Whilst the line up of people who wanted to buy iPhone 3G isn’t diminish yet, mobile phone manufacturers have started to make their moves to topple off iPhone as the holder of supreme phone in the mobile industry.
But who’s worthy to be the next “iPhone-killer”? Palm, BlackBerry, Nokia are all solid players who have been in the market for a long time but don’t have yet such device in ready. So our heads are now turning into the sight of Google’s Android, who’s basically a freshman in mobile industry.
The rumor mill on Android first handset to be out this September is rolling fast around the blogosphere, with T-Mobile (the 4th biggest U.S. wireless carrier) as the exclusive carrier who’ll offer it; according to Laura M. Holson & Miguel Heft from the New York Times (NYT). Here’s the exact line from the article:
” The HTC phone, which many gadget sites are calling the “dream,” will have a touch screen, like the iPhone. But the screen also slides out to expose a full five-row keyboard. A video of the phone has been posted recently on YouTube (watch it below this post). A person who has seen the HTC device said it matched the one in the video. “
Although NYT article did mention that T-Mobile plans to sell the “Dream” in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October; it’ll all depend on FCC to approve the release. And we can’t really sure if this rumor will become true or not, until allegedly the three companies (Google, T-Mobile & HTC) announce the “Dream” in September. Fingers crossed.
But what really set apart Android, or let’s just say the handset’s name for now: HTC “Dream”; to be so close expected as the handset that’ll fight head to head with Apple’s iPhone? For now, all we can know of is the “Dream” will sports a wide touch screen display to compete with iPhone’s.
One thing that Android platform is going to bring a great excitement into the “Dream”; is the application market place which is similar to Apple’s App Store. Which has been a big success for iPhone and iPod Touch with iPhone 2.0 firmware update, bringing in more income revenue for Apple. Both parties; Apple and iPhone/iPod Touch users, are getting mutual benefits from a centralized apps distribution like that.
Of course Google has seen the green (read: money), and decided to jump into similar pool Apple has created. Just like what NYT has reported:
” Google is eager to get the Android platform on phones quickly because it thinks that the mobile Web is vital to the long-term growth of its digital advertising business. “We can make more money on mobile than we do on the desktop, eventually,” Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said in an interview on CNBC this week. “
I don’t like to call Google is stealing Apple’s idea of App Store, because idea like this is eventually come out by market demands. And Google is starting it up early with Android, in order to catch up quickly before fallen behind too far from Apple. So if Apple has so far still trying to make order of its App Store, can Google pull off Android’s apps market better? That would be the crucial answer that’ll determine who’s the winner in the future.
It is still a long way for Google to answer that question now, since there are lots of Android software developers (219 developers to be exact) who’re being frustrated by Google ‘strange’ behavior on Android SDK. Such as delaying the new updates on the SDK, no news on the development schedule for the software, and worst is the lack of communication with the software developers.
Not all are agree that the “Dream” is going to be the ultimate arch-rival for iPhone, like what Kasper Jade from AppleInsider has said about Android first phone in his article:
” While the Dream is "apparently a hot item to show off in Google's cafeterias these days," those familiar with the device describe it as "big and bulky," and nowhere near as sleek as iPhone that's forever altered the landscape of the mobile industry. The Android software itself is similarly not up to par with standards set by Apple, leaving it feeling "less-elegant, less-user-friendly" just months before its slated to be unleashed into the wild. "
What do you think?
Sources are from:
- T-Mobile to Offer First Phone With Google Software (the New York Times)
- Google Says Thanks for Android Petition (PCW Business Center)
- First Google Android phone sighting reveals awkward iPhone rival (AppleInsider)
[blogged with my Treo 750v]