Well, it’s here. Sort of. If you have a Nexus One, it looks like before very long at all you’ll be able to update to Android 2.2, and with it (chorus of angels) run Flash beta.
Time to unpack this:
1) IF YOU HAVE A NEXUS ONE. Apparently, HTC is not going to be drawn on how long before other phones support Android 2.2 – though “if you bought a phone this year,” you should be OK. Assuming your carrier supports the update. And if you don’t have to wait for an upgrade to MotoBLUR or Sense.
This is now the 5th version of Android in under 2 years. The HTC G1, the first Android phone, was released in the United States in October of 2008. If you bought one, you’re probably still under contract – and the odds that your phone will run the new hotness are practically nil. More to the point, if you bought a MyTouch 3G or a Motorola CLIQ, you have the same hardware and it’s probably under a year old, so your upgrade path doesn’t look too hot either. Sure, Apple is doing a partial cutoff at 2 years, it seems (and an absolute cutoff at 3) but that at least sort of dovetails with the typical contract period. But to say that anything over six months old is not on the list – that’s a sign of engineer thinking instead of, you know, human logic.
2) BEFORE VERY LONG. Has to be said again, my Ninth Law: “you ain’t shit ’til you ship.” (Which is why I’m not even commenting on Google TV, except to say that GOOG has done a great job of getting Apple-level attention for Microsoft-caliber vaporware. How long for that Courier tablet? Huh? Never mind.) See #1 – even if your hardware supports Froyo, I wouldn’t plan on running out and having this installed in time for your Memorial Day minibreak.
3) FLASH BETA. Yes, it exists, and so far the early returns, running it on Google’s flagship phone, are: it kind of sort of works, not very well, chews through battery at a ridiculous rate, and the phone runs hot as a New Orleans whorehouse on nickel night anytime you spend more than a few seconds running Flash. I don’t know how often I have to repeat it, but I will: there is nothing about Flash as currently constituted that makes it suitable for mobile phone use.
All in all, it still looks like Android 2.2 is still the best thing going if you don’t want to go the iPhone route, but until the rubber hits the road, let’s not go assuming that this is the thing that’s going to give Apple the beatdown once and for all. For some reason, ever since the iPhone 4 leak, the Intarwebs have decided that Apple is the new Great Satan and somebody has to rise up and stop them – except when Facebook is the Great Satan and somebody has to stop them. And I have actually heard Google Buzz pitched as the Facebook alternative – presumably by people with no short term memory whatsoever.
There are no good guys out there, people. You pick the level of intrusion you’re willing to live with. And right now, I’m still willing to take “just works” at the expense of “I can’t make it run Duke Nukem Forever in a shell” – not to mention “cash on the freakin’ barrelhead” rather than “barter away information in exchange for free at point of use.” Depending on what Apple is doing with MobileMe, though, all bets are off…
I’m in the G1 camp, as you know, and so incredibly frustrated with it, it’s ridiculous (slow, apps hang all the time, puny amount of space, shitty camera, yadda yadda). I would love the Nexus One if it weren’t for the fact that the thing that I adore about my G1 is the stupid effing keyboard. Lately I’ve been pondering popping for the MyTouch 3G Slide when it (supposedly) ships next month, even though I think I’ll have to pay some for it since my G1 won’t be two until Nov/Dec-ish. Nominally better processor than the G1, more space, better camera, still has a keyboard, plus has the nifty new swype software keyboard thingy or whatever that’s called. I’m never gonna go the iPhone route because I refuse to leave T-Mobile. What would you do in my situation?
Honestly? Probably save my pennies and send away to Europe for the Motorola Milestone (which is the GSM version of the Droid on Verizon). Otherwise, you’re best off waiting for the MyTouch Slide. Though I don’t think it’s a coincidence that of the current OMG NEW HOTNESS phones out there (iPhone 4, Nexus One, Droid Incredible on Verizon, or the 4G Evo on Sprint), not ONE has a hardware keyboard…
At the very least, since the CLIQ and MyTouch as currently constituted use the same processor as the G1, I would make bloody sure that you get a faster CPU in the phone before making a move.