

Google Phone is confirmed, employees already have them in hand - anderzole
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/12/google-phone-unlocked-confirmed/

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mbrubeck
I'm still guessing that this is just another developer device, like the
Android Dev Phone 1 and Android Dev Phone 2:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Dev_Phone>

Just like the current mystery device, both of those handsets:

\- are made by HTC,

\- are unlocked GSM handsets,

\- are sold directly to individuals by Google,

\- and have been given out to Google employees at all-hands meetings.

And Google was directly involved in the design of the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1 /
Android Dev Phone 1). For example, they pushed for the debut Android phone to
have a five-row keyboard:
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10387677-265.html>

So none of the concrete facts here (even the rumored ones) are unprecedented.
I don't see how Google selling a yet another unlocked handset is a big deal.
It certainly won't have a noticeable impact on the US market, competing with
subsidized hardware sold by carriers. Just like the ADP1 (T-Mobile G1) and
ADP2 (T-Mobile myTouch 3G), carriers will probably have locked version of the
exact same phone but at subsidized prices. The ADP is nice for some techies,
but for most mainstream US consumers it doesn't make sense to pay for an
unlocked phone.

~~~
danh
I think you're right. This seems to be what Google calls its "mobile lab":

[http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/12/android-dogfood-
die...](http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/12/android-dogfood-diet-for-
holidays.html)

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marcell
The iPhone/gPhone/Android contest aside, this strikes me as a strange move on
Google's part.

Suppose you are Motorola. You just developed the "Droid" and partnered with
Verizon for a well funded marketing campaign. You dumped Windows Mobile in
favor of Android, and tied yourself closely to Android OS by calling your
phone the "Droid." The Droid is your flagship product.

So, as Motorola, how do you feel about Google developing an official "Google
Phone"? How do you feel about the fact that they are doing this with your
competitor, HTC? How do you feel about plastering Google logos all over your
phone and it's software? How do you feel about the fact that the Droid runs
Android 2.0, and the Google Phone will run Android 2.1?

Moreover, if you are LG, or Samsung, will this affect whether you want to
partner with Google? If you are Nokia, will you start taking a closer look at
Symbian again?

And finally, if you are an average consumer that doesn't read TechCrunch or
HN, do you have the faintest idea of the difference between the Droid running
Android with Google, the Droid Eris running Android with Google, and the
Google Phone running Android?

~~~
coderdude
My Droid just updated it's firmware to 2.1 a few days ago.

~~~
bockris
Don't you mean 2.0.1?

~~~
coderdude
Yes.

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hristov
I like the idea of using a second mike to eliminate background noise.

~~~
chaosprophet
It's one of those head-smacking why-didn't-anyone-think-of-this-before kinda
ideas.

~~~
mbrubeck
It's a fairly common feature, for example there are several bluetooth headsets
on the market with dual mics for noise reduction.

~~~
jrockway
But zero actual phones, until this one.

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nakkal
Selling the phone unlocked will likely lead to a high upfront cost.

IF the carriers come up with a reasonable data only plan for it, we can save
by not paying for less used voice plan.

~~~
orangecat
_Selling the phone unlocked will likely lead to a high upfront cost._

Maybe not that bad. Apple can sell the iPod touch at a profit for $200, and
the phone hardware can't add that much. It's a long shot, but if Google does
this right they could break the stranglehold that the carriers have on the
market. That's what I was hoping the iPhone would do until Apple decided it
was more profitable to serve AT&T instead of its customers.

~~~
netcan
It may be the devil, or it may be the lord..

------
jacoblyles
I've been waiting for an Android phone without a physical keyboard. It needs a
platform that's sleek and sexy to compete with the iPhone in the general
consumer marketplace. People _say_ they want a physical keyboard, but then
they go out and buy 20 million iPhones.

~~~
mbrubeck
There are a few Android phones without keyboards already (e.g. the HTC Hero,
HTC Magic, and Samsung Galaxy) but I agree none of them has the build quality
or polish of the iPhone.

~~~
jacoblyles
Haven't heard much about them. The only ones that have gotten press are the G1
and Droid, both of which are bricks.

I'll have to check those out. I'm writing some Android software currently, but
my phone is an iPhone. I would love to switch (or not switch, if iPhone starts
allowing background processes).

~~~
sachinag
The Droid only _looks_ like a brick in photos. When you play with one, turns
out that it's about as thin as an iPhone 3G.

Now, the physical keyboard on it is crap, and I wouldn't buy one. But if they
made a Droid with only the soft keyboard, I'd camp out.

~~~
jacoblyles
I've handled one. Hate it. Maybe it's just the sharp corners and the clunk of
a physical keyboard snapping into place, but it feels larger and heavier than
an iPhone, and certainly larger and heavier than it has to be. Not sexy at
all.

If it _looks_ like a brick, then it's not going to turn any heads and nobody's
going to buy it. The iPhone, despite all its limitations, has sold over 20
million units. Geeks get too caught up on functionality, and miss what really
matters in the marketplace.

I just want an Android phone to have great commercial success, so I can
program really cool apps. But no phone designer really gets what moves the
market, except Apple.

~~~
jrockway
_If it looks like a brick, then it's not going to turn any heads and nobody's
going to buy it._

Blackberries are some of the ugliest phones in existence, but I see a lot more
of those than I see iPhones. The HTC Magic / Hero / Dream or the Droid is
infinitely more beautiful than any of the Blackberries.

(But, Blackberries are not popular because of looks or function; they are
popular because many large corporations mandate them. Just like why Windows XP
is so popular.)

 _I just want an Android phone to have great commercial success, so I can
program really cool apps._

Nothing is stopping you from programming really cool apps right now. (If it's
a money issue, don't worry -- the iPhone was a commercial success but nobody
is making a lot of money from really cool apps.)

~~~
jacoblyles
>Nothing is stopping you from programming really cool apps right now. (If it's
a money issue, don't worry -- the iPhone was a commercial success but nobody
is making a lot of money from really cool apps.)

I'm looking to do something with background processes + network effects (needs
enough people using it to make it interesting). I've actually wanted to make
apps like this for awhile, and then just realized that smart phones were the
perfect vehicle to make it happen, provided a whole bunch of people have ones
that enable background processes.

The iPhone would be ideal if it weren't sandboxed. So, I'll be making the
alpha for the Android and hoping the platform takes off.

I guess I could make it for the Blackberries and etc, but does anybody buy
apps for those?

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davidu
Played with it last night. Still can't hold a candle to the iPhone and you'd
think they would at least be able to match it since they have it right in
front of them to copy.

~~~
ramrod
Sorry but you're the CTO at open DNS and Google is a direct competitor to you
now. I would rather hold out for information from a more unbiased source.

~~~
mahmud
By that logic, a good chunk of software experts would be barred from
commenting on Google since they're in everyone's market in some capacity.

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mattmcknight
I made mistake of clicking on this...it so inefficient to find any information
within their self-aggrandizing bleating. It's not even a half scoop. Bah.
"Very trustworthy sources who have seen the phone say that it is the Google
Phone we first wrote about last month (despite the uninformed saying we were
dreaming). It will be branded Google and sold by Google as an unlocked phone,
which could change everything. As we wrote in our original post:"

------
sachinag
I was going to buy an iPhone 3GS on AT&T this Christmas break (so I could get
on a family plan with my siblings). If I'm reading this right, I can go ahead
and get that iPhone and if the Nexus One is that great, I can buy it in
January (as it will only be sold unlocked and unsubsidized) and just throw my
SIM card in there. My best guess is that AT&T won't have a problem with that.
Am I missing something here?

~~~
spot
that will get you edge but not 3G data speeds due to radio frequency
incompatibility.

~~~
pkulak
We don't know what frequencies this is going to support, do we? For all we
know, it could be an AT&T phone, or they could be be making two versions, or a
single one that supports all frequencies.

~~~
spot
[http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f7/unlockers-t-
mobile-3g-...](http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f7/unlockers-t-mobile-3g-vs-
at-and-t-3g-7251/)

the article said tmobile and the networks are not compatible.

------
physcab
Does anyone have an HTC and enjoy it? I use an IPhone but I've had to
opportunity to use both the Droid and an HTC phone and I only liked the Droid.
The HTC seemed super cheap, almost as if it were designed for kids.

~~~
jraines
I actually like my G1 better than my sister's Droid. The keyboard is better
and I like the physical buttons rather than the touch ones for Menu, Back, &
calls. The droid seemed slightly laggy when flipping screens, and I also like
that the HTC only goes to landscape when you push out the screen.

I thought the same thing about the "feel" of the phone, at first, but 13
months later, the slider action and buttons and overall function of the phone
are as good as when I bought it.

My next phone will hopefully be another HTC with a keyboard that runs Android
2.0 with no visible lagginess.

~~~
Malus
The update to 2.0.1 on the Droid fixed a lot of the lag problems (well, at
least for me anyway).

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robk
It's exciting they're giving it out to 20,000+ employees. This is a pretty big
deal as many of them aren't technical as readers here and demand a more usable
experience than just a dev phone.

~~~
pmorici
It doesn't say they gave it to _every_ Google employee just that it was given
out at an al hands meeting. Given then you can't fit 20,000 people into one
room this article seems like hyperbole.

~~~
timcederman
It's every employee.

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sriram_sun
I've heard rumours in the past about Google trying to build their own fiber
optic / wireless network. What if they sell the device and voice/data plans?

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c00p3r
If they could manage good distribution and spend money on promotion under it
own brand across the world, they could get a serious market share, because
device is unlocked. Google is a much bigger brand than Apple outside US.

