Goodbye iPhone, hello G1
It is safe to say that Google is one of the most innovative and widely recognized companies. They have grown immensely since their inception, and it seems they are always coming up with new products and ideas.
After months of much speculation, T-Mobile and Google announced last week that they have teamed up to launch a new smartphone. The G1 phone will operate on Google’s Android operating system, which many consumers have been eagerly anticipating.
The phone has a touch screen front and opens up to a full QWERTY keyboard. It also incorporates Google software including Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube.
T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier of the phone, which is meant to compete with AT&T’s extremely popular Apple iPhone. The G1 will go on sale in the U.S. on Oct. 22 and will be priced lower than the iPhone at $179.
Like the iPhone, which comes with iTunes software, the G1 will come loaded with Amazon’s digital music store.
The announcement of the G1 phone was a great PR move for both Google and T-Mobile. Google it seems has added their name to almost every niche in the marketplace to try to compete with companies like Apple. This is the best thing they could have done for themselves if the G1 phone proves to be successful and problem-free. The iPhone had many problems when it launched, so hopefully Google won’t experience the same thing.
T-Mobile, which is the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, has made an excellent PR move by associating their name with Google. They have received a huge amount of attention for this partnership and for being the first to operate using the Android operating system. This will definitely raise the status of T-Mobile and put their name on a more exclusive tier.
T-Mobile will also be putting on a huge marketing campaign prior to the launch of the G1.
I think the G1 will be a great success for both Google and T-Mobile. Many people are not fans of the iPhone, including myself. I think a lot of people were turned off by them after all the problems users have experienced with the phones when they first launched. The G1 will be a great alternative to other smartphones such as the iPhone and BlackBerry.
I think that just being associated with the Google name will draw many consumers to want to buy the G1. Personally, I wanted one the second I heard Google was launching a phone. I had no idea what it looked like or what features it would have, but I wanted one just because I use all of Google’s other products, and Google is the only search engine I use. Since I don’t have T-Mobile as my cell phone carrier, it looks like I won’t be getting a G1 any time soon, though.
I look forward to seeing the G1 in person and seeing if it is successful or not. There is no doubt that this was a great PR move for both companies involved with its creation.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/09/23/google.phone.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch