
Initial Thoughts on The G1 - ciscoriordan
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2008/10/initial-thought.html
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bprater
As an iPhone fanboy and iPhone app developer, I absolutely welcome the first
Android phone to market! Gogo G1!

I _want_ an aggressive competitor to iPhone. iPhone isn't perfect and having a
great competitor can only drive Apple to making their devices better.

~~~
altano
> I want an aggressive competitor to iPhone.

 _The_ iPhone. _THE_ iPhone. Just because Steve Jobs wants you to
anthropomorphize _THE_ iPhone doesn't mean you should.

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gaika
Thanks for explaining it, I always wondered why dropping _the_ articles
annoyed native speakers so much.

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yesimahuman
I don't think the design of the physical phone itself is enough to beat the
iPhone. I know people say it's all about the software, but that's not really
true. I don't understand why companies are trying to compete with apple
without making good aesthetic and behavioral design THE top priority. It's
like the zune vs. the iPod, and the G1 is the zune.

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enomar
It's been said many times before, but beating the iPhone isn't the point.
Google wants more people using phones with good web capabilities. Android is
trying to beat what most people have; crappy phones that can't access the web
very well. If Apple sells 100 million iPhones, Google profits too; more people
on using mobile web means more people using Google.

~~~
yesimahuman
That's a good point. But that only applies to google. T-Mobile would prefer to
beat the iPhone, wouldn't they?

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kqr2
Actually T-mobile is an iphone carrier in Europe. I'm sure they would offer
the iphone in the US if AT&T didn't have an exclusive deal.

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jasonoliver
HTC has a lot of stuff up their sleeves, this is just their first Android
phone for the US. froma design perspective, before the iPhone came out, HTC
was lightyears ahead of any other handset manufacturer. I'm very much looking
forward to their future Android phones, especially since i cant freaking stand
at&t and my iphone freezes/reboots all the freaking time. also waiting for
instinctiv shuffle for iphone 3g haha. and shopsavvy.

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markessien
The G1 sucks for one simple reason - it looks like it sucks. It's like
sticking the engine and dashboard of a ferarri in a 1999 mazda - the spec
sheet tells you it's great, it handles great, it's cool on the inside, but
it's still not going to impress any ladies when you drive up with it.

They should have put a little more effort in the external finishing.

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yesimahuman
It sounds bad, but I totally agree with you. People LOVE their apple products,
they have an odd attachment to them. (Rarely do you hear people telling you
they love their computer...well they do when their computer is a mac). They
are more likely to tell their friends that they should get one too.

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hassy
> People LOVE their apple products, they have an odd attachment to them.
> (Rarely do you hear people telling you they love their computer...well they
> do when their computer is a mac).

As Mitch Kapor once said, IBM PC is a computer you can respect, Mac is a
computer you can love.

