Thursday, December 4, 2008

Google Phone

Taiwan based High Tech Computer (HTC) is planning to launch the Android platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the Google phone) termed G1 in India this December. The first phone boasting Google Android software, created by a Google-led consortium, it has received mixed reviews from analysts and users.



Here are some points which brings out where the google phone apeales and where it disappoints.

Negative Points

Corporate Email
G1 has a very limited ability to connect to corporate email servers , Unlike the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry and most other high-end smartphones sold in the US.

Looks
Google phone lack on the looks front. According to several analysts, Google phone has little to offer new to users in terms of looks.

Like the iPhone, the G1 has a high-resolution screen, which makes easy to browse even those websites that are not specifically adapted for a cellphone. However, like iPhone there is no multi-touch gesture support.

lack cutting edge feature
G1 doesn't offer anything more than what most other high-end phones already do. "There aren't a lot of ‘wow’ features on it," told Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of PC Magazine to a news wire.

It supports Bluetooth-headset profile, but there is no stereo Bluetooth and no tethering.

No Video Recording
Like iPhone, in G1 too users cannot shoot video , which is a big negative since video recording feature is today found in most cellphones, even those at the lower end.



Brand recall
As we all know that iPhone came with the back of Apple's huge success iPod music player, But Android is still an unknown brand, though it has google name attached to it.

Also, Google has a name attached with PC world, where it dominates search. But it doest not have the leverage in mobile that it have in pc.

Positive Points

Touch Screen-cum-Keypads
All iPhone's biggest attraction is its touchscreen interface, Google G1 is a step ahead of them. The Google phone's 3.2-inch colour touchscreen slides out to expose a full Qwerty keyboard. The phone also have a trackball.

Also, along with Google Maps with Satellite View, Traffic, and Street View, Google phone also has a compass mode that orients the screen as user moves. Its weight is 158 grams, the phone is similar in size to 3G iPhone, just slightly heavier, and narrower at sides.



3.2 megapixel camera
Google phone comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with photo-sharing capability. Though 3 megapixel camera may not look too impressive considering the present phones which have higher megapixel. It is higher than iPhone's 2 megapixel camera.

Also, Google phone supports multimedia messaging.

Varied interface
Though the appearance is not much good but features that it offers are good. No sweat, you have the option to go for Google phone from some other service provider. According to Andy Rubin, who developed Android for Google, Google phones' interface is completely replaceable.



Pricing
Google phone will cost $179, $20 less than the 3G iPhone. In India, iPhone sells for Rs 31,000 for 8GB and Rs 36,100 for 16GB.

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