Gphone1

I went to the Black Crowes concert this weekend and saw a bunch of people holding up their phone to snap a picture of the band. I was standing about 20 rows back from the stage, and as a result, I was able to gain a good view of the different types of phones up in the air. Some held flip phones, others cautiously held up their Iphones and a rare few still tried to snap a pic using their Treos.

Seeing this upfront progression in mobile devices led me to a bunch of mixed feelings about the current state of the mobile market.

First, the Treo and the Blackberry:

It was only about a year ago when the Treo really was, for a lack of better word choice, the cat’s meow. Everyone had one, and everyone who had one was addicted to their Treo. Some of my co-workers even checked their e-mail on their Treo, as they sat in front of their computer. In the eyes of Treo owners, their phone was the smarter choice and more capable alternative to the Blackberry.

And yes, over the past few years, the Blackberry tried some evolutionary tactics (think: Pearl) and the Treo (think: that one version without the antenna sitcking out), but the evolution was small and less impactful than what behavior changing and user empowerment the Iphone brought to communication.

…and the Iphone:

We all know how hot and heavy everyone’s been for the Iphone ever since its debut. While Mac fanboys rave on it, I’ll dare to contest the audio quality on is adequate, the edge near the receiver is awkwardly sharp against the ear and it would be impossible to dial while trying to do anything else at the same time. While I still hold these negative views, up until very recent, I was internalizing whether to forgo these Iphone shortcomings, nonsensically cancel my Verizon contract and go grasp my very own (white or black?) Iphone. Shortcomings as they were, the superior user interface, and pure appeal of the Iphone was strong enough of a magnetic force to gradually yank me into the store.

Now the G1:

So there I was at the Black Crowes concert and aside from realizing that the band has an amazing ability to put on an excellent live performance, I see the progression of mobile phones right in front me. Flip phone, Blackberry, Treo, Iphone, G1. In fact, I didn’t see any G1s, but my coworker received one the day of its release, and while the phone is not the prettiest one on the block, it has the best seal in town – Google’s. 

At first I wanted an Iphone, and the introduction of the Apps store made me want it more, but then T-Mobile introduced the G1, based on an open-source solution, that isn’t necessarily mobile phone only (think OS for your car’s navigation screen, your TV at home, your desktop, etc.), and all of a sudden the Iphone felt restricted, cold and closed.

Then I thought about the G1, and I thought open-source, that’s great. Once I saw one in-person,my heart said yes, while my eyes said fat chance.

I thought putting these thoughts on paper might help me synthesize my stance on the mobile market, but I remain unclear on which phone is best. The Iphone is filled to the brim with those finer Apple touches that make you feel like their product is working with your needs and desires and not against it; however, this experience is limited to those customers and developers who are willing to pay the cover (read: high monthly fees equivalent to price gauging) and follow the dress code (read: your app must be Apple proof, which isn’t necessarily a great thing, and is a separate post in itself). The G1 is open-source, unique enough to not be an Iphone rip off, and seems to be less about the phone and more about the potential of the OS. On the other hand, the G1 probably doesn’t fit in my pocket, kind of has a bit of a non-intuitive interface, is less restrictive on apps, but might be more vulnerable to a mass unleashing of junk/scam apps, and well, overall, just isn’t there quite yet.

The Iphone came out, and Sprint and Verizon hurried to make cheap, corny imitators. Seeing past the wannabes, what eventually came out of the Iphone realease was the G1. The G1 is now out, and I haven’t seen an imitation yet. What I hope, and think will happen, is the Android OS will be brushed up over the next few months (I wonder if its interface can be updated online), and put on more phones, that quite frankly, make more sense and look better than the G1.

Right now, the task at hand for the G1 is to get it in the hands of developers to get them to push the device into everyone’s life, just like the Google search engine. Once developers pay attention to the G1, there is a fair chance the device will accelerate past the Iphone.

Stay tuned for what I think will turn out to be an interesting 12 months for the mobile industry. My contract with Verizon expires in April; perhaps by then the landscape will defog and we’ll all have crazy looking phones like the Japanese.

Post Script – While I coudn’t get away without posting a site for you to look at, here’s a good one, that’s quite self-explanatory: 
Please Fix the Iphone