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Google Releases Experimental Phone To Employees

Posted by kdawson on from the it's-just-dogfood dept.

alphadogg, as is his wont, sends in a Network World piece on the resurgent rumors of a Google Phone. "Google has handed out a new mobile phone running its Android software to some employees, stirring another wave of speculation that the oft-rumored Google Phone is real. In a blog post on Saturday morning, Google said the phones are being distributed so that workers can experiment with new mobile features. It did not say the device will be a Google-branded phone. Since even before Google unveiled Android, onlookers have wondered whether the search giant will release its own phone. Instead, it released an open source operating system that other hardware vendors can use to make phones."

32 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. How does it compare to the Droid? by Daetrin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is there anywhere enough details available to say if whatever this thing is will be better than the Droid? (At least the impression i've gotten without doing a great deal of research is that the Droid is the best Android phone out so far.)

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    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    1. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by tangent3 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Specs seems equivalent to Droid, with a faster processor, minus the physical Qwerty keyboard

    2. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by beakerMeep · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'd say it would be about equal to the Droid. Here's the rumors I've heard/read: - Processor speed will probably beat the droid, - HTC SenseUI will be nice, - Battery will probably be worse due to the stronger processor. - Screen should be nice an beautiful like the droid's, maybe ever more stunning. - Haven't heard anything about an LED flash like the droid's - No hardware keyboard - Sounds like T-Mobile's (weird flavor of?) GSM. - HTC Trackball v Moto'd directional pad - No discount, so looking at $300-800 ish? Full bias disclosure: I own a Droid and love it. Plan to marry it. Verizon has me by the balls in the prenup though.

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      meep
    3. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by kamikazearun · · Score: 3, Funny

      No discount, so looking at $300-800 ish?

      Some estimate,that.

    4. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Informative

      Battery will probably be worse due to the stronger processor

      Maybe not - the screen is an AMOLED, which should use less juice than the Droid's. Dunno if it's enough to make up for more juice for the CPU, so only time will tell.

      This phone seems to be the HTC Passion, the CDMA version of which (the Bravo) is rumoured for Verizon in 1Q2010, so if you don't need the crappy keyboard of the Droid, and want a faster processor, better screen, and FM radio, that would be the one to wait for (assuming the rumours are true). Flash on the Bravo is rumoured to be dual LED, btw.

    5. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by the+ReviveR · · Score: 4, Informative
      Most americans seem to have quite a hard time comparing prices simply because most of the time your carriers subsidize so much of the actual price.

      Here are some prices from one of the cheaper web stores in Finland. Please note that these have taxes included and probably the "europeans are idiots" bonus (1 dollar = 1 euro)
      • iPhone 3GS 32GB - 528 euro (+ 12 month contract with "normal" prices)
      • iPhone 3G 8GB - 396 euro (+12 month contract with "normal" prices)
      • HTC Hero - 489.90 euro (no contract)
      • Motorola Milestone - 549.90 euro (no contract + 50 euro for localized keyboard)
      • Nokia N900 - 569.00 euro (no contract)
      • Samsung Galaxy i7500 - 489.90 euro( no contract)
      • Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Android - 749.90 euro (no contract)

      Based on these it would seem that most top of the line phones actually cost around 500 - 600 euro (that is probably 500$-600$ in US) and even correlates pretty nicely with release schedule. Don't get the price on the Sony Ericsson, though it isn't actually out yet I think.

    6. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 3, Informative

      GSM is a pretty darn well-defined spec. The FCC compliance process takes months and is amongst the strictest in the business. You either conform completely or you don't get a licence. So WTF are these flavours you speak of?

      ATT and T-Mobile use different frequency for 3G; so while the GSM phone bands are pretty standard the data bands are not. Hence no ATT 3G for teh Nokia N900 or T-Mobile 3G for unlocked ATT iPhones.

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      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    7. Re:How does it compare to the Droid? by hey! · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think it probably depends on what aspect of the Droid you are talking about. I think the most interesting thing about the Droid is its lack of non-proprietary video out connectors. The upshot is that you can't use the droid to drive your TV by putting it in a docking cradle, as you can with the iPhone. It's a significant, but interesting limitation,and if the Google phone is like that as well that tells us something.

      My theory is that the big difference between Android and the iPhone is that ultimately for Android the device is secondary -- just a terminal into the cloud. You don't need a media connector in that vision, because your TV will be connected to the cloud as well. If the Google phone has some provision for HDMI output, that'd tell us that Google is hedging its bets.

      At the current state of development, iPhone is more polished and useful. The user interface for the Safari and the iPhone email app are more convenient. At present my TV does not have software that work with non-proprietary Internet standards, so it's really quite helpful to be able to dock my iPod touch to my TV. But it'd be even *more* convenient not to have to connect my mobile device at all. If my TV were something like giant Archos box, or just a display peripheral to such a device, then I wouldn't miss the media connectors.

      We all know about the limitations of the "cloud" concept, but let's not forget that the idea of every device being a storage device has its limitations too. We take it for granted that to use our *home* data, we have to become network and server admins. We accept that without question because that's the status quo, but even people who *can* be competent home network admins don't always *want* to be. I think Apple realizes this too, which is why they push the MobileMe service.

      For my personal data, I'd much rather kiss dependency on any single device goodbye and let Google be the primary manager of my data, provided that (a) I had reliable network access, (b) my devices could work when the network fails by caching the data I'm most likely to want and (c) I had some kind of backup medium that I could recover *all* my data from if I had a dispute with Google.

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      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  2. Any good? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been quite unimpressed so far with the current Android phones, so I'm very interested in what features Google would add on top of the base Android OS. I'm particularly interested in how they intend to support Exchange users.

    1. Re:Any good? by Max+Littlemore · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not sure where you are or what provider you are with, but Exchange sync is offered by at least one carrier selling Android phones in Oz and there are apps for it in the market if your carrier doesn't offer it. It's not really Google/Android's job to supply software to sync with a proprietary system from some other company, but vendors are free to value add to attract customers.

      This is what I think makes Android so promising. It's an open OS that is available to any manufacturer to implement and they automatically get a ton of apps already built for it. Compare that to iPhone - only one player allowed to manufacture hardware and supply the OS and a heavily restricted market for apps, much like when Windows was available for any cheap hardware vendor to install and MacOS wasn't. Mac went from being the superior machine to near annihilation. Looks like Google learned from the 1990s PC vs Mac thing better than Apple did and Apple was in it and lost the first time!

      Maybe Google will move into the hardware business, maybe they wont. I don't think they will improve on offerings by Sony Ericsson (when that finally comes out), but either way, they win.

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      I don't therefore I'm not.
    2. Re:Any good? by beakerMeep · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't know a lot about Exchange, but couldn't you also say it would be really nice for Exchange to support more standards for other devices to connect? (IMAP maybe?). Seems an appropriate devil's advocate question. Cue Keanu Reeves.

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      meep
    3. Re:Any good? by V!NCENT · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Google will not release their own phone. Here's why:

      Google likes to dominate the software spectrum. If they release their own phone, then companies will look a bit suspicious at their "you can use our OS too!, fro free!"

      In the end that will result in less Android phones and thus less people that use Google products and less people to click on their adds, which is their main source of imcome anyway.

      The best Android phone I've seen so far is the HTC Hero. It whipes the floor with the iPhone in every aspect. Except for the fact that it doesn't help Microsoft with growing the Exchange user base...

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      Here be signatures
    4. Re:Any good? by sznupi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There is one downside to each manufacturer having their own implementation - the market fragments. Especially when some phones don't get updates to newer OS versions (that's already happening). Also, the benefits of open app market look nice on paper...but haven't materialized.

      That said, I also agree that history will repeat itself in regards to Apple loosing dominance. But I have some doubts if it will be due to Android...

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    5. Re:Any good? by adolf · · Score: 4, Funny

      A guy calling himself "V!NCENT" should perhaps have a good, hard look at himself before sarcastically insulting others in 1337-speak.

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      Kid-proof tablet..
    6. Re:Any good? by V!NCENT · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Try to register a name like Vincent on a website with more than a million users...

      Maybe I should have chosen BasementLaserLord instead?

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      Here be signatures
  3. Dumb rumors by Undead+Waffle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities

    I'm reading this as "some hardware manufacturer invented the big red button and we want our employees to be able to play around with what the software will do when the big red button is pressed." Or maybe they're just talking about faster processors, more memory, or some other somewhat minor upgrade. I see nothing to indicate they're going to enter the phone market themselves especially since it mentions the hardware is from "a partner".

    1. Re:Dumb rumors by adamchou · · Score: 3, Funny

      what the software will do when the big red button is pressed

      You will get one million dollars, but someone you don't know will die... that or a staples employee will appear out of no where and say "That was easy!"

    2. Re:Dumb rumors by jabithew · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I can't see Google releasing their own hardware; it seems like a Slashdot wet dream. If you look at their current strategy with Chrome (OS) and Android, it seems like their attitude is that if you look after the software, the hardware will look after itself.

      It would also be quite outside their core competence. Google have never done any hardware releases for consumers, and there's no reason at all to expect them to be any good at it.

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      All intents and purposes. Not intensive purposes.
    3. Re:Dumb rumors by Tumbleweed · · Score: 3, Funny

      You will get one million dollars, but someone you don't know will die... that or a staples employee will appear out of no where and say "That was easy!"

      Can it be the Staples employee that dies? Cuz that's a deal I could live with. So to speak.

    4. Re:Dumb rumors by slifox · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're probably right that they won't make the hardware -- at most they'll probably contract HTC to do it...

      The real question is if Google is going to find a way into the cell phone service-provider business... be it on the physical infrastructure side (unlikely), or on the communications service side

      There's been some past /. discussion on this, and what I gathered from it was that Google will put themselves at odds with the infrastructure owners (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc) by forcing them into a data-provider role rather their current communications-provider role (which is much more lucrative -- e.g. charging $0.10 for a 160-byte text message).

      The speculation stems from the Google Voice service, but I think they can get away with that because they're still making use of the cell providers' telephone network, and not turning everything into "just data". I can't see the current monopolies being particularly happy if Google takes any further steps in this direction, though. Then again, the cell phone service-providers sorely need a competitor to force them to provide better service (e.g. AT&T no longer investing in their oversold 3G network because they're focusing on 4G planning).

  4. WSJ says it's real by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Wall Street Journal says it's real.

    I was doubtful myself, it seemed really weird that Google would compete against partners like this. It seems like most technical people that would even want Android to start with would flock to this phone and drop the others. Heck, I might even buy one to have something to tether my iPhone to when traveling internationally!!

    I had a chance to try out a Droid, and it was still pretty pokey (especially when using the built in browser). Perhaps the Google phone will finally hit a good performance stride.

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    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:WSJ says it's real by Undead+Waffle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Wall Street Journal says it's real.

      I was doubtful myself, it seemed really weird that Google would compete against partners like this. It seems like most technical people that would even want Android to start with would flock to this phone and drop the others. Heck, I might even buy one to have something to tether my iPhone to when traveling internationally!!

      I had a chance to try out a Droid, and it was still pretty pokey (especially when using the built in browser). Perhaps the Google phone will finally hit a good performance stride.

      And from that link:

      The phone is called the Nexus One and is being manufactured for Google by HTC Corp.

      But unlike the more than half-dozen Android phones made by phone manufacturers today, Google designed virtually the entire software experience behind the phone

      Subscription required beyond that.

      So it's made by HTC. And "designed virtually the entire software experience" isn't saying much. Sounds like another "myTouch 3G with Google" sort of deal.

  5. It's the season by mknutty · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Google likes to give its employees little toys every year for Christmas. There aren't that many Google-related toys out there to give, so they could end up picking a phone even if it's nothing special.

    Oooorrr... it could be teh awesomest Googlest phone evar.

  6. Well... by Anachragnome · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, at least they are testing them on employees rather then the general public.

    Probably cost them a lot less in legal fees when the batteries start exploding.

    1. Re:Well... by aplusjimages · · Score: 2, Funny

      I heard all the phones say "Beta" on the sides of them.

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      Can I bum a sig?
  7. google dialing by C18H27NO3+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is probably how a phone call would proceed on a Google phone:

    555-1212

    Results 1 - 30 of about 499,000 for 555-1212. (0.24 seconds)

    www.555-1212.com

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directory_assistance

    phones.whitepages.com/703-555-1212

    . . .
    et al.

    Somewhere in there would be the option to dial the number you wanted. If you happen to have SafeDial turned on you can forget about ever connecting to your sex^H^H^Hchat line. In all serious I would think that perhaps they are trying to incorporate something Googly to reach a larger userbase but certainly their own phone with that ability would be much more lucrative.

    1. Re:google dialing by WGFCrafty · · Score: 3, Funny

      Safe dial?

      Is this like safe phone sex?

      For porn from your phone the only answer is SexDial(tm)!

  8. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    it appears to be the HTC passion. The twitter hype of this thing is extraordinary, it's like viral advertising only done right.

  9. Nexus One by tuxliner · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can see a picture of this device here

  10. Gizmodo has an article too by rrohbeck · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://gizmodo.com/5425146/the-real-google-phone-everything-is-different-now

    Looks and sounds real to me.

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    thegodmovie.com - watch it
  11. Re:lets hope the OHA survives... by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow, if Google starts eating its own dogfood, by taking the leap into the handset manufacturing business, then I'll most certainly be eating my own words.

    Just because Google gives out some handsets to its employees, doesn't mean it's getting into the handset business. They may just be wanting a bigger inhouse testbed, which would be a great idea.

    I liked the sound of Arrington's recent rumour about a WiFi/Skype-only mobile phone from them, though. That would be an interesting option to have, if you could _only_ pay the data fees.

  12. Re:Math fail. by the+ReviveR · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am perfectly aware of current EURUSD conversion rate. What I am trying to say is, most electronics and software in EU is priced like the conversion rate would be 1 dollar = 1 euro. For example computer games on steam are priced about 50 dollars in US and about 50 euros in EU (I am talking about english version in both cases). I do not think anyone could explain the current difference based on actual expenses.

    I know the rates wary from case to case, but while the actual value of dollar has gone down and euro has gone up, the actual prices in US haven't risen at the same rate and prices in EU certainly haven't gone down. Most big companies seem to charge what ever the market can take.