The reason I’ve been lax in my duties is because I’ve been working on an iPhone app with the cool cats at Ecmodeyo. Our app LocaJot has finally been released and in less than a week we’ve already seen downloads from nearly two dozen different countries. Now that’s what I call exciting stuff!

You can check out LocaJot either by going to the website at LocaJot.com or heading directly to iTunes and seeing it there. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/locajot/id453391031

Working on LocaJot was a great experience and I’m looking forward to creating more apps. Some people may grumble “but there are already so many apps in the App Store now, you missed your chance” I say “oh no…not at all!” Reports show that smartphone penetration is still only 38% or so of mobile users. That leaves plenty of room for growth…plenty of room! I’m going to make sure I’m poised and ready to go with this growth, that’s for sure.

Sprint…you really need to get that iPhone…and soon. Reports say it’ll happen in September, so we shall see.

Google…you have a ways to go still cleaning up that giant mess of Android fragmentation. It would also be nice if each carrier and each handset manufacturer didn’t add so much of their own crap on the phone (which of course leads to delays when there’s an OS update out there as the carrier and manufacturer each go through and add/change their crap again).

Signing off for now. More posts to come! Go check out LocaJot and enjoy a small (1.2 MB…nice!) easy-to-use app that helps keep life organized as you create location-based notes. The map is pretty killer too.

====begin email===
So are we gonna kick it?
Gonna kick it root down.

So yeaaahhhh…I did a hard reset on my phone a couple days ago. Sadly, it seems to be working a bit better. Why do I say “sadly”? Because I’m irked that I bought a smartphone and can’t really use it like a smartphone. “It’s fine if you don’t have any apps on it!”

I’ve installed two apps on it. I’m going one at a time. First Google Voice, then Foursquare today.

I thought “well hell, if I already blasted it, I might as well root it and install Android 2.2″. Simple enough. I looked at enough tutorials. I watched enough vids. Looks easy enough. Download this, flash that, install this, do that…voila.

No.
Not really.
Sure, the steps are easy. But what freaking files do you use?!?!? Being an underground movement, you’ve got dozens of different kernels, ROMs, themes, etc. Which ones are good? Which ones are stable? Aaaargh!

Alas, I’m sticking with my discontinued Samsung Moment running Android 2.1 and slowly adding apps until I find the demon apps.

====end email====

And such are the thoughts of someone semi-proficient with making computers and phones do fun things. Feeling like a complete noob here.

The Android OS itself isn’t bad. Not as clean and refined as iOS (the OS on the iPhone) but that’s fine. It also gives me a bit more freedom to do what I like.

I’ve had my Samsung Moment with Sprint for a while now. I’ve taunted all my iPhone wielding friends as I was spending much less on my plan and getting to do so much more. Sure, I liked the design of the iPhone itself and the OS but not enough to spend so much more money and to have to deal with AT&T’s crappy network.

But alas, as each day goes by, I want to fling my Moment at a brick wall. It’s slow at times. Oh how I’d love to be able to upgrade to one of the newer Android OSes but I can’t. (Technically I can if I root the phone and update the OS that way). Rumor has it there will be no OS updated for the Samsung Moment on Sprint. Great…just great. Glad I spent all that money on a phone that is obsolete in a year and can’t be updated.

That…my fellow readers, is where Android is going to lose the battle. As smart phones become more prevalent and the novelty wears off, people will search for the practical phones to spend their money on.

What are our options?

Android

• All major carriers – A big plus for people who are loyal to a carrier (or perhaps have a corporate account with)
• A variety of phones – Another plus – People like variety. Some prefer physical keyboards, others don’t, some prefer particular manufacturers, etc.
• Android OS itself - Massive negative. With all the different phones, there is massive fragmentation on getting each OS tweaked for each phone. Worse yet, many manufactures and carriers stop development of OS work on existing phones as they plan for the next one. This also has repercussions for app developers as they have to make sure their app works on all the different OS forks.

iPhone

• Two carriers – Neutral – It was a big negative when they were exclusive to AT&T but now there’s a choice at least.
• One phone – Plus – Technically it’s two phones, one running on a CDMA network and one on a GSM network and each has its pros and cons of each. But it’s a phone produced by Apple and you know what you’re getting.
• iOS – Plus – One OS to rule them all. Again, technically it’s two OSes (CDMA and GSM) but we’ve got one company making one OS for their phone. You don’t have to worry about your AT&T iPhone going obsolete while I’m able to update my AT&T iPhone.

Windows Mobile

• I think it’s too early in the game to to judge. Many of these will be similar to the Android with multiple phones, multiple carriers, etc.

For well over a year I’ve loved my Android phone. I was annoyed at the lack of apps but I didn’t miss out on anything TOO big. I was able to overcome some syncing headaches with my MacBook Pro…but still manageable. I was amazingly annoyed at the fact I could only run Android 1.6 while there were already phones out there running Android 2.1. Luckily I got the upgrade (another major pain as your phone is wiped clean and you have to start from scratch after the update) but that’s the last update I could get. Here I sit…with a phone that will only get worse and worse as iPhones users get to update their phones with each new iOS update.

I’ve been a fan of you Android, but having this un-updateable brick may be the last straw. You’re great in theory, providing an alternative and competition, but the practicality of HAVING to buy a new phone every year just to get an OS update is ridiculous.

You’ve seen me singing Sprint’s praises on Chia Town for quite a while. Blazing fast network, good customer service (after fixing the crappy customer service they were known for), and GREAT prices. I laughed at my friends who were paying AT&T boatloads of money for crappier service. Alas…such is not the case.

Sprint’s timing is REALLY bad. They announce this just as Verizon is about the get the iPhone. Perhaps Verizon isn’t as bad as AT&T in some people’s minds and a defection from Sprint to Verizon for the iPhone alone won’t be such a big deal. I had planned on sticking with my Android phone (a Samsung Moment which increasingly seems like a big heavy brick as I look at the new phones coming out…but I’m still happy with it) with Sprint because it just makes sense to stick with an affordable plan on a good network.

But now this.

Seriously Sprint, WTF? Did the Clearwire debacle go so badly that you’re trying to recoup losses and are sticking it to your customers? You have to remember Sprint, the only reason MANY people stayed with Sprint was because it was night-and-day cheaper than the competition. AT&T had exclusivity with the iPhone, Verizon had a big fast network, Sprint had…well Sprint had Android phones and a price that couldn’t be beat.

I’m seriously questioning this move. I love Sprint. I love their service, I love their customer service, and I love the tenacity they’ve shown to rebuild after getting beaten down. I applaud Dan Hesse for taking the helm of a sinking ship and getting things back on track. Good job!

But WTF Sprint? This may be the single biggest thing to get people to defect. It’s not like Sprint has the biggest market share as it is to toy around with. Under this price change, the other carriers will now be CHEAPER. Cheaper I say! I was fine settling for a cool phone (but not a “holy crap this phone is awesome” phone) because I had a good network and a stupidly cheap plan to use it on. Now I can pay less AND get a better phone, Android or iPhone?

I don’t know what you’re doing Sprint. Maybe you’re making boatloads of money from NASCAR or from your LBS (Location Based Services) offerings, but this makes no sense to me.

Enter Samsung. They make good phones…that’s all there is to it. I don’t really think they’re trying to be the best by offering the latest and greatest features, but they’re selling boatloads of phones by still being damn good phones across all carriers.

Samsung’s Galaxy S lineup has been introduced to all four major carriers. Smart move as everyone can have a pretty darn good Samsung phone no matter what carrier they are on.

• Sprint has the Samsung Epic 4G phone (the only 4G in the Galaxy S line)
• AT&T has the Samsung Captivate
• Verizon has the Samsung Fascinate
• T-mobile has the Samsung Vibrant

See what Samsung did here? They created buzz for an entire line and then is allowing everyone, no matter what carrier they are on, to get one. It doesn’t take a business guru to figure out that offering your product to a larger audience will usually lead to higher sales.

Good for you Samsung…thank you for not doing that exclusivity crap that other manufacturers are doing and letting everyone play with your latest and greatest toys.

Out of frustration I too sent my thoughts out into the Twittersphere. I believe my exact exclamation was “Hellloooo. Sprint. Samsung. We Moment users are ready to upgrade to Android 2.1. Whenever you’re ready.”

Moments later I noticed I had 3 replies (one from @SprintCare) stating it was already out.

Whuuuuu?

How did I miss that? That was a fairly silent release (which the Sprint Care people said had a lot of hoopla for. Really? Ummm…no) that blew right by. No emails from Sprint to their Moment carrying customers. No big fanfare on the web. Nada. I’m sure there was some talk about it on the forums but it was pretty quiet in the mainstream press. Plus…it’s still pretty lame that Sprint didn’t bother to notify their Moment customers. Don’t get me wrong…I love Sprint. There’s a reason I have an Android phone over an iPhone…Sprint blows the doors off AT&T in terms of price, quality of service, customer support, etc. I’m just saying’…that was pretty lame…

If you don’t feel like eugooglizing the world to find it, you can find the update here on Sprint’s site. It has the download along with instructions.

So…the upgrade…egads…

Perhaps you’ve read Upgrading the Samsung Moment on here regarding a simple software update that wasn’t even an OS update. And perhaps you’ve read Samsung Moment Update – Part 2.

It’s pretty much the same. The only thing that was different is that I didn’t bother trying to use a virtual instance of Windows to try to install the new software. I went straight to the PCs. Sadly enough, I STILL couldn’t get Windows 7 Professional to install this. A few tries and I went back to my Windows Vista machine that I test various unknown software packages from (yup…sketchy stuff…don’t want to be destroying my normal work laptop while installing various drivers for devices I’m testing from afar).

The process is exactly the same though so I’m not going to bother going through it again. Refer back to Updating the Samsung Moment if you want detailed instructions (along with some possible pitfalls) and you should be good to go.

A few things to remember.

• Take out your SD card. Don’t want to be losing stuff you saved. The update WILL wipe it clean if you forget to remove it.
• Set aside plenty of time. Really.
• Write down a list of all the apps you have.
• Try to remember all your settings (I already forgot the settings for my Mindspring/Earthlink email account but don’t feel like dealing with that tonight)
• Don’t forget to reboot your phone after redoing a bunch of your settings. (ie, I was slowly spiraling down into insanity when text messages were coming in as duplicates on both the stock SMS app and with Handcent SMS until I realized I had to reboot after turning off all the notification setting in the stock app).

That’s all for now. I tire of playing with this for tonight. So far I’m enjoying it a bit better. I’ll talk about that some other time. I have a sick kitty to take care of (as seen in www.WaxPorhetoric.com if you want to see the sappy side of pseudo-geek).

Two topics/issues here…the software update and the OS update. First we’ll discuss the OS (Android) update since it’s quick and easy. There is none yet. However…the good news is that there are several reports that Sprint will update the Samsung Moment to Android 2.1 in April. Guess what…it’s April now! When will this happen? Nobody knows…they just said April. It’s probably best to be vague so they can work out as many kinks as possible and not create a bunch of unhappy users if they have to push it back from a firm date.

One issue concerning Android phones right now is that currently there are four…yes, FOUR versions (1.5, 1.6, 2.0, and 2.1). Talk about fragmentation. A new customer has to do a lot of research before buying a new Android phone to see if it has all the features they want, the form factor, and then to see if they’re running an old or new OS. Bad move Google. Supposedly they’ll be fixing this fragmentation issue with the next couple releases of the OS. Wait…what? Yeah, that means there will be six versions of the OS as they try to reel it all back in. Yeahhh…I’m just going to try to enjoy my phone for what it is and see what they do.

Ok…now for the tricky part…updating your Samsung Moment to software version CL14. You saw in my previous post that ist’s pretty much a pain in the ass. You need time, diligence, a list of all your apps (since you’re going to wipe your phone clean), more time, patience, good trouble shooting skills, probably a couple computers…

It’s a known problem that your Moment may not update when you attempt to go through all the steps. It’s frustrating and you may think you’re doing something wrong or you fried your phone. Don’t worry, you didn’t. It’s just a really poor implementation. No matter how many tips and tricks you follow (believe me, there are a million of them on the web. You’ll be using Google to no end finding as many tips as possible) you still may be SOL because your computer still may not want to recognize your Moment via USB. I went through THREE different computers before I was finally able to do this.

My main suggestions for updating your Samsung Moment to CL14:

1. Set aside PLENTY of time
2. Make sure you have access to a few different computers (PCs so far…I haven’t been able to update it on a Mac yet even with a virtual instance of Windows 7 installed)
3. Search the web for at least five different workarounds that people have used, keep those tabs open on your browser and keep trying
4. Remember that your computer may not try it, don’t get discouraged, and keep one trucking

If you’re feeling a bit daunted with all this, you probably should be. It’s not the easiest update around even if you happen to get lucky and have a computer that is capable of doing this on the first run. You’ll still have to go through plenty of steps, reboots, installations, etc.

If you’re getting ready to tackle it, let’s see if we can wait until Android 2.1 comes out. If we can upgrade to 2.1 without needing the CL14 update, why go through all that trouble?

Viva la Android! (yet they’ve still got a way to go before being as easy as the Apple iPhone)

1. Palm announcing their phones heading to AT&T
2. Samsung is introducing a bevy of new phones
3. A number of Android-based phones are being announced across all carriers and manufacturers
4. AT&T is talking about their network and is also wanting more spectrum
5. Sprint announcing their 4G phone

So what does this all mean? It’s all about the phone again. Consumers want a phone that does more than simply make phone calls and this is clearly evident with the slew of manufacturers building Android phones that will be sold on all the major networks.

Predictions:

1. Palm is going to bite it - Sorry Palm…I love you but it’s just too little, too late. The Palm Pilot was revolutionary. Good job…too bad you rested on your laurels. The Palm Treo was a great phone. Too bad you rested on your laurels. The Palm Pre is a great phone running on a great OS. Why did you announce to the world what your phone would do and then wait half a year for everyone else to implement those features in their phones while you didn’t even release one to the public yet? Now the iPhone is the clear leader and Android-based phones are quickly gaining ground.
2. Android phones will become more widespread - It used to be just a phone for geeks however the quirks are getting worked out, the form factors are getting cleaned up, and all the carriers have them while all the major manufacturers are building them. Hate HTC? Buy a Samsung. Hate Samsung? Buy a Dell. Hate AT&T? Use one on Verizon or Sprint. You get the picture. It’s not just a novelty anymore…it’s a clear competitor to the iPhone for any user to purchase.
3. Sprint will continue innovating - Sprint is the number 3 carrier behind Verizon and AT&T and they know it. They’ve done a good job slowing down the mass migration of customers to other carriers and are doing a good job at getting phones. Their prices are great and their 4G expansion is moving along steadily. These are things that they need to do to stay alive. It may not be enough to push them up to being the number two carrier anytime soon but it will keep the other carriers honest and keep the innovations coming.

Usually CTIA announces a couple cool phones and then that’s that. I remember when the Samsung Instinct was announced. “Yay cool!” and then nothing. The Palm Pre last year…rock on…but then what? This year’s announcements however seem to illustrate something greater, that the big picture is actually changing rather than simply being a show where a couple cool new toys are introduced.

First, some background. I’ve got a Samsung Moment running on Sprint’s network. Love it! Love Sprint’s network, love the fact I’m spending loads less than I would on other networks, and the Moment itself is a pretty darn good phone.

Now for the fun. I got a text from Sprint saying there was “an important update for your Samsung Moment”. (interestingly enough, this update has evidently been out since late January) After clicking on the link it took me to Sprint’s page for the Moment update. Good freakin’ googly…that alone was a mess. www.sprint.com/momentupdate is where it takes you to. Go ahead…look at all the stuff you have to do. Highlights include:

1. It only works on PCs (ie, no Mac support)
2. You must uninstall Samsung USB drivers
3. You must install new drivers
4. You must reboot your machine a few times
5. All your data on your phone will be lost
6. You will have to reinstall all your phone apps and redo all your settings

Lovely, eh? All this…and it’s not even for a new Android version.

Yes…let me gripe about that for a minute. The Samsung Moment is running Android v1.5. You read that right…ONE POINT FIVE!!! Seriously…WTF Sprint? We know there is a 1.6. Droid was released with 2.0. Nexus One has 2.1 and yet we’re still at 1.5? Come on now…

Ok…I’m done…

So yes, this was just some little update for 1.5 that supposedly increases battery life a little bit.

Now for the torture.

Installation Attempt One

No PC at home but I do have Windows 7 Professional installed on my MacBook Pro using Sun VirtualBox (at some point I’ll be giving my review/comparison of Sun VirtualBox vs VMWare Fusion). What a mess. I’ll break it down in simple steps to save time and your eyes.

1. VirtualBox needed to be updated. No biggie…just some time
2. Windows 7 needed a whole slew of updates. About three or four reboots as each one needed its own cycle
3. Windows 7 didn’t think it was authentic suddenly. Had to dig through my software and re-submit the key
4. Installed the Samsung software and drivers
5. Removed SD card from phone and began process
6. Computer could not find phone when connected via USB
7. Rebooted and tried again…still no recognition
8. Searched internet for solutions. Tried unchecking “USB debugging” on phone. Still no success
9. Tried a few more times…nothing

At this point I gave up for the night and decided to try at work the next day since there were PCs to use.

Installation Attempt Two

My main work PC, a Windows 7 Pro HP laptop.

1. Installed Samsung drivers and software
2. Rebooted
3. Went through above steps of removing SD card from phone, blah blah blah.
4. THIS computer would not recognize that my phone was connected to it.
5. Rebooted again. Nothing

Installation Attempt Three

Test laptop – Toshiba Satellite running Windows Vista (I know…I know…)

1. Installed Samsung drivers and software
2. Rebooted
3. Went through above steps of removing SD card from phone, blah blah blah.
4. THIS computer would not recognize that my phone was connected to it.
5. Rebooted again. Nothing
6. Unplugged USB again (also done in previous attempts) and plugged back in. FINALLY!!!
7. Software was updated
8. Went through list of apps I had on phone (that I had to write down somewhere to know what I had) and began installing them

All in all, this was about a four or five hour ordeal just to install a minor update. If Google wants Android to continue to gain market share, they’re going to have to make things simpler. Android is a fine phone OS but it’s still nowhere as simple and elegant as Apple’s solution.

And there you go. All of that work and I really don’t notice too much of a difference. Whoopty do…I’m now running “Build Number CL14”. Like I said…no noticeable improvements.

Hopefully the upgrade to 2.1 will be an OTA (over-the-air) update that doesn’t consume the user’s time and in the process wipe the phone.