webdevmatt

So, I’m walking out of the office, perfect timing to drive to my next appointment. I get to the parking garage, dammit, I have no clue how to get where I am going.

Droid to the rescue. I open up the meeting request on my phone and sure enough the address is typed in the notes section. As I sigh, figuring I have to figure out how to copy and paste the address into Google Navigation, I double click around the freeform typed message. Voila, a Google map comes up with a bubble echoing the address.

We all know what comes next: click the bubble, select navigate, turn gps on and navigation commences.

Once again, the Droid gets me to my appointment on time.

This is far from a definitive power management post, but I’m sharing with you what I do at a minimum to get a full day of battery life.

1. Put the power widget on one of you home screens. The power widget gives you easy access to your hardware power consumer’s; sync, Bluetooth, WIFI, GPS and display. If you need to conserve power, shut off what you are not using with a touch of the finger. I run lean with just sync on for most of the day. It’s all I need when at work. Put the GPS on when I’m running or need to get somewhere, and almost always leave the backlight off.
2. Download a power management program. I use a free one, “Power Manager”. I have not fooled with the default profile, and it manages how long my screen stays on when in a call or when there is no activity. For some users the screen might go black a little quick, but for me, it’s fantastic. The screen is the biggest drawer of battery and the power manager keeps it off when it doesn’t need to be on.
3. Advanced Task Killer. Download it and use it. Easily close down applications that are running that “don’t need to be running.” I love this application, and it helps manage power by making it easy for the droid to run lean.

Do these 3 things out of the gate and see how it affects your battery life. If it gets you in the right direction, it will be time to get granular on how you use your device, and I’m pretty sure we can get better battery life out of your Droid.

In my first few weeks of using the Droid, I took a couple ~5hr trips along the east coast. As mentioned in this second droid post the streaming of music and podcasts was great, and my girlfriend had downloaded some game apps for some extra shotgun entertainment.

While I’m not one for play games on my computer or my phone for that matter there’s an app that she downloaded that I just can’t put down, especially when I’m on the crapper. It’s called jewels.

It appears to be a version of bejeweled and it is definitely entertaining. The object of the game is to get as many points as you can by putting at least 3 of the same color / shape in a row. There are 2 types of games, “timed mode” and “normal mode.” Timed mode is, as expected, the normal game with a countdown with time added as you score points.

Thank you Erin for downloading this game, it keeps me on the toilet a little longer each day. Droid users out there give it a go or post your favorite bathroom apps.

Anyone who knows me knows my sense of direction needs a little work. When I got the GPS in my car everything was great, as long as I knew where I was going when I started my journey, but what happens when a call comes in for a home visit while you are driving?

1. You or your shotgun can’t enter the address while you are driving, “safety feature”.
2. Odds are, you don’t have the address in your GPS

Droid to the rescue. Once you hang up the phone, 4 clicks on the screen and bingo, Google navigation is talking you to your destination.

This afternoon proved out this scenario to a “T”.

While driving, a call comes in from a client, “Matt, could you stop by and give us a hand with …” I was in the vicinity, so I accepted, but I was on the “wrong side”, geographically, of the client. The first thought that came to mind was, “oh shit, I have to get to where I know.”

Droid to the rescue. At my fingertips, GPS and Google Navigate(beta), and in a form factor that we’re all used to using while driving (I am assuming that the majority of the people reading this post emails and texts while they drive, for the others I could see if it takes a voice command). A few taps of the finger and there’s a friendly voice, if you like female electronic voices, giving you directions with the next turn. The directions were spectacular and the accuracy was amazing. She tells me about my turns 800 feet before they occur and she appears to be dead on.

While this location did not have a street view, there have been times when a picture of the location is available, and the voice tells me which side of the road my destination is cash money. 

As I sit here contemplating weather to spend the $20 for Touchdown, a “better” exchange client for my Droid, I think to myself, am I starting to embody my stance on why Americans love America but are still down with complaining about it. My discussions about the USA can be misconstrued as negative when in fact the negativity is bread from how our “society” exploits all things great about America, our freedom.

I am of the belief that convenience is what drives the vast majority of humans living in America. Everything is so convenient, and when it’s not, we like to bitch about it. Good thing we don’t live somewhere where walking out your front door can be very inconvenient. “Honey, I’m going to the store and grab some milk, you need anything,” BLAM, my home has just been destroyed by a rocket. Do corner stores even exist in war zones?

The next time you feel like bitching about having to wait a few extra minutes in the express lane at the supermarket, remember that we are privileged to be able to have easily accessible food; food that we can buy in the store that is packaged, clean and sometimes ready to eat (semicolon is for you @alex_howansky).

I have a Droid, it’s a great device and delivers on most of the needs I have for a phone and comes drastically close to an efficiency machine that comes in the form of a Blackberry. I’m going stick with Active Sync out of the box for now. If my profile gets erased or the messages lag behind, I will go to the convenient store and grab the Touchdown Client.

As I get out of the shower on Thanksgiving morning and see the bruises emerge on my arms, I’m reminded of the game we had the Sunday before and how much of a pleasure it was to have Sean “If I can’t Beat You I’ll Beat on You” Brown playing his first complete Turkey Bowl. The weather was pleasant on this day and there were a few more things different going on besides Sean’s presence:

1. Founders Gil Steele and Robi Banerjee were not present (’this was their first missed turkey bowl in 6 years); but we got O’Leary back.
2. Teams were more “dictated” by senior, by age, Turkey Bowl softmore Jimmy “The Coach” Nichols
3. WE WERE WEARING FLAGS (no tackle)

The game commenced more promptly this year about 15 minutes from the scheduled starting time with former MVP Ben Evens in transit. We started the game as a 5 on 5 evenly balanced matchup, Ben would step in as all-time QB when he arrived.

The Coach’s dream team brought it early and often, and the youngest member of the clan started to position himself as a strong player starting the game off with an interception (this would happen 3 more times throughout the course of the game).

It was a few plays later when we would have our first casualty on the Turkey Bowl field. Mark went down in a heap of bodies coming up with a mouse in his ankle. The mouse would progress to about the size of a baseball before he had to be carted off for treatment by Sandie as the Beer, i mean medicine, was not quite doing the job in the healing process. The Tuities would miss Mark’s speed for the rest of the game.

While it appeared that the teams were well balanced on paper, Tuite’s team lacked the existence of a quarterback, which became evident after the first 6 possessions of the ball. Everyone attempted to fill the position resulting in 5 interceptions and another first at the Turkey Bowl, a punt.

Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, you had the bizzaro version of the Tuite team. Every player on Jimmy’s Giants converted on a touchdown pass, and with me at quarter back, the Coach drew up a beautiful draw play resulting in a QB TD on a blitz from the Tuities.

With the lack of the aerial assault from the Tuities, Jimmy’s team pretty much rolled over them. After the 5th or 6th intermission, Denzel (Gil’s Neighbor) stepped in as QB, and Charles made a valiant effort to contain the 6′3″ 15 year old phenom. With a QB at the helm for the Tuites, they made a late surge to come within 3 scores before the Giants stepped up when pressured on the good ole “last touchdown wins” rule.

Awards

Kyle Bartz Award: This was the easiest of all awards to give out. Nate Leader, you were the epitome this award. Talking smack on Tuesday, “injured” on Sunday, and I thought you were a bad man.

Sibling Rivalry: This might not have been the year of Christian Tuite, but newcomer Paul “I’m the better” Tuite showed his big brother a thing or two in true Tuite fashion, on both offense and defense. When Paul made the “give him a pump fake, I’ll burn em call” I personally was skeptical. Sure enough Paul left his brother, as Chris has left his opponent many times before at the Turkey Bowl, in the mud. Welcome to the game Paul, we look forward to the showdown again next year. NOTE: Paul put on this show in front of the kids, Riley and Paul’s son, I wonder if Riley will be talking smack next year.

MVP: Walker “Don’t Call Me Dr. Quinn” Nichols. His stats were the best, hands down, 4 interceptions and and 2 TD’s. While stats have not always been our criteria for MVP, the numbers were staggering and deserving of the award. NOTE: This award was a gift from Tuites’ QB’s

No Cleats, No Carnage: Late in the game we saw a new side of the one we call DUSA Dave. The only player without cleats, and maybe the most physically intimidating human on the field, Dave may very well have a mean streak in him K. With the use of flags, there were a few equipment issues and they appeared to get the better of Dave’s temper. Tim “the old man” Sullivan, who had previously owned Dave on Offense with a half a dozen completions and a touchdown, was thrust into the QB position after a minor ankle injury. After some fancy footwork, Dave tore 2 flags clearly off of Tim’s belt. That coupled with some nice jarring hits, I think Dave may be a game changer with cleats and full contact.

Unsung Hero: The MVP may have been given away this year. Our MVPs, in the past have been known to play 100% on every play with stats to boot. How does this sound; 6 TD passes, 1 interception, 1 rushing touchdown, a tipped pass to an interception, the shutting down of Sean Brown, 2 sacks (one being on Denzel). Just saying, one year the writer will get this award :).

Throw Me the Ball: We heard it all day from Sean Brown, and when Denzel stepped in, it looked like he might have been the go to guy. With Sean Brown’s physical offensive strike and the right QB, this guy might be dangerous.

Well, it’s another year and another game in the books. The presence of flags and the absence of menacing intimidation of crushing blows, changed our game a bit, and have the founding fathers pondering a bit. 2009 was the first year without tackle, and it resulted in our only, knock on wood, prolonged injury (Mark our thoughts are with you every day as you hobble around on that huge ankle), and a 13 year old MVP. Is tackle a safer game for our aging bodies and egos? Is Chris Tuite a menace both off and on the field (I’m pretty sure we know at least the answer to one of those)? Should the game go back to its roots? Maybe we should answer these questions in a Christmas Bowl.

WHO’S IN FOR THE INAGURAL CHRISTMAS BOWL, SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS? Please comment on your thought and attendance.

You have got to love the Droid Community. The Updates have started rolling out across the country. If you want to know where, check out this google map. The community will be updating it when as the OTA (Over The Air) update comes available.

If you have any trouble doing the update, check out Verizon’s helpful instructions on “Mandatory System Update: DROID by Motorola.”

The following enhancements to the Droid by Motorola have been made:

• OS stability is improved.
• Battery life is improved.
• Camera auto focus functionality is improved, and time between shots is reduced.
• Enhancements for three-way calling.
• Audio for incoming calls is improved.
• When receiving a call on call waiting, the speakerphone now remains on.
• Bluetooth® functionality is improved; background echo is eliminated.
• Improved Bluetooth phone book transfer of contacts to in-vehicle Bluetooth solutions.
• After closing a GPS application, the GPS icon will now automatically be removed from the notification panel.
• Users can now receive SMS and MMS messages after an EMS message is received.
• SMS and MMS may now be sent to seven-digit addresses.
• Google® contact merging has been updated to accommodate seven-digit numbers.
• Visual Voice Mail notices now arrive instantaneously.
• The corporate calendar widget user interface is updated.

Looks like we will be getting some solutions to some of the issues that we have been discussing with the Droid’s first updates rumored to be coming on December, 11 2009.

We’ll have to see how this pans out. Check out below the fold on this Boy Genius Post for the identified issues.

It is my option, that AOL is the devil for many reasons I will not get into right now, but there has been a request for a how to get “AOL Email on my Droid”, so this one’s for you doc:

1. Click on the email Icon
2. Once in email, click on the menu button
3. Select accounts
4. Select add account
5. You will have to fill out your email address and password and then click Next (incoming and outgoing servers are verified, you are done other wise click manual setup and continue)
6. Select “IMAP Account”
7. Incoming settings
   1. IMAP Server : imap.aol.com
   2. Port : 143
   3. Security Type : None
8. Go to the bottom of the screen and click “Next” (The Droid will make sure you login is valid)
9. Outgoing settings:
   1. SMTP Server: smtp.aol.com
   2. Port: 587
   3. Check Requires sign-in
   4. Username = just screen name eg. If your email address is tester@aol.com, just use tester
   5. Password

You should now be able to send and receive email on AOL. I will get update the post with screen shots if needed, let me know.

Overall, I still like the Droid a lot, but am not in love. The capabilities of the device and the peppiness of android 2.0 OS, coupled with the Verizon network has got me really close to love, but right now it’s just a hot chick with a really good personality, not quite the complete package.

The Good (Great for most users)

1. 1800 miles of east coast driving streaming audio with no interruption the whole way (even through the Lehigh valley). Thank you Verizon and Pandora.
2. Google navigation with traffic layer. Didn’t need the local radio stations to let me know when a slowdown was coming; green, blue, yellow and red with an occasional red circle with a line through it were all the cues needed to know when a slowdown was coming.
3. Games. This one is from my girlfriend, the complete package :). I know she appreciate the free game downloads from The Android Market

The Bad / Ugly (Business user related)

1. On more than one occasion, my exchange mail (Corporate Mail) account has "got behind". It would be 3 pm and my last message was received at 11am. In my business and for many of my clients, this would be unacceptable. I’m hoping this will work itself out. (The things I endure for my clients :))
2. Black Screen. In the 2+ weeks I’ve been using the Droid, I have had to pull the battery when the device has become unresponsive, just a black screen. This might have to do with some of the applications running, but there’s no real way for me to be sure. If you have any insight, please leave a comment.

If there’s anything you are looking to find out about the droid that you would like me to review, please leave a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving.