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Google Unveils First Android Phone
danieltdp writes "Google finally officially launched the first Android-enabled mobile device to hit the market. As expected, the first Android phone will be the HTC Dream (also known as the T-Mobile G1), a device with a large touchscreen and a slide-out physical keypad that will run Google's new mobile platform." You might also not be at all surprised to know that Google is working on an Android competitor to the Apple App store.
As expected, it's Tivoised...
There is currently no Skype compatibility, although T-Mobile did not specify whether such a thing would be allowed if a third-party were to develop it.
If it wasn't Tivoised, this wouldn't come up, because they wouldn't be able to prevent anyone from installing anything they want on it.
another article: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2008/09/t-mobile_unveils_first_google.html
This unveiling also brought some bad news for Android enthusiasts.
* Neither Google nor HTC nor T-Mobile will ship any sort of desktop-synchronization software with the phone, so your only way to get your address book and calendars onto the G1 will be to upload them to Gmail and Google Calendar. I can't believe that these companies are leaving a function this basic as a "third party opportunity."
* The G1, like the iPhone and T-Mobile's Sidekick, will have its SIM card slot locked to prevent the use of other carriers' subscriber-identity module cards. So if you don't like T-Mobile's network here or its roaming rates overseas, you'll either have to suck it up or hope somebody "jailbreaks" this phone in the same way that hackers have defeated the iPhone's SIM locking.
* The G1 will offer limited compatibility with some of the files you use most often. It will only be able to read Microsoft Office files, not edit them. And while its music player will be able to use MP3, Windows Media and AAC files, you'll need to wait for a third-party to provide some sort of add-on to sync your iTunes library to the phone. And iTunes Store downloads restricted with Apple's "digital rights management" locks won't play on the G1 (though the G1 is no different from other non-Apple devices in this respect; that's why you shouldn't buy Apple's DRM-ed downloads at all when you get the same music as an unlocked, open MP3 from Amazon's MP3 store).
* Its Bluetooth is as limited as the iPhone's. The G1 will initially support only hands-free kits, with "A2DP" stereo-sound output coming later on and, it seems, no plans for file transfer or other, more useful Bluetooth options.
"You killed my yogurt!" --Fred Fredburger
Actually, the original title was not so much wrong as it was British. The Brits tend to think of groups (i.e. a band, a corporation) as a plural. We Americans think of them as a singular. British: Pink Floyd are coming to town! American: Pink Floyd is coming to town! British: Google unveil the first Android model. American: Google unveils the first Android model. Of course, I don't know the original poster; they may not have been British; they may have, in fact, been wrong.
The CB App. What's your 20?
There's another instant review from Moss, worth a shufti:,br>
http://mossblog.allthingsd.com/20080923/googles-g1-first-impressions/
br.
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
Pros:
Cons:
I think I will be sitting out on the first generation of Android. If the next generation of android phones has as many improvements as there were from iPhone 1.0 to 2.0, i will be a a very happy camper.
I'm the Devil the Windows users warned you about.
If it works on TMobile, it's GSM.
"A second big feature, or limitation, of the G1 depending on your point of view is that it is tightly tied to Googles web-based email, contacts and calendar programs. In fact, you must have a Google (GOOG) account to use the phone, and can only synchronize the phones calendar and address book with Google online services. Unlike the iPhone, it doesnt work with Microsoft Exchange, and it cant physically be synced with a PC-based calendar or contacts program, like Microsoft Outlook."
I am pretty sure Gizmodo picked up on it as well when they did their live blog of the announcement.
APCMag.com has an informative Q&A sit down with Android team member Dan Morrill. You can read it here.
Opportunities of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity. - Linda Ravenhill
Dual-core, asymmetric chipsets have been common in the mobile phone market (and in other embedded markets as well) for years. Often, it is a combination of an ARM processor and some sort of DSP. Symmetric ARM processors are pretty common also. It's hard to tell from the announcement if the "other" processor in the Qualcomm chipset is more general purpose than a DSP, but it's hardly groundbreaking.
Note that this arrangement is often used to "insulate" portions of the software stack from possible GPL issues.
You mean like the Blackberry Thunder/Flame? http://crackberry.com/exclusive-first-live-pics-blackberry-thunder/
Symbian has a hard application framework to follow, the Google API/Framework is much nicer and so in that respect Android is good as anyone who can code can follow without to many problems.
I don't mean to be a troll, just curious. In what way is Google Street View useful?
I've used it a few times to get a visual of a destination before traveling there. Street numbers are great, but it's nice to be able to recognize a place by sight as you're looking for it.
Tweet, tweet.
You aren't a fanboi. A fanboi is someone who follows someone or something without question and without financial compensation. You sound like someone who likes Apple's products. There is a difference.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Per the official announcement webcast, there's no A2DP profile support at launch, which makes this unfeasible.
Whereas you're right about there being no A2DP support, it doesn't affect bluetooth headsets which most consumers use for phone use, just those you'd use exclusively for music (stereo ones). You have to read down a bit in the developer post, but it does say that bluetooth headsets work fine.
"He may look like an idiot, and talk like an idiot, but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot." - Duck Soup
actually there is a "Windows Mobile", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile
Actually, I think Thinkpads (and probably others) had accelerometers in their laptops before Apple. Unless you are referring to mean something more important than drive protection.
Oh.. Yeah. I guess I should stop using my Thinkpad.
Since IBM brought the feature out only two years before Apple, I can see how, given the time difference, we should credit this one to Apple.
Just about anything can get modded "Interesting," eh?
News to me too. I download FOSS ones. Because my platform isn't DRM-fucked by an evil monopoly;)
93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
android looks promising. maybe the g1 isn't perfect, but it seems that it shows the potential of the platform. there's more on this interesting article.
As do I.
I have Windows Mobile.
Here's T-Mobile's unlock FAQ
https://support.t-mobile.com/knowbase/root/public/tm51885.htm
The HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1 is not on the "can not unlock" list, but maybe they haven't gotten around to it. And one of the rules for unlocking is you can't do it during the 14-day buyer remorse period and you've been under contract at least 90 days.
Some privacy policy Slashdot.
For what it's worth, I just called T-Mobile, and asked about it. They said you have to go through the android store to install software, and that updates will come via T-Mobile using over-the-air programming.
I asked if you can bypass either of these things and install your own modifications, and they said "no".
Hopefully the person I spoke to is misinformed. Otherwise, people won't even have the ability to test their apps on the phone w/out running their test binaries through google, let alone upgrade to newer versions of Android (unless T-Mobile forces the upgrade upon all their customers...).
Also, if the person that holds the trademark "Tetris" decides to sue google, presumably google will have to start pulling tetris clones, just like apple did... So much for atari/nintendo emulators(?)
I think I'll wait until T-Mobile confirms these limitations in writing somewhere, then go back to ignoring Android until a phone vendor that "gets it" decides to give their customers root.
Let me guess. Your idea of a limitation for a Music Player is that it doesn't allow Wifi Skype to make phone calls?
No. My idea of 'limitation' is that I had to pay $0.99 for a metric-to-english calculator, whereas it would have been free on my Treo. I like the iPod, I'm sure I'd like an iPhone of my own, but I'm not looking forward to the blatant attempts to milk money out of me.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
OK, I understood what PCB means in this context (printed circuit board), but I'm scratching my head on PHF. Public Health Foundation? Newport News Airport? Pleasant Home Foundation? Obviously, Google is not my friend when trying to find out what this abbreviation stands for. Perhaps you meant personal hands free, which I only found on one acronym finder site. (Another such site gave much less useful results.) Perhaps this is a regionalism? Nobody that I know in the States calls it "personal hands-free," they just call it "hands free."
If you do mean a hands-free unit, then what kind of custom control are you referencing in regards to an iPod/iPhone?
Same goes for ID in this context. Integrated... somethingorother... would be my guess. Obviously not IDentifier/IDentification, nor Intelligent Design. (The acronym finders referenced above each have over 200 possible meanings for ID, several of which are applicable to consumer electronic design and/or electrical engineering.)
A little less jargon, or a handy chart of relevant TLAs (three letter abbreviations), would be appreciated.
So can't you just install Evolution on it and be able to sync with Exchange (albeit through crappy OWA interface)?
The phone doesn't force you to use the software it ships with. Go ahead and install whatever calendar/address book you want. Stop acting like you're forced to used bundled software on an open platform.
No tethering app initially...but the T-Mobile CTO stated they weren't going to do anything to actively prevent it.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/23/t-mobiles-cto-on-g1-unlocking-and-tethering-plus-a-few-detai/
Well, it doesn't bloody work for me under iTunes 8 and iPhone 2.01. I wrote and recorded the MP3 I'm trying to add as a ring tone and the only thing that's done it is iToner, which is 15 dollars for the licence. Grr.
Right-click your MP3 in iTunes and choose "Convert to AAC". Then right-click the new file and choose "Show in Finder". Make a copy of that on the desktop and change the extension of it to .m4r. Delete the old AAC file from iTunes and drag the new one back into iTunes. I just did it last night with a bunch of MP3s I DL'd from the 'Net and they sync'd to my iPhone just fine after I remembered to check the "Sync Ringtones" option in iTunes ;-).
"terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
The iPhone (2.0) claims to sync directly with an Exchange server without going through a NOC -- no monthly fee, no third party touching your data. Also, RIM's NOCs have gone down a few times in the past.