Motorola Droid Launch Surprises Verizon Employees - iPhone Comparisons Abound
Muthu Ramadoss
Motorola Droid Launch Surprises Verizon Employees - iPhone Comparisons Abound
The Droid launched nationwide today, including in the Chicago area, where Verizon Store employees were not allowed to turn on the phone until the designated time. So, at midnight last night, the world experienced Android 2.0 for the very first time. And the world was happy.
Although several sites are reporting "underwhelming" demand for The Droid, anecdotally, I can't help but disagree. Each store that I visited in the Chicagoland area last night had a line of at least a few people. Think aboout that: how many times, if ever, have you seen people line up for a cell phone at midnight?
Oh yeah - only one other time. The Verizon Droid is the new iPhone, and launch day bears this out. We'll see if Android has the strength to carry gamers hearts, but as for me, I'm sold.
What is so great about the Verizon / Motorolla Droid? Well, firt, let's look at the new features of Android 2.0. Then, let's look at the incredible gaming features of Android in general. Let's face it, Android 2.0 is no iPhone, but Verizon is offering The Droid at far less of a cost, and at least the same core functionality as an iPhone.
Let's be honest - Android isn't quite iPhone, especially in the 3D games department. But why do we cheer for Android? Let's start with what's new in Android 2.0...
Google released their Android 2.0 software development kit (SDK) last month, lovingly named Eclair, to developers. Eclair boasts many new interface options upon release. Device synchronisation and Bluetooth technology are among some of the popular features that Android 2.0 developers can expect to get their hands on. But perhaps the most exciting feature is the new multitouch interaction.
This is definitely not the first time that multitouch technology has made headlines, but it very well may be the biggest. Adding multitouch technology to Google's Android 2.0 OS opens up an entire world of possibilities for interface developers to improve current UI experiences. It also means that we can expect newer and more creative interfaces once Andriod 2.0 hits later this year. Beyond every-day application use, we are also incredibly hopeful that this multitouch technology will quickly make its way into the mobile gaming market.
Even the most popular portable gaming platforms, including Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo's wildly popular DS, may soon feel pressure from Google's new Android 2.0 OS. The Nintendo DS, which sold successfully as the first portable video game system that fully employed touchscreen technology, suffers from the limitation of a single stylus pointing device. Though hundreds of games have found entertaining and creative ways to utilize this technology, they have had to rely perhaps too heavily on additional gestures (tapping, swiping, spinning, etc...) in situations where having a multitouch experience would be ideal.
Multitouch gaming would be an especially welcome improvement to Android's mobile game market for current interfaces that have to divide control between the touchscreen and a device's physical keys. For example, a directional pad might be well emulated within the touchscreen area, but additional play buttons must be mapped to keys on a number pad or other physical keys. If Google's Eclair and Android 2.0 are as well received as the industry currently predicts, the mobile gaming industry may very well explode into new and exciting directions. The possibility of standardizing a multitouch game market that is open to ALL developers, regardless of their device, is the exact moment we've been waiting for.
There's a war on: iPhone versus everyone else.
This war against the iPhone has largely been by necessity. Since the
iPhone is exclusive to AT&T in the States, other carriers have
watched helplessly as more than 17 million customers switched for the
sole purpose of owning the iPhone. When you combine that 17 million
with the iPod Touch's sales, there are more than 30 million of these
devices in the hands of the public.
These past six months have seen an explosion of phones and other
devices intended to take on the iPhone, feature by feature. Competing
with the iPhone would have been difficult, were it not for Google
Android. Like Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Google has developed an
operating system that can be used (mostly) on phones, but other devices
as well. Unlike the iPhone, the Android OS is open to all comers; any
phone carrier or laptop manufacturer can use Android in their own
devices. Unlike Windows Mobile, Android has been stable and crash-free
since its first release, and frequent updates are making Windows Mobile
devices look positively antique in comparison.
Android is making headlines, especially this weekend. Have you seen
Verizon's new "teaser" commercial for The Droid? Verizon is about to
take on the iPhone head to head, much like T Mobile, Sprint, and other
carriers have.
I recently picked up a myTouch 3G (T Mobile). I also had the chance to
evaluate several other Android devices. Given Apple's recent push to
position the iPhone and iTouch as gaming devices, how does Android
stack up for gaming? What's the furture of gaming on Android? Will
Android serve to unify the mobile gaming market, or bring additional
confusion?
Cell phone users on non-AT&T networks will have a lot to cheer
about when they get an Android phone. Android, at least in its current
form (called Cupcake), could be described as a "geeky" iPhone. This is
apparent in how most of the current Android phones are laid out
(multiple home screens, kind of like Linux), the developers its
attracting, and the policies of Apple versus Google (in regards to the
Android Market). Most of the features of the iPhone/iTouch are
available on the myTouch:
*Custom apps, both free and purchased, are available in droves for Android
*Google runs the Android Market, their equivalent of the iPhone/iTouch app store (more on this later)
*Music playback (paused when getting a call) is very good, and features album art, shuffle, etc
*voice dialing
*a touchscreen interface (although my device isn't multitouch, Verizon's "The Droid" should be)
*Accelerometer (tilt controls / sensitivity)
*Multi-megapixel camera / video camera
*An "underground" application development scene (more on this later as well)
Here's where they are notably different:
*Really good voice powered search on Android
*Openness of the Android Marketplace
*Better graphics on the iPhone
*A larger variety of games on the iPhone
*Different mindsets in each respective development community
*Total screen customization on Android
*Android works on different service providers
*Android doesn't suspend apps - it uses true multitasking
Read the next page of our story for gaming impressions and videos! (continued on next page)
Gaming on the iPhone / iTouch is relatively amazing. The 3D graphics rival that of the PSP (they are clearly a step below the PSP, but good), the large screen makes for great cinematic style experiences, and there are a wealth of developers pushing tons of titles at the iPhone. Multitouch really does help the experience, as well.
Relative to the iPhone, the selection of games on the myTouch (and other Android phones) is pretty lame. There are an absolute ton of very simple, 2D arcade experiences, like Breakout and Tetris. You'll see a lot of Suduku, tic tac toe, Solitaire, and other crappy games that no one under the age of 50 will play. Granted, these are on the iPhone as well, but the App Store isn't dominated by them.
Some big names are present in the Android Market, despite the current glut of shovelware:
- Namco - Pac Man
- Activision - Guitar Hero World Tour
- Glu - a ton of titles, Glu has been around in the mobile space for quite some time
- Gameloft - Uno and several other titles; Gameloft is also well known in the mobile space
I compared the 3D features of Android to the iPhone by downloading games for the myTouch (since I have an iTouch, I'm quite familiar with its graphical capabilities). I played games called Speed Forge 3D and HyperSpace Lite. I also checked out Doom, just to see how well the game translated to the small screen. Speed Forge 3D is a WipeOut clone, except slower, with lower resolution graphics, clipping problems, and a tilt based control scheme that'll have you ripping out your hair in no time. HyperSpace Lite is similar to a Wii demo; the object of the game is to manipulate a ball over a maze using tilt controls.
While neither of these games offer the experience I was hoping for, 3D gaming on Android is both possible and good looking. The 3D graphics on Android phones is better than the Nintendo DS, but not as good as the iPhone. All of the Android phones released so far use the same processor, so regardless of the service you're on, you're on a level playing field with everyone else.
The Droid, Verizon's soon-to-be-released Android Phone, will run with the same chip that the iPhone runs on, which should give the device great 3D support. However, developers may have to decide which phones to support. Likely, the lowest common denominator will be supported (the phones released earlier). The Droid has the potential of not only splitting the user base for Android, but also adding the complexity of "system requirements" to your gaming. This makes me a bit nervous.
The Android Market really shines when you look more carefully at what's offered. Classic game emulation is one of the things that Android does the best, which is not available on iPhone, because of Apple's store policies. NES games run nearly full speed with full sound, Genesis runs near full speed without sound, and there are also emulators available for GBA, SNES, and more. The developer community has done a great job porting these things over, and it really does stand tall when compared to other devices.
So, back to the questions that I asked at the top of the article:
How does Android stack up for gaming?
Depends on your point of view. Although The Droid may change things in the near future, 3D gaming is worse on Android than on the iPhone / iTouch. Android is more capable as the DS, however, and that's good news. The Market is younger than the App Store, so there are a bunch of "quick" games in that marketplace, rather than full blown experiences. That said, a few major players have entered the scene, and as Android gains marketshare, this is likely to change rapidly. In the meantime, emulation is a perfectly good excuse for gaming on Android, and offers hundreds / thousands of games that other platforms don't have.
Android gaming gets a thumbs up from me, but just barely. There's great potential, especially in the 3D games space, but there's just not a lot there yet. Emulation and quirky developers will keep me entertained for quite some time though.
What's the furture of gaming on Android?
The future of gaming on Android is very bright. The Droid and Asus' nettop computer will bring high quality graphics to the scene. Over the next few years, at least till Apple's contract with AT&T expires, the platform is nearly garaunteed to grow in marketshare. At a minimum, I expect that Android will take some share from Windows Mobile (if not those stubborn BlackBerry users!).
Right now, Android just needs to hit that critical mass that iPhone developers didn't wait for. Because Apple had an almost garaunteed winner on their hands, everyone leapt on the platform instantly. It'll take a while for Google to convince big corporate developers that their OS is going to have enough momentum to invest effort into creating games for the system. Or maybe the developers just need to convince themselves - relative to Apple, the Android Market's policies are incredibly loose (some apps have been pulled from the Android Market, but not on nearly the same level as Apple).
Will Android serve to unify the mobile gaming market, or bring additional confusion?
This is the clincher. What will happen when The Droid hits? What happens when Asus brings their Android nettop and their 1Ghz phone to market? Until now, we've had several devices with roughly the same specs. Will developers continue to push games to the lowest spec device? I think that they will, at least for the next year or two. At a minimum, someone with vision needs to step in and start creating experiences similar to either the iPhone or the Nintendo DS for Android. There really needs to be a defining experience or moment for Google's little OS, and that simply hasn't happened yet.
Without an "oh wow" moment for Android, I'm not sure that gaming will gain or retain focus.
But that might be OK. Android does turn "just a phone" into "one hell of a phone". If that's good enough to gain marketshare, the rest will likely follow.
http://www.stageselect.com/N4696--1--motorola-droid-launch-surprises-verizon-employees-.aspx
take care,
Muthu Ramadoss.
http://linkedin.com/in/tellibitz
http://androidrocks.googlecode.com - Android Consulting.
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> *
> Gaming on the iPhone / iTouch is relatively amazing. The 3D graphics rival
> that of the PSP (they are clearly a step below the PSP, but good), the large
> screen makes for great cinematic style experiences, and there are a wealth
> of developers pushing tons of titles at the iPhone. Multitouch really does
> help the experience, as well.
>
> Relative to the iPhone, the selection of games on the myTouch (and other
> Android phones) is pretty lame. There are an absolute ton of very simple,
> 2D arcade experiences, like Breakout and Tetris. You'll see a lot of Suduku,
> tic tac toe, Solitaire, and other crappy games that no one under the age of
> 50 will play. Granted, these are on the iPhone as well, but the App Store
> isn't dominated by them.
>
> Some big names are present in the Android Market, despite the current glut
> of shovelware:
>
> - Activision - Guitar Hero World Tour
> - Glu - a ton of titles, Glu has been around in the mobile space for
> quite some time
> - Gameloft - Uno and several other titles; Gameloft is also well known in
> Depends on your point of view. Although The Droid may change things in the
> near future, 3D gaming is worse on Android than on the iPhone / iTouch.
> Android is more capable as the DS, however, and that's good news. The
> Market is younger than the App Store, so there are a bunch of "quick" games
> in that marketplace, rather than full blown experiences. That said, a few
> major players have entered the scene, and as Android gains marketshare, this
> is likely to change rapidly. In the meantime, emulation is a perfectly good
> excuse for gaming on Android, and offers hundreds / thousands of games that
> other platforms don't have.
>
> Android gaming gets a thumbs up from me, but just barely. There's great
> potential, especially in the 3D games space, but there's just not a lot
> there yet. Emulation and quirky developers will keep me entertained for
> quite some time though.
>
> The future of gaming on Android is very bright. The Droid and Asus' nettop
> computer will bring high quality graphics to the scene. Over the next few
> years, at least till Apple's contract with AT&T expires, the platform is
> nearly garaunteed to grow in marketshare. At a minimum, I expect that
> Android will take some share from Windows Mobile (if not those stubborn
> BlackBerry users!).
>
> Right now, Android just needs to hit that critical mass that iPhone
> while for Google to convince big corporate developers that their OS is going
> to have enough momentum to invest effort into creating games for the
> system. Or maybe the developers just need to convince themselves - relative
> to Apple, the Android Market's policies are incredibly loose (some apps have
> been pulled from the Android Market, but not on nearly the same level as
> Apple).
>
> confusion?*
> This is the clincher. What will happen when The Droid hits? What happens
> when Asus brings their Android nettop and their 1Ghz phone to market? Until
> now, we've had several devices with roughly the same specs. Will developers
> continue to push games to the lowest spec device? I think that they will,
> at least for the next year or two. At a minimum, someone with vision needs
> to step in and start creating experiences similar to either the iPhone or
> the Nintendo DS for Android. There really needs to be a defining experience
> or moment for Google's little OS, and that simply hasn't happened yet.
>
> Without an "oh wow" moment for Android, I'm not sure that gaming will gain
> or retain focus.
>
> But that might be OK. Android does turn "just a phone" into "one hell of a
> phone". If that's good enough to gain marketshare, the rest will likely
> follow.
>
> take care,
> Muthu Ramadoss.
>
> http://linkedin.com/in/tellibitzhttp://androidrocks.googlecode.com- Android Consulting.
>