Well hell! Of course Google’s software approach won’t work for the Enterprise, ’cause they don’t use smartphones there. Everyone knows they use communicators and tricorders!

I think a lot of the people that blindly follow Android are those that are infatuated with the idea of open-source. Most people don’t know how to root a phone or develop an application – they simply buy a phone and expect it to work out of the box. The problem with Android is that the handset makers will never invest the time or money to customize Android to their devices. Google will have to partner with one maker before that happens, and the is not in line with their plans for Android – so it will never happen.

As a result, Android will be widely available, but it will always rely upon random people making apps to make the phone more functional. As of now, there is more appeal in making an iphone app than a android app, and that may remain the case because which dev will want to make 40 versions of the same app to accommodate 40 different android devices??? The iphone has its limits, but it is much more functional out of the box, and that’s what most consumers are looking for.

I’m not a blind fan of any product or company, just stating my unbiased opinion O_o

Um, Lol? Contradict self much? Android IS the first open OS for mobiles. Doesn’t being FIRST have anything to do with success? That is so retarded rofl! Here is basically what you’re saying right here: If someone comes up with something “FIRST”, and FAILS miserably, They are still first? Does that make any sense? You only get CREDIT for things that WORK and are successful. I don’t give points for second place. For an entire decade, as you say, Companies failed miserably at being the FIRST open OS on a mobile phone..but they’re still first. Yep, Flawless logic lol. Damn Republicans.

Still, there is a lot of reason to be skeptical about the model of having separate OS and hardware makers in the smartphone space, because virtually all of the world’s best selling smartphones – mostly from Nokia, BlackBerry, Apple, and Palm – all have tight hardware-software integration. And Windows Mobile has tried the separate OS/hardware path and it has largely been an expensive and prolonged failure.

Why would any phone manufacturer go with another OS, when Android is available for free and is completely customizable for their hardware (take a look at the HTC Hero)?

iPhone versus Android directly parallels the PC versus Apple battle of the late 80s early 90s. The apple II or Mac hardware/software combo was clearly better than the PC, but it didn’t matter because Apple could not compete with the slew of hardware manufacturers making PCs (to run windows).

I am confident the same will happen with Android.

http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-10532-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=66188&messageID=1245814

And as he continues to talk it becomes clearer that he has not spent much time with and Android phone and does not understand where Google is going whatsoever.

There is no point in Google marketing Android. They don’t want people to know Android and in a sense the Pandora guy is right. People don’t care about Android. People care about the G1, Magic, Hero etc. They care about the devices that all happen to be powered by Android. The marketing comes at the device level. In the cell phone realm people don’t care about the OS. They just care about capabilities and features of devices. The folk at sites like Phandroid aren’t really your average smartphone user. We really get into the thing.

Google is doing quite fine as they are. OEM’s are picking up Android and modding it as planned. It was never intended for Google to have a fully featured OS in base Android and anyone actually following Android before its release would know that off the bat. In a nutshell its a build your own IPhone kit for smartphone makers. There’s hardly going to be a manufacturer that’s not going to jump at that opportunity and that is where you will see the real UI’s and features…like HTC’s Hero.

This jerks comments strike me as the second phase of Ghandis famous quotation. We passed the “first they ignore you” stage some time ago.

The two biggest issues for Android right now are hardware and UI(s).

The Sense UI is a massive step in the right direction. While it’s looks are quite subjective, the UI is a massive win.

That being said, I think Jason is comparing Android to OSX and RIM. It’s a totally different animal. Apple’s branding is about the hardware and the apps. RIM is about the hardware and the tight integration with exchange and other business apps.

Android is neither. Android is positioning itself differently from the other two in that the “bling” isn’t in the OS itself. Android’s strength is in providing hardware manufacturers a solid and feature rich platform that’s Open Source, with the unifying structure being the market.

Furthermore, Jason fails to see that by attacking the market in this approach, assuming hardware manufacturers are willing to adopt it, is circumventing the traditional model in Mobile.

Android, due to its open source nature and widespread availability, will surpass Apple and possibly even RIM in its install base.

There’s simply no way that Apple nor RIM can compete with such a potential bombarding of competitive hardware. IMO, Android’s biggest competitor is neither of these.

Symbian is Android’s biggest competitor. The other two are too closed in the hardware to compete @ the scale in which Android is approaching the market.

I’m just a lowly sales guy, and I can see this. It’s remarkable that the “tech” bloggers from a few choice sites, who get paid to write about this nonsense, are too obtuse or closed minded to see the big picture.

Maybe someone should be paying me for my insight. :P

It’s just a stupid puff piece and should really be ignored.

There are a lot of criticisms here about the G1 from G1 users, which I believe justifies a lot of his comments.

I also believe that the HTC Sense (and the Hero) show that Jason is right. A tighter connection between the software makers and the hardware makers results in a superior platform from all accounts.

As many above have said, Google has a bigger plan in mind for Android, and the G1 clearly reflects that. The phone seems to have been released grossly premature. The app market is beyond horrible, and the virtual keypad might as well not even be there (is there anyone that seriously uses that thing?). I can go on, but I won’t – you all know the flaws of Android, and the “it’s too early to critique” excuse has long expired.

As a T-Mobile customer of many years, my greatest regret is signing a two-year contract to use the G1. I can’t even begin to articulate my disappointment. As of last week I began using an iPhone on T-Mobile (no 3G) to get a first hand look at what all the hype is about – and I saw right away.

Everything on the iPhone is seemless (and I think that was Hiner’s point about having the same developer for hardware and software), it’s not as bulky, and obviously the ipod is the best mp3 player on a phone (with a standard headphone jack O_o). The phone definitely has it’s flaws (the push notification sucks, can’t attach anything to emails, apps automatically close when you back out of them, no keypad *the vkeypad isnt as bad, but its naturally slower and more typo-prone*).

At the end of the day, both devices have major flaws that are annoying because ancient phones suck as the sidekick performed better in some areas. But having the choice, I opted to go with the iPhone. Crappy mp3 player, crappy camera, force closing apps, shitty app market, awkward bulky frame, pointless virtual keypad, sd card not reading properly at times, did i say shitty app market? O_o all failed to be too much to justify the extra $15 a month and 2 years I burdened to give android a try on T-Mobile.

Android does have a ton of potential, but there’s a long way to go. Some of the apps are amazing, it’s just sad they get cluttered by wallpaper themes O_o

And for the record, and by no means am I trying to detract from the accomplishment, but I would have to think a huge portion of Android users were former T-Mobile customers, and most likely sidekick lx users. The phone was widely considered (by the non tech-heads, of course) as a new sidekick and many of the sidekick groupies jumped aboard because of the low price (the g1 was actually cheaper than the sidekick lx when it was released).

Furthermore, T-Mobile has the least strict credit requirements to obtain service, and as a result, many high schoolers wind up using the sidekicks on t-mobile, which led to many of them wanting the G1 when it was released.

My point = the # of devices sold should not serve as an indication of Android success at this point. When the other Android phones are released later this year, let’s see how many are willing to pay full price after locking in for two years on the G1. Let’s see how many millions those handsets sell. I honestly think the Android devices will pan out like an album release. Sales climax in the early going, and fall off considerably thereafter. Meanwhile, the iphone fanboys are paying $1,000 for an unlocked iPhone 3G S, despite already having the same phone w/o the native video recorder.

It’s 2:17 AM, and this concludes my off-topic ramble. Good day sirs.

Oh yeah, I love the fact that Android syncs with Google apps… fucking amazing!!! Too bad it kills the battery in 3 hours.