Mr Trick’s Posterous Silo

Some thoughts on my new HTC Magic

I've had a few people ask me for info on how I'm finding my new HTC Magic Android phone, so rather than repeat myself or attempt (unwisely) to squash it all into 42 successive tweets, I thought I'd step over to Posterous to expand on things a little. For reasons of time there'll be no images, so if you want those, please get your Google Image Search on ;-)

First up, the bad:

The Keyboard
I think its better to get the negatives out the way first, and for me so far the biggest issue has been with the on-screen keyboard. Thing is, slating this is pretty unfair because the problem isn't with the device but more with the fact that my last phone was a Nokia E61i, which came with a hardware keyboard on it. Its something I'll get used to, but I still feel like my days of typing longer SMS messages, Tweets or Facebook updates are probably behind me. One niggle I've found though, is the predictive element of the keyboard. In principle, its pretty handy; while you're typing, it runs a selection of words just above the keyboard that you can then select from to save time. That's great, but one big issue is that if you're typing something not found in the dictionary, it auto-corrects it to its own suggestion. Very annoying when typing initials, names and other such things. I suspect this can be switched off, but I need to spend some time looking for that. So, is the keyboard a dealbreaker? No. If I had the option would I get my next phone with a proper keyboard? You bet.

Battery Life
The G1 came in for a lot of criticism about its battery life and as a consequence the Magic is meant to be better. I've no doubt it is, but the way in which it operates means its going to drain battery power pretty quick unless you keep a tight grip on what processes are on or off - most notably GPS and WiFi. For me it isn't a massive issue, not least because I have one of those Kensington backup battery gizmos that means I can charge devices on the go, but all the same I still feel it could be better. Having said that, one can only wonder how you can cram all this technology in and have an awesome battery life without the device being the size of a brick. Technology has only developed so far, after all...

Poor Means To Manage Connections
One big gripe I had was that unlike most mobile OS's Android didn't give you a simple means to, for example, turn the WiFi off. To do so you have to go into Settings > Wireless Connections and then turn it off there. Thankfully, someone made a great app called Useful Switchers which addresses this, giving you all the key functions to turn on or off in a single click (WiFi, GPS, Silent Mode etc).



And now the good:


The OS's Application Integration
This is my first time using Android, and I've got say that as an OS it performs remarkably. Super fast, excellent multi-tasking and the kind of pan-OS app integration that you normally only see in Windows, OSX or Linux - but certainly not on mobile devices. I'll give you an example. I installed Twidroid, a twitter client for Android phones. Now, if I take a photo using the phone, I can click on a "Share" button once the pic is taken. With Twidroid installed, an option appends to that "Share" list to tweet the pic. With one click, you're back into Twidroid and the image is uploading. Simple, but hugely effective. On my Nokia, that was a long, LONG process involving taking the pic, saving it, going back to my twitter app, clicking the link to do a new tweet, clicking "add image" and, well, you get the idea.

The Launch Screen(s)
The 3 main screens on the OS also behave remarkably like a regular XP/OSX/Linux desktop. You can add shortcuts, widgets or even filtered views - one great example being "all my contacts with phone numbers", which allows you to find people quicker when making a call. Adding and removing items is simplicity itself, meaning its a swift and painless process to get the whole thing set up and sorted. I gather apps can also now deliver live folders integration, which should effectively give you live widgets on the main screen, updating constantly. I guess a good example would be an RSS reader app that showed when new stories had been posted. Very handy for someone as RSS rooted as myself. I do love the Google search widget too, purely because it shows suggestions as you type, enabling you to refine your search before even launching the browser.

The Apps
Whilst there's definitely a lot of dross in the Android app store (though proportionately probably no more so than the iPhone store), there are some genuinely incredible apps too. WikiTude has been covered a fair bit, and while testing it out in my back garden I was pretty amused to see it telling me my local pub was 1.5km in *that* direction. It felt like if I wanted to I could plot an "as the crow flies" course to the boozer, hopping fences and crawling through bushes to get there. As a broader travellers tool though, it really is amazing, overlaying information onto your camera's feed to show you items of interest. ShopSavvy is another app generating much attention, and rightly so. Put simply, you scan a barcode using the camera, and the app finds it for you both online and - if GPS is enabled - in stores near your location, ensuring you can find something at the best price. Simple... but oh so clever. On a similar tip is the Barcode Scanner app, which I discovered had one killer trick up its sleeve: it can take a contact, bookmark or the contents of your
clipboard and turn it into a QR barcode which is then displayed on your screen for another phone or device to read. A great way to share data.

The Notification Screen
Much has been made of this already so I won't say too on the subject, but there's no question this is one feature ALL phones should have. Again with excellent app integration, a quick flick down of the top taskbar reveals your notifications, be that new emails, new texts, new Tweets via Twidroid or whatever. Clicking on any notification takes you instantly into the app. Totally simple, yet incredibly effective.



So, on the whole then I have to say I'm delighted with the handset. The keyboard is a sticking point but beyond that the device and especially the OS shows itself to be brilliantly designed. I'm keen to see whether more apps will be forthcoming as the Magic collects more great reviews and adoption of Android (hopefully) increases.

Oh, and feel free to ask any questions - certainly I had a load of em before making my purchase so I'm happy to help clarify anything should anyone have a query...

"The Music Industry Is Yours"?

Nick Fitzsimmons contacted me, asking for my thoughts on this post over at Artists House. Go take a read, as I am going to post my response below...

"Cold reality or wide-eyed optimism?", asked Nick...

Here was my comment submitted:

Claiming that "the people who used to call the shots don’t even have a voice anymore" is wide-eyed naivety at best. What will pioneer the music revolution? Digital music services. What will be the underpinning of 99.9% of those services? The vast back catalogues of the major labels. Take Spotify as an example. Would it have succeeded without the majors signing on? Of course not; its why the first thing any new music service does is court the majors. That vast catalogue can make or break your service - just ask Virgin Media, who were forced to drop out of their all-you-can-eat package because the big 4 wouldn't sign on. Sure, you are quick to reference some of their more ridiculous attempts to court their audience, but you also ignore their interests in MySpace Music, for example,  or their catalogue contributions to iTunes and other services, where their offerings generally count for more than 85% of all sales.

Don't get me wrong; now *is* a great era for indie labels and artists, in that there are now more platforms than ever on which to reach your audience. However, that is tempered by a cold reality, namely that very few of these have a decent revenue element underpinning them to ensure artists get paid properly. YouTube is an excellent example, in that the average indie artist gets nothing from the advertising generated by people watching their video.

You are right that the likes of Kristin Hersh, NIN and others have set a precedent with their work. However these are nearly all stars who built their fame before the digital age of music, when traditional print media and other forms held sway over consumer tastes. Hence, I'd argue they make for a weak reference point when arguing new models in digital music. Creative, undoubtedly, but likely to work for bands nobody has yet heard of? Unlikely.

Will Kriski's remark can be answered fairly simply: we spend so much time looking at what others are doing so we can learn from their mistakes and develop more successful models with that new wisdom in mind. Without examining what others have done and analysing where it has succeeded (or failed!), we will not learn and move forwards. Should we spend all our time looking at others and not engaging with our own concepts? No, of course not - but neither should we dismiss or ignore those models either.

To end then, I'd say its not so much "just BE the next model" as "observe, learn and understand - then apply creative thinking to develop a model that works for you". OK, so its nowhere near as snappy... but its also nowhere near as naive either.

And the Warners/YouTube battle rages on...

As many are no doubt aware, Warner Music Group (WMG) has pulled videos from YouTube, citing copyright infringement in many instances. The consequent backlash soon followed, with users posting videos voicing their displeasure (to put it mildly) at this development.

But here is the thing: are WMG so in the wrong to try for greater returns on video views?

This clearly isn't about copyright infringement. It is merely the latest development in an ongoing push/pull between YouTube and the major labels. For their part, YouTube claim the money they currently pay is the most they can afford off the back of the ad revenue. (In their favour, it is also worth pointing out at this time that YouTube is yet to make a profit.) However on the other side, the major labels are increasingly reticent about what they see as paltry returns whilst Google builds an online successor to MTV.

For those that have missed interviews with any major label execs of late, MTV is clearly something the major labels resent for one specific reason: in their opinion, Viacom built a multi-million dollar empire entirely off the back of the music industry's videos. Did the labels get paid? Not for airing the videos; their revenue was drawn from the increased sales that came with A-list heavy rotation on the channel. To some major label execs, this amounted to millions on lost revenue, because had MTV also paid them for airing each video, they would have added millions to the balance sheet. Rightly or wrongly (and personally I'd argue wrongly), the feeling was that millions of dollars had been lost.

Fast-forward some 25 years or more, and we now have major labels wanting to ensure this same mistake is not repeated. Look at YouTube's Top 20 channels of all time and just under half are music-based. To the majors, this is evidence enough that YouTube is - like MTV before it - building its userbase on music over anything else. Therefore, they see a clear argument for strong revenue sharing as they believe it is their content bringing users to the site.

With that in mind, you can see the motives for WMG playing hardball for more revenue. To some this is greed; another case of major labels wanting it all, wrongly believing their content is worth more than it is in these changing times. But - and it is a big but - is there also not another argument that Google are merely doing the same thing as majors once did - i.e. owning and controlling the major points-of-access for media and therefore offering unfair terms? After all, what revenue do the indie labels draw for their videos being on YouTube? Zero. Why? Because as yet they've not showing collective clout enough to levy some of the monies. Google, for all its projected benevolence, is still a global brand and as such will not bend to smaller companies and individuals until it absolutely has to.

Are WMG right to withdraw all content? Arguably no; to most it is like throwing teddies out of the pram. However should they also roll over and accept Google's terms as dictated to them? I'm not so sure...

Better insight on Groove Armada's deal with Bacardi

As Groove Armada announced their new deal with Bacardi, some criticism came from certain quarters (myself included) suggesting that this wasn't in fact doing much for GA's profile, and that by "ghettoing" themselves to the drinks brand they were running the risk of not benefitting from wider promotion and opportunity as might be afforded by a label - albeit one that was giving them due attention and not just putting them out to pasture from an A&R perspective, as we're seeing too often these days... .

Coolfer put it best on his blog:
"But here's the thing: I haven't heard a single Groove Armada song during this period. I have not seen them live. I have not visited their website. They have been, in my eyes, completely invisible save the publicity they get for their Bacardi sponsorship. Maybe it's a mutually beneficial relationship, but I cannot tell."

... or in other words: is this deal really working??

In the course of conversations around this topic on Twitter though, somebody who has worked on the campaign (and shall remain nameless unless he expresses otherwise) got in touch. He had this to say:

"GA wanted to take their live show onto the next level with regards to production and also take it to places they had not really gone to before, so Bacardi agreed to source, fund etc 6 profile events. So far the boys have done Miami, Mexico City, Athens, Rio, they have Australia and Switzerland to go. They have also been conducting their own shows too. With regards to raising profile, within the profile markets I discussed their profile and press has increased massively. They also have been producing a Radio Show for B Live which has been syndicated to New Zealand and Brazil amongst others, so the wagon rolls on..."


In short then, it would seem contrary to initial commentary, Groove Armada have done very well out of this, reaching new territories and raising profile within each one. One theory I have for the comments from Coolfer (and myself) relate to the fact that Groove Armada have been active in countries we do not live in - and hence to us (in the US and UK respectively) the perception was that their profile wasn't being assisted at all. 

For Bacardi this no doubt represents an excellent deal. Think of the costs of synchs for ads globally - no doubt now soundtracked by Groove Armada as part of the venture. Its just one example of where they stand to save money. Furthermore they are building the B-Live concept globally, which in due course might see them partner with another group to continue in Groove Armada's strategic vein. For both parties then, it represents a win-win.

It has also been interesting reading commentary of their latest campaign, wherein GA's new EP will be given away via a custom-made P2P program which encourages users to virally spread the tracks in return for access to more songs. My own view is that once all the songs are available they will soon find their way onto blogs, newsgroups and the usual filesharing platforms. After all, post-In Rainbows analysis showed us that even when the album is free, some users still opt to download it via P2P purely because that was their music consumption pattern. However to analyse on such a level misses the key point. This wasn't about the music, which was DRM-free and being given away. This was about the publicity GA gained from this - and on that level, it has surely been an enormous success...

The EUK fallout continues...

Curious as to how Zavvi ran up over £100m of debt to EUK when even Tesco only owes £25m. Wonder now how Virgin will respond, given they're securing the debt... Pay it and be done or drag this out until they're no longer securing the debt? Not sure how that hangs legally but it will be interesting to find out...
 
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article5327650.ece