The Google Switch: an iPhone killer?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 18th 2007 8:51AM
posted Jan 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?
What's with all the "killing?" Is it impossible for two devices to co-exist in the market?????
One can only hope that the iphone is enough of a smack in the face to the competition that they come out with new products that are actually as good or better. I think the greatest thing about the iphone is that it raised the bar and if others can't keep up, they deserve their dismal failure.
@fanguad
Probably it has a stylus and some text recognition software, that way you can just write on the screen to input.
The only product that can actually be killed is the Zune, although that's not fair cause it was dead to begin with.
FAKE! The picture uses a photoshopped version of Motorola's new Linux UI. Plus, you know, the part where it LOOKS like a PHOTOSHOP.
I am curious to see how the new wave of touchscreen devices shakes down. Apple has entered a crowded market, where industrial design is only one part of the equation. Considering the time it takes to design devices like this, it seems that every major player has been working on a touchscreen device independently and now they are all simultaneously ready for primetime. Apple has enjoyed dominating the music player market, but they are swimming with sharks now...
Clearly a PS. If you're going to fake it, make it slick. This is not.
Is this thing even real? No onborad storage? What a joke. It's probably fake anyway. People will try to imitate the iPhone, but they will fail.
I decided to do some investigative reporting of this story and um... "took a walk" around Apple's development labs. I didn't find anything about this phone, but as the security guards were manhandling me out the door, I took this picture with my hidden shoe-phone.
http://nekomi.us/media/iPhone_cyborg.jpg
Yes! It's just what it looks like! Apple is making a version of the iPhone that walks and talks just like Steve Jobs, but has that iPhone interface we all love so much!
Sure, some of you may call BS on this photo, since it looks JUST LIKE a bad photoshop, and it looks VERY SIMILAR to an image on the first page of Google Images, but I SWEAR it real! I have insider information! I, uh... just left it at home.
(I love you guys at Engadget, but seriously, why do you post stuff like this?)
Wow, the iPhone is 5+ months from shipping and the phrase "iPhone killer" is already coined. Only in America.
I think this is fake but aside from that why, for the love of god, does every *competing* product have to "_______ killer" all the time? Just to whip up the fanbois?
Side note: doing a search for the endless number of times engadget has resorted to the tired "killer" label yields this excellent contextual ad placement:
Sponsored Links
Killer
Killer at Wal-Mart™ Wide Selection, Always Low Prices. www.walmart.com
"Hi, I'm a Mac."
"And I'm a, uh... Google... thing. RAWR."
http://www.thegooglephone.com
could be interesting...
I love how it's now apparently kill or be killed (the "iPhone killer") between products that may or may not even exist, and at the very least won't be released for some time. It's like some sort of meta-competition. Competition between actual products is so passe; now companies have to compete for the best rumors, even when it's not clear at all that either product in question would even be successful in the real marketplace.
Oh, and by the way, I think the real "iPhone killer" is all the other phones currently on the market. Not individually, but collectively. This is not the iPod all over again; this is a mature, saturated market.
I don't believe it at all. Fake, shopped, hoax, whatever.
google for a phone? sure. google for a phone with these ideas/pictures? no.
perhaps google would create a phone with a network interface, but it would have onboard storage. in order to understand what drives companies to produce something, you must think about the profit gains to be had. this stems from consumer preferences, which can be segmented. for example, many of the people posting here seem to think such a phone would bomb if it lacked music playback capability; however this is not necessarily the case. not all people MUST HAVE music playback. however, if the company sees that including such a feature produces more revenues than it will cost to include the feature, they will (obviously) include the feature. SO: if it is true that enough people are demanding a music service, then it will be included. dont lose sleep over it. if google makes a phone, they will make a product that reflects their brand: low cost (or free), creative, and easy-to-use.
getting back to the onboard memory issue, think about how small and cheap memory is nowadays! it would be seemingly silly to leave out a small onboard chip. perhaps some onboard memory could provide many of the network features at a limited level. remember, no reputable company (and most certainly not Google) would make a product that wouldnt work some of the time.
remember, all these things are pure speculation at this point. dont bid up the stock over it (unless you want to. i'll be fine with it, as tech stocks could use some help after yesterday's market...)
Remember the Apple Switch campaign? Google Switch? C'mon, it's a joke. Switch from Apple instead of to? Funny, but still a hoax.
OK so why is it always me that has to say the really important things! What freaking evil parrent would name their child Eldred Fylbrigg!
Why is it that Google and Apple get so many people saying such good things about them?
http://www.ourgreenville.com
Moar of dat app!
Compare the shadow on the iPod to that of the other phone. Don't seem to correlate very well.
Really wish this was true, but looks way to photoshopped and not even google-ish. It looks like a photoshoped PDA running Windows Mobile. Now, If im proven wrong then that would be amazing, but it just doesn't look real
My Treo 650 does more than the iPhone or the GooglePhone will ever do and I've been using it for a year...
if you take it and change saturation to +100 and lightness to +35 you can tell the screen was a separate layer and therefore Photo Shopped!
the concept nokia aeon is by far the best iphone challenger yet. this looks hardly ergonomic.
What a load of crap - as *if* it is real!. If the photographer was offered such a scoop, do you thickos *honestly* think he is going to mess up on the snapshot of a lifetime?... duhh!
iPhone and Apple are gonna leapfrog over all the clone-phones, shoving all others aside, and taking communication into the 22nd century. Good on them, they actually *know* how to invent, not photocopy other peoples inventions.
You're a naive gullible bunch, tbh!.
This is photoshopped, obviously. Compare the blurring of the iPod with the blurring of the... thing. Just not right.
Such a phone would be trivial to create for anyone . . . all the APIs are pretty much open.
This just prove my point that Engadget are Pro Apple Nazis. These people at Engaga are idiots. An iphone killer? based on what you morons? the iphone is an prove device on a inferior networks that cost $600 plus a $40 monthly/2 years contract.
This new google device should compared to the Sony E-Reader or the PSP. Afterall, its the best ebook on the market.
i will laught at you face when the iphone FAIL FAIL and FAIL.
I don't own an i-anything. I am totaly non-techno but somehow my name ended up on contact list of this alledgedly fake phone photo. If anyone discovers the source please post so I know whether to screen my calls (or lock my doors.)
Hehe, no storage, but everything will be shown through a web-like interface? So that means everything will be put on their server, which you have to get on your Google-phone through mobile-internet??
Lol, expect massive bills. Even if you don't make a call, simply typing a message or changing the settings will cost you data-transfer-costs :D
I'll pass, thanks.
If Google really wants to this - they have a real opportunity here to flip the phone industry on it's head and become a dominant player overnight. Picture this: A google phone, GSM, CDMA, WiFi, 3G...etc. capable that is totally unlocked, and able to be configured to work with any carriers data network. Make phone service VOIP and all that you need to get it working with any carrier is an unlimited data plan - every carrier has one for thier data cards. Bingo - worldwide domination of the wireless communication business. Google should sell it stand alone, independent of any carrier or plan, let the customers sort out which data service works best!
I have seen the page on the Google website which discusses Google's new phone. I personally think that the Google phone will absolutely KILL the iPhone... Apple is good, but Google kicks ass! For my full commentary visit http://www.tipsforonlinemarketing.com.
Take a look at Gpn (Global Phone Number) at http://www.watt.co.nz and you will understand that it is only a matter of time before an email address will be also your network phone number and that Google can either lead or follow.
Take a look at Gpn (Global Phone Number) at http://www.watt.co.nz and you will understand that it is only a matter of time before an email address will be also your network phone number and that Google can either lead or follow.
Hate to bursts your bubbles, but when it comes to technology there's always something better just around the corner. Believe that.
Apple should have made the phone part of the iPhone functional before even thinking of redecorating the iPod... smartphone? not.
YES. Thank you Google, you rock. I hope the google phone is as feature packed as the HTC Kaiser, as open to develop new software for as Linux, as simple to use as the iPhone, and as fast as google.
I would spend upwards of $1000 for such a device though I suspect google, in addition to the above four goals also will make the phone cheap and affordable for all.
I can't imagine that Google will aim for the same section of the market that Apple does.. more here http://knightknetwork.com/2007/09/04/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-iphone-killer/
Google phone will by no means by an iPhone killer. It would however be interesting to see on the features it provides to the consumer and at what price?
(http://thebizshow.wordpress.com)
gnu: "...iPhone and Apple are gonna leapfrog over all the clone-phones, shoving all others aside"
Seriously, I'm laughing at that so hard. Do you have any idea what the word 'fad' means? Research the 80's. Apple will have maybe three or four good years left before another company comes along and hands their asses to them. Ten years later everyone will say 'remember the iphone? I can't believe I spent $400/600 on it!' Trust me, something better is just around the corner - there always is! It just takes a younger generation of people to realize when something's not as cool as their predecessors thought it was. As for the google phone - I honestly think the premise is cool, but it won't be the be-all, end-all. Good for those who blew their money on an iphone. Frankly, as long as my phone can make or recieve calls - I'm happy. (Especially since I don't have AT&T/Cingular:X.)
Oh, and Apple's stuff isn't neccessarily better, it's good, but it sure as hell ain't better. I'm a Linux user, and let me tell you - I spent half as much money on my new computer as I did my old Mac, I swapped M$'s stupid Vista for Kubuntu w/Compiz-Fusion, and I'm ten times happier.
OK seriously people, Google phone ha, what a joke its just another rumor by people who dislike the iPhone, that want to get something else into the center of attention. Google phone not gonna happen since when can a phone run off no on board memory, and since when are blurred photo's legit?? plus user interface sucks iPhone at least put some work into it and hired an actual designer, to design the iPhone who ever photoshoped this photo, its time to redo it. oh BTW I've seen that photo before type ipod touch into Google images someones already photoshoped that image and this person only put a new screen design on it
Tim, it appears your right! Although:
Google announced the release of 'Android,' which is basically just an open-source mobile operating system. This makes me happier than if they were to announce a gphone. This means that other companies will be able to create a 'gphone' so to speak using this open-source software. I love open-source! Basically, now phones will be universally compatible, and customization reigns! I don't mean to bring up Apple again, but I hate how there stuff is never customizable. They try to cater to people who don't know what they're doing by using the 'one size fits all' philosophy. It just doesn't cut it for anyone who knows anything about computers.
In the world of technology, success depends to a very large extent on loyalty. Loyal ipod/iphone customers believe that nothing better can come outside Apple. Not of-course until they try something else. Human beings are creatures of habit. Habits die hard. Apple knows this. That is why they make their songs hard to play on other devices other than Apple's. I am absoludtely and positively sure that when the much talked about Google phone comes out, a lot of tech curious guys like me will buy it. If it does better than what we are used to, we will become converts. Otherwise, like most arranged marriages, it will flop. But I seriously doubt that any product that Google makes will flop that easily. I am eagerly waiting for this product. This just might be the next big thing in mobile commucications. If they make it play different files like WMA, Mp3, etc, and make internet connections broadband-like, I have no doubt that they will build a very powerful loyal customer base more than any thing else they have attempted.