By Mark Dahmke
Information Analytics
October 30, 2009

For the past four years I've used two Sprint smart phones, both based on Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile leaves a lot to be desired, and it crashed regularly, sometimes daily. When I saw that Sprint was going to release its first Android-based phone I pre-ordered it through Best Buy, and picked it up on October 10th. Within a couple of days I'd found third-party applications that replaced all of the features I had on my old phone, and discovered a world of new options available through the Android marketplace.

Android is an open source operating system developed by Google. It provides a framework similar in concept to Apple's iPhone, however it is designed to be an open platform. Anyone can develop their own programs and add-ons and publish them through the Android Marketplace, and sell them at any price from $0.99 on up, or distribute them for free, if they choose.

Ken Livingston (co-owner of Information Analytics) bought an iPhone and has found several applications that he loves, including the Kindle reader for iPhone. The problem is that iPhone is only available on the AT&T network, and also is a closed environment, meaning that some of the underlying features of the phone and the network are not available to programmers. The biggest problem is that AT&T coverage is not very good between Lincoln and Omaha, and lately the extra iPhone traffic has bogged down their network, allegedly causing call drop rates as high as 30% in some areas.

I seriously considered switching networks when it came time to dump my Windows-based phone, and I looked at Verizon and AT&T. Verizon has better coverage but their rates are higher, and AT&T didn't have either the phones or the coverage that I wanted, so was quickly ruled out.

I'm now glad that I stayed with Sprint and waited for the HTC Hero. This is the best phone I've ever owned and has opened up a new world of possibilities. I won't try to write a full review of the phone here, but will reference this CNET review. I take exception to their comment that the phone is sluggish - I've found it to be very responsive - significantly better than the Windows phones I've used.

The first applications I installed on the phone were replacements for features on my old phone - an app that allows for custom alerts on SMS text messages, an RSS news reader and a couple that are of interest mainly to us computer geeks - an SSH client (a way to do remote administration on linux servers) and remote desktop software that allows me to access a Windows PC or server through the phone. I also have two email accounts, one from my company's Microsoft Exchange server, which also allows remote access to my Outlook calendar, and my personal mailbox. The Hero also fully integrates with my Facebook and Twitter accounts, and presents conversations in a unified way that is unlike any other phone on the market. At a glance I can see everything about a contact - how to call or email them, their text messages and what they're saying on Facebook and Twitter.

In the Android Marketplace I discovered dozens of very useful iPhone-like apps that have, in just a couple of weeks, transformed the way I use my phone. In late October I went to the Sprint Open Developer Conference in Santa Clara, California. It was on this trip that I discovered just how useful a smart phone can be. Before leaving I found and installed several applications - a Caltrain schedule, a San Francisco Muni bus route schedule and a BART schedule. The BART app is the most sophisticated of the three- it'll locate the nearest BART station and tell you when the next train will arrive. The Caltrain schedule app allowed me to select the start and destination stations and would show the schedules, allowing me to quickly reverse the route to find when the last train of the day would leave a particular station. While on the train I used the free Google Maps app to show my location in real time, and snapped a few pictures to send home and post on Facebook. Google Maps also provides driving directions.

I installed a free app called IPCam that lets me monitor the security webcams I have at home and office, and also my "Cat Cam" so I can keep an eye on my cats. The phone also makes a nice MP3 player, and with an 8GB microSD card, I can store my entire music collection, eliminating one more device to carry and recharge. I bumped into a friend at the airport who was on his way to Rio, and we chatted back and forth through Facebook in between flights.

The HTC Hero has the best web browser I've ever seen on a mobile device, but I've found that I don't use it very often because I've downloaded apps that give me access to all the web-based services I would normally access through a browser. The RSS News reader allows access to dozens of news sources, the phone automatically detects what city I'm in and shows the current weather and forecast, and Sprint TV provides free access to video weather forecasts, both national, regional and by city. For several years I've depended on text message and email alerts from United Airlines (how did we ever get along with out these?) And when stuck at the airport, I discovered that I could get along without my laptop computer, since the phone provided access to almost everything I needed.

The Hero adds another feature called "footprints" where you can take pictures and geotag them, creating a photo album of favorite places. Once tagged, you can feed the location to Google Maps which will give you driving directions. Another app turns the phone into a compass, and still another, Google Skymap, displays a real-time window on the heavens. Wherever you point the phone, it'll show you the constellations, moon and planets.

Big Changes Coming

At the Sprint developer conference I learned that Sprint is opening up virtually all of its 300 services to developers. This means that rather than the phone company deciding which services might be of use to customers, third-party developers can dream up and market almost anything without having to ask for help (or permission) from the phone company. Using their developer services, you could almost start your own wireless phone company and resell Sprint network services. They're opening up everything from billing services to access to location-based services.

I also saw a demo of their 4G network, which is currently available only in test mode in Silicon Valley and a couple of other markets. One demo was of streaming high definition TV and a wireless modem delivering broadband speeds up to several megabits per second for residential customers. They were giving away free modems and one year of free service to software developers in the bay area. Another demo showed live feeds from multiple webcams mounted on trains in Portland, Oregon. The only time they lost service was when the trains went through deep tunnels, but they're planning to install repeaters to solve that problem. As I watched, you could see the live view from the train and a constantly updated Google map showing speed and direction of each train.

Creative Labs, of Colorado Springs, Colo., demonstrated a portable video conference unit that transmits voice and video to other participants in the conference wirelessly. Sprint showed off a Ford F-150 truck with built-in broadband Internet access.

Based on my personal experience with the next generation of open smart phones and what I'm hearing from network providers, I see a future where service providers and anyone doing ecommerce will want to offer a customized user interface that will not only simplify access to their website for mobile users, but will also help them brand that interface and turn their company into an icon on the phone. To illustrate this - let's say you own a coffee shop and your slowest time of the day is between 9 and 11am. What if you could push out a text message to all your customers offering them a $1 off coupon, if they happen to be within half a mile of your store and it's between 9 and 11am?

As smart phones approach the speed and usability of desktop computers, and broadband access on phones reaches speeds comparable to what we've come to expect on our desktop, mobile phones will become our primary means of accessing the Internet, and custom applications will gradually replace general purpose browsers. What surprised me most about my recent trip is that on my Windows phone I used the browser all the time, but on the Hero I almost never had to use it, and when I did, I found it to be a cumbersome way of accessing information. This is something that I didn't expect, and points to another major paradigm shift for web-based services.

Mark Dahmke is Vice President and co-owner of Information Analytics, a full-service web design and hosting company that also provides custom software development and IT support services. Information Analytics can help you design an effective marketing strategy that integrates your website, traditional marketing and social networking venues.