No one can dispute it: the iPhone is cool. But Apple maintains absolute control over the software you can install and the services you can use, so the iPhone is still tethered to your home computer. The problem with the iPhone is that it is not open-source.
Google has been working on an alternative platform for some time now, dubbed Android (for a summary and overview, go here, for more technical details, start here). Its not a phone; its a platform, that is, a collection of tools and software that runs a phone. Think of it as an operating system for your cell, and in this case that operating system is free and open-source (for the most part).
The Android platform has been in development for over a year, and today marks the official announcement of the first phone to utilize that platform: the T-Mobile G1, otherwise known as the HTC Dream, and includes a full slide out keyboard and a touch screen interface. Like the iPhone, it will play music (purchases are through Amazon’s DRM-free music store), support podcasts, and include an application store for community-produced software.
Ars Technica reports:
In addition to being chock full of Google’s open source goodness, the
companies have worked to ensure that the Android-enabled Dream is chock
full of familiar features and apps. Users will have one-click access to
all of Google’s mobile apps, such as Gmail, Google Maps (including
street view, a feature that is infuriatingly missing from the iPhone),
Google talk, Google Calendar, and more.
Check out the full story here.
Update: Read The New York Times’s take, complete with pretty pictures.
