DevPlug.net

Now that analysts are getting their hands on the T-Mobile G1, talk is beginning about what the first Android-powered phone doesn’t offer. T-Mobile launched the HTC-made device Tuesday, complete with full touchscreen functionality and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for a mobile Web experience largely driven by Google products, including Search, Google Street View, Gmail and YouTube.

The phone is making the intended splash. In fact, Neil Mawston, director of Wireless Device Strategies at Strategy Analytics, is forecasting a major Android impact on the 10.5 million smartphones to be sold in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2008.

“We estimate smartphones with Google’s Android operating system, led by HTC of Taiwan, will reach 0.4 million units in the quarter, for a four percent market share,” Mawston said. “Android is a relatively late entrant and it will join an increasingly crowded market alongside Blackberry, Microsoft, Apple, Palm, Symbian and LiMo.”

Limited Synchronizing

The T-Mobile G1 synchronizes e-mail, calendar and contacts from Gmail as well as most other POP3 or IMAP e-mail services. The device multitasks, so you can read a Web page while also downloading e-mail in the background. And it combines Instant Messaging support for Google Talk, as well as AOL, Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. But there is no connection to the desktop.

“If I have my contacts in Outlook or my Calendar in iCal, I have no easy way of synchronizing that content onto my device without figuring out some way of getting it up to a Google service,” said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia. “That’s fine if I am a Google user. If I am not a Google user, then I have to sign up for that service, and I have to figure out how to export and maintain my content. In some cases it…

More: continued here

Related News

Almost Human: A Review of Google’s Android G1 Phone

"The T-Mobile G1 Google smartphone, designed by Google and made by HTC, remains firmly in the shadow of the iPhone-for now. The phone, which goes on sale next week in the US and next month in Britain, was released too early. The HTC hardware and Android OS that powers it lack the polish and depth of even the iPhone 1.0 in most respects. It's not a bad phone, but the software and hardware needed more time in the oven to bring them to a golden brown crispness." Full review at Arstechnica.

Android Market is Google’s competitor to the Apple iPhone store

I was sent a link to the Android Community site this morning that led to the Android Developers blog post on the upcoming Android Market that looks to rival the Apple iPhone store for Android-powered devices. They decided to call it a market rather than a store to try to give it that "open" feeling for developers to provide content. There are several screenshots for you to check out too, including the one to the left. The Android Market will let users find, purchase, download and install content on their devices. The content does not appear to be screened by Google since you just need to register, upload and describe your content to get published. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a ...

The Android Awakens & Nokia’s Response

After months of anticipation T-Mobile and Google have unveiled the G1, the first commercially available handheld to run Google's Linux-based Android mobile operating system. The smartphone, made by HTC, will be available on Oct. 22. The G1 will support 3G, EDGE and WiFi, includes a wide touchscreen besides of a slideout QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera, a music player and applications like Google Maps with Street View. More applications are expected soon, developed by the community.In response to Android's entry into the market, the leading cell phone maker Nokia is planning on freeing and making its Symbian platform royalty-free too. Nokia's David Rivas, head of technology management at Nokia's S60 business sees little future for the practice of billing handset vendors for each phone sold with a particular operating system.

T-Mobile’s Android Phone Has Limits Outside Google (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - Now that analysts are getting their hands on the T-Mobile G1, talk is beginning about what the first Android-powered phone doesn't offer. T-Mobile launched the HTC-made device Tuesday, complete with full touchscreen functionality and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for a mobile Web experience largely driven by Google products, including Search, Google Street View, Gmail and YouTube.

Will we see a Nokia Aseries (Android series) or Android Tablet device in September?

I admit to being a fan of Nokia devices, but think there are several areas of the S60 Symbian-based operating system that need improvement. I am also quite a fan of Google Android, especially running on my T-Mobile G1. The Guardian is reporting the Nokia will be announcing an Android smartphone at Nokia World in September. The Guardian does not list any source for this rumor, other than industry insiders, so I am not taking this possibility as fact yet. However, I do think it would be interesting to see a Nokia ASeries (Android series) or Nokia Android Tablet class of devices with Nokia's outstanding hardware and Android's powerful and user friendly operating system. If this rumor turns out to be ...