It’s here: the first Android-based phone, the G1, from T-Mobile for $180 with a two-year contract. The phone has a Qwerty keyboard, touch-screen, and uses both 3G and Wi-Fi. Users can also purchase applications from the Android Market (similar to the Apple app store). Go to http://www.T-MobileG1.com for more information.
I am very curious to see how many people buy the G1 given that there’s been a lot of hype about it. The Android operating system is open-source, making it much more accessible for developers and device manufacturers. However, just because a piece of software is open-source does not mean an entire community of developers and fanatical users will emerge around it. The recent obsession with Android is completely misplaced other than as, perhaps, a trend for future mobile application development and possible “openness” of wireless networks. The iPhone did very well because people found it easy to use, especially for web browsing (looking up maps, reading web pages, etc.). For most people, the operating system, OS X, had nothing to do with their decision to purchase the phone.
There are a number of problems with this Android phone:
- the partner, T-Mobile, does not have a good network in the US. I know. I have been a loyal T-Mobile (voice) customer for many years and their network, in a word, sucks. Dropped calls, text messages that never get to me, text messages I send that never get to my friends, no coverage in parts of San Francisco, the list goes on. You can have the most powerful, beautiful phone with a good user- interface but if the carrier’s network is sub-optimal, your phone will be nothing but an expensive brick.
- two-year contract: people hate long-term contracts, two-year, one-year, it does not matter. Add termination fees and even before the relationship between the carrier and its customer has begun, the customer already has a bad feeling. People under 25 years of age especially hate two-year contracts.
- it’s expensive: $180 plus $30 per month (the lowest priced voice subscription) plus the data plan ($40 per month). So you are paying $70 per month for voice and data. For two years, the total amount you pay T-Mobile (including price of phone) works out to $1860. And this is the absolute basic, lowest price plan. It’s not that much cheaper than the iPhone since AT&T also charges $70 per month (lowest voice plus data plan). The iPhone costs $199 for the least expensive version. Note: I had a lot of trouble finding out precisely what these plans cost because each operator has a number of plans with a dizzying array of choices for minutes of voice, text, etc. Already you see the problem: the carriers.
On the other hand, you can run around and brag to your friends that you are one of the world’s first users of Android.
Related story:
T-Mobile Android launches, but has a lot of flaws
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