First Android phone goes live
Following months of speculation, Google, HTC and T-Mobile today announced the G1, the first commercial mobile phone that uses Android, Google’s open source mobile operating system.
The G1 has both a full QWERTY keyboard as well as a slide-out full touchscreen. The touchscreen uses the familiar swipe action to switch between screens or open applications.
The phone ships with most popular Google services including Maps, StreetView, Gmail and others.
Today Google also announced Android Market, a third-party application repository for developers that create applications for the G1.
The G1 has 3G connectivity and is based on HTC’s Dream handset. The phone also includes Wi-Fi support.
The T-Mobile G1 is to be available in both the US and European markets.
Google’s Andy Rubin said the company will open source the entire platform in the coming months to “drive innovation”.
Microsoft Office formats will be supported on the phone but not Exchange support, although Rubin says that is an “opportunity” for a third-party developer.
The full press conference, including video of the G1, can be found at T-Mobile’s announcement site.
Comments
5 Responses to “First Android phone goes live”
Leave a Reply
Additional comments powered by BackType
September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Wow, that looks cool. Any idea’s when something like that might get here to SA?
Love the site BTW! Discovered it yesterday, been looking for something just like it for ages now!
September 24th, 2008 @ 6:32 am
@hawk:
At this point there is no mention of the phone coming to SA. But let’s hope because it does look good. Soon as I can find out more I’ll post something.
Glad you like the site.
September 26th, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
HI
Thats Great News,
Is it possible to download and load this onto my htc s710?
October 22nd, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Yeap,
It ‘s about time they launched it, now my next quest….how do I get my hands on this bad boy.
October 22nd, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
@ronald:
If you’re in South Africa you’ll have to wait until next year, unfortunately. But the G1 is coming. Also through Vodacom like the iPhone.