Droid x

For those of you that know me, I'm sort of a phone geek. Well today the Droid X (Verizon's newest android phone) was being released in Dallas. It wasn't just a normal release it was like the intersection between fanaticism, nerdiness, obsession, and geocaching all wrapped up into a hot summer Texas day. I told myself a few days ago if this challenge came to Dallas I would try it and by golly that's what happened. Let's get to the day's events.

I got up about 9:30 this morning, checked my twitter feed and they were telling Dallas that today was the day. So I hopped the downtown train and off I went. I made it to the grassy knoll and waited. Hadn't seen an actual clue since the night before so I walked around checking in the bushes and on and under benches and such just trying to get an edge. As I searched, I noticed others doing the same but I didn't say anything. At this point I was feverishly refreshing Touiteur (Twitter client for Android - free and paid version in the market). After a couple of hours I decided to just sit and wait for the @droidlanding update. While sitting there I met Aaron (@devdroidian) and Ben, also fellow droids and we started chatting it up about where it could be and sharing android stories. Two really awesome guys. We hung out and checked the Old Red museum-nothing there, the grassy knoll - nothing there, so we started just walking around. On our way back towards Dealy plaza Aaron gets the coordinates for the phone so we fire up Google navigation and it leads us to Sonny Bryan's bbq restaurant where there are people with video cameras and no one saying anything. As we're heading there we see the mob of people and we all converge on the restaurant. We're looking in and on and around everything. Eventually someone finds the card with the eye on it and just like that it was over. I would like to say congrats to the guy who won and "Thanks!" to the android community for being so frikkin' awesome.

All being said and done it was a fun day. I enjoyed snooping around downtown Dallas for the Droid x and look forward to meeting more android enthusiast. Now I'd like to leave you with a few last thoughts and a couple of vids. First, if you haven't tried android you should. It's on all 4 carriers and the community is awesome. Second, the big android bar bq is in Austin in October (). Third, if you're a mobile phone enthusiast check out (a site some friends and I are working on to connect DFW mobile enthusiast).Finally, enjoy the vids and be sure to leave some comments. 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!

And the day gets better!!

Now that I have a sinus headache I decided to stay in tonight and rent a movie. I was in line at the local blockbuster and two people were in line in front of me. They were making small talk with the cashier and at first I wanted to get annoyed but then I tuned in to what they were talking about. The customers were showing the cashier their g1's and the cashier replied "I have a droid." My heart immediately felt warm. He went on to say how he liked it coming from a windows mobile device and he enjoys the android platform. One of the customers turned and looked at me then looked at her boyfriend and said "We're holding up the line." I replied "I have a G1 also. Please, continue." As in star wars, google is building a droid army. It's nice to see people opening their minds to something other than an iphone. Let's go android!! Have a good night world.

On a lighter note - ring, ring, ring

I really enjoy my new hobby of dabbling in the mobile telecom industry. Since I got my phone (tmobile g1) I've basically gone all in. I spend time reading cell phone blogs, modifying my phone and trying to keep up with what's new in the cell phone world. It changes just about daily, but I found that I have come across a really awesome community of bloggers, techies, and like-minded cell phone enthusiast. They're willing to share advice, opinions, and offer help at anytime. I'm thankful for my new found communtiy and I'm happy to be a part of it. Now if I can only get my fiancee to stop saying "I'm going to ungift your phone from you" or "you spent too much time on your phone" I think I'll be ok ;). Take care and find a hobby!