The Google Switch: an iPhone killer?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted January 18th 2007 8:51AM
posted January 18th 2007 8:51AM
Color us skeptics on this one, but we've got a tipster claiming to have the scoop on Google Switch. This version of the mythical Googlephone is said to be the result of a collaboration with Samsung -- not Alpha Networks or HTC. Of course, it's a button-less touchscreen device as is the rage these days only this time with GPS built-in for pinpoint navigation around Google Maps. What's pictured in that all too familiar blur (Photoshopped?) is the phone's contact program said to be an extended version of Gtalk combining Gmail, text and instant messaging. According to our tipster, the device doesn't have any on-board storage. That's right, all your applications are served up over the network with new apps "attached" to your account via a web interface. So what is it... the real deal or engorged fanboy fantasy? Check the gallery below for biggie pics suitable for dissection.
Apple, Inc, has touted the Iphone therefore it is now OK to take potshots at it.
The Iphone looks interesting but there are other phones out there that do more and cost less.
Google has a much better reputation than Apple and if they come out with this phone, I will definitely switch.
Uh, scott, you're going to "switch" to the Google device? From what? Your nonexistent "Iphone?" Oh, and please inform me to the devices that "do more for less" than the iPhone, especially since its details are hardly solid...
Reply to fetus aka iPhone Kiss up
The iphone is missing some heavy stuff, the only thing that makes it unique is the touch screen, but even now thats changing, more and more phones are becoming better and are doing even more unique things, more than the iphone has done.
Also an answer to your cheaper than the iphone remark
LG viewty, cheaper than the iphone, more stuff,including speakers,GPS and suprise suprise a camera.
Plus I own a iphone and a viewty and Nokia N95 8G and a N76 and a Sony Shake phone and a Nokia N78 8G, sure the i phone is an amazing phone with very new tchnology, but that was the 2007 phone, update dude, the last time I checked my calander it was 2008. New Year, new phones,so get over the iphone, its dead the new era has killed it!!!
I disagree with you about the iphone. The email and voicemail interfaces are unique and there are plenty of apps to download to enchance the phones offerings. The phone works great for me and I use it heavily as a Realtor.
Jonathan
Greenville SC Real Estate
REALLY... stop comparing everything to the iphone people. The day i NEED two hands to use a freaking phone is the day that we revert back to Zach Morris phones. If the Google Phone is going to be a hit PLEASE dont be anything like the iphone. Show me one person that can text or navigate through their iphone as fast as a regular one or their blackberry. OH, WITH ONE HAND THAT IS.... mmhmm. screw the mobile market google, you need to come out with a web interface equalling a desktop pc situation that we can use anywhere we have an internet connection. like a weboffice or somethin... thats hot.
Now thats a good post.
I found this post about Iphone Killer
http://www.theburningsoul.com/my-blog/14-blog/197-do-we-need-a-iphone-killer
Check that out people
I would be interested in trying the GooglePhone. I currently have the 3G iphone, love it, yet hate the service, and the big phone bills! The iphone is still unique among phones but the competition is heating up....
Jonathan
www.CarolinaRealtyGuide.com
I will say the iphone has worked great for my industry. I work as a Realtor emails sometimes as leads. I can call directly from the email interface, I can use view properties and addresses, and can even use the MLS with limited viewing details. Its realy cool!
http://www.carolinarealtyguide.com
http://www.greenvilleinformation.com
Jonathan Kostyra, Broker
Photoshopped? Painted more like!
I sure hope this is true. Apple will try to profit on the launch, Google will see the bigger picture and long-term profits making it more user friendly right until They take over the world..........
Either both the phone and iPod are moving in the second image or someone forgot to blur the wood grain effect on the table... quick .. back into photoshop!
Quote " Uh, scott, you're going to "switch" to the Google device? From what? Your nonexistent "Iphone?" Oh, and please inform me to the devices that "do more for less" than the iPhone, especially since its details are hardly solid... " Quote
How do you know if he does not have an I-Phone. And by the way there are MANY other phones which can do the same thing as I-Phone just cheaper.
Text Messaging Interface - On a windows mobile device (version 5 or above) it is easy to replace the text interface, as long as you use the same text messaging receive & send api as the original.
Over All Skin - Of course you wont make it look entirely like the I-Phone, but you can get interface addons to change things around.
Email - Email, you can add many different add-ons and change ups to make it do MORE than the i-phone can.
Web Browser - Sure it might not have a full "blown" browser, but you can get pretty close, for instance, you can get a different borswer than IE mobile *like thunder or opera. And you can install Flash Player 7 Mobile, PDF Reader Mobile, Object shrinker, Java Code Mobile (have to tweak around with it to work). And a virtual Java Machine (Mobile version). Also with some other web tweak programs, you can save web pages for offline view and you can run special objects that are only allowed to work on computer (and if you have a remote connection to it, you get better browser).
You-Tube and Video:
Yes there are many programs which can tun you tube on a windows mobile device. It will require a little tweaking, but you can do it. There is a program called TCPMP, and a program called Are Es S Fetcher. You just have to use you-tubes API in conjunction with those programs and you are done. Also you can subscribe to entire you tube channels.
too good to be true.... but I will still pull some money under my mattress, just in case google sells this.....
About time Apple gets some competition. I'd like nothing more than to see Google whip Jobs' pants on the iPhone!
"About time Apple gets some competition. I'd like nothing more than to see Google whip Jobs' pants on the iPhone!"
Newsflash: Google's CEO is on Apple's Board of Directors.
Uhh, there is no real competition for Mac products... hence the $1 billion profit the company posted. Google isn't the answer to iPhone!!!
Mac just works better...
yeah, i agree.
google has onne of the best rep's ever, even more than apple.
google is just amazing, everything about them.
google is a formidable competitor.
Is every phone now going to be compared to the Apple Phone?
Ugh.
What happens with your apps when you have no reception?
Then it makes a handy flashlight.
Um, Google's head honcho is on Apple's board. I would like to think that either company won't do anything to jeopardize the other's market, but rather enhance it.
"The Iphone looks interesting but there are other phones out there that do more and cost less. "
Scott, your mentality is part of the problem, not the solution. Apple didn't make the phone to have a smaller price and a longer bullet list of features. Most technology dinosaurs out there are still trying to one up the competition with more features, while more advanced design groups are concerned not with a feature list, but how effectively it solves the problems and satisfies the desires of the users. This is at the heart of user-centered design.
I don't need a phone that piles more apps and features and buttons on top of what I have, but I would love a phone that thoughtfully assisted me in what I actually want to do.
Well I have no idea if the pics are photoshopped, but the idea of a "googlephone" running all of the google apps over the networks is quite intriguing...
No way. Wifi is nowhere NEAR ubiquitous enough to allow apps to be run off the network, and cellular broadband is too slow and/or expensive. That is, unless, you don't mind waiting 20 minutes for your browser or an hour for Google Earth to open...
apparently brian has never used vz broadband - the company may be evil but their cellular broadband is spectacular - i run a remote db app (2 TB database) over it constantly and you can't tell the difference between that and a wired connection.
WTF... if that's legit, that has to be one of the ugliest user interfaces I have ever seen on a mobile device..
http://www.digg.com/gadgets/Google_Switch_Google_phone_pictures_leaked_Pics
WTF! Don't link to a Digg story that links to the page you're linking from. That's just retarded!
its a black ipod video with a screen PSed on it...
This thing is awesome. I hope it works with T-mobile. I would get one today for $350 or less.
definitely
The Gabble?
"The Google Switch: an iPhone killer?"
Engadget, your reporting is starting to get a little tired and trite with all these potshots and comparisons to a product (iPhone) that hasn't even made it to market yet. And as Matt states above, why not an LG KE850 killer? Seems to me to be a case of contempt before investigation.
I totally called this one. Not three days ago I said someone would be riding the iPhone's heels with either a VERY bad photo-shopping of a non-existent product, or would be claiming Apple ripped off some other bad implementation of a totally dis-similar product.
Anyways,
You need on board storage (even just a little) to view wepages.
No storage at all = No web-apps at all.
Either way, it's either fake or totally inaccurate.
Add some saturation to either picture and you will see parts that are fake! Forgot to add big color noise to photoshopped screen...
My favorite piece is the text input field on the bottom, when clearly there is no way to input text.
You probably click on the field and an onscreen keyboard appears. Like the Wii
yeah, there are other ways around that. Like on a Treo, or I suppose a Wii, never seen one.
No on board storage is an iPhone killer? Huh? Does it run a full webbrowser, store and view movies, videos, photos, etc? Huh? Does it play your iTunes collection? Huh?
*Sigh*
If only...
I would like to remind everyone that the Google CEO is on Apples Board of Directors. Take that home and think about it, it makes no sense
lies. nice blurry pics.
obviously if someone has access to new technology such as this, they most definitely have a better cameraphone to take pics with.
Whatever that is, it's very doubtful it's a phone seeing as how there's no evidence of a mic pickup or speaker...
The GPS part is very, very fishy.
I was under the impression Google's deal with NAVTEQ for their map data probably doesn't allow GPS integration for fear of cannibalizing NAVTEQ's deals with GPS and in-car-navigation manufacturers.
Look at the left and right side bezels around the screen. Different widths. I call crap.
ditto what kevin said. Using my xv6700 I have come to believe that a smaller device that ran all the relevant google apps and stored my handwritten notes and other entries somewhere i could access them from whatever computer I happen to be sitting at wihtou resorting to wasteful and fault prone (or in the case of activesync completely non-functional) syncing would be the ideal. Sure, I'd like on board storage for music/video and off line work, but otherwise this is moving in the right direction. No stylus Jobs? Guess when you have lackeys to write your notes for you you forget what's important - that alone makes the podphone a failure out of the gate.
That bezel seems kind of thin. THough, there was a rumor of a Google OS a few months back, remember? Also the rumors of a gPhone, as well. YOu never know, but this particular picture seems fake.
We can only hope though :)
JSM said: "apparently brian has never used vz broadband - the company may be evil but their cellular broadband is spectacular - i run a remote db app (2 TB database) over it constantly and you can't tell the difference between that and a wired connection."
How much does it cost again? Apparently you conveniently missed the part of my comment eluding to the expense of cellular broadband. Oh, and the part of my comment about ubiquity. How ubiquitous is adequately fast cellular broadband again?
Get your head out of your ass. Or, if you are a VZ exec or marketing droid, stop spamming Engadget with your promotion, OK?
No tunes == No iPhone killer.
This is all about convergence and this device still leaves me carrying my music player separately, so there is no win in getting this without onboard storage. And since my nano can connect to the Nike+iPod sensor, the iPhone better be able to do that as well if they expect me to replace it. Will the iPhone be better than my Treo? Will Apple ever connect with a desirable phone company, i.e., someone other than Cingular?