DISQUS

Alec · 1 year ago

Woot

Ontario Emperor · 1 year ago

(Disclosure - I work for a provider of Android applications.)

Re your statement that “'1,000' similar but different Gphones" could potentially confuse the customer - don't we already have 1,000 similar but different Windows Mobile phones already?

I will grant, however, that you have a point with Apple. Despite our love for open this and open that, our darling is one of the most proprietary companies out there.

Steve O'Hear, editor · 1 year ago

@ Ontario Emperor

Windows Mobile may be a great example of where the Android strategy could fail. See my recent HTC Touch Diamond review.

There is also the risk that Android could become fragmented if carriers decide to omit certain APIs or limit possible features.

Will · 1 year ago

Firstly nice post.

@Steve
There is the risk of fragmentation? I realize that Android's going for open source, but there is still some level of copyright involved, so couldn't (and shouldn't) they make hardware providers place the whole OS on the devices?

Steve O'Hear, editor · 1 year ago

@ Will

Any member of the Open Handset Alliance, or anybody, can alter the source code in their own use. The Open Source license is very forgiving. See my earlier post:
http://www.last100.com/2008/06/01/android-its-t...

brandy · 1 year ago

I would absolutely love to have a Gphone i would so buy it you should ask google to do it. who who

cireasa · 1 year ago

Speaking of open-source, let's remember that OS X (apple) also has it's roots in FreeBSD. So, let's see what's going to happen along the way :)

Len Feldman · 1 year ago

I agree with your conclusion that Google should have designed its own Gphone. In my opinion, they didn't for one of the reasons that you stated in your article--most of Google's products are in a perpetual beta state. It's far easier to iterate software than hardware. They would have had to get the Gphone right the first time, or the credibility of the entire project would have gone down the tubes. Think about it--if the original iPhone had been a dud, no one would have been waiting in line for the 3G version.

I don't think that Google expects the first versions of Android-based phones to be killer products, but they expect them to become killers over time. Google's executives probably expect that this will be a three- to five-year process. However, if Android doesn't come out strong and gains a user and developer following quickly, it may not be around in three to five years.