iPhone v Google Android: The Gloves Come Off
by Craik Pyke on 17/09/09 at 9:32 pm
Craik Pyke is telecommunications architect and software developer specializing in mobile applications and an editor for iPhoneCTO.
It’s commonly accepted that Android is no where near “Enterprise Ready”… And while that may be true, some suggest the same of the iPhone. Therefore, given I have an HTC Magic (also known as a G2, or a MyTouch3G) for development purposes, I thought I’d take a crack at using my Android device for 30 days, in place of how I routinely use my iPhone.
As I’ve discussed previously, my job routinely deals with a combination of documentation and hands-on systems, all within the IT environment of a large communications company. Therefore, my first goal was to configure the device for use. One point to keep in mind – my employer has a policy of support for RIM only; iPhones, WinMo, and pretty much any other device will be tolerated so long as it is not a bad-citizen on the network, and presuming it supports Exchange policies being pushed to it.
After picking the device up from my local carrier (Rogers), I brought it into my workplace. We use WPA Enterprise security on our Wireless LAN… first problem. While the HTC chipset supports WPA-EAP, Android provides no user settings for configuring it. I set that aside and remained on 3G until I could configure the other aspects of the device.
Exchange configuration was my next step. Rogers proudly advertises that this version of the Magic, produced with HTC supports Exchange. I attempted to configure my corporate email system accordingly, using the same parameters and authentication as I use with my iPhone… second problem. The Exchange client developed by HTC/Rogers does not support receiving Exchange policies from the server, and therefore, the server will not permit connections.
So – at this point, I have no WiFi and no corporate email. I decided to move on to applications – to mimic my workflow with the iPhone. The Rogers version of the Magic comes preloaded with QuickOffice, so my document needs were covered. When it came to organizing my tasks, I didn’t expect to find OmniFocus on Android, so I selected Shuffle.
I then set my attention on a client for SSH and for VNC…. third problem. After searching Google and the Android MarketPlace for applications, I found that none were listed.
My setup was going very poorly by now and I contemplated forgetting my little experiment entirely. However, determined to give Android a fair shake, I decided to pursue a course I’d never contemplated with my iPhone… I decided to “root” my Android phone. Rooting gives the user access to functions that Google, HTC, and Rogers (in my case) would rather you didn’t have. After a bit of research, I found the following data points:
- Rooting is very easy if one knows how to follow directions.
- Rooting permits me to configure WPA-EAP wireless security.
- Rooting lets me purchase application from the Android MarketPlace by allowing me to fool the device into thinking it’s on T-Mobile’s network.
I’ve never really considered jail-breaking my iPhone; despite some of Apple’s draconian App Store decisions and some missing functionality (folders/stacks on the springboard!), I haven’t felt the need. However, that was not the case with my Android phone – I saw no choice.
Once I did ‘root’ my Magic, I never looked back – I installed a customized ROM, enabled purchased applications in the MarketPlace, and pushed the necessary WiFi configuration to support WPA-EAP. Finally, I went to the MarketPlace and purchased the applications I required to complete my workflow:
- Touchdown by NitroDesk Inc to provide Exchange support that complied with my company’s requirements (policy push).
- Remote VNC Pro and Advanced Terminal Emulator to fill SSH / VNC requirements.
- Decaf for my Amazon EC2 requirements.
- I already had QuickOffice and Shuffle for my documents and task management needs.
- I never did find a replacement for QuickVoice2Text.
Phew… Finally, I was ready to actually use the device.
Overall, daily use of the device went fairly well after I setup the phone. I was able to use most of the applications I was accustomed to, and I was able to keep in sync with my MacBook Pro (the most notably tedious task was syncing Shuffle tasks with OmniFocus.
The keyboard on the Magic took a bit of getting use to only because the keyboard has a different layout than the iPhone’s and therefore took some muscle-memory remapping. That aside, emailing and web browsing worked well.
I was driven absolutely insane by the battery life of the Magic… I could not go more than half to three-quarters of a day before it was completely dead. I know the iPhone is criticized for its lack of background tasking, but honestly if this is what can be expected when background processing is available, I’ll pass. I typically get about 2 working days from my iPhone under my use patterns (email manual fetch only). I also had a hard time with the lack of continuity between applications, because there is no common user interface guidelines for Android applications – unlike for the iPhone.
Overall though, I found the Magic / Android phone easy to use. I didn’t experience the crashing problems some users complain of (though I did have a problem with the phone ‘slowing down’ over a few days if I didn’t reboot it – apparently due to a memory leak in the services.jar framework).
Did I survive the full 30 days? No – I found after about two weeks that I’d drifted back to my iPhone, even without my primary SIM in it. In the long run, the iPhone’s user interface ‘polish’, the way application all have a relatively common look and feel and the way it fit in with my Mac and its applications drew me back. It’s not to say I don’t like the Magic and Android – it’s a lot of fun to hack around with. But it’s not the iPhone. From the perspective of my employer and my employer’s IT organization, I have no doubt that they would agree the iPhone is the lesser of the two evils (I’m sure they’d prefer I used a BlackBerry). The last part is the key – to get the phone to a useable state, I had to root it – the very thing that would decrease its security and therefore make it a bigger risk to the company.
I’d say those who say Android isn’t ready for the enterprise are understating the position… I’d argue it isn’t even trying.
