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T-Mobile and Google Introduce First Android Phone

Michael CM1 said:
For everybody who thinks that some open-source operating system is going to revolutionize the cell phone industry, I have one word: Linux.
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Linux revolutionised the world. The Internet would probably be considerably different if it wasn't for Linux, it was the only way to get a cheap web server so gave birth to *a lot* of websites, Google.com anyone?

I think the G1 looks very promising. Hopefully it will get Apple to think again about their app store policies, or even open up the iPhone to allow people to install apps from sources other than the app store. Who knows, maybe when my contract runs out I'll buy the G2 ;-)

Competition is good.

who has T-Mobile?
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T-Mobile might not be huge in the US but they're sure as hell huge here in the UK and in Germany, and I think maybe in some other European countries.
 
Michael CM1 said:
This will likely cut into the BlackBerry segment a bit, but BlackBerry and iPhone will be the it devices.
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I seriously doubt this stands a chance against blackberry. This phone's support of enterprise features is even more pathetic than the first gen iphone's. There is no ability to sync contacts on it without going through google's servers. At least with the first gen iphone you could sync via a local connection (even though it didn't have exchange support).

I see this competing with WinMo smart phones aimed at consumers (which includes Palm at this point since their OS was delayed yet again).
 
so..

tied to T-Mobile and to one Gmail account.
Open Handset Alliance indeed! Really, this has become tiring. Couldn't they atleast have opened up the contract free version?? From someone (google) claiming it to be really open and all that jazz, carrier lockdown is sad.
Bah! humbug!
:eek::eek::eek::mad::eek:
 
Jacksteruk309 said:
Linux revolutionised the world. The Internet would probably be considerably different if it wasn't for Linux, it was the only way to get a cheap web server so gave birth to *a lot* of websites, Google.com anyone?
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Did a good job of missing the point there. Here is a hint, is your phone a webserver? Wait wait, you're a foss religious nut so you probably expect it to be a webserver. Never mind that I asked.

Jacksteruk309 said:
I think the G1 looks very promising. Hopefully it will get Apple to think again about their app store policies, or even open up the iPhone to allow people to install apps from sources other than the app store. Who knows, maybe when my contract runs out I'll buy the G2 ;-)
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While it would be nice for Apple to open up their NDA centric tactic at the moment, I question anyone who thinks a free for all is any better.

Jacksteruk309 said:
Competition is good.
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One of us one of us one us one of us one of us...

Can you guys stop using that stump of a line? It is completely irrelevant to what we're talking about here.
 
I may think this because I am an artist, but wow Google needs to hire some graphic designers/artists. I mean its apparent through googles search engine and android that they have some decent code monkeys, but they can't rely on coders for graphics, some of the pieces of the android phone look barely better than the Palm OS, which is horribly outdated and plain. I am not saying this like Apple is the only one that can pretty-up a mobile OS, some of the HTC interfaces (at least until you get down into native WinMO) look really good, in addition to the Sony Ericsson Xperia phone, and the newest Blackberry stuff.

And having an attractive OS isn't merely an aesthetic thing, Apple showed that people would forgo certain features/freedoms to use an OS. A nice OS is also a great attention grabber.

It's a start google, but I would hold on to the champagne for a while
 
I cannot for the life of me figure out why T-Mobile pulled accelerometer functionality as this coupled with street view looked ****ing sweet!
That and the lack of a 3.5mm jack is just ridiculous!

That said, Android looks to be an impressive platform and if it weren't for the fact that HTC's offerings look like a glorified Fisherprice project, i'd be lining up.
This can only spell good news for all though, after all, competition inspires innovation. Hopefully from this we'll see Apple step up the game and release an iPhone with a flash (both plugin and physical), copy/paste, bluetooth, a front-facing camera and better app store policies to compete with the inherent customization of an open-platform.
 
Michael CM1 said:
Unless I'm mistaken, aren't iTunes Plus songs still lossy? I tried ripping a CD in the Apple Lossless format once and they took up a TON of space (maybe 75% of a completely uncompressed file). I think iTunes Plus is 192kbps AAC whereas Amazon is 256kbps MP3.
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Ripping to Apple Lossless I usually get 40-50% compression on a full album. The nice thing is that digital downloads aren't subject to ripping errors. I'm assuming lossless tracks were generated from the master, and not upconverted from MP3 (which would not be surprising were they to be sold, given label paranoia about high-resolution audio and video).

I'm also wondering where the 24/96-24/192 tracks are. Digital masters are typically 8-bit DSD these days, so it's almost zero marginal cost to generate ALAC, FLAC, 24-bit PCM, or 1-bit DSD tracks while you're generating an MP3 track.
 
paolo- said:
It's exactly that potential that makes me like Android. I haven't read much about it but I think it's fully open.

Sure, the GUI is fugly. But making it pretty isn't all that hard when you think of it. Adding base function, background apps or modification to the os is what that could make it have alot of potential.

See where I am getting to? Android users will have choice, and probably lots of it. In desktop linux, there are hundreds of guis, graphical interfaces just about everything. And they are all bundled into distributions, wich could be Google's role, picking out awesome apps and putting them in the latest Android (and also making them work together like), on top of developing their own stuff.
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yes, and linux had tons of potential for decade too. that is why i kept using it. but in the end it took a company like Apple to make the *NIXes user friendly.

eht GUI isn't hard to make pretty? then why is it, after decades of work, the hundreds of GUIs on linux all suck. don't tell me they don't, i have used them, right up to stuff just out this year. they are mostly a convoluted mess that may be a hackers dream, but awkward for the average user.

choice is only useful when the difference between the choices matter. one convoluted GUI is just the same as another. and in that land the well thought out user centric GUI is king. and so the iPhone is back to being the one people try and knock off. because it is designed around people for the most part. it actually works in an intelligent manner. it doesn't get in my way, but is a transparent layer that allows me to do what i want to do.

how is a phone with a crap GUI going to do that? i want the phone to work for me, rather than me having to be trained to work the phone.

plus, in the iPhone i get my music player as well. and the first android phone has no earphone plug? seriously? but it has a music store? who designed this?

nobody.

that is the problem.
 
Stampyhead said:
Wow, way to release it on the ugliest phone known to man. I'd be embarrassed to be seen on that thing in public.
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They're trying to copy Apple so hard that they're even duplicating Apple's missteps. This is simply their version of the Motorola ROKR. Thus, they have nowhere to go but up and, by comparison, how can people not be pleased with whatever they release next? Genius.
 
Overpriced

I think G1 is overpriced. Comparing to iPhone it is close to the same price but doesn't offer any hardware functionalities. I think google is gonna realize that to create great Software you need to make your own hardware.
 
MagnusVonMagnum said:
Well, that's your OPINION, but the fact is that consumer 'whining' as it were clearly does affect Apple's decisions, especially when it's loud and widespread.... Certain security risks and bugs get addressed rather suddenly after a stink is raised. Apple may not acknowledge its shortcomings or its imperfections, but it certainly does hear the noise of the crowd when it gets loud enough and that is all the better for its products.
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Yes, we agree, Apple does listen closely to customer feedback about it's own products. But this is a different issue than whatever the competition is doing.
 
Hello I'm an iPhone, and I'm an Android...

It's like PC for mobile phones. Yeah it's open and possibilities seem endless but we know where that got Microsoft...

This platform not only completely bites Apples style (tries to) but it isn't forward thinking or intuitive and seems set-up for bugs and virus'.

It seems like it is one of their prototypes.
 
If they're going to brag about an open software platform for developers, it's kinda lame how they keep the consumer stuck with a single carrier and don't allow things like tethering.
 
MacRumors said:
- Amazon mobile music store (press release) preloaded on the G1.
- No tethering option
- SIM-locked to T-Mobile
- Read Word, PDF, Excel files. No exchange compatibility, but 3rd parties could bring it.
- GMail is push, IMAP is pull
- No desktop application to sync
- Wi-Fi and 3G
- $179 with 2 year contract
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FAIL!
​

simply because there's already a Nazi-Fone on the market.
 
It's only the first Android phone though. By Rev. C or D, this thing might be competing on the same level as the iPhone.
 
From what I get, here's advantage the G1 it will have over the iPhone:
- Built in Keyboard (although I have no problem typing with the iPhone, but some people still complain about it)
-Copy/Paste (which Apple could easily implement if they got on the ball)
-Push Gmail (Coming soon possibly to the iPhone?)
-Removable battery
-Better Camera then iPhone (which isn't a big deal, but its nice)
-MMS (some of you think its useless, but I'm sure it would make many people happy if Apple just added it to the iPhone. Since There are many people out there would aren't cool enough to get email on their phones yet)


And thats about it. Nothing major or anything like I was expecting. No desktop app to sync with is going to make things crazy... how do they expect to do software updates? Can you imagine a million people around the country trying to download a big software update over a cellular network? Yeah right. And no 3.5mm Headphone Jack? Ouch.
 
I just went to preorder the G1 thinking it was $179 like this article says, but it's not. It's $299. Arn I think you were misinformed.
 
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