Can the Google Phone Be Saved?

[wkdtime]

Hey guys,

I don't normally join forums about phones etc. but I really wanted to bring this to peoples attention.

I currently own a HTC Magic and absolutely love it, it could do with more RAM and a slightly better processor but the OS has alot going for it, i'm also aware of the multi-touch saga with apple etc, but why I'm here is because of this article

see here How Google can knock the iPhone from its perch. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

Im here to see what you guys think of this article, google has alot going for it and I really want it to do well, I honeslty do, but I cant help but somewhat agree with the above article, Google doesn't seem to be going full steam with it's mobile OS, it seem's to be a case of "we can make a mobile OS too, there you go...now swiftly moving on"

Look forward to your comments.

 

[TheBrit]

Interesting article. Google do need to work a bit harder for more mind share. I don't think they are 'moving swiftly on' though. I expect Google to be committed to this for the long term.

 

[GeoUSA]

Thanks for posting. I considered posting a similar article.

Perhaps Google has been so far ahead of everyone in search, playing catch up is somewhat of a new experience for them (and the press). I think the secret is for Google to keep their focus (they are great at long term planning) and come up with ways to counter the perception Android has lost. I think most companies, the press, and individuals do not think long term. This results in the articles we are seeing that Android is failing. The press has to publish SOMETHING after all.

The market for smartphones is incredibly large. Believing that Apple is the only smartphone needed in the market is a bit like believing that we only need Toyota to make cars for the world. There are countless angles that Google can work to win over customers. A huge one would be to lower monthly cost. However, with that in the hands of the cellular providers and with the requirement that carriers expand their networks to support all of the new mobile data devices, that will not happen for a while. I wonder if Google regrets not winning the bid for all of that wireless spectrum? Probably not -- their focus is long term after all!

I don't think a lower cost handset is really the answer. Most people realize the real cost lies in the monthly charges. This leaves Google and the carriers to engineer and market Android in some particular direction. Right now Apple wins with aesthetics (software and hardware). To me Google seems to have the right strategy of integrating their excellent search and backend processing strengths into Android. Market that! Let people know how much power that lends to Android. Give the press what they need -- something to write about.

 

[ianr]

Google are soon to release android 2.0 so it seems strange to wonder about their commitment at this stage. They don't move particularly quickly, it's true, but then Apple don't exactly release a new Jesus Phone every day of the week, and what they do have is, to me, quite far behind the android phones as it's a consumer item controlled brutally by a company not known for their openness. Android is for everyone else. It's also in theory an open OS so should be possible for it to carry on without google, although how likely that is I don't know, there are probably a few core components that aren't open.

I've played with the Jesus Phone and it's slick, gets the owners singing the hymns and patting each other on the back, but Apple are more control-freakish than Microsoft and I can't stand Microsoft's control freakery! I was surprised at how crummy the Maps app was on the Jphone so I suggested to my witnessing friend that he install Google Maps which was much better, but it seems it's not available as Apple wouldn't allow it. You get the apps Apple say and that's all, unless you lift the skirts by rooting it of course, something you can do on Android phones but you don't *have* to.

 

[GeoUSA]

A couple of additional thoughts... One is positive for Android and one is not.

Does anyone else dislike the method of syncing songs on the iPod? I dread the process each time I want to update my Nano with iTunes. Apple could have made the process MUCH more user friendly. The Apple faithful accept this nonsense without question. I much prefer the simplicity of dragging/dropping the files I want when my Android phone acts like a disk drive.

Has anyone played with Google Earth on the iPhone or iPod Touch?!? Wow, it's a very fun and beautiful experience that is greatly enhanced with multi-touch! In this case, one of Google's core strengths is playing against Android.