Reality Check: Searching for the Android Disneyland

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
I have spent a week with my new Sprint Evo. Admittedly, outside of the small screen size, I had become accustomed to the Palm Pre and settled into expectations about how programs should work together. Unfortunately, as the Palm Pre has a useful life of about a year (because of its horrendous charging system), it was on its last legs. Too many reboots. When your smartphone begins taking too many coffee breaks, it’s time for a change.
Next to screen size, the big difference is the operating system. And Android is different – it’s less integrated. Many apps written for the Android system (e.g., weather apps like AccuWeather and CNBC) are sub-rate on Android compared to their Apple and Palm counterparts. Further, it’s extremely hard to find apps on Android. Skype is missing. ESPN (as an app) is missing, but Sprint TV is quite good. Plants vs. Zombies is missing. No real Southwest Airlines app. No Pizza Hut app. The CNBC app stinks. No Comedy Central app. No Kindle app. Android has a long way to go to catch Apple in applications.
Of course, it takes some time playing around with the phone to realize all this. Isn’t it ironic (unconscionable ??) that the world’s search leader has no searchable database of its applications? Mplayit has filled in the gap and Sprint is referencing their Evo customers to use it – thanks, Sprint. However, to find a good World Cup app, I still have to choose among 74 available. App fatigue is real – you’ll lose your sale when customers have to sort through 74 largely unrated apps. A searchable catalogue is a start. Android has me in the mall, now get me to Nordstrom’s – and out of Filene’s Basement.
Speed also matters. The Evo consistently delivers 900 kilobits per secondto 1.4 megabits per second to my home in Brookside (a light blue area on the coverage map), with 3G as fast as 4G on most days. I will hold on comments about AT&T, other than to say that 900 kbps might have happened, once, in 2008 (or 9?). As was mentioned last week, AT&T can claim the fastest, but not the most consistent network. Try this on for size – “Occasionally, when the screen isn’t pixelating, that new High Def service on my TV looks really good!” Consumers value consistency over speed, so long as it covers the majority of applications, especially when it’s married to value.
However, for all of the bandwidth benefits, there is some low hanging fruit for both Sprint and Google.
–More apps. Ones that make Sprint sparkle. Ones who have servers directly connected to Sprint’s network. Ones that are tied into business needs (M2M). Ones that work well together. Please, Sprint – don’t run from bandwidth consuming apps. You have the spectrum, you have a tier-one IP backbone, and you are not capping usage – use this to your advantage.
–A user community that isn’t 3-4 levels deep in Sprint.com to access. Isn’t there something called Google Groups?
–A 4G femtocell for my home. Benefits get lost with walls. I know it’s early, but 700MHz spectrum doesn’t need a femtocell. I like the device – make it as necessary inside the home as outside.
–A phone that’s also my remote for my Time Warner Cable TV. I’m not willing to pay a dime more for it, but I might stay longer and watch more TV if Sprint and Time Warner deployed it. I’ll even take a disabled fast forward screen and watch commercials if you will allow me to transfer my DVR content directly to my phone (which will drive more 32 GB storage cards).
–A better Flash experience on the Evo. It stinks. A huge differentiation opportunity. Need I say more?
–Better directions on how to prioritize and rearrange the order of applications. I need Yelp more than AccuWeather most days – help me arrange my life in a manner other than alphabetical. Maybe organize like Windows does – put the ones I use the most on the front page for me.
–I know Incredible is taken, and I am no expert here, but why name it Evo? Verizon called their premium phone the Incredible. It’s like naming your firstborn son “King” – sure it’s pretentious, but the chances of an inferiority complex are very slim. Verizon is creating an Android franchise – not just a player.
–Some others have criticized the photo experience. I thought it was as good or better than my iPhone 3GS. Now, marry the phone experience with the web through my Sprint experience. Make Flickr (or someone else) my digital lounge for photos. Leverage their brands.
–Standardize on one navigation option. Don’t be afraid to recommend one. I know folks know how to use TeleNav, but there’s a time to move from CD’s to MP3’s.
–With heavier app use, battery life is going to suffer. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for my Evo to sport a “hump” but I’m doing it with my Sony Vaio. Don’t go the Touchstone route – please.
–A common e-mail inbox that I am sure I’ll see with the new Windows 7 phones this fall/winter. Simply saying “mail” after the Pre and Blackberry experience isn’t enough. You need to be as good on the basics as they are. Not far to go – you can do it.
–More apps. Back to the column called “4G is the new NASDAQ” (which I think is more pertinent than ever), Sprint has the chance to be the business app leader – to enable the next Amazon, Cisco, Oracle, Dell, and Microsoft. Best integrated, tuned, optimized, wireless and IP (wireline) platform on the planet. Integration forms the basis for the exchange of information.
One last suggestion: I miss the persistent “missed call” and “voicemail” reminders that appeared at the bottom of my Palm Pre screen. They disappear in Android. Palm’s bottom bar was multiples better than the Evo’s top bar. (It may be a Palm thing, but I’m nostalgic for a notification bar.)
Evo serves, but leaves me wanting more. It is ready for primetime, especially in 4G network areas. But I want a destination, an attraction, not just a shiny new vehicle to lure me away from Apple. I’m still searching for the Android Disneyland.
Jim Patterson is CEO & co-founder of Mobile Symmetry, a start-up created for carriers to solve the problems of an increasingly mobile-only society. He was most recently President – Wholesale Services for Sprint and has a career that spans over eighteen years in telecom and technology. He welcomes your comments atjim@mobilesymmetry.com.