Google Android phone: it IS “iPhone exciting”

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 23 September 2008 19:58

Your IT - Mobility

Within hours, T-Mobile in the US will officially launch the Google Android phone. Dubbed the gPhone in response to the iPhone, some say it isn’t “iPhone exciting”, but I say it is – plus there’s news of leaked specs!

A ZDNet article claims the upcoming Google phone is “exciting, but not iPhone exciting”, partly because the phone the author uses already has a lot of Google apps on it, making him feel like "he already has one", and because there are no queues outside T-Mobile stores waiting to buy one.

There are naturally other reasons you can read at the link above, but one question worth answering is “What does a Google phone bring to the mobile world that other phones don’t?”.

Well, given that few have actually seen the gPhone in operation, I have to make some assumptions, but I feel pretty confident that what I’m about to say will be correct.

What do you ultimately want from your phone? One that works smoothly, quickly, is eay to use, has access to a range of essential online apps, can be augmented with free and paid third party apps, has a large screen and an easy to use input system.

In many ways, the iPhone fulfils this criteria right now, and comes with a graphical user interface that has blown everyone away.

Now, all we’ve seen of the gPhone thus far are a range of screenshots, and while it’s unlikely the gPhone will be as “slick” as the iPhone with its finger friendly user interface from day one, the iPhone’s UI is the new bar in simplicity that phones must reach.

Surely Google must have its eye on delivering something similar, if not immediately, then in the not too distant future. After all, a user interface is delivered through software, and Google is very proficient at software creation, while also delivering simple, usable, uncluttered interfaces that “just work”.

It’s also pretty safe to say that Google is more about openness than it is about having a closed system, as Apple has done with the iPhone and its iPhone SDK.

We already know that Google created a 10x US $275,000 and 10x US $100,000 awards program for Android software development, and has an Android Developers blog that is already showcasing all kinds of nifty looking software that could easily look like it’s on an iPhone.

So, what specs will the first Google Phone have, developed in conjunction with HTC, as leaked by the T-Mo News blog? What of the gPhone’s future - and why is it 'iPhone exciting?! Please read on to page 2.