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I believe the creation of a defacto branded Google Phone with the Nexus One was a misstep both for Android & Google itself.
I have been an early supporter of Android as the young upstart open mobile platform versus the Apple iPhone with Android being backed by major mobile players in the Open Handset Alliance, principally Google.
I just want to be sure this leader of the mobile rebel alliance does not become Darth Vader or to another extreme an Edsel.
First, I understand Google is in it to make money by providing a “free” service in order to make money in the back end with advertising, so yes a Trojan horse approach while circumspect to it evolving into the Borg.
Google has tried to avert the Borg feeling with its “Don’t Be Evil” credo which every person I met from Google seems to embody, be it Romain Guy & Jean-Baptiste Quero of the Android team to the head of webspam, Matt Cutts.
So the Google Phone announcement was perhaps a premature disrobing of a wolf in sheep’s clothing to both the handset makers & mobile service providers that are the vast majority of the Open Handset Alliance itself.
*** Chris DiBona, the open source manager at Google, stated what may have been the true purpose of Google publicly forcing a phone out under their brand as a play for more developers, “This is going to sound really cynical, but the only thing that really matters is how many of these we ship – how many Android phones. There is a linear relationship between the number of phones you ship and the number of developers.” ***
The key growth statement from the Google Android Press Gathering last week was the fact a year ago Android was one phone on one network in one country & one language but fast forward to today, its 20 phones on 59 carriers in 48 countries & 19 languages.
While the Nexus One is a great phone that can make plausible arguments at being better than the iPhone I would not say it was revolutionary nor what I would consider worth the moniker of a Google SuperPhone.
A true SuperPhone would have NO dependence on ANY mobile service provider – That solution may reside in white spaces with VoIp service as I touched upon at SES Chicago in a WebProNews interview from early December 2009.
Not only that but the blowback in supporting a branded GooglePhone gets confusing and frustrating since Google is the one directly selling it online while its actually made by HTC and serviced predominantly by T-Mobile.
Perhaps Google thought what it called the Superphone wouldn’t need much support.
Then compounding the support issues are the double termination fees, buggy 3G service & $174 worth of parts in the Nexus One which together builds into the animosity against both the Google brand & the growth of Android.
I almost wish the genie was put back in the lamp with the Nexus One simply being the HTC Passion, but it seems Google wanted to prempt both CES & the next iPhone launch to get public attention toward Android.
I agree the public should be aware of Android but not sure Android is truly ready for the GENERAL public yet.
So even with this misstep, I agree with TechCrunch that Android can maintain a path toward becoming the defacto standard for mobile phones in the near future – Enter the Borg
Google And Blog is cited & referenced as a top Android site in:
Hard to say really. The learning experience for Google will be invaluable.
Scott,
I get the learning experience angle but you don’t have a 2nd chance for a first impression & this Google “super phone” was the public in general’s first real impression on Android.
That initial poor taste could leave a sour recollection that could stymie a REAL Google Phone dominating & Android’s future growth – IMHO
,Michael Martin
You are wrong. the Droid, the g1 and many other phones have been out for a while now. People are using them. Non geeks too.
DiBona is absolutely correct.
Also, most people don't give a fig what OS their phone runs. To them, it's a phone.
None of this happened when the iPhone went out??? (Which is the same concept really)
Joel,
You are correct that the G1 has been out a year as initially it was a more tech savvy crowd using it & then Android slowly gains traction with the masses – I just think the public awareness throttle was accelerated a bit prematurely with the Nexus One & Google's branding.
As Danny Sullivan stated the only critical app the iPhone has over the Android is its UI since its near dummy proof.
The iPhone dummy proofing is what help's in its mass adoption but Apple has always chosen to accomplish this with a closed garden dictatorial approach – I am hoping Android can achieve this in the long term with a more open & democratic version.
,Michael Martin
hey michael,
Do you think that there will be a G2 in production since this is really what i and about 50 people that work with me at a tmobile call center want to know…..its really important to us because so far the closest thing to this "super phone" will be the HD 2 but since this is going to have crappy windows mobile it won't be fun for android enthusiasts like us……do you have any scoop on this? we would really appreciate the information…. and also if you know if it will have keyboard since this is a biggie for us also….thank you
TMo,
That's the speculation that there will be an upcoming Nexus Two business version that has a keyboard – this is purely speculation, but would be nice if that came out around Google IO (as well given to attendees).
Since you are at T-Mobile any insight on your end to G1 owners getting a free upgrade to the MyTouch 3G like Rogers in Canada is doing?
,Michael Martin
none that i have heard or seen here at my comp…. i wouldn't recommend that if you loved you G1 to upgrade to a mytouch since the lack of keyboard will drive you insane!!! this happened to a few of my co-workers…… the reason that i was asking was because we had a representative from HTC not long ago visit the call center and she adv us "unoficially" that there was possibly be a G2 but really "unoficially" so i was just wondering if someone like you that has more contacts than I knew something i didn't…….and so you know she adv us that the new phone to replace the G1 because the mytouch its a brand separate from the G series, was going to have the 3.5 mm jack, the flash and possibly the 5 megapixel camera with zoom, and mos important: getting rid of the G1's chin…or that space that bothers you when you text!!!! so just sharing with you in case you hadn't heard anything about this….thanks for your fast response!!!!!
While techies may be comfortable purchasing a smartphone sight unseen over the internet, the vast consumer market is not. Apart from Google's underestimation of the problems associated with supporting the Nexus, the notion that the phone could make a significant splash in the consumer market without being available to hold and fondle is simply astounding.
I believe Google was experimenting that people would buy a phone without touching it or going to a brick & mortar – I don't think Google expected this was going to take off in the consumer market but rather to change things up & lay a new groundwork for purchasing mobile phones going forward – IMHO
While I think they may have burned some bridges, I am not sure it will end up as bad as some think.
I agree
Hi, came to the site for another article a friend sent and came across this one.
I have a Nexus One. I am techy by day job, but I actually held back a few days to read the initial reports.
Meanwhile, a non-tech acquaintance purcahsed the Nexus One — she left her iPhone and AT&T service for it, but apparently didn't really hate AT&T.
She just had to have an N1.
I've since shown the Nexus One to 8 iPhone friends, and all but one has seen it for a few seconds and wanted one of their own. A friend on T-Mobile with a feature phone has wanted an iPhone, but now isn't so sure. He wants to go to a T-Mobile store in a buying mood for the N1 when it's available.
The Nexus One is pretty fabulous, so I don't think Google will hurt itself. As for hurting Android, I'm not so sure either — manufacturers are used to competition. And it looks like Google is getting into bed with more than just HTC for high end Android phones.
I've seen some criticism about Google regarding Android in FOSS forums — apparently Android isn't fully FOSS because parts of it are locked down by Google. Compare this to Symbian, which was similar as of last year, but as of today is now fully FOSS.
The carriers and manufacturers know Google has a lot of control over Android, and the contracts for the level of googlification of Android phones is obvious to them, so it seems they have bought in. We as outsiders are just getting an inkling of how it can shape up, but they all have armies of lawyers combing through every deal when looking at new tech directions.