Google Announces "Open Phone" Coalition, No gPhone [Updated] 225
Ponca City, We Love You writes "USA Today has an advance story on Google's plans to announce a new operating system, geared specifically for cellphones with partners that include Sprint, Motorola, Samsung and Japanese wireless giant NTT DoCoMo. Although details won't be released until later today the new G-system will be based on Linux overlaid with Java and Google hopes to have a branded device ready for worldwide shipment by spring. Mobile Web browsing is notoriously slow and Google plans to change that by providing easy access to the Internet at PC-type speeds. Google plans to basically give away the software developer tools, used by programmers to write new applications. "If you're a developer, you'll be able to develop (applications) for the new Google Phone very quickly," said Morgan Gillis of the LiMo Foundation. AT&T and Verizon Wireless are noticeably absent from the coalition not wanting to support a device that favors Google over other providers. Sprint, the No. 3 carrier, supports the coalition, but it hasn't formally agreed to make the Google Phone available to its 54 million subscribers." Update 1727 GMT by SM: It's official, Google is releasing the mobile "Android" OS in place of the Google branded mobile phone that many expected.
It's offical (Score:5, Insightful)
Linux overlaid with Google? (Score:2, Insightful)
Or maybe someone needs to brush up on their punctuation.
Privacy (Score:5, Insightful)
Y
Re:AT&T? (Score:4, Insightful)
People just look for any reason to be mad at someone.
Re:We already have fifty! Finish one! (Score:5, Insightful)
This phone is going to be like the Motorola A1200 Linux phone I already have. It's just a DRM'd Linux Kernel with their proprietary java OS running on top. This phone is no different apart from now they'll give you more information on how to write programs for it. Big wow... I can develop applications for my Motorola phone too. What the hell is new here?
Thus opening the third layer of the Internet (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:AT&T? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Really.... how? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Thus opening the third layer of the Internet (Score:3, Insightful)
The easier they make it to develop the more popular it's going to be to make 'cool' apps.
Re:We already have fifty! Finish one! (Score:5, Insightful)
I understand that they intend to make it easy for third party developers to make apps for this thing, but the above quote suggests that some components (in particular the Google apps) will be integrated at a level that third party apps won't be able to modify.
Again, I'm excited about the possibility of a new phone challenging the status quo in the cellphone market, but this effort hardly seems to be the drive towards openness that OpenMoko [openmoko.com] (and the now discontinued Greenphone [trolltech.com]) is driving towards.
Re:It's offical (Score:5, Insightful)
Hidden charges: the iPhone is sold at retail for $400, giving the impression that you pay $400 and own one, but that isn't exactly the case. The device will not function (even as an iPod or whatever) until activated with AT&T. The AT&T plans available aren't exactly out of line for unlimited data plans but they aren't discount plans either. All these limitations are because Apple also receives a subsidy from AT&T, which is a sort of hidden charge.
As for "available to all", there are a few possible answers. As of now the phone isn't available outside the US and (without hacking) won't work with, say, Canadian carriers. Or if you speak in terms of development, right now nobody outside Apple can develop applications (without hacking).
The iPhone is still rather great, at least for those of us who happen to live in a place where AT&T coverage is really far better than any of the competing coverage. But I think everyone is glad to see Google put on some pressure in this space. Apple makes some good software but can get stuck in a bit of a cathedral mindset that can make their platforms a bit stale.
Re:Really.... how? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Really.... how? (Score:3, Insightful)
Most people would still use google in a new unlocked-browser, and google probably isn't too worried about a small niche of tech savvy people using an application (unless they screw up the initial browser the majority of users are going to use the original one aka MSIE vs netscape and friends)
Re:Privacy (Score:5, Insightful)
Let me guess... they're going to offer it for free/at a reduced price in exchange for giving up all your privacy.
Privacy is just another asset I can use to barter. Why is it intrinsically "evil" for someone to choose to sell it? And yes, I understand that not everyone understands exactly what they're selling, but that's a consumer problem.
Re:Privacy (Score:3, Insightful)
(AT&T taps your line for the NSA without a warrant, and Verizon will sell your personal information to marketers)
Google makes it plainly obvious that they're recording and storing what you do (and actually presents that data to you in a useful manner). A traditional ISP definitely has the capability to do the same exact thing behind your back. If the bits are passing through their tubes, they have access to it.
Re:It's offical (Score:1, Insightful)
How is that really different than their computer business? Over-priced and under-specced is the ONLY thing that apple does.