Android Backflip summary

[Jerry Feldman]

The AT&T logo button on the left is a browser button.
The Backflip is no sluggish, at least for me.
AT&T will have a few more Android phones coming up shortly by HTC and Del=
l.
BTW: In my case the keyboard is much better than the blackberry. There
are certainly not as many apps as the iPhone, but certainly more than
most others. AT&T is also getting a couple of new Palms.  Got to go, but
for me, I made a good choice because I can now get at all of my data.
BTW: The Backflip also has a development mode. I have not looked into it.=


On 03/22/2010 11:50 PM, David Kramer wrote:
> I said the other day I would summarize my findings on the Backflip.
> Please note that I fully realize most, if not all, of these things woul=
d
> not concern the average user, or even geeks like us.  But they're issue=
s
> to me.  Maybe I'm placing too much importance on them, but this is a
> device you're locked into for two years, so if it's an annoyance, it's
> going to be an annoyance for a very long time.
>
> The overall message from me, though, is when I envision a phone built o=
n
> open source software, this is about as far as you can get from this vis=
ion.
>
> I would have let this go, but... my Windows Mobile phone has pissed me
> off for the last time and now I'm searching for a replacement.  It
> locked up so bad a soft boot wouldn't fix it and I had to hard reset
> back to factory settings.  Since I'm stuck with AT&T, I have the
> Backflip, the iPhone, and the Tilt II to choose between.
>
> I would be interested in any corrections or additions to these, but
> please don't tell me that they're non-issues unless you can explain why=
=2E
>  Most (but not all) of these are significant to me.
>
> Here are some sources I used:
> http://www.backflipforums.com/
> http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-fix-googles-busted-android-ap=
p-market-2010-1
> http://gigaom.com/2010/03/13/android-this-week-android-passes-palm-back=
flip-crippled-sense-to-nexus-one/
> http://www.waxworlds.org/edam/software/android/import-contacts
> http://jkontherun.com/2010/03/10/when-open-platforms-get-closed-att-cri=
pples-backflip/
> http://jkontherun.com/2010/03/02/att-introduces-the-first-yahoo-phone/
> http://androidandme.com/2009/12/phones/att-ready-to-backflip-for-androi=
d/
> http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/motorola-backflip-platinum-silver/4=
505-6452_7-33943838.html
> http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=3D3bd34a=
531c5f284c&hl=3Den
> http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/android-kernel-problems.html
> http://www.cyrket.com/
>
> ------- Backflip-specific
> 1) AT&T modified the software install process so users can only install=

> software from Android Market.  This is one of the biggest issues I have=

> with this phone.  While there's a lot of software there (though not
> nearly as much as in the Apple store), that means I can't write my own
> and install it, nor can my friends.
>
> 2) AT&T has replaced a bunch of the built-in apps with their own, which=

> some think are not as good.  But in conjunction with (1), they've
> eliminated the ability to remove these applications.  That comes in a
> close second to (1).  It's akin to a Linux distribution saying "I know
> you like vi, but we're going to force you to permanently install Emacs
> and make it the default editor and turnip twaddler (that plugin also
> installs automatically)
>
> 3) The screen is considerably smaller than the iPhone or the Tilt II,
> its major competitors on AT&T.  And the keyboard is nowhere as easy to
> use as my AT&T 8525's keyboard.  The keys are much smaller and harder t=
o
> press on the Backflip, partly because the camera, flash, and some
> mystery buton with the AT&T logo on it hog pretty much a whole column.
>
> 4) They removed Google search and replaced it with Yahoo.  Again, you
> cannot change this.
>
> 5) I have read many reviews saying it runs sluggishly at times.  Too
> many to be whiners.  Of course it's subjective, though
>
> 6) It's running an older version of Android.  Supposedly users will be
> able to upgrade.  OTOH, there were some comments theorizing it was
> running the older version because it wasn't powerful enough to run the
> latest version.
>
> 7) If you use all of the phone's push features (facebook, IM, twitter,
> mail, etc) turned on all the time, the battery lasts about 4.5 hours.
> This isn't typical usage, but they put all those push features in there=

> for a reason.  When not using all of these features, the battery life i=
s
> typical for smartphones.
>
>
> ------- Android-specific
> 8) Android does not sync directly with ANY operating system or software=
=2E
>  No import, no export.  You can sync with GMail and Google Calendar, bu=
t
> I don't like handing over every piece of private data I have about
> myself and my friends to a company known to hold onto data about you
> you've asked them to delete.  The funny part about this for me is that
> the iPhone, created by the Kings of Closed, syncs with CalDAV and LDAP
> (calendar and contacts respectively).
>
> 9) The lax return policy in the Android Market means all those tiny fun=

> little 99 cent programs developed for the iPhone won't be developed for=

> Android, because users can just return them after playing with them for=

> a few minutes then getting tired of the joke.
>
> 10) Google doesn't feed the majority of their kernel patches back to th=
e
> kernel team.  That's not the Open Source way, but it also means that
> they will have to verify, update, and apply all those patches every tim=
e
> they move to a new kernel.  That's bound to slow releases down quite a =
bit.
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>  =20


--=20
Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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