I'd have to agree with much of what you've written here. The hardware for the Droid is tempting: 5MP, 854x480 screen res, sliding keyboard, microSD slot.
But the Android 2.0 operating system is still not as impressive or good-looking compared to the Palm Pre. It's still plain ugly..better but still ugly.
Interviews, buzz, rants, serious articles and questionable opinions
Google Android 2.0 gets reviewed - it's great (mostly)
by on Wednesday 04 November 2009 2 Comments
Gadget site Gizmodo has posted a very lengthy review of Android 2.0, together with lots of screenshots of Google’s new smartphone operating system. The gist of the review is that this update is a major improvement over the version that first shipped a year ago and, together with new features like Google Maps 2.0, should attract increasing numbers of users once it starts appearing on smartphones in the next month or so.
The most obvious change is the user interface and the clumsy, confusing clutter that we first saw on the T-Mobile G1 has been replaced with a much cleaner, crisper design.
It’s still not perfect, but Gizmodo reckons that the main reason for the fiddly aspects is the multitasking nature of the operating system and the need to manage multiple open applications — something that the Palm Pre nailed with its ‘card’ concept and the iPhone doesn’t have to worry about.
The integration of contacts and messages from different email and social networking sites is also singled out for praise and this looks like a feature that will be found in all serious smartphone operating systems before too long.
Support for multiple Google and Microsoft Exchange email accounts is now built into the native Gmail application too, but these don’t get a combined inbox — each account is kept separate. Another annoyance is that the Calendar application can only use data from one Google account, which isn’t much use if you keep separate work and personal accounts.
Android 2.0’s web browser also appears to be much improved, but Gizmodo reckons that it doesn’t support pinch-to-zoom on the multi-touch screen — this feature is supposed to be included, so maybe it just hasn’t been implemented yet.
Multimedia syncing is still non-existent and the media player is ugly and buggy, neither of which will appeal to anyone who’s used to the seamless music and video support offered by the iPhone and iTunes. Android Market also lacks applications that support Android 2.0 devices’ higher resolution screens, though that’s hardly a surprise since Google only released the necessary development software last week.
Gizmodo’s conclusion is that if you’re plugged into Google for much of your online life then Android 2.0 will really float your boat, but it still lacks the sophistication of the iPhone and Palm Pre. Those are companies that have lots of experience in designing user interfaces, of course, so given the improvements that Android 2.0 seems to offer, it seems logical to assume that Google will get there — eventually.
[ Gizmodo]
Originally published on www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk, now incorporated into Broadband Genie
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@mobileview:
What you are forgetting to mention is that most users download a "home replacement" app. These apps completely allow the user to customize every aspect of what the UI looks like. Android is open source, so it's potential is only limited by developers. As long as they stop putting android in phones with small processors (my g1), and start thinking out the hardware a phone really needs for multitasking, etc....they will undoubtedly be the new standard in mobile operating systems. check out the xperia x10 w/ android.
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