[crapdroid] Point of no return!

Ok. Maybe this is due to my noobness on the platform, but I also asked a couple of "veteran" android users I know and they couldn't help me get through this issue...

If you have more than one browser installed on your phone (and that's pretty common since Google Chrome is faaar better than native browsers that ship with most android phones) you surely have faced, sooner or later, the choice shown in the following screenshot:

If you accidentally (or intentionally) select the "Use by default for this action" option, then you're doomed. Your destiny is written forever! You'll never be able to change your mind! :)

No, really, I haven't found a way to undo this choice!

I know it can't be true. I'm sure there must be a way (or at least a better way than removing the default app from your phone!) to undo this choice, but I haven't found it so far...

If you know it, please let me know and I'll remove this "crapdroid alert". Otherwise, it's pure crap! :p

Crapdroid after a month (in italian)

Un mese di Android dopo anni di iOS. Tiriamo qualche somma (temporanea)....

Ok. Si possono fare cose che su iOS son vietate: montare il device come un drive, collegarci periferiche USB, mandare file via Bluetooth, mettere un'intera canzone da 5 minuti come suoneria e via discorrendo...
Ma quindi? Mandare un file via BT lo trovo un po' retro' con tutte le possibilità alternative che si hanno (via wifi, creandola ad hoc come hot spot se non ne hai nei paraggi). Collegare il telefono alla TV via HDMI si fa pure con l'iPhone e con l'iPad. Attaccarci un drive per, che so, leggerne i file e vedere un film: mah! un attimino scomodo!

Si possono fare anche tante altre cose da smanettoni (ed io lo sono), per carità. Puoi farne il root (ma a sto punto il cfr andrebbe fatto con iOS JB) e installare un'app che incasina la rete wifi su cui sei connesso e altre amenità del genere. Va bene!

Tante cose positive (?) su android, ma cosa si perde? Secondo me (e parlo da sviluppatore pluriennale sia su win che su linux che, da meno, su Mac e iOS) si perde in qualità e ottimizzazione. Un esempio? Il mio HTC è una scheggia rispetto all'iPhone 4. Qualsiasi benchmark gli dà 3-4 volte il punteggio che ottengo con l'iPhone. Poi apri il browser (quello di sistema dopo aver tolto Flash oppure Chrome che, guarda caso, viaggia già senza Flash), carichi una pagina non ottimizzata per mobile, di quelle con tanti articoli più o meno lunghi nella stessa pagina, fai un doppio tap su un articolo e? Su iPhone hai un bello e fluido zoom che ti porta a leggere il testo che ti interessa nel miglior modo possibile sul piccolo device. Sull'HTC hai una zoomata orrenda (a scatto, quasi a serramanico direi!) e non sempre il livello di zoom è quello giusto per vedere il contenuto che ti serve.

Altri esempi? Prova a leggere una mail HTML tipo quelle che ti manda eBay. Sull'HTC non c'è verso di andare a un livello di zoom corretto per leggerla a tutta larghezza! Il client di twitter non ti fa ingrandire un'immagine neanche a pagarlo! E su iOS il client ufficiale è una fetecchia rispetto a Tweetbot o a Twittelator, che su Android non ci pensano nemmeno ad andare. Idem per lettori di news belli come Flipboard o The Early Edition. L'unico vagamente decente (che sta anche su iOS ovviamente) è NewsRepublic!

E che dire della pubblicità che, invece di essere limitata alla singola app (gli iAd e simili) ti rompe con notifiche push che non c'è modo di rimuovere singolarmente se non dopo root?!

Giudizio parziale ad un mese? L'hardware dell'HTC è eccezionale! La parte fotografica fa impallidire l'iPhone. Lo schermo e il design sono fantastici! Se solo ci girasse iOS invece di Android… :D

Battle of voices

The Verge has just published a nice video contest between Apple's Siri and Samsung's S Voice.
AFAICT there's no full winner, though Siri seems a bit more akin to speaking than its counterpart...

Don't miss S Voice's misunderstanding at minute 4:10! LOL! :D

[updroid] Super-fast camera!

And here's my first updroid post!

Actually, this is very HTC One S specific: the camera of this smartphone is lightning fast! It takes less than a second (it's marketed as less than half a second!) to turn on and be ready to shoot!
And once you shoot a photo there's no closing shutter animation that steals your precious time blocking you from shooting again.
Furthermore, you have both buttons to take a photo AND to start recording a movie in the same screen. You can start recording, stop, take some pictures, start recording again, all without the tedious closing shutter animation that annoys you on the iPhone!
But that's not all! You can even take pictures (full-sized pictures) WHILE recording!


Believe me. I'm a great iPhone fan, but these features are incredibly enjoyable and I really miss them on my iPhone...

This is something that's hardware related too, but mainly it's android's openness that allows phone producers to create such personalized user experience. So hail to android this time!

PS
You can find all the details about the HTC One S here.

Crapdroid and Updroid

As you may have noticed from my previous posts (not to mention from my apple man icon!), I'm "a bit" biased in the iOS-vs-Android war! :)
Anyway, since I'm not close-minded at all (why would I be trying out an android device otherwise?), I decided to clearly classify my posts using two simple words as title openers:

• "crapdroid" for all my posts that criticize the google-centric mobile platform
• "updroid" for all my posts that highlight those situations where android shines

I will also tag my posts using these words, so you will easily filter the two kinds of posts.

Screenshots

I admit it, this is not the first and most important feature you look for in a smartphone, but as long as you plan to blog about your user experience with it, you definitely NEED to take snapshots!

A rapid search on google surprised me with a strange result: you need to root (droidian word for jailbreak) if you want to take screenshots!

Fortunately, a droidian friend told me this was only  true until few months ago (and not on all droid devices), but by now android has evolved (?) and you're allowed to take snapshots with a simple key press combination (as long as ICS, the latest droid incarnation, can be installed on your device).

So, to take snapshots, you just keep pressed the power button and the volume down button for more than a second! Wow! Amazing! :)

Unfortunately, while this shortcut works fine (according to this droidian friend of mine) on an Asus tablet, this can just kill my HTC One S (and yours if you have one) in some cases!!! :(

Yes! Taking snapshots in this way (that's the official Android ICS way) can hang your brand new super cool device! Wanna know how? Are you sure? Ok! I'll tell you! But please don't do this at home and don't blame me if you lose some precious work while trying it! ;)

So, open the browser, load any page and take a snapshot. Now, rotate your device, wait for the UI (User Interface) to rotate with it and then take another snapshot. Voila! Your device will hang for a few seconds and then declare default and reboot! Ain't that amazing?! :D

I've experimented something like 3 or 4 forced reboots on my iPhones over the last 4 years, and just one day was sufficient to experiment one on my brand new aDevice!

Anyway, a few google searches later, I discovered another (maybe HTC only, I'm not sure) way to take snapshots that doesn't have this issue. Let's see if you can guess what's the combined key press shortcut that allows you to take snapshots without any fear? A little hint: think iOS...

Yeah! You got it! Press the power button and then the (touch-only) home button! That's it! How couldn't I think this before??? :)

Why not?

It all started in 2008 for me, with my first iPhone. It was an iPhone 3G, the first to be released in Italy. Then it was 3GS time, a great step forward from the 3G! Finally, I got the iPhone 4, my current device. I skipped the 4S (just cant't afford it now), got an iPad 2 and I'm waiting for the release of the new iPhone...

Meanwhile, I couldn't resist the temptation to get a decent (?) Android device, using one of those crazy offers operators do. H3G is giving the new HTC One S for just a 69€ upfront price and with a 30 months contract for 20€/month, including all sort of connectivity and voice my wife needs on her iPhone 3GS (yes, my old 3GS, you guessed it!).

I got this device a couple of days ago and, with the help of some of my crapdroid-fan friends, I'm trying to get to use it... And, believe me, it's aaaall but an easy task for me! :(
That's why I decided to create this blog, to share my "adventure" with the rest of the world!
Hope you enjoy the blog.

Pierpaolo