Last night I went to my daughters flute recital. It was a pleasure to hear. The students are almost all college age or older and they are all competent players. Their instructor is a professor at a state university and a member of the Seattle Philharmonic.
Between numbers I noticed man about my age (40-49), sitting next to my wife, pull out his Android cell phone. Finally an ally I can visit with face to face! I was anxious to compare notes with him about his experience.
It turns out that he has had his Droid for two weeks. He came from a Blackberry, which he, “Hated!”
I asked him for his impression of the Droid. He said that he was still not convinced it is the phone for him. I asked hm if he had ‘rooted‘ it yet. He replied that he had not. He had a couple of issues with his phone not offering some features that he really wanted. Speed dialing, etc.
We talked for a minute and I told him that my phone was even better after I rooted it. I have much more control and even more software available for it. I suggested that he try it. He seemed hesitant and the conversation ended.
Now, he is not what I would call a noob to the cell phone experience. But he is a noob to the Linux experience.
This got me to thinking about the phone, the buying public, and the phone experience.
I concluded that the Droid is NOT for everyone. It is for power users who do not mind tinkering with their phones. It is for people who do not accept that it must have limitations. Phones have limitations built into them based upon the service level the vendor is willing to offer. Blackberry is a fine phone for what it does. There is very little software available for it. There is a very small ‘underground’ of people who really want to explore it and push it to it’s limit’s.
The iPhone, in spite of it’s apparent myriad software packages, is severely limited because Apple has a VERY heavy hand in what is allowed to be done to it. Apple discourages innovation.
The Droid is more open so that there is more innovation being done. There is no fear that you are going to get a cease and desist letter from the maker. The development community has a much better understanding of the technology behind the phone. The community is much more self-supporting than any other cell phone market.
Was I happy with my phone out of the box? For the most part. I missed some features and I was satisfied that some talented developer would see the same needs and address them. For the most part they have. Did I feel the phone could be better? Absolutely! Like every other phone I have ever had (and I include PDAs) none have them have satisfied my criteria as the perfect device. Most make it about 80-90% of the way there. After exploring the world of Droid users I found some options that were being developed by the community, without the onerous oversight of Big Brother (Apple in this case) that allowed me to do things with my phone that moved it up to the 95% level.
It may be at the 100% level but I have not found the perfect app for my podcasts that I listen to, yet. Did you notice I said yet? I am confident that an application for my needs/wants will be delivered shortly. The same apps may never be delivered for the iPhone because of Apple’s heavy hand. However, the same options may not be available to non-rooted phones. Rooting simply allows you to have more flexibility, options and control. And control is what it is all about. You have control of your computer why not your cell phone?
Understand that you do not get complete access to everything. None of the rooting being done is for nefarious purposes. In fact, I am yet to find a single instance where piracy is being discussed or is an issue. Whicvh is a lot more than I can say about the iPhone. There have been estimates that as much as 80% of the software being used on iPhones is pirated. Why? Because people cannot afford to pay for all of the add-on software that is needed to bring the iPhone to the 100% level. It is true that the apps are inexpensive. But with the Droid Market having a 24 hour no questions asked policy I can try any software I want and return it if I don’t like it. If that option was available to the iPhone users they would not feel the need to pirate software to get the same try before you buy experience.
The Droid is not for everyone, but for those who are technically inclined it is a blast!
Meandering with a Purpose 