18 Android Phones, In 3 Flavors, By Year's End

Hugh Pickens writes "Andy Rubin, senior director for Mobile Platforms for Google, has announced that by the end of the year there will be 18 to 20 phones using the Android OS made by 8 or 9 different manufacturers. Google will offer three different versions of Android OS: a completely free and generic flavor with no pre-loaded Google applications; a slightly customized version that comes pre-loaded with Google apps like Gmail and Google Calendar; and a completely 'Google-fied' Android OS bearing all sorts of Google branding and integration with Google's services. Will Park reports that the expectation is that 12 to 14 of the upcoming Android phones will use the slightly-customized version of Google's Android OS requiring the manufacturer to agree to a distribution deal with Google that would allow the handsets to come pre-installed with Google-ware. The remaining 5 or 6 Android phones will come to market completely decked out with 'The Google Experience' and a Google logo on the phone. This third option provides risk and reward opportunities because the openness of the store could be a hit with consumers, but could also lead to poorly constructed or offensive applications that could give Google a taint. When it comes to apps, Rubin says: 'We want to abide by the law, but not rule with an open fist.'" Yes, it seems he really said "open fist," though he probably meant "iron fist."

Open fist...

[xgr3gx]

So they can try to bitch slap the iPhone!
Also - how does one 'pre-install' web based apps? I suppose you can have a special mobile client app, but all you need is a browser.

Android should scare mainstream phone makers

[Dr. Spork]

I was looking at a Chinese iphone knockoff, thinking that the hardware seems decent, but I wouldn't trust the knockoff operating system. With Android, though, the cheap knockoff can legally have the very same operating system, since they don't have to pay license fees. This means that if Samsung or whoever come up with a neato handset that makes them lots of money, three months later a Chinese factory will be making identical-looking knockoffs with the same Google-made software. This might even be legal! If I were a handset manufacturer, I'd be very scared of the openness of Android, but as a consumer, I would seriously take a second look at those Chinese knockoffs that will soon come our way.

Re:Android should scare mainstream phone makers

[pancakegeels]

And yet, Chinese phone companies insist on FAKING android: http://www.cect.se/product_info.php?products_id=104 [www.cect.se] (non english site) http://www.androiddevelopment.org/2009/04/16/dream-g2-phone-made-in-china-looks-like-android-but-isnt/ [androiddevelopment.org] presumably because these phones are somehow cheaper to make or easier to tap.

If updates are free, why buy new phones?

[ianmacfarlane]

Given the fact that Android updates (well, the one update) thus far have been free (the G1 update to Cupcake), how are the carriers going to encourage people to buy new handsets every 18 months? Obviously there can be things like improve cameras, sexier designs, bigger screens, faster processors etc, but I can see a lot of people sticking with what they've got for longer if the experience when using the phone is exactly the same. Obviously the carriers could also try rather artificial things like tying new services with new contracts etc, but I don't see that being so successful.

Re:A Suggestion

[drinkypoo]

You can have a smartphone without internet access. Arguably, every fucking phone is a smartphone these days; My stupid MOTO RAZR V3i has a datebook, voice records, text/video/image notes, and my contacts; finally, it can sync to Lookout. The additional features are still useful; especially if you have an alternate way to get software onto the phone.

Re:If updates are free, why buy new phones?

[drinkypoo]

People got rid of perfectly fine-working good-reception Mototola V555s to get Motorola RAZRs with half the battery life and maybe half the reception. They bought the phone on the basis of fashion. There's no reason to believe that trend will stop any time soon. Fuck, people buy new toasters because the old one doesn't match their new food processor and shit, they'll definitely buy a new phone. Also, the phones die! It's not like they're built to last. If you can get a replacement two-year-old phone for your insurance deductible of $40 or sign a new contract and get a shiny new phone that flashes colored lights when it plays your mp3 ringtones for $100... Well, you might get a refurb oldie, but most people will take the "upgrade".

Features I'm Looking For in My Next Phone

[Greyfox]

• Wifi (Must be able to connect to my home network at home)
• SIP Client (Must be able to connect to my Asterisk server at home)
• Bluetooth tethering for a MacBook Pro (For those rare times when I'm not near a wifi access point.)

A few years back I bought an unlocked Nokia E70 and that provided all this functionality, but T-Mobile kept breaking the data plan so I couldn't use the phone with my notebook. This rendered the data plan pretty much worthless, since doing anything on its postage-stamp-sized screen pretty much sucked. The battery life also wasn't that great, though you're never going to get awesome battery life doing what I was doing with it.

An unlocked Android phone would be capable of doing all that stuff but probably not on a 3G network. Nokia's E90 communicator also has all the features I want, a bigger screen than the E70 and a beefed up battery. I'd probably have to import one again, though. And I'd need to find a provider the phone is compatible with who allows tethering.

A good half of my cell phone woes are due to cell company suckage here in the states. The features I'm after have been widely available in Europe for ages now and we can't even manage them here even with the iPhone forcing things forward.

Re:Competition brings Innovation

[tnk1]

Well you would hope that Google has a business model behind it, anyway. It's always hard to tell with Google whether they actually have a plan to make money or they're just doing it because they feel like it. I mean, there's no other company that I can think of at that size which latches on to things like this and you can't tell for sure why they are doing it.

Google makes a crapload of money, but that money is still mostly its search business, and so attributing business sense to Google on things other than search is not a slam dunk. They make some fine apps, that's for sure, but I'm not always sure I can figure out how they plan to make money on them.