MP3 Player, Tablet, Smart Phone

Q: What do these technologies have in common?

A: The iPod, iPad, and iPhone weren’t the first to market, but simplicity was the tipping point of mainstream adoption. 

In September 2008 I left Verizon after 8 years and specifically joined ATT in order to own an iPhone. 28 days later, and still within a 30-day no penalty cancellation period, I returned to Verizon, thankfully less any early termination fees. I couldn’t tolerate the dropped calls and spotty service. I had no intention of suing Apple, like TC Disrupt startup WorstPhoneEver, but I swore I would not get a “real” smartphone until one came to the Big Red. 

I recently became the owner of an HTC Incredible, which is everything I’ve ever wanted in a phone — I was waiting for the Nexus One but Verizon’s decision to more forward with the Incredible was a wise decision. Google’s recent announcement at I/O, its largest developer conference of the year, brings even more excitement of a faster operating system, Android 2.2 or “Froyo.” 

Check out any reviews on the HTC Incredible and typically the cons are: screen wash out under direct sunlight and short battery life (from my experience you’ll be fine if you charge your battery completely before turning it on for the first time). But in my opinion, the biggest drawback is the Android operating system is extremely difficult to use. 

So Easy, even a Caveman Grandma/Baby can do it.

Steve Jobs is a visionary CEO because he realizes that the masses, or “normals,” are simple people. They are the “i just want it to work” crowd, who schedule appointments at the Genius Bar because they can’t figure out how to set ringtones or upload pictures of their grandchildren. “But it doesn’t support Flash” isn’t even an argument because the normals don’t even know what Flash is! As long as their music, photos, calendar, contacts, and emails sync easily between their mobile phone and their computer, they will continue to use a closed OS because it’s easy for them.

The software is literally so simple a toddler or great grandmother can use it:

• 2.5 year old first encounter with an iPad (link)
• How the iPad Has Changed One 99-Year-Old Woman’s Life (link)

The cost of Android’s open platform: Complexity

I was never one much for manuals or instructions. And techies resorting to using instructions for electronic devices is like an Alpha Male asking for driving directions — there’s no way in hell anyone is asking for help. But I’ve recently hurt my techie pride by resorting to searching for instructions in the HTC Forums (heck, the phone doesn’t even come with a hard copy owners manual) on more occasions than I have spent reading up on all my other electronic devices combined.

Google should take a page out of Apple’s Book

Even though Android devices are FLYING off the shelves at 100,000 devices a day, I think Google can significantly improve the easy of use on its Android devices by taking a few pages out of Apple’s book.

We’re seeing the convergence of  web-apps and mobile-app — so I’d love to see a combined Android (mobile phone) / Chrome (Browser)  App Store. The first step is an online App Manager, similar to how iTunes serves as a place to download, purchase, and view all of my applications.

Second, the Android online market should have an easy way to download the application, like using QR Codes (e.g. from SCVNGR webpage). 

I also expect to be able to download the app by clicking “download” in the App Store in my browser and have the Android Market on my phone (via a push notification update in Android 2.2) open up and begin downloading the application.

Google is not Apple. They’re not going to make their software so easy to use that a baby could do it. They’re going to leave their software open, highly customizable, and that’s exactly what most techies want. But with respect to the operating system itself, I see much more mainstream adoption if the software becomes easier to use.

And if Google really wants to reinvent the software wheel, then here’s my idea: Levels of Android personal customization just like video game levels of difficulty. Let me work my way up and unlock certain capabilities. Once I figure out how to personalize my ringtones and sync my photos, then let me add email and social media accounts. Once I figure out how to manage my applications, push links to my phone via my Chrome extension (coming in Froyo), then let me move on to “advanced” stuff like blue tooth file sync and tethering. I’d love to see learning how to use my mobile phone (digital camera even car stereo) into a game — making me both a more informed user and a much happier customer.

Hello, (blog)World.  I’ve been lurking a little too long — so thanks for reading my debut post.

@samianrosen

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New Years Day will be the 6-month mark of my departure from the comforts of a decent salary, scheduled vacation, predictable health benefits, an undeserved and overpaid Wall Street bonus, and the general downward spiral into the life of being a douche.

I was a tech n00b with an entrepreneurial spirit: unemployed and living off savings, uncertain about the future, but excited to wake up in the morning full of ideas and creativity.  Most of all, excited to learn, and it seems I couldn’t have picked a better place or better time.

There’s been plenty of discussion among people with much more experience than me about the NYC vs. SFO startup scene (my favorite is Fred Wilson’s presentation at Clickable). So for your sake, I will not reiterate all of the reasons why NYC is primed for a startup blowout (via@mikekarnj).

Phin Barnes recently wrote a great post about the start-up culture in NYC — this is a no bullshit, big money playing field and if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Phin mentions one component, which I think is the key to the NY tech scene’s success: “collaboration, not competition, is the dominant approach. Entrepreneurs in The City know each other, help each other and root for each other.”

In a very short period of time and with no tech experience at all, I’ve been able to network, ideate, and collectively dream with the NY Tech community. And all along the way, from founders to VCs, friends to new twitter friends, I’ve been surprised by how many conversations began or ended with the question, “What can I do for you?”  More than that, there is a palpable current that runs through events like the Future of Local Media, Hackers and Founders, and NextNY because people show an interest in what others are working, and will take the time to explain things to strangers and the unacquainted.  (As an aside, thanks to everyone that’s given me a brain-dump in the past 6 months.)

I believe collaboration is and will be the key ingredient to success coming out of the NY Tech scene.  It’s in our blood -– New Yorkers are forced to share cramped apartments, explore our common spaces together (parks, museums, restaurants and cafes), and are more willing to use public transportation than anyone else in this country. From the aftermath of 9/11 to the blackout of 2003, New Yorkers come together and overcome incredible challenges. Such close proximity to one another naturally facilitates the mixing of our cultures, beliefs, and ideas. New York City is animated by the collective energy and bustling that we all need as individuals to survive here, and the start-up ecosystem drinks at this well. 

We are all individuals, but step back and view us as a whole, like a mosaic, and you see the bigger picture. We come together from all corners of the globe and imagine the possibilities. We teach and learn from one another, and given the size of our network, we can accomplish a whole lot together.  (And hey, if someone like me can go from 0-to-making-references-to-metcalfe’s-law in 6 months…)

And so my hope is that we continue to collaborate, share, ideate.  I’d like to think there is a place for all of us to give, and when the time comes, to receive.  If nothing else, the most important lesson the last 6 months have taught me is that earnest participation can be an incredible contribution.  The simple act of (to paraphrase) “asking not what the community can do for you, but what you can do for the community” pays it forward — in spades.

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I’d especially like to thank the following people, many of whom took the time to guide me in the right direction, in no particular order:

Phin Barnes, First Round Capital, @phineasb

Charlie O’Donnell, First Round Capital, @ceonyc 

Jacob Brody, VentureBeat, @anwaraizer

Ed Kim and Kent Krekorian, Simple.Pr, @simplepr

Mark Davis, DFJ Gotham, @markpeterdavis

Jonathan Wegener, Exit Strategy NYC, @jwegener

Dennis Crowley, Foursquare, @dens

Justin Tsang and Dave Ambrose, Scoop St & Hackers and Founders,@scoopst @hackersfounders