Title says it all.

I still wish they'd not have created multiple versions. But, I'll take it anyway.

Who says you can't have it all? Check out this YouTube video showing the web, Flash and AIR on an upcoming HP slate device:

Also, see this Wired story.

My Google Nexus One just alerted me to the fact that an update is available to Photoshop.com Mobile for Android. While the update downloads, here are some application details from a product team blog post. In addition to contrast, color, blur and other photo editing changes, the biggest enhancement is that the photo editor can now be embedded into other apps.

Check out this video:

Pretty slick (background music aside).

There's been lots of discussion about the upcoming Flash Player 10.1 and its phenomenal performance on the 1GHz processor Google Nexus One. But what about battery life? Fellow Adobe evangelist Mark Doherty weighs in on this one in a post entitled Battery Performance with Flash Player 10.1 on Nexus One.

Over the past few days I have really gotten to put the Google Nexus One through its paces. Search, multiple mail accounts, lots of text messaging, maps, navigation, voice commands ... I've been giving it a real workout.

And all went well until ... I have run into my first major problem with the device. I'd been using a Bluetooth headset with it all last week with no problems at all. But in anticipation of 10 hours or so of driving this weekend, I paired the phone with my car, only to find that it would not work at all. Well, it paired, but that's about all it did. It won't connect properly, when it does connect you get piercing shrieking sounds instead of audio, it won't dial ... it's basically useless (for anything but showing battery and cell strength).

Judging by the threads online, this is a common problem with lots of different cars (most of which actually use the same Bluetooth controls). It does not appear to be an Android issue, as users of others devices are reporting that all works well. This most likely is a problem with the HTC hardware. And this could be a deal breaker for me. :-(

Check out the Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2 mobile preview videos showing off Flash (on the HTC HD2 and Nexus One, Dell Mini 5 tablet, Palm Pre, and Motorola Droid) and AIR (on NVIDIA Tegra-powered tablet, and Droid).

TechCrunch weighs in on Apple, Jobs, iPad, Flash, etc. in a provocative piece entitled Jobs: Flash would murder the iPad. Really now, let's be realistic.

I've done it. I've officially retired my iPhone 3GS, and have made the Google Nexus One my primary phone. Actually, I made the switch a week ago, but carried both devices until now, just in case. But no more. And having spent a week on the road with the Android powered Google Nexus One, here are some initial thoughts:

Pros

• My biggest gripe against iPhone has always been the virtual keyboard. I've been told repeatedly to just wait, give it a few months, get used to it ... And I gave it many months, and never got used to it. Between e-mail, text messaging, web browsing, I think I have yet to type a single sentence on the iPhone that did not require that I retype something. iPhone auto-correction is pathetic (one suggestion? and only after you've typed most of the word? and not if you hit the shift key by mistake?). Heck, even my old Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x devices did a better job at suggestions! The Google Nexus One also has a virtual keyboard, and it is actually a little cramped when compared to the iPhone's. But, the suggestions work perfectly, with multiple listed, starting with the first character typed, and adapting as you go. As a result, I rarely have to type more than 3 or 4 letters to get the word I want, so less typing, and higher accuracy. Add an editable user dictionary, and faster access to commas and hyphens and more, and the Google Nexus One (well, Android) easily wins the virtual keyboard battle for me.
• The other big iPhone gripe for me is Apple's refusal to support replaceable batteries. I still need to buy a second battery for the Google Nexus One, but the fact that I can do so is reassuring.
• The Google Nexus One's screen is sharper, brighter, and much easier to read in daylight than the iPhone's.
• The Google Nexus One is really comfortable to hold. Form factor is actually very similar to iPhone's, but I find it more comfortable over extended periods, both in the hand and against the ear.
• The Google Nexus One is fast. Make that blazing fast! Really. You've got to try it to experience the difference. That 1GHz processor does the trick.
• Multitasking.
• Flash. Enough said.

Cons

• As much as I like the Google Nexus One hardware, Android itself still leaves much to be desired. The software often feels half baked, and not quite as polished as iPhone. It feels more like v0.x software, not v2.x.
• Lousy Exchange support! I've solved the problem for now by using a 3rd party tool (I'd not have been able to switch otherwise), but it's a sub-par solution at best. Really Google, Android can't succeed as a corporate smartphone without solid Exchange support. iPhone lacked Exchange support in v1, and when it was added to v2 suddenly the device became a viable corporate phone. Android had better do the same, and quickly.
• While the Google Nexus One is fast, its responsiveness can be iffy. Every once in a while it feels jerky and lagging, and then it quickly catches up, and in doing so launches the wrong app or sends you to an unintended screen. (Could this be a side effect of multitasking?).
• The apps are not quite there yet. Many of the important ones are missing. And those that do exist are usually not as clean and as polished as their iPhone counterparts.
• Google Marketplace is pathetic. There are lots of apps out there, but finding them is a pain, the marketplace UI is feeble at best, account setup to Google Checkout is horribly buggy, you get the picture.

All that said, I'm enjoying the phone, and the pros outweigh the cons. While the Android running Google Nexus One feels like it's not quite baked as a mass consumer device yet, it's definitely a lot of fun as a techie's device.

So, goodbye iPhone, and hello Flash enabled Android!

You've got to love this quote (and not so subtle dig) from Google's keynote today at Mobile World Congress:

"The line is blurring between mobile phones and desktop computing ... one of our main goals when we embarked on smartphones at Google was to really mirror the desktop web browsing experience - but for many of you and you know who you are - there's been a critical component missing - Flash!"

We've been talking about using Flash to build apps for devices for some time now. And the AIR team has just posted a some details on doing just this in a preview of AIR on Android.

Flash and gaming boast a long and thriving relationship. Indeed, the Flash Platform is the leading platform in the world for developing games on the web. And the just launched Flash Platform Game Technology Center is a great place to start learning how to develop your very own Flash games. You'll find example games, articles, tutorials, as well as demos highlighting various aspects of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 on mobile platforms, including the Palm Pre, Motorola Droid, and Google Nexus One.

I'm still waiting for an unlocked GSM version of the Palm Pre. And here's one more reason to like it, Palm has announced that Flash Player 10.1 is coming to WebOS within the next few months.

Adrian Ludwig demos the upcoming Flash Player 10.1 running on the new Android powered Google Nexus One phone:

A few weeks after releasing the Photoshop.com iPhone client (which I've been using this week in Australia), now we've added an Android client.

This one was a pain to figure out, so I am sharing it here in case others can use the info (or for the next time I need it myself).

iPhone supports syncing with multiple calendars, and displays them in a single integrated calendar using a different color for each. But have you ever tried to remove one of the calendars? There is no option to do so! And unchecking the calendar in iTunes simply prevents it from being synced in the future, but does not remove the unwanted calendar from the iPhone - all that left over data just sits there.

In my case I have an Exchange calendar and a local Outlook calendar on the iPhone, and I wanted to remove the local calendar and leave only the Exchange calendar. Here are the steps that worked for me (adapt them as needed):

1. On the iPhone, go to settings, select the Exchange mail/calendar, and turn OFF Exchange calendar use.
2. iPhone will ask you if you want to delete the Exchange calendar data, confirm the deletion.
3. Then turn ON the Exchange calendar.
4. iPhone will ask you what you want to do with the existing (non-Exchange) calendar data, giving you the option of deleting it.
5. Go ahead with the deletion.
6. As soon as Exchange syncs you'll have just that one calendar.

Pretty simple (although there really should just be a simple delete option!).

The Open Screen Project has launched a YouTube channel, appropriately named openscreenproject's Channel . Initial videos are of projects funded by the OSP Fund.

The Flash Lite Developer Challenge is the leading competition for developers working with Flash Lite. The competition challenges three groups of developers: 1. those currently working with Flash Lite, 2. Flash developers interested in developing applications for mobile devices, 3. mobile application developers interested in using Flash Lite. If you belong to one of these groups and you are a company or an individual, a professional or a researcher, you can enter the competition in one of the five categories, get access to great tools from Adobe and stand a chance of winning one of the great cash prizes and promotional packages from the sponsors (including Adobe). The competition is open to developers worldwide (with just a few exceptions, see the rules). The deadline for entries is May 31st, 2009, and winners will be announced June 17th, 2009.

PC World is running a story entitled Flash Headed to Mobile Devices Say Manufacturers on the Flash (and AIR) related announcements coming out of Mobile World Congress this week.

Among the announcements was one about Flash on the Palm Pre, which is fast becoming the phone I want next (assuming they release a GSM version in the U.S., which unfortunately is not at all clear right now).

I'm always looking for my next phone. My BlackJack II has served me well, and continues to do so. The biggest flaws with it are the lack of Wi-Fi, and the GPS being painfully slow to initialize, so slow that it is barely usable. But, those faults aside, I have been pretty happy with the device. But, that is no reason to stop the endless pursuit for the ultimate cell phone. And the latest one I tried is the much anticipated and oft discussed HTC Diamond Pro. I've used several HTC devices before, including the 8125, the Tilt, and the G1 Android, and in general HTC makes solid and very reliable hardware. The Diamond Pro promises a mix of HTC hardware, cutting edge styling, and iPhone like touch screen gestures and interactions, and so I picked up one of the very first available in the U.S. (released as the AT&T FUZE). The HTC Diamond Pro is a Windows Mobile device, and HTC has created a touch screen UI called TouchFLO 3Dthat sits on top of Windows Mobile. I took the device to MAX with me, and used it for close to two weeks before drawing conclusions - yep, I so wanted to love this device. But, well, here's the scoop:

Pros

• The HTC Diamond Pro comes with Windows Mobile 6.1. And yes, I know that some won't see that as a pro, but 6.1 really is superior to v6.
• The HTC Diamond Pro is sleek and is styled really nicely, the thing just looks cool.
• More importantly, the slide out keyboard is one of the best I have used on a device this size, it feels right, the tactile feedback is good, it even features Caps Lock LEDs etc.
• The screen is clear and bright, well lit, and usable even in bright daylight.
• Superb Wi-Fi, and equally good Bluetooth (although I wish Microsoft would finally fix Windows Mobile so that it published cell and battery strength via Bluetooth).
• The stylus is stored really well, with (what I assume is) magnetic pull to easily hold it in place and reducing the chances of losing it.
• Like most HTC devices, connectivity and power are via a mini USB connector. This should be standard for all devices, and vendors like Samsung (who like to change connectors between phone versions) should take note.
• The camera is superb.

Cons

• The device is slow, make that painfully horribly frustratingly annoyingly slow. The touch screen version of Windos Mobile is indeed more resource intensive, and TouchFLO seems to make it even more sluggish. The device needed a much faster CPU, and by not providing one HTC has basically rendered the device too sluggish to use. Yep, first con, and this one just about renders the phone useless. But it gets worse, much worse.
• TouchFLO 3D looks really cool, check out the screens linked to above. But as hard as TouchFLO 3D tries, it can't succeed. Why? Because it is a thin veneer over Windows Mobile which was designed for use with a stylus. The gestures to move through favorite contacts are ok, but when you need to display all contacts you drop to the standard Windows Mobile contact list which was never designed for fingers, it needs a far more precise interaction. Same thing for the calendar, and messaging, and e-mail - when the area to touch or click is a little button or an X at the top of the screen, finger control is useless. You are going to need to try multiple times, or pop up the included stylus, and that gets frustrating very quickly. The problem is that Windows Mobile was never designed for finger gestures the way iPhone was, and TouchFLO 3D does not replace enough of Windows Mobile UI to change that.
• Now combine the previous two points, and the bad news gets much worse. TouchFLO 3D is so slow that it sometimes won't respond to gestures at all, so you end up trying again, and again, and then it catches up with all of them, and thus doing things you never intended - dialing wrong numbers or prompting you to delete contacts or changing settings. Unacceptable.
• The device is rather uncomfortable to hold next to your ear for any extended period.
• The keyboard slides out far too easily. If you hold the phone to your right ear this won't be a problem, as you'd need to push up to open the keyboard. But hold it to your left ear, and your thumb ends up holding the keyboard closed and your four fingers try to push it open, and the four fingers tend to win. So, you're talking, and suddenly you have an open keyboard on the side of your face, which is not comfortable and highly conducive to pressing wrong keys.
• One of the things I like about iPhone is that it seems to intuitively know what you need to do. For example, hold the phone to your ear and the screen blanks, move it away and it comes to life. The Diamond Pro blanks after a few seconds, but never comes back to life until you press a button, which may also pop up a menu or hang up or something else.
• MicroSD slots do not belong under the cover, enough said.
• Phone volume is terrible, highest volume is not high enough.

Bottom line, this phone is an absolute failure. As I said before, I really tried to like the device, but after two weeks just had to return it. Interestingly enough, when I did return it, they asked me my opinion (they know me personally at my local AT&T store, scary, huh?) as I was the very first to buy it at this location. I gave them much of this feedback, and they acknowledged that they've had several returned already, and all with similar complaints.

The HTC Diamond Pro has been pitched as the first real challenge to iPhone. And while I am not an iPhone fanboy, I can still state unequivocally that there is no comparison.

Now, to be very fair, the biggest problem with the device (the sluggish and inadequate UI) are not entirely HTC's fault. Windows Mobile comes in two flavors, a version for touch screens and a version for non touch screens. The latter does less, but is always more responsive, and far better suited for one handed operation. The former does more, but is slower, and is designed for careful and precise stylus use - it was never intended for casual finger gesturing. HTC's biggest failure with this device was trying to make Windows Mobile do things it was never intended to do, and then not backing it up with the horsepower to even attempt doing it.

For now though, there is no way I can recommend the HTC Diamond Pro, and am back to using my Samsung BlackJack II.

There are other Windows Mobile touch screen devices out there now. The new LG Incite looks interesting, but lacks a real keyboard, which is probably a deal breaker for me (that's actually the main reason I gave up on iPhone). The Samung i907 (aka Epix) is based on the BlackJack II, but uses Windows Mobile for touch screen, and introduces a touch pad that moves a mouse cursor, an interesting UI concept that may make Windows Mobile touch screen better suited for one handed use. I need to play with both, although of the two, the latter seems more interesting. If (or when) I get to try these, I'll be sure to post a review.

If you want to learn more about what we're doing around mobile technology, here are two MAX U.S. events you may want to attend:

• Mobile Summit on November 16, 2008 at the Marriott from 1pm-6pm. Get a sneak peak at what you will see and hear at MAX before anyone else does! Here from Adobe, Nokia, Qualcomm, Verizon, Sony Ericsson, and more. RSVP required.
• Mobile Fast Pitch Networking Party on November 19, 2008 at the Thirsty Bear from 6:16pm-9:30pm. We're hosting a showcase to allow developers to show off their mobile applications. You can mingle, chat, learn, or present your creations and ideas. RSVP required.

More details posted by Bill Perry on his blog.

Samsung BlackJack II first shipped with Windows Mobile 6, and newer devices now come with 6.1 pre-installed. Samsung is now providing a 6.1 update for those early BlackJack II devices. One of the most important differences is a dramatically improved SMS client that features message threading (finally). Other improvements include enhancements to the GPS software, homepage customization, and voice command support.

Dave McAllister has posted that as part of the Open Screen Project, Adobe has published the spec for Mobile Content Delivery Protocol (Formerly Flash Cast).

Apple's new MobileMe service certainly sounds impressive, it delivers push functionality for the masses - your data is pushed up to your own storage spot in the cloud, and then automagically synced with your iPhone. Pretty cool. And it really works, kind of. It syncs contacts really well, and syncs schedules too (although Apple seems to be having serious issues with the Ajax based online scheduling app). Where MobileMe falls flat on its face is where it would be most useful - email (which generally gets updated more frequently than contacts or schedules!). The problem? The service is really designed for users who want a brand new e-mail address, one on the shiny new me.com domain. Which is great, except for the fact that the vast majority of users who'd want to use this service probably already have e-mail addresses that they like and want to keep using. Sure, there are hacks, forwarding mail back and forth, and the like. But for all of those users with good old POP mail accounts and a local copy of Outlook, MobileMe is pretty much useless. Which is sad really, because Apple could have synced Outlook inboxes to the cloud exactly as it does Outlook contacts and calendars. But nope, be it due to arrogance, shortsightedness, or just dumb oversight, Apple managed to mess up the single most compelling use case for MobileMe. What a shame.

We just announced the Open Screen Project which will be working to enable a consistent runtime environment, starting with the Flash Player, and in the future AIR, to remove barriers for developers and designers as they publish content and applications across desktops and consumer devices, including phones, mobile internet devices, and set top boxes, and more. The Open Screen Project is also supported by ARM, Chunghwa Telecom, Cisco, Intel, LG Electronics Inc., Marvell, Motorola, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Verizon Wireless, and leading content providers, including BBC, MTV Networks, and NBC Universal.