
Second 'Google phone' is unveiled - pierrefar
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7894516.stm
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amvp
Mobile phones were a solved problem. You can buy a almost indestructible low-
end Nokia or SonyErricson that's small, will make clear phone calls, pair with
a bluetooth headset, has a keypad sufficiently good for sms, and a battery
that lasts the better part of a week - all for less that $100. Remember when
phones used to be big, fragile... we waited so long for them to get better!
And the did, eventually, then it was hard to imagine what more we'd want in a
phone. We had it all!

It seems to me that the revolution of the iphone and it's ilk, is that it has
inspired the manufacturers and users to see the promise of the next generation
of devices.

Unfortunately even the best of existing technology isn't able to deliver on
that promise - mobile internet speeds aren't as fast as we'd like them to be
(Apple had to speed it up in the adverts), the keyboards range from passable
to intolerable, and the battery life - well, the best way to make any of this
generation of devices last all day, is to not use them as much as you'd like.

How long does HN think it'll take until this generation of devices is mature
again? How long before we don't have to make a tradeoff to get everything? 1
year? 5 years? More? GSM mobile phones have been around for 15 years now.

And yes, I know there's the next next big thing waiting around the corner,
once smart phones and mobile internet devices are a solved problem.

But if I wasn't excited about that, I woudn't be on HN.

~~~
peregrine
Idk I'm very happy with T-Mobile's G1, and I'm not even in 3g coverage.
Regardless the speeds I get are at least 2times faster then the '3g' I had
with Sprint. Very happy with T-Mobile.

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lunchbox
Video here: <http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/17/htc-magic-first-eyes-on/>

Although the phone does not have the most impressive hardware specs, it's nice
to see a powerful company like Vodafone show support for Android. (FWIW,
Vodafone has a 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, but Verizon, which owns the
other 55%, is not part of Google's Open Handset Alliance.)

~~~
andreyf
I really want Google and Android to succeed, esp. against the iPhone, but I'm
just not seeing it in these devices - the scrolling isn't instantaneously
responsive as it is on the iPhone, the keyboard and drop down styling is a
cheap ripoff of the iPhone... this just isn't going to cut it. And a
proprietary headset? Really?

~~~
adnymarc
I am really interested to see where Andriod devices go in the marketplace. I
really like my iPhone but would happily consider an Android phone if it
offered the same level of hardware/software integration and polish of
operating system I enjoy with the iPhone. I think the biggest struggle for
Google may be providing that experience since they do not manufacture the
hardware.

~~~
davidw
If Mac, Windows and Linux are anything to go by, no one else will really make
something quite as nice as the iPhone. What they will do is make things that
are good enough looking, open enough, and diverse enough, that they will grab
segments of the market that Apple will never even go after. That's my hope at
least, I'm just not interested in being locked into Apple's world. And the
fact that Android is open source is seriously cool for people who want to
really do interesting things.

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pclark
>> The touchscreen HTC Magic will feature a 3.2 Megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and
GPS, but no slide-out keyboard

Is there any further information on what technology they'll be using for their
keyboard? I'm hoping someone will use the Swype stuff.

~~~
pierrefar
I thought it was the Cupcake's update soft keyboard. There were a couple of
leaked videos about this I think...

~~~
cdibona
It was, but there is no reason you can't swap out the keyboard, the os
supports it. Some carriers will want alternative IMEs, after all.

~~~
Zaak
Yes, from <http://source.android.com/roadmap> :

    
    
      Q1 2009
     
      Input method framework (IMF)
     
      This feature will enable support for input methods other than physical
      keyboards, for example soft keyboards. IMF will also enable application
      developers to provide IME (see below) applications based on the framework.
     
      Input method engines (IME)
     
      IME will support soft keyboards, a dictionary of suggestions, and a
      suggestion algorithm. The Android platform may contain a few reference IMEs,
      and developers can provide IME applications through the Android Market.
    

Personally, I'm looking forward to something like Palm's old Graffiti for
quickly entering a bit of text without having to pop open the keyboard.

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AndrewWarner
Any idea why they wouldn't let customers use the headsets they already have?

~~~
Radix
A comment on HN a while back suggested that Apple had asked Google not to use
a standard jack for controlling the phone. Apparently one of the google execs
is connected to apple. It's fuzzy but I think it's at least plausible that
they didn't do it to lock customers down or out.

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critic
Will Google phones catch up with iPhones in popularity?

~~~
truebosko
They may not be able to "beat" Apple, but I think they have a good chance of
moving forward rapidly in the phone OS market.

N amount of phones released for a variety of demographics and lifestyles from
different carriers. Their chances don't seem that bad

I don't own an Android based phone, but I can see myself owning one in the
next 1-2 years because of this exact reason.

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samueladam
Doesn't look as nice as the Palm Pre.

