Android - What’s the fuss all about? By Trushank Dand

Android - What’s the fuss all about?
By Trushank Dand

Published: Monday, Jan 24, 2011, 18:19 IST
| Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA


http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_android-whats-the-fuss-all-about_1498578

If one speaks of convergence of technology, there is no better example to give than that of the poor old cell phone. The original phone was hardly any different than the existing landlines. One difference I can point out (other than the lack of wires) is the concept of offline dialing. Later they were given alphabetical keyboard for texting, then cameras, and the story continued.

No one ever bothered about the hardware capabilities of their devices or the operating systems they are on. Most Nokia users haven't even heard of Symbian, the operating system their phones run on. The OS never got any attention because it was nothing more than a software that made the phone work.

Let's see what the Android fuss is all about. Well firstly it's by Google, so like all its creations such as Gmail, Gdocs, Gmaps, Gtranslate, Gtalk, GEarth, Streetview, Youtube (consciously ignoring Orkut); it's bound to be breathtaking. Secondly (this is a big one), you get all the goodies mentioned above as default on the android system.

Decoding the apps:

Google Maps lets you navigate with street by street voice instructions. An equivalent MapMyIndia GPS device would set you back by Rs7000. Cheapest Android costs Rs9000. The streetview feature lets you view street level 360 degree panorama of practically every city in the world.

It has got the good old Gmail on your cell phone. Well what so new? Gmail Android integrates your push email, so you don't need your crackberry devices anymore. Also it lets you sync multiple accounts and supports all kinds of attachments.

All your phone book contacts are synced with your Google account and your Google contacts are brought to your phone. The cherry on the cake is that if you specify a Facebook account, it can get all the information that your friends have posted including birthdays, phone numbers, display picture etc. for the Caller ID.

The Google Goggle is a new service provides users with the functionality to Google search by clicking picture of the things they want information about, like a famous painting or a monument or even a book. It also incorporates advanced OCR technology to read visiting cards and then search Google businesses for
information.

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program. It displays satellite images of varying resolution of the Earth's surface, allowing users to see things like cities and houses looking perpendicularly down or at an oblique angle. Talk about carrying the world in your pocket.

If you've heard of Apple boasting about 30,000+ applications in its iStore, Android Market is the Google equivalent of it. It lets you download certified applications either for a nominal rate or mostly for free. This really displays the spirit of a market as developers post their applications in a unified location where users can browse through.

The coolest application I have come across here is the one that connects to GPS and tells you what speed you are driving at. It even warns you if you are speeding. There are millions of applications to choose from, yet if none meet your needs why not create one yourself? You might just end up making a little money in the process.