With the launch of the T-Mobile smartphone that took place yesterday, Google has officially entered the mobile phone industry proposing itself as a direct competitor of Apple and its renowned iPhone. While the G1 is only the first of many to be built on Android, the
‘gPhone’, like some have referred to it, could well turn out to become
a dangerous iPhone competitor.
Because of the stature of the companies involved and the similar technical specifications of the two devices, it is almost inevitable to describe the G1 by comparison with Apple’s iPhone: what immediately becomes evident is that, while the Android platform may not be as user-friendly as the multi-touch technology developed by Apple, the battle between the two is certainly an open one when it comes to functionality and overall price.
The two devices have several features in common. The first, maybe the most prominent one, is the price tag: the iPhone, initially rolled out for $599, is now for sale at $199, and the T-Mobile/Google alliance seems to have targeted the price accordingly, launching with an already low $179. The T-Mobile voice plans are also cheaper than the typical iPhone plans featured by AT&T, with the two options of either $25 per month for unlimited data, unlimited SMS, unlimited email and 400 text messages, or $35 for unlimited data and messaging, accounting for about $5 to $15 less than the iPhone alternative.
The catch here is that T-Mobile’s network is not currently covering as many cities as AT&T, although the company is currently in the process of rolling out a high-speed network nationwide to ensure fast connectivity and allow its users to make full use of the G1 capabilities. To that regard, Brodman, T-Mobile spokesman, said that the carrier’s new 3G network is now live in 16 cities and will extend to 27 by mid-November, covering most major markets and 80 percent of its 30 million U.S. subscribers.
The application distribution process will also be very similar to that of the iPhone, since Google will roll out an application store (mistakenly dubbed “App store” by Brin during the presentation, just as one more confirmation of how the two platform are similar to this regard) as well as a version of Amazon’s digital music store which will offer over 6 million DRM-free tracks, to compete with the very popular iTunes.
As for the equally prominent differences between the two devices, it is worth noting that, throughout the entire presentation, both T-Mobile and Google representatives repeatedly stressed the openness of the Android platform, and more in general the customization possibilities that the gPhone will offer its users, especially the geekiest ones, which leads to believe that the two companies will also rely on innovative open-source and user-contributed applications to help establish the device on the market.
If not quite as elegant in its look and feel as Apple’s iPhone, the G1 maximizes simplicity and ease of use for its users, and may be considered more of a “traditional” smartphone than the Apple creation, featuring a full slide-out QWERTY plastic keyboard and even a button to perform a Google Web search directly from any page at all. The comparison with the iPhone’s single button on the front is an evident symptom of two radically different design strategies.
With only 16% of U.S. mobile customers browsing the mobile Web, Google seems to have manifested its intention to get in the game early to find new markets for its ad serving technology, while encouraging users to try out their comprehensive suite of Web-based applications, which range from Gmail to Calendar to Maps with Street View. For this reason, the G1 offers a wide range of connectivity options which also include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
While the Google branded phone seems to have all it takes to rival the iPhone, whether consumers will actually respond favorably to the G1 is, of course, still an open question that will only be answered in the coming months. Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the phone could sell 400,000 units by the end of 2008, accounting for about 4% of the smartphone market, also thanks to the aggressive launch strategy that will see the G1 launch contemporary on both sides of the Pacific within the end of the year. Sandeep Aggarwal, a senior analyst at Collins Stewart says that Android will help Google generate $5 billion in incremental mobile ad revenue annually.
Dario Borghino is a computer engineering student at Turin's Polytechnic, Italy. He started writing science and technology related articles in February 2008 and his articles have appeared on sites such as ISEdb.COM, eHow and Suite101.com.You can visit his personal Web site here.
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