The Changing of the Guard

posted by chip on 2010-07-23 01:56:01
Well, it's finally happened. My rough-and-tumble Sony Ericcson K510a has finally started flaking out. Yeah, the D-pad has been flaky for a while, but now important things like the * and delete keys are going, making it about as fun to use as a Windows CE phone (zing!). It's time to take the old girl out back and put 'er out of her misery.

As for a replacement, you'll probably recall that I'm pretty picky. I thought I had it figured out a few months ago, and I was completely ready to plunk down a few hundred bucks on an unlocked Nokia E52, but I could find no one selling the US version. I wanted something "smarter" than the K510a, but I was universally turned off by that classic failing of smartphones: their batteries can't keep up with their features. iPhone, Android, Palm, Windows Mobile... they will all leave you stranded after a day of hard use.

It was a tough search, but ultimately, it came down to price. See, AT&T has a deal where you can get a Palm Pixi Plus for free after instant rebate with a two year contract. The only downside? It comes in a rather hideous blue color. But my good friend Alex made a rather valid point — for the $50 it saves over the black version, I can buy a case.

Alex has a Pixi, and he's pretty satisfied with it, even though his original one had the touch screen go screwy (he got it replaced under warranty). The software is certainly very attractive — Palm has always been top notch at usability. And behind the scenes, Palm has gone full-bore open with it. Any webOS phone can be dropped into developer mode where you have access to a root shell. In addition, the webOS community has developed some very nice applications that allow you to browse and install hundreds of homebrew apps. Unlike Android, webOS looks like a Linux system on the inside, using such modern amenities as dbus and upstart to tie things together. It's hacktackular.

As for the battery life, there's a simple solution — get a bigger battery. Several companies sell replacement batteries with upgraded capacity and performance. I'll be well worth it to get one of those, since I'm sure I'll be pushing the phone rather hard with all the hacks I'll be putting into it. :)

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posted by Andrea on 2010-07-24 06:16:25
When mom told me you were getting a Pixi Plus, I was like, "Eh? Chip? Like, my brother Chip?" I considered getting one, too, but they weren't as cheap as they are now when I was looking. I really liked it for its...uhh...hackability. And stuff.

The only thing I was afraid of with it was that it was being dropped by the community. I had no doubt that it was well developed and supported by its creators, but I really wanted a phone that wouldn't be the last of its kind that would lack the advanced users that would actually make those homebrew apps. I ended up getting a phone that is made by a company that is skyrocketing so hard that they will soon forget about my phone anyway, because it's now considered old.

So yeah, have fun with your new aqua brick. :P

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posted by chip on 2010-07-26 02:51:41
The community for webOS is growing, if anything, and the purchase by HP seems to have given hope to a previously dying platform. There's a big update planned for the fall that should speed things up a bit, too. I wouldn't have gotten it if I thought it were on it's last legs.

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