We know it is early and the software is pre-Alpha but it is hard to see this thing catching up to even last year's iPhone very soon. Don't get us wrong, we would really like to see some legitimate competition in the consumer smartphone space, but the Android is still a long long way from being refined into something that can compete with the iPhone. Perhaps we're spoiled - even buttons seem draconian.
Edit: For those of you who've asked, we would also like to show you this movie - which makes the Android look much more compelling...They even got Seregey Brin to talk like an Android for added effect.
How is that demo 'crap-tastic' ? I see tons of potential and this is still PRE-ALPHA. Give me a break, guys. I love the iPhone as much as the next guy but given how fast the OS is on current hardware, and given how many apps can be developed for an open source OS, I see this as serious competition for Apple.
Besides, I am sure Apple rehearses their damn demos that they put online and in commercials. This guy was fidgeting around, didn't have a script, really. And the only thing that didn't seem to work was the selection of photos via a single tap/click.
I say this as an unashamed Apple fanboy - I think the Android platform is looking far from craptastic. As much as I love the iphone, i think the Android platform could be a real competitor. Apple are going to have to keep on their toes and listen to the list of things users didn't like (including missing features) about the first iphone, in order to keep up with open source. Having to hack your phone to (for example) send a picture you just took to an SMS recipient is going to start to feel a bit old when the open source community will likely provide those sorts of features in their sleep - because THEY want them as users too.
The hardware in the video looked crap compared to the iphone, definitely. And the demo was not exactly the fireworks of a Stevenote, but it wasn't supposed to be. Think about this: many of apple's patents for the iphone would be software-based, e.g. the software part of the two finger touch functions... and there's no way they can ever sue the open source community for writing an exact copy of this software. Download it on your phone...legally. How much easier is it going to be to get the device you really want?
those may be some valid points however my biggest question is one of support. Does open source also mean variable timetables on support or none at all or varying degrees of quality? At least with the iPhone being under one roof you can sort of assume bugs will be fixed in certain amount of time.
don't be silly. this is an alpha test and it looks pretty good. if it links up with itunes it would be even better. don't knock an alpha product. google updates all of the time. i have both apples and pc's and looking forward to a touch screen device with google.
If you think Android is craptastic (especially after seeing that video!) you obviously do not understand the purpose behind it. Android isn't a phone. Android isn't an operating system that Samsung and friends will drop into their phones and ship them. Android is a platform. Saying Android is looking craptastic is like saying Linux is looking as if its not a serious OS.
Also, Chauncey, the hardware is not pre-alpha. The hardware is a currently shipping product. Android is pre-alpha. And this video does not come anywhere close to demonstrating Android's potential and current capability. What the video does do is show us that Android is coming along nicely and works great even on existing hardware.
Mind you, every manufacturer's implementation of Android will likely look and be very different. Android is not set to compete with iPhone. Android is a tool that will be used by hardware providers to further revolutionize mobile phones, allowing those providers' phones to compete with iPhone.
If you fancy writing something, try to make sure you understand it a little first. If you don't want to, just don't write.
Let's pass over the awful accent of that VP... why are they scrolling a map of Iraq?!?! Exactly at 1:00" the map shows abu Grahib! WTF !? Is Barcelona in Iraq!? I thought it was in Spain, but maybe I'm missing some sort of international treaty GWB has managed to get operative in the past few months...
That 'crap' is far faster, and much higher featured than my VerizonWireless LG VX9900 enV, and my AT&T RAZR V3. From what I've seen of my sons VerizonWireless Blackberry 8830, that 'crap' would double his speed.
Fanboy, you need to open your eyes; this 'crap' is totally competitive with your beloved iPhone, and it is not yet using the current bleeding edge processors.
All of you people screaming about this only being alpha, pre-alpha, or whatever blankety-blank alpha excuse you want to call it, you're missing the point. I also love the pretnetious calls to 'learn a little something about what you're talking about before you write'. Please, what any of you has written in response is far from being over anyone's heads. Thanks so much for enlightening us!
The point is, it's Feb '08, and this is where Android's at. By the time they get the UI working the way it should, fitting on a working hardware, playing nice with the phone companies AND telcos, we'll be well into a 2nd gen iPhone functioning with SDK-supported apps that I'm sure will blow people's minds...again (just as this first model did).
Of course I want the iPhone to catch up on features, too, but I haven't seen ANYTHING from Android or GSMA that makes go 'Hmmmmmmmm...'. Now that Garmin Nuvifone? Maybe...
What are you talking about? And what is all this crap you're spewing about englightenment? You really don't get it.
How does where the iPhone is at correlate at all with where Android is at? All you can think about is your precious little iPhone (I use one, btw), and any supposedly pathetic attempt to compete with it. This isn't about iPhone and Android. Android wasn't made to make money (it costs nothing to distribute on phones) and it is a free platform. Android isn't about killing iPhone. iPhone is too great to kill -- it's here to stay, we know! But is everyone going to own an iPhone? Hell no! Android is about revolutionizing every other handset out there. Android will provide a platform for mobile phones that is worth something to consumers, service providers, and hardware makers. We are missing the point? No, kid. You're missing the point. Obviously Android cannot be appreciated well by anyone who doesn't understand the developer mindset.
Android is a platform, not a phone.
And there are no excuses. I don't know where you pulled that out of. If you would see the videos for what they are you would realize that Android needs no excuses. It is already forming up to be a great platform!
The crap I'm spewing about enlightenment is based on these supposedly better-informed folks trying to preach. How does the iPhone correlate to Android? You're seriously asking me that? Last time I checked, they're both mobile phone platforms. Just because Android isn't formally fitted to a piece of alumimun and plastic it can't be judged yet? Call it whatever you want- a platform, an idea, a goal, a dream, etc. Gush all you want about its being free and ubiquitious among providers and manufacturers.
At this point in time, for all of Andoid's promise of openness and features, the UI still sucks! Get over it!
"How does the iPhone correlate to Android? You're seriously asking me that?"
Uh...no. That's not what I'm asking you. You missed one very small, very important word used two times in my question. "At". How does where the iPhone is at correlate to where Android is at? Or, more accurately, how does the current condition of iPhone correlate to the current condition of Android?
They do not compete on the same scale. iPhone, the 'product' (closed handset and OS/platform), is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to competing with Android, the 'platform' (open to all vendors).
You are very wrong in thinking that the fact that iPhone's platform is tied to a hardware device is unimportant. Because iPhone is tied to a peice of hardware, it is automatically in a much smaller playing field than Android. iPhone is not a platform, it is a product. A product who's platform (OS X) will never grace another vendor's hardware. No one can buy a phone from Samsung and have OS X on it (granted, that would be a horrible move for Apple).
On the other hand, the open and free Android has the opportunity to be adopted by every handset maker out there. And every handset maker out there has the freedom to mold Android into their very own OS. Samsung, Motorola, LG, HTC and all the others will be on the same platform, but will compete with each other on the hardware and stock applications field. A consumer can buy an Android phone from Samsung one year, find a really great replacement from LG the next, and still keep all of their third-party applications, taking advantage of the openness. Consumers can do whatever they wish with their phone's operating system, and be ensured the same freedom no matter which phone they decide to purchase next.
So, from the platform point of view, a closed, non-modifiable platform tied to a single vendor's hardware (and for the time being, on a single service provider's network), does not compete with an open, freely modified platform adopted by every major handset vendor. That doesn't mean Apple won't sell the most handsets. However, it does mean that it is very unlikely that there will be more iPhones sold than all of the phones sold by every other vendor running Android. Android will saturate the market simply by broad vendor adoption - something Apple cannot achieve without opening OS X to licensing.
I know, I know. You don't have to come back here and bash on me with a bunch of "where the hell is this Android adoption you're talking about?" Of course, this all depends on vendor's willingness to take up Android. But if you think there's a possibility the vendors will pass this up you are insane. Android is one of the most exciting things to come to mobile phone technology in history.
"At this point in time, for all of Andoid's promise of openness and features, the UI still sucks! Get over it!"
You clearly are delusional. Were you watching a different video than I was? Judging from the demonstrations available online, Android has the best user interface out of any any mobile phone currently on the market, excepting iPhone. My business partner, who holds a BS in Human Computer Interaction agrees.
I live in Japan an was never very impressed by the iPhone except for 2 things.
1. Bling OS. It is very polished, smooth and cool looking.
2. Lot's of independent software (despite Apple's best attempts to stop it).
The 2nd point is the most valuable, that is also the power of the desktop PC's we use (and Java). Having developers making software they want to use and making it available to extend to the functionality of your machine.
Android is being picked up by a lot of the big manufacturers, which means a lot of devices. Modern devices are getting more and more powerful and people are getting more and more used to expecting more from their phones. Developers want to make software for as many people as possible, this is a great situation. It could end up being the Windows of the phone world (without the MS BS).
i don't think the phone market is in disarray due to the iphone, it created a lot of buzz, but not everyone is buying them. and as pointed out in another article, a lot of US iphones were unlocked and are now used abroad. so a large segment of the US sales was really for foreign markets.
i hope that Android makes Apple realize they need to open the system for all developers, I guess they are making moves in that direction with the SDK.
But that is the most important thing. I need 3rd party software, I would hack it for that as without it, it is pretty crap (quoting from Kevin Rose).
Yup. Android isn't an iPhone killer. This is just like all those iPod killers that sprang up only to be discontinued a few quarters later. Android is competing with LiMo and all that will be produced is a market flooded with craptastic telephones that will continue to confuse consumers.
Well, I understand that from user's point of view the interface may look like a crap. But I have Android SDK and must say few things, that make it superior to iPhone in the long-run (technologicaly, usability will depend on application):
- Language Level Security (as all apps can only be in Java)
- Security without code-signing (you can decide what each application can and cannot do)
- Service based architecture (for example you create application which says android "Hey, I know how to locate user with 1m accurancy and low power consumption", then if any application asks for user's GPS Android chooses the prefered application best matching the conditions and in that way it works with everything)
- All applications are equal - you can create your own home screen, own phone call screen and in fact whatever you want
- You have pretty much stuff you can embedd into you application (Google Maps, Browser window etc.)
- Not sure how the SDK from Apple would look like, but Java IDEs are superior to any other on the market
- Google is much more open to developers, supporting (finanacialy) a lot of open source projects ... I feel that Apple would like to be the only developing applications and let other just do widgets and web pages
... yes iPhone looks better for the moment. But in Google Android there is also a desktop class kernel, with JVM ontop of it which creates secure sandbox for all applications with all the stuff like video playback, 3d, speech recognition, accelerometer support etc.
Just when it seems as if Apple is going to force cell phones to make a huge paradigm shift like the iPod did with the music industry, this craptastic effort comes along and drives all that progress back to the stone age. The upside of all this is that it makes the iPhone look even better.
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Hahahahha. Craptastic
Hahahahha. Craptastic indeed.
looks like Apple will have
looks like Apple will have to start protecting their patenta as Stevo said at MWSF 2007 lol
you guys are shameless
you guys are shameless fanboys. Yeah, me too.
How is that demo
How is that demo 'crap-tastic' ? I see tons of potential and this is still PRE-ALPHA. Give me a break, guys. I love the iPhone as much as the next guy but given how fast the OS is on current hardware, and given how many apps can be developed for an open source OS, I see this as serious competition for Apple.
Besides, I am sure Apple rehearses their damn demos that they put online and in commercials. This guy was fidgeting around, didn't have a script, really. And the only thing that didn't seem to work was the selection of photos via a single tap/click.
Just give it time.
the user interface is
the user interface is wonky. Remember, Apple was at this stage with the iPhone over a year ago. That is a lot of time to make up.
I say this as an unashamed
I say this as an unashamed Apple fanboy - I think the Android platform is looking far from craptastic. As much as I love the iphone, i think the Android platform could be a real competitor. Apple are going to have to keep on their toes and listen to the list of things users didn't like (including missing features) about the first iphone, in order to keep up with open source. Having to hack your phone to (for example) send a picture you just took to an SMS recipient is going to start to feel a bit old when the open source community will likely provide those sorts of features in their sleep - because THEY want them as users too.
The hardware in the video looked crap compared to the iphone, definitely. And the demo was not exactly the fireworks of a Stevenote, but it wasn't supposed to be. Think about this: many of apple's patents for the iphone would be software-based, e.g. the software part of the two finger touch functions... and there's no way they can ever sue the open source community for writing an exact copy of this software. Download it on your phone...legally. How much easier is it going to be to get the device you really want?
Here's another link to some android news from the show: www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2259439,00.asp
Let's not jump to conclusions. And if Android does make Apple sit up and take notice, that's only a good thing.
those may be some valid
those may be some valid points however my biggest question is one of support. Does open source also mean variable timetables on support or none at all or varying degrees of quality? At least with the iPhone being under one roof you can sort of assume bugs will be fixed in certain amount of time.
don't be silly. this is an
don't be silly. this is an alpha test and it looks pretty good. if it links up with itunes it would be even better. don't knock an alpha product. google updates all of the time. i have both apples and pc's and looking forward to a touch screen device with google.
If you think Android is
If you think Android is craptastic (especially after seeing that video!) you obviously do not understand the purpose behind it. Android isn't a phone. Android isn't an operating system that Samsung and friends will drop into their phones and ship them. Android is a platform. Saying Android is looking craptastic is like saying Linux is looking as if its not a serious OS.
Also, Chauncey, the hardware is not pre-alpha. The hardware is a currently shipping product. Android is pre-alpha. And this video does not come anywhere close to demonstrating Android's potential and current capability. What the video does do is show us that Android is coming along nicely and works great even on existing hardware.
Mind you, every manufacturer's implementation of Android will likely look and be very different. Android is not set to compete with iPhone. Android is a tool that will be used by hardware providers to further revolutionize mobile phones, allowing those providers' phones to compete with iPhone.
If you fancy writing something, try to make sure you understand it a little first. If you don't want to, just don't write.
Why don't you show people
Why don't you show people this video? Jump to 3:00.
Edit: there you go
Bha... i agree ti looks
Bha... i agree ti looks crap.... the UI, slow responde, crap fonts... Anyway it is a alpha and i belive Google will bring a nice toy.
iPhone UI, speed, usabilty, except few limits, it is fantastic.
Let's pass over the awful
Let's pass over the awful accent of that VP... why are they scrolling a map of Iraq?!?! Exactly at 1:00" the map shows abu Grahib! WTF !? Is Barcelona in Iraq!? I thought it was in Spain, but maybe I'm missing some sort of international treaty GWB has managed to get operative in the past few months...
Android is a platform, an
Android is a platform, an open source platform. It's not a phone
Its SDK has been released already, where's the iphone SDK?
there will be thousands of phones running android, unlike a single iphone
just like thousands of PCs running linux, unlike only Macs running mac os x
if you don't like this phone, you may like the other phones running android
if you don't like iphone (say you want a real keyboard, or you want 3G), you can't run osx
Yup. Craptastic is a
Yup. Craptastic is a perfect description.
That 'crap' is far faster,
That 'crap' is far faster, and much higher featured than my VerizonWireless LG VX9900 enV, and my AT&T RAZR V3. From what I've seen of my sons VerizonWireless Blackberry 8830, that 'crap' would double his speed.
Fanboy, you need to open your eyes; this 'crap' is totally competitive with your beloved iPhone, and it is not yet using the current bleeding edge processors.
Guys, competition is good,
Guys, competition is good, we will see great things being created for us to consume.
If it looks like crap and
If it looks like crap and smells like crap then it must be craptastic!
I agree...crap! All of you
I agree...crap!
All of you people screaming about this only being alpha, pre-alpha, or whatever blankety-blank alpha excuse you want to call it, you're missing the point. I also love the pretnetious calls to 'learn a little something about what you're talking about before you write'. Please, what any of you has written in response is far from being over anyone's heads. Thanks so much for enlightening us!
The point is, it's Feb '08, and this is where Android's at. By the time they get the UI working the way it should, fitting on a working hardware, playing nice with the phone companies AND telcos, we'll be well into a 2nd gen iPhone functioning with SDK-supported apps that I'm sure will blow people's minds...again (just as this first model did).
Of course I want the iPhone to catch up on features, too, but I haven't seen ANYTHING from Android or GSMA that makes go 'Hmmmmmmmm...'. Now that Garmin Nuvifone? Maybe...
TD
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about? And what is all this crap you're spewing about englightenment? You really don't get it.
How does where the iPhone is at correlate at all with where Android is at? All you can think about is your precious little iPhone (I use one, btw), and any supposedly pathetic attempt to compete with it. This isn't about iPhone and Android. Android wasn't made to make money (it costs nothing to distribute on phones) and it is a free platform. Android isn't about killing iPhone. iPhone is too great to kill -- it's here to stay, we know! But is everyone going to own an iPhone? Hell no! Android is about revolutionizing every other handset out there. Android will provide a platform for mobile phones that is worth something to consumers, service providers, and hardware makers. We are missing the point? No, kid. You're missing the point. Obviously Android cannot be appreciated well by anyone who doesn't understand the developer mindset.
Android is a platform, not a phone.
And there are no excuses. I don't know where you pulled that out of. If you would see the videos for what they are you would realize that Android needs no excuses. It is already forming up to be a great platform!
Wow...why is it that when I
Wow...why is it that when I select the HTML Input format, my HTML is ignored? This site is what's craptastic.
The crap I'm spewing about
The crap I'm spewing about enlightenment is based on these supposedly better-informed folks trying to preach. How does the iPhone correlate to Android? You're seriously asking me that? Last time I checked, they're both mobile phone platforms. Just because Android isn't formally fitted to a piece of alumimun and plastic it can't be judged yet? Call it whatever you want- a platform, an idea, a goal, a dream, etc. Gush all you want about its being free and ubiquitious among providers and manufacturers.
At this point in time, for all of Andoid's promise of openness and features, the UI still sucks! Get over it!
"How does the iPhone
"How does the iPhone correlate to Android? You're seriously asking me that?"
Uh...no. That's not what I'm asking you. You missed one very small, very important word used two times in my question. "At". How does where the iPhone is at correlate to where Android is at? Or, more accurately, how does the current condition of iPhone correlate to the current condition of Android?
They do not compete on the same scale. iPhone, the 'product' (closed handset and OS/platform), is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to competing with Android, the 'platform' (open to all vendors).
You are very wrong in thinking that the fact that iPhone's platform is tied to a hardware device is unimportant. Because iPhone is tied to a peice of hardware, it is automatically in a much smaller playing field than Android. iPhone is not a platform, it is a product. A product who's platform (OS X) will never grace another vendor's hardware. No one can buy a phone from Samsung and have OS X on it (granted, that would be a horrible move for Apple).
On the other hand, the open and free Android has the opportunity to be adopted by every handset maker out there. And every handset maker out there has the freedom to mold Android into their very own OS. Samsung, Motorola, LG, HTC and all the others will be on the same platform, but will compete with each other on the hardware and stock applications field. A consumer can buy an Android phone from Samsung one year, find a really great replacement from LG the next, and still keep all of their third-party applications, taking advantage of the openness. Consumers can do whatever they wish with their phone's operating system, and be ensured the same freedom no matter which phone they decide to purchase next.
So, from the platform point of view, a closed, non-modifiable platform tied to a single vendor's hardware (and for the time being, on a single service provider's network), does not compete with an open, freely modified platform adopted by every major handset vendor. That doesn't mean Apple won't sell the most handsets. However, it does mean that it is very unlikely that there will be more iPhones sold than all of the phones sold by every other vendor running Android. Android will saturate the market simply by broad vendor adoption - something Apple cannot achieve without opening OS X to licensing.
I know, I know. You don't have to come back here and bash on me with a bunch of "where the hell is this Android adoption you're talking about?" Of course, this all depends on vendor's willingness to take up Android. But if you think there's a possibility the vendors will pass this up you are insane. Android is one of the most exciting things to come to mobile phone technology in history.
"At this point in time, for all of Andoid's promise of openness and features, the UI still sucks! Get over it!"
You clearly are delusional. Were you watching a different video than I was? Judging from the demonstrations available online, Android has the best user interface out of any any mobile phone currently on the market, excepting iPhone. My business partner, who holds a BS in Human Computer Interaction agrees.
Ethan, u the man. I am glad
Ethan, u the man.
I am glad u see the value of Android.
I live in Japan an was never very impressed by the iPhone except for 2 things.
1. Bling OS. It is very polished, smooth and cool looking.
2. Lot's of independent software (despite Apple's best attempts to stop it).
The 2nd point is the most valuable, that is also the power of the desktop PC's we use (and Java). Having developers making software they want to use and making it available to extend to the functionality of your machine.
Android is being picked up by a lot of the big manufacturers, which means a lot of devices. Modern devices are getting more and more powerful and people are getting more and more used to expecting more from their phones. Developers want to make software for as many people as possible, this is a great situation. It could end up being the Windows of the phone world (without the MS BS).
i don't think the phone market is in disarray due to the iphone, it created a lot of buzz, but not everyone is buying them. and as pointed out in another article, a lot of US iphones were unlocked and are now used abroad. so a large segment of the US sales was really for foreign markets.
i hope that Android makes Apple realize they need to open the system for all developers, I guess they are making moves in that direction with the SDK.
But that is the most important thing. I need 3rd party software, I would hack it for that as without it, it is pretty crap (quoting from Kevin Rose).
Yup. Android isn't an
Yup. Android isn't an iPhone killer. This is just like all those iPod killers that sprang up only to be discontinued a few quarters later. Android is competing with LiMo and all that will be produced is a market flooded with craptastic telephones that will continue to confuse consumers.
Android seems to be
Android seems to be promising, but for the time being I'll stick with my iPhone.
Can't wait for the SDK.
Also recently Nokia acquired
Also recently Nokia acquired Trolltech, which develops Qtopia.
Well, I understand that from
Well, I understand that from user's point of view the interface may look like a crap. But I have Android SDK and must say few things, that make it superior to iPhone in the long-run (technologicaly, usability will depend on application):
- Language Level Security (as all apps can only be in Java)
- Security without code-signing (you can decide what each application can and cannot do)
- Service based architecture (for example you create application which says android "Hey, I know how to locate user with 1m accurancy and low power consumption", then if any application asks for user's GPS Android chooses the prefered application best matching the conditions and in that way it works with everything)
- All applications are equal - you can create your own home screen, own phone call screen and in fact whatever you want
- You have pretty much stuff you can embedd into you application (Google Maps, Browser window etc.)
- Not sure how the SDK from Apple would look like, but Java IDEs are superior to any other on the market
- Google is much more open to developers, supporting (finanacialy) a lot of open source projects ... I feel that Apple would like to be the only developing applications and let other just do widgets and web pages
... yes iPhone looks better for the moment. But in Google Android there is also a desktop class kernel, with JVM ontop of it which creates secure sandbox for all applications with all the stuff like video playback, 3d, speech recognition, accelerometer support etc.
"But in Google Android there
"But in Google Android there is also a desktop class kernel..."
Does iPhone not has a desktop class kernel? I think it does.
Just when it seems as if
Just when it seems as if Apple is going to force cell phones to make a huge paradigm shift like the iPod did with the music industry, this craptastic effort comes along and drives all that progress back to the stone age. The upside of all this is that it makes the iPhone look even better.
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