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Android: Say Hello To My Little Friend.
Mon, 2007-11-05 18:05 — PMunn
Google has gone software-only with their Google Phone platform for others to load onto their phones. Sprint and T-Mobile are part of the Open Handset Alliance that aim to have phones running the new platform called Android in consumer hands in the second half of 2008. The official overview is here.
As a software-only platform that multiple handset manufacturers are going to hopefully write phones for, Android has the potential to make a big splash in the marketplace. Given its next-generation open platform Linux innards it also has the potential to entirely sink what's left of Palm. With no Palm OS II until 2009 and the first Android-powered phones coming in late 2008, I'd say that's the end of Palm, wouldn't you? Especially if the Android SDK due out next week is any good.
Also of note is that the number one and two US carriers are not part of this alliance right now. They are Verizon and AT&T in case you haven't noticed, and this could very well be why Apple announced an iPhone SDK slated for a 2008 release just a short time ago.
ArsTechnica goes into a bit more detail on "Android", its linux core, its Apache license, and have a link to the video announcement from Google itself.
I'm sure the devil is in the details, especially from carriers, and the Apache license is a very important piece of this puzzle that will tell us just what the carriers can do to the OS core and not give back to the outside world, and how hackable the phones will be. Will the phones be closed and locked up tight? Will this be a new era of more open phones and no tech support for when you scramble their brains trying to hack more features into them?
LinuxDevices notes who the members of the alliance are and that Android supplied the software for one of the T-Mobile Sidekick phones in their coverage.
Pricing of the HTC Dream: $199.
The HTC Dream should debut at $199, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Wired is saying this will be the same as the iPhone, but I remember reading that the $200 iPhone is only available to those who already have an iPhone and data plan as an upgrade price. Guess I was wrong.
From what I've already seen of the Dream's leaked photos I don't think this phone's going to be able to hold a candle to the ergonomic features of the iPhone. It's going to be all about other features, notably:
- the core utility of the phone (signal strength, sound quality on both ends of connection)
- usability of the software
- out-of-the-box feature set
- the new data plan pricing
- the application store freebies
- software stability
Ordinarily you wouldn't worry about software stability, but this is a new, unproven platform on a third-tier carrier, T-Mobile. It had better be pretty airtight or their new Android platform will have a short shelf life. Their competing LiMo platform hasn't put out a smartphone yet, and with Verizon and others in their camp I doubt they'll be doing anything revolutionary to give the consumer power of any kind, but a bad platform on a phone will sour consumers badly.
My fingers are crossed for something truly special that's open. I'm out of contract with Verizon right now, going month-to-month, and could be convinced to put more money where my mouth is by leaving my spouse with the family plan and trying out T-Mobile for a while.
Seen on Wired, quoting from the Associated Press.
First Android Phone: GSM On T-Mobile 2008-09-23.
The invitations have been sent for the press to see the first Google Android phone on September 23rd, according to LinuxDevices.
There are leaked photos there. I don't think it looks that ergonomically pleasing, myself, but if the software stack is great and the platform is open enough the reviewers might like it.
Android Market, Developer Challenger Winners announced
Google has announced the Android Market, their application store for use with the Android phones coming soon. Google implies in the announcement that any registered developer can post applications for sale, but I'm hoping there's at least some sort of certification process that goes on before it's made available to the public.
Their Developer Challenge has also recently finished and the winners that got prize money focused on location-based services. The full gallery of winners is on the Android site. My favorite one? The GoCart application that lets you scan a bar code and then compare pricing online and at other retailers.
Still no solid information on when the first Android phone will launch, but the rumors still point to a T-Mobile phone sometime this Fall.
Bluetooth, GTalkServices dropped from 1.0
Slashdot is reporting that Google has dropped two items from the 1.0 version of Android. They are the Bluetooth API and the GTalkServices API. While bluetooth headsets will work with Android based phones, the Bluetooth API won't be available for phones to use. The GTalkServices API was apparently removed for the same reason: time constraints.
This seems to reinforce the idea that the first Android phone is coming very soon.
I'm guessing these may be one of the first things to make it into Android 1.1, and I'm wondering if the 1.0-based phones will be able to be upgraded. That could be up to the carriers, and we all know how much they like end-users upgrading any phones.
Source.
First Android Phone Ready for Market?
The FCC seems to have given the go-ahead to the HTC Dream, the rumored first Google Android phone. Its rumored carrier is TMobile and isn't a big surprise considering that Verizon has recently joined the competing LiMO group and AT&T is fat and happy with the Apple iPhone. Sprint is on the ropes and could benefit from Android, but perhaps it doesn't have much wiggle room at this point.
Seen on LinuxDevices.
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