02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

Will Google's Android Cure iPhone-Envy?

Analysis of News Events
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The emerging open mobile platform promises a wealth of opportunities for developers and may quench longings for Apple's tempting touch-screen device.

 

Psychologists this summer have identified a new emotional syndrome spreading among IT professionals: it's called iPhone-envy.

 

Thankfully, both the "other" kind of envy--identified by Freud at the turn of the 20th Century as occurring among young girls when they realize they don't have the equipment that their brothers possess--and iPhone-envy are treatable! With the "other" kind of envy (which, to be honest, has today been largely discredited), the girl eventually grows up, transfers her interest from her father to an older guy with a Harley, gets married, and lives happily ever after (right!).

 

But iPhone-envy may not self extinguish. It can go on and on and on--at least until your present cell phone contract expires, which could be years down the road. This can lead to depression, marital discord, self-inflicted property damage, and unfulfilled contracts. Have you ever found yourself paying on the contract for a cell phone that you no longer use? Ahem. Well, some of us have, I can assure you.

 

The recent release of the iPhone 3G has made the situation even worse. Reports of severe depression caused by chronic iPhone-envy are starting to pour into the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. The CDC dispatched a team of investigators and identified the root cause of iPhone-envy to be none other than...the Federal Communications Commission! You see, unlike most European agencies, which allow mobile phones to be independent of the service carriers, the FCC continues to support a policy that allows service providers, such as AT&T, to lock up the iPhone exclusively for their customers alone and no one else. This policy prevails despite recent arguments and lobbying by consumer groups that want to open up the field and allow people to use any cell phone they wish with any service.

 

Enter Google and the Open Handset Alliance. As it turns out, full-blown iPhone-envy has been a growing malady for quite some time, though its symptoms were never as sharply evident as they are today. Google began to think of ways to fight this epidemic and came up with the idea of an open platform that would support a variety of different mobile devices. (Could it have begun because Google's Eric Schmidt sits on the Apple board?) Today, the idea is a reality, and the platform is called Android. It allows developers to access core mobile device functionality through standard API calls and holds the promise of breaking down boundaries by allowing the combination of Web data with information residing on the phone, such as contact information.

 

The mobile phone on which Android will first run is called the "Dream," and it's being developed by High Tech Computing (HTC) of Taiwan, one of the world's largest mobile phone makers. The FCC already has given the HTC Dream its formal blessing. With that, some have begun to call it the "anti-iPhone" and even "iPhone killer" (though with the Apple iPhone's acknowledged reception problems and yet-to-be acknowledged "white screen of death," it may kill itself first). The Dream is expected to have basic cell phone features like multimedia messaging, voice dialing, and video recording, all of which are lacking on the iPhone. The Dream will feature Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a jog-ball type of navigation toggle (similar to the trackball on the BlackBerry Pearl). There are indications it may support T-Mobile's new 3G band, WCDMA 1700.

 

T-Mobile, the U.S.'s fourth-largest carrier and Germany's leader, through its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, has announced that it will introduce its first Android-powered phone before Christmas. Many people are expecting it could be even sooner, possibly as early as October. Chip-maker Qualcomm, a member of the Open Handset Alliance, says it has been working with more than five phone manufacturers on Android phones. Sprint, the U.S.'s third-largest carrier and an Alliance member, says it has been working closely with Google but has no date set for offering a phone running Android. The largest U.S. carriers, AT&T and Verizon, have not yet committed to selling Android phones, according to The New York Times.

 

Meanwhile, Google has been busy getting developer support for Android. Last spring, it created a contest for developers--the Android Developer Challenge--to create applications for the new platform and received more than 1,700 submissions. A third came from the U.S., but the rest arrived from 69 other countries. A panel of judges evaluated the applications and picked the top 50, the majority of which are listed here.

 

Meanwhile, Google released an updated version and true beta of its Android software developers kit (SDK) this week, V0.9, which the company says is very close to the final thing. Readers can download it from here. The SDK has what developers need to build and run Android applications, including a device emulator and advanced debugging tools. One thing Google touts about Android is that it doesn't differentiate between a phone's basic and its third-party applications. Even the dialer and home screen can be replaced. To watch several videos that explain the Android architecture, show an Android demo, and address how to build an Android application, visit YouTube.

 

Security researchers have now been set loose on the new platform, and Google, which already has fixed numerous bugs, is expecting a spate of changes to come from what researchers find. Achieving the right balance between security and convenience for such an open consumer device isn't easy. The Google Android Security Team is asking only that security researchers follow reasonable disclosure practices so the vulnerabilities and the patches are announced concurrently, and then credit will be awarded where it's due.

 

Besides iPhone-envy, what are the underlying reasons behind the interest in a new mobile platform? The answer can be found in the numbers. Today, there are reportedly about 1.1 billion PCs in the world. However, there are three times that many mobile devices, according to Google's Jason Chen. This huge market is growing fast, and software developers who want to be sure they have a large and growing market will want to look at developing applications for mobile devices.

Chris Smith

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: