One Week with an Android

jaredhatfield's Android apps on AppBrain

I have been using my Nexus One for about a week now so I actually have some opinions! First things first, my favorite app by far is AppBrain. AppBrain syncs the list of all of the installed application on my phone to the web. I am able to see other people's lists and can even queue up new installs from their site.

What I miss about my iPhone

I will admit, there are a few things that my iPhone did better than my Nexus. The first thing I miss are a few of the applications that are not yet on Android. This is not a major problem, but still something I miss. The other thing I miss is Audible books, however I have heard rumors they are working on bringing Audible to the Android platform.

I am also trying to forget about how my iPhone worked. It has been said that it is easier to use an Android phone if you have never used an iPhone. I am frustrated with how many clicks it takes to place a phone call. It was a total 7 including unlocking my the phone when I used my iPhone. I have been up to 20 clicks depending on what menu I am in. Spending more time with the phone will definitely make these type of frustrations go away.

What I love about my Nexus

The best feature is by far the various Google applications. Sadly, I have not used my phone as much as I would have liked. Every waking moment for the past week has been dedicated to completing my capstone project.

The biggest change I have made so far is that I gave up my Zune for listening to podcasts. I have started using Google Listen for all of my podcast consumption. This has been the biggest change. Having a stand along podcatcher has been one of my biggest complaints about using a Zune or an Apple product.

The Conclusion

I am happy with my decision to go with an Android phone and really like the Nexus One. My next step is to start developing apps for it. I have the SDK downloaded and have started looking at some sample projects. Hopefully I will have something useful within a few months. I also have some exciting long term plans to develop an Android application!