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

Like Android, don't like the G1

[GBC]

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.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[explosivejared]

I agree with your disappointment in this phone. Personally, this sounds like a big mistake on Google's part. I haven't followed the phone market actively, but I am aware of the general goings on. Android has the potential to make a big splash, but being tied to this handset wastes that initial release PR boost. When you are fighting the gods of marketing and "hip" over at Apple, you gotta play the game right. I still have faith that Android will provide a good alternative for mobile platforms, but I think this release will take a toll. It may be more of an uphill battle than it had to be.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[Idiomatick]

for #2 get bluetooth headphones, its much easier (I ran into the same problem on my phone).

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[Threni]

1) You don't need to provide any information when you get a Gmail account. Any information you're asked for you can lie about. You can set your account to forward all mail to a real account elsewhere if you don't want to miss anything from Google.

2) As you've noticed, hardly any phones come with a normal jack, so it's hardly a reason for not using this one.

3) Yeah, you might have to wait a month or so. Always good to do that anyway, unless you want to pay the early adopter premium and do all that lovely beta testing for them.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[SchnauzerGuy]

The problem is that in order to get the phone, you need to sign a 2 year contract. As part of the contract, you have to agree to a credit check.

The bottom line that it will be quite easy for T-Mobile and/or Google to associate all of your most personal information (real name, address, SSN, credit history) with all of the information that Google already collects (your search history, email/IM contacts, location).

A paranoid person might think that the whole reason for Google releasing Android is so that it can get a bullet-proof correlation between a person's online and real life identities...

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[fm6]

As you've noticed, hardly any phones come with a normal jack, so it's hardly a reason for not using this one.

Lots of phones come with 2.5 mm jacks, including other phones from HTC. It's a pretty standard kind of connector. Actually, I think there are fewer phones now with this jack than there used to be. I think the change happened because simple cell phones have mostly been displaced by fancy PDAish things that need a data connector. Having two connectors costs, so they combine data and voice in a proprietary connector.

There's a small inconvenience factor in having a proprietary headphone connector(you can usually find an adapter, and most of us use Bluetooth anyway). But I find the way manufacturers resist standardization (even within their own product lines) to be irksome. It would be lot easier for consumers if everybody used a USB-compatible connector for data and recharging, and a 2.5 mm jack for voice. It would raise costs slightly, but given the $400 typically charged for a smart phone (either directly or through a provider's loyalty plan), that's not really too much to ask. I believe it's actually required for phones sold in some countries.

OK, lack of standardization is par for gadget manufacturers. (How many different wall warts do you own? And how many gadgets have you fried by connecting the wrong one?) But one would hope that Do-No-Wrong Google would persuade its hardware partners to do better.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[DrEldarion]

A paranoid person might think that the whole reason for Google releasing Android is so that it can get a bullet-proof correlation between a person's online and real life identities...

The far, far more likely explanation is that they see mobile internet as a huge front and they don't want to be left out if someone else takes over it. It doesn't have anything to do with associating identities, Google just wants people to use their search and click on their ads on phones as well as computers.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[rufus t firefly]

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.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[amRadioHed]

And how many gadgets have you fried by connecting the wrong one?

None. Is that something you do on a regular basis?

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[geekoid]

Android can do whatever the phone can do.
This isn't bad for google, and I think it will be good for us.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[Dragonslicer]

...but being tied to this handset wastes that initial release PR boost.

How is Android tied to the Dream? HTC just happens to be the first company ready to announce a product, which doesn't even start shipping for another month. In theory, a company like Samsung or Nokia could make an announcement next week that an Android device will be shipping before the Dream. And since HTC is the one manufacturing the physical device, I would guess that they have more say in the exact release date than Google does.

Re:Like Android, don't like the G1

[cibyr]

The whole reason everyone wants a real headphone jack is to listen to music though, so no headphone jack and no A2DP means the 8GB of storage and the Amazon music store are pretty much useless.

Even if it did have A2DP support that's not a real solution anyway: A2DP headphones are expensive, and similarly priced corded headphones sound much better, are lighter (no batteries), and don't need recharging.

An adapter is a better solution than A2DP, but they still suck - they're bulky, add one more thing to carry, and usually don't stay plugged into the device as firmly as a standard 3.5mm headphone plug. HTC is by no means the only offender, though it looks like Sony Ericsson is going to finally get it right with the Xperia (and they even have a whole line of "walkman" phones without headphone jacks).

So it's Tivoised...

[argent]

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.

Re:So it's Tivoised...

[gad_zuki!]

I use skype on WM5 with Sprint's EVDO. Cheap international calls anywhere. Works fine with the occasional nuttiness and dropouts.

I love how people defend the abusive practices of google, apple, tmobile, etc. "But, but, theyre watching out for us. Clearly you cant have VoIP over a cell data network!"

Fuck yeah you can.

Interesting chipset

[IorDMUX]

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!)

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

[Ukab the Great]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[Idiomatick]

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).

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:Title finally write good

[bennomatic]

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.

app store and stupid editors

[Rudolf]

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.

Re:Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile pho

[XxtraLarGe]

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?

The new mindshare leaders.

[lancejjj]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[pla]

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 and Cons

[Devil's BSD]

Quick rundown of the pros and cons I've noticed as I've watched the coverage:

Pros:

• Open source, SDK available
• Not application-locked
• Automatic internet-based sync, not based on a PC
• GUI looks very user-friendly
• Push Gmail. Rock on.
• A physical keyboard. With pushy clicky buttons. Yes, I went there, iPhone fanbois and gals.

Cons:

• No A2DP yet, and no 3.5mm stereo jack to make up for it. Although supposedly A2DP is coming soon.
• No tethering. Although I suppose there will be a 3rd party app written for this soon.
• No video capture. Would be nice to take video and directly upload to youtube. Although as above,I suppose there will be a 3rd party app written for this soon.
• No Exchange syncing. This makes it a bit difficult to integrate into a corporate setting.
• No multitouch. I'd figure with the next generation of smartphones with big screens this wouldve been a no-brainer.
• T-Mobile's 3G coverage is still spotty. I don't know whether my area will be getting 3G anytime soon... I hope so! Along with this point, the phone will be only available in-store in areas where there is 3G coverage.

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.

SSH? I want SSH!

[A nonymous Coward]

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.

Re:This might be cool in a year or so

[flanksteak]

If it works on TMobile, it's GSM.

Re:Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile pho

[elenaran]

dude, your dreamphone already exists: http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones.aspx Now you just have to download a "Git off my lawn!!" ringtone

Re:Where did you see that?

[GBC]

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal wrote a quick review where he mentions that issue. Money quote:

"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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[Bandman]

s/apple/xerox/g

Just Answer the Call from 1998

[weston]

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.

Re:Title finally write good

[randyest]

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.

Android == Dream Development Platform

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Android == Dream Development Platform

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

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.

Okay. So how much more money are you going to make selling apps for Android over Apple? This is a serious question. For all of the nicities surrounding Android from a dev point of view, what are they doing to make your venture capitalists happy?

Recognizing a destination

[weston]

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.

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:SSH? I want SSH!

[jsharkey]

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/

Re:Title finally write good

[bennomatic]

Like Tony Blair!

Your finger you fool...

[argent]

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".

Re:Apple fanbois

[GooberToo]

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. ;)

Re:Could this possibly lead to my dream mobile pho

[Trashman]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[nostriluu]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[calmofthestorm]

> You aren't a fanboi. A fanboi is someone who follows someone or something without question and without financial compensation.

Ron Paul!

Re:Apple fanbois

[calmofthestorm]

News to me too. I download FOSS ones. Because my platform isn't DRM-fucked by an evil monopoly;)

Re:Apple fanbois

[riceboy50]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[sexconker]

As do I.
I have Windows Mobile.

Re:Why do people think "Open Source" means "Open"?

[hedora]

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.

Re:Apple fanbois

[hobbit]

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...

Re:full of dealbreakers

[FGizzard]

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/