If you have a Motorola Milestone (Maybe Droid too, but not sure) and have recently upgraded to the latest Android 2.1, you are probably quite pleased with the new features and performance. I was too except for a niggling problem with the Multimedia Station.

Every time I put the phone in the dock, the Multimedia Station app would be non responsive and Force Close. It was becoming quite annoying but there is a nice simple solution.

1. Go to Settings
2. Select Applications
3. Select Manage applications
4. Press the Menu button
5. Select Filter
6. Choose All
7. Select Multimedia station
8. Press the Clear data button
9. Done!

I had to restart my phone after this but now the dock is working as expected. I guess there was some old setting left in the cache after the upgrade and this clears it out.

Hope it helps!!

You can create your own too using the Google Search Story Creator!

Its been a long overdue project, but the builders have been in and given the place a thorough going over. The theme was built from scratch in order to provide OSL with a more flexible blogging environment. I liked the previous simplicity a lot but I found that it didn’t quite meet my slightly diverse blogging needs. I have built up a network of sites I contribute to and I wanted to focus on them without feeling that my primary blog was being left out of the fun. I have a lifestream setup on shanemarriott.com that absorbs nearly everything I do online so I didn’t want that here also. My old blog at phrixus.co.uk was still pulling in a lot of visitors probably due to its longevity. It has been around for years and needed a shake-up, with this in mind, I will be closing it’s doors when I get the chance to find a good way of redirecting visitors to new locations.

All of the thumbnail generation is done automatically. You can specify the main image in the post editor or the theme will use what it has to hand. This means that if you don’t select a key image in the editor, the template will look at any images in your post and use the first one to generate the thumbnails. These are cached in order to preserve the performance. If there are no images, it will use a default image.

I have some great ideas on how to incorporate jQuery to enhance a few aspects but I will limit those on the public version. A lot of the functionality such as “Related Posts” has been built into the theme so that the reliance on resource hogging plugins can be reduced which was a primary aim of the theme. Even the tweet on the homepage is fetched by the template functions.

Ultimately, this theme will be made available on one of the WordPress theme websites. I have a bit of work to do on the backend before that though. If you feel particularly helpful, have a look around and let me know if you have any ideas or, more importantly, find any problems. Both are important! Thanks!

Wow!

My biggest concern when I bought this phone was how it would compare the iPhone. I didn’t want to be taking a step backward in terms of usability and features. I shouldn’t have worried though; this phone is superb.

The open nature is a breath of fresh air. I didn’t need iTunes to set it up or add music. I can install any apps I want. Nothing is locked down and its a genuine UK phone that costs half that of buying a new iPhone here! I wont even comment on the build quality as it is one of the most solid devices I have ever used. It was literally thrown across the kitchen tiles (by accident, not a test!) and there is not a single mark on it.

Other than killing the battery one morning after experimenting with email syncing on an account that didn’t exist, there have been no major problems. The slideout keyboard could be a little bigger, but that’s solved by the touchscreen! I’m not sure what the D-pad is for yet… perhaps the NES simulator? The usb socket is not the same as any of my cables so I am limited to the one supplied at the moment, I have the docks on order but they are currently out of stock. These are all minor gripes that could be equalled twice over with iPhone related annoyances. If this phone receives the Android 2.1 upgrade, as per the Nexus One, it will be hard to beat.

I’m so impressed up to this point that the next Apple phone would have to be something very special to entice me back… of course, that is what they do best!

Apps

As with any phone these days, it is only as useful as the apps you have installed. After setting up Google Checkout, purchases from the Market are super simple (Though I only have 1 paid-for app). In addition to some notable Apps such as Goggles, My Tracks and a barcode scanner, I have installed the following to date with no problems.

wpToGo

I use WordPress a lot, this app does exactly what it says on the tin! Mobile blogging!

Photoshop

With a 5MP camera, some editing is required. Photoshop Mobile fits the bill!

Seesmic

Being a devoted Twitter user, I have currently settled on Seesmic as the tweet tool of choice. This space is constantly changing so it will be interesting to see the developments.

Trip Journal

This is a trip tracking, photo linking note taking app for when you are out an about. This is the first app I purchased as I wanted the full version. It is also available on iPhone but with Multitasking, I can listen to music and use the phone without losing my track!

runstar

This is a slick app still under heavy development. I dont get out running much, but if I do, I’ll be running with this app… and music… and twitter (I am quite happy with this multitasking thing)!

Camera

I used the iPhone camera a lot, especially for Flickr/Twitter type shots. The Milestone has a 5MP camera that has had a lot of pixel-peepers stating why they wouldn’t trade in their SLR’s for one. Luckiliy, I use the camera for snap-shots and was not looking for a prosumer camera (would be cool though) and I have found that the camera delivers exactly what it needs to do. The image below was taken in contrasting light, click it to see the full version from Flickr!

Conclusion

I have so far concluded that I like the freedom provided by the Android platform. I have found the apps I needed to match what I did on the iPhone, sure there are only 16,000 to choose from not 100,000 but to be honest, I only need about 10! Essentially, after a few weeks, I don’t regret the decision to switch phones, if anything changes, I’ll note it here. Now I need to write my App!

The iPhone is one of my all time favourite devices. It changed the way I could do things on the move that were previously unthinkable or; at the very least, difficult. I might even go as far as saying that I actually love the iPhone! It really is great and I would hate to be without it which is why it’s time to step back and try something new.

Before I get distracted, I should explain that I live in an area that Apple does not actively sell into. We do not have “official” versions of the iPhone and Apple, technically, doesn’t even want us to use the iTunes Store. Maybe this is because we don’t pay VAT or maybe because Apple does it’s own thing without any clear logic quite often. Either way, if I wanted to upgrade to an iPhone 3GS, I would need to buy a Czech Republic model for over £700. That sounds great, but I had an issue with Apple recently that left me a little dissapointed. My current iPhone is a Czech version and it started developing some performance issues. When I went into the Apple store and saw a Genius, they said that since it is not a UK phone, they can’t do anything with it. If it had been, they would have replaced it. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that point of view, but from my personal perspective, it’s not particularly beneficial.

I have therefore decided that I will do as I always do in moments of crisis and panic – run to Google for help! I am now awaiting the arrival of the new Motorola Milestone. At half the price of the iPhone 3GS, it won’t break the bank and it gives me the opportunity to see how far others have progressed during the 2 years I have only used the iPhone.

Another reason, probably the biggest reason ultimately is that I have an idea for an App that I would like to have a go at developing. With the open nature of Android and availability of tools, it was the platform of choice and I really need the hardware to go with it!

Anyway, I am quite excited by this and will be sure to write up my experience whether it proves to be good or bad! Fingers crossed that I have not just bought an expensive alarm clock! And to think, I swore I would never buy a Motorola again!