With the new job came a need for a new phone. The natural and obvious choice for me was the Verizon Droid 2. Why was it obvious? That’s easy: we are now replaying the ascendancy of Microsoft over Apple that culminated in 1995.
This time, Google is playing the part of Microsoft. Google has the more “open” platform. No, I’m not talking about open source. But I am talking about the fact that Android runs on far more platforms. Because of this, it is open for others to use, customize and extend. And this fact places Android in a position where it can claim both continuing market share growth as well as increasing developer loyalty.
Is Google still interested in a competitive advantage over Apple? Of course it is. And is Google gaining the attention of regulators as well as state and federal judiciaries? It most certainly is. If you’re not sure of this fact, just read the headlines.
But this is all political theater. For me, I wanted the platform that would be the most “open” to new apps and new possibilities. And I wanted a platform with more developers. While Android isn’t there just yet, it will be there very shortly. And for now, I can do everything I want with Android.
So here is my application manifest:
- Advance Task Killer: A good utility to kill errant processes
- Amazon Browser/Store: ‘Nuff said
- Astrid Tasks: A great (and simple) task manager
- Astro: A oool file manager for Android
- Astronomy Picture of the Day: Great pics make great backgrounds for my smartphone’s desktop
- Bookmarks to SD: Great bookmark manager for the Dolphin Browser
- Chrome to Phone: Post links from my desktop instance of the Chrome browser
- Congress: A phenomenal tool to know what your representatives are doing while in DC – and how to contact them (to provide praise or criticism)
- DailyBible: A great little verse-of-the-day program
- Dolphin Browser HD: A phenomenal browser
- Google Goggles: This tool allows you to take pictures and have your phone scour the Net for info about the picture you take.
- Google Voice: Great tool for consolidating your voice communications needs
- Kindle for Android: I love my Kindle – and I’m glad to have some of my books on my phone (e.g., the NIV Bible).
- Mobile Banking (for BoA): Great way to check your balances
- Seesmic: A great cross-platform Twitter client
- Shazam: An audio tool that can identify songs and even buy MP3 instances for your phone
- WordPress for Android: Blogging just got a whole lot more mobile
And these apps are just the apps that I’ve added. There are a plethora of apps that come on the Droid 2 itself. Chief among them is the Barcode Scanner. This app is fantastic. You can use it to scan any UPC symbols and bring up a wealth of important data – including where it can be purchased and for what price.
I’ve also been impressed with the Navigation tool. This tool allowed us to find a bike shop in Pittburg, Kansas. And it also let us know that the store was closed Saturday because the store was sponsoring the Gorilla Century Ride. Next year, I think I’ll have to do this ride with my son!
So am I psyched about my new phone? Absolutely, I am. Would I recommend it for other people? Well, I just bought another Droid 2 for my wife (who is replacing a BlackBerry Storm). So we now have double the pleasure of Android at the Olsen residence. So far, Cindy likes the phone almost as much as I do.
If you need a new phone, get an Android phone. If you need a phone with a real keyboard, consider the Droid 2.
-Roo