building43

Wait, what? Buying an Android phone from a carrier's store requires you to compromise your Google identity and all information that flows in and out of it by forking over your Gmail password to a rep? - David Chartier from iPhone

You can't get the phone without a Gmail account, and the tech reps are the only ones who can enter that info for you. I thought it was odd too, but if you see Ima's comment apparently T-mobile does it too. TBH I was horrified at the idea, but the rep told me he'd return the paper (which he did). Kinda unnerving though - LANjackal from IM

But I mean think of how many times you hand over your SSN (at the doctor, to your carrier/utility provider, etc.) and you never get the paper back. Nothing to freak out about, just make sure you destroy the paper so you don't have your login credentials floating around out there by accident. - LANjackal

So, no biggie, just go home and change your password after you get your phone. - Jeff P. Henderson

Nope - LANjackal from IM

The same ease of use on the Mac too. The SD card just shows up as a mounted disk. - Jason Huebel from Android

this is cool! one more question...do you have to find android specific app to install to use or does it work with win os (or linux) apps? like firefox or pdf viewer or openoffice... - brainno722 (Peter)

I'm not really understanding that question ... since it shows up as an external drive, it functions as one and is accessible from any program on your PC just like any other drive ... - LANjackal

@Peter, it looks just like you plugged a USB stick in. So anything you could normally do with a plain Jane memory stick you can do with this. - Jason Huebel from Android

Because dragging and dropping files back and forth like we used to in 2001, instead of using modern dynamic media databases and smart playlists, is so awesome. - David Chartier from iPhone

@David: Because NOT being limited to any particular syncing app is so awesome. I MUCH prefer devices that mount as simple storage to those that are tied to a particular syncing client. The former is simply a LOT more flexible because you're not tied to any particular transfer method. You can always use a 3rd party syncing app with a common storage device, but if the device requires its own syncing app then you're locked into that - LANjackal

Damn, I wish dealing with my WinMo devices was as simple. - Chris, Taskerrific Guy

@David: I have yet to come across a default OEM syncing app that I like. I'm glad none ships with the Droid. Also, the Droid automatically finds any music you drop into it regardless of where you drop it, so ... *shrugs* - LANjackal

@Chris: As much as I'd like to say wait for WinMo 7, MS' track record leads me to believe they'll make the same sync client mistake with that too - LANjackal

You kidding? Hell, the way they seem to be drooling at the iPhone market, Microsoft probably wants to lock things down even more than they already are. - Chris, Taskerrific Guy

Well TBH it *might* not be that bad. I've noticed that many devices that ship with WMP sync capability (no download/installation necessary) can also be mounted as simple storage in Windows (see Archos devices as an example). - LANjackal

The only way MS has a chance against the iPhone (or Android, for that matter) would be if they completely rewrote Windows Mobile. It's a dinosaur. - Jason Huebel

That's what's happening for v7, actually ... - LANjackal from IM

Good. - Jason Huebel

Not really, Win7 is still based on CE, but the WinMo components are getting a total do-over. - Chris, Taskerrific Guy

So, same old pig, just putting some lipstick on it. - Jason Huebel

Not quite. That's like saying Windows 7 is the same as Windows NT just because the former descended from the latter. - LANjackal

Actually, it's more like saying that Ubuntu 9.10 is the same as Slackware v1. Same basic kernel at the bottom, but newer versions, and much different at higher levels. - Chris, Taskerrific Guy

My Motorola RAZR did this years ago. - Johnny Worthington from iPhone

I didn't say it was a new feature, haha - LANjackal from IM

i wonder if it works with doubleTwist yet? - Chris Heath

No clue - LANjackal

I don't know about blog, but there's a StackOverflow-esque Q&A site for just Android here: http://www.forceclose.com/ - Maxamad (Amazigh)

http://androidandme.com/ - Kevin Mohr

http://androidcommunity.com/ - Kevin Mohr

http://android-developers.blogspot.com/ - Kevin Mohr

http://phandroid.com/ - Kevin Mohr

Let me know if you find any more, but above are the ones I have in Google Reader ... - Kevin Mohr

http://www.androidguys.com/ - Tim Hoeck

http://www.androidauthority.com/ - Tim Hoeck

http://jf.andblogs.net/ - Tim Hoeck

http://mgmblog.com/ - Tim Hoeck

oh, of course... http://www.cyanogenmod.com/ - Tim Hoeck

http://dtmilano.blogspot.com/ - Tim Hoeck

Here is a twitter-list about android: http://twitter.com/marking... would you help me to let it grow? send a recommendation to @markingegno or leave it here. Thanks. - Markingegno - Donato

tempted...but tied to iPhone contract...Android 2.0 is def looking better - brainno722 (Peter)

I really think I'll be getting one, but I think it's smart to wait for independent reviews. It's gotta at least be better than the Storm 2 for me to bite - LANjackal

is it really true according to BillShrink.com...that there are over 10k apps in Android market? - brainno722 (Peter)

I'm seriously considering picking up a non-phone Android 2.0 device when they come out. The android platform is evolving rapidly and I'm excited to follow along. - Sparky Crocker

brainno: 20k+ is more like it, actually - LANjackal from IM

One of the reasons we switched from VZW to TMO was that we could get the same functionality on our Treos for about 1/3 the price (VZW's data plan was $45/mo.). Android 2.0 looks great, but not great enough to go back. - John Craft

I'd love to grab a Droid, but I'll likely wait a bit (just got a new phone). - ‘-.-’ Tutivillus Grift

Peter, I haven't counted ;) , but I've seen that number many places. - John Craft

I'm not sure that the number of apps is a good indicator, anyway, given that games and wallpapers get counted as apps. I use the Weather channel app, an FTP client, several Google Maps add-ons, Twidroid, a file manager, a stopwatch, subway maps, OpenTable, and of course the Flashlight. - John Craft

John: I won't lie, VZ's expensive. The only reason I can afford their unlimited service is via a corporate discount. The good thing about them is the predictable bill, unlike some carriers (I'm looking at you, AT&T) and amazing coverage. You'd have to be on the moon to not get a VZ signal - LANjackal from IM

price is a big factor for me...but i don't like iPhone's closed OS...i hope Android is more open...and yeah...VZ is also expensive...T-Mob is going to gain popularity from pricing...too bad they don't have good reception in my area... - brainno722 (Peter)

VZ's MO is QoS >>>> everything else. Including, unfortunately, features and handsets. Until next week :). But then again before the iPhone AT&T's handset offerings were nothing special either - LANjackal from IM

yeah I was using Sprint cuz of their sleak Samsung phone...then iPhone came out and I drooled...still waiting for a driving factor to switch out of iPhone though... - brainno722 (Peter)

"You'd have to be on the moon to not get a VZ signal" - I'll give you that. TMO was pretty deficient in even providing a signal in a lot of rural areas. I was pleasantly surprised in September to be out in rural Michigan and get full 3G in places where before my G1 was a paperweight. - John Craft

most definitely - Jason Kintzler

I really like the HTC Hero, but not the DROID so much - Shevonne

If the UI is smooth, I'll get it. If not, I may wait for the other Verizon Android phone from HTC. - Tony C

It looks really good, but I'll wait and see how much people like it. - SmallCapVoice

i don't get touch-phones with a keyboard...i know ppl are still getting used to it, but wouldn't 20+ million iphone users show that it's not that hard to learn? touch+keyboard just makes the phone bulky... - brainno722 (Peter)

One of the nice things about a physical keyboard is that you don't use up screen real estate displaying one :) - LANjackal from IM

touche; still, i wish there's a way to be best of both worlds: sleak and sexy - brainno722 (Peter)

getting it as my work phone as soon as i am upgrade eligible again - Isaac Zahavi

JUST GOT MINE. Anyone else? - LANjackal

Congrats LAN, look forward to reading the joys of using it. - Travis Koger

Thanks, it's a fantastic device thus far. Love the push Gmail and automatic mail syncing :) - LANjackal

how is the video and picture taking options? Also, surfing the net and battery life? - Amani from IM

I'm at work now and I'm about to enter a webinar and get some other stuff done. I'll find out more about all of the above as I play with it over the weekend - LANjackal

I should have mine in hand by Monday or Tuesday it sounds... - manielse (Mark Nielsen)

Y the delay? - LANjackal from IM

There is a Facebook plugin for Pidgin - http://code.google.com/p... - Stoyan Zhekov

If only it worked, and was stable enough to rely on : / - Clark Baumgartner 蔵明 馬武刀

Clark do you mean facebook chat is not reliable? I use palringo http://palringo.com on phone and pc and have problems with facebook chat. - David Gross from email