tensixtyone

Over the last few days a minor storm is brewing in the iPhone user community. A week or so ago a new application was released to the iPhone market called Infinite SMS, which touted a cost free method of sending SMS messages to anyone. What the developers didn’t tell the users is that they were using a free to use Google service which was currently in “Labs” status.

With a massive influx of new users, Google decided that it was in their best interest to suspend third-party access to the API, including cutting off existing GTalk users. Google warned the developers of Infinite SMS and the devs pleaded to Google to leave it open while they migrated, two days later Google pulled the plug.

Most developers would just say the service is unavailable and start apologising right? Well not InnerFence. They quickly posted a statement onto their website.

Google will soon block Infinite SMS and all other non-Google software from sending free text messages.

For now, Infinite SMS will continue to work, but when the block goes into effect, you’ll start getting an error every time you try to send a text message.

If you have comments for Google, you can visit their Text Messaging Google Group.

Google has claimed no grievance with Infinite SMS other than its success. Their given reason for the block isn’t abuse or wrongdoing; it’s that we brought too many users (and thus too much cost) to an experimental service.

So, in the face of a hoard of unhappy users the developers just fobbed them off with no responsibility. Then only to add insult to injury:

Apple does not give app developers any way to perform refunds. Hopefully, at 99¢ people will feel like our app paid for itself after only a few messages.

The users, obviously unhappy, have took to the Google Labs message board with their complaints. Some users are even trying to get Google to refund the 99¢ for the application.

Jackbauer24 tries to add some reasoning to the situation, but still misses the point:

I think that there is some confusion as to what it is that has happened here. There is a lot of bad will going around to the creators of Infinite SMS. In reality, the creators had nothing to do with Infinite SMS being shut down. It was a decision by Google and Google alone.

As for Google not wanting to foot the cost for free text messaging (I guess it’s true that nothing is really free) that is totally understandable. But what is kind of surprising to me is the fact that they did not choose to use this program as a source of advertising revenue. It would have been so easy for them to send text messages
with advertisements to their users.–they could even send a message after every text sent or received and I don’t think many people would have complained. I’m not sure why Google did what they did, but I
hope that they will reconsider.

If anyone actually read the service annoucement then you’ll see this service wasn’t a public API for pure SMS, yes, it was publicly accessible via GTalk and GMail services, but can you show me the actual Web API to send these messages? I can assume that Infinite SMS connected to GTalk via XMPP and sent SMS via the service. I feel Google is correct in blocking it as they were abusing their intended use for the service.

Some users have started a petition, to get Google to re-enable the service so they can get their SMS for free. Hell, why should they pay when Google can foot the bill? To quote a comment on the petition:

BRING BACK INFINITE SMS !!!! HOW WERE WE COSTING ANYBODY MONEY ! WE DESERVE THIS APP BECAUSE ALOT OF US ARE NOT MILLIONAIRES, GOOGLE ! GOOGLE SUX.

I’ll just leave you one nugget from hellogoodbye2124:

What is your problem Google? Why did you block Infinite SMS? What am I suppose to do now for texting my family and friends? Could you please unblock it? You guys are being really stupid about this.

Yes, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Last week I finally got round to ordering a T-Mobile G1 and I got accepted, and to be honest I was expecting my contract application to bounce like a rubber ball. I guess I left T-Mobile on good terms last time so they’re one of the last networks in the UK that will actually accept me for a new account. I’m quite a aficionado of mobile phones and I do like “smart phones”, so I’ve decided to write this brief overview of the handset and of Android in general.

Out of Box Experience

I ordered my handset online so I had the joy’s of Royal Mail to contend with, that alone is a separate post and UK followers will know the usual pain everyone goes through in regards to getting anything shipped by them. The first issue that tripped me up was that the SIM card was loose in the packaging and not even slid into the handset box. In a rush I nearly binned the SIM and scupper my chances of actually using the device for another week.

The G1 is very nicely boxed, almost in the same way Apple devices are usually done. Since the release of the iPod and it’s over the top fancy packaging a lot of device developers have been scrabbling to match that “Out of Box” experience, the joy of opening the packaging and having your device presented to you in soft black foam padding. The first major gripe was struck at this early stage, while unpacking the device and it’s related accessories I noted that my white phone has some very nasty black accessories. While the contrast of black and white may work well in some peoples minds, I’d personally like the accessories to be a matching colour.

The box included the standard extras, a quick start guide, a small manual, USB cable, charger and a wired headset. Nothing really to write home about. The manual is the usual introduction spiel, which I refuse to read. I decided to get the phone up and working and to have a play around.

What surprised me next is my first battle with the phone, trying to get the SIM card in the actual device. Turns out you have to use the little pull tab at the top of the phone to remove the back, of course the device or documentation didn’t have any mention of how to do this. Jo can vouch that I spent a frustrated five minutes trying to tear the back off without destroying the phone. A simple plastic pull tab would of sorted this, but I guess it’s the last thing on the manufactures’ mind.

Next came the activation, I thought being a non-tied phone that I wouldn’t have to jump through so many hoops like the iPhone, while this is true the actual procedure can be a little frustrating. Anyone who has visited my house can attest to the near Faraday Cage properties that it has for some networks, unfortunately T-Mobile is one of them, the signal levels in the local area are great, just not in my house. This presented a major issue when I was asked to login to my Google account to sync over various details, the phone then spent the next ten minutes trying to establish a GPRS connection to the outside world. After the tenth or so try it managed to get all the details it needs. I understand that the activation sequence can also do WiFi connection but I didn’t see any mention of this during the set-up, and I think it’s reserved for the people who have “rooted” their phones already, something I’ll want to avoid wherever possible.

So after much hissing, cursing, and a few cups of tea, I was ready to roll.

Applications

Almost everything on Android is wrote in Java, and I’m quite amazed that it runs as well as it does. While Google/OHA are still polishing the edges the OS seems very stable and easy to use, once you’ve worked out the basics of navigating around you’ll be flying through the applications in no time. The standard “tool set” included with Android will cover the 90% of users, the usual host of tools are included; SMS, Email, Web Browser, Call Manager, along with a few others you might not usually see, like IM.

As this is the “Google Phone” the standard software includes the usual Google mobile applications, Gmail, Maps, and Youtube. I’ve recently moved away from using Gmail, so I can’t really comment on how the application works, and the rest of them operate just as you would expect on the N95 or any other Series 60 handset. I’m not going to spend all day digging into specifics as anyone who has had a go of these apps will know what to expect.

The biggest seller is the Market, the Android team broke away from the strict market that you see on the iPhone and went with a more open process.This has allowed developers to create a wide range of apps in a very short period of time, including replacement applications for the built in-clients. One great example is K9Mail, which expands on the existing Email client to enable better interaction with IMAP servers and a few added features. I’m sure over time the market will grow, and with the introduction of the paid market we’ll see some of the big players start developing apps for it.

Overview

Ok, I’ve warbled on for a while about my usage of the phone, it’s still early days and I’m still not 100% up to speed with the handset. It’ll take time and I’m sure i’ll have more posts in the future. I’m starting to get my feet wet in the SDK and I’ve got my first “Hello World” application currently installed on my handset. So, Would I recommend the handset to anyone else? A resounding yes, it’s got alot of potential and anyone slightly technically inclined will love using it.

A little late, but still interesting. Google has announced that the source for Android is now available. Google have kept up their end of the bargain and the source is out there for all to view, it’s a interesting prospect with the G1 release just around the corner. I know that quite a few hackers out where will be tinkering with Android for the next couple of weeks, maybe even have some interesting developments for the G1 launch.

Now that the source is out there, I wonder what the response the other platform developers will have. I suspect Nokia/Symbian to play down Android’s place in the market and RIM to wave away the benefits of open source. I have to wonder, HTC are releasing the G1 and now Google has released the source. Will users be able to flash update their version of Android? Or will they be bound to the operators/HTCs distribution of the software? If users are allow to keep up with the latest and greatest developments for the platform I suspect the big players will start to sweat a little. Only time will tell, but it’s starting to look good.

The BBC reports that Symbian dismisses the “gPhone” or Android as it’s now been dubbed, by the looks of it the BBC have snubbed the new “Open Handset Alliance” as theres no 100% dedication to the plaform, which is hard to expect when not even a demo version of the OS and hardware has rolled off production lines.

Looking at the members list, it seems that Symbian have got something to worry about. While Nokia and Sony Erricsson are about 60% of the mobile market and both Symbian customers it seems the rest, Motorola, HTC, LG, and Samsung have took the jump to join this group in its early stages. Also, alot of the big carriers are behind them, NTT DoCoMo, T-Mobile, and Telefonica.

Google has used their corporate might to pull in a few “big boys” from the industry, once a prototype is out and interest starts brewing i’d expect a few more to join in.

In another news of an unrelated nature, I’ve finally got my arse in gear and decided to get back on the GTD horse. My recent exploits with Gmail and various other Google Apps have spurred me on, my success in organising my mail and rss feeds means I can spend more time on actual stuff…

I’ve previously mentioned Tracks as my central repository for all things GTD related, but the other day I bumped into What’s Next?, which is a boiled down version of Tracks that supports the pure basics of GTD. Running on Rails and SQLite its nice and portable, but I’ve slapped it onto my hosting box at home to avoid the hassle of Ruby instances on a USB drive. Really, I can’t comment on the usage of this new app, but i’m sure i’ll have more details in a few weeks.