Tom Munnecke’s Eclectica

The recent Apple iPhone announcement was quite a disappointment, so I started looking at Android Platforms to see what they offered.  I was also fed up with ATT, so it was also a chance to change carriers.  I loved my iPhone, as did my wife, but after taking a look at the alternatives, it became clear that Apple was on the losing end of the smartphone market, both from a technical and business perspective.

I love my new Samsung Galaxy S3.  It is a like a breath of fresh air, being able to use micro SD cards to expand my memory ($30 for 32GB), swap batteries, use standard power cords, open software, choose my software store (Google or Amazon, for example).  I love Google Maps and their detailed instructions (even in parking lots), the large, bright screen, and the near field communications (NFC) capability (going through an airport, I just tapped my phone against an advertising poster, and downloaded a free song and book).  I simply dragged my music over to the microSD card, and the music players figured it all out.  I tried different keyboards (settling on Swift Key 3), music players (settling on Player Pro), and  downloaded the advanced DSP module for the player that allows spectacular fine tuning of the equalizer.  It is true multi-tasking, letting me run many programs at once,  gives me much better statistics on the use of battery and data, (eg. exactly how much juice the screen is using up).

The Android app store(s) seem to offer a much richer diversity of apps, due to the fact that developers have greater access to the computer – all controlled by the Android approach so that I knew which access privileges each app was requesting before installing.  I can try an app and get a refund if I uninstall it soon after purchasing.  The phone automatically detects a windshield holder (bringing up a car dashboard), or a desk stand (going into alarm clock mode), or with stickers that I can attach and program myself.

Android already surpasses iPhone in smart phone sales, and I see this as an unstoppable trend as the full benefits of Google’s open architecture thrives as Apples “walled garden” approach stiffles innovation and growth.

I find the Samsung to be far superior technology to iPhone, and I despite Apple’s marketing prowess, I think that they are going to be seeing more folks leave their iPhones behind, as customers realize how they are being taken for a ride with the plethora of cable changes, closed devices, and approaches.

So, good bye Apple’s “Walled Garden” and hello, Google’s Open platform.