T-Mobile and Google Introduce First Android Phone

[Ntombi]

No desktop application to sync? I'm not impressed.

Exactly.

Even if I didn't have an iPhone, I wouldn't consider this at all; I need desktop integration, like I've had for years already.

That, plus the lack of 3.5 mm jack and the fact that it offers hardly anything I wasn't already getting on my Palm Treo makes it a nonstarter for me. I agree with whomever called it a consumer, not a business phone, though I would just say it's not a real smartphone, it's a "fun" phone with extra features and a keyboard. And not that impressive even for that.

Too bad. Maybe the next Android phone will be more business-friendly. Or maybe they aren't planning on targeting that market?

 

[zacman]

You can get 8GB card that will fit in that phone for under $20? I seriously doubt it.

Just checked for Germany. You can get a SanDisk 8GB micro SD card for 17,50 eur, that's around 25usd according to google. This price already includes 19% VAT. Without VAT it's ~21USD. I'm sure there are cheaper dealers than Amazon though. So < 20USD shouldn't be a problem.

 

[NAG]

At that price they have to target business eventually. Most consumers don't throw that kind of money around for a phone.

 

[ErikCLDR]

Too bad T-mobile service sucks in much of the United States.

 

[Wolfpup]

The lack of a normal headphone jack stinks, and it'll take some time for software to flourish (though it's not really far behind the iPhone/Touch platform, and will probably develop faster since it's open), but I hope I can have one of these within a few years on my carrier.

This seems like a really nice start to me! I wasn't sure where Android was going to lead, but the actual first result is a lot more/better than I was expecting.

 

[Wolfpup]

Too bad T-mobile service sucks in much of the United States.

Not according to Consumer Reports. In most markets it was the best or second best carrier, kind of flip flopping with Verizon. WAY better than AT&T on average, though of course you're going to find exceptions to everything.

I'm on a huge "regional" carrier (U.S. Cellular) that destroys both T-Mobile and Verizon's coverage though, but I'd be okay with either of them.

 

[Lastaria]

Seems quite good. I would say it could easily become the big competitor for the iPhone, and it does have some advantages. But it does not appear as sleep or well designed in the end. Apple may see what goes well for this and use it in their next iPhone models.

If the iPhone did not exist I would certain consider getting one. But as it does that will be the next phone I still buy.

 

[rneglia]

Music player looked like it came from the 80s.

I liked the 80's. They should have made it look like this:

 

[NoExpectations]

$179 not a bargain

Do they (T-Mobile and Google) really think that they will sway a lot of consumers away from the iPhone ($199) by 'saving' them $20? There are simply too many deficiencies with this phone. Even if this Android Phone was on par with the iPhone, feature for feature, it still lacks the iPhone's "cool factor". No one will ever walk up to a teenager and say "Wow...an Android Phone!...where did you get that?!"

 

[alphaod]

so why can't gmail on the iphone be push?

I don't know, but Gmail pushes on my E71.

Not according to Consumer Reports. In most markets it was the best or second best carrier, kind of flip flopping with Verizon. WAY better than AT&T on average, though of course you're going to find exceptions to everything.

I'm on a huge "regional" carrier (U.S. Cellular) that destroys both T-Mobile and Verizon's coverage though, but I'd be okay with either of them.

I hear Telus is amazing; too bad, I don't live in Canada.

 

[owen-b]

Absolutely hideous handset. Really, genuinely, utterly hideous - that's supposed to be an iPhone killer? Copy and paste, sure, but the rest? Get real.

A real shock. I was expecting something cool from Google.

 

[w00master]

Here is what you don't get. The labels are NOT letting Apple sell DRM free music.

No, it seems to me, you don't get it. I DON'T CARE. I'll buy from Amazon until iTunes starts offering more DRM free music. So, again, how is this my problem and not Apple's?

It is Apple's problem but the music will never be DRM free until the label's agree to it.

See? You actually agree with me. Again, how is this my problem and not Apple's?

You might as well keep buying from Amazon since the label's want Amazon to take business away from Apple and I can't see things changing.

So, how does this change my situation again? I've been buying from Amazon, and I will continue to do so. Their UI design is more than adequate, and I get DRM free music. Win for me. Again, why is this my problem and not Apple's?

 

[paolo-]

Haha

Some comments in this topic are quite funny.

The whole copy/paste debate kinda makes me think of single button/two button mouse. I don't think anyone would think it would be a BAD thing if apple did put a copy function. While you're at it. you could just skip the whole iPhone and just use your computer and pay-phones... it's just potential waiting to be used.

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.

Most of you are going to say that that is exactly like a PC linux os, and we all know that aren't all that great. But, you see, a computer is a much bigger machine that should do much more than a phone. Developing for a phone means smaller apps, exactly what open source developers are great at.

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.

If planned right, Android could end up being better than mac phone os and it's windows counterpart. It just needs to get it's ball rolling...

 

[WBrasington]

No, it seems to me, you don't get it. I DON'T CARE. I'll buy from Amazon until iTunes starts offering more DRM free music. So, again, how is this my problem and not Apple's?




See? You actually agree with me. Again, how is this my problem and not Apple's?



So, how does this change my situation again? I've been buying from Amazon, and I will continue to do so. Their UI design is more than adequate, and I get DRM free music. Win for me. Again, why is this my problem and not Apple's?

You just let me know when that great Amazon solution works everywhere in the world.
Until then, we'll just see what the music solution for an Android phone is going to look like everywhere else.

 

[joemama]

MMS is yesterday's technology. It will go the same way as WAP.

Um, no, it's not. Perhaps people with iPhones who EMAIL other iPhone users believe that, but the 90-plus percent of us send video texts.

Down the road, yes, it will change, but not for at least another 2 years or so. What's better, being stubborn, or getting more sales?

It's one of the reasons I'm waiting to buy an iPhone.

 

[w00master]

You just let me know when that great Amazon solution works everywhere in the world.
Until then, we'll just see what the music solution for an Android phone is going to look like everywhere else.

Hey, I feel for you there. I was (insensitively) talking from a US only perspective. In your case, I do understand.

 

[jbernie]

its not quite as open a phone as google claimed it would be - its locked to tmobile - i can't use it on any other network. it has a Propriety headphone jack. you MUST have a gmail account to make it work. no exchage support. limited memory (they say 8gig is the max).

Though not necessarily elegant in the sense of it being an all in one package, you do have the ability to have multiple memory cards and expand at your own pace. Personally I would prefer to not carry multiple memory cards around, but it sure beats having to buy a completely new device to get extra storage, your memory upgrade path isn't influenced by your carriers willingness to let you upgrade either.

As to having to have a gmail account. Shrug. I don't need or want one, but as it is free, sign up and don't use it.

As to the tmobile only, the OS isn't locked to a carrier, the particular handset that has been released is. Any carrier can release an Android based handset if they so choose. AT&T may not go for it as they have the iPhone, but the other carriers can be quite interested.

 

[Mazda 3s]

I think that a lot of people are missing a key fact here...

The T-Mobile G1 is not the "de-facto" "end-all-be-all" of Android-based phones. This is NOT the only Android based phone that will be released. Quite the contrary, this is just the beginning.

This isn't like the iPhone where you have basically one phone that is design locked and carrier locked for basically a year until the next generation comes out.

We will be seeing phones from the likes of Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T all using different designs. So if you think this one is ugly, well unlike with Apple, there will be a number of differing designs to choose from.

So if you don't like the G1's "fugly looks" or lack of a headphone jack, well fine -- there will be other Android phones out there to suit your needs.

To simply look at the T-Mobile G1 and damn the whole Android platform is pretty idiotic.

 

[w00master]

As to the tmobile only, the OS isn't locked to a carrier, the particular handset that has been released is. Any carrier can release an Android based handset if they so choose. AT&T may not go for it as they have the iPhone, but the other carriers can be quite interested.

This is exactly correct. I do know that VZW is eventually planning to release an android based phone as well.

AT&T has not said outright, but I would not be surprised if AT&T eventually releases one as well.

 

[NAG]

The lack of a normal headphone jack stinks, and it'll take some time for software to flourish (though it's not really far behind the iPhone/Touch platform, and will probably develop faster since it's open), but I hope I can have one of these within a few years on my carrier.

This seems like a really nice start to me! I wasn't sure where Android was going to lead, but the actual first result is a lot more/better than I was expecting.

That it being open means faster development is a complete farce. Have you seen bug trackers for open source projects? And this is ignoring the whole myth that the iphone is 100% closed (hint: it isn't). Open or closed, it says nothing of the speed of development.

 

[EMT123]

Are we feeling threatened/nervous with the introduction of this device

 

[milani]

Copy and Paste! What a kick in the pants.

Good. Now Apple has no choice but to implement its own C&P system.

 

[NAG]

Good. Now Apple has no choice but to implement its own C&P system.

They always said copy and paste was on their list for future features. They just said it wasn't high priority (with high priority being things like stability and push notifications...which I agree with, I'd rather have a functional IM app than copy and paste at this point).

 

[Mazda 3s]

I agree with whomever called it a consumer, not a business phone, though I would just say it's not a real smartphone, it's a "fun" phone with extra features and a keyboard. And not that impressive even for that.

Hmmm, sounds JUST like the first generation iPhone. But look what happened a year later for the iPhone!! Better corporate support, App Store, iTunes Music Store, etc.

It'd be great if people would give Google the same chance/opportunity, but I guess that's asking too much...

 

[milani]

They always said copy and paste was on their list for future features. They just said it wasn't high priority (with high priority being things like stability and push notifications...which I agree with, I'd rather have a functional IM app than copy and paste at this point).

Yes, and my point is that now it's going to be on the list of high-priority things to get done. As far as push vs. copy and paste, I'd rather see copy and paste over push. Push has some uses, but copy and paste has far more uses for the average user. Really though, I expect to see both features in the next significant release, and it shouldn't be a one or the other scenario anyway - when you think about it, they both fall into the same category of allowing types of background processes for both native and App Store applications.