More things that Android does better than the iPhone 3GS

This list is in addition to the list compiled by Pocketnow.

Text-reflow in the browser
With the low-resolution screen on the iPhone, I find I have to zoom in to the text more to be able to read it. But then I have to scroll horizontally as well as vertically. That's shameful.

Home screen customizations
You'll be able to get at-a-glance info if that's what you want. And your phone won't look like everyone else's.

Multi-tasking
Very well-documented flaw of the iPhone OS. No explanation required.

Removable battery
Self-explanatory. This isn't something that just Android has over Apple's product. It's what every mobile phone has!

Non-obstructive notifications
With the iPhone OS, notifications such as those for new messages or appointments pop up and force you to deal with them right away. What happens if you just so happened to be busy? If you tap "Dismiss", you'll likely just forget it a couple minutes later. Android organizes your notifications on the top bar and you deal with it when you choose.

Smart-dialing
Without smart-dialing, that means you have to drill into a list (be it your contacts, favorites, or call history) every time you want to make a call.

Standardized plug for charging and syncing
Self-explanatory.

Accessing the SIM card slot doesn't require a dedicated tool
Some phones have SIM Card slots that are poorly designed. But the iPhone takes the prize here. You actually need to poke at a hole with a stick to access the SIM slot. It's similar to getting your computer's optical drive to eject the tray without turning on your PC.

Looking forward to the announcement of the 4th-gen iPhone

I'm not an iPhone fan. I don't even have the device. I've been using Windows Mobile for several years and will soon be switching to Android (pre-ordered the HTC Desire). So why do I care about the upcoming 4th-gen iPhone? 2 reasons...

1. Innovation. The 1st-gen iPhone was the one that reshaped the whole smartphone landscape. Capacitive multi-touch, smooth OS animations, and fingerfriendly navigation. We've never seen anything like it before. Every other smartphone manufacturer were suddenly now playing catch-up. Because of this, everybody else started making much better devices. If it were not for the iPhone, we would not have superphones like the HTC HD2, Nexus One, Desire, Legend, X10, etc. It's been quite a long time since we've had something truly innovative in the iPhone world. (I would say the last time was when they introduced the App Store). If Apple is able to bring something truly new and awesome to the smartphone arena, their fanboys would rejoice. But better yet, every other manufacturer will once again try to one-up Apple and as a result, we'll all benefit with even better devices in the future.
2. To watch Apple crash & burn and see how their fans defend their device's mediocrity. Apple has some tough competition in the Motorola Droid and HTC Desire. They also have to be wary of the imminent launch of Windows Phone 7 Series devices. They have to come up with something better than (or at least on par with) the devices that are already out. It would be unacceptable to have a margin of improvement similar to the difference between the iPhone 3G and the 3GS. Imagine if the only new features were a 5MP cam with LED flash, more storage, and a longer-lasting battery that's still non-removable. Apple-haters would be having a parade over this.
   

As much fun as I would like to see Apple fail, I would much prefer if Apple got their act together and delivered something truely awesome for everyone come this summer.


For Apple not to fail, they need to improve the following at a minimum!

• Low resolution screen. The 480x320 screen that was introduced back in 2007 needs to be upgraded to WVGA (800x480) at least)
• Multi-tasking. The most well-documented glaring flaw of the iPhone OS. We all know it can be done because of jailbreakers. So why isn't it being implemented natively?
• Wouldn't hurt to allow some sort of customizations. Except for the wallpaper on the lockscreen, every iPhone looks exactly the same.
• It needs to be able to do something that has that wow factor. (I'd argue that HTC achieved this with their HTC Sense interface in the Legend and the Desire).

HTC responds to Apple's patent lawsuit

HTC finally released a statement to Apple's patent lawsuit.

Seems like HTC has got some fight in them. They even got in a couple of shots in the press release by stating that they've been around since 1997 and that they released the first gesture-based smartphone in June 2007. They are of course referring to the original HTC Touch which was released right before Apple's 1st-gen iPhone.

Related blog post: My take on the Apple versus HTC lawsuit

My take on the Apple versus HTC lawsuit

Certainly, most people have heard of Apple's lawsuit against HTC. If not, see here for details.

I'm not going to give my opinion on who I think will win because I read through the patents that Apple claims HTC infringed on and I think the whole case is just ridiculous.

Here's a couple of thoughts that I take away from reading about this lawsuit:

1. Apple sees HTC as a threat. Congratulations are in order for HTC. A couple years ago, nobody has even heard of them even though they've been making handsets for a number of years. Their marketing strategy over the past few years has been to boost their name brand. This lawsuit plays right into HTC's hand. More people will now be aware of HTC because of this lawsuit.

2. Apple is expected to announce the 5th-gen iPhone this summer. I think after what Apple saw at the recent Mobile World Conference, they've realized that their 5th-gen iPhone is just not adequate enough for the competition. Therefore, we have this lawsuit as an act of desperation. Certainly, Apple has not thought this through. Going against HTC means going against Google and Microsoft. Not smart at all.

3. Something is seriously wrong with the US patenting system. Some of those approved patents are just mind-boggling.

Update: HTC responds...

Reasons I'm leaving Windows Mobile for Android

Interface
Everything is outdated (ie, dropdown boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, tabs, etc). I've owned a Compaq iPaq 3760 Pocket PC back in 2001. I haven't owned another Windows Mobile device until the HTC Touch Dual in 2007. Yet, everything feels strangely familiar. WinMo 6.5 helps a bit but not enough.

Resistive screen
The screen is quite nice on my Touch Pro2, but it's just time to switch everything over to capacitive. Because of the nature of resistive screens, it feels mushy and it's prone to scratches. Plus, capacitive multi-touch screens allow for full-speed typing with 2 thumbs on the soft keyboard.
(Sure, the HD2 and the HD Mini have capacitive screens. But since the WinMo 6.x platform development is dead, I doubt we're going to see any more such devices.)

Web browsing
IE Mobile is horrible so I won't even go into details. Opera Mobile is pretty good but pales in comparison to what you can do on Android. The Android browser renders faster and more accurately. Opera Mini is fast but doesn't render accurately.

Performance
The performance just doesn't scale very well with upgraded hardware and I think a lot of it has to do with the OS holding it back. The iPaq 3760 had a 206mhz CPU with 64MB RAM. You would think the Touch Dual with a 400mhz CPU and 128MB RAM would be twice as fast. But it's not. Even my Touch Pro2 with 528mhz CPU and 288MB RAM isn't that much faster than the 10 year old iPaq.

LG KM555E Review

A sleek looking feature phone that will fit under anybody’s budget

I’ll begin by saying the LG KM555E looks very sleek. It almost begs to be picked up. It’s very thin and light. At first glance, it would seem that the device’s build quality is surprisingly good for a budget device. But once you pick it up, you’ll realize that the chrome border is actually just chrome painted plastic. The back battery cover looks like its brushed metal but it’s really also just plastic. That being said, the build quality is not bad. It certainly looks and feels more expensive than it really is.

The 3” resistive touch screen dominates the front face of the device. There are 3 buttons along the bottom of the screen. They neither are physical buttons nor are they capacitive buttons. They appear to be an extension of the resistive touch screen, so they do require pressure to be applied. The buttons are for call, end, and one that brings up a task manager/favorites popup.
On the side there’s a volume rocker and a flap that covers the microUSB slot for charging.
On the other side, there’s a camera button and a button that takes you do the media player.
On the back is a 3MP fixed focus camera with no flash.
Nothing on the bottom other than the mic.
On top, there’s the power/standby button and a 3.5mm audio jack (a very welcomed addition).
LG includes a stylus, but there’s no way to store it in the device nor is there a way to dangle it externally. This is an odd decision. Does LG want you to carry it around in your pocket where it’s bound to get lost? Luckily, you won’t be needing the stylus much unless you use Asian text recognition.

The UI is simple and finger friendly. The home screen has 3 “sides”. One is for widgets such as a notification manager, clock, calendar, music player, etc. It’s possible to download more. One is for your favorite contacts which you can arrange as if they’re tiles. The last “side” is interesting but a bit gimmicky. At first it appears to be empty. But once you start making or receiving calls, this particular “side” gets populated by your recent call history entries. They are shown as cartoon animals or people (depending on the settings you specified). If you tap on them, you can choose to call or text them.

The programs menu is organized by categories. You swipe the rows to see more of each category. Alternatively, you can flip your device to landscape to view all of them at once.

The camera is unimpressive. But since it is fixed-focus, it takes very quick pictures.

Text entry is done via a T9 style soft-keypad. Alternatively, you can switch to landscape and type using a Qwerty style keyboard. It works well, but the resistive screen means you can’t type at full speed with 2 thumbs.

Conclusion: If you have a bit more to spend, the LG KM900 is a better device. It has a capacitive screen, 4GB internal memory, and auto-focus camera with flash. But if budget is tight and you are willing to overlook those 3 things, this is a decent choice.

Positives:
+3.5mm audio jack
+compact
+looks great
+inexpensive
+WiFi

Negatives:
-resistive touch screen
-occasional minor lags in the UI

Motorola MOTOROKR S605 Review

Small and stylish, yet functional

The Motorola ROCKR S605 is categorized as a Bluetooth headset but it’s not one of those you wear on one of your ears. It’s more of a Bluetooth receiver that you can plug headphones into. As such, it’s not recommended for driving unless you wear only 1 of your ear-buds. This device is designed to be used by music listeners.

The device is rectangular shaped. It’s small and light, about the size of a 2nd-gen iPod Shuffle.
-5 buttons on the front (ie, radio, call, play/pause, forward, and back)
-volume rocker on one side
-power/hold switch on the other side
-micro-USB port for charging on the bottom
-3.5mm audio jack and indicator light on top
-clip on the back

The front face and the back have a polished glossy finish and will attract grease and fingerprints. The sides have a matte finish to it. The buttons have a good tactile feedback to them and they’re very well thought out. The hold switch is particularly important because it’s quite easy to accidentally press the buttons when you’re adjusting the clip. I find the clip to be very well designed. It should be strong enough for most. For those who prefer to wear the device, there’s a hole for you to attach a neck-strap. There are also a couple of notches on the clip for wire management. Very nice touch. I should also point out that the Motorola and the ROKR logos are on the back. So you don’t have to worry about looking like a Moto spokesperson if you wear the device.

I’ve tested it with my HTC Touch Pro2. Calls were clear for both me and the other party. Music playback worked perfect. Audio quality was good. There was no noticeable hissing as I’ve experienced with other similar products. Range and battery life were acceptable in my testing.

Music controls were easy, thanks to the excellent button choice and placement by Motorola. Basic phone call controls were easy enough. Just press the phone button to answer calls and press it again to end the call. More advanced phone functions require reading the manual.

A display would have helped. But then you’ll be giving up size, battery life, and the cheap price tag.

Positives:
+excellent price
+standard micro-USB port for charging
+easy setup
+intuitive music controls
+aesthetically pleasing
+built-in wire management design
+good sound quality

Negatives:
-grease and finger-print magnet
-no display

HTC Touch Pro2 Review

Great communication device

This is my 3rd Windows Mobile device and it is indeed the best one yet. It works great right out of the box. I've had it for several months now and have yet to really have a need to run a custom ROM. I recently purchased a ExtUSB to 3.5mm adapter and my iPod Touch has since been made redundant.

We all know the pros and cons of Windows Mobile, so I tried to keep the following specific to the device rather than the OS.

The defining feature of this device is the slide-out 5-row qwerty hardware keyboard. It is simply the best of it's kind in the mobile world. The buttons are spaced out in an offset layout just like your PC keyboard. They have a good tactile feel to it. With very little effort, you'll be able to bang out entire essays without discomfort. The dedicated number row deserves mentioning as well.

Screen size and resolution is excellent (3.6" WVGA). Web browsing and displaying photos and videos is impressive. Touch screen sensitivity is improved but it is still resistive (so pressure is required).

The Zoombar is interesting. It's only utilized in several applications but it works. It is resistive. I bet most people would have preferred a directional pad.

Speakerphone quality is excellent. And being able to access it by simply turning the device over is smart and intuitive. Great job, HTC!

TouchFlo3D penetrates into Windows Mobile even more (which is always good). Speed is greatly improved compared to 1st-gen TF3D devices like the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.

One thing that HTC talked about when they announced the product was Push-Internet. Personally, I think it's an unnecessary feature. But I can't fault it since it works. I just wished there was more flexibility in terms of scheduling this feature.

Performance was good. Rarely lags and even when it does, it's not a deal breaker.

Pros:
-Best keyboard on a mobile device
-Large sensitive high resolution touch screen (plus it tilts)
-Proximity sensor works very well
-TouchFlo3D
-Zoombar is quite handy
-Good battery life
-Conference calling made easy
-Good speakerphone device
-Push Internet (not a truly innovative feature but works well)
-Improved Photo Album app (swiping left/right to get to next/previous photo is very smooth)
-Youtube app
-Autofocus camera works well in good light
-Great performance
-Good audio quality
-Excellent source of support at the XDA forums

Cons:
-no flash on camera means grainy photos under inadequate light
-no dedicated button for camera
-microSD and reset button are under battery cover (unlocked version)
-default video player software doesn't support many formats (you'll need a 3rd party player like Coreplayer)
-no 3.5mm headphone jack (unlocked version)
-large and heavy (but considering the screen size and keyboard, it's quite fair)
-round edges and chrome makes it look like the iPhone

Conclusion: An excellent device. It's easily the best Windows Mobile device (until the release of the HTC HD2). I can't praise the hardware keyboard enough. For those who want Windows Mobile, you can't go wrong with the Touch Pro2. If it's too large for your taste, the Diamond2 is worth a look; same device without the keyboard.

Sandisk Cruzer 2nd-gen Review

Excellent, highly recommended

I've purchased the 2nd-gen Cruzer to replace my lost 1st-gen Cruzer. It as the same great form factor design with the slideout USB plug so there's no need to worry about losing your cap. This is subjective, but the new look feels more sleek.

Those that are fans of Sandisk's U3 software will be happy to know that it's once again included on the device. For those who don't use it, they're be happy to know that Sandisk includes a method to easily remove it.

It's imperative that USB flash drives are durable since they'll be scratched by our keys, thrown on the table, dropped, and more or less just abused. Mine has been through a washing machine cycle and there's been no exterior damage and data was still intact.

I use it for both my Windows PC and my OSX Macbook. So, I can confirm it works just fine on both OS's.

As with most competing products, it lights up to indicate read/write activity.

Transfer speeds won't set any records but it's in no way slow.

On the corner of the device, there's a space for you to attach a keyring or a lanyard. It would have been nice if Sandisk included one or the other (or both!).

HTC Touch Diamond Review

Great job by HTC in bringing Windows Mobile to the consumer market

If the HTC Touch Diamond is judged as a consumer device, it would fail miserably. That is because the Diamond runs Windows Mobile 6.1 which was never a consumer friendly OS. Many elements of the OS interface appears outdated and it's often confusing to navigate with the tiny menus and cryptic labels.

That being said, HTC had done an admirable job of hiding Windows Mobile with their own UI, TouchFlo3D (which is essentially just a Today-screen plugin). TouchFlo3D allows the user to accessed the most common features of Windows Mobile right from the home screen. And it looks good, too. There are multiple tabs and each has it's own function (ie, Home, People, Messages, Mail, etc). Navigating between the tabs is quick and easy. Just drag the slider, use the left/right buttons, or swipe left/right on screen.

However, users will soon realize that TouchFlo3D is really just a skin and they'll have to face the ugliness of Windows Mobile soon enough. Eg, the calendar application is the default WinMo app that hasn't been updated since the 90s.

It should be pointed out that early ROM builds were extremely unstable because TouchFlo3D used way to much resources. Moving between tabs had a fly-by animation included. This has since been removed in updated ROMs released by HTC and performance was noticeably improved.

192MB of RAM was quite decent at the time of the Diamond's release but it left users yearning for more because of TouchFlo3D's resource demands. It would have fared much better if it had the 288MB of RAM that it's keyboard-equipped cousin, the Touch Pro, has.

The hardware design of the device is quite astonishing. It was and still is one of the most thin and light Windows Mobile smartphones of all time. The 2.6" VGA display was excellent. Text appears crisp and details of high-resolution photos are shown beautifully.

Some negative aspects of the Touch Diamond:
-No flash on the camera.
-No dedicated camera button.
-Left and Right directional keys are difficult to press.
-Hardware keys don't respond as fast as I'd like.
-No expandable memory (although it does have 4GB internal)
-Back battery cover is not flat and scratches easily.
-TouchFlo3D doesn't go deep enough.
-Performance could be improved, especially with TouchFlo3D enabled.

Conclusion: Windows Mobile offers the most features out of all smartphone platforms. But it's not the easiest to use. This device is for the advanced user. It finally lets the WinMo users show off their phones without feeling geeky about it.

Logitech MX620 Review

No-frills, long-lasting, solid performer

Many mice nowadays offer an abundance of features. Some have accelerometers and others let you adjust the weight of the device. The Logitech MX620 doesn’t have any of these advanced features. That’s because it’s designed for the regular Joe who just wants a no-nonsense comfortable wireless mouse.

The MX620 is ergonomically shaped for right-handers. Lefties will have to look elsewhere. The profile is high enough so that you can comfortably rest your hand on top of it for long periods but low enough for you to be able to easily move it around accurately.

There’s just the right amount of buttons, 6. They are left click, right click, middle click, forward, back, and search.
The forward and back buttons are perfectly positioned right above the thumb rest. They are shaped such that you can feel for them easily without looking.
The search button is good to have but may not be utilized much by most people. It can be customized (as can the other buttons). If you don’t intend to use it, it’s quite alright since it’s positioned out of the way.
The scroll wheel can be pressed for the middle click function. Speaking of the scroll wheel, it has 2 modes. You can scroll one notch at a time like traditional scroll wheels. Or you can have it scroll smoothly without the notches. You toggle between the 2 modes via a switch on the underside of the mouse. It’s really a matter of preference. Either mode works well, depending on what you use it for. The scroll wheel can also be pushed left or right to scroll horizontally.

The mouse runs on 2 AA batteries. There is a battery indicator right on the device. It lights up when it starts running low. Battery life is very impressive on this mouse. I bought it to use on my work PC, so it is quite heavily used. It lasted about 7 months before the battery indicator started its warnings. Even then, it went on for an additional 2 months before it started behaving oddly from lack of juice.

The retail package comes with the mouse, 2 Energizer AA batteries, a USB receiver, a USB extension wire, and the usual setup guides and software. The USB extension wire is a welcomed accessory if your PC is located a bit further away from your mousing surface. The USB receiver unfortunately is not of the nano variety. It is the size of a typical USB flash drive. So if you use it on your desktop, it may not be an issue. But if you use it on your notebook, you may prefer a less prominent receiver.

Conclusion: This is a very normal mouse with normal features which should appeal to a wide audience. It’s comfortable in hand and the batteries last forever. I wish the receiver was smaller, but that’s really the only gripe I have with it. The cost of the mouse is very competitive and the stellar battery life will only add to your overall savings.

(Note: I consider this such a great product that I went back and purchased 2 more. I now have 3. One for myself at home, one for my wife, and one for work.)

HTC Touch Dual Review

For those that want pocketable messaging device

I'll begin with the aesthetics. The device maintains the look of the HTC Touch. It's slightly more narrow, making for a slighty smaller screen. The resolution is QVGA which was acceptable at the time, but would be quite outdated nowadays. The entire body has a non-slippery rubber finish, making it feel quite nice in hand. The sildeout keyboard is spring-assisted which is nice.

Depending on which version you purchased, you have 1 of 2 variations of keypad layout. One is the traditional 16-key with the T9 layout and the other is the 20-key suretype-style layout. I had the 20-key layout and it was a joy to type on. I could go almost as fast as I could on my desktop.

On the software side, it runs Windows Mobile 6.1. Among the things that HTC added were the Today-screen plugin (HTC Home), the TouchFlo cube, finger scrolling and panning, custom photo album, and custom music player.

The included Internet Explorer browser is utterly horrible. This will be the source of all your device's freezing. Nowadays, you should be able to ditch it for Opera Mobile.

The TouchFlo cube makes it easy to access some of Windows Mobile's applications without drilling into the Start Menu, but that's really all. You can't customize it without going into the registry and editing image files.

The photo album is quite nice. But the zooming gestures are unnecessarily difficult.
The HTC music player is easy to use and provides large buttons.

If the device is used as a messaging phone, then it's really excellent. Making calls is extremely easy. All you have to do is slide out the keyboard and start typing the persons name. Typing SMS or emails is easy because of the keyboard.

But if you want to use it as a smartphone, it may get frustrating. The calendar, notes, and tasks applications all look outdated. You will need the stylus to navigate the OS. The browser, as mentioned, is unimpressive.

Note: By this time, ROMs with TouchFlo2D can be flashed onto the device which makes it seem like something entirely new and definitely adds to the usability.

Positives:
-Good build quality
-Excellent keypad
-Compact formfactor
-HTC Home plugin is useful

Negatives:
-No WiFi & GPS
-Camera is fixed focus
-No flash on Camera
-Small screen
-OS not optimized for finger friendliness
-Photo album zooming is difficult

Conclusion: Buy this device for it's phone and messaging capabilities. It falls flat when it comes to multimedia. Web browsing is quite frustrating with the small low res screen.