“There are two gPhones slated for release with the first coming in September and the second probably not appearing until after Christmas,” Robert X. Cringely reports for PBS. “Given that the first is the high-end model and the second is cheaper, Google will probably expect to make as much money as possible on the higher-margin units at Christmas before revealing the budget model even exists. How Apple-like, eh?”
Cringely reports, “Both will include WiFi, which makes me wonder if a VoIP client will be there, too. The high-end phone will look somewhat like a Blackberry Pearl, but the screen flips up and there is a keyboard for texting. No word on pricing for the high-end phone, but the second model is intended to be less than $100 — AFTER Christmas.”
“The actual manufacturer of these gPhones will be Samsung (rumors to this point had indicated HTC, so this is a change) and Google is still talking with both T-Mobile and Verizon as potential carriers (rumors also said Verizon had passed — not). That means there are both GSM and W-CDMA versions in the works. Given AT&T’s success with the iPhone I can’t imagine Verizon will let the gPhone pass, but it will be interesting to see if Google will be able go with a nonexclusive deal and get both U.S. carriers,” Cringely reports. “Nah.A”
Much more in the full article, including discussion of the possibility that Microsoft doesn’t really want to buy Yahoo at all, here.
“Having created a phone, it’s a lot harder than it looks. We’ll see how good [Google’s] software is and we’ll see how consumers like it and how quickly it is adopted. I actually think Google has achieved their goal [of not getting locked out of the mobile phone world] without Android, and I now think Android hurts them more than it helps them. It’s just going to divide them and people who want to be their partners.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, The New York Times, January 15, 2008