Re: [tlug] Android Phone

[Kyle Hasegawa <kylehase@example.com>]

andrew holway wrote:
> Hi Tluggers,
>
> I want to get my old man an android phone. Suggestions please!
Will he be using this in the US or Japan?  If Japan, there's only one 
supported device at this time, the HT-03 (HTC magic) from Docomo.  Other 
UMTS devices like the Hero from Expansys.jp are technically compatible 
but you'd be playing roulette with the packet charges since carriers can 
detect the IMEI numbers and decide that the unlimited packet rates don't 
apply.  Also, the paid market apps only appear when using a Docomo SIM.  
This may change when Softbank begins selling Android devices next year.
Network issue aside I can tell you that the Hero is a very nice device.  
While the Milestone (Droid) has a faster CPU, I find the Hero quite 
snappy.  The Milestone also has a larger and higher resolution screen 
which I very much envy.  Friends tell me the Droid keyboard is too small 
to be usable and I'm not sure if it can be used for Japanese input.  The 
Milestone has an LED flash which could help since the Hero's camera 
performs very poorly in low light.
As for the OS, HTC has stated that they're working on eclair (Android 
2.0) for the Hero which is currently still on 1.5 cupcake.  Their 
releases are a bit slow since they add customizations like the sense 
UI.  Unfortunately their customization also includes some useless apps 
that start on boot and can't be killed nor uninstalled without rooting 
the phone.
I'll bring my Hero to the next meeting or nomikai if anyone wants to try it.

Kyle