Live coverage of Google's Android Gphone mobile OS announcement
By Ryan Block 
posted Nov 5th 2007 11:40AM
posted Nov 5th 2007 11:40AM
9:02AM PT - Ok, we're about to begin!
9:04AM PT - "Welcome everyone to the Google, Inc. conference call. Today's call is being recorded." Yeah, by us! Elliot Shraig (sp) from Google is on. "We have a number of companies here with an exiting announcement to make in the mobile space."
Sergey and Eric from Goog, Peter Chou from HTC, Zander from Moto, plenty of heavyweights. Eric Schmidt is kicking off -- Andy Rubin will join for the Q&A.
9:05AM PT - "Thanks everybody, for joining us. We're obviously very, very happy that this announcement is going out today. To give you some context, there are 3 billion mobile users worldwide... getting people access to information is very important. On Google's side we have a two part strategy... the part we want to talk about today is creating a whole new mobile experience for users, and we're going to do that with Android."
9:06AM PT - "Google along with 33 other companies are announcing Android, the first truly integrated mobile operating system. ... What's particularly notable is that it's available under a mobile open source license. It's incredibly important to say that this is NOT an announcement of the 'Gphone'... we hope there will be thousands of 'Gphones'..."
9:08AM PT - "... an unprecedented mobile platform... We couldn't do this alone. ... Users will have much better access to mobile experiences." Slow down, Eric!
9:10AM PT - Renee from Deutsche Telekom. "I'm delighted to announce T-Mobile is one of the founding members of the OHA. ... Our customers see real value in their offerings... we at T-Mobile strongly support and industry platform for wireless apps and services, and that brings us to T-Mobile's support for the OHA and Android. It can help us to create more value for customers..." T-Mobile will announce a device running Android in Europe and the US in 2008... "Details on how we plan to bring forth these services are not to be discussed on this call." Gee, thanks.
9:11AM PT - "We realize that with a platform like this there are virtually endless opportunities." Now he's rambling about synergy or some such bizspeak. Peter from HTC is up. "Thank you, good morning."
9:12AM PT - "On behalf of HTC I'm honored to be here today as a founding member of the OHA; I'd like to congratulate Eric, Andy, and the entire Google team on today's achievement... We firmly believe when it comes to mobility one size does not fit all... the law of mobile devices is giving quick and easy access to the technology users find most valuable." ... Ruh roh, Peter cut out there for a sec.
"We think this is a great opportunity for HTC to expand its portfolio. We plan to release the first Android phone in the 2nd half of 2008."
9:13AM PT - Next up, Paul Jacobs of Qualcomm: "Thanks, and good morning. Qualcomm is very pleased to be an active member of the OHA."
9:15AM PT - "We're particularly happy to be working with T-Mobile, an operator who's always driven the open internet model... as much as Qualcomm is known for pioneering CDMA technologies, it's also our business model that moved the wireless industry into an open, horizontal mode... Qualcomm's invested significant resources working on Android, working side by side working on both the mobile platform architecture and on" blah blah, now dude's just pimping his own products. Great, we all sooo care about Qualcomm chipsets, can you talk about friggin Android now?
9:16AM PT - "... we can now support services like video, location... if you look at the future of wireless, it's no longer about choosing a single radio technology, it's about apps and content..."
9:17AM PT - Ed ZANDR is up: "Good morning, like everyone else Motorola is pleased to be joining the OHA."
9:18AM PT - "I can remember back 20 years ago Eric and I talked about open software platforms... we at Motorola have long been an advocate of open platforms... we believe today's announcement is about more than any one vendor, it's about open platforms, open source, open brands, it's about creating devices organically connected to the internet and services."
9:19AM PT - "Consumers will see more innovative devices and services... we at Motorola have long been the leader in bringing open software products to market." Wait, what, Ed? "We at Motorola look forward to developing product with and for OHA members... in summary Motorola is proud to continue support of open platforms..." He's done fast.
9:20AM PT - Bill Wang, from China Mobile Research Institute: "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, first congratulations on the formation of the OHA. China Mobile is excited to work with Google... it will encourage faster adoption of smartphones in China. We are happy to see more attention being focused on mobile technology. We strongly believe and hear the vision of the Alliance."
9:21AM PT - "I wanted to thank Andy and Google for developing this platform..." Sergey Brin is up for closing words before Q&A. "Hello everyone." Ernie's on the line?
9:22AM PT - "Ten years ago I was sitting in a grad school cubicle, and we were able to build incredible things. There was a set of tools that enabled that... open source... Linux, GNU, python... all those pieces (and many more) allowed us to do great things and distribute it to the world. That's what we're looking at today. We're going to distribute the code, it's going to be freely available..."
"I'm really excited about this, I can't wait to see what the next generation of innovators is going to do with these tools." Q&A time. Andy's on the call now.
9:25AM PT - Q: "My question goes out to the handset manufacturers -- does your involvement in OHA mean you won't be participating in other mobile OSs?" Peter from HTC: "We actually look at this as a good opportunity to innovate... we believe this is more opportunity, we can do more... our commitment to other OSs is the same." Zander is babbling on about being committed to open source and open platforms again. "We do have some commitments with some of our carrier partners, but we've been working a lot on this kind of strategy."
9:27AM PT - Andy answering our pal Om's question: "All of this software will be available... within one week's time... handsets will be available in the second half of 2008."
9:28AM PT - WSJ: "Where does Google take it from here? How will Google's apps and services work with this platform? Will there be a prominent position for them on the handset?" Rubin: "One of the interesting things about Google's business is the flexibility and relevance... part of this Android solution is a very robust HTML web browser... contrary to a lot of the speculation out there, you won't see a completely ad-driven cellphone based on this platform."
9:29AM PT - Q: "This is not the Gphone -- will we see the Gphone, and what will it be?" Eric Schmidt: "We're not announcing anything, but this is THE (perfect) platform for building a Gphone. It starts a whole wave of innovation..."
9:30AM PT - Q: "Did you ask Nokia, MSFT, RIM, etc. to join the alliance?" (I.e. the other platforms...) Rubin: "We thought about this, we want anyone to join. This isn't a closed alliance, this is a fluid effort and remains open to people who want to join and contribute."
9:32AM PT - Q: "Is this platform for smartphones? Or driven into featurephones and lower end phones." Peter from HTC: "We're working on exciting devices, but the idea is to provide an optimized internet experience. As Andy said, there's a lot more we can do in the future." Paul from Qualcomm again plugs Qualcomm chipsets driving cheap smartphones. Psh
9:34AM PT - Eric: "The fundamental problem with most phones today is they don't have full-power browsers. We've been taking our mobile services and use specialized engineering to get them on other devices. No longer -- if you're using Android as your platform -- you won't have to shoehorn your app onto the platform..."
9:36AM PT - Again: "Does that mean there will be NO Google phone you can buy?" Sheesh people, get over it, Google's doing the platform! Eric: "Imagine not just one Gphone, but a thousand Gphones as a result of the partnerships... the many other people who will be joining the open initiative. We forgot to tell you that it's available next week, and the terms are the broadest in the industry." Again, a question about the Gphone. Again, Eric says: "We are not announcing a Google phone."
9:37AM PT - Q: "A little more detail on what the OS is, how it will relate to the existing Linux community?" Rubin: "Within a week we'll have further technical announcements to make. It is Linux-based."
9:38AM PT - Q: "Eric is on the board of Apple -- why did you do your own solution when on the board of Apple at the same time? Also, can I have the specs of a mobile phone that uses Android? Does it need a huge screen? A keyboard? What kind of device will be used?"
9:39AM PT - Eric: "It's true I'm on the board of Apple; I'm a very happy iPhone user. It's important to say that there will be many, many mobile experiences, and Android will be used on many other kinds of devices..." Rubin: "The second part: minimum reqs is about a 200MHz ARM9, software is compatible with small screens, large screens, QWERTY, non-QWERTY..." so apparently it's hardware flexible (dur).
9:40AM PT - Q: "I'm trying to understand the difference between this platform and WinMo and Symbian." Ummm, ok. GREAT question. "Will it fragment the mobile industry even more having developers develop for one more mobile platform?"
9:41AM PT - Rubin: "This one is open. In two ways: devs can put apps on top of it, and the whole OS is open source, so anyone can take it and modify it to their needs." Eric: "The industry has developed many proprietary technologies, but the best model to do volume is to be open, and the fact that Android is open software means that people who might even be competitors might be likely to both adopt it -- as long as it's good enough."
9:43AM PT - Q: "It sounds like it will ship with a certain set of capabilities, is there a minimum set of things that need to be shipped to be considered an Android powered phone?" Rubin: "There are no restrictions. ..." "Can carriers prevent users from adding in software / services they left out?" "That's not really a [Google] software question." (Was a little hard to track that one.)
9:45AM PT - Q: "Does this protect consumers in any way of installing software on their phones? Or can carriers create a completely locked down phone?" Rubin: "Please refer to the Apache software license... when you free something, it's up to the industry to do something with it." "So if the industry wants to create totally locked down devices, they CAN do it?" Rubin: "Yes." Eric: "While it's feasible, it's also highly unlikely you'll see that scenario."
9:46AM PT - Q: "The networks these devices will run over... how does this platform relate to the 700MHz auction?" Eric: "Two sep initiatives; Android will run very well on all existing data networks. We think the 700MHz network auctions are a matter of public policy and for public benefit, but Android will run well on it..."
9:49AM PT - Yeah, they're chatting about stuff quietly, hard to hear what's going on. Up the volume, guys!
9:50AM PT - Rubin on OS X: "As an open platform we're available for anyone to use, this isn't just one company's product."
9:52AM PT - Q: "Eric, I want to go back to the Gphone -- what's the deal?" Eric: "The deal is we don't pre-announce products... if there WERE to be a Gphone, it would run Android." "Can I ask a followup? To our readers asking what it means to me... what's it mean to the average consumer?" Eric: "This is fundamentally a developer platform announcement... the quick way of saying it, as a result of this platform you can do amazing things with mobile devices..."
9:54AM PT - Q: "What will the look and feel of an Android-enabled phone be like? How's this platform going to make it easier for people to get content on their phone?" Rubin: "It's an amazing UI -- it's interface is top-notch. BTW, the SDK is going to be available on an early-look, taking input from the community, interactively developing the interface and platform, Google will be providing some hosted services for 3rd party devs to distribute their apps or content. That will happen with direct connection like USB or memory card, or over the air..."
9:55AM PT - Final question: "Is there any coincidence of the timing with OpenSocial and this? How much overlap are you expecting with developers?" Eric: "Google announces products when they're ready; OpenSocial apps will run well on Android..."
"Thank you to everyone for joining this call... more info on OHA site. Thank you all again."
I knew knew you you would.
Android sounds promising but I'm not holding my breath.
The carriers and cell companies have the tendency to make software worse - like taking Windows Mobile and adding all sorts of crap to it - I cant imagine what they will do with this open software. Remember, they have the ability to lock it down if the want to too. How many flavors of Android will we end up with once all the carriers and cell makers get their hands on it and twist it in their favor?
Open Source is great and all for developers but very few open source programs receive the polished look consumers are expecting. Without one company pushing for a complete polished package I have a feeling this will turn into something like the Ubuntu OS project. A sort of Mobile OS for tech hobbyist.
How about some real details Google?
Mac OS X has taken the best bits from NeXT, BSD, Linux, BeOS, Solaris, Newton and Mac OS 9 and rolled it into a well polished OS.
Android is open source and so the best bits will find there way into future incarnations of iPhone's mobile OS X.
That would be great, actually. The first two features I hope they copy will be the open platform and the GPL rather than BSD.
Then again, both are things they could easily have done and turned off, so I won't hold my breath.
The wikipedia entry suggests that aliens are hiding backstage at the press conference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gphone
Well, it did say it before. Now it's gone...
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GPhone&diff=169403113&oldid=169402757
thanks shortfuse
Huh? What? lmfao!
http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/press_releases.html ful length press releases of all members.
http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html nice vid intro of project.
SDK beta online from 11/11-07 :D
I knew you knew you would.
I was worried that you were going to just post a new update and i'd be refreshing the wrong article. this works. ::sets opera's autorefresh to 30 seconds::
you would think this would show up on engadget mobile before it showed up here...
Alright Google, you have my mind, not win my heart!
While Maina made consider themselves to be clever, I am but highly skeptical. The use of a comment page to advertize one's blog is actually tacky.
Maybe for those people who are new to the internet may think, "Oh jeez man I have a great Idea. No one will believe how powerful my blog is once I make a quasi opinonated statement to get people to find out more about my philosophy towards Life!"
This is not an idea it is just is a headache with pictures.
Where's my Gphone?11:11 11/5/2007, Karen, mobile, Google Blog
Posted by Andy Rubin, Director of Mobile Platforms
Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we're not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing -- the Open Handset Alliance and Android -- is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. In fact, through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, we hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today.
Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications -- all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation. We have developed Android in cooperation with the Open Handset Alliance, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile leaders including Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile. Through deep partnerships with carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and others, we hope to enable an open ecosystem for the mobile world by creating a standard, open mobile software platform. We think the result will ultimately be a better and faster pace for innovation that will give mobile customers unforeseen applications and capabilities.
We see Android as an important part of our strategy of furthering Google's goal of providing access to information to users wherever they are. We recognize that many among the multitude of mobile users around the world do not and may never have an Android-based phone. Our goals must be independent of device or even platform. For this reason, Android will complement, but not replace, our longstanding mobile strategy of developing useful and compelling mobile services and driving adoption of these products through partnerships with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world.
It's important to recognize that the Open Handset Alliance and Android have the potential to be major changes from the status quo -- one which will take patience and much investment by the various players before you'll see the first benefits. But we feel the potential gains for mobile customers around the world are worth the effort. If you’re a developer and this approach sounds exciting, give us a week or so and we’ll have an SDK available. If you’re a mobile user, you’ll have to wait a little longer, but some of our partners are targeting the second half of 2008 to ship phones based on the Android platform. And if you already have a phone you know and love, check out mobile.google.com and make sure you have Google Maps for mobile, Gmail and our other great applications on your phone. We'll continue to make these services better and add plenty of exciting new features, applications and services, too.
Google is soon gonna take over our industries in a good way to benefit mankind kind. I respect google and I respect the people of google too.
Not that I don't like Google, but I have a hard time believing the predictions of a guy named "CUBSWILLWIN".
shut up will ya. I support my team and thats it.
lol!
Sometimes I get annoyed with people plugging their websites on their comments. Lame.
with all the info they already have about every person on the frigging planet
(paranoid)Android
This one, or Planet Telex?
Sometimes I get annoyed with people plugging their websites on their comments. Lame.
sometimes I get annoyed when people triple post.
sometimes I get annoyed when people triple post.
sometimes I get annoyed when people copy me.
I think he was cuing someone to say "Sometimes I get annoyed when people triple post" a third time, as to make a triple post out of yours.
Blame Engadget's comment system, not him!
What's difficult about using Engadget's comment system?
1. Type comment
2. Click "Add Your Comments"
Done.
Sometimes I got annoyed when people triple post.
GOOGLE:
Last Trade: 729.35
Trade Time: 11:47AM ET
Change: Up 18.10 (2.54%)
Any bets on where it'll end for the day? I'd say up over 50.
over 50?! I say atleast over 60
The problem with a price run up is ... its run up over the past week leading up to this announcement. So they fact that they announced should be a non-event, its already factored into the price. If it goes up 5% today then you might as well throw a quick short on it and make the money tomorrow.
It's already down to 722.
Buy on rumor, sell on news.
With an investment that wont even hit market until late 2008 I'd be scared to invest in Google. I understand they're up up up but their P/E is one of the worst on the entire NYSE as soon as the market turns to recession people are going to be looking for real value and shying away from inflated stocks. Google is big enough to survive a second dot com bubble but I don't know if its investors are.
Why must the updates go in that order. Makes it so difficult to follow. Come on.....
"In that order"? Top to bottom, left to right? What is difficult about that?
He means the newest on bottom. Its great when its all done, but if you're actively refreshing the live feed, it is a bit annoying to have to rescroll to the bottom. I mean, not that flicking my mouse wheel is too much effort, just that it seems anti-whatever. (Against the natural way of things.)
Live: Newest on top.
Post: Newest on bottom.
English: Left to right.
(Though since this ultimately ends up as a post, and its being updated live, I can see why its probably the way it is.)
Enjoy the feed, I'm going to class.
Sprint joins open handset alliance
http://newsreleases.sprint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=127149&p=irol-newsArticle_newsroom&ID=1072575
"Sprint realizes that to grow the mobile marketplace and fully exploit the amazing potential of mobile communications, we have to empower rather than restrict wireless users," said John Garcia, Sprint's senior vice president of Product Development. "And the best way to do this is to create an environment that encourages the development of innovative products and services that customers can't live without. Android will be just such an environment, and Sprint is yet again at the forefront in mobile innovation."
3b?
Sometimes I get annoyed with people who post the same comment several times. Lame.
no gphone!?!?!!? I take my comment of benefiting mankind back!!!!!!!!
They say a handset running the OS is comming in 2008 to T-Mobile US and Europe. T-Mobile for the Win! :) Hope they have 3G by then.
JAmerican
Refresh refresh! I just got a new phone damnit..
My contract expires in 1 month! what to do what to do???
I think the refusal of Verizon to play nicely with anyone or anything that threatens their totalitarian control over their handsets and network is going to bite them in the ass. I'm a VZ subscriber only for the network. But I'm starting to feel gravity pulling me away. An Apple phone is one thing. But Google software on a phone is a whole other beast. Hopefully this'll hit Verizon hard and wake them up from their ridiculously stubborn ways.
yeah dude i know what you mean, crippled phones and overpriced service. thats the vzw way unfortunatly
I agree! Verizon is too strict on everything they do. I also wish they had more cool phone options. Currently LG is the only company that actually has a cool lineup, including the Chocolate (which I own) and the Voyager phones.
By staying with them for this long you have encouraged their ways.
You mention that Verizon doesn't play nicely, and up 'til this point, I would agree, but who's to say that VZ isn't in the list of 33 other companies? From all early accounts, Verizon was involved in the gPhone. Why use this forum to slam Verizon; I'm sure there are many other sites that type of comment would be more appropriate.
You should make a statement by switching away from their network to someone else. With the exception of tmobile Sprint and AT&Ts coverage is pretty much the same all factors considered. It really comes down to plan pricing and handsets, and VZW comes in last place in both of these categories. Sprint has incredibly competitive pricing and a decent handset selection while AT&T has moderate pricing (a little less than VZW) and the best handset selection currently.
Members of Google's alliance taken from the WSJ:
MEMBERS OF GOOGLE'S ALLIANCE
Aplix, Ascender Corp., Audience, Broadcom Corp., China Mobile, eBay Inc., Esmertec, HTC Corp., Intel Corp., KDDI, Living Image, LG, Marvell Technology, Motorola Inc., NMS Communications, Noser, NTT DoCoMo, Nuance Communications Inc., Nvidia Corp., PacketVideo, Qualcomm Inc., Samsung Electronics, SiRF, SkyPop, SONiVOX, Sprint Nextel, Synaptics, TAT - The Astonishing Tribe, Telecom Italia, Telefónica SA, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile and Wind River Systems Inc.
@ Kevin Mogee
Because if Verizon was part of this alliance, I'm sure their names would be part of the headliners.
It's meation that this is an open alliance and all is encouraged to join, but I honestly dont see doing so risking loosening up their tight grip on their phones.
Face it, VZW dropped the ball on Apple and they're dropping the ball again with Google. You'd be a fool not to think this service will be a success.
I'm sure Verizon was top dog before Apple and Google came into town, but they'll soon realize that what both companies are doing in the mobile business is the future hardware and software wise. Don't be suprised if they start playing catch up or eventually give in and drag their feet into the alliance.
VZW is starting to feel the effects of competition - as evidenced by their termination of upgrade / downgrade related plan extensions, and their reduced data plan prices associated with the VZW BB Pearl launch.
Still, these seem like mere band-aids, when amputation might be more appropriate. There are countless examples of how open source succeeds and closed fails - its almost like a supplier saying to a customer we'll TELL you what you want.
Still, its not clear exactly how this is going to change things, but my hope is that at least a portion of revenues derived from things like Google and the iPhone will go toward network infrastructure, so that I can make a choice based on features and not connectivity.
Whats the OHA?
Open Handset Alliance
Open Handset Alliance.. as opposed to all the other OHA's: http://www.google.com/search?q=OHA
wait i just reloaded and lost a line?!?
9:04AM PT - "Welcome everyone to the Google, Inc. conference call. Today's call is being recorded." Yeah, by us! Elliot Shraig (sp) from Google is on. "We have a number of companies here with an exiting announcement to make in the mobile space."
now , is it just me , or does anyone get the feeling that a number of companies are exiting ??
When are they going to tell us what the hell it is?
That's exactly what I was thinking...
Best OS name EVAR!
Yes, it's very different...
Said it since day one: This is an OS, not a 'gPhone'. I so called this one.
Wow, I so hope Qualcomm means CDMA support. I was worried this would be GSM only but it is great to hear CDMA players in the game as well.
Things I want to know:
- What platform will SDK run on? - Windows - you better; Mac- yes, please
- What screen sizes will work with this phone?
- This does seem like a bit of creative destruction, doesn't it?
Hey Engadget, where's all of you little 'witty' putdowns that you like to do during Apple keynotes? Oh that's right, you're anti-apple zealots only.
No, we're just anti-"things that suck".
Not much you can criticize about an open-source mobile OS that's being supported by two of the four major carriers. Except for the fact that the other two aren't on board.
Somebody get this guy a cookie!
here you go!
I probably won't be able to put it on my verizon handset anyway, man they suck.
How about giving us a standard phone charger! Come on mini usb on all devices!
A bunch of manufacturers already agreed to move to Micro USB months ago.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/mobile-phones-to-adopt-smaller-micro-usb-connector/
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, first congratulations on the formation of the OHA. China Mobile is excited to work with Google... it will encourage faster adoption of smartphones in China."
Ehhh...Smartphone is MS, hope that was just a mis-speak?
Smartphone =/= to M$
Smartphone = phones with multitasking capability, 3rd party software, and etc.
OMG can u believe these CEOs what a bunch of cardboard guys...with canned comments.
Geez.
Lame.
Only Zander and the Goog guys sounded real. Or like they gave a shit.
The iPhone is dead now. Google is open-source with millions of developers. It will be able to run and do all the things the iPhone and their overpriced , closed system can`t.
Way to go , GOOGLE !!!
Yeah... because open source has such a track record of killing close environments. I mean look, everyone now in days use a variant of linux, barely anyone uses windows anymore.
sarcasm kill kittens, i hope youre happy with yourself andres.
Erm, anybody notice that the elephant (Nokia) is *not* in the room?
Yay, T-Mobiles flakey network, and HTC's flakey phones! What a great combo!
HTC phones may have AMAZING specs, but their build quality is absolute SHIT, and their keyboards are terrible. Samsung wins in the build quality field.
OHA = Open Handset Alliance
http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/
Lots of interesting information on their site, including who the players are and what their involvement may be. Also, read the Google press release that is linked from the original Engadget post (http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20071105_mobile_open.html)
::Yawn:: Q&A already? nothing to see? just a "we're doing this and these people are helping?"
the idea is great - but until I see anything it's just boring!
Anyone want to bet Google's stock hits 740-750 today?
For all of this talk about 'open' they haven't said a word about just how open it actually is. The thing I want to know is how is this OS going to work with the carriers' whole "walled garden" approach to the industry. Until those walls are torn down and phones are allowed true, unrestricted access to the net, and handset makers are allowed to build in whatever feature set they want, all of this talk about innovation and openness is just smoke and mirrors.
Well said. The answer to the question whether the platform would allow carriers to still create locked phones or whether it would force them to open up access was essentially a suit-speak version of "yes", IOW no answer at all.
And now you can get ads every time you look at your phone.
Wow, the first fully integrated mobile OS. Symbian, MSFT and Nokia must be shocked to know they've never done a fully integrated mobile OS before. It's all been a dream. Bobby isn't dead after all!
Ok I still want to know how they plan to NOT get bogged down by the companies who are interested in being cheap as possible with this thing.
I doubt they can make a web browsing experience anywhere close to what the iPhone has. Of course, I wish I am proved wrong.
Have you ever even USED a mobile browser before? The iPhone's is NOTHING special. Sure, mobile IE sucks, but mobile Opera and that one that starts with 'P' sure don't.
Also, how the fuck is one supposed to webbrowse without a keyboard?
@Jesse: Have you ever even USED an iPhone before?
(obviously not based on your keyboard comment)
Works just fine without a dedicated physical keyboard. The iPhone's touchscreen keyboard works just fine for webbrowsing.
Also, having never webbrowsed from a phone other than an iPhone myself... how the fuck is one supposed to webbrowse without point/click input? ie: w/o touch screen, since phones obviously don't use a mouse.
Have you ever used a pdaphone keyboard? You can type so much faster (and more easily) on them than the POS iPhone "keyboard," it isn't even funny.
Oh, and where did I say without a touchscreen? Don't read too far into my comments, looking for unsubstanciated arguments against my argument.
I should have specified that I use pdaphones, and not those piles of crap called "smart"phones. No touchscreen and no keyboard = no business. You CANNOT browse without a touchscreen on a phone.
Jesse : Whatever points you have about keyboards, in my experience very little of my time spent browsing the web requires typing such a huge amount.
Much more of it is navigating around the page. That's why the iPhone Safari browser is such a big deal. It offers smooth scrolling, intuitive resizing for the smaller display.
And to top it off, it has accurate rendering of web pages, unlike Pocket IE. Opera might have accurate rendering of web pages, but it doesn't quite have the scrolling, and pinch and double-tap resizing that the iPhone has.
Like it or not, the iPhone browser is a big deal, and sets the bar pretty high for browsers on smartphones in terms of rendering and navigation.
In addition, the iPhone keyboard is actually not bad. I'd be willing to bet I type faster on the iPhone keyboard than on your physical keyboard. I can hit 55 wpm on my iPhone virtual keyboard.
Any predictions about how long it will take for someone to get Android up and running on an iPhone? I say Nov 17th 2am on 37 hours of no sleep.
interesting to me that this doesn't get anywhere near the love of iphone but it is so much bigger than the iphone. for all intensive purposes apple did what other were doing but did it (arguably) better. this is really a whole new world, like actually giving handhelds the ability to function as computers, the way the PC market did in the 80's. This should be time's gadget of the year.
I think this is the reason why this isn't getting as much love as the iPhone:
"'So if the industry wants to create totally locked down devices, they CAN do it?' Rubin: 'Yes.'"
As long as the carriers get to pick and choose which apps can go on a phone and which can't, it doesn't really matter to the end user whether or not the OS is open source or not.
agreed. the providers need to be forced into a similar model as the ISP model, where they provide the network only, and what we install is up to us. Verizon can still offer VCAST and if people want it they will still pay for it, unlikely as that is.
Why make an announcement when you don't have anything concrete to show???