Google - Android aka T-Mobile G1 is alive
Just minustes ago the Google Phone, better known as Android or G1 as it gets advertised by T-Mobile got presented in a press conference in New York City.
The Android stands for a new concept in mobile phones. Open source software which could run on every mobile phone powers the Android.
T-Mobile will be the carrier on the american and of course the german market for the G1 as T-Mobile calls the phone which is produced by HTC.
In the press conference Christopher Schlaffer (T-Mobile), Andrew Rubin (Google), Cole Brodman (T-Mobile) and Peter Chou (HTC) presented all the features that the main iPhone competitor will have. The strongest sales point might be the G1 syncing abilities. The minute you edit a contact or save a phone number in your address book or create a new calendar event on your Android it is already available through your G-Mail account which allows nearly unlimited exchange of any information from every device you use.
Because of the open platform the G1 uses, T-Mobile, Google and HTC expect developers from around the world to engage in the development of the software and to create numerous new applications which will be open source as well and which will expand the possibilities this new type of phone os offers.
As the market for mobile phones is expanding at the speed of light, it is no wonder that big companies like Google expect the mobile phone market to be the main business platform of the future.
As one could see during the demonstrations at the press conference, the G1 is a touchscreen phone which seems to be working perfectly. It seems as if finally a company has managed to produced a touchscreen which works as perfect as the iPhone’s one.
The Android has a built in camera with 3 megapixels, similar to the Sony Ericsson K800i. There are several applications built into the phone. It will be launched in the US on October 22nd, in Great Britain in November and in other countries in 2009. It contains a photo application which allows you to “frame” a picture and drop it on your home screen. The phone as well has a music downloader which features a search by artists and albums. The music store itself is linked to Amazon.
The G1 will be available in the US for $179 and you have to sign up for a two year data plan: $25 with unlimited data and some messaging, $35 with unlimited data and messaging. It will use the fast G3 network but can be used in networks that are not G3 ready as well.
The ability to read word, pdf and excel files is another feature that will attract customers. As the G1 is a slider phone it contains a real keyboard which allows for fast typing.
The final question, if the advanced technology that the Android uses will attract the general public as much as the people more interested in function than form will be answered in the months to come. As the iPhone has become a fashion item since it’s launch the G1 which looks quite minimal won’t be able to compete designwise, but for the heavy G-Mail users with it’s ability to sync on the fly and for those who use their phone to be able to work when they are not at their desk, the G1 offers some big advantages.
Some tech specs are already available:
* HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
* WiFi
* 3.1 megapixel camera
* Android Market for on-device app purchases
* Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
* Push Gmail support with full HTML client
* Bluetooth
* Google Maps with Street View
* size 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 inches
* weight 5.6 ounces
* display 480 x 320 HVGA
* GPS
* 8GB memory
* talktime: 5 hours
* standby: 130 hours
During the hours to come all technical details of the Android aka G1 will be available over at T-Mobile’s G1 website. Right now the stream of the presentation can be watched right here. We’ll be closely watching the Android/G1 in the future, so expect more info to come on our behalf.
