This may seem unrelated to what I normally talk about here, but keep reading and it will all unfold.
One thing most people can agree on is that Google pretty much kicks ass. It seems like whatever they get their ever-stretching hands on magically turns to gold. (I wonder how they take a piss without adverse side effects?)
Over the passed few years they’ve been working on a mobile platform called Android, which is joint effort of The Open Handset Alliance. The concept is simple: create an open source platform that gives every developer the same tools as everyone else. There’s no private or reserved libraries that only the phone developers can access… everyone is equal.
What does this mean? It means that unlike Apples iPhone, anyone and everyone can develop and write applications that access all aspects of the platforms stack. They even released the SDK already… how long has it taken Apple?
The platform is very impressive to say the least. It holds Google’s theory of minimalistic design with maximum usability. T-Mobile has announced the release of the first phone utilizing the Android OS… the T-Mobile G1.
Now, I’ve been a long time user of Blackberry. I’ve had three different Blackberry smart phones and loved each one of them, especially my current one. I will admit I’ve had interest in an iPhone, but I just couldn’t overcome my admiration for RIM devices to go and get one (not to mention I don’t subscribe to AT&T, which is the single wireless provider for iPhones in the United States).
Since I am a subscriber to T-Mobile, I’ve found myself looking at this G1 more and more. I’ve read review after review, watched hands-on videos and side by side comparisons against other smart phones. There are several things I really like about it, and a few I don’t. There has been an ongoing struggle in my head whether to get it or not.
Part of managing GATM is realizing that you’re not always at a computer to instantly take care of critical issues, but having the ability to address them on the move is an amazing benefit. With my Blackberry I have everything from web access, remote desktop, email and instant messaging. All of our admins have my mobile IM account and I’m able to communicate with them very quickly. WHRY would I do this? Because I try to manage GATM like its a business, whether we’re making money isn’t important… its doing something right that is. But will this new phone do everything my Blackberry does? Will it hold me back or move me forward? Will it have problems/issues/bugs? I DON’T KNOW!! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?
At the end I decided to go ahead and preorder the G1, which should arrive early next month (I missed the first wave of preorders which will arrive Oct 22nd). The few concerns I have with the platform will probably be fixed soon after release (thanks to being open source). And my other obstacle was thinking “if I order this, what cool phone will come out shortly after?“. But you know what, in this age of technology that sort of thinking will only hold you back. No matter how long you wait, or what you wait for, almost as soon as you buy it something bigger and better will come out the next day.
So I figured, why not be on the bleeding edge and have one of the first of these new “Google Phones“?
