Updates on Android - end 2010

Quite a few people I know are looking to buy the latest android phones or tablets. Question is, what  to pick up? For me, the dilemma is that both Android enabled hardware and software are still in flux, and in the process of getting upgraded. I would advise anyone who wants to spend big bucks (Rs. 25000 or more) to wait a bit, if they can.

It appears from this PC World article that Android 3.0 (codenamed Gingerbread) will be a fantastic update. It will be faster, offer better integration with Google, feature an improved user interface and utilise more powerful hardware. It appears to make little sense then to invest in devices like Sony Xperia and Dell Streak which are still running only Android 1.6. Take a look at the chart below from the androphones site, which demonstrates that not only is 70% of the market on the latest two versions of Android, but a huge chunk are already on 2.2 (Froyo) which is the latest stable update.



And what is in store on the hardware front? This post on Smartphonebenchmarks site talks about the new Adreno 205 GPU which will power new HTC phones including the Desire HD (soon to be launched in India). Testing shows the new GPU to offer faster speeds than the earlier Adreno 200, which was used in phones like HTC Evo, Droid Incredible and Nexus One. If that's not enough for you, it is likely that HTC will debut a few phones with Qualcomm Dual Core Mobile chipsets in 2010 or early 2001l. And Motorola's new T2 will feature NVidia Tegra 2 dual core chipset as well.

So basically this means that we should wait for more phones with the new processors! Unless you opt for Samsung Wave or Samsung Galaxy S - Samsung's own Hummingbird processor running on both phones is still faster than anything else on the mobile planet - though the Touch Wiz interface of Samsung does not do full justice to the speeds.

So right now the killer Android phone is still a thing of the future. Sometimes writing this blog can be both funny and frustrating. What I raved about just a few months ago, is already obsolete, and what I  recommend, is not yet in the market. I'm so tempted to just crawl back to my Symbian S60 powered Nokia handset and wait for the dust and heat of the OS wars to settle down.

Comments

  1. AnandOctober 21, 2010 at 10:21 AM

    This evolution in software and hardware could leave you waiting for that elusive best phone.i got myself a Nokia N8 which looks gorgeous but the software could be better designed. a consoling thought is that firmware can always be updated whereas hardware stays put.

    ReplyDelete
  2. NishaOctober 22, 2010 at 12:42 AM

    True. Nokia, Blackberry and to an extent Apple have a better innovation curve though, if you stick with them. But obsolosence on Android is crazy. Things get outdated within weeks of release sometimes! And firmware updates are not so easy either except on Nexus One, as they are operator controlled also. Heard that Galaxy S Froyo update is postponed and Sony is just not updating the Xperia either. I am sure that your experience with N8 will be pleasant. Thanks for dropping in to comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NishaOctober 22, 2010 at 12:54 AM

    I meant to say, that if you stay in the Nokia or BB ecosystem, you are protected from having something that's drastically outdated suddenly. They update things gently and gradually, over time and don't completely discard the old in favor of the new. For BB, Curve still has its place as does the Bold and now the torch. And for Nokia, C3 and E5 are still playing around the E63 zone even as the N8 debuts the S3 OS. Now look at the Android ecosystem. Already the Nexus One is dead, Milestone is outdated and even the HTC HD Desire is already better than the Evo. Too too bleeding edge, even for me!

    ReplyDelete

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