Just got a new phone and phone service to demo for the next 6 months. In an attempt to convert me away from my current provider (Not Sprint) I got a Samsung MM-A920 phone as the Sprint Power Vision service. So I have been downloading music, games, and wallpapers and I must say, it’s nice when you don’t have to pay to download. Particular when some of the games are $5.99 or $2.49/month. The device isn’t bad either. The tiny dual speakers (on the outside of the hinge for the flip phone) sound pretty good for even playing MP3s. Most of the games that I have downloaded have been pretty entertaining too. The camera is quite good and takes pretty good pictures. Two other nice things about the device are: 1. Transflash. I can take files and move them over to my PC. 2. USB cable included. Now I don’t have to hunt online or search Radio Shack to see how much I’ll have to pay. While the phone is feature-packed, what about the service that it’s tied to? So far, I have been pretty impressed with the connection speed of data services using EVDO. The Sprint Music Store has over 400,000 titles, which is great in terms on selection, but extremely difficult to navigate and find what I am looking for. My previous post about Mobile Search 2006 — I really wish Sprint and other Mobile Operators would implement something like Caboodle Networks’ software to make unlock the potential in all those titles for all of its subscribers. Instant messenger connectivity to Yahoo, MSN and AOL seem to work fine, and the interface is quite good (albiet, I still have to get used to using the handset awkward T9 and text input). The WAP deck is pretty typical of most Operators, promoting the most popular content first, then everything else. With the small screen real estate, I still think it would be best if the search bar would be up at the top. Scrolling all the way down to perform a search, it continually tedious.One pretty cool tool that they have implemented is the “On Demand” application. By giving them my Zip Code, I have access to the Top 10 things that might be of most relevance to me: News, Sports, Weather, Money, Movies, Directory, Maps, TV Guide, Dictionary, and Extras. For example, using the Movies, it instantly takes me to the latest movies that are showing and links me to Reviews, Movie Times at nearby theaters. This is potentially an alternative to searching and surfing links, but it’s still has limits. But if we are applying the 80-20 rule then this is a vast improvement. One of the drawbacks for some of these services, is that fact that some are on a limited trial basis and a monthly subscription is required. Overall though, the interface and use cases for building mobile applications is getting better, and I hope that we can continue to see improvements.
Related Posts:
