Android Smartphones

I've been looking for a smartphone to purchase in Italy while I am there the next week, which will then become my father's for his innumerable periodic business trips there.

I kinda got sick of visiting family for weeks on end and not being connected. I particularly suffer when there's great photos I want to share on Flickr and Twitter. Gotta have my priorities, ya know?

As a consequence, I'm surfing TIM and Vodafone websites, and learning as much as possible about Android (AT&T's info page) and Windows Phone 7.

So what's the brouhaha? Well mostly I've learned that Windows Phone 7 and Apple are looking at controlling use and vendors so the quality stays up. On the other hand, Android, allows for tons of user customization and applications to help you really have a phone that does exactly what you want it to do and in your preferred user interface.

I'm happy with my iPhone 3GS. Oddly enough, I haven't experienced the service outages or brown outs as others have. My phone works just fine for me and my needs. I'm mostly am (and was) drawn to the iPhone because it was an industry disruptor when it first came out, and because the interface is so clean and simple. Only a wide array of optional apps to help you tweak away.

I'd love to play with an Android, but all that customization would probably end up driving my dad crazy once I turn the phone over to him. The Windows Phone 7 sounds really tempting, but of course, the BSOD lurks like a bad joke in the back of my mind whenever I think about it. We will see what happens over the holidays phone wise in the market.

Meanwhile, wish me luck on my search for a smartphone for my trip...and for dad!

Finally! A Contender: Windows Phone 7

I'm not sure if I'm more antagonized by there being only two players in the field right now*cough*monopoly*cough*, or the chest-drumming nonsense I hear from people on either camp. But it's about time for there to be a third contender in the iPhone versus Droid war.

Microsoft Phone 7 is expected to arrive in November, and this past week has been ripe with media reports about all sorts of aspects of this new operating system and the rigorous requirements MS has put its manufacturers under (unlike Google, but in line with Apple).

Case in point is a great article by Wired, titled Why Windows Phone 7 Will Make Android Look Chaotic.

Here's what caught my attention early on in the article: "Each device must feature three standard hardware buttons...and before they can ship with Windows Phone 7, they have to pass a series of tests directed by Microsoft. (As I mentioned in a feature story about Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has created new lab facilities containing robots and automated programs to test each handset to ensure that features work properly and consistently across multiple devices.)" Looks like they're committing time and resources, good start!

And there's never harm in making the decision to buy a particular product over another a no-brainer for an overwhelmed or non-techie customer: "Most importantly, a consistent user experience will help customers understand what they’re getting when they’re shopping for a Windows phone. The OS is going to be the same with identical features on every handset, so as a consumer, your decision-making will boil down to the hardware’s look, weight and size. Compare that to the experience of buying an Android phone, which could be running a different version depending on the handset you buy: Donut, Eclair, Froyo, blueberry pie, Neapolitan or whatever Google chooses to call it eventually."

And the clincher in the article leaves us hungry for more, but makes a valid point: "...the Phone 7 user interface is refreshingly different compared to the siloed-app experience of iOS. But Apple is so far ahead in terms of cultivating a rich mobile ecosystem that I don’t think Steve Jobs needs to be sweating just yet." And I have no idea what they mean by a "rich mobile ecosystem"...is it the apps and iTunes...that sort of add-ons that build the phone up?

I will keep my eye out for additional tidbits on the Windows Phone 7, because I'm very, very glad there's a breath of fresh air in a stale, rut of a tug of war that's been going on between iPhone and Android for a couple of years now.

Quick Tip: Modifying Excel Styles

You ever wonder why, when you're typing away on your Excel spreadsheet, suddenly Excel formats something a way you don't like? Or that doesn't match your desired look/style?

I have this happen each time a hyperlink is formatted after I click on the space bar to activate it. The doggone hyperlinked text turns into Times New Roman 12 instead of crisp, clean Callibri font in 11 point size.

Why does this happen? Well it's not Excel's fault, it's just how the styles are formatted. And gladly, there's something you can do about it.

If you're using Excel 2007:
On the ribbon, on the Home tab, move your cursor up to the middle where it says Styles. Look for the third option to the right, called Cell Styles. The drop down will allow you to hover over a particular style, right click to open up the menu, and select modify. From there, you can change the style for pretty much anything that will show up on your spreadsheet, to your heart's content.

Never again fear that something will get automatically formatted in a way that defies your desired look!

MacBook Pro vs. Sony Vaio, An Update

The Laptop Wars!! Hardly.

So I've now been using my MacBook Pro for about four months and I still really like it. The learning curve was short because I watched as many Apple videos and read as many Windows-to-Mac switch articles as possible.

I especially enjoy the portability. My Mac is 13 inches, so I can slide it into my work bag and that's it! The battery is far far better than the (2007) Sony Vaio, so I often don't even take my charger with me. On the other hand, for my Vaio, I had to purchase a replacement charging cord because the one I had, suddenly started sparking at a section where it somehow got cut, while I was on the sofa with Benny (my dog). Eek. Talking about waking up from hiberantion in January, that really got my motor running that day. Luckily, no injuries to sofa or otherwise were had.

But would I give up the Sony to switch to Mac? No. I prefer to have two laptops for different purposes.

My Sony has all my movies (and the huge letterbox screen to watch them with) and all my music collection. I also use it to synch my iPhone. My documents and photos are stored on Dropbox so I can access them anywhere. My Vaio also has my Dreamweaver CS4 and Photoshop 7. So I do most of my web programming homework or on-the-side experiments there.

My Mac is used as an Internet appliance (as is my iPhone mostly!) where I just learn the Mac way, download interesting software, then uninstall it after I get bored with it, and just keep on trucking on my merry Apple-tinted web 2.0 way.

I still don't understand why the industry standard in graphic design is using Macs. The quality of pixels and art/design/layout can be modified using the same standards either in a Windows machine or a Mac. The software is the same (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign etc.). I'm sure there has to be a reason besides the eye candy and encapsulation convenience of Mac products. I certainly don't feel like taking up a full-time job working on web programming or design (either on a Mac or Windows), because, well for one I have been there and done that and didn't like it, and secondly, I like the flexibility of playing with these projects when the muse strikes and then moving on to something else.

As it regards the new delectable iPad...I'm not so sure I need it. I like reading paper books, because screen reading causes me eye strain--and boy, after editing pages and pages at work during the day, the last thing I need is more eye strain. And I know everything looks delicious on the iPad, but I see it just fine on my two laptops and iPhone.

I'm not into photo album features because I do just fine with Flickr. I'm not into newspaper reading, because I use feeds and stream my info in multiple fashion online (and on apps on my iPhone). And I can listen to Pandora and mp3s on my iPhone or laptops just fine right now. I'm not really seeing the point just yet. And importantly, I have a beef with finger smudges on slippery products--that's why I am now on my second rubber/non-slip cover for my iPhone.

What do you think about the Windows vs. Mac fight? Are you getting an iPad?