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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.
I am in the market for a new phone now and have been eagerly awaiting this first Android phone for some time. Whilst the G1 looked pretty clunky to me from leaked shots I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. However, based on today's presentation, I think I am going to wait and see.
My main issues:
1. Unless I misheard, this phone will require a gmail account to actually use it - even if you don't use their mail, calendar and chat apps. Call me paranoid, but I have no intention of giving Google even more info about me. If you need to register/log in using gmail before the phone becomes usable then that is a dealbreaker for me.
2. It also really bugs me that they haven't used a standard headphone jack. I know this is not a problem unique to this handset, but it annoys the hell out of me that manufacturers can't just use the standard jack size. I don't want multiple different headphones, one for each device, I want one set which I can use with all of them.
3. No Exchange support, tethering, desktop sync, video or Skype. Some or all of these would be nice at launch but I assume they will be added fairly quickly by others though given it is an open-source platform.
I think, on balance, I am going to wait until Android is available on other handsets or can be downloaded onto a handset of my choosing. The potential is still very much there with Android itself, but this version ain't it (at least for me). It is a shame really since I had such high hopes for the G1.
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.
I heard that it doesn't support A2DP so no bluetooth stereo headsets.
And I can not find out if it has voice dialing. My old Samsung had great Voice dialing.
My current Sanyo's is just okay and my wife's Razor really doesn't work all that well.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
There's also an announcement from the Android Community (and confirmed by Qualcomm) that the device will be running off of a new Linux-based and Linux-optimized Qualcomm chipset.
What I find most interesting, however, is their mention of an asymmetric dual-core processor, with one core optimized for specific phone functionality and the other designed as a general-purpose processor. If this works, it will be an interesting new trend and a big step forwards for phones, Linux, and Qualcomm, I believe. (Apparently, though, it still has a few issues... I wish luck to those design teams!)
>> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
Actually, we fanbois hope that this announcement will jar Apple out of its iPhone SDK NDA foolishness, since Apple will now have to compete with a platform that actually allows people to write programming books on it and lets its programmers to ask each other for help without fear of impending lawsuit.
It bugs me that it even seeped into the summary.
"Google is working on an Android competitor to the Apple App store."
Haven't pretty much ALL phone companies had a store to download shit from for a looooooooong time before iphone or even ipod? Seriously you might as well say they are taking a page from microsofts book because they have a download store too. Come on now don't fall into this trap of thinking Apple did everything first (re. level sensing laptops).
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
Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile phone? Could it? With the Android platform being open-source, I think it is just possible.
What is my dream mobile phone? It is JUST A FREAKIN' PHONE. No touch screen. No web browsing. Just a single line B&W LCD, maybe two lines for easier caller ID printing. And with big buttons.
Without a big fancy screen, the phone would cost less to make. That extra space could have a bigger fractal antenna pattern board or something for even better reception. And without all of those useless extra features, a battery life exceeding any phone made today.
Bearded Dragon
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?
You might also not be at all surprised to know that Google is working on an Android competitor to the Apple App store.
That's right, I'm not suprised. It was on the front page of Slashdot awhile back.
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/30/1335231
comment about editors and reading Slashdot goes here.
Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile phone? Could it? With the Android platform being open-source, I think it is just possible.
Do Androids dream of electric sheep?
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Everyone is comparing this new offering to the iPhone. But the interesting thing is that virtually no one compares it to the Blackberry - the new "has-been" of the so-called "Smart phone" industry.
It isn't like the Blackberry hasn't had any warning - the iPhone was announced more than 18 months ago, and there have been rumors about the Google-driven offering for nearly as long. How the shareholders of RIM can merely watch their company rest on its laurels is beyond me. RIM's death will be when Microsoft tries to acquire it.
In the 1980's, WANG was in nearly every office in America. They rested during the PC revolution, and within a couple years they were as good as dead. RIM has entered that territory. Yes, Blackberrys are still selling to corporate clients, who are traditionally slow to embrace new technologies. But other than the slow-movers out there, everyone can clearly see two very high-profile competitors - Apple and Google.
Looks bad for RIM.
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.
Sure, $74/month may seem a little steep, but isn't it worth it to get a FREE phone?
Though sarcastic, you might not realize how accurately you've hit the nail...
In the US, we pretty much don't buy phones by themselves. The vast majority of people get them for "free" (or a penny, or $19.99-after-rebate, or some apparent pittance like that) bundled with a 2-year contract for service.
So, while Apple prohibited AT&T from giving the iPhone away with service, Google allowing T-Mobile and the like to bundle them means regular everyday people, rather than just Apple fans, may actually get one of these.
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 can run SSH, whether native or third party, and if there is some way to verify it's a real SSH, not infested by DHS or other snoops, that would be great.
Infuriate left and right
If it works on TMobile, it's GSM.
Or they may, in fact, have been both.
Vote for global prefs bug
dude, your dreamphone already exists: http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones.aspx Now you just have to download a "Git off my lawn!!" ringtone
"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.
I watched an interview with Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, in which he said that the license for Android means that Yahoo could, for example, create their own version. (In the same interview, he said he would be happy if Microsoft built the next version of IE on Chrome).
Hopefully future vendors will drop the Google account requirement. There are rumors of a Sprint android phone, and AT&T has commented that they are considering it, for whatever that is worth.
Better would be to see something like OpenAndroid spring up to succeed where OpenMoko has so far failed.
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
s/apple/xerox/g
Check out my sysadmin blog!
Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile phone? Could it? With the Android platform being open-source, I think it is just possible.
Dude, Android has nothing to do with your dream phone. The Nokia 5190 was pretty much doing what you wanted it to 10 years ago. Pick one up off of eBay for less than $30 and be happy, unless you're worried that the extra features like SMS and Snake will interfere with your experience. Tell all your Slashdot friends who also just want a phone, too.
Tweet, tweet.
Psst: there's more than one moderator! There are, in fact, thousands of them! To expect them all to behave the same is, well, rather silly. To get upset about a single moderation to your post here is, well, rather sad.
everything in moderation
GPS is there, and tied into Google Maps. And Google already has a sync plugin for Outlook, Thunderbird/Lightning has an extension, and it's built into Evolution.
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
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.
Our small startup was going to do iPhone apps with a nice chunk of funding from some venture capital types.
Android was a bit under the radar for awhile and the other people I am working with were caught up in the Apple marketing hype. But then more and more developer nightmare stories about dealing with Apple kept coming up. And these were above and beyond the absurd NDA crap and other secrecy Apple holds to with their product plans raised all sorts of alarms. Even the money guys were getting worried that they were going to dump all this cash into projects that were completely at the mercy and whim of Apple.
We were about to go out and waste money on expensive Macs for everyone - one of our guys was insisting on some 4 grand Mac laptop.
All those plans are now scrapped. We are all working on Android by simply downloading the free SDK and eclipse IDE and up and running on our own PCs. We don't have to waste time learning damn Objective-C that no one outside of the niche Mac dev community has any experience with and instead were able to jump right in with our existing Java skills.
The sky is the limit for Android. Solid technology base that is completely open. All the benefits of open source Linux without all the useless development and API fragmentation. The amount of interest from cellphone makers and people beyond the cellphone market in leveraging Android for their devices makes it clear that the huge amount of developer interest is just going to continue to grow rapidly.
Anything a user wants will be appearing on Android. It's so easy to modify for whatever end users need and desire.
Bye bye Apple and iPhone. Hello Android. Google really came through big time with this platform.
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
we're already working on gplv3'ed ssh :) and its got some kick-butt features for terminal switching. check out the code and vids:
http://code.google.com/p/connectbot/
Like Tony Blair!
The CB App. What's your 20?
this will be like PC vs Mac in the 90's the open platform will attract more developers, more manufacturers and eventually more users. the closed platform will be buried.
This program was made possible by a grant from the Ultra-Humanite, and viewers like you.
Even if you could put a VoIP app on your phone,
The explorer turns to his trusty native guide, and points dramatically into the distance, and asks "what's that"... and from then on the mountain he was pointing at is known as "Mt YourFingerYouFool" in the local language...
The point isn't "you can't run Skype". That's just the finger. The mountain is "you can't just install anything you want on your open source Android phone".
The G1 is so full of dealbreakers, it's simply sad.
Instead of an open platform, this is just another locked-down money-sink.
No tethering? Even my Samsung Blackjack does it... running WM 5.0.
No video? Every other handset can record video.
No exchange support? Why in the world not?
But to me, it's the tethering issue that really breaks the bank. Does T-mobile really think that consumers will pay upwards of $50/month for each internet-capable device they own?
Look at the laptop broadband market - it's almost strictly businessmen who both need dedicated access, and can write it off as an expense. What makes T-mobile think that all these people will suddently jump up and hand several hundred dollars per year to T-mobile. People adapt... people realize that they could live without such broad internet mobility, and they stop buying thigs... which is exactly the opposite of what T-mobile needs.
This is yet another example of unadulterated and shortsighted greed and the willingness to shoot yourself in the foot.
>> To expect them all to behave the same is, well, rather silly.
Arrgh, silly but happens all the time around here.
You might also not be at all surprised to know that Google is working
Haven't pretty much ALL phone companies had a store to download shit from for a looooooooong time before iphone or even ipod
So it's safe to say you're not surprised. Seems the author was right. ;)
It never fails. In every thread about Phones, There's always some Asshat that shows up that wants "Just a Phone" without the bells and whistles of whatever device is being talked about.
Never mind the fact is these devices exist and can be found easily. They still gripe, and more often than not, get modded up.
Do not read this
Unless you get third-party software, which is the whole selling point of this phone. How about this?
Android QuickOffice
Or you can write your own app to do that, which is the whole selling point of this phone.
If this phone/OS lives up to the hype, all these kinds of comments that we normally make about phones will become irrelevant. You don't complain that your new computer can't open a certain doctype; you just get the right software to do that. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for the walled-garden era on cell phones.
Come on now don't fall into this trap of thinking Apple did everything first (re. level sensing laptops).
Nah, they just built the first one people actually use.
Higher Logics: where programming meets science.
actually there is a "Windows Mobile", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile
May I propose looking into the prepaid phones? They are the perfect hacker phone:
1. Cheap for low-minute users. Save your money for RAM.
2. Little to no personal information. No credit check. You can tell them whatever you want, and they don't care enough to validate. Helps relieve paranoia.
3. No contract, no obligation. Just let the minutes expire and dump the phone. Helps relieve paranoia.
4. Easily switchable. Psycho ex keep calling? Get a new account in a few minutes. With the GSM devices, just swap SIMs and burn the old one. Helps relieve paranoia.
I end up paying about $20/mon to keep my acct active with enough minutes. I pay about a nickel a minute to talk. If I break the phone, I hit wal-mart and get a replacement for $10, which they activate onto my existing account.
And the phone's a basic flip-device. No bells, no whistles. Did I mention the phone was $10 new? $10.
$10.
Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
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.
People PAY for ringtones?
People PAY for mobile applications?
WTF?
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?
> You aren't a fanboi. A fanboi is someone who follows someone or something without question and without financial compensation.
Ron Paul!
93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
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.
But no matter how bad the Google situation is, at least you won't have to jailbreak the damn thing to run non-approved apps.
For specific device at least ? Or it's Android SDK Java only still ? Android will have hard time competing with iPhone application-wise without native code support.
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.
Actually, all the Ron Paul supporters I know are more intelligent and informed than your average voter. By the GP's definition of fanboi, you'll definitely find a higher proportion supporting the two majors.
~ I am logged on, therefore I am.
Will really come out of the woodwork on this one :-)
Did you notice that you wanted to talk about Apple before anyone else did? Instead of talking about the benefits or drawbacks of Android, you wanted to troll about Apple. Think about it.
My impression of the android platform was that all apps were equal. If that's the case, is there anything stopping you from stripping off the google ones and replacing them?
If all the google apps turn out to be open source (which it sounded like they were going to do) then that'd be even easier.
Except that the concept of the limited company dates back at least to renaissance Europe, and probably earlier.
Still, anti-corporate rants are very much in vogue, so don't let anything trivial like facts stand in your way.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
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.
What's good for the developer is good for the customer, if it leads to a thriving marketplace.
What the App Store has done is given people with technical skills but no MBA (like myself) an opportunity to get paid for implementing their ideas.
What remains to be seen is whether the chaff will drown out the wheat in the Android Market without the auditing process of the iTunes Store. Ratings are all well and good on YouTube, but viral videos aren't viruses. Android prides itself on not being locked down, but you can't have it both ways...
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
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 $0.99 for a metric-to-english calculator, whereas it would have been free on my Treo. I like the iPod, I'm sure I'd like an iPhone of my own, but I'm not looking forward to the blatant attempts to milk money out of me.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
So can't you just install Evolution on it and be able to sync with Exchange (albeit through crappy OWA interface)?
The phone doesn't force you to use the software it ships with. Go ahead and install whatever calendar/address book you want. Stop acting like you're forced to used bundled software on an open platform.
Well, it doesn't bloody work for me under iTunes 8 and iPhone 2.01. I wrote and recorded the MP3 I'm trying to add as a ring tone and the only thing that's done it is iToner, which is 15 dollars for the licence. Grr.
Right-click your MP3 in iTunes and choose "Convert to AAC". Then right-click the new file and choose "Show in Finder". Make a copy of that on the desktop and change the extension of it to .m4r. Delete the old AAC file from iTunes and drag the new one back into iTunes. I just did it last night with a bunch of MP3s I DL'd from the 'Net and they sync'd to my iPhone just fine after I remembered to check the "Sync Ringtones" option in iTunes ;-).
"terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
Want to convert units on your iPhone or Touch? Open Safari, google "$x $unit in $metric". Can I have $0.99 now? ;)