Running With the G1

There are two apps that standout that runners will appreciate who uses the G1.  MyTracks and CardioTrainer.  No more need for dedicated GPS units that work only for the most sophisticated runners.

One of the things on my Garmin is that I can set a various of trackers as well as keep information about my weight and calories burnt.  So far, I have not found an app that can double as a Garmin Trainer replacement completely.  However, for casual runners, there is no need.

MyTracks uses the GPS on the G1 for creating tracks.  That's its main function and it does it well.  Using the Google Maps, the user is able to create markers for the track.  And there is no limit to how many trackers and markers you can place.

What I also like is the ability to upload or share the tracks.  I'm not too sure about the sharing but that depends on your privacy tolerance.  And there are a whole host of settings.

• accuracy
• option to made maps available on Google Maps
• elevation of the track - not as useful as I like it to be.
• statistics - max speed, average speed, distance, time - however, this information is only available after the track is completed

CardioTrainer is a different app.  It is all about statistics (more or less).  There is a tutorial at the beginning when you start up the app.  I recommending going through it but you can go back to it at any time.

When you start up CardioTrainer, you can choose between workout, history, settings, and help.  The first thing I did was go through the options in settings.  

• units you want to display
• voice output - in minutes or distance ran
• music to play during run
• maps display
• GPS update frequency
• calories calculator
• type of workout

Once you start the tracking, you see only the map and GPS strength.  That is pretty much like MyTracks except you cannot add markers for the track.  In fact, it isn't about recording tracks so much as it just allows the user to use the G1 as a digital workout buddy.  Don't get me wrong, I have been swearing by CardioTrainer for a couple of weeks now.  

What I also like CT is the option to set the type of training involved.  Running, biking, walking are the most common I would think.  There are also options for skiiing, driving, horseback riding, kayaking, and skating.  

There is one thing that I do have an issue regarding both apps.  You aren't provided with live data during the run.  That is something Garmin does very well.  In fact, there is an app for the iPhone that I use that provides speed, time, average pace, distance, and calories burnt.  

If MyTracks or CT can provide those pertinent runs, more hardcore trainers will find both of these apps useful.  But like I said at the top, these two apps are mostly for casual runners like myself. Nevertheless, those are information that even I would like to have available to me.  

Also, I would like the ability to lock the screen.  I think most people who run with the G1 carry it in their hands.  At times, I inadvertently pressed a button or touch something on the screen.  It would be nice to be able to concentrating on running and having to worry about having the run being interrupted. 

So, if you want more out of your G1 and you're a workout nut, give both myTrack and CardioTrainer a try.  

What I like to see in the future is some sort of voice command functions be made available to third party apps.

Hands On With Pre - Good But So Is The Competition

Fair and balance is what I'm trying to go for here.  Not Fox News style.  Just laying out the facts regarding the time I spent with the Pre at Best Buy.


So, the Pre has been with us for a few days now and you've read the reviews (if not, you should if you are consider the Pre as your mobile device).  Here are not notes I took in the time I had with the Pre:

• Multi-tasking - it's good to have but it's not a must for me since smartphones and mobile devices really are more conducive for the user to do one thing at a time.  Seriously, how many games do you need open with the IM, e-mail, and browser all open at the same time?  
• Multi-touch is very nice. Good to finally see it on another device besides the iPhone.
• WebOS is very very nice.  Feels very snappy.  Cards is very innovative.  
• The device is smaller than some (like the iPhone) but bigger than others (like the Blackberries).  On the while, it's bigger than I thought.  
• The screen isn't as impressive I thought.  I went in with very high expectations based on the reviews.  It was good and vibrant nonetheless.  I didn't not see the discolorations many Pre owners are unhappy about.
• I like flip the keyboard underneath the body in and out.  It was pretty cool but when I started using it, the body felt uncomfortable, going from an egg shape to an elongated form was a big weird.  The case was cheap.  It didn't just feel cheap as some of the reviews indicated.  Just going to be blunt about it.
• I've heard issues with the keyboard.  First, reviews felt the keyboard was too close to the top portion of the phone so their fingers were constantly bumping up against it.  I don't think it's a design flaw.  More likely, it's more about not making the phone appear longer than it already is.  Having said that, I had no issues with the placement of the keyboard.
• Two more things about the keyboard.  The keyboard is small.  Man, it's small.  I went around to the Blackberries and the Centro to test out their keyboards.  The Pre has one of the smallest at Best Buy.  I was typing slowly because I was not familiar with the layout but I do see issues for folks who need to type faster.  The second thing about the keyboard is the rubbery feel.  With the other phones, they had plastic feels to it.  Takes getting used to.

Those are the physical impressions I was able to come away with in the time I had access to the Pre.  As with the lucky few who had time with the Pre for evaluations, I don't think those reviews truly does it justice.  The Pre is a complicated device.  I don't mean it's difficult to use.  In fact, ease of use seems to be very important to Palm.  I'm saying that the whole WebOS, the multi-touch, and the slide-out hardware design has created a very unique mobile device.  

So, would I get it?  No.  I like the iPhone, I've invested apps, and I like the close integration with OS X and my Macbook.  However, this is what I recommend you do if you're considering getting a new device.

Spend a lot of time with it.  If you've got a Best Buy in the area, you're in luck.  They've got the iPhone, Palm Centro and Pre, and an assortment of Blackberries and Windows devices.  Spend some time with each device.  Ask for a live model to play with like I did.  Also, the customer service rep who was with me (watching me like a hawk) said they may get the iPhone 3G S on the 19th, the first day the new iPhones go on sale.

In conclusion, the Pre is a contender.  WebOS is particularly sweet.  Hardware is first gen so there's going to be issues like the keyboard.  If there is a problem that I have with the Pre, it's the lack of third party app support.  As it stands now, there are less than twenty apps.  

Palm did not have a problem attracting developers for the old Palm OS.  At the time, their only competitor was Windows for a while until Palm did nothing to improve its OS for years.  Today is a competely different story.

There is Apple's iTunes app store.  Android Marketplace.  Who else?  Oh, the wireless providers are getting into the app store business.  Sony, Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft.  I'm sure I've left a few out.  It just seems like everyone is creating their own app store.  

Palm's got momentum from the buzz the Pre has been able to generate and it needs to quickly capitalize on that.  Since the WWDC keynote on Monday, it's been iPhone 3G S this and that.  Very little heard about the Pre.  So Palm has to move fast.

Apple really impressed with iPhone 3.0 and the potentials of the iPhone 3G S has really blown everyone away.  Not only that, the Pre costs $299 ($199 after rebate) while the regular iPhone 3G dropped to $99 while the new 3G S costs $199 (16GB model) and $299 (32GB model).

So Palm has to move fast.  And a price drop may be necessary.

Note:  I previously used an iPhone.  I now rely on a G1 and iPod Touch for my mobile needs.  I just want to put that out there.  Fair, balance, and facts.

Another Note:  My short time with the Pre did not allow me to get into the inner workings of the WebOS so you'll need to test drive it more thoroughly than I did.  

WWDC And Pre Launch - Has Anything Changed?

E3 in Los Angeles last week.  This was followed by the Pre launch last saturday (50k-100k sold, depending on who you listen to) and Apple's WWDC today where Apple unloaded a plethora of news and new technology for its mobile and Mac platform.


It's been a busy week and this isn't over by any means.  iPhone 3.0 and the new iPhone 3G S will be available on June 17th and 19th respectively.  Following that, we have T-Mobile's second Android device, G2, and Verizon's Storm 2 on deck.


But even after that, it is prudent to ask if anything has changed in the mobile landscape.  Since only Pre and the iPhone 3G S are available or will be soon, this is where we'll focus for now.  At Onxo, we like put the spotlight on issues that a increasingly mobile computing society.  Since the Apple joined the mobile device and smartphone market, there has been an increase in smartphone sales.  Just ask RIM and it's record Blackberry sales.  In fact, a few competitors thanked Apple's iPhone for bring to attention of millions of mobile users the benefits of smartphones and mobile devices.


That was two years ago.  Last year, the iPhone 3G's launch put an exclamation on that focus.  That was followed by the Blackberry Storm and the G1, the first ever Android device.


And this year, Palm wowed the tech crowd with the Pre and it was immediately billed as the closest competitor to the iPhone.  In some ways, that's true.  Multi-touch.  App store with SDK kits.  3G Internet access with push mail, Google maps.  Merely catching up to the iPhone some might say.  Others might even say that these are features Blackberries and G1s have had for months or years.


Now let's look at the iPhone 3.0 that will grace 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch users next week.  Cut, Copy, and Paste.  Push notification instead of applications running in the background.  Video and camera functionalities.  Pretty good but it is arguable that the iPhone has finally caught up with things that the mobile market has had for years.  MMS, anyone?  ATT will make that available later this summer, not even when the iPhone G S ships.  Oh, and the iPhone still will not allow apps to run in the background.


As pleasing as Apple and Palm has made millions of mobile users, both companies merely bulked up on features.  Granted though, Palm has done some pretty cool stuff with its WebOS.  Apple, on the other hand, has done well with the App store, ease of use, provided unique user experience only Apple can offer.  And the iPhone design is simply unmatched.  At the end of the day, features-wise, there is nothing new to the market.


Is the mobile future bleak then?  Certainly not?  I'm only stating that in the short-term, there seems to be technological consolidation as device and smartphone makers focus on shoring up its base and improve on their technology.  After that, what then?


There is no telling since even by today's standard as the mobile market is still in its infancy.  Hundreds of millions, if not billions of users are using traditional wireless phones with no Internet access.  And only through innovation and competition will the device developers be able to move the mobile market in any meaningful direction.


For instance, should battery technology improve and nullify the constant need to charge the iPhone or a smartphone, new and more powerful features will be available to the mobile users.


For now, it's fine to get excited about the iPhone 3G S.  Heck, I'm very excited.  Just keep in mind adding the ability to copy and paste to a modern device when the mobile market has had it for years does not make it innovative or new.

Computex: Android Devices Galore!

We all know that G1 is just the beginning and things are starting to look up for the Google-backed OS.  We're looking at netbooks, tablets, and, of course, smartphones.


Here are a couple of videos coming out of Taiwan.  Honestly, I've been waiting to see what Apple will be offering as far as a tablet based on the iPhone platform.  However, if Apple decides to take its time, the mobile itch I feel might just be satisfied with an Android-based tablet.

The first video is a netbook and some PMP.  This probably has Windows a bit worried if Google decides to make Android a more robust OS and challenge it in the lower end markets.

The second video is a tablet.  Now, not a lot going on there but the possibilities are just endless.  However, I wished they had demoed more of the input on the touch-screen and just how thick this tablet is.  And as always, the battery life on that baby.  

The third video is quite technical so you're welcome to watch it as I did as it shows how hardware companies are approaching Android development and where things are likely to go.

Monday is going to be Apple's day but the 4th quarter of 2009 might be all Android!  All I'm asking for from the hardware companies are stability, better UI, and battery life and I'll be sold.  Many Android devices to ship end of the year and even more in 2010.  Hey, don't take my word for it.  It's in the videos.

Note:  I think some Android mobile warriors are familiar with Windows-based UMPC and netbooks.  Android is built from the ground up for a mobile platform.  It'll be interesting to see the distinct directions that the two platforms are likely to go as they clash in the coming quarters.