Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast and writing fellow at The Nation Institute, whose book, Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books), is forthcoming in Spring 2009. Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
Blogs and Stories
Where Google Crushes the iPhone
Google’s new phone can get you a cab and size up an earthquake. But can it beat the iPhone?
I’ve had the chance to kick the tires on the so-called Google phone—which comes out next week—and here’s my take: Gadget geeks are gonna love it, but hipsters should stick with their iPhones.
The Google phone—officially known as the T-Mobile G1, and built by HTC—is Google’s attempt to extend its Web supremacy to the mobile sphere, by taking on smartphone incumbents like Apple, RIM and Microsoft.
And it’s the first new phone to have a decent shot. For starters, the T-Mobile G1 addresses some common gripes with the iPhone by including a physical keyboard with actual keys, and a removable battery. The phone doesn't officially hit stores until Oct. 22, but it is now starting to pop up on sites like Craigslist and in the back rooms of some retail outlets.
The best thing about the Google phone isn’t what’s different than the iPhone—it’s what’s similar. Apple has generated tremendous buzz for its rich ecosystem of third party apps, including Loopt, which shows you the current location of your friends on a map, and UrbanSpoon, with lets you find nearby restaurant by shaking the phone.
)
When I test drove the Google phone, I found it has great applications available through Google’s new Android marketplace that essentially match the iPhone's as far as ingenuity and innovation are concerned. One called cab4me can find you a cab no matter where you are. Another cool (but admittedly less practical) application called Pocket Seismograph uses the phone's accelerometer to measure the impact of earthquakes.
But while Apple keeps tight control over any apps that are granted a listing in the App Store, the Android Marketplace takes a radically different approach. The Marketplace is completely open, which means developers can create new programs for the phone without vetting by Google or T-Mobile.
Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin?
Palin Resignation: 11 Theories Why
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
How Her Mind Works
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, causes, and individuals, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today’s rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Lance Is Back in France
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
The $1,000 Coffee Table Book
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
How 'Public Enemies' Kills Its Gangsters
Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, The New Yorker, and more. He has served as artistic consultant for jazz programming at Lincoln Center since 1987, and is a founder Jazz at Lincoln Center. In June 2006 his first major collection of jazz criticism, Considering Genius: Jazz Writings, was published. He is presently completing a book about the Barack Obama presidential campaign.
The Google Killer
Nicholas Ciarelli is an assistant product manager at The Daily Beast.
What's Obama Hiding?
Nicholas Ciarelli is an assistant product manager at The Daily Beast.
Secrets Steve Jobs Kept From Me
Nicholas Ciarelli is an assistant product manager at The Daily Beast.
I believe the iPhone already has an App that uses its built in accelerometer and something similar to geo-locating cabs.
With that said, the "purebred" open sourcing will liven developers and end-users alike.
Is anybody going to weigh the Apple marketing machine vs. Google?
So you're completely wrong:
http://mashable.com/2008/10/16/google-remotely-kill-android-apps/
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic &taxonomyName=Software&articleId=9117279&taxonomyId=18&pageNumber=1
But thanks.
Doesn't the Google bring with it enough of a bulge in the pocket to get you frisked?
As much as I utterly despise all things Google,it would really warm my old bones to see somebody,anybody put a bitch slappin' on Apple and their over-priced crap.
infomofo, I followed the two links you were kind enough to provide to see what your point might be but was unsuccessful. Perhaps next time you could just tell us?
The fact that Google has a mechanism for remotely removing apps is hardly equitable to Apple insisting on explicitly approving distribution of iPhone apps.
The difference is in how the mechanisms are used, Apple has already demonstrated that it will for at best arbitrary reasons not approve apps. I suspect Google has the kill mechanism to guard against apps that misbehave or undermine the integrity of the underlying OS, but we'll see.
Mr. Ciarelli, thanks for an informative article.
More to the point for me is the ability to NOT be tied to AT&T. I'll keep my iPod touch for cool and the new "google" phone for utility. If Apple was really concerned about getting their phones into as many hands as possible, they'd sell them unlocked. At least with the Android, you can unlock after a couple of months.
I think it is fair to characterize Google's product strategy is all about providing a user everything - with a capital E - in relation to information [e.g. why provide just one solid search result when you can give them millions?]. Whereas Apple is this generation's best industrial designer without question. Regardless, I'm just glad there are at least a few technology companies left that understand the value of quality and true innovation. Imagine what a Microsoft world would be and look like?
Nice article given a completely misleading headline. "Google Crushes the iPhone"
???? Really?
I have no use for the iPhone, but this is ridiculous.
The open platofrm is great for developers but the user experience will suffer. The stictness of Apple ensures a certain level of quality and consistency that the Google phone may lack.
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.