What's Google+ to an Android user?

Last year, Google launched one very ambitious project yet, Google+. Other then the Android operating system which is making a major buzz in the mobile scene, Google also launched a "social networking" site called Google+. This made the news and was touted as the Facebook killer. I won't delve deep into the subject but through some layman's example, might show you why I love Google technologies so much.

Below is a list of Google+ top features:

Circles - this is how Google+ organizes people you're connected with. Similar to groups in Facebook but way easier. Just drag a friend to a Circle and you're done. You can control the information you share based on the Circles you make. You can also control the information that you see depending on how you organize your Circles.

Example: You have 2 Circles, Friends and Family. When you want to post something (an image or something) that you want only your Family to see, just post it on your stream and select your Family Circle as the intended audience. Once it's posted, only contacts that are in your Family Circle will see your post. Nobody in the Friend Circle will be able to see it.

Real-time Stream - Updates (from the Circles you allowed to show up on your stream) will show up real-time on your stream, no need to refresh your browser. Mobile app still has to sync though.

Hangouts - let's just say, it's video conferencing from Google. Unlike Facetime, you can do a video call for a group, not just 2 at a time.

For an Android user, having a Google+ account and the Google+ app on your mobile device will help you get your (social) life organized.

I found the following stuff helpful if you own an Android phone and are connected to Google+.

(Some features might be from the upcoming Andriod 4.0 update-Ice Cream Sandwich)

Contacts - Google+ syncs directly on my phone. I don't have to enter contact details for a friend into my phone as long as we are connected in Google+. If the person opted to share his/her contact information with me, then there's no need to enter those information. If that person changes his/her email address, mobile number or even their name, it will automatically show up on my phone. There's no need to tell me you changed those information.

Google+ Messenger - standard instant messaging from Google+. Other that functioning as a typical message app, it also now supports Hangouts on the phone (think, Facetime for Android). You can also open conversations for whole Circles or some select contacts. The Hangouts feature can be better than Facetime because: you can do Hangouts over mobile data and you can have up to 9 participants on a Hangout. Video conferencing on the go.

When your device do get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, then all these services will be more connected. You can start a messenger with someone through the contacts app or through the Google+ app. Control the information you receive on your phone via Circles. Organize events using Google Calendar which also syncs up with Google+. No need to remember someone's birthday as long as they opted to share it with you. It will automatically sync to your calendar.

Do give Google+ a try and you might even think of leaving Facebook for this.

McDonald's Very Stupid Promo

I had breakfast today at McDonald's Madrigal Bldg. branch (where we actually often eat) and got presented with very stupid mechanics for a promo. McDonald's has this promo that if you complete 5 stamps, you get a very nice, colorful post it pad. My friend gave me the card with 3 stamps already on it so I decided to go to at it and finish the card by buying the 2 value meals still missing the stamp.

We went down to have breakfast, and ordered a big breakfast meal and a 3pc. hotcake with sausage meal. I then presented the card to the manager and he signed (stamped) the big breakfast meal only. I then asked why he did not sign the other meal. He then said: "sir, one stamp per transaction lang po". I then left and read the mechanics at the back of the card. Nowhere in the mechanics does it say that you get one stamp per transaction. It only says: "An order of the specified MacDonald's Breakfast Meal gets one stamp". I had two orders and therefore should have gotten 2 stamps. Another manager was roaming around and we decided to make an inquiry with her. She said the same thing about the one stamp per transaction rule. I contested the fact that there was no mention of such mechanic. She then acknowledged my complaint and went to the back to stamp the card. When she finally returned, she gave me back the card, stamps completed but no sign of the post it pad. She said: "sir kumpleto na po yung card nyo pero kelangan bumalik kayo after 5 days to claim the item". Again, such  mechanic is NOT mentioned on the promo mechanics. We walked out of the store pissed off at how the promo was handled. The managers kept making up  mechanics not mentioned in the mechanics. Such details should have been written clearly especially that they are more of restrictions than actual mechanics.

How the managers handled the promo was very unprofessional. I know it's just one measly post it pad but the fact that they started a promo and could even fully explain it really got to me. They could have pointed me to an article that mentions the policies they are imposing. The card itself doesn't mention those and given that such policies are very restrictive, they should have been mentioned in the card. Instead of me going back to the store to complete another card, I lost interest in their uber stupid promo.

Why iOS will ALWAYS be better than Android...

Some points why I think Android will "never" surpass iOS when it comes to performance:

The "F" Word (Fragmentation):
Apple's OS is by far a good and efficient OS designed from the ground up. What makes this OS uber good is the fact that it's targeting one to just a few types of devices. It has a somewhat one-to-one relationship with its hardware. What this means is that any operation occuring within the OS fits whatever is in the hardware, there's minimal checks on how the hardware is going to perform the operation since they share only one set of instruction. The OS only needs to "dictate" the instruction and the hardware "will" do it.

Android on the other hand is struggling to give its users the "best" experience due to the fact that it caters to different manufacturers. What this means is that there will be more than one configuration of the hardware where the Android needs to work. If this is the case, there will always be something broken when a manufacturer releases their Android phone. Android will also be designed in such a way that it could work on all the available hardware in the market. Think of it this way (technical stuff), Java has a VM that makes it work on multiple platforms. This makes Java applications that run on Windows to also run in Mac, Linux and Unix. Yes, it covers a lot of ground but at what cost? The application tends to become sluggish. The reason being, instructions are first interpreted and translated into the language the hardware understands. Think of a Filipino and a Japanese talking to each other, the Filipino needs an interpreter to speak to the Japanese making communication between them slower (laggy).

We can see the same case with Windows and Mac. Windows, catering to different hardware, making it slower than a Mac even at same speeds or even with the Mac having a slower CPU than the one in Windows.

Today's high end Android market doesn't look good with Samsung using Exynos, HTC using Snapdragon and LG using Tegra. Yes, they do have a common ground for using the ARM architecture but it goes so far. Each has there own unique set of instructions making them faster. Unless Android natively supports these unique instructions, we won't really get the most out of our devices from Android.

Lousy Manufaturers:
Having so many manufacturers bringing out Android smartphones, chances are, there will be manufacturers that bring out laggy, lousy and uber low quality phones. Take Cherry Mobile's Orbit. I have one and it really is one phone that I can say I hate. If you happen to jump onto the Android bandwagon with that phone, then I'd understand why you'd say "I hate Android, it's so slow and quality is crappy!".

Bloated Carriers:
Whenever an Android phone comes out for a specific carrier, that same carrier stuffs the phone with a bunch of bloatware. Apps that are hardly useful are being installed and are sometimes running in the background eating up the phones resources. Making the phone again, slower.

Android will always be plagued with such errors, lags, force closes and what not but I would trade my Android phone in for an iPhone. Why? CHOICE. I always have a choice when using my phone. If I want it to be faster, I'd install a ROM with no bloat. Use a class 10 micro sd card for faster transfers. Uninstall services that I don't use. Android also has a ton of features that are now just being introduced on the iOS. Features that might have caused a bunch of errors before it was polished but are still very useful.

I own an HTC Desire and a ZTE Blade. Both have been flashed and wiped beyond recognition but both are working better than when it was using the Android from the manufacturers. From the manufacturer's statements, they won't have the Gingerbread version of Android but here I am, using the last version of Gingerbread before Ice Cream Sandwich comes out. CHOICE.

Smart Netphone 701...or what's left of it

After days of reading and comparing, I finally got my Netphone from Smart last Friday. I must say, Smart might have gotten a good unit here. It's nicely built, lightweight and feature-filled. Wasn't expecting much though about the unit since it's an entry level phone but upon turning on the device, I found that the phone was actually good.

The phone is a rebranded ZTE Blade. It has a 3.5" TFT LCD capacitive screen with a resolution of 800x480 (same as the higher end phones), 512MB RAM and 150MB of internal storage. a 2GB micro SD card is included for more storage. Device is equipped with a very capable 600MHz ARM processor on a Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset. Others: Bluetooth, WiFi b/g, HSPA+, GPS and FM Radio.

After turning on the device, it prompted me to register to SmartNet with the phone number embedded in the SIM card. Mine was a prepaid SIM card but decided go on ahead since I have other plans for the phone. Surely, it was a fresh approach on social networking being under the SmartNet network. With Smart also offering free data for social networking until December, this service/unit pair might really fly. After using it for a few minutes, I went on ahead to reboot the phone. I was greeted with a registering/logging in screen which I cannot skip. This I found a bit annoying if you happen to restart your phone often.

So, for the evil deed I've plotting the entire time I've waited for my unit...network unlock! I stuck in my Globe postpaid SIM card with unlimited data and unsurprisingly, the phone did not allow me to use it. It display a dark gray screen with the message "Invalid SIM" and a button for Emergency Calling. Pressing the buttons brings up the dialer. Contrary to the posts regarding the popup that would allow you to enter the unlock code, the Netphone didn't have it. Tried the methods that would allow you to enter the NCK but none worked. I almost gave up. Rebooted the phone one more time, tried locking unlocking the screen and found something peculiar on the lock screen. It showed "GLOBE" on the carrier section. Now if I'm not mistaken, a locked phone wouldn't be able to register the phone to a different network. This led me to the conclusion that the phone is already unlocked but there is a startup app (made by Smart) that would lock the screen if a non-Smart SIM card is inserted. Now for the part that got really dirty...

From the moment I discovered that the phone was unlocked, I started with rooting the phone. This allowed to move apps in and out of the system directory. I move a bunch of Smart apps but still ended up with the lock screen by Smart (well...that's smart!). So...the next best thing, install a custom ROM. This will confirm the  idea that Smart is only using a software based lock on the SIM card. After installing the custom recovery and backing up the Smart Netphone's stock ROM, I looked for the cleanest ROM I can find and stuck that thing into the phone. Guess what, the phone was really unlocked from the beginning. Got it to work on my Globe SIM card. One bad thing about this is that I can't use the SmartNet service anymore.

What can I say about the phone so far? It's a very solid phone. Performance is expected for it's specs. Screen is great, find it even better than my HTC Desire's screen with the same resolution. For a retail price of Php9,900 for a prepaid unit, it's really a good deal.