Droid Life Q&A Session: Volume 3 Answers

Here is the fourth installment of our Q&A sessions. On Monday, we asked you all to submit your questions for the DL team and as usual, you came through in a big way. Who would have thought that the color of this site would be a talking point? Thanks for the great questions, everybody. Let’s get to it. 

Where do you see DL in 3 years? 5 years?

K:  Well, hopefully still going as strong as it is today. Thankfully, the tech industry is ever-changing, so this should never get old. As long as Android grows, Droid Life will continue to grow. Can you believe that we will be at the 3-year mark in December?

T:  As K mentioned, I hope to see DL grow and reach many more readers by that time. Whether we’re still Android-centric and completely Google fanboys remains to be seen. A lot can happen in that time. Who knows, iOS 8 could totally kick ass, right? Not!

E:  Two words: World. Domination.

Do you think there will be a new nexus phone out for this year?

R:  I think there will be three to five Nexus phones come November or December. I’m really hoping they come in multiple form factors and colors.

K:  Oh for sure. There are rumors of there being multiple Nexus phones, but there has to at least be one. Google likes to release a new one every year around the holidays, and with the Galaxy Nexus seeming a bit dated these days, it would make sense for them to introduce new hardware.

What phone are you currently using and why?

T:  Galaxy Nexus with a Jelly Bean ROM. Simply because I don’t want to use anything else besides Jelly Bean!

K:  I keep switching between the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Nexus. Stock Jelly Bean is so beautiful and functional, but the Galaxy S3 is just so powerful and fluid. Android 4.1, even on the G-Nex, is not as fast as Ice Cream Sandwich on the GS3. It’s tough to tell why that is, but the OMAP processor and 1GB of RAM in the G-Nex could be to blame.

Who or what other sites do you guys follow?

T:  Great question – As for Android-related content, I like to follow my friends over at Phandroid and Android & Me for different perspectives on stories. For non-Android stuff, I love to read MetalSucks, BGR for their jaw-dropping headlines, and other various “cvlt-tastic” websites about Call of Duty and tattoos.

R:  The Verge, Engadget, Android Central, 9to5Mac, Daring Fireball, iMore, webOS Nation (PreCentral), Gizmodo, The Atlantic, and whatever else I find interesting on Twitter.

K: I read Sports Illustrated Hot Clicks twice a day. To get sports gossip, funny content, and a look inside the lives of athletes all in one place, it’s a must read. After that, I’m a huge Portland Trail Blazers fan, so I fill up on Blazers Edge’s coverage. I also find myself reading Portland’s Eater blog to know what’s new in the local restaurant scene.

How was Droid Life’s color scheme chosen?

K:  When I first started the site, it was sort of a joke to myself. A pink blog about tech just seemed sort of comical. Then when the site started to explode on the scene, it stuck because every other site was either blue or green and that just seemed boring. No better way to stick out in a clogged Android scene than with waves of pink, right?

Pre-season football is starting soon. Are any of you excited? If so, what teams will you be rooting for?

K:  Crazy excited. Living in Portland, we obviously don’t have an NFL team, so it’s tough to have a favorite. I’m a fantasy football guy, so I tend to cheer for the players that I have drafted. I’m definitely not a Seahawks fan even though they are the closest to us. Someone in this household is a massive Packers fan, so they tend to get plenty of play all season long.

E:  As an Indianapolis native, I’m a Colts fan. After seeing the team implode, I’m ready for a few harsh years, but I truly believe that Luck is going to be a fantastic QB. I’m also excited to see Peyton get a chance at another ring before he retires.

T:  Niners. End of story.

In your opinion, what is the single biggest thing missing from Android right now? (OS feature, an app, or hardware)

R:  There are still a few big things missing. Android is still not the first place most developers launch their apps (though more apps seem to be launched simultaneously on iOS and Android) like Schmidt predicted would happen. Android is still missing major media options through the Google Play Store. I think Android should have Google Talk integrated into the phone app to make it easier to video chat and IM with friends.

T:  Developers. Yes, I know there is a healthy and strong community of them pumping apps onto Google Play, but nothing like what iOS commands. Every time I see an iPhone, there’s some cool new app that I wish Android had.

What would you do if iOS was the only platform available?

R:  Use it? If Google had abandoned Android and supported Apple instead it’s possible that webOS would have become iOS’ main competition. It’s honestly very difficult to imagine a world where iOS is the only available platform. Think back five years ago when the iPhone was introduced – there were plenty of options out there. Those options have shrunk down, but even without the Android army competing against iOS, others would have stepped up to compete.

K:  I’d have to use it. There is no way I could ever go back to a feature phone.

For a tablet, should I buy a Tegra 3, wait for the Tegra 4, or change completely to Snapdragon S4 Quad core?

T:  Stop reading this and go buy a Nexus 7. I’ll admit, the new Snapdragon S4 Pro looks to be a beast and will most likely destroy the competition in terms of performance, but for what tablets are used for in today’s world, a Tegra 3 is all you need for now.

K:  Well, Tegra 3 tablets are the only ones available now, so that’s your option if you need something today. My question is, why haven’t you already bought the Nexus 7? It’s the best tablet available and it’s $200. If you don’t like it in 6 months when the first quad-core Snapdragon or Tegra 4 tablets come out, oh well, it was only $200.

Whatever happened to Custom ROM/Theme Friday?

T:  We get this a lot. Easy answer – With so many new phones out and the instructions for flashing all of these different ROM’s and kernels changing, it gets hard to keep track of it all. But, if we receive a tip about a sweet ROM for any device, we always check it out. If we like it a lot, we write it up.

Would you consider expanding the site to cover more than Android news?

E:  I actually got my blogging career going by writing video game news with a few guys on a local site during college. I love writing about games and if you all wanted to hear about  them, I’m sure we could work something out.

K:  We have slowly been incorporating more non-Verizon Android news over the years. You probably won’t ever see us talk about a mid-range Android slider on a UK carrier or the XOOM 2 launching in Australia, but you’ll definitely see some of the major news from other carriers. Not only do we welcome in Android fans from all walks of life, but it’s good for Verizon customers to know the competition.

*All previous Q&A sessions can be found here. 

**In case you forgot, K is Kellen, T is Tim, E is Eric, and R is Ron.