iDon't Know
Verizon is, without a question, making some really strong decisions in recent times — not the least being the decision to go to LTE for its 4G network (a truly impressive technology). I also think the choice to move away from its long time ties to BREW phones, by putting a lot of its emphasis on Blackberry, Windows and now Android phones is brilliant and clearly the wave of the future.
I'm still not so sure of this campaign. While I don't advocate Dan Hesse's answer as a good way to compete, I think it is pretty bold to put a phone up as doing what the iPhone cannot do.
The trouble is that for as limited as the iPhone is in things such as multitasking, it is doubly ahead in ways most users actually care about: a huge ecosystem of first rate, beautiful, touch oriented apps; desktop class web browsing on a small screen; integration with the iTunes/iPod digital hub, etc.
It's significant that, for example, Apple clearly sees its consumer-level iPhone OS competitors more as Sony and Nintendo than Microsoft or Blackberry. Apple is also trying to play the enterprise card, but in this case, the consumer offers a far more lucrative market.
I think those iPhone advantages can be overcome for many users, and phones like the impressive HTC Imagio that I'm presently reviewing make a very good value/functionality argument for certain market segments. However, in sheer average user functionality, the iPhone has managed to rocket from out of nowhere to become the device to beat in mindshare and, in some segments, marketshare.
If I were Verizon I'd probably stick with the network tact and bide my time until the inevitable iPhone LTE shows up on their network.
I just got an iPod touch. I know the iPhone isn't as limited (though I don't pretend to understand why the differences). But I'm pretty frustrated with the thing. Why don't they want me using my bluetooth headset to record voice memos? Why don't they want 3rd party apps to sync over USB?
Whether or not this droid thing lives up to the hype, I do think Apple is creating complications for users that don't need to be there. It isn't the simple, intuitive device I was expecting.
If Verizon's new phone works as advertised and syncs well with Mac apps, I'm going to have to consider it.
For the most part, I think Android focuses on cloud based sync via Google, if I'm not mistaken.
I guess for the most part, I don't bump into the iPhone OS limitations. For example, I rarely have my iPhone docked, so app syncing over Wi-Fi makes more sense to me. My main regret is that everything doesn't sync over Wi-Fi.
I'm surprised to hear about the Bluetooth headset. What happens when you try?
I wouldn't mind wifi-syncing if:
1) All the apple stuff would sync. I get that it would take forever to upload 30GB worth of music and videos, but most of my daily syncs are just small calendar updates and a few note files.
2) The 3rd party apps would sync via local wifi (like Things) and not require me to go through an online service or google docs.
I can listen to music through the bluetooth headset, but that's it. From what I've googled, it's an intentional limitation on the iPod. They still think of it as an mp3 player, I guess. It makes no sense to me.
Caedmon,
1.) You might try either MobileMe or Google Sync to take the necessity of wired syncing out for PIM data.
2.) Agreed. I've found most of those I use do use local sync, but… then again, everything trendy uses “the cloud.”
3.) I'm not sure on the bluetooth thing what the point is. Will that function work with third party voice recorders on the iPod touch?
It makes no sense to me to use an online service to sync devices that are in the same room. I know it makes sense for people who leave their desktops sitting online at home, but I nearly always have laptop & ipod with me. If I was really cool, I'd figure out how to setup my own network sync service, I guess.
I've been doing some digging on the bluetooth problem. It's firmware, not hardware. Apple has only installed the profile (a2dp?) for stereo listening to bluetooth and has not included any of the profiles that would allow for 2-way audio via bluetooth. It's an intentional crippling that makes no sense. Apple's own voice recorder software would be much more useful if I didn't have to be wired to the device.
Yes, your own network sync would make you very cool.
As to Bluetooth, I guess it is about baby steps. A2DP only showed up in iPhone OS 3.0… The good news is that when Apple adds features, it typically has enabled them on older iPhone/iPod touch hardware as well as new hardware… with a few exceptions.
Yeah. From what I can tell, my ipod should have all the guts necessary for 2-way bluetooth, if they'll just enable it.
On the other hand, I purchased it from a store with a 90-day return policy, so if that Droid thing turns out to be the greatest gadget since, well, the iPod…
Well, I'd say the Droid is quite, quite nice. I wouldn't mind owning one at all. On the other hand, it definitely isn't as strong in the multimedia department, so it really depends what you are looking for…
I need a PDA that syncs nicely with a Mac. I don't care nearly so much about playing music (I have a perfectly good ipod nano for that) or viewing photos/videos. I use the ipod touch mainly for calendar, task management, note-taking, and bible viewing.
I'll wait another month and see how the bugs work out of the droid.
My full review, which is now up on OFB, might be helpful.
I'm thinking there is very little the Droid will do for you that the iPod Touch won't already do for you. But, if you're on Verizon and want a smartphone, it'll serve you well.
I read the review. It's biggest selling point for me is that it's on Verizon. I think I'll wait six months, though - let Droid work its bugs out and give the iPhone a little more time to fly free of the AT&T nest.
Yes, I'm holding out hope for a LTE iPhone, although I think that might be down the road another year or two…
I've gotta wonder, though, if Qualcomm can really make a decent CDMA/HSPA+ combo radio, wouldn't Apple almost certainly offer something for Big Red?