Journalists and developers at the Google Developer Day event in London Tuesday were treated to an unexpected demonstration of the upcoming Android handset.
Mike Jennings from Google, who was giving the demonstration, covered up the phone's branding with tape, but it seemed pretty obvious that it's probably the HTC Dream. Not too much is revealed about the device itself, but we did get a sneak peek at what looks to be the final version of the Android OS. Consensus seems to be that it's a lot more polished than previous demonstrations, and though we can't tell too much from the blurry video, it looks to be true. It definitely got us ramped up again for the eventual release of the device. Check out this YouTube video someone captured of the demo, and see for yourself.
Even though Google's Android and the fabled HTC Dream are nowhere to be seen at the CTIA trade show, we did get news Wednesday that T-Mobile is supposedly getting ready to sell "a mobile phone based on Google's Android software" within weeks.
This is likely to be the HTC Dream, and sources tell Reuters that they'll be making an announcement this month in New York on September 23. Google and T-Mobile did not comment for the story, so this is still not set in stone.
Not that the story is new though. We've heard talk that the Dream would go on sale in September a while ago, but it's interesting that Reuters has just now picked up on it, lending credence to the rumors circulating the Web.
The supposed HTC Dream
(Credit: iMobile via Engadget)Engadget managed to find really convincing photos of what appears to be the HTC Dream on a Chinese forum. It certainly seems to match the FCC documents of the premier Android device that surfaced a couple of weeks ago.
While the combination of a touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard sounds nice, I can't help but think this looks a little clunky. It certainly doesn't look too revolutionary. But, of course, you can't tell just from the photos. So here's hoping we can get this device in our hands in the not too distant future to give you our own take on it.
These screen shots show the Android-phone interface to the Android Market. The software shows what applications can be downloaded and reviews of applications that people are browsing.
(Credit: Google)Arguably one of the best things to come out of the iPhone 2.0 firmware update, as well as the launch of the iPhone 3G, is the ability for the iPhone to install third-party applications directly to the phone via the App Store. Well, Google's new Android OS will also support such a service in the form of the Android Market.
As Google announced on Thursday, the Android Market is an online marketplace that will let you find, buy, download, and rate applications (which sounds eerily similar to the iPhone App Store). And, as you can see from the example screen shots, it appears that applications like a ringtone editor, a talking compass, and a barcode scanner, are already in the works.
This brings up the question of the kind of applications we would want for the Android phone. Access to Google apps like Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Reader is a given (we assume), so that leaves the door wide open for more innovative applications. We would personally love to see a multi-IM client, and an Android equivalent of the iPhone's song-identification apps like Shazam would be nice, too. One thing we would really love is turn-by-turn directions, which the iPhone currently lacks.
How about you, dear readers? What would you want to see in the Android Marketplace? What do you think would make a killer app for the Android phone? Let us know in the comments below.
Google Street View on the Android platform.
TmoWorld has just published a slew of specs and pricing information about the HTC Dream, most of which has yet to be confirmed. Despite it bordering on rumor territory, the information bears mentioning, if only because it does sound pretty plausible.
First, TmoWorld claims that the launch date is October 13, 2008, with preorders available starting September 17 (preorders are purportedly only available to existing customers with a good history and can only be done online). Second, unlimited data and messaging will apparently cost $35 a month, and the Dream itself is priced tentatively at around $199.
And here are the leaked specs: Full QWERTY keyboard; 3G/Wi-Fi; full HTML browser; easy access to Google apps, maps (with Street View); YouTube; IM and text; e-mail; 3-megapixel camera; video playback; a music player plus a memory card slot; and an application store. In other words, the specs sound exactly like the ones on the prototype models we saw a while back.
Of course, this is all rumor and hearsay at this point, but seeing as the FCC documents were revealed recently, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of these "leaked details" coming forth between now and the actual launch date.
(Via Gizmodo)
News broke Monday that the FCC has finally given its seal of approval to the HTC Dream handset, which is purported to be the first cell phone to carry Android, Google's open platform for mobile handsets.
It appears that the HTC Dream will feature Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a "jogball"-type navigation toggle (similar to the trackball on the BlackBerry Pearl). There are even indications that it will support WCDMA 1700, T-Mobile's new 3G band.
Is the HTC Dream just a dream?
(Credit: Google)Of course, the promise of the Android handset lies in its open platform. Earlier Monday, Google finally announced the first beta version of the Android SDK, which could send developers in a frenzy to develop applications in time for the Dream's release (which is purported to be some time in November, though there are rumors that it might debut as early as October).
But all of this still seems a bit pie in the sky. After almost a year of talk about the Google Phone, all we have are FCC sketches, prototype models, and demo screenshots of potential Android applications.
I understand it takes a long time for a product to come to fruition, but I'm afraid that by the time the Dream comes to market, it'll already be yesterday's news. Since it will face stiff competition by the likes of the iPhone 3G and the upcoming BlackBerry Bold, I think the HTC Dream will really have to pull out all the stops to compete on the same level.
So I pulled up my Google phone wishlist from November of last year. My list of must-have features were:
1) An easy-to-use operating system
2) Third-party application support
3) Select applications like a full HTML browser, POP e-mail, and a VoIP client
4) 3G and Wi-Fi
5) Full Bluetooth support that includes data tethering
It does sound like the Android OS will be close in fulfilling all five of my criteria, but even then, will the actual HTC Dream be a good phone? Will it be easy to use? Will the Android platform translate well to different kinds of hardware? And most importantly, will the applications be any good? There are more questions than answers right now, and I'm left feeling more skeptical than ever.
What do you, as early adopters and regular consumers, think of the Android OS and the HTC Dream? Do you think it will make a dent in the iPhone/BlackBerry/Windows Mobile arena? What do you want the HTC Dream to have in terms of design and features? Let us know in the comments below.
Even though Google told the world last year that it had no plans of releasing its own hardware and would instead focus on the software side of cell phones, very few people actually believed the assertion.
After all, with the iPhone performing well all over the world and a whole new era of cell phones having been ushered in, why wouldn't Google try to get in on the ground floor and try to build a brand?
But for months, the company has been tight-lipped about any hardware and has told anyone who will listen that Android will revolutionize the cell phone business. But according to a recent rumor from Robert X. Cringley over at PBS, Google is poised to release one of these devices by the end of this year, or early 2009.
... Read moreDon Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Hardware prototype with an early look at the Android OS
(Credit: Google)News of the Android SDK (download for Windows) by Google has been quiet for the past few months. However, last week we a found notice that the submission deadline for the Android Developers Challenge has just been extended to April 14, 2008. It appears that the Android team has made "significant updates" to the SDK that might require developers to take extra time to finish up applications they had in the works. There are $10 million worth in prizes at stake, so the updates and deadline extensions are probably much appreciated.
The SDK, released in November, introduced a very early look at what the Android OS might look like. Keyboard support seems to be obvious, as is a WebKit-compatible browser. Here's a more detailed list of what was in the earlier version of the Android SDK, as well as a slideshow for device images and screenshots.
Google Android
It's been an interesting week for America's second-largest cell phone carrier. First, Verizon Wireless announces it would support unlocked handsets and third-party applications on its CDMA network, and yesterday the company's CEO said the carrier may support Google's new Android platform. "We're planning on using Android," said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in an interview with Business Week. "Android is an enabler of what we do."
McAdam didn't say when, or if, Verizon would release handsets that use Android, and a Verizon spokeswoman also declined to elaborate in an e-mail. "We certainly expect some in the development community to embrace the Android platform in the open-access devices and applications they develop," wrote Nancy Stark, the spokeswoman. "We have not yet decided whether we will use Android in any of the devices Verizon Wireless offers." Stark added that the company has yet to decide whether it will join the Google's Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which is developing the Android platform. Though Sprint and T-Mobile are founding members of the OHA, neither carrier has confirmed when they will release Android devices.
Both announcements mark a distinct change in Verizon's practices. The company has a long-standing reputation in the cell phone world for being the most draconian of carriers. Not only did it prohibit the use of unlocked phones on its network, but also it limited Bluetooth use, banned third-party applications, and saddled its handset lineup with an unintuitive and stodgy menu interface.
Google is lining up financing to bid on wireless spectrum in the Federal Communication Commission's upcoming 700MHz auction, and it's already built a small high-speed wireless network at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to test out what it could do with the spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The Journal cited sources saying the company is planning on bidding in the auction, set to take place early next year. Google has obtained a test license from the FCC that it's using to test technology on a small wireless network on its campus, the article said. And it's supposedly using prototypes of handsets that use the company's newly announced Android software.
The Journal's revelation that Google will bid on the spectrum shouldn't come as a huge shock. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt has said before the company would likely bid in the upcoming auction.
After all the fuss and hoopla surrounding Google and the auction, it would seem ridiculous if the company didn't bid. Google lobbied the FCC hard for rules to be passed as part of the auction that would require license winners to allow open devices on that part of their network.
So what happens if Google actually wins some of this spectrum? That's the big question everyone is asking. It could build its own wireless network to compete against other operators like AT&T and Verizon Communications.
But building and operating a network is hard work and very expensive. I've said from the very first time Google was mentioned as a possible bidder in this auction that I don't think it will acquire spectrum to offer consumer wireless service. It just doesn't fit into the company's business model.
Google develops and delivers applications. It makes money via advertising. And all of this can be done without taking on the expense of becoming a wireless operator.
That said, it makes a lot of sense for Google to lease spectrum to other service providers that can put up the cash to build and operate the wireless service. In this scenario, Google maintains control of the asset without having to deal with the maintenance, management and customer service issues of running the network.
If you think about it, this approach makes a lot of sense given how Google has already positioned itself in the wireless market. The Android software was not designed for any single phone developed by a particular handset maker. It also wasn't designed to operate exclusively on a single carrier's network. Instead it is an open software platform that the company hopes will be on hundreds of different cell phone models running on dozens of carrier networks.
So while I know it sounds a lot sexier to think of Google as an alternative to AT&T and Verizon Wireless, I think it's not very likely. Of course, I could be completely wrong. But I was right about the Gphone not really being a phone, and instead being a software platform.
