Androids are better!
May 20, 2010
I’ve really become a huge fan of the Android OS on my Motorola Milestone (that’s a Droid to those of you from the U.S.). I’ve yet to pay for an app… but there are a couple I’m leaning toward upgrading to the paid versions. Some have become indispensable and I really have a hard time understanding how I managed my online/electronic life without a smartphone up ’til now. That, most of all, speaks to how compelling this device is to me.
The key to making an Android device work for you is a Google account. I’ve set up Milestones for others who (for whatever reasons they may have) decided that they don’t want a Google account and prefer to keep using either Yahoo mail, or Hotmail/Live mail, or an ISP email account. Regardless of why… it is drop dead easy to setup an Android device if you use that Google account regularly. Turn on the device, enter your gmail username and password at the prompt and all of your mail and contacts instantly flow into the device in less than a minute. It borders on magical… impressive indeed.
I know other device manufacturers offer similar features and ease of use but each of the others (hello Apple / Microsoft) ties you to their software / platform. Using Android means you aren’t tied to iTunes to manage your media on the device. You aren’t forced to install the zune software… you tether the device (in my case the Milestone) either via a USB cable or wirelessly (Apple has yet to be able to offer this feature although it’s rumoured for OS 4 on the iPhone) and the device shows up as drive that can be accessed via drag and drop for both getting media on or off the device. No software to install… this is not only elegant it’s the way it should be for any portable device. No matter what computer I am using… Apple / Windows / Linux … I should be able to access and mange the device. Android is the only major smartphone OS that offers this functionality… and it’s for this reason above all others that I love my Milestone!
I’ll be back soon with recommended apps and some tips and tricks if you’ve got yourself an Android device!
