Google Phone Launched!

T-Mobile, along with HTC and Google, has launched the first phone based on Android. And it seems to have muscles to beat the iPhone.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008: Before Android could have become an urban legend, T-Mobile has announced the international launch of the world�s first Android-powered mobile phone. The phone was dubbed to be the only contender which could pose any real threat to Apple's mighty iPhone. As long as the Android was behind the curtains, it was imagination which was leading it to become an iPhone killer, but now out in open it is subject to close observation:

What G1 doesn't have

1 No 3.5 mm socket for your headphone to listen to music, you are stuck with HTC's USB headphones. The iPhone is a powerful music player with 3.5mm jack.2. No video recording out of the box, same is the case with the iPhone.3. No syncing feature with your desktop. You will have to connect to the internet to use contact, calender etc. services. They are available from Google, and for free.

What it does have which the iPhone doesn't

However, when it comes to online applications, G1 leaves the iPhone miles behind and that's what Google intended, go mobile, stay online. Google has offered almost all of its services for G1, and unlike iPhone, these are for free -- Google Maps Street View, Gmail, YouTube and others. Another advantage over the iPhone is presence of a physical QWERTY keyboard which makes it lot easier for those who like to write a lot and compared to 2-megapixel camera of the iPhone, G1 has a 3-megapixel camera with photo-sharing capabilities.

The goodies of G1 includes data. Since all of you info will also be synced to your Google account so in case if you lose or damage your phone, your entire database -- contacts, etc. will be stored in your Google account so you can retrieve it any time. A full HTML Web browser allows users to see any Web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on the screen. The G1 features a rich HTML e-mail client, which seamlessly syncs your e-mail, calendar and contacts from Gmail as well as most other POP3 or IMAP e-mail services. With built-in support for T-Mobile�s 3G and EDGE network as well as Wi-Fi, the G1 can connect to the best available high-speed data connection for surfing the Web and downloading information quickly and effortlessly.

Bringing the true PC experience to phone, the G1 multitasks, so you can read a Web page while also downloading your e-mail in the background. It combines Instant Messaging support for Google Talk, as well as AOL, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger in the U.S. With access to high-speed Web browsing and a 3-megapixel camera with photo-sharing capabilities, the G1 is ideal for balancing a busy lifestyle, whether sharing pictures, checking the latest sports scores or accessing social networking sites.

With Google Maps, G1 users can instantly view maps and satellite imagery, as well as find local business and get driving directions, all from the phone�s easy-to-use touch interface. The T-Mobile G1 also includes Google Maps Street View, allowing customers to explore cities at street-level virtually while on the go. Without taking a step, customers can tour a far-away place as if they were there � standing on the street corner. Even better, the Google Maps feature syncs with the built-in compass on the phone � an industry first � to allow users to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by simply moving the phone with their hand.

Customers can use the T-Mobile G1's 3G and Wi-Fi connection to attach and share pictures over email and MMS or download music from their favourite web sites, and soon, upload and post pictures to their personal blog. Built-in support for YouTube allows customers to enjoy YouTube's originally-created content, easily navigate through YouTube's familiar video browsing categories or search for specific videos.

Android Market Vs App Store

The T-Mobile G1 is the first phone to offer access to Android Market, which hosts unique applications and mash ups of existing and new services from developers around the world. With just a couple of short clicks, customers can find and download a wide range of innovative software applications � from games to social networking and on-the-go shopping � to personalise their phone and enhance their mobile lifestyle. When the phone launches next month, dozens of unique, first-of-a-kind Android applications will be available for download on Android Market, including ShopSavvy, an application designed to help people do comparative shopping.

Users scan the UPC code of a product with their phone�s camera while they are shopping, and can instantly compare prices from online merchants and nearby local stores. Ecorio is a new application developed to help people keep track of their daily travels and view what their carbon footprint looks like. With access to tips and tricks, Ecorio allows users to record the steps they take throughout their day to help offset their impact on the environment. And BreadCrumbz is an interesting application that enables people to create a step-by-step visual map using photos. Customers can create their own routes, share them with friends or with the world.

This is the first product based on Android, its just the begining we hope more will follow. "iPhone, are you watching? Android is coming to get you!"

Google rolls out Android to rival iPhone

GOOGLE'S answer to the iPhone has been rolled out as the web giant makes its biggest stab yet at leaping from consumers' computers into their pockets with a device cheaper than rival Apple's.
US carrier T-Mobile introduced the widely anticipated G1 phone, made by HTC, which has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard, Wi-Fi connections and uses Google's new Android operating system.
Available in three colours - black, white and brown - it includes familiar Google services, such as Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube.
Like the iPhone and other "smartphones" the device is meant to broaden the appeal of web use on the go.
"If we see more mobile web usage we'll be happy," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said after arriving at the launch on roller-blades.
His company, a powerhouse in online advertising, would benefit if Android led more mobile users to spend time on the web, no matter which phone they are using.

Google is well ahead of rivals Yahoo and Microsoft in web search on computers, but it wants to use Android to ensure this dominance carries over to the phone when mobile web-surfing becomes more popular.
But while no clear mobile web winner has emerged so far, Google faces stiff competition from longer established phone players such as Nokia, Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Microsoft, as well as Apple.
Analysts saw the device as a "good first step" rather than an iPhone killer, but some expect as many as 400,000 to be sold in the US by the end of the year.
A T-Mobile executive said the estimate was "not incredible."
The first step
When it becomes available to US consumers on October 22, the G1 will sell for about $US179 ($214) - slightly cheaper than the entry-level price of $US199 ($230) for Apple's iPhone - with a two-year contract.
The G1 will be launched by T-Mobile's UK unit in November and other European countries such as Germany, Netherlands and the Czech Republic in the first quarter of 2009.
"The G1 doesn't threaten Apple now, but Android has raised the bar for competing mobile platforms. The bigger concern here is for Microsoft and Nokia if Google can win over the hearts and minds of operators and developers," said Geoff Blaber, an analyst with British firm CCS Insight.
It is not clear when Australia will see a phone running Google's Android system. 12 hours before the international unveiling of the Google phone, handset manufacturer HTC held a launch in Sydney for the Touch Pro, a product unrelated to Android.
"We have no explanation as to why Australia is not introducing the Google phone," an external HTC PR spokesperson told SmartHouse Magazine.
When asked about the Australian release, a Google spokesperson told NEWS.com.au the T-Mobile phone was just the beginning.
"Our hope is that that Android platform will spur the development of thousands of different kinds of devices. The T-Mobile G1 is just the first step.
"It's still too soon to tell what forms Android-powered devices will take, but we're excited about the possibilities this kind of open platform will bring, and the benefits that users will ultimately enjoy."
Open source
Both Google and Apple are wooing developers to create applications for their devices, but unlike Apple, which keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and operating software, Google's Android is open to be changed by outside developers.
Asked if the user interface of future Google phones would look anything like the first one, Andy Rubin, who developed Android for Google, said: "Its completely replaceable."
For example, T-Mobile US product development vice president Leslie Grandy saw the carrier selling a range of Google-powered phones in future, including more basic ones without a touch-screen or full keyboards.
The new phone features Android Market, where customers can find and download free applications to expand and personalise their phones.
Mr Grandy said the marketplace would eventually include applications that are sold for a fee.
"Because the platform is open, we think Android is somewhat future proof," Mr Rubin , Google director of mobile platforms, told the audience at the launch.
A similar strategy helped increase the buzz around Apple's second-generation iPhone, which can support more than 3000 applications available online.
Amazon.com's digital music store will be loaded on the G1, allowing users to search, download, buy and play more than six million songs, pitting it against iPhone's music player.
The competition
Android also competes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, which has been solidly gaining ground.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou said his company, which has concentrated on Windows phones so far, is already planning more Android and Windows devices.
Mr Chou said he expected to have sold more than 400,000 G1 by the end of the year.
Android's biggest competitor is Symbian software, which represents 60 per cent of the smartphone market and which Nokia plans to buy out and open to other developers.
Nokia, which has about 40 per cent of the mobile phone market, has also branched into mobile web services such as mapping that compete directly with Google.
Speaking at a conference in Chicago this week, Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said he was not worried by new competition.
"The entry of Apple and Google - in fact today in a very concrete way - in mobile communications is the best possible illustration of the fact that there's a lot of possibility here," he said.