Buy Microsoft Office Home & StudentOn Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.
It's been a long time since I've devoted an On Call to reader questions, but e-mails about the Motorola Droid have poured in following the device's debut last month. Some have offered nothing but effusive praise for the handset, while others have raised concerns. I've included a sampling of e-mails from the latter camp below. And be sure to catch my follow-up to a previous Android post at the end of the question-and-answer session.
Q: I think you described switching to Google Android quite well. I like the Droid, but I'm thinking of waiting for a GSM version. Will there be a GSM version and do you think that Verizon Wireless will carry it?
- Tandon55
A: A GSM version of the Droid already exists. The Milestone, as it's called, is almost identical to the Droid except that it has pinch-and-zoom multitouch. We're not sure why it has the extra feature--believe us when we say we're not happy about the disparity--and neither Verizon Wireless, Google, nor Motorola is offering an answer. The Milestone will land first in Europe and Germany, but it won't come to Verizon Wireless. Verizon uses CDMA, which is an incompatible technology to GSM, and Verizon already carries its own version of the phone. ... Read more
DoggCatcher
(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webtser/CNET)Sprint rolled out an over-the-air update to its HTC Hero earlier this week to address a couple of bugs and add a few small features. But since the release, some users are reporting that copyright-protected apps have disappeared from their phones. Did this "fix" accidentally break something entirely different?
Those who have lost the copyright-protected apps also report that they can't even find the apps in the Android Market even if they have already paid for them.
A quick look around a few Google and Sprint discussion boards shows that the problem is not isolated to a few users. And developers are hearing directly from frustrated customers who downloaded their apps.
SnoggDoggler, the creator of the podcast application DoggCatcher, received e-mails from users who lost the app immediately after installing the update. After a little bit of detective work, SnoggDoggler narrowed it down to the app's copy protection. The developer also conducted testing with a user and found that by toggling copy protection on and off, the app would appear and disappear from the Android Market.
SnoggDoggler offers a beta version of its application that's unaffected by the update, but as with most beta apps, it's subject to bugs and quirks. Until this issue is resolved, SnoggDoggler and other developers must either resort to a non-copy-protected version or simply make their app unavailable to select handsets.
Other apps known to be affected by the update are Twidroid Pro, Advanced Task Killer, My Backup Pro and Documents To Go. Are you a Hero owner or Android developer experiencing the same issues? Tell us below.
The Ion gives a taste of what to expect with the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)T-Mobile has finally unveiled its second Android phone, but how does it stack up with the carrier's first release? If you purchased a G1 back in October, is it time to upgrade? How were the major concerns of the first phone addressed?
The MyTouch 3G won't launch in the United States until August, but the phone has been available in other parts of the world for months. The Google Ion, which made the rounds at the Google I/O conference last month, is a limited edition version of the HTC Magic, and shares the same hardware and many features with the MyTouch 3G.
Battery life
One of the biggest complaints of the G1 concerned its limited battery life. Users were forced to disable many features in order to prolong use. Indeed, on my G1, I routinely had to disable Wi-Fi, GPS, and other features that I wasn't using. Normally, my phone would normally survive the day, but it was near dead when I placed it on the charger at night.
Luckily, the battery life is no longer an issue on the second Android phone. The Ion's 1300mAh battery offers increased capacity over its predecessor. Though it's only 13 percent larger than the G1's 1150mAh battery, it feels as if it has twice the capacity. Even if I leave all features turned on, my phone is still going strong at night. There have even been a few nights where I skipped charging the Ion, which is something that I could never do with the G1.... Read more
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