $200+ for it!). So they’ll end up going the route of rooting a phone and installing a modded Android install and continue to be happy with your device. Does it change that fact that it’s still a Motorola brand phone? No, it just shows that your hardware still kicks ass 2 years after it was released instead of going to the bottom of the old electronics drawer or whatever.

I realize not everyone cares about modding their phones, hell it’s most likely a larger portion than the people who do care, but the issue is that Motorola is making it okay for a company to brick YOUR phone if they don’t like what you do to it. You know, the phone YOU paid for with YOUR money (which Motorola took of course!). A lot of people buy devices based on how much the company lets you tinker with the device after you buy it.

I’m almost positive that the phone will still be hacked, but this is going to cause a big backlash in the Android community against Motorola (and probably Verizon even though they most likely have nothing to do with it). A lot of Android folk are very pro-open-source and while the software is still “open” the hardware will strike you down if you try to change it.

While I won’t tell people not to buy a Moto phone again I will say that the Droid X will probably be a bad choice if you’re going to alter the base software or if you want the phone to last a long time.

So I was supposed to write about the other 2 posts on TUAW regarding the iPhone wish list, but I figure I should just skip that and go right into the iPad, the latest gadget from Apple.  For the last year I’ve been seeing rumors about the all mysterious “Apple tablet” that they’re working on.  I couldn’t go one day without some site I browse having something about this damn thing.  I actually was hoping that it would be something more than “a big iPhone.”  I think my hopes got too high, and when I saw the announcement online I was just confused.

First thing, I’m really not a tablet PC type of person anyway, so I was hoping that it would at least have something different than other tablets, or even something so good that I might even want to get one.  Lets face it, I do like my Apple products; my 80GB iPod, my old 40GB iPod, my MacBook Pro, the lab machines, the servers, etc.  I enjoy using them for the most part and I believe that Apple does make quality products.  And you already know my disdain for the iPhone from my last two posts, so you can’t really say I’m a fanboy; meaning I’m not going to buy everything Steve Jobs says because he said to, NO. I’m going to buy a product I feel has a use in my life, and that I will like to use.  And the iPad just doesn’t do it for me.

There are many things that they should/could have done differently with it, but they didn’t.  I admit, it’s very nice looking and I can see some uses for it (below) but I just don’t think it’s practical for most.

The iPad would be an excellent control for, say, a media system or a professional presentation.  I can see people buying one of these for their office to use as a datebook or a replacement for magazines and newspapers or even to control things in their office (lights, music, etc). Using it as an eReader or an internet device when on the road? I just don’t see it.  Reading the screen would probably be like reading a book on your computer screen, you’ll go blind.  Why is the Kindle so popular? It uses e-ink and doesn’t blind you with back lighting.  That’s the whole point of it.  Don’t get me wrong, using the iPad as a magazine or newspaper reader would be great, you can’t do that shit with e-ink but $400 for a magazine reader? I don’t know…

I also don’t see people buying this thing as a gaming device.  (Yes, I know that’s not the point of the iPad) Sure, it can do some nifty graphics and tilt functions, but it’s so big compared to a Nintendo DS or a PSP.  And those systems won’t make you look like an idiot steering a box in public.  And about the games and apps; all iPhone apps work on it, great, now I can have an iPhone sized app running on my 9 inch tablet, way to utilize the screen space.  Yeah, you can zoom in, but what happens when you zoom in on things that weren’t meant to be zoomed in on? That’s right, it looks like a piece of mosaic.

The drawing features are nice. I can see many artists or designers wanting this to sketch out things on the fly and be able to send it to someone without a scanner or whatnot…but why not take that a step more?  Make a deal with Wacom and allow it to become an actual Wacom tablet.  Charge like $50 for an app that when you plug it into your PC it shows the screen of the PC and allows you to draw on it! Genius! That would actually make it multifunction; hell I’d consider buying it then.

Speaking of multifunction, I must say this:

HAHAHAHAHA!

They didn’t learn that people really wanted multitasking. I know many folks who were very pissed off about this and I just ask them, “you’re surprised?” Good luck on the next update.

Oh and another one: Think they’d learn from their AT&T problems?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Unfortunately, sticking with AT&T was inevitable; the iPhone is AT&T only, so why in the hell would they move to another carrier?  If they released a new iPhone for Verizon then I’d see it to be more plausible…until then, enjoy your AT&T iPad users!

Oh and the name…iPad?  You’re fucking Apple! You couldn’t have used one of the much better names like iTablet or my personal favorite, the iSlate? You went with the name in which MadTV did a skit on already making the joke that everyone is making now? Wow. Someone missed that joke from like 3 years ago. That’s why people are making those jokes, not really because of the maxipad/pad reference, but because it was already a stupid joke on MadTV.

I’m not saying that the iPad is a failure, or it’s a completely useless product, because it’s not.  I’m just giving my $0.02.

I love technology, obviously.  I love my computers, my iPod, my PSP, televisions, and I love my cell phone.  I’ve had a cellular phone since my junior year in high school around 2002.  My parents and I had a plan with Cingular (remember them?) and we used our phones in normal emergency cases or cases where we needed to ask something ASAP.  Minutes were scarce, and texting was totally out of the question, it was $0.25/text or something, and texting on my original phone; a Nokia 5120, you remember…the phone that EVERYONE had, was a real pain anyway.

Hi, remember me?

Finally in 2004 or so we got fed up with Cingular’s shitty service (me being in NY for school also made this easier as we needed some method of communication) and the lack of minutes, etc., I decided to drop my grandmothers Cingular plan (she got it for us) and pay for my own Verizon Wireless family plan.  It cost a bit more, but we got nice new LG vx4500s, 700 minutes, and a MUCH better network. It was a big step.  That was 5 1/2 years ago and after 5 different phones I’m still with Big Red.  I have come to upgrade many things with my plan and demand much more from them, but not much else has changed.

My phones with verizon

There is a progression of my Verizon phones.  “But you said 5, that’s only 3!” You’re right, and I’m sure you knew I wasn’t going to write about my cell phones since 2002 without a reason, right?

Right.

In September I was eligible for a new phone on my “new every two” offer.  Psyched, I took to the interwebs and researched phones that I would love to have vibrate in my pocket when people decided to call me.  I looked far and wide, and read review after review of phones.  I went to the store and used the many phones offered, and used friends’ phones as benchmarking.  I came to 2 conclusions while doing this:

1. I wanted a phone with a touch screen. I don’t know why, I think it’s the “new thing” but I wanted a touch screen dammit.
2. I wanted a full QWERTY keyboard. I do a shit-ton of texting now, and this became mandatory now. I didn’t know if a software keyboard would be alright for me, so I wanted a REAL keyboard.

With those in mind I nixed my previous idea of obtaining the LG Dare (a rather pretty touch screen phone, but NO keyboard) and instead opted for the new LG touch screen phone, the LG enV Touch (vx1100). I used the voyager for a little while from a friend, and I kinda liked it.  When I started to test out the enV Touch I wanted it badly.  It was everything I needed, beautiful screen, nice tactile keyboard, and even an HTML browser; which came in handy when I opted to get the unlimited data plan for it.

After using the phone for about a month I started noticing weird issues where the phone would turn itself off randomly, or reset to default screens or just not receive calls (it wouldn’t ring, it would just say I had a missed call). Verizon told me it was defective and sent me a new phone, free of charge of course, since it was still within 30 days from purchase.  The second phone was even worse!  It was to the point where I didn’t get ANY phone calls on it for days, and I would only text because that was truly the ONLY reliable means to contact me.  Mind you, when the phone worked it was actually a great phone and texting device. But I got fed up and called Verizon about it.

Fuck you enV Touch

Now here is the side note, during my time owning the phone, Verizon came out with the DROID, Motorola’s Android-based smart phone.  Reading reviews and playing with the system, I really really wanted this phone. I’ve become increasing interested in getting all of these mobile applications and using my phone for other things besides texting, calling, and occasionally searching Google for a place to eat. The issue was that I couldn’t upgrade because I just did, but if you have proper cause (which I’ll explain in a minute) you can get an early upgrade for your device without any penalty. I had to figure out a way to make my shitty phone turn into a DROID, and quickly.

I called Verizon and stated my issues about the phone.  I informed the woman that this was my second one in 2 months, and I do not want just a refurb that is going to end up doing the same damn thing.  I informed her that I have actually read reviews on THEIR OWN WEBSITE about people returning their phones 5 times in 3 months and still having the same issue. So I tell her I want a different phone, no bullshit.  Finally she tells me, “This falls under our 2 in 90 rule [or some shit].  If you return a phone 2 times the next time you return it you get a choice of a different phone from a matrix.”

Woah. Wat?

Apparently some phones can only allow you to get some other phones when you exchange them.  Usually these “matrix phones” are refurb or pre-used pieces of shit or other phones “similar” to the current one (like the LG Chocolate Touch).  I say “No, I want to choose my own phone like I was upgrading.” I inform the woman of my current status with them; I’m up-to-date on my payments, never missed a payment in 5 years, etc. After being on hold for a few moments the woman comes back and tells me that because of my continued loyalty to them they will give me a phone exchange for ANY phone they have at the store! All I have to do is pay the price difference of the phones and renew my 2-year contract.  Fine. Signed, sealed, done!

I arrive at my store and to my amazement, it’s not a phone exchange (meaning I’d have to give my enV touch back in exchange for the DROID) it’s an early upgrade.  I keep my enV Touch (which is not really a plus, but whatever) and get the DROID at the upgrade price.  After paying my $300 + taxes I walk out of the store with the DROID.

DROID, bitches!

Review of the DROID (Kinda)

So after having the phone for a bit now I’ve come to really love this phone more and more. Just a quick review (because this really isn’t a review blog) should suffice.

The screen on this phone is BEAUTIFUL.  It’s huge, bright, responsive, and just amazing. The Android interface is actually very intuitive and easy to work with.  The apps for it are pretty good; I wish some of them were a bit more refined with some things (the facebook app sometimes loads the browser for some things, which I think is a bit weird, but that’s not the phone’s fault, it’s the app).

It comes with a pre-installed 16GB microSD card.  This is enough space for plenty of apps and music and if you need more go buy a 32GB card! I love that it uses microSD as storage instead of non-removable internal storage.

It’s one of the few android phones with a real keyboard.  The keyboard is very flat, so it’s a bit tough to get used to typing on, but it functions very nicely.  Even when not using the real keyboard the virtual one is surprisingly responsive and easy to type on, much better than the one on the enV Touch.

One thing that surprised me was it’s feel. Yeah, the feeling of the phone.  What do I mean? It doesn’t feel like a piece of plastic that’s going to fall apart in your hand if you squeeze it. It’s heavy, sturdy, and just really solidly build.  You could probably bludgeon someone to death with it, that’s how it feels.

Its also a very quick phone.  Apps are pretty fast to load, websites load nicely (over wifi and Verizon’s network).  It doesn’t feel laggy that much at all.

I know there are a lot more things to talk about with this phone, but I’m not going to go into it too much.  I’m sure I’ll blog more about how much this thing kicks ass, and how much I prefer AndroidOS to the iPhone’s OS, but that’s going to be for later.

So, fuck the iPhone and AT&T, give me my DROID!