11/13/07 6:18 PMMy Thoughts on Android

I still am interested in the iPhone more than I am in Android based phones, but I was curious so I downloaded the SDK to play around with.

Before I downloaded the SDK I didn't even know that it was Java based. That's good news for old hat Java programmers like myself. Java as a language was in need of a little positive momentum.

Here is the interesting part that I haven't seen covered anywhere else yet. If you watch the YouTube videos, you can't help but notice that the phone looks a little pokey. A little to much wait to go with your click if you ask me. Then I remembered hearing about the concept of a JVM on a chip. I was thinking that it makes perfect sense. The handsets they have been demoing with are not ready with the hardware JVM so things are a little pokey. By the time it is released into the wild, the performance issues would be mitigated.

Today I read that Android is actually compiled into Java bytecode, which is then transformed into Dalvik bytecode. In other words, although you develop applications using the Java language, there isn't a JVM on the device. I'm wondering if google plans on getting some hard love next year, or if they are simply hoping that a year from now the phones will have enough horsepower to deliver a decent experience.

Personally, I think Android will probably seal the fate of second tier mobile operating systems such as Palm OS and Windows mobile, but OS X will continue to lead the phone market.

So, do I putz around with the Android application I have in mind, even though I don't really plan on owning an Android device, or do I just hang on and wait until Moses delivers the JesusPhone SDK?