Google Android Phones - We Want Them on Prepaid!Google Android is truly an amazing story, and really shows the power of the Google brand. Apple was really the first to revolutionize the cell phone operating system. Even though almost a decade earlier Palm had a truly robust and easy to use mobile phone operating system in their Treo lineup, Apple really pieced together the marketing. 
applications/functionality much earlier. Palm tried
reinventing
itself with its multitasking capable WebOS, and is still attempting to
see that through. Meanwhile, Google was working on its own
cell
phone operating system, Google Android. Afterall, Google is a
software engineering giant already; seems like a perfect match!So along came Android, which Google opened up to many handset manufacturers to use. This really is the better approach. That way they're not tied to one brand (like Palm or Apple); any handset OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) can use Google's Android platform. And like Apple's iPhone and Palm's WebOS, it's open to developers to create applications that users can download directly from the phone. So what's so exciting about Android? I think the fact that Google is behind it adds a lot of creditbility and confidence that it's a quality product, and will be supported. I use a number of other Google applications (ex. Gmail, Google Maps, etc.), and appreciate the general ease of use, and that's they're always free! My personal experience with Google Android hasn't been extensive, but the time that I did spend with it, I have to honestly say that I wasn't blown away like I was hoping. It's much more flexible than the iPhone, but not as integrated and seamless as I found Palm's WebOS. I did find that Android with HTC's Sense UI was pretty sleek though. You will read many reviews that speak of Android being fragmented, meaning that apps aren't tied together the way you'd hope/expect they'd be, but generally speaking, it shows tremendous promise of greatness! Where's my prepaid Google Android phone?! A number of carriers are offering Android phones, however, at the time of writing this, they're all with contact plans. HOWEVER, there is hope! In January 2010, Google officially  launched
its own
Android phone, the Nexus One, built in partnership with HTC.
Although it's available with a subsidy if you sign-up with
T-Mobile service, Google does offer a no contract price! It's
a
pretty hefty price, but the bottom line is that you CAN get a prepaid
Google Android phone.What does the future hold? Now that prepaid has started to go mainstream, it seems innevitable that smartphones will become more common on prepaid plans. BlackBerries are already available, and Google is already providing a no-contract Nexus One. So it's reasonable to expect that prepaid wireless carriers will be launcing Google Android powered handsets; they'd be crazy to not be already thinking about their options! The bottom line is that prepaid users are not just for the credit challenged, but for everyone, for anyone(!), and we all need/demand to have the best of the best features and functionality, and including Android phones in the mix is a must! As these prepaid Android handsets become available, I'll post them here, so please visit often, or signup for the free Prepaid Wireless Tracker e-zine to keep in touch with what's new in the prepaid wireless space, and with this site!
Return from Google Android to Prepaid Wireless Guide Homepage
|
