This past Sunday, Nintendo released Super Mario 3D Land, its first Mario game made for the 3DS. Rather than being a celebration of video gaming’s most successful franchise, it’s more likely an opportunity to mourn the demise of a company responsible for so many great products and games. Because if Nintendo doesn’t change its strategy soon, the company’s future will be very bleak indeed.
I love Android. The Google-created mobile operating system for smartphones is a breath of fresh air when compared to the polished & regulated iPhone and its iOS. Android devices are selling well, particularly in the U.S., where the iPhone is stuck in an awkward monogamous relationship with AT&T. It has become very clear that the iPhone will break free from AT&T’s shackles within the next year, and when that happens, Verizon and T-Mobile customers will also be clamoring for Apple’s handset.
In Canada, where the iPhone is available on the big three major carriers, the iconic Apple device is simply crushing the competition, and Android appears to be an afterthought for most consumers after deciding on an iPhone or a homegrown BlackBerry.
For Android to stave off a multi-carrier American iPhone assault and to become competition for Apple in Canada and other countries, it has to start taking some steps to make Android more mainstream. There’s no reason they can’t do this without changing their exceptional operating system much. Here’s my suggestions to made “Android” as well-known as “iPhone.”
Yes, the iPhone is still the best smartphone overall. Apple has a knack at staying ahead of the competition in hardware and software, but if there’s anyone who can take them on right now, it’s Google. What else should Google do with Android? Let me know by posting a comment.
If you read my review a couple of weeks back on the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant, you’ll know that I predicted this. Samsung’s best-in-class Android phone can now be yours for just $25, if you take into account the gift card Future Shop is throwing in upon purchase in one of their stores.
The smartphone is solid and probably your best alternative in Canada if you hate the iPhone. As we all know however, Canadians just love the iPhone 4, so much so that lineups continue across the country, some six weeks after launch. That’s probably why we’re seeing this promotion, as the Galaxy has failed to attract much attention north of the border, where the iPhone is available across the entire Big 3 – Rogers, Bell, & Telus.
If you’ve frequented this blog, then you probably saw my review of the Samsung Omnia II, perhaps the worst phone I’ve ever used and a great example of the failings of Windows Mobile 6.5.
Luckily for Samsung, they’ve jumped on the Android bandwagon, a superior mobile OS offering from Google that is serious competition for the iPhone. The Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant (Bell, $149 on a three-year contract) is a perfect marriage of Google’s OS with some very good hardware.
On the other side of this Canadian smartphone battle is the iPhone 4 (Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin Mobile, & Telus, $159 for 16GB and 269 for $32GB on a three-year contract). Avoiding the iPhone isn’t easy in Canada, thanks to the fact that it’s available on all of our major carriers, and none of them suck as much as AT&T in the U.S. The iPhone’s penetration in the Canadian market, both carrier and consumer-wise, make it hard to argue against.
Is the Galaxy better than an iPhone? Over two weeks, I tried to find out.
I received an email this morning from the people running Nokia’s PR in Montreal about Nokia’s new Ovi App Wizard. Ovi, if you didn’t know, is Nokia’s answer to Apple’s insanely successful App Store. Unfortunately for Nokia, getting developers to make apps for the fragmented mess that is Nokia’s current phone offerings has been unsurprisingly difficult, while competitors like Apple boast upwards 200,000 applications.
The Ovi App Wizard is unfortunately way too little, way too late.
The Motorola Milestone ($199 on a three-year contract with Telus) is much-needed and welcome competitor in the fight to dethrone the iPhone from its dominant position in Canada’s smartphone wars.
The Milestone is the same phone sold as the Droid south of the border. This naming confusion is symbolic of Motorola’s failure in fighting the iPhone. They are fighting one of the most powerful brands and iconic devices ever, but they make the awful decision to market the Milestone under different names in different markets. It’s a lot harder to build worldwide momentum for your product if you’re trying to sell something called the Droid in the U.S. and the Milestone in Canada and Europe.
Naming issues aside, Motorola has a great product on its hands, mostly thanks to the quickly improving Android OS.
My Motorola Milestone review unit arrived this afternoon, and I’m putting it through rigorous tests as we speak. Android’s WordPress App is pretty solid, although typing with the keyboard is not fun so far.
I’ll have a full Milestone review (Running on the Telus network) at the end of the week.
Google’s new Buzz, its latest foray into the social media sphere has landed on gmail accounts everywhere. Despite launching yesterday at 1pm on a few desktops, Android smartphones (version 2.0 or higher only!) and the iPhone, there seems to be quite a bit of activity by Montreal’s Buzzerati.
My first impressions: Google Buzz, while late to the game, isn’t too late, and I think it will be a hit. While some may feel needing a Gmail account will hamper Buzz, I couldn’t agree more. The fact that so many people already have Gmail means Buzz has an installed user base in the millions. By activating Buzz, Google will automatically suggest Gmail users you know that you can follow. Surprisingly, I found its suggestions to be pertinent and convenient.
The Buzz Web App for iPhone and Android 2.0 phones is impressive, although I have seen some bugginess on Apple’s iconic device when trying to view maps. That aside, being able to localize Buzz is impressive since so many people are using the service already. Doing the same thing with Tweetie on the iPhone can be a big letdown when you see so few people around you tweeting.
I don’t see this as competition for Facebook just yet, but I think the folks at Twitter should be quaking in their Levi’s right about now. Google infrastructure and security is simply too strong to be hampered by the “Fail Whale” and spam that has continued to hurt Twitter.
Elias Makos 