Droid Sector

I’ve already received multiple emails from people who are excited for iOS 4’s multitasking because they can’t wait for this to finally stop being an issue, because they think Instapaper will be able to download articles periodically in the background.

It’s painful to respond, crushing their hopes, to tell them that the iOS multitasking system doesn’t allow me to do that.

By naming these features “multitasking”, Apple has set customers’ expectations to include what apps can do in a traditional computer multitasking environment.

It’s going to mislead people into expecting such behavior from apps, but we can’t actually deliver most of it.

Some people will notice that no apps can do these things and properly focus their disappointment on Apple. But many others will only notice the shortcomings in one particular app that they need to do the “impossible” and blame that application, leading to dissatisfaction and negative thoughts about the app.

As long as iOS “multitasking” can do much less than traditional multitasking — which will probably always be the case — this is going to be an issue.

www.marco.org

The RockPlayer allows Android phones to playback media formats not supported currently by system. Tried a few media files (wmv, avi) and it works good. The funny thing is, it look very much like stock player in Samsung Galaxy S.

Update: RockPlayer now available on Android Market, go to AppBrain or Cyrket to download it.

Support Types
Version ARM V7： Google Nexus One, HTC Desire Incredible EVO, Moto Milestone XT800, Droid Series, Acer Liquid, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Ericsson X10, Dell Thunder Streak, LG LU2300, etc.
Version ARM V6 VFP： Samsung SHW-M100S GT-i5700, HTC Legend, etc.
Version ARM V6： All models left running Android support ARMv6 instruction set.

Old beta version:

• http://www.mediafire.com/?2ly3dgjytnd
• http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3XX6PZKH

Web site: rockplayer.freecoder.org

Full article: iPhone vs. Android Showdown: Which Phone Is Best for Power Users?

That’s the reason I waiting for Notion Ink Adam tablet.

The new iPhone 4 now on par with latest Android handsets hardware wise, making it harder for potencial buyers to choose between these two platforms. This is my take on the current situation.

Screen

The screen in new iPhone is very impressive: IPS matrix with 960×640 resolution. It has a wide viewing angle, similar to AMOLED and Super AMOLED. Blacks are really good on these displays, since no backlight is used. AMOLED screen is less usable under direct sunlight.

The winner here is Super AMOLED screen. If you need a perfect screen, get Samsung Galaxy S. Just make sure it has no problems with Wi-Fi…

What about “retina” resolution? It would make sense on a bigger screen. I’m afraid you’ll need a microscope to see the difference between iPhone 4 and Droid screens. Then why so many pixels? Apple simple can’t use other resolution without breaking all existing apps.

Controls

Back button on Android devices not only used to return to the previous screen within the same application, but also to return to the previously started application. Menu button might not be very intuitive on first day of use, but it saves a valuable screen space. You’ll miss these buttons if you switch from Android to iPhone.

Trackball is rarely used, but it’s helpful for precise link navigation in browser and text selection.

Applications

Both Market and AppStore have lot of apps now. Some apps in AppStore more mature, some apps exclusive to Android Market. One thing is true – most people can find everything they need on both platforms.

A few things is making Market more attractive for users and developers though: 24 hours money back and instant app publishing. Money back isn’t very attractive for developers with shitty apps though.

Flash

This one is simple, iPhone doesn’t have a Flash and most likely, will never have. If you think that Flash is mostly used for displaying annoying ads, don’t worry, ads in HTML 5 format coming your way..

Flash is running just fine on the Nexus One. I can listen to podcasts, see streaming videos right on a webpage, without launching a dedicated app. Is it really necessary to kill Flash? Probably it will be replaced by HTML 5 in 2-3 years, but right now there are tons of Flash contents.

Notification system

Notifications are still the same on iPhone 4. See an example. Notification bar in Android is the much more elegant solution.

Cloud/Sync

Another strong point of Android is higher level of integration with online services. Address book can be synchronized over the air with FaceBook and Twitter, photos with Picasa web albums, podcasts with Google Reader… Google even has a demo of automatic over-the-air sync with music store recently at Google IO. Apple still charges $99/year for MobileMe and no sign of cloud-based music store yet.

Of course iPhone/iTunes media sync is still wins in terms of simplicity. Rating and playback stats sync is very nice feature to have.

Customization and open source

Widgets, home screens, messaging apps – many parts of Android can be customized or even entirely replaced. Open source helps coders like Cyanogen tweak the system on a deeper level and create a great mods.

That’s it, but may be I’ve missed something. What features in Android / iOS is important for you?

According to Rohan Shravan, the compan will be ready soon to produce 100,000 units every month. Company confirmed that they are still on track for a third quarter, 2010 launch.

More photos and video in SlashGear hands-on:
http://www.slashgear.com/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-0969281/

Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at Nvidia:

Windows is too big and it’s too full featured for smartbooks and tablets.

The good news is that we finally have an operating system to unite behind. Android is an operating system that has gained a tremendous amount of momentum all over the world.

Android has become the fastest growing mobile operating system in the world and, in fact, it has surpassed the iPhone in terms of growth and in terms of users.

Andy Rubin and his team [at Google] know exactly where the industry needs to go. Android started out as a phone but it’s not lost on them that the tablet is going to be very important and that the Android operating system has to evolve, and be enhanced in certain capabilities, in order to be a good tablet operating system.

I think we’ll have to wait until this fall. The operating systems are coming together, the devices are coming together.

Looks like we’ll see Android tablets by the end of this year. According to Eldar Murtazin, “Google asked manufacturers to wait until next Android version will be released”. Many apps already can run with no problem on a tablet, but system itself can be upgraded to take advantage of the bigger screen.

IDG News

On full brightness, the Nexus One without Flash Player got 3 hours and 45 minutes. Playing the video through Flash Player gave a battery life of 3 hours and 8 minutes. Not a big dropoff. At half brightness it was even better. The Nexus One without Flash got 3 hours 56 minutes and the Flash version got 3 hours and 31 minutes. Just a 10.5% change, which isn’t bad at all considering everything Flash Player does.

blog.digitalbackcountry.com