Life is funny at times. One minute you are on top of the world – the next, you are sitting rock bottom, wondering how on Earth you will ever scrape by. In some cases, we see humans (or companies) put their last and best foot forward in an attempt to salvage whatever is left. It can be uplifting, inspirational even. It can also be incredibly embarrassing as desperation sets in, leading to decisions or choices that one would normally not make. Last night, HTC unfortunately fit the latter as Samsung took over New York City to announce the Galaxy S4. 

Are you ready for it? Did you even know that it had started? It has, so get your mind right. The battle between HTC and Samsung for 2013 is already underway and we’re excited about it. Thanks to the announcements of flagships from both companies, March is going to be a wild month for smartphone lovers, particularly those with an addiction to the latest and greatest running Android. HTC is trying to survive and to recapture some of its lost marketshare, while Samsung will only attempt to continue on in their dominant ways, pushing all attackers aside. It may get dirty, there may be insults floated about, battery juice tossed in eyes, and Gorilla Glass sharpened like knives, but that’s the beauty of any competition.

Let’s talk about the next few months from both companies and how their launches won’t go down without a fight. 

When Google purchased Android, their goal was to fight Microsoft and topple Windows Mobile’s dominance. Instead, Google has found itself fighting off Apple as companies like Palm (now HP), RIM (now Blackberry), and Microsoft fell by the wayside. Instead of asking for a licensing fee from OEMs, Google decided to make Android free to use. Little did Google know, Apple would make a huge play in the mobile space that would forever change the market. Back in 2008, Samsung was nothing in the mobile space. It wasn’t until 2010 when Samsung released the Galaxy S worldwide that the Korean company began to find success in the market. Flash forward to today and the company claims about 40% of the worldwide smartphone market. In many ways, Samsung is the hero in Android’s war against iOS.

The Wall Street Journal’s Amir Efrati is claiming that Google is becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of Samsung demanding more money from Google because of Samsung’s unrivaled dominance in the market as an Android OEM. Efrati also speculates that Samsung could use its market share to leverage getting access to the newest version of Android regardless of if it is the Nexus partner, putting other OEMs at a severe disadvantage. While Efrati doesn’t come out and say it, the threat of Samsung leaving Google hangs over his article. If Samsung demands more money and Google refuses, Samsung could fork Android, leaving Google to fend for itself with a myriad of relatively unsuccessful manufacturers. If Google agrees to give Samsung more of a share in revenues from mobile advertising, other OEMs could respond to their favoritism by forking Android or focusing only on Windows Phone.

Not sure what else to say. Maybe next year it’ll be a phone.

A little late night discussion – take it wherever you please.

Designing Android apps can be a monstrous challenge. Between multiple screen sizes, resolutions, Android versions, and manufacturer skins, developers have enough variables to make it nearly impossible to make an app that both looks like it fits the design language of your phone and is enjoyable to use on the devices you own. While Google has taken steps to try and guide developers in the right direction to solve these problems, many Android apps still are not optimized for modern devices, especially tablets. Worse still, Android apps have historically been static and boring. Many Android apps still have the old Android 2.x or below design, which forces users to peck around the app to access content.

Twitter apps have been especially representative of the need to have adaptable, scalable, and natural design. In particular, the official Twitter app for Android has been derided by users, journalists, and Apple executives as an example of an app that does not scale up to higher resolutions and larger screen sizes. Through the lens of Twitter apps for Android one can see how Android app design has had to evolve since 2008, pushing Android to become a more fluid, scalable, and fun to use platform.

It took me a while to come around to the idea, but I’m ready to admit that I’m a fan of lock screen widgets in Android 4.2. Introduced back in October, I originally thought, “What’s the point? Can’t you just unlock your device and then get to home screen widgets? This seems redundant.” And now, I’m utilizing at least five of them, some of which I use regularly. I’m also using more widgets on lock screens than I am on home screens. Weird, right? Let’s talk about why. 

If you asked me back in late 2011, how I felt about a Nexus coming to Verizon, I’d probably have thrown out phrases like “greatest day in smartphone history” or “Verizon finally woke up!” Boy, how things have changed in just over a year. After over a month of delays before the launch of that phone, a lack of support on a software front from the get-go, and what seems to be a constant neglect of what one would assume to be one of the easiest phones on the planet to update, I no longer feel the same way. It’s been a painful ride since, one that has led me into hoping that Verizon never sees another one. Actually, I could probably take that a step further and say definitively that Nexus phones should no longer be tied to any carrier and that you should all think about your future beyond subsidies and 2-year contracts. 

Google Now is great at putting certain pieces of information in front of you before you realize you need it. A traffic report for your drive home is there just before you leave work. You’re notified about a package’s location after you’re emailed about it. Recent searches appear to remind you about your bad decision to try and understand what happened in the Clone Saga.

Google wants to continue to empower our cell phones and turn them into truly useful person assistants. I believe Google Now is the best way to do that, but I also believe Google Now needs to get a lot better. In particular, Now needs improve its use of contextual information, have more of a personality, and display information better.