We’ve all heard and read the hype over the last few months, Google Android has been talked, blogged, chatted and twittered about in the blogosphere in droves… partly in response to the iPhone and partly as part of the Google Chrome hype.
Well, it looks like it’s finally here with T-Mobile’s G1… and there’s also a bit of a fluffy and clinical ad for it on Google’s Android page.
I think this could give Apple’s iPhone a bit of competition… for some simple reasons:
- The iPhone has become a mainstream commodity over the last few months… and people are beginning to look for something different.
- It’s cheaper.. in the US the G1 will be retailing for 179$… whereas the iPhone is 199$. 20$ is not much but in the current economic climate, you never know.
- T-Mobile’s 3G is connected in over 15 markets… and will expand quickly to just under 30 in the next year or so…
- In a direct dig at iTunes… Amazon’s music store has been pre-loaded.
- Better features? Check out the Streetview part of the clip…
More importantly, if the G1 becomes popular, more programmers and app developers will join it’s ecosystem… creating a positive spiral effect. In addition, it’s popularity will encourage smart phone systems like HTC to shift from the Mobile OS’s of Microsoft and Symbian…
As a user, the G1 handset itself did not entice me very much, but the way Android works definitely did. Yes, very similar to the iPhone and it’s interactive net-browsing… but I liked the way it locks, the street view implementation and the way all the Google applications have a single sign-on.
As a cynic on the other hand, I’ll wait and see how it goes… Android’s success will depend on how many users buy the Android phones. The G1 will definitely not eclipse the iPhone (with it’s loyal fanatic customer base), but in a couple of years will there be more users surfing, im’ing, and talking on Android powered phones than on iPhones…?
Time and Google’s dependency on the open model… will tell.
Postscript (26/09/08): Sony Ericsson is already showing interest.
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