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I’m in a Nexus state of mind

I’m a multi device user. Currently I’m working with three active mobile devices… a Galaxy S4 (work), Galaxy note II (personal) and a Nexus 7. The Nexus re-awakened my desire for pure Android as it’s so clean and importantly so fast. I’m constantly moving between applications and while the flow of Android is pretty awesome, its accentuated within the more pure view.

Towards the end of last week I started actively considering the Google Play Edition S4 as the hardware is great and it’s clean. My S4 has been fine but I wanted something more like the N7. I’d rooted (motochopper) quite a while back so the opportunity to wipe out the AT&T piece of my experience was there but the main OS experience was still via TouchWiz but after some considerable N7 use it was time to change that as well.  A quick google led me to the solution which of course is a GPe S4 ROM ready to roll onto my phone. I did fail once as the initial effort required second step following the flash which I failed to initiate rendering my unit in AT&T startup jail until I could reflash the original state back and try again. I’m noticing a dramatic performance increase without battery penalty. Mission accomplished.

While the S4 was in transition, my Note II submitted itself to a spontaneous reset. I honestly have no idea what happened but while I was in a meeting it looped twice and when I looked down was at the initial start screen waiting for me to sign in and get going. As frustrating as this was I took it as a chance to reconsider this phone as well. Given the somewhat older status of the Note II and the strong likelihood of a model rev this year getting a fresh Jelly Bean update from either Samsung or AT&T seemed low … Back to Google and this time I found a solution through Paranoid Android. While not pure in the Nexus sense PA offers a straight+ experience meaning like Cyanogenmod, there are some light enhancements rather than sweeping UX changes. Seemed like a good thing … Downloaded and flashed.  Boom.

I’m now running a pretty parallel experience across the various form factors and it’s rather sweet. The pick up and go or even pick and continue opportunity is killer. As the powers within android collect, enabling sync through background operations I’m just where o want to be on whichever screen I choose.

While the similarities in ux seamlessness are parallel in iOS, sync is badly missing and while I’m in no way way seeking out iOS for any of my mobile needs the sameness is important. If you use multiple brands of devices or even multiple SKU’s within the same brand you can get a very different experience and I don’t think that’s a good thing. What manufacturers and even carriers have done is create the fragmentation everyone loves to talk about in regard to Android. While perhaps the historical delivery from Google was mediocre, the last few generations of Nexus products are not just strong but leading edge as well.

The vast majority of add-ons from Samsung, HTC, AT&T, Verizon are typically superfluous and only challenge the ability of developers, brands and importantly the user to maintain focus and currency within the system. This needs to end. Looking at the Paranoid Android example in comparison to what Samsung or HTC have done is a good place to start. Instead of forcing a new user experience on top of the core is, there are instead some slight tweaks mainly within the preferences to offer up adjustment. My use of the Note II is very similar to the other devices … Oh and PA even detects the S-Pen so there’s that. Apps that take full advantage of the pen can still be on board in a close-to-pure view.

At the beginning of the year I was thinking this might be the year we see developers go Android first. It looks like that’s more likely in 2014 at this point though I’d love to be surprised. One substantial way to capture that developer attention would be a stricter focus on areas where innovation and enhancement should occur. Marketing could and should be about the nuances in hardware design, form factor and not the crazy layers distracting from how we might just use our various devices. Adding unique apps doesn’t seem to hurt but when there are suddenly layers forcing a certain tinted view we’ve gone too far.

tapped and swiped on the N7 while on my commute

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A forced change to my information diet

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I just un-pinned and closed my Google Reader tab in Chrome.  From the day it started in 2005, Reader became my indisputable, reliable source for the rather intensive volume of information I consume daily.

Today there’s a void in my process.  I’ve yet to find a true replacement though I’ve tested what I believe is all of the contenders and really have yet to find anything that’s quite ready to be called the new champion.  For me Google Reader, was all about efficiency.  It was ridiculously quick, worked across all my screens without a sync process (thank you web) and provided an unending stream of information.  Over the years my process evolved from a structured view with folders into a more simple river of news approach.  While I started viewing things by topic I found that simply going to “view all” led to a much richer flow and tended to reveal some rather serendipitous finds.

Today, I’m still bouncing through Digg Reader, AOL, Reader, Feedly, Feedbin, Ridly, FeedRebel, NewsBlur, Feedspot, The Old Reader and while some have some redeeming qualities, I definitely miss Reader.  Over the years I’ve supplemented my Reader usage with some sharp daily email newsletters, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ … These sources remain just that, supplements.  Unfortunately, the main source is still a work in progress.

While Feedly retains perhaps the truest view of how my Reader was structured just feels heavy by comparison with a focus on making things pretty over the core usage.  They’ve made rapid progress since the Reader announcement and we’ll hopefully see some continued progress.  Digg and AOL have made remarkable strides in an even shorter timeframe and I’m hoping Digg develops the right solution.  Digg is clean and works quickly, but still needs some key things like viewing just unread items (seriously), a much quicker feed update, better sort and search.  I also really like the social end, integration with Pocket and am enjoying the Digg revival.  AOL is also pretty clean and quick and does support search … Apparently the API is ready to roll as well.

On mobile which is a primary use case for me given my commute I’m working through a few different things … I don’t like the Feedly mobile client at all so I’m using it’s sync backend with Reader HD on Android, but also dabbling with Age of Mobility’s Ridly app which is basically the same thing with a different backend.  Their web version needs some work, but they could potentially evolve as the fuller solution.

Until there’s a real replacement for my evolving habits I’ve got more work and testing ahead …

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Foursquare’s Time Machine is awesome!

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Foursquare has partnered with Samsung to deliver a really slick animation of your history on the service.  It’s really beautiful to watch and fun to consider the travel I’ve had over the past 4 years on the platform as well.  I particularly enjoyed the transitions when I traveled via plane or road to the various cities in which I’ve checked in.  Get yours here.

 

 

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Interesting tech perspective

So I’m on a plane seated next to a recent college grad and he starts asking me some tech questions.  He’s curious about Android… Running a blackberry and considering his next phone purchase.  His perception is that phones update all the time and it’s a complex decision…  Obviously he’s a very mainstream user. 

In our conversation he shares how he has a laptop and is considering a tablet. His main uses seem to be email, news and text though that’s clearly shifting to whatsapp particularly with international contacts.  What really caught my ear was his use of rss (his word and prompt)  and how it is only happening in mobile.  He actually showed me his feeds which are all mainstream need sources…  Amazing that he has no desire for a desktop reader given the efficiency.  Google Reader was not something he knew anything about. 

On the desktop he’s mainly just doing msnbc and either nba.com or more directly the nba’s youtube channel to cut straight to the clips. 

As a final thought he was attracted to windows 8 for a tablet but it sounded like peer pressure might be steering him away – though for such casual use it actually seems like a great fit.

His online habits are surprisingly light and limited…  I really expected more. No twitter, limited facebook and no tumblr.

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Traffic animated

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Just playing around with the Galaxy S IV camera…

(update doesn’t look like the phone to wordpress share includes the animated image.  bummer)

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Size Matters. Phablets Don’t. Hmmm

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According to Flurry’s data anyway …

I got hooked on the Note in a quick test at the office and bought the Note II soon thereafter. The larger format is amazing for consumption of content which I do somewhat continuously. In fact the Note II has tabled my desire for a tablet as another screen to carry / use. I’ve got access to the iPad 3, Mini and Nexus 7, but prefer to keep it all going on the Note II.

I’m really looking forward to the Galaxy S IV which will be at 5″ so smaller, but with an even higher resolution display. My guess is that the format will be ideal – highly pocketable + extremely powerful with a fantastic display for any type of content.

Anyway looks like Phablets even as many as have been sold are still low in total volume. Perhaps it’s just one of those things you have to use to believe.

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Our Ambient Glanceable Future is Arriving now

I’ve written about the Pebble Smartwatch a few times now so it should be no secret to existing visitors that I’m a big fan.  At SXSW, I attended the Google Glass presentation and it was there that  the dots really started to connect for me … The key takeaway I found from the Glass presentation was that it’s designed to be transient in nature.  The goal is not to design content units that require longer fixed attention to consume, in fact much of what we saw was designed for either a quick glance or a quick reply.  This is very similar to the Pebble and I believe this really is how things are evolving – and for the better.

This past week I attended the NY Quantified Self Meetup where I shared some thoughts and observations on the current landscape and I see a natural progression to a more lightweight sense of the world around us.  Quantified self technologies are becoming mainstream.  As was noted in a recent QS blog post there are roughly 22 different things you can buy today in an Apple store which fall into the quantified self arena:

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Even more recently, Samsung announced quite an array of accessories for the upcoming Galaxy S IV:

Samsung S-Health

 

As you can in that slide, Samsung has a wrist band, heart rate monitor and scale all designed to be paired with the phone and its accompanying applications and services.  Given the volume of S III Sales (between 30 and 40 MM units to date) I think it’s reasonable to assume the next generation will be met with continued success.  This isn’t about the phone though it’s about the potential for reaching a scaled market with these measurement tools … and importantly how things like this can be played back to the user.

I see a natural progression here.  As people get accustomed to more readily understanding themselves, they are likely to seek a broader understanding and even control of the world around them … and this leads to more connected products and services.  Whether you are tracking your suitcase once it’s been checked, remotely unlocking your front door or even just having a fun family vacation at Disney, connectivity and the value of the data can provide comfort in knowledge or provide access to a higher level of service.

With my Pebble usage as a proxy, I can see how regular bite-size updates, suggested measurement times and general awareness of my world have provided a benefit.  As I noted recently

  1. I love having my phone on permanent silent.
  2. I love being able to quickly glance down to see what’s happening when I get a buzz on my wrist and getting just enough info to know whether I should take action or not.
  3. I love giving more attention back to the people I’m with rather feeling compelled to the phone.

I’m more connected to the world around me.  Literally.  I feel more able to focus in the moment more often.  While I’m certainly still looking to my phone or other screens, it’s with less urgency and I generally know what to expect, what I need to respond to and find few surprises when I unlock the screen.

The next phase of this will be more contextual and we are seeing this evolution in apps already with things like Friday that collect your activities to build a semantic timeline, Tempo and Sunrise adding helpful details like contact info and directions to our calendars, app integration with Foursquare, and Highlight etc.  With a little 3rd party assistance I’m actually getting quite a bit of this (not the iOS apps) pushed onto my Pebble.  As soon as I saw the details of Glass in that SXSW presentation, I saw the connection and got very excited.  Glass represents a very clear opportunity for this to be taken to the next level.  While the Pebble is really a great little device, it’s 1.0 and Glass even in its early state could take the perspective to 2.0.  I’m in no way suggestion or looking for a constant heads up display, but the transient, glanceable datastream on something like Glass seems like it would be incredible empowering.

I just wish I’d submitted a #ifihadglass entry.

 

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Signing up for #googleio is fun

Or not … multiple drop outs, time out and eventually sold out.  I’m particularly keen to understand how my eventual order was cancelled by Google Wallet as it was unable to contact the merchant – as in Google.

 

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3 (more) things to love about the @pebble

  1. I love having my phone on permanent silent.
  2. I love being able to quickly glance down to see what’s happening when I get a buzz on my wrist and getting just enough info to know whether I should take action or not.
  3. I love giving more attention back to the people I’m with rather feeling compelled to the phone.
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eBay recommendations could use a bit of work

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I did in fact look at the Garmin 610 which I purchased elsewhere so in fairness to eBay they have to way to reconcile that bit.  However looking at the rest of the suggested products, I’m a bit horrified … how one dimensional do they think I am?

I’m not a regular eBay shopper by any stretch, but it’s interesting they didn’t try to mix in more of what’s popular or trending in electronics instead of a grid full of GPS devices.

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Aiming for third

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Lt. Aldo Raine: Well, I speak the most Italian, so I’ll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most, so he’ll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most, so he’ll be Donny’s assistant.
Pfc. Omar Ulmer: I don’t speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your f*ckin’ mouth shut. In fact, why don’t you start practicing, right now!

via IMDB

Being 3rd can only be seen as a concession.  It’s never an actual goal.  If you’ve competed in sports you know getting third is because you weren’t the best or even the next best.  It’s certainly an achievement particularly in things like the Olympics, but if you are going into a big tournament thinking you’ll only get 3rd place, it’s because you aren’t mentally or physically able to compete for the title.  In mobile it looks a little different … no one is even trying for second.

It all seems to have started with this …

Such technology platforms are often called ecosystems, and Mr. Elop described Nokia’s strategy in those terms. Mobile network operators, likeAT&T and Verizon, would welcome more smartphone competition. “They want a third ecosystem,” Mr. Elop said.

Nokia competes with other handset makers, like Samsung, HTC and LG. But Mr. Elop made it clear that was not his greatest concern.

“The highest priority for us is to beat Android and Apple,” he said. “This is an ecosystem to ecosystem battle.” [NYT NOVEMBER 8, 2011]

An interesting perspective and clearly now, over a year later there’s still a rather MASSIVE road ahead to even come close. However an interesting thing happened along the way …First in January:

BlackBerry, formerly Research in Motion, has made no secret that it’s got its eye on the bronze medal of the smartphone market, behind Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Taking on either of the big two would be an impossible, demoralizing goal for the once-dominant Canadian smartphone maker, but holding on as a solid third choice is an achievable goal. [Washington Post Feb 7,2013]

And now in March:

Sony Corp said it aims to win third place in smartphone markets around the world behind Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, pitting it against Chinese companies Huawei Technology and and ZTE that are looking to become the third big player in mobile devices. [Reuters March 4, 2013]

Granted Sony and Blackberry are talking about the exact same thing since Blackberry believes it’s really selling an ecosystem and they are vs Sony which is offering an Android powered smartphone.

So who has the likeliest chance of success? All bets are off once Huawei takes the crown for first of course.

 

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5 year old’s excess in-app purchasing highlights the real issue

So how did a 5 year old rack up such an expensive bill in just 10 minutes? He purchased one bundle of 333 keys, one of 90,000 darts, and another of 333 bombs that each cost 69.99 GBP ($105 USD). A number of smaller purchases added up to the final total. [phoneArena]

I’ve got three kids and we’ve discovered this problem, though thankfully to a much lesser degree. It’s easy for someone without kids to look at this and quickly say it’s bad parenting and you should watch what they are doing more closely. I agree … but the real issue is how the password system works.

When you enter your password for a download (and particularly in iOS) the gate stays open for a period of time allowing in-game purchases or even subsequent downloads through. It’s designed to make life more simple but since there are absolutely NO kid controls or functions it’s pretty easy to fall into the rabbit hole.  Just watch a kid aggressively try to clear the between level BS messaging in most “free” games ….