I doubt we'll see long lines around T-Mobile Stores Oct 22 when the T Mobile G1 with Google phone goes on sale.
The long-anticipated device was officially announced this morning at a press conference under New York City's 59th Street Bridge. It's the first phone to run Google's Android mobile software platform.
The $179 device (with a two-year voice and data contract) has such niceties as a slide out QWERTY keyboard and touch screen. Consumers will be able to download applications, some free, some not, from the Android Market storefront. There's also an MP3 store from Amazon.
It comes with a 1GB SD card that can hold about 500 songs (expandable to 8GB).
The device has GPS location-smarts, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice recognition, and an iPhone-like "accelerometer" motion sensor. As you might imagine there's easy one-touch access to a offerings from Google's own herd, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps Street View (complete with a built-in compass). And there's an HTML-Web browser with a zoom function that expands the size of the screen when you tap your finger. Alas, you cannot "pinch" the screen to expand Web pages as you can on an iPhone.
The interface, which I want to test out more, has potential. I like the way you can drag menus down from the top of the screen.
That said, in an era when good looks and fashion count nearly as much as the smarts, especially with consumers, the 5.6-ounce G1 won't win any beauty contests. The hardware is frankly homely-looking next to an iPhone or one of the newer Research In Motion BlackBerry's. The device, which is made by HTC, comes in black, white or brown.
The G1 is targeted for now at consumers rather than the large enterprises that RIM dominates with the BlackBerry. There's no Microsoft Exchange support for corporate email at this stage.
Indeed, there's something of an unfinished feel to the device. "Part of it feels likes an iPhone wannabee," says Michael Gartenberg an analyst with Jupitermedia. "As a first effort it's not bad."
"Not bad" is about my take too, at least based on the little bit of time I've had to actually pick the thing up. Whether "not bad" is good enough in this highly-competitive space remains to be seen, though having Google's market power and financial resources ought to help. "If it was anyone else but Google we wouldn't be here," Gartenberg said.
T-Mobile is only now pushing out its 3G or third generation network in certain markets; the phone presumably will not work as well in areas of marginal 3G coverage. (That's where Wi-Fi may help in certain instances.)
Google is also pushing Android's "openness" with third party developments. Google's Andy Rubin says that makes it "future-proof." But for all the benefits to openness with developers, ordinary consumers can't distinguish an "open" platform with a closed one such as Apple's. All they want are fun and/or useful applications.
I did spend a few minutes playing Pac-Man (poorly) on the device. I briefly checked an application called ShopSavvy which lets you compare prices and bring up product information by scanning the barcode on the product. Another app I got a quick peek at is called Ecorio, which helps you track your "carbon footprint" based on your recent travels.
I'm looking forward to testing the G1 out in the real world.
By Ed BaigPhoto: Mark Lennihan, AP
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