Touch Cruise latest HTC device to fall to Android
by Chris Ziegler 
posted Jun 30th 2008 at 10:47PM
With all these HTC models getting their brains rearranged to run Android, we're starting to wonder: just how necessary is the Dream? Don't get us wrong, we're pretty amped to see what kind of amazing hardware HTC's crafting to officially debut the consumer-ready cut of Android to the world, but there are plenty of very capable handsets already in the field -- and the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro should both be more than willing to donate their bodies in the name of science when the time comes, too. The latest model to get an Android port is the Polaris, also known as the Touch Cruise in production trim. At this point, the ports are still pretty raw and the level of functionality or spit and polish probably isn't what you're used to with the native WinMo installation, but they're getting there -- and considering that Android itself still has plenty of work remaining, it's an impressive feat and a promising sign of things to come for owners of older devices. Let us know how it goes if you're brave enough to give it a shot, y'hear?[Thanks, smith]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jake H. @ Jun 30th 2008 10:57PM
is it just me, or is android just gonna be a blackberry with some cool features that are just gimicks? google maps is cool, but i have that on my 7100i, plus my blackberry gets email pushed to it. i'm certainly open to trying out android, but i hope its not as disapointing as the iphone op sys was to me. i like very technical op systems, like on winmo phones, and trackwheel blackberrys that let me see all the options when i select something.
Jato Jay @ Jul 1st 2008 12:21AM
Android isn't really about slick new feature sets. It's about opening up the mobile market to open-source. And is open source worth it for phones? Hell yes.
Also as an aside, Blackberrys don't use push, they use real email. Push is when email is converted into a text message and sent to you, which is what most devices use for email. That's what makes Blackberrys the premier device for email.
frank @ Jul 1st 2008 12:21AM
I was just thinking the same thing. What'll definitely make it for me is native G-stuff, particularly the calendar. But beyond that, yeah... Guess we'll have to see.
OziD @ Jul 1st 2008 2:31AM
@Jato: Where did you pick up that gem? Push is similar to text messages in that info is being sent to your phone as it is created or received, but it isn't converted in any way.
At least not in its natural form. What the server does with the info before it pushes it is it's own deal.
You can get email pushed to many devices in full HTML. It just depends on the server and the client. Blackberry does in fact receive pushed emails.
The term Push does not imply worsened quality :)
Dave @ Jul 1st 2008 1:43PM
@OziD
I concur with you...I have no idea where Jato got his definition of Push Email, but it is definitely not that...WinMo phones (at least when synced with an Exchange server) use push email, and they get full HTML in all its glory. It is "real email", although I would agree with the fact that the amount of text editing that can be done when composing an email on the phone is limited.
Now if you want to talk about gimmicks, how about charging a person/company extra each month to use BB Connect when you can use an exchange server (less data charges) for free? :)
TheGasMan @ Jul 1st 2008 12:00AM
It's necessary because these ports are emulated, not running natively.
DeviceBoy @ Jul 1st 2008 3:41AM
Jato's comment: "...sets. It's about opening up the mobile market to open-source. And is open source worth it for phones? Hell yes..."
Have you ever thought how small part of Android is really open-source??? Where can I get the source code for anything else than the Java based (Dalvik) application framework?
I have used and worked with application development (and on other stuff as well) on many mobile platforms. Android doesn't bring anything better, and so far there's no working ecosystem around Android that would benefit anybody. Oh yes, I guess it benefits only Google because of publicity. There are presentation slides and plans, but the full-scale practical implementation is yet to be seen. Only the free licensing and a couple of very basic integrated services seem to be positive things, but even in that perspective Android is nothing special. The same services are available to any device vendors and operators through web browsers and web run-times.
Any device vendors or operators who want to implement Android in their devices, have to put tons of money and resources on R&D in order to get their own services, applications, and user experience in place. That is not inexpensive. It's the same situation with other platforms as well, unless you are able to utilize existing code. It's frustrating to see yet-another-platform, which creates even more fragmentation in the mobile industry, without bringing any significant improvements. Android is not based on any good existing application frameworks but introduced a new one. There are plenty of other tested and working options available, for free. There are some native Linux based operating systems for mobile devices and Symbian S60 will be free to use in a short while as well. For example these ones have hundreds (or even thousands) of existing applications and services, in addition to very robust practical implementations. These offer very good run-times as well. Why to focus on a niche OS like Android (currently 0% market share) while Symbian S60 and some Linux OS's are running everywhere around the globe already in the hands of hundreds of millions of people??? Think about it...
huh @ Jul 1st 2008 10:27AM
I think Android's low level OS is Linux. And the main benefit is a very consistent developer experience, like the iPhone, which in the end will benefit consumers since there should be more, higher quality, consistent apps that will work across devices. Right now with the too many flavours of j2me, Symbian, etc this is just not the case.
Tony @ Jul 1st 2008 5:55AM
This is great news! I have a Touch Cruise and cannot stand it! All too often I have this desire to take out My sim and put it back in my trusty old blackjack. I would love to put Android on it and forget about Windows Mobile.
Tony @ Jul 1st 2008 6:00AM
So how do I get this on My phone???
TareX @ Jul 1st 2008 3:30PM
If it's running on top of Windows Mobile then it is useless.
This isn't even Android, it's an early primitive SDK version of it.
McHale @ Jul 1st 2008 3:43PM
Nope. It's not running an emulator. You run a program called HaRet that reboots your phone and boots the phone into Android. Considering the OS isn't released yet and we are able to make phone calls with it now, I call that an impressive feat...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=396782
Once the official OS is released, you'll see people flashing Android ROMS on their tired old HTC devices. It's pretty slick so far.
-Mc