Android App Alphabet: Still in the "A's" with App 2 SD

I could not imagine going through the day without my trusted HTC EVO.  I rely on it for so many daily functions, from waking me up in the morning as an alarm clock, to acting as my mobile media center for my daily fix of podcasts, social network updates, news and information, and even for the occasional phone call.  With that in mind, when my EVO starts getting sluggish and begins to under perform, it becomes an instant source of unnecessary stress in my life (yeah, I know, I shouldn't be complaining if the "stress" I am worried about is related to the performance of my smartphone...but, hey, such is the life of a gadget geek!)

Thanks For The (Lack Of) Memory...

It seems the greatest contributor to my occasional Android angst is the lack of internal memory.  So, when I overload my phone with too many apps and too much data I am faced with a fatigued device, prone to frequent failures, from crashes to missed calls to cutting off my ability to add more apps.  What's a geek to do?  Of course, deleting data and memory gobbing apps is one way to free up space on your Android, but it can be frustrating if you like to have lots of apps at your fingertips.  The latest versions of Android do let you store and run apps from the SD card, which is a great solution except that not all apps are capable of being moved to the SD card.  It is a function developers must actively include in each individual app. As a result, you may have to go through the painful process of checking each app on your phone, one by one, to see if it can be moved to the SD card.  Not a happy way to spend the day.

Sam Lu To The Rescue!

The best answer I have found so far is a neat little free app from developer Sam Lu, App 2 SD.  As the name implies, App 2 SD scans the apps on your Android device and let's you know which internal apps are capable of being moved to the SD card, and then it lets you move them all with a single click.  Nice!  It even can move itself to the SD card, all in all providing a very simple, efficient way to free up as much internal memory hogged by apps as you can.  You can also use Apps 2 SD to move apps from the SD card back to the phone, if need be.

If you are aggravated by Android apps invading your internal memory then App 2 SD may be just the tool you have been looking for! 

Do you have other tips for freeing up Android internal memory?  Please add them in the comments, where there is no limit on space!

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A Brief History of Smartphones (And the battle that ensued)

I was dumbfounded by the great turnout for "The Battle of the Smartphones" panel at the August meeting of MoMo Miami (Mobile Monday Miami). More than 60 Mobile minded Miami-ans (and folks from other South Florida locales) gathered at the DoubleTree Coconut Grove hotel for a healthy discussion of the merits (and demerits) of mobile app development for the dominant Smartphone platforms (Symbian/S60, Blackberry, Windows Mobile (now Windows Phone), iPhone, Android and WebOS). Moderated by Miami Herald Tech Reporter Bridget Carey our panel consisted of some impressive and experienced mobile developers representing most of the primary platforms. Michael Tangeman has a good overview of the panel at the MoMo Miami blog.

I introduced the panel with a short presentation on "A Brief History of Smartphones (As Told From The Recollections of a Self-Proclaimed Gadget Geek)" Irina Patterson caught most of it in the video below. As I mentioned at the beginning (not on the video) my "Brief History" presentation is not necessarily historically or chronologically accurate, but rather it is how I remember things, based on my own experiences with the MANY devices I have owned and used over the years. In addition to the video below, you can see the actual flash presentation here.




See the "slides" here.

How 30 Apps Could Have Been A Pre-Cursor To Success, Rather Than A Curse

There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Palm Pre is a hit and selling up to expectations. If you read this blog and follow me on Twitter you have probably gleaned that I love my Pre and think it is a spectacular device. That said, I am enormously frustrated by the lack of any new applications since its launch more than a month ago. It seems that I am compelled to check the "beta" App Catalog multiple times a day on the odd chance that finally something new will miraculously appear. (In truth, I am wishing hard that the next new app to emerge will be the Amazon Kindle app - without Orwell's 1984, of course...)

TIMING IS EVERYTHING...

At the beginning it seemed like things were on track. There were 18 apps in the catalog at launch, and within a matter of days it grew to 30 apps. Then, NOTHING. For weeks and weeks and weeks the app reservoir has been dry. Barren. APPallingly inactive. All things considered, if the Palm team were aware that the population was going to be limited only 30 apps for the foreseeable future, I think they would have been much better served by doling them out two or three a week until they were ready to open the app floodgates. Even if the total number of apps remained small I think the Pre would have maintained much more continuous momentum, and the related "buzz" and sales demand, if there had been a constant flow of new apps emerging in the catalog.

LIKE CARLY SIMON SAYS... ANTICIPATION!

Yes, buzz and demand can be created by anticipation... to a point. However, after too long a wait I believe the risk is that anticipation unfulfilled leads to frustration, or even worse, boredom, and then ultimately a lack of interest. With constant competition from the iPhone, new Blackberries, and a new Android Hero, Palm should be doing everything in its power to maintain the excitement and momentum that a steady stocking of apps would bring.

IS THE STRATEGY APPARENT?

What do you think? Is a slow steady rise more effective than a big quick launch followed by a flat line? How would you have handled the thin initial supply of apps if the Pre were your product? Have you had similar experiences or challenges with other product launches?

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