September 23, 2008 Google phone - $179
Will it be the light traveler’s best weight-saving multi-purpose tool?
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
But here’s the thing: Android, and the
G1, are open. Open, open, open, in ways that would make Steve Jobs
cringe. You can unlock this phone after 90 days—that is, use any
SIM card from any carrier in it. The operating system is free and
open-source, meaning that any company can make changes without
consulting or paying Google. The App store is completely open, too;
T-Mobile and Google say they won’t censor programs that they don’t
approve of, as Apple does with the iPhone store. Yes, even if someone
writes a Skype-like program that lets people avoid using up T-Mobile
cellular voice minutes.
Android is not as beautiful or engaging
as the iPhone’s software, but it’s infinitely superior to Windows
Mobile—and it’s open. The G1 is only the first phone to use it,
the first of many; it’s going to be an exciting ride.
Reader Comments (3)
In one of the Engadget Mobile article's comments section, someone has posted an excerpt of the T-Mobile Terms & Conditions, which are extremely restrictive, and which may limit the utility of the G-Phone unless they're relaxed...
Something tells me they'll ease up, especially if sales are slow.
The iPhone plan is full of limitations as well and is tres cher, so it's not a surprise. The iPhone is superior at this point in time, much snappier performance in that Engadget video but then Android is in its first release and iPhone is already 2.1.x. Should be interesting.