Last week was full of drama, but this week was full of good news. The Galaxy Nexus is finally available, webOS is given another shot at life, and one of Nokia's much anticipated Windows Phone devices is headed for the U.S. Would it have been nice to see the Galaxy Nexus earlier? Yes. Would it be nice to have the Lumia 800 instead of the Lumia 710? Yes. Is it possible for webOS to still drift off into oblivion? Yes. Still, I'll take all the good news I can get and try to look on the bright side.
We also spent quite a bit of time talking about the NTSB's recommendation that all states enact a ban on cell phone use will driving. Some people agree with this, but some people don't. We discussed some studies that show if cell phone use while driving is dangerous and if laws to ban this would actually help. We finished off the show with an open Q&A.
The day has finally arrived. The Galaxy Nexus by Google and Samsung is now available from Verizon. Personally, I don't even care about botched release dates, the lack of Google branding, or Verizon pre-installed apps anymore. The way I see it, the debacle of 'Verizon taking control of Google' was simply the result of pent-up frustration over the lack of solid news on when we would actually be able to buy the phone. It's available now and that's all that matters. Should it have been here sooner? Probably. But then again, so should have the iPhone 4S and this year's NBA season. In the mobile industry, waiting is the one constant that we should all grow accustomed to.
Not surprisingly, the Galaxy Nexus has made it onto Aaron's Top 5 Android Phones list. It's listed at number two, which may surprise some people, but I whole-heartedly agree with this placement. The Galaxy Nexus is an awesome phone, don't get me wrong, but the Galaxy S II, listed at number one, rises just above it in a few ways. Also, as I mentioned during the show, I don't particularly see Ice Cream Sandwich as a huge advantage for the Galaxy Nexus since other phones will get it eventually. However, if you prefer a stock Android experience, then the Galaxy Nexus will probably be your number one choice.
Complaining about the Lumia 710 being the wrong phone for Nokia to release in the U.S. may seem like much ado about nothing. However, this phone release is actually bigger than it may seem. For one thing, it's a Windows Phone device so, naturally, everyone in the tech community will be watching it to see how it sells so they can tell if Windows Phone has a chance or not. For another thing, this is the first phone to come from the Microsoft-Nokia partnership so we're anxious to see the fruits of that. On top of that, this is the first high-profile phone we've seen in the States from Nokia, a company who is trying to repair its relationship with U.S. carriers. By all accounts and purposes, this is a huge release and it carries a lot of weight.
The Lumia 710 is fine enough phone and it's not going to "kill" Windows Phone single-handedly. But if you want to make a splash, which is what both Nokia and Microsoft need to do right now, this is not the phone you want to release. The Lumia 800 would have been a much better option. Hopefully we'll see that phone in the U.S. soon.
