Jini Computer

Oh yes, I finally gave up my iPhone 3G to upgrade, not to an Apple iPhone 4, but to a Samsung Galaxy S i9000 powered by Google’s Android, as far as I’m concerned, it’s an -almost- perfect smart phone beating the Apple’s offering in -almost- everything.

Notice I used the word -almost- twice, this doesn’t mean it can’t -become- perfect, the potential is definitely there.

Having an Apple MacBook Pro, an iPhone and iPod Touch, 1st Gen, 2nd Gen and  4th Gen in the household, oh and I almost forgot, an Apple iPod Shuffle as well, it would be natural to upgrade my iPhone 3G to an iPhone 4, specially after skipping the 3GS, that in itself required much patience from my side, nevertheless, I started researching, not underestimating devices running Palm WebOS, Windows Mobile 7, Blackberry, Nokia (Symbian) and of course the mighty Android.

I loved Palm, I used to have a Palm Treo 650 smart phone, so many apps available since the days of Palm Pilot in the 90s, but I think on a strategic front, Palm made too many bad decisions, now owned by HP, it remains to be seen how far WebOS will go. Nokia, Windows and Blackberry OSs though having their own app markets, I just don’t foresee that they’ll be anywhere near Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in terms of software applications. Let’s face it, people are having much higher expectations of their smart phones.

I’ll write in more details about my choice in future articles, but before I do that, allow me to let you know where I got the best PAYG (Pay As You Go) deal for Samsung Galaxy S here in the UK. Just pop in to any 3 store and get one for less than £390.00, and as a bonus, you’ll also get a free 3 (Three) Sim card, opening the world of Skype on 3G at no extra cost for life.

As apposed to Apple’s iPhone iOS, RIM’s Blackberry and Nokia’s Symbian, Google’s Android OS can exist on many non-Google smart phones or tablets, currently it’s on handsets from HTC, Sony, LG and Samsung just to name a few. So if history is to repeat itself, this is very similar to when MSDOS and Windows came to the picture back in the 90s, this resulted into software developers wanting to write software for Windows in order to spread on as much hardware as possible.

What makes Android even more interesting is the fact that it’s based on open source Linux, which makes it even more desirable by developers as they can tweak the OS to their liking and come up with pretty creative solutions.

All that and the fact that it is Google who is behind Android OS, which should make many killer apps to make stand out from the crowd.

I think the only thing that’s holding Android from world domination is the number, and more importantly, the quality of it’s applications available, and I think it’s just a matter of a time, maybe early 2011 when we will see those quality killer apps running on very powerful smart phones.

I usually jump with joy when new technology arrives in shops, specially when it’s affordable, I just wouldn’t mind going for that impulsive adrenaline rush to go and buy the thing, well at least that’s how I think, but Apple’s iPad simply did not qualify for these feelings. I somehow decided to skip this wonderful yet magical and affordable device altogether.

Here are 10 reasons why I don’t an iPad:

1. I already own a MacBook Pro
2. I already own an iPhone 3G
3. Can’t use it for video calls
4. It’s a little heavy, accidents could happen
5. Wouldn’t feel safe using it in trains or buses
6. Can’t fully edit office documents which is a shame
7. Can’t expand the storage
8. Too large for navigation
9. Not as good display as e-ink based e-books
10. Finally, I think the competition will come up with much better solutions, and very soon.

Owning an iPhone 3G for the last 2 years, was fun. I got an officially unlocked unit from Hong Kong, I learned how to jailbreak it, install all sorts of software, lost all the work after an update, jailbreak again, install again, update, ..you know what happened. My iPhone is currently on iOS 4.0.1, no multitasking nor home screen backgrounds because of performance impact on the aging hardware.

I can say that I have some favorite apps that I would definitely look for if I am going for an Android phone, I would also look for good battery life, and not to mention accessories like the nice Bose speakers or the nice Logic3 valve amplifiers.

I’m in a bit of a see-saw when it comes to deciding right now, I’m leaning towards a high end Android phone rather than going for an iPhone 4, I’m shortlisting the Samsung Galaxy S or the HTC Desire, as they’re both available here in the UK. Both come with Android 2.1 Eclair, and that is an issue that should be resolved soon, the 2.2 Froyo update is a major one, for one thing it lets the phone  become 2-5 times faster, not to mention a full Flash 10.1 support on the browser, that’s something you’ll never get on an iPhone.

Another thing I like about Android phones is that they have FM radio, sounds silly right? I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to listen to Magic FM using 3G networks.

But, and there’s the ‘but’, Google is developing Android 3.0 Gingerbread, bearing in mind that 2.2 is a major update, this must be a super update, websites are already talking about dual-core phones in the pipe line that will be handled by Gingerbread, if that’s the case, then I’m not sure that I’d jump ship to the Samsung Galaxy S or the HTC Desire, as they might not be ready to receive the 3.0 update when it comes.

I have a feeling that a new generation of high-end Android phones are coming, that could take a another couple of months.

With an iPhone 4 I wouldn’t worry about updates to the OS at least for a couple of years, it’s got a decent HD video camera, a front camera, but best of all, an elegant look.

Amazing and ridiculous at the same time, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are banning Blackberry services for all BB users, even if bought from Etisalat, UAE’s major telecom.

But why? Many don’t seem to understand the issue, well I’ll try to explain in very simple terms. When using email, chat and browsing, typically all mobile data travels through 3G or Edge networks which the likes of Etisalat owns, since all the data is going through them, then they can snoop whenever they like on the email and messages used on the phone.

All 3G smart phones like iPhone and Blackberry would have to use this network, however the Blackberry adds another security layer on top of the normal data stream that is sent through the network, which is called the Blackberry service. It is that service that allows instant alerts on new emails and messages, but it’s the same service that the UAE and Saudi governments have tried to snoop on 3 years ago but failed, so what do they decide to do? Ban the Blackberry altogether!

This story shows that these governments, law and enforcement, do in fact snoop on our phone calls and Internet usage without our knowledge, I guess in one hand it’s good for national security but on the other hand it is a clear invasion of privacy.

To be fair, Etisalat has offered it’s customers iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S or Nokia N72, N97 as a substitutes for their Blackberry.

But what’s going to happen to all corporate users who got their BBs from their companies?

Not to mention the visitors who will be shocked to know that their phone is useless there.

Etisalat offers free iPhones to Blackberry subscribers

UAE crackdown on BlackBerry services to extend to foreign visitors