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gPhone doesn't exist, will make you cookies
"All hail the mighty gPhone, even if it doesn't actually exist. Turns out, the gPhone is a mobile development platform with an OS called Android, middleware, "key" applications and a forthcoming SDK. Funny, I thought the press had pretty much decided that the gPhone was going to be the first phone to bake you cookies. Which would have made these kids happy:
"It would give me anything I want." At first, these kids were cute. Then, really annoying and cloying. Then, they simply became a representation of all that we've been told that an unannounced bit of technology would be. And just like the kids' visions of a phone that helps animals feel better and makes peanut butter sandwiches, the journalists' pronouncements on what the gPhone would be turned out to be nothing more than wishes.
Of course, what we really need from a cell phone are the two things that Google, Palm, Apple and other mobile software makers can't give us. Speed and coverage. Which is why Apple's iPhone is the first phone that doesn't make me want to slam it against a counter more often than I use it to talk to people. When coverage or speed from AT&T's network is pathetic, I flip over to the iPod functionality and enjoy some music or a movie. It downloads mail when I have coverage and I read them when I don't. It doesn't really matter how slick Android is, nor the apps that come with it, the network is still going to be as fast as a tricycle on a highway.
Interesting that they'll have an SDK out 3-4 months ahead of Apple's SDK, while phones built on the platform won't start showing up until next June at the earliest. Will the folks that make jailbreak apps for the iPhone convert their stuff over to work on phones that don't exist? Or will they be converting their stuff over to work "properly" via Apple's SDK in February? My bet is on the latter, since they and their customers will be able to use the fruit of their labors immediately.
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing what apps Google makes available and how they deal with the limitations of low bandwidth. Will they have a suite of mobile office apps? How well will they function? And the true test that won't come until late next year - how does the work people do on the phone convert over to their desks? We'll get a glimpse on November 12th - same day as the One Laptop Per Child Give One Get One program starts.
By the way, I've heard rumors that here on the Edge, we're going to be releasing the sePhone. It'll solve all of the world's social and economic inequities through the delivery of vibrations that cause the whole world to sing Earth, Wind & Fire's Let's Groove:
And everybody gets their own horn section! Because as we all know, that is the key to lasting happiness. We're still working out the kinks though. Right now, the vibration causes people to sing instrumentals. We'll keep working on it. Just don't hold your breath.
"It would give me anything I want." At first, these kids were cute. Then, really annoying and cloying. Then, they simply became a representation of all that we've been told that an unannounced bit of technology would be. And just like the kids' visions of a phone that helps animals feel better and makes peanut butter sandwiches, the journalists' pronouncements on what the gPhone would be turned out to be nothing more than wishes.
Of course, what we really need from a cell phone are the two things that Google, Palm, Apple and other mobile software makers can't give us. Speed and coverage. Which is why Apple's iPhone is the first phone that doesn't make me want to slam it against a counter more often than I use it to talk to people. When coverage or speed from AT&T's network is pathetic, I flip over to the iPod functionality and enjoy some music or a movie. It downloads mail when I have coverage and I read them when I don't. It doesn't really matter how slick Android is, nor the apps that come with it, the network is still going to be as fast as a tricycle on a highway.
Interesting that they'll have an SDK out 3-4 months ahead of Apple's SDK, while phones built on the platform won't start showing up until next June at the earliest. Will the folks that make jailbreak apps for the iPhone convert their stuff over to work on phones that don't exist? Or will they be converting their stuff over to work "properly" via Apple's SDK in February? My bet is on the latter, since they and their customers will be able to use the fruit of their labors immediately.
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing what apps Google makes available and how they deal with the limitations of low bandwidth. Will they have a suite of mobile office apps? How well will they function? And the true test that won't come until late next year - how does the work people do on the phone convert over to their desks? We'll get a glimpse on November 12th - same day as the One Laptop Per Child Give One Get One program starts.
By the way, I've heard rumors that here on the Edge, we're going to be releasing the sePhone. It'll solve all of the world's social and economic inequities through the delivery of vibrations that cause the whole world to sing Earth, Wind & Fire's Let's Groove:
And everybody gets their own horn section! Because as we all know, that is the key to lasting happiness. We're still working out the kinks though. Right now, the vibration causes people to sing instrumentals. We'll keep working on it. Just don't hold your breath.
