New Android Phones?

[duerra]

So there's a ton of news about the G1 going around out there, but I have already decided that I am going to wait by for a little bit to see if some "better" phones are in the works. Unfortunately, I am having a terrible time trying to find any news on new Android phones.

What's the situation here? It seems odd that companies would miss out on the fall sales opportunities that come with the holiday season. Is the platform still really that immature? Is there news I have been missing? With such a lack of other news out there, I get the feeling we're starting to get into Q2 territory of next year before we start seeing more Android phone options. I'm not sure I can wait that long, and I'd really rather not break down and get an iPhone instead. I hope that I am misguided here! =/

 

[Syrax]

The only announcements I've seen as far as other Android phones is that they will be coming out in '09. I believe Samsung in working on a phone for late '09 and Motorola said they are developing one as well. HTC has stated that they will be fabricating more for Android in the future as well. I guess you'll just have to wait it out as the G1 is the only Android phone out this fall.

 

[Rob]

Samsung, LG and Motorola are all known to be working on Android Phones. We know that Motorola's is some type of "Social Networking" phone but the other two are still a mystery. Don't rule out HTC making a second Android Phone before another manufacturer makes their first.

I think part of it comes down to the carriers. Verizon and AT&T aren't all that anxious to jump on the Android bandwagon and Sprint is waiting until their 4G WiMax network has more coverage so their first Android Phone can be WiMax capable.

Thats the American market though... abroad is somewhat of a mystery to me as I'm not as familiar with the mobile landscape.

There are some SMALLER manufacturers who will likely have devices out, most recently... Hop-on announced they would have an Android Phone in January. Others reported this as "Android Phone News" while I took a more skeptical approach on Phandroid (read here)

I wouldn't plan on T-Mobile releasing another Android Phone to cannablize the G1 but who knows... we've seen crazier things before.

This all being said its kind of an odd waiting game where the stars of manufacturer/carrier have to align perfectly and who knows exactly when that will happen. But... by the end of Q1 2009 we should have SOME new Android Phone and when the 2nd comes... i think the 3rd, 4th, etc... won't be far behind.

 

[HCSC]

I hear that SE will make cell phone with Android OS. But I don't know when.

 

[shivers316]

I think that T-Mo should actually come out with an Android smartphone that's a little simpler for people that don't want all the bells and whistles. A non-touchscreen, semi qwerty phone that's maybe a little smaller. I think they'd make a mint between the two.

 

[krstofer]

<--- also from NJ.


Knowing T-mo they will probably come out with a locked down, idiot proof version to sell to people who don't want the bells and whistles. However, I think part of the charm is the touch screen.

 

[AdamHC]

Hey guys,
I just started looking into this whole android thing yesterday and I really want an Android phone now. But the G1 doesn't appeal to me so much, its not the prettiest phone and it's missing an actual earphone jack. I can handle it not looking that glamorous, but the earphone jack is a real downfall for me since I want my next phone to replace my ipod so I don't have to carry them both everywhere I go.

So the G1 phone doesn't appeal so much to me but the OS looks amazing.

To the point, have any other companies started creating an Android phone yet? How long will we be waiting for the next one?

If it's more than about 4 months I think I'll just buy the G1.

-Thanks

 

[duerra]

Heh, even with new Android news today, there's still a complete lack of news on the handset front. I really hope Google can forge some good relationships with these handset makers.

 

[Tyler Durden]

You probably won't be seeing anything worth buying until 2009. Even then, don't expect a slew of Android-capable phones before the second quarter (at the very least). Personally, I too am waiting for a better and more appealing phone. I can wait, the G1 is fugly

 

[ckthunda]

The G1 has been anticipated for well over a year before it was released. Its open source so if you have the patience and knowledge or even bothered to search you would know that many ports have already been created for different devices. Last I heard they had android booting on the Att Tilt or HTC Kaiser and were working on it for the HTC Diamond....

SEARCH SEARCH and most importantly understand what your reading..

 

[ckthunda]

why is everyone so interested in a different phone then the g1 when its been highly anticipated by people for over a year.. The phones full potential hasnt even been unlocked yet. Thats society now though no patience.. This phone has already with android os revolutionized the mobile phone industry and finally has created a solid competitor to windows mobile os and people are giving it crap because of the way it looks. If you understood the true power of the phone from a developers side the look wouldnt matter one bit. The phones internals can be compared side by side to the htc diamond, pro, viva, hd, and one or two more.. Has a higher processor than the Att Tilt or HTC Kaiser. I've already been noticing at many forums besides this that the people that are upset with the phone and are complaining are the people that didnt research the product. Even in reviews the phone was not reccomended for an average smartphone user or business user.. The platform is open source meaning of course tmobile and htc arent gonna do shit for the phone it's open source so if you dont like something the tools are readily available for you to change it. Dont hate! Participate

Ive had the Htc Wizard, Kaiser, Diamond and now the G1 and I tell you if you really researched the G1 you wouldnt be complaining about how ugly it is. Oh and FYI because Android is open-source ports have already been created for other phones. Actually android already supports many phones. Probably even the phone you already own. But that would of required some searching.
Im not being hateful and im not trying to flame its just starting to get so aggravating seeing the same threads everywhere

 

[Rob]

People are curious because:

• Many people don't have T-Mobile and don't want to (or can't afford to) switch carriers.
• Some people don't like the G1 hardware. I do, but I'm a hard key QWERTY kinda guy... to each their own
• A phone is a big investment for many/most people, especially considering the economic times. They don't want to buy the G1 now and then 2 days later an android phone they like 10x more gets leaked

I think you need to separate Android (the software) from G1 (the phone) a little bit more. The promise of Android is that it ISN'T tied to a single phone and I think the interest in new Android handsets beyond the G1 is not only normal, but encouraging.

 

[AdamHC]

why is everyone so interested in a different phone then the g1 when its been highly anticipated by people for over a year.. The phones full potential hasnt even been unlocked yet. Thats society now though no patience.. This phone has already with android os revolutionized the mobile phone industry and finally has created a solid competitor to windows mobile os and people are giving it crap because of the way it looks. If you understood the true power of the phone from a developers side the look wouldnt matter one bit. The phones internals can be compared side by side to the htc diamond, pro, viva, hd, and one or two more.. Has a higher processor than the Att Tilt or HTC Kaiser. I've already been noticing at many forums besides this that the people that are upset with the phone and are complaining are the people that didnt research the product. Even in reviews the phone was not reccomended for an average smartphone user or business user.. The platform is open source meaning of course tmobile and htc arent gonna do shit for the phone it's open source so if you dont like something the tools are readily available for you to change it. Dont hate! Participate

Ive had the Htc Wizard, Kaiser, Diamond and now the G1 and I tell you if you really researched the G1 you wouldnt be complaining about how ugly it is. Oh and FYI because Android is open-source ports have already been created for other phones. Actually android already supports many phones. Probably even the phone you already own. But that would of required some searching.
Im not being hateful and im not trying to flame its just starting to get so aggravating seeing the same threads everywhere

Maybe a developer may not give a crap about how it looks, but I'm sure every customer would care to an extent how it looks (some having lower standards than others). It doesn't matter how good the phone is, if it's the size of a brick I aint getting it and that's understandable. Some people like their stuff to look good, just get over it. This phone aint the size of a brick, but it's not the prettiest phone I've seen.

The G1 has been highly anticipated, not so much because of the actual phone it self, but because of the Android OS it runs on. The hardware of the G1, while being good, is no revolution. Android on the other hand....

The reason I'm curious about the next Android phone? Cause I don't wanna buy one, then a month later find out about some new android phone which is a lot better. And I'm worried to get the first Android phone, maybe I wait for the next one and some of the hardware related problems have been fixed up (or something, I'm no expert).

And i don't want to port it onto another phone, I'd rather wait and buy a phone which is designed for Android. My current phone doesn't even come close to being able to support android.

The G1 is a lot of money, its gotta last me a while. I'm not just gonna go buy it cause it's the only phone that runs android at the moment (without it being ported). The phone hasn't revolutionized the industry, it's OS Android has, and there are gonna be lots of Android phones to follow so I can wait.

 

[g1tube]

There is an Aussie Android handset coming out before Christmas.

A guy called Ruslan Kogan is to sell the phone from December 15 for $199.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/10/kogan_launching_an_android_phone_before_christmas.html

 

[AdamHC]

There is an Aussie Android handset coming out before Christmas.

A guy called Ruslan Kogan is to sell the phone from December 15 for $199.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/10/kogan_launching_an_android_phone_before_christmas.html

From what I can tell, this phone has no plan at all. $199 outright off their website? Thats an amazing price, hopefully the quality is higher than the price. I think this also applies to people in New Zealand.

 

[Gav]

I am sorely disappointed with the way Android has been released. I have not been waiting around for the G1; I have been waiting around for Android. It's still a long way from a stable port to the HTC Diamond/Raphael. I thought that Google were going to release the code with support for getting it onto devices that already existed. It seems that they'll only be working with established firms to release new phones with Android pre-loaded. I can can only hope that they have some sort of exclusivity deal with T-Mobile and the G1 or that they are working on a ton of devices right now and that soon enough they will start releasing ready to install versions to d/l and install straight onto devices. Until then I'll have to patiently wait for the developers to make a homebrew version that I can install and hope that it runs well. I don't want a G1. I want to buy whatever handset suits me and then install Android. I thought that was the whole freakin' point?

The only reason I can see for them going with pre-loaded only is that they might not want people to badly install glitchy versions of Android onto poorly suited devices and then have people blame the OS for it's shortcomings.

 

[nezsem]

That makes no sense at all buddy. How can you just install the android OS onto any device? You do realize their is technology limitations to a wide amount of phones. Phones aren't like desktop computers. You just can't install any OS into it, the OS on the phone has to be nearly 100 percent matching with configurations of the hardware inside a phone. What are you trying to do? Install android on a Razor?

 

[Deleted User]

That makes no sense at all buddy. How can you just install the android OS onto any device? You do realize their is technology limitations to a wide amount of phones. Phones aren't like desktop computers. You just can't install any OS into it, the OS on the phone has to be nearly 100 percent matching with configurations of the hardware inside a phone. What are you trying to do? Install android on a Razor?

I think that Windows Mobile has alot of problems because of this. They have to make it work on a TON of devices. Even tho people hate Windows or MS for that matter, i love them for actually making something work on a TON of configurations.

 

[Gav]

That makes no sense at all buddy. How can you just install the android OS onto any device? You do realize their is technology limitations to a wide amount of phones. Phones aren't like desktop computers. You just can't install any OS into it, the OS on the phone has to be nearly 100 percent matching with configurations of the hardware inside a phone. What are you trying to do? Install android on a Razor?

If you don't know what you're talking about you should stfu and not make a fool of yourself.

Any PC with a good enough spec and the correct drivers can run Windows. Any mobile phone with good enough spec and the correct drivers can run Android.

The problem is that me and most other people are not software engineers and so I can't sit down and code myself a bunch of drivers and work arounds to tailor Android to a particular device.

 

[STORM3333]

why is everyone so interested in a different phone then the g1 when its been highly anticipated by people for over a year.. The phones full potential hasnt even been unlocked yet. Thats society now though no patience.. This phone has already with android os revolutionized the mobile phone industry and finally has created a solid competitor to windows mobile os and people are giving it crap because of the way it looks. If you understood the true power of the phone from a developers side the look wouldnt matter one bit. The phones internals can be compared side by side to the htc diamond, pro, viva, hd, and one or two more.. Has a higher processor than the att tilt or htc kaiser. I've already been noticing at many forums besides this that the people that are upset with the phone and are complaining are the people that didnt research the product. Even in reviews the phone was not reccomended for an average smartphone user or business user.. The platform is open source meaning of course tmobile and htc arent gonna do shit for the phone it's open source so if you dont like something the tools are readily available for you to change it. Dont hate! Participate

ive had the htc wizard, kaiser, diamond and now the g1 and i tell you if you really researched the g1 you wouldnt be complaining about how ugly it is. Oh and fyi because android is open-source ports have already been created for other phones. Actually android already supports many phones. Probably even the phone you already own. But that would of required some searching.
Im not being hateful and im not trying to flame its just starting to get so aggravating seeing the same threads everywhere

i've tried to get people on the android and i get the same responses it's ugly! And to that i shrug! It really never had a look of anything until people brought that into my head and while i'll admit it's not the sexiest phone i'd still rather have it that not! G1 is the business!

 

[Oberox]

Huawei is about to make one as well:
http://www.androidforums.com/showthread.php?t=1727

What (quality) can we expect from it?