Google Android Mobile Phones

The title of this hub may be somewhat premature given that right now (January 2009) there is only one Android mobile phone on the market, namely Google's G1 Android-powered phone. That said, I'm optimistic that 2009 is going to be the year of the Android Phone and you’re going to see and hear a lot more about Android as manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and other members of the Open Handset Alliance bring their phones to market.

The purpose of this hub is to provide a little bit of an explanation of Android and to keep up to date with the various cell phones as they are released.

In a nutshell, Google Android is not a phone itself, but rather an operating system (think Windows on a PC or OS X on a Mac) together with a software environment that's designed to run specifically on a mobile phone, providing the kind of functionality we've come to expect from smartphones such as calendar and contact management, email and web browsing on the move and much more.

There are a number of other mobile operating systems available such as Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile and more recently OS X for iPhone but most of these have been what many would consider closed (i.e. limited in terms of which applications they could run or which handsets they could run on).

Google Android, developed initially by Google following it's acquisition of Android Inc., was intended to be the first truly open mobile operating system. The project was later taken over by The Open Handset Alliance, a group of technology companies including Google, various mobile service providers such as T-Mobile, Sprint and Vodaphone together with handset manufacturers including HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson and numerous other players in the mobile industry.

According to The Open Handset Alliance, they are "strongly committed to greater openness in the mobile ecosystem" and see Android as "a complete platform that will give mobile operators, handset manufacturers, and developers everything they need to build innovative devices, software and services".

So what's so great about an open mobile operating system and software platform anyway? From a developer perspective, with the release of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit), it means that literally anybody can now develop applications to run on mobile phones. Some of you are most probably thinking that all this means is that we are simply going to be inundated with hundreds of useless mobile apps, and that's probably true. But by levelling the playing field, real innovation can take place, and serious developers, no matter how small, will be given the opportunity to bring useful applications to market, quicker and more cheaply, something that was incredibly difficult before now.

Ultimately it's from the consumer’s perspective that Android will potentially revolutionise the mobile phone industry. It’s estimated that there are almost 3 billion mobile phone users worldwide. As mobile phones have become more powerful (mini computers essentially) the more we’ve come to rely on them in our daily lives. Mobiles are no longer just for talking – they're an extension of our office and an essential part of everyday life in a connected world. The openness of Google Android will take mobile technology to the next level, providing users with more functionality and more choice.

By now, many of you with iPhones are most probably saying to yourselves "but none of this is new" and to a certain degree that's true. Apple has already provided an SDK and developers can distribute their applications via the App Store but the biggest drawback is that in typical Apple fashion, consumers are locked into using specific hardware (the iPhone), and for the foreseeable future, specific network providers (AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK) which doesn't exactly give consumers the most choice.

Android on the other hand is all about choice. Yes for now, T-Mobile is the only service provider offering the G1, but that will change as new handsets become available which means that consumers will be able to choose handsets that best suit their needs on networks of their choice, something that the iPhone can't provide.

Don't get me wrong though, Apple's iPhone is here to stay and a huge amount of money is being invested in iPhone Apps (KPCB's $100million iFund is proof of that) but Android's openness is what will help it to capture a massive share of the market, giving Apple a run for its money. The good news is that whatever the outcome, all of this innovation and competition will benefit us, the end consumer.

Now for a look at Google Android-compatible phones.

The Google G1 is the result of collaboration between Google and well known handset manufacturer HTC. Many of you may already be familiar with HTC handsets, without even knowing it in some cases, especially if you are using a T-Mobile branded handset such as the Shadow/Wing in the US or MDA/Vario/Touch in the UK, all of which are actually manufactured by HTC. Up until now, all of these phones have been running the relatively clunky Windows Mobile operating system, but the G1 is the first phone to use the Android operating system.

So what can we say about this phone? Well from a looks point of view (thank you iPhone for setting the benchmark) the G1 is a bit of an ugly duckling which is a bit surprising when you consider that HTC is quite capable of making sexy looking handsets (the current Touch range is a perfect example). I'm not sure what the thinking was behind this design or the little bendy bottom piece. That said, the phone does feel quite solidly built. Given the hassle of typing on a small touchscreen, the inclusion of a qwerty keyboard is a nice feature although some of you with larger digits may find the keys a little small.

From a functionality point of view, everything you would expect is there including 3G and Wi-Fi support together with a passable 3.2 Megapixel camera and GPS. Of course being a Google phone, all of the usual Google apps (search, mail, talk, calendar, maps etc.) are pre-installed and easy to access via a customizable home screen, and web-browsing is a breeze on it's clear 3 inch screen.

The phone ships with a few Android apps pre-installed (ShopSavvy – scan product barcodes to search for prices online; Amazon MP3 – buy and download MP3 files) and you can easily connect to the Android Market to download more. Granted, the range of apps is not as broad as iPhone's App Store, but that will change dramatically over the coming months.

Recently there have been reports of problems with poor battery life and there are rumours of a recall to fix this or that T-Mobile is going to ship extended life batteries to existing users so if your are considering buying a G1, ask about this in-store.

Overall the G1 is not a bad phone for a first attempt and while it doesn't necessarily have the wow-factor of some other phones, being a first-mover is sure to help it sell well - although there's already talk of a version 2 in the coming months.

For more information check out T-Mobile's G1 website. Also worth reading are the the many useful user reviews for the G1 on Amazon.com.

Announced at this years Mobile World Congress, the HTC Magic is officially set to be the next Android phone for 2009. Although not a huge departure from G1/HTC Dream, the Magic is sleeker and slimmer thanks to the exclusion ot a full QWERTY keyboard. This phone will be a Vodafone exclusive and will be available in Europe from April.