Android phone coming to Europe in 2009
In a somewhat low key looking press conference in New York, T-Mobile, Google and HTC have launched the G1 – the first phone developed on Google’s Android platform. Those present were also treated to a royal visit from Larry Page and Sergey Brin themselves, as the pair shambled on to the stage just as the Q&A part was getting going.
Although details were thin on the ground, there were some to add to the general back-slapping and "jacket 'n' jeans" vibe. The device will be launched in the USA on October 22, priced $179. UK customers will get a chance to buy the device from November, with T-Mobile’s other European markets joining in from Q2 next year.
A touch screen device, the phone includes several Google-type apps, such as location, Gmail, support for several IM clients, as well as a slide out full screen and Webkits- based browser. Applications can be dragged and dropped onto the home screen, allowing a user to build his own main screen, and multiple applications be run simultaneously, with a window shade at the top of the screen for minimized apps. The device also contains the first implementation of presence within the phone book, Cole Brodman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, T-Mobile USA, said
For T-Mobile, the hope is clearly that the device will add to its presence as the “open” internet provider. Brodman said, “In the past we’ve seen integration of mobile phones and the internet often fail us. We really haven’t been able to rely on that integration to bring us together. But this is a new platform, device, system and new set of services. In 2005 we were the first to move away from walled gardens and closed portals. And this is, as that was, a necessary response to the needs of our customers.”
Brodman said he saw the device having mainstream appeal, across the consumer segments. It has been “optimized” for use with T-Mobile's 3G, and especially HSPA, networks, he said.
Andy Rubin, Google’s chief of mobile platforms, said the chief advantage for T-Mobile, and consumers, of the Android platform is that it is open, therefore has “future proofing” built in. Google will fully open source the platform at the time of the device’s launch, he said, meaning any third party application developer could make use of the platform to develop to it.
When Google launched Android, HTC committed to being the first handset manufacturer to have a device ready, and it has stuck to that, and its proposed timeline.