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.

Comments

more from an Washington post article

[samsonov]

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.

Re:Interesting chipset

[tbird20d]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[MyLongNickName]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[sexconker]

As do I.
I have Windows Mobile.