I’ve tried so many things: Turning off location-based services (negligible), turning off 3G (extra 2 hours), reset network settings (no effect), reset all settings (no effect), etc all to no avail. But I finally, I stumbled upon a solution that made a huge difference.

I read in a MacWorld article that it could be a sync issue. So I downloaded the recommended System Activity Monitor and tried troubleshooting as described in the article. Indeed even at standby, the processors were registering 10% or so usage. It led me to think that maybe my Google Exchange calendar, mail, and contacts are the culprit.  Is Google that evil? :P

So I deleted my Google Exchange account. I immediately noticed the processors registering less than 5%. I recreated the Google Exchange account and observed. Processor usage remained at less than 5% on standby. I continued observing the whole day today and, with defaults (3G and location services) on, it hit 10% battery at 14 hours standby and 6 hours usage. And it no longer heats up unless used heavily. Huge improvement!

UPDATE: Problem returned. I’ll try removing the Google Exchange account again.

This led me to search some more and eventually to the LG Optimus Black which is a bit higher-end (1GHz processor, 4″ 480×800 display). Expectedly, it was quite expensive. But that changed when LG lowered the price and, even better, announced that Ice Cream Sandwich will be available for it. After a few more days of considering, I finally went ahead and got it.

My first impression is that it’s a well-designed, minimalist, and low-key phone. Almost everything is black. Even the LG logos are in subdued shades of gray. Once you hold it, you see it’s also very slim and very light. Probably the one thing that really screams “Look at me!” is the Nova display. It is just BRIGHT! Unfortunately, it has a yellowish tint when viewed from the front which is a bummer.

The user-experience is typical Android, a whole lot of power and flexibility. Frankly, it’s way more than what you actually need to get real work done.  It’s not drastically more complicated or worse than iOS, we know they each got their particular quirks. It’s just different.

However, it does feel like it needs a bit more polish (but that’s supposed to change with Ice Cream Sandwich). Also, it’s a little bit laggy due to the low-end specs as well as all those virtual machinery and hardware abstraction layers. The price of multi-hardware support. But it’s nothing that you can’t get used to.

Performance with the built-in Frozen Yogurt is good although I expect it would improve once the promised updates comes out. Gingerbread after all is an enhancement, optimization, and bug-fix version. Performance with Ice Cream Sandwich would probably suffer. I’m hoping it would still be passable though. At least still enough for its primary purpose as my Android test phone.

For the iPhone data, it’s pretty accurate. The by then 3-year old original iPhone (released Jun 2007) was not supported by iOS 4 (released Jun 2010). The 3-year old iPhone 3G (released Jul 2008) is not supported by iOS 5 (released Oct 2011). Basically, iPhones have a supported life of 3 years.

I’m not very sure about the Android data but there is supporting evidence out there. fresh-off-the-factory Ericssons were on Android 2.1 Eclair for the longest time, most Android phones are still on Android 2.2 Frozen Yogurt (including above mentioned LG Optimus 2X) over a year after Android 2.3 Gingerbread was released (May 2010). And now news that Android 4 Ice Cream sandwich won’t be supported in some devices.

For major version changes it is understandable. Normally hardware and software are optimally (or should be) integrated to provide the phone functions available. Assuming the functions are working, there’s really no need to upgrade  because you’ll likely end up with a slower phone and the hardware is probably not there. For example, in the case of iOS, some features were not available, by necessity (e.g. GPS) and/or design (e.g. Siri). Only the geeks (me included) always have to upgrade to the latest and the greatest.

Minor version changes, especially those for critical bug fixes and security updates, are a different issue. Everybody should have it. And, assuming the data is accurate, it’s still a dismal picture for Android.

Of course, Android ubergeeks could always roll their own OS upgrades and lesser ones could use available third-party ones such as the CyanogenMod. But there’s a question on the accountability of this third-party. Answer: They have none. You don’t pay for it after all. Do it at your own risk. That’s assuming you can do it at all.

But at the end, it’s not Google’s or Android’s fault. Unless you fault them for their strategy at achieving immediate widespread use of Android. There could have been a better way but what’s done’s done. So really it’s the phone manufacturers’ fault. So whether you’re a geek who wants the latest and the greatest or a regular phone user who’s concerned about security, be aware that with Android, the manufacturer is a critical decision point. Choose well and choose wisely.