Google’s Disruptive Android Strategy

The first Android phone will be announced by Google and T-Mobile tomorrow, September 23 at 10:30 AM Eastern time in New York City.  The phone itself is the HTC Dream branded as a T-Mobile G1. Beyond that everything about the phone is conjecture.  Most rumors put the device in stores Oct 13 at $199 on a two year contract.    Further rumor mongering  predicts UK and German releases, also on T-Mobile in October or November.  There’s also  the potential of a … Continue reading

How Big is the Android Phone?

Engadget has published a series of photos from a Chinese forum of what is almost surely the HTC Dream  in T-Mobile livery.  This is the Android phone which T-Mobile US is supposed to launch before year end.  The pictures show the same design as other recent leaked shots of the device. Up to now none of the pictures I’ve seen of the Dream have showed it in enough context to really judge it’s size. This has lead to some reports … Continue reading

Anticipating Android at Google I/O

I spent the day at the Google I/O developer’s conference here in San Francisco. What a great event and hugely popular. I attended all the mobile track sessions, three on Android and one on Gears for mobile. The day stared with Vic Gundotra’s keynote. Vince’s message was that Google wants to give developers the tools to build a better web, something Google and developers both stand to benefit from. He mentioned Google’s debt to the Open Source movement and said … Continue reading

Why Android Matters

The first public showing of Android prototypes at last week’s MWC generated a lot of interest although the comments weren’t all positive. Android was faulted for looking like just every other mobile operating system and for lacking the elegant ground breaking user interface of an iPhone. One commenter was disappointed by the lack of any sign of an integrated advertising platform or any other ground breaking APIs. These criticisms are somewhat valid but I think they miss Android’s real significance. … Continue reading

How to Define Open Mobile?

There’s a lot of buzz about openness lately. Google is developing Android, an open mobile operating system. The three biggest US mobile operators have pledged to “open” their networks. So what does this really mean for users and developers? I can’t predict what the networks and device makers will actually do but I’ve been thinking a lot about openness means to me as a user and as a developer. This post is an attempt to define what I expect from … Continue reading

Android First Impressions

Google’s released a early access SDK for their Android Mobile Phone OS. I’ve only had a few minutes to play with it but I’m already impressed. Google’s removed a lot of the initial barriers developers face when starting out with a new platform There’s none of the “register as a developer, wait for us to send an unlock code for the free emulator” (yes Nokia, I mean you) or give us a pile of money (Microsoft) for an IDE that … Continue reading