T-Mobile Release New G1 SmartPhone
Internet Enabled Google Phone Uses Android Mobile Device Software
Sep 24, 2008
Coined by T-Mobile as “The Phone that's built for the internet”, the Google Phone, more commonly known as the G1, is due to launch on 22 October in the US, and in November in Europe. The G1 features superfast 3G networking technology, meaning website content will load quicker. The G1 will also be the first handheld device to use Google's Android software.
Google's Android Software
Google's Linux-based open-source Android software was designed to make complete web access for smartphones a reality. Android also allows for the development of software applications for Android-enabled mobile phones using the Java programming language. The Android source code is set to be released at the same time as the G1 launch.
The G1 online applications store called Android Market competes with the similar but more limited iPhone application store, where the number of available applications is restricted to Apple-authorized software only. The open-source nature of Android will allow anyone to create their own Android widgets and applications, and disperse them to other Android smartphone users.
The Android Market will be based on a user rating system, so that popular applications will be ranked highest. Both Google and T-Mobile say this application store will be unmoderated, and entirely user-driven.
Android software, along with superior 3G data networking, is designed for a faster, smoother mobile web experience. Talking to Yahoo, Cole Brodeman of T-Mobile said: “Consumers have a desire to connect, but they haven't found the mobile internet very compelling”. The Android-driven G1 seeks to address this desire.
Features of the T-Mobile G1
- 320x480 touch screen
- Hidden Qwerty keyboard
- Multiple browser windows
- Trackball navigation
- Features 3G data networking
- 192 MB RAM/256 MB ROM
- 3D graphics acceleration
- 1GB integrated storage
- 3-megapixel camera
- Android Market for on-device application purchases
- Amazon MP3 application for on-device music purchases
- Gmail support
- Bluetooth and Wifi enabled
- Google Maps with Street View
- Release Price: $179 with a 2 year contract
G1 Google Phone Vs iPhone
The G1's main competitor is Apple's iPhone. Both are internet capable, and both have built-in touchscreen technology. But the G1 has the technological edge. The Android operating system is expected to outperform the iPhone's. Not only does Android support multiple browser windows, but users are encouraged to develop and share their own applications – a market the iPhone does not cater for.
Another feature of the G1 lacking in the iPhone is the hidden keyboard, which slides out from the underside of the device. Along with touchscreen and trackball technology, the G1 is well equipped for internet navigation.
T-Mobile's Pieter de Klein, talking to the Daily Mail compared the G1 to the iPhone by saying: “Both use and exploit the internet in completely different ways. The G1 is more about being a communications tool, while the iPhone is more like a style object.”
Whether the G1's substance will dominate over the iPhone's style remains to be seen. Regardless, with the launch of the Google phone by T-Mobile, the future of the smartphone is bright: it's just not necessarily Orange...
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