I am as platform agnostic as anyone can be. I use what works for me per time and have no allegiance to any platform, as many do. Over the years, I have used devices based on as many as six (6) mobile OSes. So far, I have used:

1. 10 Symbian OS smartphones
2. 6 Windows Mobile OS smartphones
3. 2 Android OS smartphones
4. 1 Palm OS smartphone
5. 1 Maemo OS smartphone
6. 1 BlackBerry OS smartphone

While it may look like I have a preference for Symbian,that is not exactly true. I have used Symbian devices more because they have been more available in my environment. In addition, Symbian has offered more options than any other platform – QWERTY candybar, QWERTY slider, touchscreen, and regular keypad. The whole works.

I am currently on my second Android device, the Xperia X10 Mini pro from Sony Ericsson. It is a solid device and a fantastic adaptation and miniaturisation by Sony Ericsson.

Having used the device for a while, here are my thoughts about the Android OS. While the X10 Mini Pro is on version 1.6, nothing that I mention here is strange to the whole range of Android OS versions.

Android OS is an internet addict
The OS was designed ground up to crave an internet connection. To activate an Android phone requires internet access. After its up and running, it keeps you online for as long as there is a connection available. Installed freeware demand internet access, many of them being adware.

The results are too glaring – shorter battery life. And those shorter battery life is much shorter than on competitive platforms like Symbian and Windows Mobile.

Of course another consequence of this internet addiction is that your pocket is likely to be affected one way or the other. A 30-day 100MB or 150MB bundle internet plan may just not last 30 days on an Android device. If you are on a budget, you may want to think about it.

I remember that while i had the N900, I kept exhausting my data plan waaaay before its expiry date.

The browser has poor cache implementation
In a similar thread to the internet addiction is the fact that the built-in Android browser’s cache implementation is awful. Hit the back icon or button while browsing and the browser reloads the previous page afresh via the internet. For those who do not know, this is a general problem with Webkit-based browsers (at least those that I know of).

What does this translate to? More data guzzling and shorter battery life.

Is it so difficult to develop an Android screen shot app?
For all the noise about the Android market now having hundreds of thousands of apps, till today I have not come across something as basic and as useful as a screenshot application.

Screenshot apps are a kobo a dozen on Symbian and Windows Mobile, for example. Even newbie Maemo has a screenshot app – and for free too. Sigh.

Update: Belushi pointed out a screenshot app, Shootme. Typing in the name in the Market search box, I found it quickly, inspite of the fact that searching for terms like “screenshot”, “screensnap” etc didn’t yield any results.

Android is by and large a Geek platform (updated)
Just like the other Linux-based mobile OS Maemo, Android is by and large a geek platform. Many applications require the user to root his device. Rooting is not for the faint-hearted or the uninitiated. Things can go wrong easilly.

To use the screenshot app, Shootme, for example, I had to root my X10 Mini Pro. Tell that to the average Segun on the street. “Rooting”, “Permissions” et al mean nothing to them.

Honestly, many of the Market apps are crapware
I am sorry, but I am not impressed with the hullaballoo about the size of the android Market. My experience is that too many of them are crap. And believe me, it takes days to hunt through all that crap installing one problematic app after another and replacing it with another problematic alternative before finally finding one that really works well.

The rating system is there, but it doesn’t work well.

Poor Battery Life
It looks like Linux-based OSes guzzle more power than their counterparts. Think Maemo. Think Android. The entire pond is full of poor battery life tales. Yes; the touchscreens do contribute (as a matter of fact as much as 50% of battery consumption is from the touchscreen on the average Android device).

Consider that while Blackberry devices have been reputed for good battery life, the new 9800 Torch has been reported as having less than stellar battery life. The touchscreen is the primary suspect here again.

I wonder what it would be like were some manufacturer to experiment with a non-touchscreen Android device.

Conclusions
Does this mean that Android OS is crap and should be thrown out the windows? Not by a long shot.

I enjoyed the Android G1 while I had it, and I have enjoyed the X10 Mini Pro so far. But do bear in mind that, just like every other mobile OS, the Android OS has its quirks and disadvantages.

I am doing this post from Accra, the capital city of Ghana. One of the uncomfortable things about travelling out of one’s native country is the prospect of being unreachable by your loved ones while on the move.

This used to be the case. Now, with voice and data roaming on mobile networks, it is fast becoming a thing of the past.

When my family and I left Nigeria on friday, thanks to seamless roaming on both MTN and Zain networks, we have stayed in touch on our regular GSM lines where each of those networks have coverage. For MTN, we had a signal most of the time and encountered black spots every now and then. This was because MTN has networks active in Benin, and Ghana.

On MTN, I received calls and SMS for free, and made calls at the same rate as subscribers on the host network pay. Unfortunately, data roaming did not work, so I was offline some time after we entered Benin till our arrival and settling down at Accra.

Zain data roaming worked once we got to Ghana, as there were no Zain networks in benin and Togo. My wife received calls for free as well and made calls to loved ones back home. As for data roaming on Zain, while there is GPRS/EDGE/3G/3.5G coverage, her Zain Nigeria line won’t even indicate the presence of that.

PS: The Zain Nigeria website says that data roaming is available in Ghana on “Tigo (Millicom)”. Why not on Zain Ghana?

I purchased a Zain Ghana SIM for mobile internet use. It came pre-activated for internet. All I had to do was load airtime, enter the settings manually, subscribe to a plan, and I was good to go. EDGE coverage is strong at our location, and I am posting this on Zain Ghana internet.

Our holiday spot, Atlantic Resort, has a Wi-fi hotspot. I will be subscribing as soon as I can get my lazy butts off the bed and out of the chalet.

This is Yomi Adegboye reporting live from Ghana for MobilityNigeria.com.

Zain Nigeria has been making a lot of noise about its new “Joli” packages in the last few days. Looking at the Joli tariffs, it is clear that voice subscribers get a better deal by migrating from the old packages to the new.

However, if you are currently subscribed to an internet bundle plan, you may want to stay away from those Joli migration codes for now. Migrating to Joli de-activates/cancels any existing internet bundle plans you may be subscribed to. Without notice. Yes; whatever you paid for the bundle package is gone. But that’s not all.

Because the bundle is now cancelled, if you have any available airtime, your line keeps connecting, eating up your airtime without your being aware of it.

Lastly, internet bundles cannot be activated on the Jolli platform. Joli subscribers can only enjoy pay-as-you-go internet at 15 kobo per kb. Well, at least till Zain sort out how to get it done.

Bad. Very bad.

A note of caution if you do choose to migrate to the Joli package: While it may be tempting to switch in order to enjoy lower call rates, also note that there is currently no way to switch back, if you are not satisfied. The migration is currently on a no-return basis.

In the beginning, BlackBerry services on the Glo network were only for the bigger “bigger boys” – those who not only could shell out N100, 000 for a Blackberry device, but who also could afford a contract.

But time has a way of changing things. GloMobile now offers a prepaid option for its BlackBerry service, with a small range of bundle packages:

BIS Monthly costs N4, 800 and gives you 30 days validity with 10mb data inclusive. Send “bismonth” to 777 for activation.

BIS Weekly goes for N1, 500 with 7 days validity and 3mb data inclusive. To activate this, send “bisweek” to 777.

Lastly, BIS Daily goes for N400, 24 hours validity and 1mb data cap. Send “bisday” to 777 to activate.

Of course, you will need a BlackBerry device or BlackBerry-compatible smartphone.

GloMobile says that its BlackBerry service offers:

• configuration of up to 10 email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc)
• a new BlackBerry email address
• free BlackBerry Messenger
• pre-configured MMS and Glo WAP service

If you’ve been looking out for this, here’s your chance!

According to a news report filed by the Daily Trust on the 30th of June, Globacom announced through its Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel that they would be crashing the prices of internet connectivity come September.

In the same breath, he also said they would be reducing call rates “with or without the consent of other operators in the country”. This is supposedly being made possible by the completion of Globacom’s fibre optic network across the country.

If this happens, I am sure that it would be welcomed with open arms by the public. One can only hope that quality of service will not be compromised.

I am quite skeptical about the claims to crash internet connectivity tariffs, as no mention was made of the medium by which it would be delivered. What is the point of introducing cheap rates when you have to pay a huge sum, say about N25 – 30, 000 (I’m just guessing here) to buy equipment and sign up?

Unless Glo have changed their ways, the GSM operator might also introduce some stringent measures before one can sign up. If they are going to reduce voice rates without the consent of the other networks, does this mean they will be subsidizing interconnectivity rates and will the NCC grant them the go-ahead? More questions than answers!

All in all, we (eagerly?) await the roll out.

The report is available here.

It is amazing that in the year 2009 (not 1989) some of our local GSM service providers still ask customers to come to their offices or to place telephone calls to request for their lines to be provisioned in order to have access to the network’s data (or value added) services.

While deploying a data service is well appreciated, the networks should go a step further to make it convenient for subscribers to have access to these services.

For example, there’s no valid reason why the networks cannot provide their SIMs already provisioned for internet. It is a fact that at least MTN and Etisalat are doing it right in this regard. Etisalat especially is to be commended, for though being a new player in the Nigerian telecoms ecosystem, they are more forward looking in terms of user-friendly data provisioning than the older boys like Zain and GloMobile.

Surely, it cannot be so difficult for network operators to deploy over-the-air (OTA) configuration such that soon after inserting your SIM into a GPRS or 3G-enabled phone, the data settings are pushed automatically to the phone and the subscriber can simply launch his phone browser and start surfing the web away.

Both MTN and Etisalat are again the leaders in this department. And once again, Etisalat are getting two thumbs up from me for implementing this from the word go.

My experience with Etisalat is one I remember with fondness. I popped in my SIM into a phone, the settings were pushed to me via SMS, and within minutes I was browsing without having to go to their office, call for my line to be provisioned, or manually input any settings. I said to myself, “This is the way it should be“.

Network operators need to remember that the average phone user is not a geek, does not care to go beyond the basic menu of his phone, and would rather not be bothered with the extra hassles of getting value added services setup.

The average subscriber wants these services to work out-fo-the-box, and the networks that respond appropriately to this fact will have subscribers eating out of their hands. Mobile Data will become more mainstream when the hassles of data configuration are eliminated.

Yesterday evening, a gang of nasty gremlins launched an attack on MTN Nigeria’s packet data service, rendering it unusable. Till this moment, trying to get a connection on the MTN 3G and GPRS networks has been more difficult than pushing a camel through the eye of a needle.

We are talking over 24 hours of unusable service to data subscribers. Hopefully, this nightmare will be over when the sun rises tomorrow.

This is a rant, and it was triggered off by a comment posted at All About Symbian by someone who calls himself Natureboyzone. Here is what he posted:

Hi.i am new to the forum.i use N76 and my network is mtn nigeria.how do i activate it for free browsing.i also heard about the data call pls send me the settings or link me up with someone who can help.thanks

If you follow the AAS link I provided above, you would see that the topic under discussion has nothing to do with configuration settings, muchless free browsing. Note also that he is new to a community, and the first thing he does is this.

I see this embarassing, beggarly attitude on different forums, including foreign ones like Esato and My-Symbian (My-Symbian has a number of Nigerian IP addresses blocked already).

Here on the homefront, Nairaland is has the worst hit mobile community. Over 95% of the exchanges there are about free browsing on GSM networks. It is almost impossible to find an intelligent discussion to engage in the mobile forum there.

Here on MobilityNigeria, we keep stressing that we have no such information to give, but these desperate young men (and women) keep mailing in to request for free browsing tricks and information. As a responsible business and as responsible individuals, we cannot promote practices that undermine the business of others. But that is beyond the point of this article.

What I am bothered about is the nuisance that these free browsing beggars have become everywhere on the WWW, and the bad publicity that they generate for Nigeria. It is bad!

People are having an intelligent discussion, and then someone barges in, begging for free browsing tricks. Sigh. I can imagine that various well-known mobile figures around the world would have received private mails from Nigerian hounds looking for free (illegal) browsing hacks and tricks.

What is more shocking is the fact that the majority of those who jump on the free ride don’t put it to productive uses (See my article published in November 2008: The Free Browsing Tricks on Mobile Networks).

Get productive, guys. Put innovation to work. Get off your butts and do something to better your lot and that of the country you live in. Stop begging and hitch-hiking. Okay, its fine to hitch-hike the first few legs of your journey if things are really bad for you. But build from there, and get off that road ASAP.

I remember using CSD (circuit switched data) years back when call and data both cost N50.00 per minute (anyone remember those days?) to manage my emails, customer orders and support in the early days of my webhosting business. Even at that exhorbitant cost, I put it to profitable use and built something out of it. Circuit Switched Data is the technical name for GSM dial-up.

Thereafter, GPRS (and later 3G) arrived and was much costlier than what we have on ground today. Yet; I still put it to productive use.

Today, we see an army of young people using cost as an excuse (excuse me?) to defend what is largely a product of irresponsibility. I am under no illusions that this article of mine will produce any change. I’ll bet my entire year’s income that this article will be read, noses raised at me, and the hunt further pursued.

But at least, I have had my say. And hopefully, maybe one – just one – of these free browsing hunters will be awakened through what I have written here, and choose to stand apart, get responsible, and do something really productive with his or her life.

Maybe.

PS: Zain has just concluded a month-long free internet promo, and I am sure we will be hard pressed to find a handful of young people who put the promo to real productive use – not just chatting up babes and posting unintelligent comments on discussion boards and weblogs. Not that Zain’s very epileptic internet access helped matters though, but that’s a subject for another article.