The first ever Android phone is out, and everyone is talking the same thing …. IS IT AN iPhone Killer?? The fact is that Android is no Samsung Instinct or the HTC Diamond, that is made to rival the iPhone. It’s an open source platform for which many other manufacturers will release devices…
We can expect anything from a Blackberry shaped QWERTY to a simple Bar shaped Nokia types device on the Android platform. When we compare the Android (looking at the G1) with the iPhone, we can consider the following points:
1) iPhone wins with its superior touch interface that has won millions of hearts worldwide.
2) While Apple can come out with utmost 1 new model every-year for the iPhone, Android has the luxury of many manufacturers working on it. This would bring a far greater variety to the Android platform.
3) The key selling point for iPhone is the Apple Logo on its back. Its sheer branding.
4) Android being backed by Google, would gel the internet seamlessly to the device. Apple iPhone has relied heavily on Google Apps and since Day 1 Google products are loaded onto the iPhone. But with Android the integration of Google and Mobile takes a new shape!
5) Apple has released an SDK for the iPhone 2.0 and has tons of 3rd party apps. However, we have heard developers cry over Apples attitude towards 3rd party applications. Android, on the other hand, is truly open source and offers a greater variety. iPhone remains a product, tightly controlled by Apple.
6) Worldwide presence: Apple has taken the iPhone to a global level, but Google along with numerous handset makers and its own worldwide brand image can push Android more deeper.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has already predicted that Mobile would be the next trendy thing (after PC and Web), and Android is Google’s googly to enter this market in a big way. Their target is not the iPhone or the Blackberry, its the Mobile Platform in general. So be sure you are going to witness all kinds of Android devices … From ultracheap to ultra expensive!
Update: read this – Android to takeover iPhone by 2012