It has been about a month now, and I am enjoying my new Android based Motorola Atrix. For those who keep score, Google announced April 28th that the Android Market just surpassed the number of free apps in the Apple App Store. [Just like with Apple however there are a lot of apps that I personally have no use for and subscribe to what I call “The Because I Can School Of Development”.] Pretty much, most of what Apple has available in the app store is also available in the Android Market. There are however 3 additional app stores out there so unlike Apple, I have choice where I shop.
My new phone has a fingerprint security system, handles my email (including Exchange) needs, has all kinds of kitchy gadgets for the techy and I find it just plain fun. It also has a great feature for those of us who tend to lose things. Even when in silent mode, I can send a signal to my phone to ‘ring loudly’ to help me find it. If it is stolen, I can either wipe the system remotely and/or even brick it.
My phone is location aware [seeing as the GPS chip in all phones has been reporting my location for years – now I get something] When I get into my car, it turns off my WI-FI and turns it back on when I get out. When I am home, it connects to my home WI-FI and at the office my business WiLAN to save on my mobile data. It knows when I am at my trailer and shuts down WI-FI and the ringer for anyone but family and friends. It knows what day of the week it is and blocks calls except for family and friends [and flagged clients]. At night, it does not ring or ding any alerts except from family. Alarms however are unaffected, so I can always get a wakeup call or a meeting alarm reminder.
It reads and updates word, excel and powerpoint files as well as reading PDF’s with a nifty inexpensive app and it, as I found out yesterday, sends me Environment Canada weather alerts thru Weather Bug if hazardous weather conditions are anticipated [again tailored to my phone’s location at the time].
There is lots of power behind this Dual Core machine and apps are quite responsive. Battery life could be enhanced, but I am told that a patch was just released for AT&T Atrix users that improves things people complained about. I suspect Bell will get the patches after Verizon and T-Mobile. As with any new bleeding edge technology there are glitches, but I am finding that the pluses outweight the minuses.
The unit can be hooked to a display or TV thru a HDMI cable and can play video in full 1080p resolution. The display screen is clear for a handheld device and is also capable of incredibly clear crisp video.
I’m not sure if the Android Phone is for everyone, I’d actually hate to think it is. Nevertheless, my technically challenged sister has got one as well and I guess it can’t be all that hard if she is embracing it. Like hard core Apple, Windows Phone 7 & Blackberry users, Android has a particular following. I have been a hardcore BB user for about 10 years, but this phone has won me over to/from the dark side [depending on your point of view].
About the Silicon Halton Blogger
Joel has 33 years experience consulting on data integration, B2B, B2C, EDI, ERP, and specialized software solutions for small business in Canada, USA, and throughout the Caribbean. He has experience with retail supply chain, franchiser software, metered billing and homegrown software solutions. Joel Baines, PMP. joel.baines@cogeco.ca