Android Phone, The Great Paperweight

Technology pundit John C. Dvorak has bah-humbugged the cloud for years because of  untested, unproven claims of its robustness.  His concerns, which many have thought to be overly pessimistic were dismissed by many, including myself.  I recently had an opportunity to observe the effects of cloud reliance during my trip to Afghanistan.  I went there as an IT specialist to work on some of the bandwidth systems there.

Previously (I’ve visited at least once a year for the last 8 years), I used Nokias with their Symbian operating systems and various Windows Mobile devices.  This past July, I finally gave in to my craving for  an Android phone.  As a person making heavy uses of Google products including Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Talk, yada yada, switching to Android was for me somewhat of a no-brainer.  I fell head over heels for the Android OS.

In my field of IT, which mostly deals with satellites, fiber, and various other digital technologies, I rely heavily on electronic schematics and other technical documentation.  Long ago, I discovered the convenience of carrying my documentation in electronic form.  I remember the day when I had to carry around books the size of telephone books.  That may not sound too daunting but for those of you who travel often, I’m sure you can appreciate being able to leave 30 or 40 pounds of books behind when you have to travel across continents, through customs, and through several changes of plane especially when you often have to claim your bags and lug them through an airport in order to switch airlines or to meet your next transport.

I eventually managed to fit all of the relevant documentation on a tiny SD card, which was easily swappable to the device du jour.  Last year, I was using a Sony Xperia with Winmo 6.5.  When I needed specifications for a satellite MODEM or amplifier, I simply pulled out my device and bingo presto, there it was conveniently laid out before me.  I could view all of the relevant documentation on every previous device I’ve had for the last 5 years, including my old Nokia N-95.  This time however, I had my HTC Desire with Android 2.1. 

I have become a huge fan of Google Docs.  I have cut the most relevant portions of the docs and procedures I need and put them on the card in my phone.  Many streamlined procedures—which I’ve written myself—I’ve uploaded to my Google Docs account so I can access them from anywhere. You can imagine my shock when I tried to access those docs while performing delicate procedures at 1:00 in the morning in the middle of Kabul a couple of weeks ago and found that,

1. I could not read most of the docs on my SD card with any program on my phone because they are in .rtf format.
2. The Word .doc formatted backups I made on Google Docs after finding out how Google has ignored .rtf support could not be accessed because GDocs—the Android app for accessing Google Docs—requires Internet access to work.    This was far more than a mere inconvenience.

The next day when I went to a Wifi hot spot located in a coffee shop, I noticed that GDocs has an option to download a local copy of your files.  “Great,” I thought.  It’s inconvenient but at least I can still use my documents.  I just need to know which ones I will need and download them in advance.  So I did that.

The following day when I tried to access one of the documents I downloaded, I ran into the next problem.  Although there is a cached copy on the phone, that does not necessarily solve the problem.  Here’s why.  I have documents organized by folder so that I don’t get unnecessary files scrolling off the screen.  When I left the Wifi hot spot, I was viewing a personal folder.  Later, when I wanted to locate a file for an amplifier, which is in the folder—you guessed it—Amplifiers, GDocs tells me it cannot access the folder because it has no Internet connection.  WHAT???  The program shows me the folder on my screen, but I can’t enter it?  What good does it do me to cache a local copy if I can’t access the folder it’s in?  What the heck do you do when you need information that is literally at your finger tips when that information is as useful as a paperweight on the moon?  It’s not like I could run home and get my books!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Google’s lack of support for its own productivity suite on Android is baffling.  I used my Winmo phone to work on a book I’m writing while traveling and have written many useful documents on it for years.  I just took it for granted that I would be able to do that on Android…but I can’t.  It is very frustrating.

Google Maps and Google Calendar were also frustratingly non-functional.  I came to understand that many of Google’s signature programs are completely useless without a solid and reliable Internet connection.  I’m sure Google’s response to this would be that the phone was meant to be used in areas where the infrastructure provides the connectivity that Android requires.  That’s fine but I’m sure there are people buying Android phones today that travel like I do or who might go hiking or visit grandma, who lives off in the boonies somewhere where they don’t have 3G support or even worse—where they only have AT&T.  Yikes!

It is worth noting before you rush out and buy an Android phone that whenever the Internet is unreachable, there are stark limitations in its functionality that you might not have accounted for.  Do not find yourself about to go into a meeting thinking you have your numbers in a spreadsheet on your device and you’ll rattle them off like a pro (by surreptitiously glancing at your phone) only to find that you are in a cell coverage blind spot or an RF shielded building, which are common in secretive tech firms.  You may find that Sarah Palin was smarter than you for writing her notes on her hand.

Google, you need to get it in gear and fix this.  Many of us are counting on you.

After my second disappointment, I downloaded Documents to Go for Android.  At the very least, it let me use the Word documents on my SD card but still no love for .rtf files.  Google has helped the situation slightly by adding .rtf support for documents uploaded to Google Docs.  It will convert them to Google Docs format and you can view and modify them on your device that way.  They remain in Google Docs format until you export them again.

Google needs to do a couple of things to fix this problem once and for all.

1. Make .rtf a native format for Google Docs.  As I’ve said before .rtf is a universal file format and you never have to worry what word processor anyone you might send that document to is using.  Every office suite in the world can read and write it natively except Google’s.  It was after all, designed to be an international standard and is virtually impervious to viruses.  Google, don’t get into the distinctly Microsoft business of driving sales through file formats and their obsolescence.
2. Release a native, robust, Google-sanctioned productivity product for Android—a no-brainer if you market a productivity suite.  It should work with or without Internet connectivity.  If I’m hiking the Appalachian trail, I should be able to jot down some interesting thoughts I have for my book, even if I’m supposed to be in Argentina (or vise versa).
3. Make sure that Google’s staple products have at least basic functionality.  I can’t fault Google when I have no connectivity, if I can’t access information I’ve knowingly chosen to leave in the cloud but—Android should at all times be able to do—without Internet access—all of the things that other phone OSes can typically do without Internet access.  This should be the starting point for any phone OS.  As it stands now, Android falls short of this mark and EVERYONE USING ONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT! As much as it pains a Google fan-boy like me to say it, this OS ain’t for everyone.

If you have an Android phone and need to travel, do yourself a favor and test what functionality you will have without Internet access.  Turn off your Wifi and network data connections and then make sure that everything you depend on works.  You never know when you will be handling 15 kilo-volt wires in the wee hours of Kabul.

John C. Dvorak, you go right ahead with your cloud skepticism.  I’m right there with ya pal…now.