Android Isn't Open But It Is An Awesome Mobile Platform With Google As Its Master

Apple's openly closed iOS was the punching bag of those who could not wrap their heads around the fact that Apple does what it does because it is Apple.  When push comes to shove on some issue, Apple budged, if only a bit.  And Google's open Android platform?

 

It's a very curious situation.  Never in my mind was Android considered to be opened.  Not in the way Unix and other open-source projects are as far as I understand it.  I think at best, I would call Android "open-ish" with a bunch asterisks.  Unlike other projects that does not have a master, Android does.  And Google owes it. 

 

When Google can take it away or play favorites with it, use it as a weapon against one of its own, how is that open?

 

Regardless of the semantics, Android is a powerful mobile platform for Google and Google only from now on.  For those willing to follow the guidelines set forth from Mountain View, you should do well.  Those on the outside, well, just ask those outside Apple's walled iOS garden.  It's pretty much the same feeling.

 

You're either loved or you find a backdoor in.    

Facebook In China - Preview of Erosion of Privacy (and Rights?)

As you might know by now, Facebook is looking to get its start in China.  Both chronic violators of privacy and very good at monitoring its users/citizens, just how bad will this get?

 

Imagine if you're going somewhere in China.  Once you get there, you have to take our your phone or mobile device and check into Places or else you cannot enter.  Failure to do that puts you on a watch list of potential malcontents or, worse, labels you as a dissident.

 

Ridiculous?  Hardly. 

 

Facebook would love this because it's more information it can sell to advertisers and China maintains its tight grip over Western businesses.

 

Oh, and be surprised of Beijing also request information on users outside of China who happens to be friends with those in China.  Zucker-ass and companies will have no problem doing just that.

Who Will Be the Main NFC Players? And When Will It Happen?

We all know the potential of near field communication capability and the potentials that it holds. Many of us dreamt of it. Many of us painted wondrous pictures of a mobile future that involves transfer of payment and information with the quick swipe of our phones or mobile devices and leaving the wallet at home.

Just who will make this all happen? Who is going to launch the infrastructure that will allow mobile warriors to do all this? And what about security?

Amazon is looking into this in a big way and given the number of credit cards they've got in their database, I think they're going to be a major player. If not, they're going to give it a good shot.

Then there is Google who will try to make their presence felt by virtue of the number of Android devices on the market.

Apple has time and time against said that they have over one hundred and fifty million accounts that they can leverage. Though they mentioned those figures with regards to their iTunes App Store but no one is naive in thinking Apple won't try to translate its near one hundred million iOS users into mobile payment users.

The way I see this at the end of the day is that the initial period of adoptions will be exciting as it is chaotic. Just about every big named tech companies will announce or launch their own services. Being first will have some advantages. Many alliances will also be formed.

Credit card companies, wireless providers, mobile device makers. Even department stores. Online payment services like Paypal.

Over time, probably a year as deployment accelerates, we'll see some shake out, misfires, and many vaporware services. The key for many of them is going to be persistence.

For consumers, we will be bombarded with grand visions. At the end of the day, we are going to try and see through the smoke screens. What it comes down to is what works for us. And if the mobile payment "just works".

It I'd possible that the regular cell phones will have native payment scheme as provided by the wireless service provider while the smartphones and mobile devices will allow users to cater to their mobile payment needs.

Want to use Paypal on the iPhone for your eBay transactions? Check. A mobile function will likely be built into the eBay app. iTunes for everything else? You bet. Bank and credit cards for everything else? Definitely.

When will this all start for everyone and I mean everyone? I would have thought summer but we can be looking at a large scale announcements and deployments in early 2012, probably CES.

Nintendo Done For?

To say that I'm impressed with my new 3DS is an understatement, and that' even before I've gotten my games from Amazon (I was able to play quite a bit of games at Best Buy and Gamespot).  However, the lack of a blow-out sales figure along the lines of the iPhone is a worrying factor.  Now comes news that PSP has outsold the 3DS in Japan, Nintendo's home turf.

Is Nintendo done for?  My answer is a resounding yes.  

I am not advocating the notion that Nintendo will go the way of Sega, who exited the hardware business to focus on software, but the mobile gaming industry has changed so much that a dedicated gaming machine is simply out of the question.  And Nintendo is pretty conservative and ruled out a Nintendo phone.  Why would you carry around a gaming machine, albeit an excellent one, when most but the hard core gamers can find a major of the titles and types of games on an app store for their iPhone, iPod touch, or Android device?  

Where does Mario and friends go from here?  Well, I hate to use the n-word, you know, niche.  However, Nintendo might become a niche player going forward selling to only the most ardent fans.  

Why did I get the 3DS if this is how I feel?  Well, call it the sentimental side of me. I really wanted to see what I consider to be Nintendo's first Internet and multimedia device can do.  So far, I've been impressed with the specs, the 3D screen (I've yet to deveoped headaches because I don't use it for a long period at a time, no games yet), and it's social features.

And I really want the 3DS to succeed.  

At this time, a lot of functions like the app store and the browser are not available and won't be for another quarter or so, May or June.  And I think that's a mistake but still, at least it's out the door.  And I hope the Mii functions can be expanded further, beyond just Wii.  We'll see if that aspect of my long list of features get fulfilled.  

I hope I'm wrong.  However, I hope I'm wrong.  Should sales continue to disappoint, you'll likely hear analysts clamoring for a price cut.  Nintendo will be stubborn but I think they'll capitulate this time around.  

More than just pricing, it's about the software.  I really want to see some spectacular ones if I'm going to be paying $40 a pop for them.  The 3D games I've played are nice but gimmicky.  

And not just games but the social network that Nintendo has created on the Wii.  Nintendo should embrace it and build on it.  Then it should market it with limited support on other platforms to give users a taste of what they are potentially missing.  Maybe even allow their Mii to automatically link up with their real Facebook account if possible.  

Nintendo is one of the most innovative company in the world.  Conservative yes but when it has something to wow us, it presents it in a big big way.  The 3DS is such a innovation but it comes at a time in a very complex and fast moving mobile gaming market.  I think we are mere scrapping the top of what 3DS do but it will have to move fast.  

Nintendo has said that the iOS devices are its greatest challenge going forward.  For now, I'd worry about the PSP

More at Electronista.

The Feeling Of "Something Better Around The Corner" Is More Prevalent With Android Than On Other Platforms

I like to say that I'm settled on the Optimus G2X but I cannot say with any great certainty.  When the G1 came out, who would know knew that a couple of years later, there would be dozens of Android handsets on the market and 8-10 high-end devices that I can easily be happy with.  And those are just the ones on the market.

Like the G2X for T-Mobile there are other ones that are coming in a few weeks.  Maybe In a Month or Two.  Optimus 3D.  Maybe even the HTC Pyramid.  I'm sure Droid 3 is also very enticing.  

You don't get this feeling on the other platforms.  The iPhone 4 is awesome but once it was out, you knew you're waiting at least a year before seeing another upgrade from Apple.  Pre is pretty much the same.  And RIM's Blackberries are...well...they're Blackberries until they migrate over to the new OS.

And WP7 is still trying to gain traction and it doesn't help that Microsoft is unable to issue an update to make it more competitive with Android and the other OS.  

So as I sat salivating about the G2X a cuple of days ago, then I learn that the Sasmung Galax S 2 might a better processor and possibly new screen.  Oh, and then there's the HTC Pyramid's higher resolution.  

Here's the thing. All these devices on the various platforms have their strengths and weaknesses.  But the bottom line is that we as mobile warriors are benefiting from a high competitive market.  But only on the Android can agonize over which models to pick from.

Xoom Versus Iconia Versus iPad 2 Versus Stuff Not Even On the Market Yet

You might know by now that Acer will be selling its new Iconia tablet, 10" running Android 3, Honeycomb, exclusively through Best Buy.  It's basically the same specs as the Xoom except for the looks.  What would you get?  Sticking with iPad 2 or waiting on the Playbook or Touchpad?

Let's focus on the WiFi versions of the tablets here since the Iconia is WiFi only.  The WiFi-only Xoom comes in at $600 on sale now at Staples while the Iconia won't be available until later in the month.  And Acer has priced it at a low low $450 with 16GB of storage.  That is $50 lower than the base iPad 2.  But the iPad 2 is the iPad 2, the standard bearer of the tablet market.  

Of the three, which should you get?  Or wait?

Well, as I mobile fan, I'm gonna be getting a Honeycomb device for sure but when the Xoom came out at $800 with the 3G version, it was priced out of the amount I was willing to spend.  And the $600 WiFi only certainly had me thinking, my hands-on with the Xoom make me wait a bit longer.  Honeycomb felt rushed and beta-ish and running Android apps on it was kind of icky.  There are hardly any apps but what I did see showed promise.  Just hoping Google will hurry it up and release an update already.

Back to the pricing issue a bit. Iconia will cost $450.  See, I would have jumped all over the Xoom at $500.  So, here's what I'm thinking at the moment.

Acer gears tend to reliable to a point.  You really have to take your chances with their laptops. You love it or you hate it.  My experience with their gears is that they can make decent laptops but they feel cheap.  Very plasticky.  But at a good price  Motorola's Xoom feels sturdier and, without testing the Iconia, I'm very worried about how cheap it'll feel.  Let's face it, it comes in at $450 so expect it to feel plasticky.  And it does weigh more than Xoom and a lot more than the iPad 2.  

If it's value, I will just on a $500 Xoom in a heart beat. Come late April and the Iconia does somehow live up to my expectation, that's what I'm getting. And that's the Android part. 

Now, Apple's iPad 2. You certainly cannot go wrong with the iPad 2.  You're get a premium device for a very good price.  I see people going with Android only because they cannot stand Apple and its way of doing business.  Me?  I'm okay with that.  But that's me.  And as a mobile fan, I love what Google and Android represents.  Android, is and never was, "open".  But it's an alternative to the iOS dominion so that's good enough for me.

And with the iPad 2, you know you'll always get Apple's best.  Nothing like the perpetual beta feel you get from Google at times.  

As for Playbook and Touchpad, well, we'll figure out more about them as they come along but with Iconia coming in below everyone else, I think we are looking at a pricing pressure in the Android tablet market even before everyone else is out with theirs (HTC, Samsung, LG).  It won't impact the iPad at all.  But it might hurt HP and RIM big time if they don't adjust to the market quickly.

For us mobile warriors, the Iconia, whether you like Android or not, represents competition.  And you gotta love that.  

Fast One-Core or Dual-Core Better For Mobile?

Apple's A5 and Nvidia's Tegra 2 have some fundamental similarities but what else they put into the design that makes all the difference.  A chef might add more pepper while I will go more salt.  Apple seems to focus on graphics and power management while Nvidia focus on something else, like its home-grown graphics technology.

At the end of the day, the A5, powering the current iPad 2, and the Tegra 2, the brains behind many Android tablets and phones, are both dual-chips.  But aside from the OS's themselves that might take advantage of the dual-core nature of the chips, there are not many apps that take advantage of them yet.  I reckon only a handful of iOS apps, probably games, take advantage of the A5 and none so far on the Android side.

They are both just too new.  So I wonder if some device makers would be prudent to go ahead and continue to design their gears around more efficient tried-and-true single core chips that may held the same user experience.

There could be advantages along this path.  So far, I think everything about dual-core could be just hype.  I see the advantages of dual-core in Apple's own iOS apps like iMovie and Garageband but outside of that, what?  Games?

See, for me, it's about efficiency and longer battery life.  And part of having a great mobile experience is being able to use your device how you want and when you want it without worry about the battery running out on you.  Designers can build systems that can throttle better based on the needs of the apps or users.  

And they can probably design single-core chips with higher clock-speeds that might even rival dual-core chips.  With the dearth of apps taking advantage of 2-core designs, an app running on a higher clocked single core chip allows faster completions of tasks versus the same app running on dual core chip but using only one core.

More efficient single core chip running at a higher clock speed means less power used.