Blackberry SDK, Modifying messages

In an earlier article, I stated that I liked the BlackBerry SDK, and one of the things that I liked that the SDK seemed complete, in that it supported and documented how to do things that are "hard to do" (e.g. Bluetooth support).

I decided that a thought experiment was in order: could I modify email messages as they are sent?

The BlackBerry SDK makes this fairly straightforward: implement the net.rim.blackberry.api.mail.SendListener interface, which has a single method:

public boolean sendMessage(Message message)

By implementing this method, you can modify the message as you see fit (Message is what you think it is!), and even block the message by returning false from the method.

Now, based on things that Apple has said, I don't believe that the iPhone will support this type of development-- modifying the default behavior of the built-in applications.

Based on what I have seen in Android, it does look like this would be possible there (I haven't looked extensively, however).
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Priceless

Going to the Apple Store ... $0
Looking at iPhones ... $0
Logging into your personal email account with a demo iPhone ... $0

Leaving 100 of your private messages, including receipts and private correspondence on said demo iPhone? Priceless.

Yes, I did actually see this. Maybe it says something about the core demographic for the iPhone (I kid!)?
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Teh iPhone Causes Typos?

Okay, I was right, and I was wrong.

The iPhone isn't significantly slower than other types of keyboards to type on, but it does cause significantly more errors.

An article at ITworld outlines the results of a study into speed and accuracy for different input methods. iPhone users made over twice as many errors (5.6 per message vs. 2.4 for a numeric only keypad).

Apple made a bet on an experimental user interface. Many of those aspects worked well (multi-touch is going to be a de-facto standard over time). Some of them, (the keyboard) didn't work so well.

I know that Steve Jobs hates buttons, but should his jihad continue to the detriment of his users?

Update: Roger Matus covers this in his blog (Death by Email): link
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Android SDK first look

Last week, I took a brief look at the Blackberry SDK. Well, it's November 12th, and it's A-Day. Here are some initial thoughts on the Android SDK.

• Kudos to Google for producing a cross platform SDK. Win/Mac/Linux is nice, since so many developers today use the latter two as their primary OS.
• In looking at the documentation, everything seems to follow the web development paradigm, but with a few detours for things like long running processes (like the example they use: a media player that plays music in the background even when the UI isn't showing)
• The interfaces look very open; you can register for external events (e.g. an incoming call or SMS message)
• The Content Provider interfaces look nice, and the XPath style access to data is a nice, clean, and open interface.

APIs are nice and all, but what about tools?

I'm happy to note that the tools all seem to be there: Plugin for Eclipse, debugger (both against the emulator, and remotely against a device), plus all the packaging tools. Nice.

Other things to note:

• Location based services, with integration to Google Maps.
• 3D graphics (OpenGL). The support looks somewhat immature, but with NVidia as part of the Open Handset Alliance, this might just become a decent homebrew gaming platform.
• Low level hardware access will be available, but isn't ready yet.
• XMPP support; this will enable P2P applications and communication (IM, games, etc.)
• Android has support for recording and playback of audio and video. As a musician, I like the audio recording bit. Nice.
• They have some really nice documentation available; They even cover some of the things that developer level documentation doesn't normally cover, like how to make an app responsive, how to understand the lifecycle of applications, etc.
  

With HTC announcing that they are going to release 3 handsets based on Android next year, it looks like Windows Mobile might be in trouble. If they can make a well-integrated, responsive phone that looks nice, they will probably start to cut into the iPhone market as well.

Looks like the smartphone market is about to get a whole lot more interesting. Read more...

GPhone Isn't a Phone, It's an Android

The much awaited announcement did actually happen today, it just wasn't what everyone was expecting. Google announced the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). While the gadget freak in me would have liked to have seen a shiny new device, this actually is a great announcement. Read on for more analysis.

The Open Handset Alliance has definite potential to be a market changer. Let's all admit it: cellphones are currently a game where you decide what deficiencies you're willing to live with. Things like:

Windows Mobile: Microsoft has been steadily proving to us that they are incapable of producing a decent quality mobile OS. They always have all the checkboxes (fast processors, great screens, etc.), and always come up short.

iPhone: The device that makes Apple look like IBM in the bad old days.

Blackberry: not quite as powerful or featureful as, say, Windows Mobile

I've long thought that Linux would be great for mobile devices, once they hit a certain level of CPU/Memory capacity. The main downfall with Linux is that nobody seems to go the extra mile to make something that "just works" (and kudos to Apple for doing just that, unless you want decent bluetooth support).

If the OHA can figure out how to put out a bunch of devices that "just work" but are also an open platform that actually invites developers to produce software, we may just have a winner on our hands. It is about time for someone to apply bazaar development practices to the traditionally cathedral mobile market.

As these devices become more powerful, the PC will begin to lose its dominance, and having an open platform upon which to make that transition is a huge win for consumers.
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Iphone unlock available

I'm still sticking with my BlackBerry Pearl (since it has a keyboard, and voice dialing), but it is nice to know that I could use the iPhone now.

Engadget has coverage here.

This is great news-- this is an open source solution, too. Read more...

How to fix the iPhone

Apple announced that it is dropping the price for the 8GB iPhone by $200, and discontinuing the 4GB model.

I think that the iPhone isn't selling quite as well as they thought it would-- make the jump for my analysis.

The main problem with the iPhone is that it isn't open. You're forced to use a particular provider.

It has only barebones bluetooth support-- it will not support a bluetooth keyboard. The touchscreen keyboard isn't the end-all-be-all, and it would be nice to use an external keyboard for composing longer emails.

If the iPhone had been open from the beginning, I think it would have been a much bigger hit. For now, I guess I'll stick with my BlackBerry Pearl.
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