Srcasm

I had to share this with all of you G1 lovers out there. Steel is a new browser being put out by Kolbysoft.com and it is probably one of the slickest mobile browsers I have seen.  For starters, here are a few of the great features that Steel offers to G1 users:

• Full screen support - This includes getting rid of the notification bar, hiding the address bar and the navigational buttons while browsing the web.
• On-screen keyboard - The on-screen keyboard included in Steel is quick, multi directional and offers a “vibrate on touch” feature to let you know that you’ve hit a key.  Sure, it’s not as great as the iPhone keyboard yet, but it’s a fantastic start.
• Landscape/Portrait mode - By turning the screen sideways, the browser seamlessly flips the web site from portrait to landscape and back again.  This can allow for a much larger viewing area as well as an easier read.
• Changable Agents - Trying to browse an iPhone only website and it just won’t let you?  Now you can choose the agent that is sent to the web.  Switch between Android, a deaktop browser and iPhone.

These are just some of the great features that Steel currently offers and it’s only at version 0.0.5 as I write this.  Only great things can come of this application.  Go ahead and search the Market for “Steel” and you’ll be up and running in no time.  Happy browsing!

It’s not very often that I become envious of my friends with iPhones.  I mean, sure it’s slick, has the Apple name on it and works really well but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be (no pun intended for you cracked LCD users).  For me, the full, Qwerty, real keyboard was important.

In my line of work I send a lot of emails.  I also text quite a bit.  When it comes to writing paragraphs of information or a blog entry, a real keyboard helps me to both type faster and more accurately.  With the onscreen keyboard of the iPhone, I would need to constantly look at it to make sure my fingers are where they’re supposed to be.

Today however, I’m excited for those iPhone friends/fiends that are now using the Google Voice Search for the iPhone.  From what I’ve seen and heard the interface is simple to use, works really well and the best part — The voice recognition is done on the phone so it’s much faster than most traditional voice recognition products (TellMe and Vlingo come to mind).

Fret not my Google Android friends, I have two things to let you know:

1. Since Google Android is made by Google, I’m sure that the G1 and Android will have integrated voice search in the near future.  It only makes sense to add this and an onscreen keyboard to the device (please?).
2. You can search with your voice for certain things by using a tool like TellMe.  Call 800-555-TELL and you can say any number of things that you’d like (including movie times, weather and directions).  It’s kind of cool — Just not as cool as an integrated G1 app.  Go figure.

One can only hope that Google will come to their senses and start rolling out software for the Android OS when they do others.  I mean, it is their baby!

Way back when, car phones were the new in thing.  Then came cell phones (they could actually fit into your pocket!).  After cell phones came smartphones.  The first gen versions of smartphones were bulky, slow and black and white — Gross.  Today we have iPhones, Blackberrys, Windows Mobile and Android phones (to name a few) that can do so much more than their older brothers and sisters from only a few years ago.

One of the biggest things to enter the cell phone market was GPS and aGPS.  Both of these services provide the ability for the phone, service and people to know exactly where they are in real time.  Scary, huh?

While location based technology can be freaky, it can also be a huge help to your everyday activities.  I leave GPS turned off and use cell tower-based location (where your phone can approximate where you are based on towers around you) to find restaurants and machanics.  But there is so much more than can be done with location.

Since I’ve been testing out the G1 from HTC, there is an amazing application called Locale that comes in the market for Android apps.  This program lets me change almost every setting on the phone based on where I am.  No location information is sent to any outside service so I have no fear of people tracking me.

It automatically turns on vibrate mode when I’m at work and turns the phone up louder when I’m out running (Hey, I run sometimes).  For power-saving, I have the phone set to leave wifi turned off unless I’m at a place that I know has it available like National Mechanics or IndyHall.  This means that I get faster web browsing without touching the configuration of the phone.

This is a location-based application that I believe that everyone could sink their teeth into.  It doesn’t share where I am, it doesn’t interrupt me while I’m in a meeting and it provides a service to me that I otherwise would have had to work for — Changing my own ring volume?  No way!

What do you think are some other great uses of location-based services or applications?  Restaurant reviews?  Movie listings?  Why would you use them in the first place?

These are a few more of the good, the bad and the ugly that I’ve found with the G1 on my quest for finding the perfect phone.

• The keyboard feels a little wobbly if you’re pressing against it.  I know, you’re not supposed to do that but still, I have a fear it’ll snap off.  It should be okay as I have the $6/month TMobile insurance if it does.
• Only one Google account can be logged in at one time.  This can be a pain as I use 3 separate accounts at any given time.  Personal, webby goodness and consulting.  For now, I have to check the other two account either via IMAP or the mobile Google site.
• The camera does not offer any options while snapping pictures.  While the auto-focus works well, there is no digital zoom, white-balance settings or themes to apply to photos.
• Strangely enough, while on a phone call, the phone can and will timeout and lock the display.  While it does not hurt the call, it does force me to have to unlock the phone when I get off the phone call.  It’s a bit strange.
• In addition, while on a call, the screen times out and goes black.  To bring it back on, you need to press a button.  A nice addition might be to recognize if the angle of the phone changes dramatically it turns back on.  I believe the iPhone does it already.
• Updating applications is as simple as one click (not to be sued by Amazon’s 1-Click) but there does not seem to be a global updater.  On a Mac or a PC, there is an updater that lets you know that new applications/fixes are available.  I haven’t seen this automatically pop up yet.
• While streaming a video from http://6abctogo.com, I turned the phone on it’s side and the video flipped orientation.  This is a nice feature that the iPhone does in most applications that would be a nice addition to the rest of the Android OS.
• The integration with Google Talk is incredible.  When I am signed on with the G1 and my desktop and receive an IM, I get alerted on both devices.  If I read it on my desktop, it gets marked as read on the phone and the alert disappears.
• Google has said that they will be releasing an Input Method Framework so that an on-screen keyboard can be released early next year.
• Google Street View on the G1 is one of the slickest implementations I’ve seen on any device.  Using the compass and the accelerometer, you can walk around in circles and see what you would see on the street.  While this is not amazingly helpful when it comes to navigating, it is very cool to show your friends.