Visiting http://buzz.google.com from my G1 shows a table of compatible devices (and operating systems). When looking at the list, the first reaction is YAY Android gets all the functions.  Second glance, and you realize Android 2.0+ gets all the functions. Furthermore, there is no mention of pre-2.0 devices. This leaves me with the assumption that the support will only come with Google maps and not through the browser.

The issue as I see it, is that Google is segregating the OS instead of building an app for use on all android devices. As a G1 owner, fan-boy, it might come off like I am screaming UNFAIR.. However, my G1 is well past its life expectancy, so I can cope. The greater issue is that devices are still being produced, and developed on earlier versions of the OS.  for instance, the Sony x10, releases next month on 1.6. A long with a handful of other devices, the Sony will arrive to the market behind the times and possibly missing support of future Google Services.

- Astro File Manager: Best file manager system for Android. While it acts like a regular file browser, it has many tools for things like backing up applications.

- Better Terminal Emulator: Best terminal emulator for Android. I also use it for SSH occasionally, however connectbot is a better tool for SSH in my opinion.

- 3Banana: notes application. I usually use OI Notepad, however this integrates with other applications.. not a necessity, but useful to have if you can waste space.

- ANDftp: Mobile FTP Client. With an 8gb SD Card, I’m able to use my phone for quick fixes and backing up files on my server. I’ve also used it to mass upload photos and videos.

- AP Mobile: Horrible news application. I downloaded it to write a review, however it never made the cut.

- Archipela: RTS game on android. It is kind of lame, and easy at times.. but the lite version is worth the free download to check out.

- Armored Strike: fun game. I only have the demo, and don’t really see the point in upgrading to the full. Kind of old school, but good for while you’re taking a shit.

- Artful bit’s MineSweeper: Still play minesweeper? Good (free) minesweeper game.

- aTumble: $1.99 tumblr application. Great for mobile blogging, however I can’t say that Tumblr or the application are my favorite. Still, for those on Tumblr it’s worth checking out.

- Barcode Scanner: Neccesity. QR Codes are more and more popular. While unlike other barcode applications, this doesn’t do price comparison.. but the high point is that it integrates with other applications and is good for reading QR Code.

- Beat Down Boxing: Mike Tyson Punchout on a touch screen. I only have the demo, but I play it occasionally.

- Calvin and Hobbes: Like the comic? Get the app.

- Chess: Mobile multiplayer chess.

- CM Updater: CyanogenMod updater. Essentially a self updater for people running Cyanogen ROMs on rooted phones.

- Compass: Again, probably not necessary. I have used it twice to get my bearing, one of those was to choose the room with the least morning light at my new place.

- Connectbot: Manage a server? Ever need an SSH connection? This is your app. It does telnet/SSH flawlessly. I use it as my primary SSH Client, even while at my computer.

- Daily Dilbert: Like the comic? Get the app!

- Dope Wars: Remember that game we used to play on our TI-83 Calculators? This is the same, with a couple more options. Well worth the FREE download.

- DroidAnalytics: Got a website using Google Analytics to track your stats? This app is the perfect interface with Google Analytics on the go. Information is neatly organized and easily accessible.

- eBuddy: Multi instant messaging client. It’s my favorite chat client on Android, although I rarely use it because it randomly signs me off.

- Facebook: Facebook’s Android client. It’s nice, but I prefer just going to http://touch.facebook.com/

- Flashlight: White screen full brightness.

- FX Camera: Nice alternative to the regular camera. Fun stuff like fisheye lens effects..

- GDocs: Use Google Docs, you might be interested in this application.. I’ve used it for creating documents, but it’s not that intensive.. I’m unable to access folders (shared or unshared).

- Google Voice: This application is win if you use Google Voice.. for those unimpressed like Kevin, this application is likely to be a waste. I use my GV Number for business, which makes the application almost a necessity for me. It allows almost full control over GV.

- Greed: Mediocre RSS reader. It was the top RSS Reader, however got beaten by News Room.

- Gube: It’s like a rubix cube on your phone! Tricky and not really responsive, I have played it several times.. never really made process though.

- Hold ‘em: Online texas hold ‘em game. Multiplayer is fun, I just don’t have time to play.

- Kevin: Remember Simon? The memory based game.. Yeah, same thing on a phone.

- Key Ring: Scan/Save your keyring cards (like Kroger or CVS?) and use your phone to have them read. I got it under suggestion, however shortly later realized that I have no use for it.

- KittenCannon: This is the game of games. Shoot kitten from a cannon.

- Layar: “Reality browser.” Again, not extremely practical. Was asked to review it, but never got arround to it. Kind of like the Sherpa application with more options.

- Light Racer: One of my favorite games. 2d tron type game.

- Listen: Podcast tool.

- Midnight Bowling: decent bowling game. Rather easy though..

- MobileSlide: Alternative to the Android Market. I have it because Google claimed proprietary rights on their market app, and for a while this was the only option.

- My Account: T-Mobile users can check their account from their phone!

- News Room: BEST RSS Reader on android.

- OI Notepad: Preffered notepad application. Basic.

- PacMan: Yes.

- Pandora: Internet radio streamed over 3G.

- Photoshop: John linked to my review. Read it. Enjoy it.

- QuickBoot: Root users only. one touch reboot, one touch reboot into recovery..

- Screen Capture: Does what it says.. Does it well. (ROOT ONLY)

- Screenshot: Does what it says.. does it well. (ROOT ONLY)

- Seesmic: Twitter client. I don’t use it often, however keep it around because it’s faster the Twidroid.

- SNesoid: Super Nintendo emulator for your phone.

- Solitaire: If you don’t know what solitaire is, shoot your self.

- Speed Test: Speedtest.net on your Android.

- Tapatalk: Application Dave uses for OS.

- Tether Petition: The way for HTC Android owners to get a wireless tether application on your phone. Essentially turning your phone into a 3G modem with WiFi connection. ROOT ONLY
- TheWeatherChannel: You know what it is. It does the job well too.

- Throttle Copter: fun game of keep up. I have found it addictive, but that’s because I’m simplistic.

- Time Clock: I actually use this to track my hours for billing. I’ve found a few glitches, and it’s a $3 application.. but it really has been a help.

- Twidroid Pro: Best twitter client for android. Multiple accounts and almost full functionality of twitter. It starts when the phone starts, and downloads the newest 200 tweets from each account.. So it can be a hassle.. but it can be a great tool.

- Ultimate Stop watch: Is exactly what is implied.

- USA Today: Best news application, due to layout and usability. I know people have their favorite news sources.. but this is the best in terms of layout and accessibility.
- Whois: Ever thought about a domain name you want, but have been away from the computer? This is a great solution, although about as stripped as can be.

- Wireless Tether: What you get with the Tether Petition. Great for ROOT users though.

- Wixel: Boggle meets android. Definitely fun time waster.

- WPtoGO:  A mobile wordpress client utilizing XMLRPC.  Great solution for bloggers like myself.

Most of us have become accustom to hearing “oh that was Photoshop’d” however it’s no surprise that almost every picture sees some type of image editing process before it’s showed off.  What I haven’t seen, until recently, was a mobile platform for editing pictures on your phone. Surprisingly, this was a bare market, despite having most mobile phone cameras preform miserably.  So I welcome Photoshop’s Android application with open arms.

First thing I want to say, is this isn’t going to be a full featured image editing system, hell it’s FREE. Naturally, it isn’t loaded with all the tweaking tools that the full desktop application carries, however I think it’s enough to preform quick touch ups on photo’s before uploading to Twitter or Facebook while still at your party.

By limited functions, the application includes tweaking for exposure, tint, saturation and even soft focus.  The application also lets you rotate, straighten, crop and flip the image in case you got some funky angle and don’t want to look like you were preparing for a Myspace photo contest (you know who you are).  To me, this is more then plenty for a mobile device.  Frankly, I don’t think I have enough screen real estate at times for using Photoshop on my desktop, so what else could I ask for on my G1?

As Androidandme.com mentioned, the app runs in the background CONSTANTLY.  Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue for me, hell background apps are what make the Android awesome, however Photoshop doesn’t need to run in the background for any reason that I can imagine. Another frustration is that it is hard to take screenshots from inside the application so it’s hard to show you what was going on when I edited the pictures below.

Another issue I had was that you have to preform manipulation by touching the screen, this is a bit touchy so it gets in the way while trying to make fine adjustments.  I’d much prefer a wider range on the manipulation, as well as the ability to do so through the trackball instead of just using the screen.

Overall, I’d rate this application 8/10 as it keeps growing on me the more I use it.  Initially I was as skeptical as the next, but I found that it really serves its purpose and does so well.  I think if they removed the consistent running in the background and opened up the ranges for manipulation a bit, it would make the application a lot stronger.

Here are some images I manipulated in Photoshop:

I was recently asked if I ever had an emergency (server crash or similar) that I had to take care of while away from the computer; fortunately the answer is no, and I hope that I never do.  Still, I have put these applications (all of which are free) to great use.  As I mentioned, I even have preferred some of them to using applications from my desktop.  I’ve also learned that there are appropriate times to work, as well as inappropriate times (again, sorry to those affected. You should have received an email by now).

While I’m a smartphone veteran, this has been a whole new adventure for me.  I came to my G1 about 9 months ago, coming from a Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones before the Blackberry.  So far, I haven’t used a smartphone which has been as versatile for my needs as Android is.  I still miss certain aspects of the previous phones, however none of them were able to cover such a range of utility.  For example, I miss the simplicity of the Blackberry the most; from composing emails to managing contacts it was/is the phone to have.

So what makes the difference from other smartphones?

First, I would have to say that it’s OpenSource. Essentially everyone who wants to create an app can, which means that if there’s a developer out there who has similar needs as you, you’re going to win. I know there’s more and more development for other mobile operating systems now, however there doesn’t seem to be a comparable development community.  When I say this to my friends, I get the iPhone iPwns all argument.. but that’s another article entirely, except for one point.  Multitasking. Multitasking is what makes the better operating system, for me. Note, I said for me and not for everyone.

Multitasking allows me a lot of flexibility I haven’t had on other phones, especially with the applications I use for communication and work.  However, it extends beyond just work to things like loading web pages while I compose an email.  So far, no smartphone operating system has supported multitasking like Android.

When has it come in handy?

Over the summer I was across the country in Walnut Creek, CA (BEAUTIFUL CITY) for a wedding and was interrupted with a lot of database issues.. aka my phone wouldn’t stop going off.  I was able to post a temporary page from the lobby of the hotel while waiting on my ride so the visitors knew what was going on.  The issue turned out to be an error I made with some code, which was easily remedied when I got back that afternoon.

Let’s say my server was throwing memory issues and I wanted to move my site to a different server, it would be as simple as using ConnectBot following these simple directions.  The only thing I’d have to do is move the database and point the domain over.

How come I’m only talking about functionality?

Well, I’m not huge on Android’s communication. I should rephrase that, I’m addicted to the simplicity of the Blackberry.  Receiving email, outside of Gmail, is nearly a hassle on the G1. It seems plagued with issues using anything but IMAP settings.  Even multimedia messaging feels more glitchy than the simple interface of Blackberry’s.

I guess first thing is Android 2.0, Eclair.. I got a chance today to play arround with the SDK today and have to note that I’m pretty excited. First thing I noticed was that it focuses a lot more on integration across the board. That being said, it also seems to be a much heavier operating system. Unfortunately, I have my doubts concerning porting to the G1 (as well as other low end Android phones). However, if/when the Acer A1 and Sony Infinity (good call Rob @ phandroid) release, they will shine light on the 2.0 operating system (as well as future releases).

I read, from a couple sources, that Eclair was too big to use on the G1. However, I am pretty sure rooted phones could make use of it with swap partitions and other tweaks, I’m just not sure how efficient it will be on a under clocked 528mhz processor.  I also noticed on XDA that some people already ported the sdk to the G1.. which can give us hope, even if it is just an SDK port.

Next thing Android.. Google navigation app. Thank you Google. Not much else to say here, except its greatly appreciated by all Android users.

The basics:

A Wave is an article (Single author or collaboration) which is editable in real time by it’s authors.  The comments are also in “real time,” and access is determined by the original author.

Wave was just released to 100k users for public beta testing, which means there will probably be issues with it initially.

Google has said that Wave will work with Android, however to my knowledge there hasn’t been any specifics yet.

Browser Choice:

It seems a lot of people are having issues with different browsers, this is expected because it’s a “preview.” However, it seems that it’s a bit tasking on any browser at this point creating lag.  As of now, I’m using Google Chrome for my primary browser, and it seems to be running in line with FireFox 3.5.  There are a couple noticeable differences, primarily in how a LARGE wave loads.  With Firefox the Wave seems to take longer to load, however makes the wave readable quicker.  In Chrome, the overall process is a lot quicker, although the articles are obscured longer then Mozilla.   I could imagine with Mozilla’s habit of hogging ram, that Chrome would be better for chronic Wave users.

Mobile:

I’m an Android lover, we all know this, however I’m surprised that the mobile site for Wave hasn’t been completely developed yet.  When pulling up the page on my G1 (running Cyanogen’s latest Rom), the site will load with the warning above and allow me to access a page displaying my inbox and contacts button at the top, however will only show completed Waves an takes EXTREMELY long to load.  I wouldn’t even attempt to load it on a mobile connection, seeing as it’s taking a long time on WiFi.

The site, in the browser, has an iphone feel to it, which makes me think that there’s an Application in development from Google for the Android, meaning that there will likely be increased features in comparison to the mobile browser.  I have tried, without success, to create a Wave from my phone’s browser.  This is not to say that it’s impossible, but extremely inefficient.

*** More Android Screenshots coming soon!***

Larger Wave’s should probably be left for browsing on the computer, seeing as my only successful attempts at loading Wave’s have been with one’s that had little activity.

The other issue I noticed was it only works in landscape mode, whereas in portrait the only thing which loads is a header of the wave.

Initially, I was thinking.. “how functional is streaming audio going to be over a 3G connection, let alone an Edge connection..” the answer is that it works just fine, despite my sketchy 3G connection. The layout is also impressively simple and easy to navigate. It did, however, take a long while to load until loaded Cyanogens new 4.16 rom. Now it flies, and I probably should thank Cyanogen.

I think Pandora is a must for Android users, like wptogo is a must for bloggers on Android phones.

Flash support is huge and from what I know, it is a first for mobile phones. However, how many people utilize flash sites from their mobile phones.  I am drawing a blank trying to think of any sites I visit that use flash, without offering a separate mobile site. Still, it’s definitely a neat feature for killing time while waiting for your United flight delay to be over.  Still, as a selling point it tends to weaken while comparing the operating systems other features to what’s on the market in terms of other mobile OS options.

Apple’s hook line, “there’s an app for that,” is an extreme understatement.  Apple may have beat the line to death, however it’s also changed how people view the iPhone.  Android is like this too, while their App Market is still somewhat new, there is still an application that serves purposes I would normally use the mobile browser for.  Instead of checking CNN.com for hot news topics, I now just thumb the USA Today application on my phone and almost instantly get the top news stories.  If I am out of the house and get asked information about a domain, I just use “WhoIS” to see if it’s available, who owns it and purchase it if needed.  With an app for everything, it’s become a rarity that I use my T-Mobile G1′s wonderful web browser.

This brings me to my first issue with the Windows Phone OS (next to the iPhone OS name ripoff), the browser looks EXTREMELY similar to that of the Android phones. This wouldn’t have been an issue to me, whatsoever, but it’s one of many traits of the Windows Mobile 6.5 that throw me into the “where have I seen this before” mindset.  As the phone is getting put through it’s motions, I realize that many of the “new” exciting features of the phone are currently available on other platforms.  Microsoft “tag” looks so amazingly useful, but the fact is that both the iPhone and Android have apps for scanning QR Code in such a manner. Further more, Microsoft taking pride in their cloud computing solution for messages and contacts is something of the past for me.  Not only is it old news, but it’s a feature on the G1 that I’ve started taking for granted.

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