<h4>Android versus iOS</h4>
<img src="images/boredbrains/forblogs/google_android1.jpg" align="right" height="225px" width="225">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I have always been a technology and gadget geek.  Having grown up coding on DOS-based systems since the Neolithic days of dial-up BBS servers and command-line interfaces, I have seen many pieces of software come and go.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some good, some not so good, some simply genius.&nbsp;&nbsp;Over the last 10 years I have been enamored, just like many other uber-geeks, by the massive proliferation of mini- and mobile-type devices found everywhere on the market today;&nbsp;&nbsp;my first real mini was the venerable Fujitsu P1110 ... think laptop with a tablet complex!&nbsp;&nbsp;Beyond that, I have always had some type of smart phone.&nbsp;&nbsp;It started with the Hitachi G1000, my first true convergence device - ugly as any Frankenstein, and just as big - but while most people merely dreamed of iPhone-type functionality, I already had it in my pocket!.<br /><br />

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Over these last years, I have had many units, and usually just as soon as they came out on the market (yes, ! am that guy).&nbsp;&nbsp;I've had a Palm Treo ... no, actually 2.&nbsp;&nbsp;Got the G1 when it first came out ... ah the long list of my miniaturized digital glory days runs on and on;&nbsp;&nbsp;I have even played with the iPhone, but was just not as impressed as the rest of the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I compare it to other mobile OSs I have used it tends to always remind me of the PalmOS from the Treo.&nbsp;&nbsp;Obviously with Apple building it, it gets the hugely glossy big-money corporate layover but it still strikes me as operationally too similar.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since I had already used this style of interface it just did not stick out to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I also could not bring myself to digest the draconian contractual obligations of the strategy employed by both Apple and AT&T, as they each battle to neatly lock the end-users into their respective ecosystems.<br /><br />

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then, like a note from heaven, like a beam of light from the cloudy autumn sky, came the Android.&nbsp;&nbsp;I got a G1 within the first couple of months of it's initial release.&nbsp;&nbsp;It made such a profound impact on me that, even as a power user,  I remember saying to myself, "This is one device that is definitely going to give Microsoft and Apple an honest-to-goodness run for their big money."&nbsp;&nbsp;Even then you could still see the familiar interface of the desktop, application menu areas, and  most of the normal conventions we have in a desktop OS environment.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the same time, they leveraged the environment they created far beyond the normal expectations.&nbsp;&nbsp;And for my benefit, Android had the Alerts Tray, a huge step up versus any other OS on the market!<br /><br />

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;These advances in UI/UX design from Android really put them out in the forefront of the mobile OS market, in my view.&nbsp;&nbsp;Delving into the ecosystem they created to support the devices, you begin to see other, even greater advantages;  for example, the Android OS runs on many devices, designs, and hardware specifications - and this can make for unlimited possibilities in the future.&nbsp;&nbsp;Compare this to the architecture-tethering stringency of iOS specifications and licensing, and you're quickly stuck using the iPhone only, or at best, resort to constantly "jailbreaking" your iPhone.&nbsp;&nbsp;On top of that, you get stuck with being limited to apps from the iTunes App Store instead of having all the convenience and economy of the open-source strategy Google employs in leaving the Android market open and free.<br /><br />

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everything around Android and it's services is designed to provide the end-user with greater control of their digital environment and more available options, by sourcing its platform from external competition, innovation, and the power of the open marketplace.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I look at the iPhone I can only conclude they have the attitude, <br /><br /><em><b>
"@ll y0ur m0n3y i5 0ur5."</b></em><br />
<br />
John Reagan<br />
jreagan@boredbrains.net<br />
www.boredbrains.net<br />