The Androids are Invading the Smart Phone Market Near You

Are you amazed at all the smart phone choices, calling plans, and announcements when it comes to iPhones, Google Phones, Droid Phones, Blackberries, and clones? If so, you can join the club. We’ve been busy studying these things since they were on the drawing boards, and it’s hard to keep up with even spending 2-hours a day studying all the new happenings in the industry and all the reviews out there. In the end however, it is not the branding, marketing, or advertising which will determine the winners and losers in the market rather it’s you; the consumer, customer, and user.

Recently, a personal tech guru of the smart phone technology space noted in his weekly column some interesting insights into just how the smart phone market was heating up in 2010. In his article Michael Martin wrote a piece; “A Veritable Army of Androids Coming this Year,” as we was discussing how HTC and other companies were going to mass produce Google Nexus One like clones running the Google operating system, all with similar features and a $100s of dollars less than Apples 3GS iPhone of Google’s own Nexus One.

Michael Martin noted that we could see at least a 100 (that’s right 100, and he even listed the names of these smart phone models in his article) “android phone choices worldwide scheduled to be made available in 2010.” Amazing, so here comes the invasion of the Androids, wow – and although things are about to get even more complicated, at least all the prices will be coming down now.

Motorola Droid – Is it Really Worth $200

Well, it certainly looks like Motorola’s Droid, the first major Android 2.0 smart phone is getting some decent reviews, although it’s also getting a bit of criticism, and at least one major personal tech device reviewer is claiming that the “flattened keyboard” is difficult to type on, yet, I did not find it difficult myself, rather simply awkward which I assume is because I just wasn’t used to that. If you are moving from a regular cell phone to Motorola’s Droid it is a big move in technology.

Is it worth the $200, well, I’d say it is compared to its competing smart phones and their applications.  It is pretty cool looking and a big screen for a smart phone 3.7 inches, with decent backlighting, making it workable in bright daylight too. Personally, I thought the resolution of the screen was much better when I put them side-by-side, although a gal (daughter of a yuppie) next to me tried to convince me that her Apple iPhone was “Way Better – Way!” and I’m like whatever, look, this Motorola Droid is much crisper, and quite frankly it’s a nicer product, at least for what I need.

Indeed, I found the surfing to be fast, and you could move from screen to screen navigating quite quickly, and if you are using Gmail – whooya! You will enjoy this phone. Someone told me it was a little heavier than the iPhone? And I’m like so what? Why, are you so weak you can’t pick up something that is a half-a-pound? Please, this is a very nice phone, so, I’m giving this one my highest rating, or maybe a fraction under a perfect 10. Most of the buyers I met seemed to be quite excited with their purchases and were then considering their choice for the data smart cell phone plan.

Google Nexus One Versus Apple 3GS – Which Do I Choose

Boy these are both great phones, and this is the new technology here in the present period, both game changers in the smart phone space – no doubt about that. But which is better, or is it more of just a taste of preference? Well, on first glance you will note that the Google Nexus One offers a larger screen (3.7 inches), whereas the Apple has a 3.5 inch, so not too much difference there, but it is noticeable. And the Motorola Droid also has a 3.7 inch screen and it is very crisp. I’d say Apple 3Gs falls in that regard, but of course, that’s only one aspect, let’s discuss the rest shall we?

The resolution of the screen is the big key, that’s what makes the Google Nexus One my favorite, it’s far superior to the Apple 3GS, no comparison, hands down, beats it in that regard. Of course, Motorola’s Droid falls in between the these two on resolution and crisp’ness. And the NexusOne is much faster on the surfing speed, impressively faster actually. And when using the mapping software portion, well, the NexusOne rocks.

The One Gigahertz processor of the Google Nexus is a substantial difference to me, and it shows during navigation, and it allows the Nexus One to maintain the speed along with the resolution. The battery life and talk time of Google’s Nexus One is cool some 7-hours, I am told, although I have not tried it, a gal I met with an iPhone tells me she gets 4 and a half to five hours of talk time on her iPhone.

If I had to choose, I’d go with the Google Nexus one, especially as the 4G wireless becomes more available, because WOW, then it would be super awesome. In the meantime, I wonder how long it will be until Apple responds, and betters Google’s best? Let’s face it, this war for the best smart phone continues.

Using an Android based phone as a gaming platform

One of the best thing about living in the modern day world, is that you can take your entertainment with you, wherever you go. Sure you do not want to get so caught up in your entertainment choices that you forget to interact with regular human beings. But in moderation, it is nice to have the choice. The days are gone when you would have to ride the bus or an airplane and only have a book or magazine to read. Now you can watch movies or TV shows that you pick while you fly 30,000 feet in the air. But one of the best things that have come along in the mobile space, is the ability to play good looking 3D games on your cell phone. You do not have to buy a separate unit to play quality games anymore. You can just pull out of your cell phone and take your pick. Even though it has been out a short amount of time, an Android based phone is becoming the best one to pick for gaming purposes.

One of the best things about the IPhone was it’s ability to play quality games and the large amount of software titles that were available in the app directory. You could use the phone as a replacement for the PSP and not miss a step. Now the Android phones have caught up and maybe even surpassed what the IPhone can do. Especially the latest hardware that has been released. The hardware has been increased so that 3D games run on the platform at higher speeds than the IPhone and almost comparable to a playstation 2. With a combination of an increase of the CPU and the GPU, this proves that Google is taking gaming on the platform very seriously.

Another advantage that Apple had with their IPhone, was the amount of software titles that were available for the phone. They had almost all of the big name publishers creating games for their phones exclusively. But the Android phones are closing this gap as well. The library of games is still not as large as the library for the IPhone but it is getting there. All of the major publishers are creating games for both platforms right now. They see the Android as a proven technology now, and they do not want to miss getting on the bandwagon. Plus, with the hardware that the Android has now, publishers can make their games look closer to the console versions better than they can with the IPhone.

Publishers are getting serious when it comes to the line of Android based phones. They see it as a serious rival to the IPhone. But not only the IPhone, but the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP as well. If you want to be able to game mobile without carrying two devices with you, then take a serious look at an Android phone. Your next game machine might be a cell phone.

Android 2.0

Here’s a look at what’s available for developers in the new Android 2.0 API. Take a look at the video and see the cool new upgrades in Sync, Bluetooth and more. Android is going to take over the wireless world pretty quick, and I think companies running their own systems, like the iPhone, are going to be pushed out of the market as the application developers move away from those platforms to work on Android apps.

Visit www.calling-plans.com if you’re looking for a new android enabled phone. Verizon and TMobile are currently offering Android enabled phones, including phones from LG and HTC.

Free Android Droid Eris, Today Only

Wirefly is giving away Droids today. If you are a Verizon Wireless customer, or would like to become one, today is the day to do it. Wirefly is giving new and renewing Verizon customers, the chance to get free Droid Eris’ from HTC. The Droid Eris is Android Enabled, so you will be able to take advantage of Google’s many cool apps that are now available for that Android operating system.

MyTouch 3G is Here

MyTouch3G, the second phone that uses the Android platform from T-Mobile has recently been launched. San Francisco witnessed a skydiving party that celebrated the launch of this latest Android phone. The phone is available both online and in stores. www.cnet.com reports that this device is the sequel to G1 and comes after 10 months of the first T-Mobile Android phone.
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