9/06/2009

No perfect universal cell-phone so far to my own life

Using cell-phones is my profession. To understand how the cutting-edge of user interfaces and application technologies is evolving, I’m using three types of cell-phones: Apple’s i-phone, Google Android phone, and FOMA (i.e., docomo’s standard 3G cell-phones, developed by various manufacturers, branded by NTT docomo). Here is my personal summary.

i-phone (left in the picture)
Pros: fancy user interfaces, good integration with i-tunes, synchronization with Apple’s cloud service (http://www.me.com/), maturity of localized open application store
Cons: short battery durability (it cannot last one single day and not replaceable!), heavy weight (133g), no strap

Google Android phone (HTC’s phone, middle in the picture)
Pros: light weight(123g), wide variety of applications, battery charge thru a standard mini-USB, synchronization with Google’s applications(mail, calendar, address, etc.), good software architecture that allows background processes
Cons: no i-tunes, poor localization, small key-touch screen.

Docomo standard 3G phone (Panasonic phone, right in the picture)
Pros: light weight(122g), NFC(near field communication) for e-commerce, network-integrated services such as “earthquake and tsunami early warning system” , localized contents, carrier-operated quick mail system (not SMS), digital TV, long battery durability
Cons: poor integration with the Internet cloud applications (such as Apple’s mobileme, Google’s apps), small open application market

What I really need are 1. i-tunes, 2. Gmail, 3. Scheduler and address book synchronized with my assistant’s outlook, 4. Networked NFC for e-money , e-ticketing and security applications, 5. Earthquake warning system to survive, and 6. carrier-operated mail system that is not SMS but Internet-equivalent real-time one.

So far none of those can solely give the perfect answer. Thus I have been carrying the docomo standard phone and i-phone both.
This week I started to use Google phone. It is unexpectedly good. I’d rather like to use it in stead of i-phone. I found http://www.beyondpod.mobi/android/ for podcast services with my Google phone. It is working well without connecting to my PC. All the scheduled podcast (including video) self updated during midnight.

Buddy Runner (http://www.buddyrunner.com/ ) gives me a fun of running. It provides the capabilities of an expensive GPS enabled personal trainer on my Android phone. Bad news is that my andoroid phone is heavier than my ipod+Nike though, exact GPS measuring and automatic update is quite useful. The track record can be exported to FaceBook. I’m enjoying the combination of bluetooth connected audio and an armband cell-phone holder.

Velox provides me another fun of workout. See http://www.veloxgps.de/. The experience is marvelous. It shows biking statistics in realtime, which includes altitude, heading direction, pace in various durations, and Google map.

Localization (i.e., adaptation to Japanese) of Android phones is pre-mature, while English software stuffs are commodities and general population in Japan are behind the world. Android users at this moment must speak English.
Nevertheless, my Android phone (manufactured by HTC) is fitting to my life.

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