At Digital Lifestyles we’re growing increasingly moist at the prospect of the new Google Android mobile platform, currently only available on T-Mobile’s soon-come G1 handset.
It looks like we’re not alone in our enthusiasm for the shiny new OS, with stocks of the G1 handset set to be flying off the shelves quicker then, err, sherbet off a shovel.
T-Mobile have reported that they ran out of pre-order stock almost immediately after the launch, and now they’ve totaled around 1.5 million units in pre-order sales.
With the G1’s release set for “as early as October 22“, expectations are running high, with a lot of pressure on the new handset to succeed and woo early adopters and tech hungry punters away from the glittering iPhone.
Industry pundits are predicting that the Android smartphone operating system could signal a sea change in both consumers’ and mobile network operators’ attitudes to smartphones.
ABI Research director Kevin Burden commented, “If Android is to become the ubiquitous mobile phone platform that Google and the Open Handset Alliance hope it will be, it will be because operators and handset OEMs recognize the value to their own business models of using standard platforms, not because wireless subscribers clamour for feature-rich phones, much less an Android-based phone.”
With the current smartphone market only accounting for 14% of worldwide handsets, Google needs to get their new platform reaching out to more punters if they’re to effectively market their services to a wider user base.
To this end, the company will, no doubt, start putting well-oiled PR wheels in motion to convince punters and operators of the benefits of using a standardised operating system.
As for us, we can’t wait to get our grubby hands on a G1 handset. After waiting in vain for something to stir in the seemingly perma-slumbering Palm OS camp and being bitterly disappointed by every Windows Mobile device we’ve laid our hands on. And as much as we like the sleek lines of the iPhone, we can’t take a phone seriously that doesn’t do cut and paste, and we can’t get to love Steve Jobs’ proprietary, power-mad AppStore concept.
Looks like there will be a launch night on thursday with a special performance by the Raconteurs.
http://www.g1phone.blogspot.com
Wow — hyperbola galore!
(1) The number of 1.5 M keeps popping up: nobody seems to have a confirmed industry source other than Android blogs.
(2) Pre-orders are not sales so nothing is flying off shelves yet.
Based on the scant demo, “the overwhelming success of pre-orders” reported may signify skillfully presented cutting the number of pre-orders — and customer frustration — by T-Mobile signaling delays in launch of an early and still unstable version of the Android OS.
cheers!
Azazello: I actually said that stocks of the G1 handset were *set* to be flying off the shelves. Which is what they’ll be doing once the handset becomes available.
We don’t find the 1.5m pre-orders figure to be that surprising either – there’s a lot of excitement around the phone and the pricing looks good too.
And early reports say that the phone is stable:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=104757
But here’s what gets me excited:
“But here’s the thing: Android, and the G1, are open. Open, open, open, in ways that would make Steve Jobs cringe. You can unlock this phone after 90 days—that is, use any SIM card from any carrier in it. The operating system is free and open-source, meaning that any company can make changes without consulting or paying Google.
The App store is completely open, too; T-Mobile and Google say they won’t censor programs that they don’t approve of, as Apple does with the iPhone store. Yes, even if someone writes a Skype-like program that lets people avoid using up T-Mobile cellular voice minutes.”
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/a-first-look-at-googles-new-phone/
We get flooded with spam comments, so we have to put strange stuff like this maths in place, just so you can prove you’re human.