Gizmodo has full details of the gPhone:

The long-awaited HTC Dream, the first commercial handset running Google's Android operating system, will be coming to T-Mobile as the G1 for $179 on October 22nd. Featuring a 3-inch touchscreen, internet navigation buttons and a full QWERTY keypad, the smartphone market has finally broken free of Symbian, Windows Mobile and the sweet clutches of fruit companies. Read on for the details, and you can decide whether or not the competition is a good thing.

Features:

Date and Pricing
$179 on October 22nd. (That's with a two year contract.) Unlimited internet with "some messaging" will run $25/month. Unlimited internet and messaging is $35/month. Data plans will require voice plans.

Screen
The G1 sports a 3.17" 65K color touchscreen that runs in HVGA (480×320) resolution.

Battery Life
You can talk for 5 hours, or keep the phone in standby for 130 hours.

Camera
3.1MP, or right around 35mm quality.

Frequency Fun
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi and UMTS/HSDPA
850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100Mhz

Dimensions
4.60” x 2.16” x 0.62”; Weight: 5.6 ounces. And available in white, black and brown.

Storage
1GB MicroSD card preinstalled. Supports 8GB MicroSD.

GPS
Of course, what would Google Maps be without it?

Google Maps
As we've seen in a recent update, the G1's Maps application will integrate Street View so you can see where you are going. But in an industry first, a built-in compass orients the map to your position. North is always up!

Android Market
Similar to the iPhone's mobile App Store, the Android Market will allow downloading of various Android apps from the phone, to the phone.

Amazon MP3 Store
Amazon's MP3 store will be preloaded on every G1, allowing the download of 6 million DRM-free tracks with singles starting at 89 cents. Downloading music requires a Wi-Fi connection, previewing can be done over T-Mobile's network.

YouTube
Yup, it's on there.

Other Apps
ShopSavvy: designed to help people do comparative shopping

Ecorio: developed to help people keep track of their daily travels and view what their carbon footprint looks like BreadCrumbz: enables people to create a step-by-step visual map using photos; customers can create their own routes, share them with friends or with the world

Dan Frommer at Silicon Alley Insider has live coverage from the Google press conference:

We're here at Guastavino's under the Queensboro Bridge, where Google (GOOG) and T-Mobile will unveil the first Android-powered 'GPhone' in a few minutes. We'll be covering the announcement live; please refresh this page for live updates. (It looks like T-Mobile is offering live video of the press conference here, too.)

LIVE notes; refresh for the latest.

10:28 Lights dimming, latecomers taking their seats. On today's agenda: Chats from Cole Brodman, CTO for T-Mobile; Christopher Schläffer, Deutsche Telekom (DT); Andy Rubin, Google's Android guy; and Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, the company that's making the G1.

10:29 Silence!

10:30 Eurofunk music. Video showing scenes across Europe and the rest of the world.

10:30 Brodman takes the stage. Welcome, thanks for joining us! "That video cptures the human essence in our need to connect with one another." Can't be face to face anymore. Technology has bridged that gap via mobile phone and Internet. Haven't been able to rely on integration of those two in the past. Here today to change that: New platform, new device, new system, new set of services.

10:31 Introducing the others, who are sitting in the front row. Andy Rubin wearing a suit! Very nice.

10:32 Chris from DT here. Austrian! Not German! Continuing strong tradition of being pioneers of open mobile Internet. Launching the world's first Android-based phone ,T-Mobile G1, in an exclusive partnership between Google and T-Mobile. For us, this is first because we're launching the same device on both sides of the Atlantic.

10:33 Come along way with partners and friends at Google in pioneering approach to open up the wireless Internet. Since 2005 first telecom operator to open up, move away from walled gardens/closed portals. Really? We'll take his word for it. Dress code appears to be suit, no tie today, btw. Think mobile Internet is huge growth opportunity going forward. In Europe, grown mobile data revs without SMS by 43%. Also traffic has grown 250% or so. Needto capitalize further on that opportunitiy.

10:35 Going through history with HTC. Ladies and gentlemen, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile is committed to open platforms. T-Mobile G1 is a milestone in bringing the open mobile Internet to the mass market. Thank you. Here comes Andy Rubin.

10:36 Rubin takes the stage. On G1, a dev will be able to use as a platform. Dev will also be able to modify the platform and make it better. Somewhat future proof because it has openness built in. So far this is NOT like a Steve Jobs keynote at all. Lots of "open" ...

10:37 Peter Chou, CEO of HTC congratulating team on strategy, execution, etc. Tremendous effort to make this Android Open Handset Alliance happen. Good job!

10:38 A variety of Google services, content, etc. for people to use and enjoy. HTC has worked closely with Google and T-Mobile to develop a unique iconic design unlike anything else in the market that will maximize mobile Internet experience with impressive touch experience and a cool keyboard. Will appeal to a broad variety of people.

10:40 Android is nimble, flexible, and powerful. Contributing to a fundamental shift of how people will use the mobile Internet. Lots of hype, we'll see...

10:40 Cole back on. Started about three years ago, thanking people for their contribution. Why did we invest in the Android platform with HTC and Google? Mobile broadband networks have been around, but what's been missing is compelling set of devices and services. US Consumers overconsume everything! Yet mobile Internet penetration lags at dismal 16%. Why? Haven't been that many compelling experiences.

10:41 Open, open, open! Embrace third parties that have driven the creation of the Internet to create new services for mobile Internet.

10:42 No more fuzzy pictures, no more unsubstantiated blog posts, no more rumors! Here it is.

10:43 Video showing lots of iPhone-like features -- touch gestures, video, Amazon MP3 store, etc. Now the four guys are on stage posing with the phones like it's some sort of Olympics medal ceremony. Wow.

10:44 Photo shoot still going on. Guys posing for at least 20 cameras. And counting...

10:45 We'll all get to photograph it LIVE! later. And use it.

10:45 Another video -- the services. Great touch screen. Swiping gestures. Also "long press" to open options and features. Drop picture on your home screen. Drag and drop any application. Amazon MP3 store.

10:46 "Terrific" music player. Music recommendations? "Powerful communicator" with IM.

10:48 Google maps with Street View. Wonder how fast it'll load over 3G. Compass mode. Pretty cool.

10:48 Zooming in Web browser doesn't look as elegant as on iPhone. Lags while dragging on video. Search button on keyboard.

10:49 "Copy Link URL!" COPY AND PASTE!!! Get on it, Apple!

10:50 "Always something new to discover." So whaddya think? Woo! says the audience. "Trust me, it's a lot of fun." Cole says he played Pacman for 30 minutes instead of preparing speech notes. But where is SPORE?

10:51 The beauty and magic of android platform is rich toolkit. One thing as humans we can always count on is change. This platform is going to embrace that change by allowing third parties to write whatever they want. From garages to graduate schools, from small towns to big cities, think third parties will drive innovation. SAPPY!

10:52 Another video. Nerds sitting in a room talking about open source. WHAT IS THIS FOR?! MORE PHONE!

10:53 This video is a little ridiculous. Lots of dudes talking about open source. You're not missing anything. These guys appear to be sitting on an orange/red leather IKEA Klippan couch talking about open source.

10:54 Applause. Cole back on stage.

10:55 Carbon footprint tracking people here. Shopsavvy people too. I think these are Android developer challenge winners. Yes, these are the barcode scanning people. Not sure they they're not giving demos.

10:56 15-minute Q&A period led by T-Mobile Flack. $179, existing T-Mobile customers can buy. Can order and have it shipped to their phone. October 22. Two very compelling data and messaging plan options. $25 option with limited messaging, web, etc. $35 with unlimited.

10:58 27 3G markets by mid-November. Europe? Keen to launch in Europe? Is that what he said? UK in November, across europe in Q1 of 2009.

10:59 Rubin: Open sourcing platform. Beyond that, pretty focused road map. Going broader with more features and functionality. LONG TAIL!

11:00 HTC guy talking about mobile Internet innovation. Very proud of it.

11:00 Now Q&A opening up. Tethered modem? On top of voice plan or just data plan? All in one device; mobile device, not a tethered modem. Data plan will require a voice plan on T-Mobile's network as well.

11:00 Gartenberg: Any support for Office or Exchange? Can read Word docs and PDF docs; Excel docs. Currently no Exchange compatibility but perfect opportunity for third-party developer. SIM Locked to T-Mobile.

11:02 GMAIL IS PUSH, other IMAP is not.

11:02 Missed this one. Something about syncing. Will be available in markets without 3G. Device also includes wifi.

11:03 Digging a little bit deeper into SIM lock question. How locked is it going to be? With iPhone, space race to unlock, etc. Any comments to that? No guarantees in technology, seen a lot happen in the last year and a half "with the device you mentioned"... $179 is cheap compared to T-Mobile's full cost; hence is reason we've locked it to T-Mobile.

11:04 Google will help marketing starting in October, the biggest marketing campaign T-Mobile has ever launched. Very unique business relationship with Google; not worth commenting on at this point.

11:05 No desktop application; what Bluetooth profiles supported? Device syncs to Google services, also Yahoo, Microsoft and AIM, as far as Bluetooth profiles: headsets, handsfree, others coming later.

11:06 Who device aimed at? Business users? Consumers? Corporate market? How broad? This device going to have "mass appeal." Something for everybody. Set off in beginning to build a device that appeals to young and social segment. Consumer device, not necessarily enterprise device. But you'll see enterprise workers use it for that as well.

11:07 More about GMail? Rubin: As far as GMail goes, pretty robust Gmail experience. Same threading; ALLOWS YOU TO SEARCH EMAIL. A lot of email services will be integrated via Gmail powered front-end. IM: First implementation of online presence inside the phone book. More powerful communications services built into phone book.

11:08 Will it work with iTunes? Supports AAC, WMA, MP3, etc, but not iTunes-DRM compatible. Content would have to be DRM-unlocked. No Skype. Will work with any GSM network in the world, then bands that Tmobile will operate on in US, other bands around the world.

11:09 LARRY AND SERGEY! Rushed here from Google Transit launch; very exciting to be here today, says Sergey. What really gives me pleasure: I'm a bit of a geek. The way I grew up playing in college and grad school with computers, mess around with Linux, touch all the parts of the system. Get the same pleasure playing with the G1 here. Have been using it for a while now.

11:11 Sergey wrote an app that lets you throw phone up in the air, measure how many seconds until you catch it or it hits the floor. Exciting to me as a computer geek that I can have a phone I can innovate on as I have with computers in the past. Larry page talking about enjoying using it for email, been giving Andy lots and lots of feedback. Excited about possibilities it means.

11:12 As good a computer as we had a few years ago is in this phone. If asked you guys to do a Web search, coudl see how long it takes. Hard to carry your laptop "especially if you're rollerblading."

11:14 We now pause for a very special photo session with everyone holding their phones.

11:15 Press conference over, people filing out and heading down to demo stations.

Live blogging also from TechCrunch:

What’s known so far:

• In-store, immediate sales only available in locations within 5 miles of a 3G covered area. If a store is beyond that range, representatives will walk customers through a T-mobile.com purchase
• One touch access to: Search, Maps, Gmail, Youtube, Calendar, and Google Talk
• Gmail account and data plan required
• GPS
• 3.1 mp camera, no video recording
• No stereo bluetooth (A2DP)
• Dimensions: 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 in
• Weighs 5.6 ounces
• 480×320 65K color screen
• 5 hour talk time, 130 hour standby time
• Expandable up to 8GB

From Fortune:

If Google plays its cards right, its unveiling of the first Android-powered phone on Tuesday will prove to be more than a distraction from iPhone-mania – it will be the moment the search giant capitalizes on Apple’s control issues.

From InformationWeek:

The feverish readers of TmoNews.com have discovered some images and specifications of the G1 phone from HTC, set to be announced later this morning. What's surprising is what isn't included.

It appears that the G1 will only be available in regions covered by T-Mobile's 3G network. Given that there are only a dozen or so active 3G markets across the U.S., that's a pretty limiting factor. T-Mobile is set to expand its 3G footprint in the coming months, but to limit the availability of a phone people have a lot of interest in is a weird move.

TmoNews quotes a source as saying, "Available in all stores within 3G boundary area, regardless of whether or not store is in a 3G dead spot. Available in some locations directly outside of the 3G boundary area due to the fact that some customers who live in the 3G boundary area shop within a 2 - 5 mile radius and the store they would go to is outside of the 3G boundary area. For those stores not in 3G markets, a demo unit and merchandising will be in store so rep can show customer what the experience on G1 is like on the 2G network. If customer is ok with experience, Rep can help them purchase a device on T-Mobile.com."

Other specs that TmoNews was able to snag show that the device will have one-touch access to the Internet, Maps Gmail, YouTube, Calendar andGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG) Talk (Google's chat program). A Google account is required. You have to have a Google account in order to use the phone. This isn't overly surprising. Being that the Google faithful are the ones likely to be most interested in this device, that isn't going to put too many people off.

It will have a 3.1 megapixel camera, but the camera won't be able to shot video, just as with the iPhone. This makes it a non-starter for me. I really like to be able to shot video. The phone also doesn't include support for stereo Bluetooth, which is another feature lacking on the iPhone and another disappointment.It will, however, include GPS.

From ZDNet:

There’s a feeling of excitement around today’s expected launch of Android, Google’s long-anticipated mobile operating system. But when I drove past a few electronics stores last night, I didn’t see anyone camping out the way people were lined up for Apple’s iPhone.

I suspect there’s some confusion about what Android is, exactly. Early on, it was dubbed the gPhone - but that’s somewhat misleading if you try to do an Apples-to-apples comparison with the iPhone. In the case of Apple’s iPhone, it was an operating system, too, but for one phone only - Apple’s. Google’s operating system, which also encourages the development of mobile applications, is eventually expected to land on a variety of devices. And now, there’s some buzz that the Google’s open-source operating system might eventually reach beyond phones and land on other products - maybe set-top boxes, TVs or even cars.

For now, the emphasis is on mobile phones. A growing number of mobile phones - beyond the iPhone - are already Web-capable. Google wants to supply those mobile surfers with the information they’re seeking from a mobile Web connection.

To a certain extent, Google is already doing that by enhancing its mobile offerings. Applications like Gmail, Reader and, of course, search are already available through a mobile Web browser. In addition, a number of other operating systems - iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and others - are supporting Google Apps for Mobile, a much more attractive and user-friendly version of Google’s most popular services. Last week, Google Maps for Mobile was upgraded to include Street View images. In addition, Google has been offering for some time now an SMS version of its search functionality. Send a SMS text message to GOOGL (46645) with a simple search such as “pizza, 94105″ and you’ll receive a text listing of pizza joints in the San Francisco zip code.

I’ve been running Google services on my phone (a Blackberry) for some time now so the excitement around a gPhone - err, Android - just isn’t all that exciting to me. I’ll certainly check out an Android phone as soon as I can - but I don’t think I’ll consider a switch to T-Mobile the way I considered a switch to AT&T for the iPhone.

Why would I? In many ways, I feel like my phone is already a Google phone.

Google wireless guru Andy Rubin, on how the Android operating system will enable bad cell-phone behavior in every conceivable medium, Official Google Blog, 19 September 2008

Ce HTC Dream est très attendu. Il propose un écran tactile large qui se glisse pour laisser place à un clavier complet, de quoi faciliter l'écriture d'emails par exemple. Il dispose également d'un GPS utilisant Google Map. Selon Andy Rubin, le directeur de la plate-forme mobile de Google, le terminal "va en mettre plein la vue". "Si nous arrivons avec une daube, les gens s'en iront et ce sera une perte de temps", a-t-il déclaré.

Néanmoins, selon certaines rumeurs, le terminal de Google serait un peu moins performant que celui de l'iPhone d'Apple, sa cible numéro un. On pourra se faire une idée plus précise le 23 septembre... En tout cas, HTC affiche ses ambitions et compte écouler jusqu'à 700.000 exemplaires de son bébé.

Affaire à suivre donc...

Blog de Brèves

The latest unofficial news/rumors for the HTC Dream phone (aka Android phone & G1) is that it will be coming out September 17th with T-Mobile! Here's the latest article from PCWorld: http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007446.html

"Price-wise, T-Mobile is said to start G1's pre-sales on Sept. 17 for only $150 with a two-year contract (iPhone 3G has a $199 starting price point). The offer will be open only to current T-Mobile customers for just one week. After this period, in early October, you will be able to grab the device for $250 while the full retail price is slated at $399. Further details on the data plans sold with G1 have not emerged yet."

Which sucks for me, since I'm still stuck with the crappy Sprint just waiting for the phone to get released. I'm afraid if I jump into T-Mobile now that they wouldn't let me upgrade to the new phone for that price because I would have already recently "upgraded"...I don't know. I haven't really looked into it yet. Here's a video that "leaked" out and is supposed to be the HTC Dream phone...but no one's 100% sure. It could just be a prototype or something:
http://www.slashgear.com/htc-dream-phone-in-android-video-leak-1013611.php

The video on this site is from a BBC site. It shows Andy Rubin (the "creator of Android") showing Android off from a phone that looks rather similar to the "leaked HTC Dream phone" video...except it's black: http://www.google-phone.com/htc-dream-phone-20295.php

I have to say it’s a bit odd to be writing about mobile marketing, and talking about the ability to do multi-tasking. But it’s a big deal. When Apple released their SDK in March, some say they banned multi-tasking for third party app developers. Others say the ban is a myth. I just know it’s needed as does Andy Rubin. When asked recently where he thought other mobile-phone software fell short, he specifically cited multi-tasking.

Google is taking heat regarding the plausibility of its Android project. Will it be an iPhone killer? Probably not. However, could it move the mobile industry towards a more open, developer friendly environment similar to the Net? Potentially. And if it does, Google sells more ads.

O primeiro telefone equipado com o pacote de codinome Android, divulgou a agência de notícias Associated Press, só estará disponível a partir do segundo semestre de 2008. O gigante das buscas só oferecerá o software para os portáteis e não fabricará esses aparelhos - a produção dos portáteis compatíveis com o sistema operacional será delegada às empresas Motorola, Samsung, HTC e LG Electronics.

Entre as operadoras de telefonia móvel que vão oferecer serviço aos telefones com a plataforma do Google nos Estados Unidos estão a Sprint Nextel e a T-Mobile. Fora dos EUA, esse serviço será oferecido pela China Mobile, Telefonica e Telecom Italia. As empresas ligadas ao projeto do Google fazem parte de uma aliança de 34 companhias que formaram a Open Handset Alliance. 

Programadores também poderão criar aplicações compatíveis com o software do Google e, com isso, aumentar muito a quantidade de aplicativos disponíveis para telefones. “Essa abertura é uma grande aposta, mas representa apenas uma etapa daquela que será uma batalha muito longa na próxima fronteira da internet móvel”, afirmou à agência de notícias Associated Press Michael Gartenberg, vice-presidente da Júpiter Research.
Possibilidades

Os engenheiros vêm trabalhando no desenvolvimento desses pacote de softwares por anos, desde que o Google comprou a empresa Android em 2005. “A novidade vai levar a internet para os telefones celulares de uma maneira muito interessante”, afirmou Andy Rubin, co-fundador da Android que hoje trabalha como diretor de plataformas móveis para o Google.

Apesar de o lançamento da novidade ainda estar distante, a plataforma do Google representa uma ameaça para outros sistemas operacionais de portáteis desenvolvidos pela Microsoft, Research in Motion (do Blackberry), Palm e Symbian. Pelo fato de o software do Google ser gratuito, é possível que os smartphones com essa alternativa fiquem mais baratos do que seus concorrentes.

What many people miss out is the fact Google Android uses ONLY Java Syntax. The java code that one develops for Android is converted in to standard Java bytecode. This again is converted in a different bytecode format (which Google claims that is an optimized, minimum memory footprint bytecode).

Basically, Android does not use a standard JVM (it uses a non-standard JVM called Dalvik) . The SDK also contains android.* packages apart from the usual java packages.

I found this post from Stefano Mazzocchi very interesting. He claims that the reason for Google using a non-standard JVM is not really for just optimization sake, but instead to get around any licensing issues with Sun for using J2ME. Wow! I never thought of that.

Its natural. If I were to run the Android project (instead of Andy Rubin), then I would start using J2ME as a preferred virtual machine for obvious reasons that we have a huge group of developers who can be readily moved/attracted to developing applications on Android. And then when it comes to licensing, I would think of someway to circumvent the problem and the one smart way is to make sure the final bytecode is not the same of the one generated by the standard java compiler. Thats exactly what Google engineers have done by developing Dalvik.

Other interesting links:
http://wireless.itworld.com/4269/071116googlesun/page_1.html
http://www.oreillynet.com/onjava/blog/2007/11/dalvik_googles_tweaked_nonstan.html

グーグルが Open Handset Alliance と Android を発表した。

いくつかのすばらしい記事があった。忘れないうちにメモ・・・

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グーグル発表の実況中継

いつもながら Engadget がすばらしい。プレスリリースや大手紙の報道を読むより、こちらの方が臨場感があり、とくに Q&A で問題点が集約されていてずっと分かりやすい。

Engadget: "Live coverage of Google's Android Gphone mobile OS announcement" by Ryan Block: 05 November 2007
Engadget Japanese: "Googleプレスカンファレンス速報：Android・OHA質疑応答" by Ittousai: 05 November 2007

Android はオープンソースだが、メーカーやキャリアがロックできるかという質問のやり取りで、問いつめられた Andy Rubin が可能だと答えて、それに Eric Schmidt が割って入るところは傑作。

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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."

Q: 好みのソフトウェアをインストールできるようにユーザーを守るものなのか。それともキャリアは完全にロックされた携帯を作れるのか。

Andy Rubin (Google）：。Apacheライセンスを参照してほしい。(...) なにかをフリーにするとは、それで何をするかは業界しだいということだ。(では、完全にロックされた携帯を望む企業はそうできるのか？) Rubin：そのとおり。Eric Schmidt (Google）：可能性としてはありうるが、実際にそのシナリオを目にすることは非常に考えにくい。［Engadget Japanese 訳］

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Steve Jobs  と Eric Schmidt は大違い

結局グーグルの発表とは何だったのか、どの記事を読んでも大同小異でよく分らないが、ニューヨークタイムズの Saul Hansell の記事がとてもおもしろかった。

New York Times: "The GPhone: So Open It Could Be Closed" by Saul Hansell: 05 November 2007

Steve Jobs  と Eric Schmidt を比較した書き出しからがすばらしい。

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グーグルの新しい携帯 OS に関する Eric Schmidt の電話会議は、Steve Jobs の派手なキーノートとはまったく正反対だった。

Eric Schmidt's conference call about Google's new cell phone operating system was exactly the opposite of a showy Steve Jobs keynote.

Schmidt はすべてのことについて喋ったが肝心の新製品のクールな特徴については何にも語らなかった。というのもアンドロイドがハードな製品ではなく、オープンソースの電話ソフトに過ぎなかったからだ。

He talked about everything except the cool new features of the product. That's because Android is not a product. It is open-source phone software.

どういうワケか、グーグルが発表すべきだった肝心のこと、すなわちアンドロイドのユーザーインターフェイスは来週まで公開されないのだ。電話のプロトタイプは確かに多くの記者に見せてはいたけれど・・・

Inexplicably, the one thing that Google does have to show—Android's user interface—won't be unveiled until next week. Google did show a phone prototype to a number of reporters.

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Google Phone の背後にいる男

今回のプロジェクトを率いる Andy Rubin について John Markoff がすばらしい記事を書いている。

かつてアップルで Quadra に携わったことがあり、また、Sidekick　を開発した男。ギークで事業家となかなか興味深い存在。

発表の中味だけでなく、その背景を掘り下げてまとめるところはさすが John Markoff・・・

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Google Phone の影響

今回の発表が携帯業界に与える影響、とくに iPhone に与える影響をいちはやく分析したのが Carl Howe だ。

新しい事態に直ちに対応できるのは、常日頃からアップルを追っている成果だろう。まさにアップルウォッチャーの面目躍如！

ほかに Google Phone の目的を分析した記事もおもしろい。

Seeking Alpha: "What's the Point of Google's Phone ?" by Carl Howe: 05 November 2007

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グーグルの発表

Android というのは分ったようでよく分らない。

その意味で Andy Rubin 自身のブログは比較的分かりやすい。こういう形をとるのがグーグル流なのか・・・

Official Google Blog: "Where's my Gphone?" by Andy Rubin: 05 November 2007

Technorati Tags: Android, Andy Rubin, Engadget, Eric Schmidt, Google, Google Phone, gPhone, Open Handset Alliance

Pierwszy wpis i od razu gorący temat. Nie dalej jak wczoraj serwisy informacyjne na całym świecie, te same, które dotąd przemycały przecieki o Googlephonie, uderzyły informacją, że Google szykuje uderzenie na rynek komórek! Internetowa potęga ma zaatakować nasze komórki armią androidów. Dokładniej tylko jednym.Wszystko wskazuje na to, że szykuje się może nie wojna, ale przynajmniej kolejny gracz na rynku komórkowych systemów operacyjnych. Nie tak dawno wszystko było jasne. Nokia to Nokia, a Motorola to Motorola i każda z nich swoje menu miała. Dziś większość producentów ma w swoich portfolio urządzenia pracujące pod kontrola kilku systemów operacyjnych, a to jak widać nie koniec.

Najpierw słowo historii. W ciągu ostatnich lat coraz lepiej ma się wskrzeszony z popiołów EPOCa - Symbian, którego świetne wyniki i wzrost udziału w rynku uciekły wielu mediom w cieniu informacji o Androidzie. Windows Mobile przeszedł kolejną metamorfozę i radzi sobie nienajgorzej. W ciszy praktycznie odszedł PalmOS, ale nadchodzą następcy - z USA maszerują żwawo Blackberry RIM i przedmiot pożądania zwany iPhonem. Czy potrzeba nam jeszcze czegoś? Androida?

Cóż to za Android? Za Androidem stoi organizacja Open Handset Alliance, skupiającą ponad 30 firm telekomunikacyjnych (Telefonica, czy T-Mobile), producentów sprzętu (Motorola, Samsung), czy podzespołów elektronicznych (nVidia, TI). No i oczywiście Google, ale ojcem sukcesu Androida nie będą chyba jego twórcy.

Jak może mało, kto pamięta w sierpniu 2005 roku internetowy gigant kupił kalifornijską firmę o nazwie Android, za którą stała legenda krzemowej doliny - Andy Rubin. Ten koleżka z Palo Alto już wówczas na swoim koncie miał kilka całkiem udanych pomysłów. Właściwie same sukcesy. WebTV, które kupił Microsoft, a potem Danger Inc., który stworzył w 2002 olbrzymi sukces urządzenia HipTop znanego publice, jako T-Mobile Sidekick. W wolnych chwilach bawił się hackowaniem kluczyków do Segway’a. To całkiem dobrze wróży Androidowi. Ale czym on ma być?

Zgodnie z zapowiedzią już niedługo ujrzy światło dzienne cała dotycząca go dokumentacja, oraz środowisko programistyczne (SDK). Ma być zarazem otwartym systemem operacyjnym, bazującym na kernelu Linuxa, ale i środowiskiem pisania aplikacji, aż do poziomu interfejsu włącznie. Co ciekawe wszystko to ma być ogólnodostępne dla zainteresowanych programistów. Co będą mieli z tego klienci?

Z pewnością ciekawe aplikacje i nie będzie to powtórka z Phone’a, który jak dotąd jest na programy zewnętrzne zamknięty. Na urządzenia z Androidem w środku napisane zostaną z pewnością aplikacje znane dziś z komórkowej Javy i Symbiana. A co jeszcze? Większa kompatybilność aplikacji pomiędzy urządzeniami różnych producentów? Czekajmy więc na nadejście Androida.

Después de tanto rumor sobre la posible aparición de un Gphone, Andy Rubin ayer 5 de Noviembre posteó en el blog oficial de Google(TM) la noticia del lanzamiento de un Sistema Operativo "sin los obstáculos del software privativo". Al parecer Google(TM), para el placer de los desarrolladores y geeks en general, lanzará un SDK al público y esperará las contribuciones de buena fe que se quieran hacer. La noticia acaba con algo más de dos meses de rumores y la expectativa de que Google(TM) lanzara un OS y un Teléfono Móvil.

Estas son algunas de las declaraciones de Rubin, director de plataformas móviles de Google (TM)

"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. "

Sin duda una noticia muy interesante que nos ha tomado por sorpresa, pero que se recibe con bastante expectativa, sobre todo por aquello de evitar los obstáculos del software privativo.

Sin embargo y frente a esta posibilidad de centralizar todos sus servicios, no deja de inquietar el gran volumen de datos que maneja Google(TM) de sus usuarios que tanta preocupación han generado en organizaciones defensoras de la intimidad como Privacy International. Esperemos que todo sea en provecho del usuario y que eso de que la "intimidad es moneda de cambio" se quede en una frase de cajón.

En todo caso Google(TM) ahora nos pregunta:

¿¿¿¿Que haría tu teléfono????

Google Phone プロジェクトの背後にいる男 Andy Rubin に脚光を当てた John Markoff のすばらしい記事。おもしろい！

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Mr. Rubin is one of the primary architects behind another product that also smacks of potential über-coolness — the Google Phone. As Google’s “director of mobile platforms,” Mr. Rubin oversees dozens of engineers who are developing the software at the company’s sprawling campus here. The software embodies the promise of extending Google’s reach at a time when cellphones allow consumers to increasingly untether themselves from their desktop computers, as well as the threat that greater digital mobility poses to Google’s domination of Internet search.

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And as the cellphone morphs further into a mobile personal computer, a new software standard is likely taking shape. Whoever takes the lead in this market may become a technological gatekeeper wielding the same power, and reaping the same profits, that Microsoft does through its Windows operating system.

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“Today Silicon Valley is full of ‘network-effect entrepreneurs,’ but Andy represents a generation that is equally comfortable with a soldering gun, writing software programs or designing a business,” said Steve Perlman, another former Apple engineer who was a co-founder of WebTV and a handful of other technology-oriented companies.

→［New York Times | I, Robot: The Man Behind the Google Phone］

Technorati Tags: Google, Google Phone, Andy Rubin

It now appears that the mobile Operating system will be available on some phones in development by Google partners shortly, but it'll be the middle of next year before we see an actual Google phone.    Andy Rubin's role does appear to indicate that Google will put out it's own hardware device though, which will be something of a full circle for the company.    Few may remember that Google's initial business model called for major deployments of a rack mounted search server called a "Google Appliance" that would search internal enterprise networks for documents.   I'm guessing, but I think Eric Schmidt would initially have scoffed at the idea that Google would rapidly become an advertising empire more than a technology and hardware empire, and that revenues would come 99% from advertising with almost nothing from the search appliance business.

Now, with the Google Phone, they may just do it all.