(6) Geolocation/Mapping

• Most functionality from the Web-based map
  • terrain view available as a layer
  • all of My Maps available as individual layers
• There also is a My Maps API [http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/mapsdata/developers_guide_protocol.html]
  • create maps programmatically for mobile services
  • add them to a user's maps to make the available on Android
  • Maps application would need some interface changes

(7) My Maps

(8) My Maps QR

(9) Camera Quality

• Decent resolution and autofocus for acceptable quality
  • additional settings for advanced controls
• LED flash for reasonably lit indoor scenes
  • it even doubles as a flashlight [http://www.google.com/search?q=droidlight]
• Handling images seems to suffer from some coordination problems
  • rotation does not seem to be handled by all applications
  • the Facebook application uploads stamp-sized versions of pictures

(10) Open Platform

• No mandatory review with opaque decision procedures
• Availability on various devices with different characteristics
  • application development becomes harder (fragmentation)
  • platform development may split into various code lines
• How much openness can phones afford?
  • if it works well without tinkering, probably a lot
  • if it remains stable with tinkering, probably a lot
  • if it compromises the phone's utility, not too much

(12) Email

• There is no general-purpose Email client
  • good support for Gmail users (Gmail application)
  • almost no support for non-Gmail users (Email application)
• Good integration with Google services is an advantage
  • Email, Calendar, Contacts, Maps, …
• Lack of support for standard services is disappointing

(13) Quality Control

• Less polished experience than the iPhone
  • less sophistication in UI design and refinement
  • fewer guidelines for developers
  • no curated market with quality control for applications

(14) Web Application Support

• Adding bookmarks is more complicated than it should be
  1. bookmark the page you want to add to a home screen
  2. go to the home screen you want to add the link to
  3. long-press in an empty space to bring up the Add to Home Screen menu
  4. select Shortcuts
  5. select Bookmark
  6. choose the bookmark (it will get a generic/favicon combo)
• No support for Web-based widgets
  • widgets are native Android applications [http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html]

(16) Observations of Daily Living (ODL)

• Local Storage [Local Storage] supported in the browser
• Offline-Capable Applications [Offline-Capable Applications] supported in the browser
• WebKit-based browsers (supports all major Web standards)
• Starting a Web-based version as a prototype and demo application
  • more advanced features might require switching to PhoneGap/native
  • developing a Web-based prototype will be a good starting point