With the G1 coming out in less than two weeks, I’m tempted to jump carriers to T-Mobile in order to pick one up. However, Sprint will apparently be releasing their Android phone “early next year.” With my phone on it’s last legs, I really need to get a new one soon, and I don’t know if I can hold out long enough for Sprint’s Android. T-Mobile’s network is also kind of spotty (and no 3G coverage in Louisville at all) while I’ve never had an issue with Sprint’s network.
I recently got the Android SDK set up and I’ve begun working on my inital Android project. I’m not going to go into any details until I have something to show, but I’m hoping to have a good chunk of it written by the time the G1 releases in a couple weeks.
The Android SDK is really nice, and the documentation is excellent. The only thing that took me a little while to figure out was how to add an addition GUI file. For the record, if you add an xml file to the res/layout, Android will build it automatically.
I’ve also gotten Eclipse set up nicely, with Android and SVN integration. I just wish Ubuntu would get newer versions of Eclipse in the repositories so I don’t have to keep installing it manually.
A new version of the Android SDK, released earlier this week, also includes a newer version of the Android operating system in the emulator. This new version included several of the features that Google has been flaunting lately.
Streetview is there (though I can’t play with the compass in the emulator). I can emulate an SMS message, and I got two instances of the emulator to communicate with one another.
I’m really looking forward to Android’s release in a couple of months. I need a new phone, and I’m considering the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android. Android I think would be my ideal choice, but it’s not yet available, and as cool as the iPhone is, the lack of a physical keyboard annoys me. Add the fact that administering it from Linux would be a pain, and I’m not thinking too highly of it. If I had to buy a phone today, I think I’d go with a Blackberry Curve. It’s $150 from Sprint, and for $70/mo, I can get 450 minutes with unlimited data and text messaging, much better than the iPhone plan.
A video has cropped up that seems to be of the HTC Dream, the first handset that will run Google’s Android operating system. It does have the slide out keyboard that I liked from the Touch Pro, but doesn’t seem quite as nice overall. That said, I’ll gladly take it if it does indeed run Android. I’m hoping that Sprint will offer it, but at the moment, I’ve only heard of it being offered on T Mobile.
I’ve been following Android for a while now, but the less I heard about it (and the more it got delayed) the more I looked into alternatives. I almost broke down and bought the iPhone 3G, but decided to at least wait until I got back to Kentucky to make a decision on it. Then, yesterday, I saw a forum post stating that an Android beta build had been installed on an HTC TyTn II, and again my interest in the project was back.
HTC is supposedly going to be making one of the first Android phones, so I poked around on their website, and quickly discovered what I want in an Android phone. The HTC Touch Pro looks amazing, and features a physical keyboard, which is a big plus for me. One of my main turn-offs on the iPhone was the touchscreen keyboard, which didn’t seem optimal for typing out emails or text messages.
Sadly, the HTC Touch Pro only runs Windows Mobile 6.1, but I’m hoping someone figures out a way to load Android onto the thing. It’s much thicker than the iPhone (to accomidate for the real keyboard) and only has 512MB of internal ROM (but has a Micro SD slot), but if I could get Android running on it, the hackibility would make up for it’s shortcomings. It also features a front-facing camera, which can allow for video chat, and all the extra goodies that I’d expect in a smartphone (GPA, Wifi, etc.) and a few that I didn’t (FM Radio and TV Out).
The phone isn’t yet available, so I can’t play with one yet, but I’ll try once it comes out here in the states. Apparently, it will be through Sprint, so I wouldn’t have to change carriers. I’d really like to know if it will be upgradable to Android once it is released, because I don’t want to buy a phone now that I won’t be able to run Android on later.
