Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Google Android

...and wished you'd never asked.

Tuesday of last week T-Mobile announced that they will be the first US Cellular provider to offer a Google Android phone (It will be available October 22). It will cost $179 with a two year cellular contract. Since then there have been a flurry of news articles about it, but nobody seems to give all the info in one place, and reliable info has been hard to pin down.

Also complicating matters for the average consumer is the confusing new way that Android further divides up the development of the device. Who is releasing the Android? Is this Google's Phone, or is it T-Mobiles? And why is this phone such a big deal? These are some of the details I'm hoping to clear up with this post.

Before I continue, I want to make it clear that I have not actually touched an Android phone. My information and opinions are based on personal research and reading/watching other peoples hands-on reviews.

The Basics:
The first thing you need to understand about the Android phone is that there is no such thing as "The Android phone". While cell phones in the past have been made by Motorola or Nokia, or have been offered by AT&T or Verizon, Android throws a new conceptual wrench into the works. Now you'll need to think of cell phones as belonging to three distinct categories: the Hardware, the Software (Operating System), and the Service Provider.

With this first Android phone offered by T-Mobile, the hardware (named the G1, previously called the Dream) is made by HTC, the operating system (named Android) is made by the Open Handset Alliance (lead by Google), and T-Mobile is the cellular service provider. But don't bother memorizing that because it won't always be this way for every Android phone...

Openness Is the Big Deal:
Because Android is an open piece of software, and is being offered for free to anyone that wants to build hardware for it, many companies are expected to offer many different varieties of Android phones to meet various consumer needs.

It's also this openness that makes this phone such a big deal because anyone that cares to learn how to program will be able to write applications that will run on the phone, just like anybody can write an application for a computer, or a page for the Internet. This gives Android an unlimited amount of potential as a platform.

In comparison, the iPhone is a closed system where Apple gets to control both the hardware and the operating system, and they also work closely with AT&T who controls the cellular service. Average consumers can write software for the iPhone, but it can only be distributed through Apple, and Apple gets to block or allow any software it chooses (which it has already done to great controversy in the developer community).

The Blackberry is even more closed than the iPhone, and therefore even more limited in the scope of future development.

On the plus side for Apple and the Blackberry, that tight control of hardware and software means that they can have a higher degree of quality control throughout, and in theory, their products should work with fewer bugs because of it. But as the early purchasers of the 2nd generation iPhone found out, that doesn't always happen when a company is rushing its products to meet market pressures. (To be fair, I'm certain Android phones will have similar problems as the operating system matures and the diversity of hardware increases.)

The Hardware:
The basic specs of the HTC G1 handset are that it is 4.60 in x 2.16 in x 0.62 in and has a 528 MHz processor. The OS is housed in 256 MB of ROM and it has 192 MB of RAM to work with on top of that. It also has a MicroSD card slot for further storage expansion, currently they are available up to 8 GB.

It has a 3.2 inch 320 x 480 TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen that slides out of the way to reveal a small QWERTY keyboard. It also has a tiny track ball controller. It has a true GPS receiver, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 (though Google announced earlier this year that the first version of the Android OS will not support it), a 3.2 megapixel camera, a digital compass and an accelerometer (motion sensor).

The reviewers that have played with it so far have reported that the touch screen is accurate and that the phone is reasonably responsive. While the screen is technically multi-touch capable, the OS does not support it (due mostly to patent restrictions by Apple, but we'll see how long it takes some third party developer to add that capability). It's slightly smaller than the iPhone's screen, but the same resolution, so if anything it will seem the same, or very slightly sharper.

Some really nice features of the handset are the inclusion of a full QWERTY keyboard as it will make typing emails and using applications (like the very powerful Google Docs) much easier. But it also adds to the thickness of the overall handset. The handset has a removable battery which makes it possible to carry a spare if you'll be away from a power outlet for an extended time. HTC claims the battery will give a user between 350-400 minutes of talk time and between 320-400 hours of standby time. Using the handset in the real world, with all the gizmos like GPS turned on, it's likely to be much shorter than that.

Two obvious detractions with the handset are that it does not have a standard USB port or headphone jack. Instead it relies on a proprietary 9-pin mini-USB port that requires an adapter that ends in both a headphone jack and USB port. It may also come bundled with a proprietary set of headphones that does not require the adapter, but that's just my speculation.

The Software:
So far the reviewers that have played with the Android OS have been very impressed, though some of them note that it has room for improvements (mostly that it isn't as "smooth" as the iPhone). But regardless of how good the OS is out of the gate, it's bound to gain improvements from third party developers very rapidly once hardware that will run it is out in the wild.

Google announced earlier this year that it would not include Google Talk (Google's voice over IP client) in the first version of Android, chiefly because of time constraints. However, T-Mobile lists Google Talk among the included features on it's specs page, so I'm not sure what to make of that.

It does not include built in support for a Microsoft Exchange mail server, which is a major detraction for corporate users. But the included mail client does support IMAP and POP, and most speculators agree that it won't be very long before someone figures out how to solve that shortcoming.

It does for sure include built in support for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Maps (with GPS and live traffic integration), a music player, a real web browser, and support for YouTube videos.

YouTube... I've heard some reports that Android will not ship with a full featured video client. This is somewhat troubling, but I think Google might have done this on purpose. Sifting through all the legal stuff to create a video player that will play the most common formats is a hassle these days. I'm betting Google is banking on the hope that someone like VLC will create an Android version of their excellent app to fulfill that need better than Google legally could.

The bundled music player allows the user to purchase music through the Amazon Music Store, which is an interesting choice to compete with the iTunes Music Store. The Amazon Music Store is smaller than iTunes, and does not have as many top artists as iTunes, but all the music that Amazon sells is in the MP3 format, which does not include the much derided DRM (Digital Rights Management). This means that the music you purchase is free from restrictions that dictate where you can and can't play your music and, in theory, you should be able to copy it from your phone to your computer or other music players with out much trouble. That is a very welcomed development in my mind, but in the realm of online music stores content is king, and iTunes has that in spades.

But the real jewel in Androids crown is the third party software that you can add to it after you buy it. Google held an Android Developer Challenge earlier this year where they awarded $25,000 to the teams that submitted the top 50 applications, and then awarded an additional $250,000 or $100,000 to the top twenty teams that won the second round. As you can imagine, this produced a lot of excitement and some really innovative apps came out of the other end. I won't list them here, but if you appreciate cleverness it's worth following this link and skimming through some of the winners!

Beyond that, once Android is out in the wild and the Android Market application store is opened, more apps are sure to flood in. Google has promised not to interfere with what apps are offered through the store, except that applications can't be harmful to the operation of the phone or to the users' data (like viruses or particularly poorly written apps).

The Service Provider:
I have to confess that I like T-Mobile as a company. (I did an extensive research project into cellular providers a few years ago and I feel that they are a measure less crooked than AT&T and Verizon.) But I am also a little disappointed with how they've handled their exclusive roll out of the first Android phone.

First off, they offer a service that I think is truly forward thinking called Hotspot. Or, at least it used to be called that, and now I think it's called Unlimited Minutes @ Home or something... Anyhow, it basically lets your Wi-Fi enabled cell phone connect over an available Wi-Fi connection and allows you to talk over it using their VOIP service. This does not count against your monthly minutes in your calling plan! And if you walk out of range of the Wi-Fi hotspot it will seamlessly transfer you back onto your regular cellular service. Brilliant!

With the G1 handset being Wi-Fi enabled, I thought it was only instinctive that T-Mobile would include this service and preempt the inevitable third party VOIP apps with the great advantage of being able to use your regular cell number. Also brilliant, right?

Apparently not so much. T-Mobile did not include this functionality in their soon-to-be-flagship product, the Android G1. I can only guess that they have either hit their collective heads and fallen down somewhere, or that there was some hardware/software restriction that I'm not aware of that is preventing them from exercising good strategy. Maybe it will be a software update later; one can only hope.

Another thing that I felt T-Mobile could have done to further milk the press cycle during the launch was to simultaneously announce contract-free calling plans. Long contracts with exorbitant early release fees have been the bane of cellular customers and the object of several recent legal battles. The mandatory contract service structure appears to be coming to an end, and the first company to "do right by the customer", I think, will win much love from customers and press alike. But T-Mobile did not announce contract free calling plans during the launch.

Frustratingly, Engadget was able to get a sneak peak at T-Mobile's plans to offer contract-free plans in an informal, post-launch conversation with T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman where he said it would be available in a contract-free version for $399. Which is great news, but it's never been officially announced. So Verizon decided to step in and steal the thunder by announcing their own contract-free plans first. Whether Verizon's offering will be worth while or not remains to be seen, but, regardless... Way to miss the opportunity, T-mobile!

I will give T-Mobile props for working hard to expand their 3G service (high speed wireless data service) in time for the Android launch, even if it's only available in 21 metropolitan areas so far. It's a good start and will expand with time.

Conclusion:
Android is a big deal and will likely change the cellular phone landscape in the US (and elsewhere in the world). It's off to a good start and things look like they will only get better. I'm excited about where it's heading, and really, really want one. It just depends if T-Mobile can get their act together before someone else offers something better.

Have questions about the upcoming first Android phone? Know some info that I've missed here? Post it in the comments!