The 5 Pillars of FroYo – Android 2.2 Announced

I’ve been waiting on this announcement for a while. To say I’m drooling over it is an understatement. The Nexus One is a GREAT Smartphone; but right now, with Android 2.1update1, its a bit crippled. The device is slow, processes hang up occasionally and the device appears to freeze; and it could be so much more than it is, with just the right kind of frozen desert… I’m just sayin’.

Thankfully, Google IO included a big announcement today.  Google announced the release of Android 2.2, codenamed FroYo.  Google is building FroYo on 5 pillars.  In no particular order, they are:

Motorola has the full specs to their latest Andriod powered device on their website. The Motorola Devour is a Cupcake device (Android 1.6) with MotoBLUR, and will be on the Verizon Wireless network.

It looks like Moto and VzW are a little more than kissing cousins, as they appear to have fully gotten into bed together. It will be interesting to see how well the two do together...

I’ve got tons of retail management experience.  I was managing computer retail stores between the ages of 16 – 18. I’ve been a gadget geek all my life.

One of the things that I usually advise people against when purchasing electronics, though is purchasing an extended warranty.  Unless you are going to be taking said electronics into a somewhat less than hospitable environment (like my family room, with my boys and most of their toys), the only thing that purchasing an extended warranty plan does is increase margin dollars for the store.  Most products, if they fail, usually fail during the warranty period, and the manufacturer’s warranty is usually sufficient to cover the loss or needed repairs.

Is AppleCare worth the price..?

All of that changed when I started buying Apple products, though.

AppleCare is more than an extended warranty program.  Its an engraved invitation to a better customer service experience should you have trouble with your Apple stuff. Depending on what Apple product I am purchasing (and who I’m buying it for), I won’t buy it without AppleCare.

Here’s what I’d purchase AppleCare for:

• MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro – Yes, during purchase
• iMac/Mac Mini/Mac Pro – Yes, during purchase
• Apple Display – Yes, during purchase
• iPhone – Yes, during first year
• iPod Touch/Classic/Nano – Depends on who its for; but if not necessarily during purchase
• Apple Tablet – Yes, during purchase

Please take notice of the last bullet there.  If Apple does release a tablet, AND it is available for purchase immediately following the press event.  The first thing you should buy for it is AppleCare.  I don’t expect things to be problematic for the product, BUT as this is a new product class, and as no one is certain how successful it will be, having a care plan for it for the next 3 years will be key in insuring that your investment is protected.

Aside from hardware and software replacement for the contents of the box, you also get preferred treatment from Apple Geniuses and customer service when you call for help.  As this is going to be a new product class for Apple, having preferred status on your side when you bump into problems won’t hurt. I don’t expect it to have problems, but as its untried, I think its going to “more prone” to “issues” and “opportunities for improvement” than other well established products like the iPod (in all variations).

If Apple does release a tablet tomorrow, will AppleCare be the first thing you buy for it?  Why not chime in and let us know!

As most unboxings go, this one is unfortunately a little on the blasé side.  However, I wanted to show everyone that might be interested what came with the Moto CLIQ.  Having never owned a T-Mo phone or any other Moto phone for that matter (the StarTac I had back in 2000 really doesn’t count, right??), I had no idea what to expect.

When I woke up this morning, I was greeted to a FedEx bubble wrap envelope at my door.  Opening it up revealed the box below.

My Moto CLIQ’s box. Its showing a little wear…

Small box… I was hoping for a little more in it that I got.  I stopped by a local T-Mo store, and interestingly enough they confirmed the contents for me.

The CLIQ in its box…

The review unit is in very good condition, but the box is showing some wear. Its also unfortunately, a fingerprint magnet (as you can see).

The entire contents of the CLIQ’s box.  There’s not much here…

From left to right we have the micro USB cable, a set of 4 booklets (I haven’t opened them yet, obviously), a phone recycle envelope, the AC adapter (the USB cable plugs into it), and a set of 3.5mm headphones.

We’ve come a long way from the days when not only USB cables but FULL AC adapters as well as basic cases were included with a device.  While the CLIQ is currently $199 (I saw it for $149 at Wal-Mart last night here in Chicago), and approximately $400 unlocked, I was a bit surprised to see so little coming with the device.

I’m working with the device, and have been playing with it most of the day. I have my Twitter, Facebook and mail accounts synchronized to the device as well as my JAMM Google Apps account. So far, I’ve had a good day with the device, but after reading some of the T-Mo forums for the device, its clear it has some challenges.  The debate over MOTOBLUR, Android 2.0 and the CLIQ seems to have a lot of device owners returning the device and going with a My Touch 3G (or other device).  This is going to be an interesting two weeks…

Stay tuned, kids… I’ve got a lot planned for this thing!

The simple fact is that there is not enough memory on the G1 to support a much bigger OS, and even equipping the device with Cupcake was reportedly problematic. "We knew that internal flash space was going to be very tight on the G1 and we kept the system partition tight on purpose," Jean-Baptiste Queru, a software engineer at Google said on Twitter last week.

Even though T-Mobile continues to deny it, the Android community has resigned to the fact that the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream) will not receive any significant upgrades beyond "Cupcake," the Android software update from last April.

via betanews.com

There comes a time when the latest ROM upgrade just doesn't cut it. So much for the G1... No more Android updates for you! Its only been like 6 or so months for this device (give or take a few); and its already being obsoleted? If I were a G1 user, I'd be ticked off!