Uncool Mobility

Garmin Confirms Android Handset

A sign of things to come in 2009: Service vendors ensuring an integrated experience by launching open-source (primarily Android) powered handsets.

Garmin Confirms Android Handset | Gadget Lab from Wired.com.

Google brings AdWords to iPhone

Google has tailored its AdWords program for mobile and is now allowing advertisers to purchase platform-specific ads. This increases Apple's value as a platform to developers as well as content and ISVs.

Device and service vendors competing with Apple will have to respond to the value Apple is creating with its market ecosystem and get beyond launching touchscreens or announcing plans to add an icon enabling application downloads. Apple is remaking this market without serious responses from any of the incumbents.

AT&T Rejects Android

Sprint and ATT have both said they will not carry Android devices until the platform is improved and carries more non-Google devices. Interesting that Google is perceived as so much more of a threat than Apple.

AT&T Rejects Google's Android | Gadget Lab from Wired.com.

With only TMO in the fold, uptake will be slow. Google needs Verizon or ATT in the US to gain any meaningful share.

Android Market Shows Steady Growth

The NYT notes a Medialets report on Android Application Market uptake. It's frustrating how little solid information is available about Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market.

Android Market Shows Steady Growth - NYTimes.com.

If this information is accurate then the G1 appears to be doing well--especially if you compare the demand generation spend relative to the iPhone 3G launch. Medialets reports the Android Market growing at about a third the pace of Apple's App Store, while Android device uptake is likely growing even more slowly in comparison (not saying it is an unsuccessful launch).

Google phone launch temporarily knocks out T-Mobile website

You would think Apple's highly publicized failures along these lines would have had T-Mobile prepared for this...

nice catch from MoCoNews
T-Mobile USA Customers Lock Up Web Site Following G1 Event

Android phone is finally here, looks interesting but not overwhelming

T-Mobile announced the first Google Android phone today at a press conference in New York, calling it the "G1". The announcement stressed the integration of Google services onto the HTC touchscreen device, particularly search.

The two elements of Android which will draw the most attention as being directly competitive to Apple's ecosystem are the integration of a music store and an application store.

Watching the video it looks like it has some features which are ahead of Apple and RIM but the overall integration and service experience may lag.

T-Mobile announcement and information:

Details:

Amazon has provided a music store and purchasing capability. There is an Amazon MP3 icon which lets you surf the site's music store and do one-click ordering. Its default music player has options to search for related material on services such as Google or YouTube while a song is playing--a step beyond what Apple's "Genius" feature can do.

The device OS also has an "Android Market", an application store comparable to iPhone's Appstore. There are three high-level differences between Apple's App Store and Android's Android Market. Android will only feature free applications, Android has no approval process, and the Android Market will have no website or desktop element.

The G1 also features push email for Gmail; pull email for other POP3 and IMAP. No native support for Exchange.

Google products bundled on phone:
- Google Search
- Google Maps
- Gmail
- Google Calendar
- Google Talk
- YouTube

Pricing: US$179 for the device with a 2-year plan required of voice ($29-99) + data ($25-35/mo) (therefore minimum of $65/mo w/only 300 voice minutes and 400 messages, unlimited data)

Availability: October 22 in the US, November for UK, Western Europe to follow early 2009

Firefox gets Zuned

Chrome Strong Against Firefox And Safari, IE Untouched - The Channel Wire - IT Channel News And Views by CRN and VARBusiness.

Article citing early claims that Chrome will indeed take share from partners rather than the market share leader, IE.

Google launches browser

Google browser takes advantage of Apple software | Reuters.

The main reporting on Google's browser launch centers on what this will mean for browser market share. It's hard to argue there is a "market" for browsers and this is more important for how it impacts search share.

This is further evidence that search is becoming browsing. Establishing search as a home page or toolbar has become the premier battleground for high-value internet users, which is ultimately what Chrome is about.

Google announces new SDK version; readies Android

Business Week has a nice roundup of Google's Android expected features. As T-Mobile confirms it's upcoming release of the Android-powered HTC Dream, Google has also begun testing ads on mobile Youtube.

Google has prioritized maps and Youtube over email and IM connectivity as can be seen from it's updated SDK. They are also not able to include IM or bluetooth in this release.

10 Worst Web glitches of 2008 (so far) | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET

Link: 10 Worst Web glitches of 2008 (so far) | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET.

This roundup is a fun list and a good recap of the downsides of cloud computing. Note that two of the top 10 were infrastructure outages, and two of the consumer solutions listed (Apple and Netflix) are having more problems as this was posted.