Google G1/HTC Dream (Android), something to contend the iPhone?

[Grayscale]

"T-Mobile on Tuesday will release the first mobile phone to use Android, Google’s mobile operating system, in a launch that could win the search giant 4 percent of the smartphone market.

The T-Mobile/Google phone, dubbed the G1, is the newest agitator in a fast-moving U.S. smartphone market so far dominated by Research In Motion with 16 million BlackBerry subscribers, followed by newcomer Apple, who in 15 months has already sold over 10 million iPhones.

“T-Mobile could sell 400,000 phones this year, giving Google about 4 percent of the U.S. market for "smart" phones,” research firm Strategy Analytics wrote in a report earlier this month.

The G1, which is expected to retail for $199 and carry the Google brand, should be available for sale in a few weeks. Details are scarce--other than the obvious web browsing and e-mail capabilities--but the phone is expected to be an iPhone/BlackBerry hybrid of some sort, with a touch screen and a full tactile keyboard."

This will be on T-Mobile's new 3G network slated for completion by the end of the year.

im actually thinking about switching to this when it comes out. tactile keyboard!

 

[ajblaise]

If T-Mobile can use Google's good name and can combine it with a good phone, I think, just for the fact that iPhone is so huge, it can compete. I think Google should have designed the phone and had their logo on the top though.

For people wanting to be different and cool, they are looking for something other than iPods and iPhones.

 

[Jack Flak]

If it starts with "i" and has a little apple on it, I'll buy it. Wait, it doesn't? I don't understand the purpose of this device.

 

[Grayscale]

If T-Mobile can use Google's good name and can combine it with a good phone, I think, just for the fact that iPhone is so huge, it can compete. I think Google should have designed the phone and had their logo on the top though.

For people wanting to be different and cool, they are looking for something other than iPods and iPhones.

i might have this wrong, but i think it's HTC manufactured, loaded with Google mobile OS (Android) and is distributed by T-Mobile and run on that network.

If it starts with "i" and has a little apple on it, I'll buy it. Wait, it doesn't? I don't understand the purpose of this device.

i do know that some tech sites listed the fact that it's not as aesthetically pleasing as the iPhone as a downside, but i figure people who buy apple products cause they're pretty probably dont consider much else when picking a phone platform.

 

[Jack Flak]

I understand. I don't buy BS overpriced Apple junk, myself.

 

[Grayscale]

I understand. I don't buy BS overpriced Apple junk, myself.

i usually dont make a habit of it.

i do have an iphone since the applications and interface is so useful, but im not really a fan of all the hype. and catching all the crap i get at work for buying a competitor's product, not to mention one that has put such a dent in our numbers.

i said id switch back if we had 3G and something similar, and they did deliver, but even if i wasnt getting such a good price id probably switch anyways since i really hate the lack of tactile feedback on the keyboard (i have bigger hands)

my best friend is far more of a tech device nut than i am, im gonna wait to see what he thinks of it.


maybe a better title for this thread would have been: google and world domination

 

[Jack Flak]

The only reason I'd get a "more than just a phone" would be conspicuous consumption, and that's not a huge motivator for me. I have lots of sunglasses already. While using some PDA device the only thing on my mind would be how much I'd rather be using my home computer, a rather nice piece of kit.

 

[Grayscale]

The only reason I'd get a "more than just a phone" would be conspicuous consumption, and that's not a huge motivator for me. I have lots of sunglasses already. While using some PDA device the only thing on my mind would be how much I'd rather be using my home computer, a rather nice piece of kit.

agreed, but i put a high premium on my pocket space...

i used to be a critic of products that "did everything but none of them well", but we've come a long way. the camera definitely holds it own, the MP3 player has more than enough space, and my favorite feature is the GPS on google maps... i like to travel, and most often that is in new places in the city. it's pretty nice being able to punch something in and see a real time map of you and what youre looking for when on foot in a new place

im hoping the G1 will answer my gripes with the iphone, a tactile keyboard, better battery life, MMS (the lack thereof is kinda retarded, this is 2008 right?), and lastly the fact that it's an apple product (yuck)

 

[millerm277]

I've got a T-mobile Shadow (Rebranded HTC Phone), running Windows Mobile 6, and it's pretty great in it's own right, but I think the G1 will be a worthy upgrade, as it fixes the gripes I have with the Shadow. (A bit sluggish, battery life). If they release a good media player for the G1, I'll probably buy it. (I've heard the one that's there now is fairly basic)

 

[Ivy]

That's funny that a Google product is supposed to be the renegade option now. Google was "different and cool" a few years ago. Now the "different and cool" people are jumping ship on Google's online stuff because it's popular and well-known, just like they have with ipods and iphones. I guess I'll stick with the devices and services that meet my needs and please me the most, which right now is an iphone/gmail/google calendar/itunes/whatever. How popular it is doesn't concern me much beyond increasing the chances I'll hear about it.

 

[Jack Flak]

I'll probably get an iphone in 2028 when it's retro-chic.

 

[ajblaise]

And I'll say to you, "You still use a phone? That's hella lame. lol"

 

[Ivy]

All the cool and different people have neural implants now. You are SEAU behind the times.

 

[Xander]

HTC phones are cool. Not so sure about the look of that one though. Not only would I scratch the surface but now I'd be altering stuff with the joystick.

Looks tacky. I think I'll stick with the HTC Diamond as my choice for my next phone.

 

[swordpath]

I have a Blackberry and I'm not as into it as everyone else seems to be. It works as a phone though so I'm not in a rush to replace it. I'm a sucker for over priced Apple products but I'm interested to see this google phone in action.

 

[Grayscale]

That's funny that a Google product is supposed to be the renegade option now. Google was "different and cool" a few years ago. Now the "different and cool" people are jumping ship on Google's online stuff because it's popular and well-known, just like they have with ipods and iphones. I guess I'll stick with the devices and services that meet my needs and please me the most, which right now is an iphone/gmail/google calendar/itunes/whatever. How popular it is doesn't concern me much beyond increasing the chances I'll hear about it.

i dont really understand people paying for a several hundred dollar device as a fashion accessory.

although, a decade ago i could have told you that inevitably the power of computers would be harnessed in such a way that each person would have portable access whenever they wanted, still it seems many people do not view them as a tool.

computers are a very important and powerful modern day tool, they perform so many things and most importantly connect us, now, in more ways than ever. it was only the logical progression that this would converge with something almost everyone has, a cellphone.


anyways, that is why i find breakthroughs exciting... not because its the most fashionable, or latest and greatest, but because i cant help but think of the impact that cellphones and, in the last few years, mobile computing has had on society and will continue to have.

really, i am less excited about the G1 itself, and more excited about the platform it provides for the open-source developers.

 

[Jack Flak]

LOL I spend enough time on my damn PC to have some Pocket 'Puter follow me around all day.

 

[pure_mercury]

I have a friend who is an Assistant Manager at a T-Mobile outlet, and I am getting one of these at a discount. Also, I have been on T-Mobile since the old Voicestream days (my mom, my sister, and I had the family plan back then). I won't pay more than $150 for this.