Life with an Android
I've have never been a really an HTC fan, because of the platform they used before, I have been a Ericsson GA628, SH888, then Sony Ericsson fanboy for all my life T39m, K700, K800i , so this is my first attempt into using a different brand of phone , I've been wanting an Open Phone for ages.. but I've been waiting for Godot, er the openMoko, for way to long now so with the introduction of the HTC and my K800i being long overdue for a replacement.
The Good,
So in gereral I`m pretty satisfied with my HTC Hero so far, it's quick/reactive , the wifi has good reception , screen quality is good, the touch screen however will take some time to get used to .. it already happened a couple of times that I accidently started calling the wrong person while I was still browing trough the addressbook. But in short .. I like the phone ..
However there's lots of people out there warning us that the Android isn't really an Open phone, true, lots of the software on it is proprietary, and lots of the software in the Market is cripple or pay ware. However imvho it's a step in the good direction going from a fully closed phone so something already more open...
The Bad
The volume button is to easy to use when in your pocket , hence putting the phone on silent by walking around is not unusable and Camera Autofocus is pretty bad .. no I'm not comparing to my EOS 400D, but to my previos Ericsson phone. the quality of the pictures is shaky and there is no way to cover the lens.
As for the The Ugly I'd have to say Bluetooth support, hey I want to be able to browse / download my addressbook from my Phone to my Bluetooth enabled car , this is a feature I had on my previous phone, and the phone before that ..I want to be able to upload and download files over Bluetooth, works on both my previous phones , I want to be able to send phonebook entries over bluetooth .. so that's pretty much my biggest annoyancy
(unless someone knows solutions for this ?)
So when will Sony Ericsson release their Android in Europe ? I`m hoping they'd keep the features they already had on their previous phones , so I`m hoping for better camera and better bluetooth support ..
We have come a long way for Linux to be present in our daily life , even for Joe Average, at home we watch TV using MythTV, my alarm is a Chumby, the phone in my downstairs office is a TuxScreen ... So I`m wondering when I finally will get a car that is running Linux,
Comments
#1 Gert : The Camera Problem
I partially solved the camera problem on my HTC Magic by installing the SnapPhoto app.
It solves the lack of autofocus, its not perfect, but its a lot easier to make half decent pictures with it.
Doesnt solve the problem of taking pictures in darker environments though.
#2 Zombie : Way ahead of you...
Way ahead of you... ;-)
http://www.autonews.com/article/20081023/COPY/310239911/1182/ane
"The open-source Linux system was created by BMW, Wind River Systems Inc. and Intel Corp. for the in-vehicle infotainment market."
Ok, I'm lying, the generation of iDrive in my car runs VxWorks.
But my Nokia N900 is pre-ordered...
#3 Kris Buytaert : Thnx, but no thnx
I should have listed some exceptions of brands I already have extremely bad experience with .. like "Bucht Met Wielen" :)
My wife had one a couple of years ago ... never again :)
#4 Zombie : Funny, I'm driving my third
Funny, I'm driving my third and never did I have even the least problem with one. Most reliable brand according to some roadside assistance company's stats I read a couple of years ago.
And yes, BMW uses Linux in their IT set-up.
#5 Litrik De Roy : FWIW: The bluetooth support
FWIW: The bluetooth support has been enhanced in Android 2.0.
#6 Peter Vandenabeele : Android on htc G1 (Proximus)
Bluethooth downloading of my contacts to my Parrot car set works perfectly automagic for me.
The camera does only works for large area, still shots outside (inside absolutely unusable).
The problem I have with the Proximus/Android set-up is that even basic gsm/sms roaming is totally broken in e.g. UK every time and it was broken in France one time out of three. Also putting in a local UK SIM did nothing at all.