Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Wednesday 17 September 2008, 11:17 AM
Google Android looms large, blurry
Below is a video shot at yesterday's Google Developer Day in London. It shows Mike Jennings, Android 'developer advocate', demonstrating Google's mobile play in some detail.
From what I can actually see on the screen, it all looks fairly impressive. Android's looking smooth and responsive, the functionality looks like it can at least match that found in current Windows Mobile phones (unsurprising, given that the handset shown is almost certainly from WinMob specialists HTC), and I rather like the look of that handset - despite the branding being covered up, it has to be the Dream.
And, if those anonymous sources quoted by Reuters are correct, T-Mobile USA will start selling the Android-toting HTC Dream "within weeks". September 23rd is supposedly going to be the announcement date, though what that means for precise availability dates is another matter.
Some more pictures that seem to be from Jennings' presentation can be seen here. What doesn't seem apparent from these pics and the video is the QWERTY keyboard that the Dream is supposed to have.
Credit: Tim Anderson
Assuming the keyboard is there, the device is looking more and more like a direct competitor to the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, or the HTC Touch Pro, but with a much greater consumer focus. It will be extremely interesting to see how those keyboards compare, and how smoothly the UIs compare in real-world use.
Of course, it will be equally fascinating to see how developers react to Android. Google's relationship with its dev community had a rocky start, but finally releasing the beta SDK and throwing money at certain developers has probably fixed that all up fairly successfully. The fact that Chrome is likely to tie in nicely with Android will also help whip up enthusiasm.
Now let's see how the operators like Android. This will depend on Google's political skills in the industry, and is a pretty major hurdle for the company to leap. That said, let's not be negative. Things are looking a hell of a lot brighter for Android's prospects now than they were a couple of months ago.
From what I can actually see on the screen, it all looks fairly impressive. Android's looking smooth and responsive, the functionality looks like it can at least match that found in current Windows Mobile phones (unsurprising, given that the handset shown is almost certainly from WinMob specialists HTC), and I rather like the look of that handset - despite the branding being covered up, it has to be the Dream.
And, if those anonymous sources quoted by Reuters are correct, T-Mobile USA will start selling the Android-toting HTC Dream "within weeks". September 23rd is supposedly going to be the announcement date, though what that means for precise availability dates is another matter.
Some more pictures that seem to be from Jennings' presentation can be seen here. What doesn't seem apparent from these pics and the video is the QWERTY keyboard that the Dream is supposed to have.
Credit: Tim Anderson
Assuming the keyboard is there, the device is looking more and more like a direct competitor to the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, or the HTC Touch Pro, but with a much greater consumer focus. It will be extremely interesting to see how those keyboards compare, and how smoothly the UIs compare in real-world use.
Of course, it will be equally fascinating to see how developers react to Android. Google's relationship with its dev community had a rocky start, but finally releasing the beta SDK and throwing money at certain developers has probably fixed that all up fairly successfully. The fact that Chrome is likely to tie in nicely with Android will also help whip up enthusiasm.
Now let's see how the operators like Android. This will depend on Google's political skills in the industry, and is a pretty major hurdle for the company to leap. That said, let's not be negative. Things are looking a hell of a lot brighter for Android's prospects now than they were a couple of months ago.
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