Pocketables

Have you picked your ecosystem yet?

You know, this month has been pretty crazy when you consider new operating system announcements. Microsoft is set to release its developer preview of Windows 8 during Mobile World Congress at the end of this month, and Apple just announced its developer preview of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Meanwhile, Google's "operating system" is basically the Google homepage: from there, you can access your email, social networks, documents, and any information you'd ever need to know. 

All three big players in the mobile space offer apps and services across traditional desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Apple has iCloud, Microsoft has its Windows Marketplace and Live services, and Google has its Google apps. As of right now, most of these can be used across all devices (with the exception of Apple's "Find my iDevice") but you get the absolute best experience when you combine the service with the respective company's products. 

Read on to find out why I think now is the perfect time to pick an ecosystem.

Google Chrome for Android screenshot tour

For quite a while now, people have been speculating that Google might bring the full version of Chrome to Android to replace and improve the default browser. While they did open source the stock browser last year, when Android 4.0 shipped with a newer version of the Android browser instead of full-on Chrome, many gave up hope in the rumored Chrome for Android.

However, it turns out the stock browser was only intended for temporary use, as today the Chrome team announced a limited availability beta of the full version of Chrome for Android. It only runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but luckily I had my Galaxy Nexus handy today, and was able to take it for a spin.

Join me past the break to see what Google's idea of mobile browser innovation looks like.

How to completely reinvent RIM

I would be surprised if you didn't know where those four "superheroes" came from. They're from a marketing stunt that RIM pulled: these superheroes represented people's goals and how a BlackBerry could help those people achieve them. As you can see, they're ugly as sin. They also don't have noses, which is probably why they can't smell the stink from the company they're trying to save. 

I'm not saying that RIM's products are bad. What I am saying, though, is that its corporate policies and doings are horrible. When Thorsten Heins took the reins, one of his first announcements was that RIM was going to stay on the same path that it was already on when Lazaridis and Balsillie were at the helm! 

Plenty of other journalists and bloggers have already given their recommendations on how to fix RIM, like new management and flashy products. But I believe part of the problem is that RIM is still RIM. How about a complete reinvention of the company and brand names that go with it? 

DMCA exemption on rooting will expire soon, EFF requests action

Although there are many gadget users know what rooting and jailbreaking are, only a few are likely aware of the legal implications of the act. Up until 2010, unlocking your device in any way was technically a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, and could carry stiff penalties if you were convicted. Fortunately, in 2010 an exemption to the law was added that made unlocking the devices that you own completely legal.

However, that exemption is set to expire in the near future, which would mean that rooting would go back to being a crime. Even though I'm sure users don't want to commit crimes, the ability freely to modify the devices you own at your own discretion certainly seems like a right that you should have.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation feels the same way, and has set up a page where users can comment on the situation directly through the Copyright office. In addition to asking that the exemption be renewed, the EFF is also hoping to get things like tablets and game consoles explicitly included in the ruling. 

As I'm sure you all want to keep your right to use the devices you own, I urge you to follow the source link to the EFF's page and do your part to make sure rooting stays as legal as it should be.

[EFF via Good and Evo]

How tied are you into your respective smartphone or tablet ecosystem?

So you're buying up a ton of apps on your Galaxy Nexus. Or your iPhone 4S. Or even your Lumia 710. But a couple of years go by, and you're ready to upgrade. You look at all of your options, but since you've already poured an insane amount of money into your ecosystem of choice, you just can't bring yourself to leave. 

Every operating system is guilty of keeping its users locked. If I had to total up my entire spendings on the iPhone App Store, I wouldn't be surprised if it was over $250 already. I've been using an iPhone since the 3G model, so that's not too outrageous of a guess. 

If I found a phone with the same build quality with the same materials (there is something amazing about glass touching your hands) running Windows Phone or Android, I would love to switch. iOS is going downhill and fast. But at the same time, I can't help but feel that I would lose money by switching to another platform: I would have to re-purchase all of my apps, which would total about what I had already spent, plus the price of the new phone. 

Then again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I look at the money too closely. But I'm still curious: do you feel that you're "locked-in" to a particular app ecosystem because of how much you've already spent for apps? Would you have any reservations about switching now? 

Forget the thinnest smartphone, I want better battery life

The Motorola Droid Bionic isn't anywhere near to prettiest phone out there. In fact, compared to current offerings it seems downright fat. However, one thing it does have going for it is the fact that it can work through a full day with 4G LTE turned on the entire time, something that at least the HTC Thunderbolt I've used couldn't do.

Now, I haven't tested the Droid RAZR, and the RAZR MAXX promises to be a whole different story when it comes to LTE battery life.  Still, I have realized something in my short time with the Droid Bionic. I don't really mind its extra thickness or weight, especially since it affords the opportunity for better battery life than many other devices I have seen, even with stock MotoBlur running.

I know this same effect can be had with aftermarket batteries and covers that are available for most Android devices, but usually those are obtrusive, heavy, and ruin the intended look of the phone. Sure, they work, but although it may be arbitrarily restrictive I really prefer to keep my devices looking the way the manufacturer intended.

To get back to the point of all of this, I don't think it would hurt if manufacturers made their devices just a little bit thicker but packed in larger batteries. Yes, the RAZR MAXX does have both impressive battery life and thinness, but just a few extra millimeters could possibly have added hours of use time.

Making the thinnest smartphone is still all well and good, and I am by no means saying that device makers should stop striving to make devices thinner. All I really want to get across is that thickness (or "thinness," as some manufacturers prefer to call it), is not the only thing that matters. If a manufacturer has to choose between making a really thin phone or having stellar battery life, I would say to go with the battery life. What do you think?

Manufacturers, please update your updating beliefs

Contrary to popular belief, I love Android. I really do. I want to watch it continue to gain market share and give the other big players a run for their money. And even after what happened today with Samsung and some of its customers, I still love Android the operating system.

What I don't love, however, are the manufacturers that use Android to their advantage. Android is an open platform, and I think that the fact that I can customize it to my liking is phenomenal. But that's also Android's biggest downfall, as manufacturers have the same thought process as me. 

If there was any doubt that fragmentation exists, I think Samsung's move today squashed it. I know that all of you that are reading this article just root your devices anyway, but think about the average consumer, and even the slightly above-average ones, too. I doubt any of those people root and flash custom ROMs, but I don't doubt that they know about software updates. If they follow gadget sites (like this one) they've probably heard of the newest iteration of Android, too, and wonder when they'll get it. 

When it doesn't come, what happens to those consumers' mindsets about Android as a whole? Samsung's move could potentially hurt HTC and Motorola handset sales, and eventually, those 20 million Galaxy S owners leave for another platform. Read on to find out what could possibly happen to the green guy if manufacturers don't get their stuff together.

Why I don't buy Android apps from the Android Market

I love apps. In fact, apps are probably my favorite thing about any smartphone; without them, the smartphone is just a phone with a web browser, in my opinion. 

There are two app stores that I visit every single day: Apple's App Store, and Google's Android Market. Each of them have their highs and lows, but there is one thing that they differ on: PayPal payments.

Apple's App Store ties directly in with your Apple ID, which is used for iTunes, App Store, and even Apple Online Store purchases, so PayPal is accepted. However, Google's Android Market ties in with whatever Google wants, and since Google is starting to get into the payment market, PayPal and some other payment options aren't accepted. Read on to hear me out on why I think Google needs to accept PayPal, too.

HP finally does the right thing: WebOS is now open source

WebOS has had quite an interesting life. It was developed by Palm to run the Pre, but smartphone and its successors were hardly successful. When the Pre failed, HP bought a floundering Palm and promised to bring the OS to a plethora of devices, everything from printers, to smartphones, to the all important tablet.

What looked like a promising new beginning quickly disintegrated into confusion. When the TouchPad failed to impress, HP announced that they would be killing both it and the yet unreleased Opal and possibly WebOS as well, leading to a firesale of unsold tablets. This reignited interest in WebOS, and sparked rumors of an acquisition by both HTC and Samsung. HP didn't appear to know what they planned to do with the software, but was putting some thought into the fate of WebOS.

And there you have the story of WebOS, the open source fourth player in the iOS/Android/WP7 wars. Its story could have ended here, had HP decided to simply kill off the brand. Fortunately for everyone, today they announced that far from killing, they will actually be open sourcing the WebOS software.

What this means is that developers will now have access to the full source code of the software, allowing them to make custom versions for different devices, much like they can with Android. The community will also be able to modify and create updates for existing WebOS devices, but HP is planning to retain the final say on updates for official WebOS hardware.

Even with HP still technically in charge of official updates, the current potential for WebOS is now huge. Not only can fans make ROMs for their favorite devices, manufacturers could potentially make their own devices based on WebOS much the same way they do with Android. 

It remains to be seen how many people will get behind the newly open source WebOS, but I certainly think that HP made the right decision here. Instead of keeping WebOS locked up in house where nothing would be done with it, they released it to the many eager developers waiting to make something out of it. The Linux-based OS now has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see what people make out of it.

[Mashable]

All may not be well if the AT&T/T-Mobile deal falls through

When we learned yesterday that AT&T’s bid to purchase T-Mobile would likely fall through, almost anyone with a smarthpone probably uttered a sigh of relief. If AT&T is allowed to buy T-Mobile, it will be a huge blow to customers, especially those who need to use GSM devices for one reason or another.

Now that the deal is probably going to be blocked, everything should go back to normal, right? We can continue enjoying the competition that T-Mobile’s lower prices offer. Well, things not might turn out quite that well because of two things: AT&T's promised actions if it gets T-Mobile, and AT&T’s agreed payout to T-Mobile if the deal falls through.