Android Developers! Here’s a phone-load of free ideas

Oct 16, 2008 | blog

android logoYeah, I’m a little excited while I sit and wait for my T-Mobile G1 to be delivered. During this waiting period that nearly every geek worth their weight in Apple will experience, I’ve been reading  reviews, opinions, development docs, looking up existing applications and so on.

During this time I’ve been thinking about the things that Google did & didn’t put in the phone. I’ve been pondering the criticism and the early praise for the device, and I’ve started thinking about what I want out of the G1, and through this I’ve come up with a list of possible application ideas for some “Rock Star” android developers. So here they are.

Media/Communications

  • Video Camcorder App (since Google left this out!)
  • Adobe Flash Player
  • Flickr Uploader
  • QIK & Seesmic Video Client
  • A Slingbox client
  • A Kick-But Media Player
  • Rhapsody client, iTunes Client, and so on
  • Skype, GrandCentral, ooVoo Clients

image Social Media

  • Twitter Client
  • Facebook (and other social networks) Client that supports pic/vid/audio uploads
  • Find a way to use the accelerometer as an input device – specifically for scrolling. (Ok, yes like the information pads from STNG that the crew would simply tilt back & forth to scroll the information on the device – geeky I know.)

Drivers/Input

  • Bluetooth AD2P Stereo Headphone Support
  • Bluetooth HID support for keyboards (Specifically my older ThinkOutside Bluetooth Keyboard please!)
  • Bluetooth HID support for Mice
  • Multi-Touch input drivers (I believe Google didn’t do this because of IP concerns – I’m probably wrong)

Productivity

  • Google Reader App (How’d they miss this?)
  • Google Docs App (Gears… Hello!)
  • Note taking app (I’d like one that integrates/syncs with Microsoft OneNote, but others like Evernote)
  • Full Screen Keyboard
  • Blogging client similar to Windows Live Writer
  • Weather App (Forecasts, Maps, etc…)
  • Support for email signing/encryption certificates
  • Travel App (This one could be cooler than they have been to date: detect location via GPS, set correct time/date, download current weather, look up local restaurants automatically and present by breakfast/lunch/dinner times, download current exchange rates, more…?)

Heck, I’m just listing off things I want – but look at the device and think of the G1 as a PC rather than a phone. Remember, with 3G, GPS, accelerometer, touch interface, camera, access to your Gmail Contacts & Calendar, Maps, etc… what could you build using a combination of these hardware and soft resources? What if…? Since Android is an open platform, you can replace even the core components of the software suite: dialer, browser, email, input drivers, camera software… it’s endless.

Ok, now that I’ve demonstrated that I’m an Android fan-boy, I’m going to go back to work. Have fun!

Giving It Away

Aug 6, 2008 | blog

Part of what made the early and current social media crowd important to me, has been the willingness for folks to “give it away”. By that I mean all the ideas, tools, and techniques that are used and talked about on the social web. This post itself is inspired by the very concept of sharing and giving ideas away as the title comes from Chris Brogan’s 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write. During one trip nearly a year ago, he gave away 100 topic ideas, offering them up for folks to expand on.

That is an example of what I mean. One guy has time on his hands and wants to share his ideas, knowing that he may not have time to write about some of the posts he’s thought of. There’s more though. The bulk of social media to date is based on giving away something. Whether it’s ideas, or stories, or comedy, or podcasts, or how-to’s, or videos, the interest in sharing in this new media venue is what makes it all so exciting. Sure, it’s going to change – you can already see that happening – but it’s the folks who’ve started it, and those that follow the same ethos that make it exciting.

As this medium evolves as a method to connect and interact with clients and customers, it will become more commercialized and controlled. At least, there will always be attempts to control it. We believe at this point that most attempts to control the social web will fail – we’ll have to wait and see if that turns out to be true.

Mostly, I enjoy the idea that through all the years, through all the social and political change, through the technological changes, that we still value social interaction as much as our grandparents. It’s the satisfaction that through the years, the desire to share tips and things we’ve learned with folks doesn’t change. That people are quite happy to share and “give it away”.

Photo credit: mdezemery

Thank you to Chris Brogan for giving away some good blog topics. Occasionally dip into those 100 ideas to see what I can come up with.

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