gPhone news is coming, and some see it as a threat to iPhone (I don’t). We need a thread to discuss how any news impacts Apple.

CNET has quite a lot about what’s expected next week:

Google to unveil ‘Android’ phone software

An important reaction is “why would the carriers back this?” Quite a powerful answer is “to compete with iPhone”. I believe that is precisely Apple & Google’s strategy.

The CNET article is quite interesting.  I hope an announcement is made soon so we can get a better idea of how Apple an Google are going to divide the mobile pie.

NY Times article on Google phone and ex-Apple guy behind it:

[quote author=“Gridlock”]NY Times article on Google phone and ex-Apple guy behind it:

Check out the IDC forecast for the smartphone market on the first page. IDC is a division of Microsoft, right?

Edit: contrast what IDC says is happening in Smartphones this year with what Net Applications says about smartphone browser use (normalised to percentages):

IDC: Symbian 65%;  Linux 11%; Windows Mobile 11%; Blackberry 10%; iPhone 2%;

Net Applications: iPhone 44%; Windows Mobile: 38%;  Symbian: 18%; Blackberry 0%; (unfortunately, they don’t split mobile and PC linux, so there should also be a nonzero Linux share - maybe 8%).

Now of course only iPhone is new this year, so we should really discard at least half of the other browser figures because those phones were sold before June ‘07.  So it’s really: iPhone is 72% of browser use for phones bought since June

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Great thread. Two questions:

Will Wall Street penalize AAPL’s stock price while sorting out the extent to which Google’s initiative will impact the rest of the handset industry including current/future iPhone sales?

And will any sizable percentage of consumers put off an iPhone acquisition in order to wait 9-12 months to see whether forthcoming phones running Google’s software might be just as good and cheaper/free?

I’m curious about investor and consumer *perception*. As we know from the tepid reaction to Apple’s blowout earnings and guidance, reality isn’t always terribly relevant.

I can’t see people putting off buying an iPhone in anticipation of a phone operating system on an as yet unknown device. But the “gPhone” OS may impress Wall Street, since even a whiff of Google’s sweat socks seems to make the Street swoon.

I want the gPhone to include Safari. A “This way, folks!” beacon for the masses. What are the alternatives, and why wouldn’t Apple say here-have Safari, and Google say thank you, rather than writing yet another browser?

IE’s success was because the web was built for IE. Although that was compounded by IE’s proprietary and non-standard implementations, they could turn round and hurt IE in the mobile space. Safari is the best on the phone, no question.

And how will gPhone handle music and movies? Might it work with iTunes? Would they tell us (or the carriers) yet?

There’s a lot we don’t know.

The “gPhone” is going to be nothing short of unrevolutionary

All a load of hoo-hah over nothing IMO. It may be a great platform, or not, but history is littered with failed attempts to sell a new, greatest, bestest, most-amazingnest OS to developers.

Whatever it is - phone, OS, concept, whatever - the one thing I am certain of is that it represents a threat-to-anyone-but-Apple. If I was President of the Windows Mobile division, or Symbian, or RIM, I would be extremely worried indeed, but Apple has nothing to lose and everything to gain from Google’s foray into this market. Google will be the Ford of the mobile world, Apple the BMW. There’s room for both, and both will prosper - they are broadly non-competitive and both produce excellent products - but the mass-market competition for Google had better watch out: if it can produce a good platform, and more importantly a good SDK for developers, Symbian and Windows Mobile are toast.

The following snipped quotes make me a little less nervous and, IMO, bode favorably for the iPhone’s continued growth:

And Google won’t be making the phones, nor does it plan to stamp its prized brand on the devices. Instead, it will work with four cell phone manufacturers who have agreed to use Google’s programs in their handsets.

The mobile software still bears the Android name in acknowledgment of its heritage.

However, my optimism remains somewhat guarded as I’m not 100% sold on the idea that Google/Apple are best buds and would never harm one another—I still think it a possibility that eventually iPhone and Android could be vying for some similar customers—isn’t it possible that eventually some handset makers could roll out Android on higher end smart phones and thus compete with OS X on iPhone?

Being worried about the gPhone is like BMW being worried about Ford announcing a new “open source” engine it plans on making available to other manufacturers.

No competition.

In addition, just because Google supply a nice new engine doesn’t help these creatively bankrupt companies design a nice new shell to put it in.

Seriously, the gWhatever is not an iPhone/OS X competitor. Stop worrying

I agree with Tommo. This is not an iPhone competitor. Besides, as an AAPL board member Eric Scmidt would be breaching his fiduciary duty to go head on with AAPL.

Google states the obvious. Analysts surprised

12:06 EDT GOOG   Google-GOOG CEO says Android is ‘Not’ the announcement of the gPhone - Conf Call

12:10   GOOG Google: T-mobile says plans to launch device in US and Europe in 2008 (726.02 +14.68)  -Update-

12:13 EDT GOOG HTC expects to release first Android phone in 2H of 2008 - Conf Call :theflyonthewall.com

Expect HTC to announce “the first ever multi-touch phone that hits the G-Spot when you play with it”

Humorous introductory videos, but content-free:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6x0zZsqI3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtFeIw8MVM

[quote author=“Tommo_UK”]

12:13 EDT GOOG HTC expects to release first Android phone in 2H of 2008 - Conf Call :theflyonthewall.com

Expect HTC to announce “the first ever multi-touch phone that hits the G-Spot when you play with it”

lol