Android budget tablet: Archos 70 Review

When I first started looking for a tablet, I was looking for a cheaper Android tablet that came with Android 2.2.  Originally, I wasn't sure what size I wanted, but ultimately, I wanted something pretty portable and cheap to use as an e-reader.  This eliminated several 10" varieties including the impressive Viewsonic ViewPad10.  Ultimately, I decided on the Archos 70 for price and features. This tablet has become a hot item so if you are looking for one, you might need to use your best Google muscles to find one.  When I started looking into them on a Monday, I later purchased mine Tuesday night (on 1/5/2011) for a cool $275 at newegg, as I mentioned in my last post, and by Thursday three online retailers went out of stock (including newegg).  As of 01/20/2011, newegg.com is still out of stock.

First Look at Android Development

Release Date

I don't have an app released yet, and I didn't even come close to my January 3rd deadline.  I was planning on spending a good portion of my vacation getting some coding done, but on Christmas day, I woke up with the flu (Merry Christmas!).  I spent 4 solid days in bed, and probably spent more time in the bathroom than I did sleeping each of those days.  If you have ever seen dumb and dumber, it was kind of like that, but there wasn't a trip to Colorado involved :P  I was ill.  I could barely do anything.  It took me a week before I could even eat solid foods for an entire day.  It was rough, but that is over, and now I am on to a development a little at a time.  The release date is now moved to TBA :)


Emulator Bluetooth Support
I was a little disappointed that the Android emulator doesn't have bluetooth support out of the box.  While you can create an Android 2.3 AVD (android virtual device), I was targeting the 2.2 since my HTC EVO is still on 2.2.

One size doesn't fit all!

Which mobile platform do you think will be most successful?  Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Phone 7, WebOS, or Android? Use the poll on the right to vote.  I think Android will be the most successful, but that should be pretty obvious.  I think Apple is making the same mistakes that they made years ago with the original Mac.  History is repeating itself.  Microsoft Windows killed Apple Macintosh because Microsoft chose to put their software on hardware made by many different manufacturers.  Android is doing the same, and I think it will have the same outcome.  Apple’s marketing bubble will finally burst.  

Android Development Kickoff

In grad school, I had the opportunity to do some research on mobile devices, and I have been hooked ever since.  Mobile is the future.  I have been really itching to do some Android Development for a long while now.  I did download the SDK a while back (twice actually), but I never got much further than "Hello, World."  I had plenty of ideas, but after researching those ideas, I either waited too long or I already missed the boat.  No more.  My goal is to put an app out by Jan 3rd 2011.  My goal is to have some fun, to learn some things about mobile development, and if possible, make a little money (those school loans could use a nice dent).  

Why Jan 3rd you ask?  Well, I have a little vacation during the holidays, and I read this great post by a googler that said their motto is to "release early, iterate often."  That sounded like a good idea to me, and that is exactly what we expect from Google.  In fact, I find myself really forgiving when Google releases software because I know that they are going to update it...usually within a couple of months.  So, I am going to try to do the same.

Today I downloaded gingerbread (Android 2.3 SDK), got the Hello World up and running again, and learned that Ctrl-Shift-O keyboard shortcut for eclipse automatically inserts the import statements for you (I should have learned that one a while ago).  Hopefully, I will have more to share tomorrow.

I will keep everyone who cares (probably not many ;) ) apprised of my progress on this blog.  I will try to share as many tips as I can to help other Android developers starting out.  If you have any blogging suggestions, writing tips, or Android tips, please let me know.  I can use all the help I can get :P  Wish me luck!!