macnn/electronista
09/23/2008, 11:20am, EDT
Tuesday, September 23rdLIVE: T-Mobile's Android phone event [U]
Electronista has followed T-Mobile's G1 announcement live and provided live updates regarding the New York City event as they happened. News appears in reverse order as it became available, after the story break. Amazon today has already confirmed a mobile Amazon MP3 store for the device. T-Mobile's official announcement has been posted and confirms the device available for $179 on a two-year voice and data contract when it ships October 22nd.
Left to right: Sergey Brin, Google; Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) representative; Peter Chou, HTC
11:20AM -- Event is over with Q&A going on downstairs.
11:12AM -- Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin take the stage and are "excited" about the phone and how quickly it can perform searches; closer to a computer than a mobile device.
11:09AM -- Only supports unprotected media, including AAC, MP3. iTunes music will only work if it's unprotected (iTunes Plus, for example). UMTS is supported worldwide.
11:05AM -- Ads start in October; it's the largest campaign T-Mobile has ever held for any one device.
11:02AM -- Voice and data are required together. Currently no Exchange compatibility, but an opening for developers to add a component. Office support is also up in the air. E-mail supports POP and IMAP but isn't traditionally push. No bundled sync software.
10:58AM -- Confirming pricing; existing customers can pre-order the G1 and have it shipped by the time it reaches retail stores on October 22. Two data plans are available: $25 unlimited web and Internet, $35 adds unlimited messaging.
10:54AM -- Developers talking about the accessibility and strength of Android as a platform.
10:48AM -- Includes an Amazon MP3 store portal, dedicated media player, contacts, and a unique Compass view in Google Maps that follows the user in Street View (also new to phones) as they themselves turn.
10:42AM -- US has an "appetite" for data use; home broadband reaches far, but mobile Internet hasn't been very compelling until now. Open systems and standards are essential to spurring growth.
10:37AM -- T-Mobile has issued a press release; the G1 will sell for $179 on contract with voice and data and ships in November.
10:35AM -- T-Mobile wants to move away from a "walled garden" approach to the mobile Internet; it's managed to jump its revenues without having to depend on SMS and other traditional services.
10:33AM -- G1 is an exclusive; will ship both for T-Mobile Germany and USA at the "end of this year."
10:30AM -- T-Mobile takes the stage.
Filed under: industry, mobile phones
Other story tags: Google, T-Mobile, Android
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Great!
This will either make the iPhone better, or fizzle. My guess is it will fizzle quickly.
Quite underwhelming
This devie will cost almost as much as the iPhone. The total price difference will be around $140 over two years.
Who would want to buy this if for just a little more they could get the real thing?
hmmm....
limited touch gestures, basic apps or need to download better ones, is 3g network even up and running yet?
Yeah, But, If
Verizon will get on this soon I'm sure. For those were AT&T is not an option, this is huge. Personally, if AT&T does not get into Vermont, I'll be getting an iPod Touch and have two devices. I wish Apple would make the touch with BT so it could be paired with a different carrier than AT&T. I don't think it would cannibalize iPhone sales or AT&T subscriptions b/c 1) you either hate AT&T so much you were never going to go there, or AT&T is not available in your area. or 2) who wants to carry around two devices if they don't have to.
Re: underwhelming
Well, there are those who don't want to live in the Apple-defined eco-system (you know, the same people who jailbreak their iPhones, those types). There's also those who refuse to use ATT in the US, or Rogers in Canada (a lot of those), and I'm sure other carriers in other parts of the world.
There's lots of reasons people would want this phone. Of course, if you're a mac-head, there isn't. But not everyone believes that if Apple makes it, they must have it.