So it must be exciting for executives in Mountain View to see pictures like this one: a huge gaggle of people queuing excitedly for the new M9 handset from Chinese manufacturer Meizu. It’s the kind of image we usually associate with Apple launches and major console game releases.

So what secret sauce does the M9 have that’s causing such excitement? Well, it’s got lots of good features at a competitive price: just $409 for a 16GB SIM-free model. But the real selling point seems to be one that Google would be less pleased to trumpet: It’s unashamedly borrowing from the iPhone.

Despite the Android underpinnings, Meizu’s notorious for finding more than a little inspiration from Apple products, including interface elements that would seem eerily familiar to iPhone users. The similarities were even more obvious on its previous model, the M8, which was so closely modeled on the iPhone 3G many users would find it hard to tell the difference at a glance.

All this is a result of China’s huge “shanzhai” industry of pirated goods. Shanzhai companies, which specialize in mimicking elements seen on more expensive rivals, have an approach to manufacturing and design that’s both controversial and fascinating. I’ve been interested in the phenomenon for some time, and even spent a few weeks in China last summer exploring it for a piece on shanzhai in the UK edition of Wired magazine.

You can buy shanzhai handsets all over the developing world, but among Western consumers, they have a pretty poor reputation. They’re seen as unremarkable, derivative low-cost imitations. But is that a fair description? In some cases, yes, but Meizu proves it’s not always accurate.

There’s another element to remember: It’s not as if China has some special stranglehold on copycats. Some of the people I met in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen argued that American and European companies were joking if they thought the piracy of ideas was purely a Chinese phenomenon. Just witness the plethora of lawsuits flying around the mobile industry in the Western world to see that.

Some go even further. One Chinese handset designer pointed out to me privately that these Western iPhone competitors weren’t only slow to market, but also poorly executed in an often-spectacular way. Take, for example, the much-derided BlackBerry Storm, which hit the market nearly 18 months after the iPhone but was slammed by reviewers.

Real shanzhai manufacturers, with their deep expertise and extremely rapid production cycles, would be embarrassed to ship a product that took so long and performed so badly. The market just wouldn’t bear their failures.

In some ways, it should be no surprise that companies like Meizu are creating a significant following inside China. If you’re the average urban Chinese smartphone buyer, the M9 has some obvious advantages over the iPhone. For a start, it’s more affordable, at around half the cost of the Apple equivalent. It also has more localized functions, and it’s being very aggressively marketed by a local company that knows which buttons to press.

Whether or not you agree with the way shanzhai companies build their business, it’s clear they can create good products that feed demand — and perhaps, given time, they may even be able graduate into genuine contenders. Manufacturers such as Huawei, MediaTek and ZTE have all made products that seem unoriginal but have turned into raging successes regardless.

So could it be that Android’s worldwide success could end up relying on high-quality iPhone clones? It would certainly seem ironic, but it doesn’t seem impossible.

Image courtesy of BBS.meizu.com

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Devices

• The Overdrive Mobile Hotspot from Sprint. I’ve been very impressed with the simplicity and usefulness of this device while I’m on the road. I took it on a cross-country train trip last summer, and was able to get a 4G or 3G signal in many large and medium-sized cities. I’ve had to exchange this device twice: The first one stopped booting, and the second one had a defective USB port. But Sprint was very good about replacing them, and the current version came with updated firmware and seems to be faster and more reliable than the original one.
• The HTC EVO 4G, and most of the Android apps I wrote about in November. I’m still discovering more cool apps, and have added some like the official LinkedIn app that was recently released.
• The ZaggSPARQ backup battery charger for USB devices. Much as I like the EVO, I have to watch its battery use, so having some extra power in my pocket is awfully handy.
• The third-generation Kindle. I find it so comfortable that I forget I’m using an e-book reader.

Apps

• TotalFinder, the Mac Finder replacement that adds tabs and other enhancements. The latest version has added cut and paste, a real necessity.
• The Firefox add-ons that require secure connections over wi-fi networks. I’m still using Firefox, thanks to the add-ons I still can’t live without. Most are now available for Chrome; I might be able to switch once something like Gmail Manager is available for that browser.
• My web-design company is using the Google Font API for embedding fonts into websites.
• The “Call from Gmail” function that Google Voice debuted in 2010.

I tried some really great hardware and software last year. There are some other products that didn’t make the list, not because I didn’t like them, but because they didn’t fit my workflow for one reason or another.

The innovations from 2010 were quite impressive. I look forward to seeing more great stuff in 2011!

What cool new apps and devices did you discover in 2010?

Image by sxc.hu user coscurro

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Here are the apps I found essential for maintaining the link with my iPhone and iPad-toting friends, and to my Mac, when I’m in the mood for some Android moonlighting.

WhatsApp Messenger

This was one of the first BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) substitutes available for the iPhone, back before Kik came on the scene. And unlike Kik, it remains available for BlackBerry devices. Plus it just feels like a better-made product, from the UI to its actual performance. But both WhatsApp Messenger and Kik are available for Android devices, so feel free to grab whichever you prefer.

Fring

FaceTime is a great product with a lot of potential, but it has some disappointing limitations. For one, it only works over Wi-Fi. And it also only works between Macs, iPhones and iPod touches for the time being. Fring video calling doesn’t have any of those restrictions, and lets me video call from my iPhone 4 or Galaxy Tab to both Android and iOS devices on either 3G or Wi-Fi. Tango is another service that offers the same thing, but my call quality was better with Fring, so that’s the one I recommend.

doubleTwist

It’s hard to understate how essential doubleTwist is for Mac-based Android users. Josh wrote about it in November, and James created a video on the subject before that (embedded below). Combined with Air Sync, which is available to users who pay to upgrade doubleTwist to the premium version, this Mac software and its companion Android app will make you wonder why you ever felt so married to iTunes to begin with. You can sync iTunes playlists and music, but its real value comes in being able to drag and drop movie files to your Android device and have them converted and transferred — wirelessly and automatically.

Remote for iTunes

iOS device users will smirk at this one, since Remote for iTunes for Android (which is not developed by Apple, by the way) costs $4.99. The official Remote app, of course, is free. The Android clone works just as well, though, requires no additional software installation, pairs the exact same way as the iOS version, and has pretty much all the same features. As an added bonus, the Android app lets you control the volume of iTunes with your device’s hardware volume buttons, something Apple would never allow.

Any others you think belong on this list?

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Scan to download Google Books

Google Books is available in the Android Market, and requires Android 2.1 or later. The app is free and handles the user’s book library, reading the books and shopping for e-books through the web browser. Books are purchased through Google Checkout, and once a book is purchased, it immediately appears on all user devices with Books installed. Google Books maintains all devices synced with the cloud, so opening a book on any device takes you to the last position read on any device.

Settings can tailor the reading experience to user preferences, including text justification, typeface, text size and a night viewing mode which displays white text on a black background. There’s also a tag to override the system screen brightness setting to allow changing the brightness just for this app.

Reading in Google Books works like other apps, with page turning accomplished by swiping side to side. There is no way to tag pages with bookmarks as in other apps, but Google Books always opens with the most recent position read in the current book. Strangely, being from Google, there is no in-book search function in this first version of the app.

The Google bookstore has millions of books that the company scanned into the library, and this enables a cool feature in Google Books. It is possible to read from the original scanned page in the app for those who find that appealing.

Google Books is a simple e-book reading app that, in typical fashion for the company, concentrates on doing the basic functions well while skipping the frills. It works equally well on the small screen of a smartphone and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab display. It’s easy to use for reading and buying books from the Google store. Pricing for e-books seems to be on par with Amazon and Barnes & Noble at first glance.

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Prior to the release of the Droid Pro, consumers wanting an Android phone had two choices: a large touchscreen-only device or a handset with a touch screen and a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Motorola has merged the two forms with the Droid Pro by combining a 3.1-inch display (320×480) with a QWERTY keyboard that sits beneath the display. The keyboard rivals those found on the BlackBerry, making it ideal for extended text entry.

The Droid Pro has a candybar form that is a little long due to the keyboard sitting beneath the screen. It looks like the phone would be top-heavy for thumb-typing on the keyboard, but that’s not the case. The keys are sculpted like those found on the BlackBerry to prevent typing mistakes in spite of the small keys. With a little practice, it’s possible to get quite proficient using the keyboard, and BlackBerry users should feel right at home.

Motorola has built the Droid Pro for the CDMA network of Verizon, but has added GSM capability for international use. The Droid Pro can be used most anywhere in the world with the appropriate plan with Verizon.

Standard Exchange Server support is included for enterprise purposes, along with other features to appeal to business users. QuickOffice is included for Microsoft Office support, as is Skype mobile for VoIP calls. There’s a VPN client for accessing corporate environments, and the full Google software suite is installed. Motorola has included advanced security features that appeal to enterprise tech support staff, such as remote wipe capability, which makes it possible to erase the memory on a lost phone. Data encryption can be employed for all documents stored in internal memory and on the microSD card.

The Droid Pro may be aimed at the business user, but the Android OS is also consumer friendly. The handset will appeal to any consumer who wants a thumb keyboard like that of the BlackBerry, yet who also craves the Android touch-friendly OS. I showed the Droid Pro to a few BlackBerry users over the week I’ve been testing it, and invariably, the response was positive. BlackBerry owners are curious about the Android phenomenon and found the keyboard of the Droid Pro makes it possible to “ease away from the BlackBerry.”

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Since I’m already a Gmail and Google Apps user, synchronizing mail, calendars and contacts to the EVO was a snap. And the phone comes with well-designed apps for Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Google Talk, and Google Voice. There’s also a multi-service social network client for Facebook, Flickr and Twitter called FriendStream.

But there a bunch of other Android apps available, both paid and free. So if you or a loved one are in line to get an Android phone for the holidays, here are some apps to get you started.

Communication and Social Networking

• Multi-protocol IM apps eBuddy and Nimbuzz are worth trying. Nimbuzz also offers international calling at low rates, comparable to Skype and Google Voice, but I find eBuddy’s IM interface richer and easier to use.
• Scott and I have both found Gist useful, and the Gist Android app does a pretty good job of presenting a lot of information in a small space.
• The DroidIn app keeps LinkedIn users connected from their Android phones. The app isn’t as complete as the official LinkedIn app for iOS, but it does the basics well.
• HTC’s built-in Twitter apps (Peep and FriendStream) are fine for basic needs, but if you want to manage multiple Twitter apps, use a specific service to shorten URLs, or to post images and videos, you might want to check out Seesmic. There are lots of others, too, including such well-known cross-platform apps as HootSuite, which I don’t care for, but others like. And if you like using Ping.fm to post to a bunch of services simultaneously, try the AnyPost app.

Internet

• One of the nice things about Android is the large choice of web browsers. In addition to Android’s native Webkit-based browser, there are half a dozen alternatives, including Opera, Dolphin and the beta version of Firefox Mobile.
• Unfortunately, there isn’t yet a simple way of syncing bookmarks from desktop browsers. Since I’m an Xmarks user, and it seems that the sync service will now remain in business, I’ve decided to make Xmarks’ “My Bookmarks” page my home page in the Android browser.

News and Weather

• The EVO comes with an RSS news reader app (just called News). It’s nice, but for some reason, it doesn’t have any way of importing feeds via an OPML file. Since I don’t want to have to re-create the several hundred feeds I already have in Google Reader, I looked for an RSS app that syncs with Google Reader. So far, I’m finding the unofficial gReader app quite adequate for news reading.
• The phone’s native Weather app is pretty, but doesn’t include many details. If you live in a place with interesting weather like I do and want more info, check out WeatherBug. It uses data from Weather Underground’s extensive network of local weather stations, and is available in ad-supported or paid versions.

File and Idea Management

• We’ve written about Dropbox many times; it’s one of our favorite file sync services. The Android app seems to work as well as its counterparts for other platforms.
• The Android app from another favorite, Evernote, syncs smoothly with other locations, too.
• I rather like Toodledo, the cloud-based to-do app. Toodle Droid, the Android version, is actually nicer-looking than the service’s web interface.

Password Management

• I can’t do without 1Password to manage and sync passwords. It can be used with Dropbox to make your password data available on multiple machines.
• And since it doesn’t hurt to have multiple backups, I also use LastPass.

Utilities

• As a web worker, I tend to need to get “under the hood” of my Android devices more than some users. If you’re in the same category, you might need the App Installer, which allows you to install apps other than those found in the Android Market.
• I’ve also added AndExplorer, a file browser app, which lets me get into the phone’s file system.
• For sending files, there’s AndFTP, a surprisingly nice FTP client.

I’m sure that I’ll be adding apps in the days and weeks to come. For instance, I haven’t yet found a solitaire app to match Awesome Solitaire for iOS, so recommendations are welcome!

What Android apps do you recommend for newbies?

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WARNING: If you are one of the millions addicted to Angry Birds, do not watch this video. It may cost you hundreds of dollars.

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Those looking for a new smartphone should check out the penny sale at Amazon Wireless. BGR reports that all Verizon Droid smartphones are only one red cent through Nov. 22, and a little investigation shows these aren’t the only phones on sale. Amazon has some Android phones from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon for a penny, and a number of BlackBerry handsets for the keyboard-bound among you.

All deals require new service with the carrier, so no existing customers need apply. There’s no need to wait for Black Friday with these prices on good smartphones. Here’s a short list of the bargains of particular interest:

• Entire Droid line of Android phones — Verizon
• Samsung Captivate Android — AT&T
• BlackBerry Torch — AT&T
• HTC Aria Android — AT&T
• Motorola Backflip Android — AT&T
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android — AT&T
• HTC Hero Android — Sprint
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 — AT&T
• Samsung Intercept Android — Sprint
• Motorola Citrus — Verizon

Amazon has other deals that are impressive, like the hot HTC EVO 4G for $99. Check through the many deals offered if your budget is more than a penny.

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Gadgets of the Week

The gadget capturing most of my attention this week was the Samsung Galaxy Tab, sent by Verizon. The 7-inch Android tablet is now available from most major carriers in the U.S., and in many other countries. The more time I spent using the Tab, the more I came to appreciate its strength: maximum portability.

Reviewers have been quick to complain that the Galaxy Tab is just a big smartphone, given its Galaxy S phone roots. They are correct, but I think that’s a major benefit of the Tab. It’s possible to use the little tablet for extended periods in the hand, something that’s not comfortable with the larger iPad . For this reason alone, the Tab has become my e-book reader of choice, as the Kindle app works well on the 7-inch screen.

The Tab also shines as a web tablet, as everything you can do on an Android phone you can do better on the Tab. Browsing the web is downright enjoyable, and the large number of apps in the Android Market offer a lot of options for just about every function. Twidroyd Pro on the Galaxy Tab may be the best app on any mobile device smaller than the iPad. The larger screen gives developers a good palette to work with to create their magic.

I get asked frequently if the Tab runs Angry Birds, and it certainly does. The big screen is a delight for playing the game, and the light Tab can be held comfortably for those long, long sessions. If you are addicted to Angry Birds, the game might be reason enough to get a Tab of your own.

I need to give an update on using the Powermat Wireless Charger for the EVO 4G. This week I had to quit using the Powermat due to a problem that cropped up with the USB hub on the phone back. This hub plugs into the charging port on the phone, and it must be unplugged to open the EVO for any reason. The hub is tethered to the special phone back, and you slide it out of the mount, open the EVO, and then slide it back in to reconnect it for charging.

Unfortunately, I found that after you do that a few times to change the battery or access the microSD card, the hub stops making electrical contact with the internal components in the phone back door. When this happens, the phone won’t charge when sitting on the mat, which defeats the whole purpose of the Powermat. This happened to me on the day I bought it at Best Buy, requiring a return trip to exchange it for this second unit. I believe it’s a design flaw that appears over time, since I’ve used two different units and both developed the problem. So the Powermat is in the dead gadget drawer in my office for now.

Apps of the Week

I’ve been playing with apps more than usual this week, due to the arrival of the Galaxy Tab. Most of the apps I’ve been using are on the Android platform, except for one. Apple updated the Safari browser, and it’s now faster on the Mac than Google Chrome. I’ve been using Chrome for months due to its speed of operation, but Safari now blows it away. It’s time to give it a try if you haven’t used it for while.

The Android app of the week is a simple utility I’ve been using on both the EVO 4G and the Galaxy Tab. Screebl Pro monitors the tilt of the Android device to determine if it is being used in the hand, and when it’s not, such as sitting on a table, it shuts the screen off quickly to save battery consumption. When it senses the device is in the hand being used, it keeps the screen lit up to facilitate its use. The tilt parameters can be easily customized with a slider that graphically indicates the tilting of the device. The backlit screen on any device is one of the biggest battery drains, and Screebl Pro makes it automatic to shut off the screen when the phone isn’t being used. There’s a free version of the app, but at $1.99, I find the Pro version to be a good value.

The Galaxy Tab’s high resolution (1024×600) display led me to question if standard Android apps work properly on the big screen. I’ve tried dozens of apps, and have yet to find one that doesn’t display well on the Tab. Some phone apps are marvelous on the bigger screen — Dolphin Browser HD, Pocket Informant, Twidroyd Pro, Kindle app and Tweetdeck to name a few. And don’t forget Angry Birds.

E-book of the Week

This week, I’ve been finishing up the Void Trilogy covered in previous weeks, and starting a new Stephen King book. The King book, Full Dark, No Stars is a collection of short stories as only King can write. I’ve only just started it, but can tell I’m going to enjoy it a great deal.

How I found out about the King book is a testament to how well the Android platform works in unexpected ways. I was using Twidroyd Pro on the Galaxy Tab and spotted a tweet from Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle. He reviewed the book for the Chronicle and tweeted about it, complete with a link to the review. I clicked the link in Twidroyd and read his review. Liking what I saw, I opened the Kindle app on the Tab and searched for the King book. A one-click purchase later, I had downloaded the book to the Kindle app and was reading it. I went from Dwight’s tweet to reading a new book in less than five minutes. Amazon has built this ecosystem well.

Wrap-up

I am taking a vacation next week, so there will probably not be a column next Friday. Who knows though, if I run across something exciting during the week off I may pen a short one. Have a great holiday week (those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving); be safe no matter where you live.

I am having surgery the week after next, but I should only be out a couple of days. I expect to get the MTM column done so if not next week, see you the week after.

The version under development is a lightweight version designed to run on Android phones with lesser processors and older Android versions according to Rovio:

So far, we have hesitated to create multiple versions of Angry Birds for the Android platform. But judging by the feedback we have received, we feel that by providing a lightweight solution, we are doing a favour for our fans.

We are currently developing a lighter solution to run Angry Birds on lower end Android devices. This does not mean lighter gameplay or a lesser amount of levels, but a game experience optimized for devices with less processing power.

Having two versions of a game like Angry Birds once again raises the concerns that Android is too fragmented for developers to support properly. There are still several versions of Android on consumer devices, and developers must choose to do what is necessary to support the older versions (like Rovio), or simply restrict their apps to later versions of the OS.

The situation is improving with 77 percent of devices in the world now running either Android 2.1 or 2.2, both of which should run Angry Birds fine on proper hardware according to Rovio. Google has advanced Android at such a fast pace that fragmentation was inevitable, but hopefully a more sedate release pace for future versions of the OS will improve that. It’s hard to fault Google for fragmentation, as the fast development track is no doubt responsible for the major impact Android has created in the mobile space. Like Angry Birds, Android is a force in the mobile segment that can’t be stopped.

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