First video review

Well my dear readers. I did my first cell phone rom review for droiddog.com and I'm pretty excited about it. I was honestly nervous making it, but I think it came out pretty good. I plan on doing more so I'll post them as I do them. If you have anything you'd like me to do a video over please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks and as always, take care.

How google got it right (kind of)

As I sit on this plane heading home for the holidays, I'm listening to a podcast and writing on my blog. Sounds like a productive plane ride to me. I was just thinking about how my g1 can still hold it's own against most phones out there now. Granted, the internal memory is wack, the battery life sucks , and it looks a little frumpy but the functionality is all there. Can I do what a mytouch does? Yes. Do I have the same processor as most other android phones? Yes. When rooted can I do anything your android can do and more? Yes I can and these things allow me to make the statement "google got it right". I know some folks will say what they will but what has kept me from buying another phone thus far has been the simple fact that my phone can still do 'that'. Yes I rooted my phone and some would say that doesn't apply to most consumer phones and I see their point but I look at it from this perspective. Rooted or not, people still use the g1 as the base phone from which to develop and run roms, apps and anything else to push android forward. With that being said I still will put my g1 up against whatever you bring and until the next best thing comes out I'll stick with it.

Dear santa (android wishlist),

Hey big guy! I'm just sitting around thinking about all of the things I'm thankful for and thought to myself that I forgot to write my Christmas list for you. I know it's a little late and the elves are swamped already but here goes. I would like a phone with a 1ghz processor, 5-10 gb of internal memory, a black g1 like keyboard, a 3.7-4in amoled screen, a battery that lasts 3-4 days but is not at all bulky (maybe hydrogen cell or nuclear or some kind of alien technology would work), slimmer than an iphone, 3.5 mm headphone jack, android 3.0 w/cyanogen influences, a camera with flash that would impress the likes of Noah over at phonedog, apps2sd option,root option, voip ability, tmo hsdpa+,and a price tag of $200 or less. That will be all. I hope you can deliver. You haven't let me down yet. Merry Christmas and I'll be sure to leave you some milk and cookies :)

I'm gonna try my hand at it...

A friend of mine is a software developer and now an avid android geek (like myself) and he asked if I'd be interested in helping him make some apps. now to say I'm excited would definitely be an understatement. To say that I'm nervous would also be a complete understatement. I haven't written a line of code since college and I don't want to be the hold up, but he said he'd take the reigns and walk me through it. This could be the start of my part time career, full time hobby and all around good times. I'll definitely keep you posted on how this goes and will soon probably start taking suggestions as to what types of apps, themes, and android goodies you would like to see. Wish me luck and hopefully I'll be able to one day start helping with development for our wonderful android community. That's all for now. Take care!

Why i really love android

Last year for Christmas I was given a brand new g1. It was my first smartphone and I wasn't sure the ins and outs of a smartphone so I started researching. I started joining forums and reading blogs and slowly but surely I started to see. Not only was this new, sort of clunky looking phone nothing short of a pocket computer, but it was also a key. It was the key into the world of android and boy what a world it has become.

  I remember early on just browsing the forums trying to see what folks are talking about. They would say "my phone can do this" or "my phone can do that" or "the battery sucks" or "it's gonna be an iphone killa!". All of those things intrigued me but I was still learning about apps and open source and all of the other caveats of this little green robot. I started to look into what google had to offer and realized it could do more than just search and it was all hyper-connected to my phone. I slowly and more confidently started to see the potential this little giant had. So I start posting in forums and asking questions and finding out the little intricacies of my g1 and I was on my way.

  A few months later, completely comfortable with what I have, I start reading about rooting. I say to myself "Self. What's that all about? Who really needs to do that?" The more I read the more it pulls me in and then one night around 11pm with my palms sweating and heart racing my phone gets rooted and another part of the android world opens up to me. Not only is the phone a key to another world, but it is your pass to meet new people and be a part of a wonderful communtiy that is built on building new relationships, pushing the platform forward and helping out a fellow droid. This is what really sold me on android. I think the phones are great, the OS is coming along beautifully, but it's the people that make android what it is today. I would like to say "thanks" to those that have driven the development, started the websites, moderated the forums, answered questions, lent a hand when needed and have helped people see that you don't have to be scared to blaze your own trail. Like field of dreams, if you build it they will come and google built it and we were there for the flocking.

  I truly am impressed with how far android has come in a year and look forward to being a part of it's continued growth and success. Thanks google for everything, thank you to all the people who have helped me out so far and I appreciate the communtiy as a whole. Y'all are great! Have a wonderful holiday season and bring on the nexus one!

New found love!!! Well, not really new.

For those who know me I love my phone. Well today that love was strengthened. LOL! This is the type of love a dog has for his favorite chew toy. I'm joking I'm joking, but I really do have a new found appreciation for my little pocket pc. Today I was coming home from watching the Crimson tide roll clean over the Florida Gators and I decided to try out google navigation which is included on google maps on my lovely little device (tmobile-g1). I put in the coordinates to my house and then put on some music also playing from my phone and started to drive. I think to myself "Self, not only is this phone navigating me home, but it's also playing some of my favorite tunes" (ding - text message coming in but I can't read it. No texting and driving). This is awesome. This little thing is doing all of this and is not missing a beat. Since when were phones able to do so much at the same time??? I don't know. As I came up to a red light, I picked up my phone and hit the home button and all of my running apps were moved to the notification bar. I pulled down the bar and it told me the next instructions to keep on track. As I ride and Lupe Fiasco is enlightening me the music fades and the phone then tells me to turn at the next light. I'm blown away. I'm just really impressed with my little phone. It's awesome. I'd like to hear from some of my iphone followers. Does your phone give you directions and play music and receive texts all at the same time? I'm just curious. Try it out and let me know how that goes for you. LOL! Have a wonderful weekend.