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This Week in Mobile: Motorola Xoom, WP7 update, Mobile Firefox
Daniel Carey
One of the advantages of the mobile space is its rapid pace of evolution. Every week it isn’t uncommon to hear of new hardware or software being launched to a wide array of consumers. This week has been no different, so sit back and join us for another issue of ‘This Week in Mobile.’ In this issue you’ll find information about the Motorola Xoom launch, its reviews, and subsequent hacking. We also delve into Windows Phone’s first update, and Mozilla Firefox’s updated browser for Android.
Android News
Motorola Xoom
Taken by OkayGeek Editor Jason TsayEarly this week the Motorola Xoom, one of many new Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb tablets, launched on Verizon’s 3G network (4G available later this year via upgrade). Since the device’s unveiling at CES 2011, technology journalists have compared it to iPad like functionality, a feat achieved by its new Honeycomb OS.
Continuing to turn heads as it once did at CES, the Xoom has achieved mostly favourable status by the journalists reviewing it. Over the past couple of days I’ve managed to read several reviews, and from what I’ve been hearing, it would appear as though most had nothing but praise for the Xoom’s hardware. Unfortunately, in its present state the same can’t be said for its software. Reviewers have noted that Honeycomb appears to be a work in progress for Google; think about it, when has Google ever released a fully finished product.
Here’s what the web had to say
Engadget - Joshua Topolsky: “a lot of the new software feels like it isn’t quite out of beta.”
GigaOM - Kevin Tofel: “Honeycomb still has bugs to be worked out. Aside from some third-party apps crashing, the Android Market has crashed on me twice in a short time.”
The Wall Street Journal - Walt Mossberg: “Both Motorola’s hardware and Google’s new software are impressive and, after testing it for about a week, I believe the Xoom beats the first-generation iPad in certain respects, though it lags in others. Walt later goes on to say, “the iPad has way more tablet-specific apps… and in my tests, much better battery life.”
Laptop Magazine - Mark Spoonauer: “The first Android 3.0 tablet features innovative software and 4G capability, but buggy performance and a limited number of compelling apps at launch hold this slate back.”
BGR - Jonathan Geller: “As a toy used to discover new and incredible apps, and to use for 20 or 30 minutes a day to read and catch up on Twitter or do some emailing, sure. But the Xoom definitely can’t replace a laptop.”
From the quotes featured above, it would appear that most favoured aspects of the Xoom but had qualms with others. No matter what reviewers think, this is a consumer device and ultimately will be judged by how well it performs at market. And currently, it would appear that Android hackers, at least, have chosen Moto’s tablet thanks to its ability to unlock the boot loader. Just two short hours after the device’s release, ‘Koush’ an Android hacking extraordinaire, managed to install his very own ClockworkMod recovery image and ROM manager.
Mozilla Firefox for Android
If you have been looking for a new browser to replace your default Android browser… look no further. Early this week Mozilla updated its Firefox browser for mobile devices, and in the mix was an Android client. Previous iterations of Mozilla’s browser for Android had been buggy messes, only managing to attract the humble geek. However, thanks to some under the hood refinements — namely JavaScript — Firefox is now offering browsing speeds besting default Android browsers everywhere.
In fact, on a Galaxy Tab Mozilla Firefox is 216 percent quicker than the default browser, and 248 percent quicker than the Dolphin HD Browser, an alternative available via Android’s marketplace.
Windows Phone 7 News
Windows Phone’s first update bricks select handsets
Along with some interesting Android news mentioned above; this past week saw Windows Phone’s first official update. Intended to tweak some under-the-hood settings whilst prepping handsets for Windows Phone’s first major update, Microsoft fell in hot water when select Samsung Omnia 7 devices became inoperable.
While software updates are known to cause glitches in hardware (it is to be expected), most consumers were a flurry with anger over the manner in which customer support reps helped. According to one Omnia 7 user [story featured below] his patience had all but dried up after being negated by the companies responsible for a) creating the update b) designing the hardware for said update c) providing the phone to the customer.
“Microsoft, via its Twitter support feed, is directing users in my position to return phones to carriers for replacement. When I spoke to my carrier, T-Mobile UK, they pointedly refused a replacement, saying it’s “not our software”, and referred me to Microsoft, as it was Microsoft’s update that killed the phone.
The staff I spoke to at Microsoft for the best part of an hour were sympathetic, but claimed they were unable to assist, as there was literally nothing they could do other than sympathise - they don’t have replacement phones to send out, and they don’t have an in-house repair centre for end-user devices, so they referred me again to either my carrier or to the manufacturer, Samsung.
When I spoke to Samsung, they also gave me the “it wasn’t our software update” line, before accepting that the phone could be repaired under warranty - but they refused to guarantee a replacement handset if a repair wasn’t possible, and given that my phone is less than three months old, and that the clusterfvck occurred during ordinary responsible usage of my device, this seems less than satisfactory.” - Thelondonthing
Wrap-up
Unfortunately we can’t rehash all of the week’s news, a feat such as that would require superhuman writing abilities. And alas, we’re but mere mortals. Nevertheless, below is a list of other interesting news that didn’t quite make the cut.
