AT&T and Samsung can’t get along long enough to get their act together and roll out the update. Thanks to the screen capture application, Shoot Me, I was able to grab some shots of what I have on my phone. I’ll admit, the one feature the iPhone has by default is the screen capture option, but Shoot Me offers even greater options for capturing images.

One of the things I really like about the Android OS is the dual layering of screens. Unless you are running the pure Android experience, you are likely to have some sort of added GUI (graphic user interface) overlayed to give it the manufacturer’s custom look. Samsung uses TouchWiz, Motorola uses MotoBlur, and HTC has Sense. This added layer allows the user to add customized widgets, shortcuts, folders, and wallpapers. Below you’ll find my home pages. The Captivate supports up to 7 panels. I am only using 4 panels to keep it simple. Click on the image to enlarge.

The pane to the left is the notification window. For non Android users, you’ll notice the top bar displays notifications, connection to network(s), battery level, and a clock. When a new message or notification appears, the user just taps on that banner and pulls the ‘shade’ down. Pane 1 is just a page to remind me of my family, pane 2 contains a Facebook widgets, some applications, and a utility for managing connections and power settings. Pane 3 is my home page, complete with a clock, my 6 favorite shortcuts and apps, and my Xbox Live avatar for quick access. Finally, pane 4 has the universal search bar, 12 apps, and the 4 persistent applications across the bottom (phone, mail, browser, and all applications).

The all applications button accesses the following pages of applications. Once again, you can click on the image to enlarge it for further examination.

These are all the applications stored on the phone at this time. You’ll notice a lot forced AT&T applications. I could remove them if I really wanted, but I’d rather not push the limits of my already rooted phone.  For those readers out there less than willing to jump into tweaking the operating system of their phone, there are other social application sharing programs out there. Some options include AppBrain, Appsfire, and Appolicious.

So what apps am I missing? I know there are many out there that I’m missing. Drop a note in the comments. Feel free to share your experiences with the Android Market.

After reviewing the five iPad advertisements, I noticed an interesting trend. The earlier commercials have a 2:1 ratio of content consumption compared to content creation. As you move through the newer advertisements, the focus leans toward a 1:1 focus of consumption and creation. The final tally ended in  a count of 22 applications targeting consumption and 13 aimed at creation. It sounds to me that Apple is attempting to capture the spirit of this device as a device primarily used for consumption. I scoured the internet for articles and research. One of the simplest graphics I found outlines the features of Apple’s three mobile platforms. Take a look at it and comment on it below.

Strengths

The iPad is a very stable device. Thanks to the closed operated system, the average consumer doesn’t notice any instability or crashes in iOS. As a reader and video player, the iPad provides an adequate amount of viewing space and backlight for low light situations. Through the iTunes Store and App Store, users can access an plethora of games, publications, media, and organizational tools.

Limitations

The iPad has no means of exporting content to a USB drive, although applications like Dropbox attempt to offer a file system to transfer content. The closed operating system does create limitations to file system structure for managing photos, media, and documents. The Safari browser for iPad notoriously denounces any support for Flash content which makes millions of website impossible to render and use.

The App Store is also known as a limiting factor for advanced users. Without cracking the operating system, users can only access approved applications.  The biggest barrier to content creation on theiPad focuses around the unexplained decisions that have limited users access to a variety of creation tools. Google Docs was one such feature.  When it was originally released, the iPad’s browser didn’t support Google Docs for editing, but in recent months things have changed and users can now edit their documents (with limitations).  Users will experience mixed results in support for certain content management systems and even some online learning platforms due to features disabled in the mobile Safari browser.

What Now?

With more than 300,000 applications and 10 billion application downloads, Apple certainly has the numbers to keep going, but will their restrictive environment stifle creativity and lean more towards consumerism?  I hope not. Fortunately, Android OS 3.0, AKA Honeycomb, was officially announced last week.  Does this mean the iPad is doomed? Not hardly. But just as in the mobile phone market, competition will drive innovation. With two major platforms, users will have greater choice and see the possibilities of tablet devices. Ultimately, we will need to watch as the current generation of tablets evolve into iPad 2 and devices like the new Motorola Xoom. Either way, I can’t wait to see users pushing designers and developers to support our creativity as technology advances.

Related

http://www.thomas-fitzgerald.net/2010/04/06/content-creation-v-s-content-consumption-the-ipad-revolution/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/03/entelligence-the-ipad-as-a-productivity-tool/

http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/reading-as-a-participation-sport/

So when you misplace your handset, AND YOU WILL, I have a great solution to ease your worries (unless you dropped your phone in the Atlantic Ocean). Where’s my Droid is a free application available through the Android Marketplace.  If you have  QR code reader, you can scan this URL and get a head start.

So why would I want to download this application? It’s free, so it can’t be that great. Wrong! Where’s my Droid allows you to send a pre determined text message to your Android phone that will activate the ringer for a previously decided upon length of time. Additionally, if some ne’er do well has your phone you can send a separate message that will activate your handset’s GPS and return a Google map and GPS coordinates of where your phone is.

I doubted the rich feature set of this application, but I installed it and tried it out after hearing about it at the end of Episode 78 of This Week in Google, I had to jump into the Marketplace and dig through the four possible entries that were listed under the same name. I tested it out in my home, while my mobile device was still in my own possession (as I recommend everyone do). It worked flawlessly. I used my Google Voice account to send a text message to my mobile number and received the messages you see here.

Is this application perfect? Probably not. But it certainly is a great option if you don’t have some enterprise level of security on your device. There are many other options available as you set up the default behaviors, many of these applications even offer a remote wipe option to clear all sensitive data from your mobile phone. If you have an Android device, make sure that this is in your top five applications when setting up your applications.