Gadget Guild

Google’s ties with Apple regarding the iPhone have added much speculation to the unavoidable impact that Android will have on the Apple/Google relationship when the smoke clears. Time will tell whether an official gPhone ever comes out. Google has also declared the Android Marketplace, where users will be able to download software applications, several of them free, for their Android phones. These applications will vary from games to navigation tools to travel guides and other reference software. Google is a big brand here. That has sales power.

Google has disclosed on its Andoid Developer’s Blog that its nascent OS will include access to an application marketplace, similar to the App Store related to with Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch devices. This so-called “Android Market,” however, will differ from Cupertino’s offering in at least one substantial respect, in that there’s no approval process needed for developers wishing to submit a program. Google has decided to go the route of effectively developing their own version of Java, by writing keys parts in a non-standard way. E.g., Android has a completely non-standard user interface toolkit. Google heard their complaints and responded with an updated SDK. In the last couple of months there has been a wild amount of speculation and rumor that Android would be delayed until the first part of 2009.

Google is a very influential company these days, but getting into a totally new market means that the firm should offer the best device possible. With the first Android device, Google will have to rival Apple’s iPod as well as vast family of Nokia business and multimedia phones. Google web searches use Google Suggest technology to offer related, current suggestions. Other applications, like YouTube or Gmail, suggest queries you have previously made so that it’s easier to find and share results that you’ve found before. Google is burned into our lives more than Apple. Between the free press and word of mouth this phone will acquire decent attention.

Google claims the platform will be open to third-party developers—a rarity among mobile phones in general and a stark contrast with Apple, which has made headlines for its new development platform. On the other side, Apple’s iPhone SDK and App Store make for a very smooth buying experience from the consumer perspective, and the process for distributing software to Android devices hasn’t been disclosed yet. Google’s done pretty well thus far, how about we actually wait till the freakin’ OS is available before we start proclaiming it a failure!

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