Archive for July 9th, 2010

Google’s Larry Page: Steve Jobs is ‘rewriting history’ by saying Android came after the iPhone

Steve Jobs might have thought he was lightly playing down reports that the Apple / Google rivalry had dramatically changed when he said “they decided to compete with us — we didn’t go into the search business” at D8, but it appears that his phrasing didn’t sit so well with Larry Page, who told Reuters yesterday that Jobs was doing a “little bit of rewriting history,” and that the “characterization of us entering [the phone market] after is not really reasonable.” Page, who was being interviewed alongside Eric Schmidt, also said that Google had been working on Android for “a very long time” and that the goal was always to develop phones with solid browsers to fill a market void.

That’s true, of course — Google purchased Andy Rubin’s Android, Inc. in 2005 — but it’s also an equally slight distortion: when Android was officially announced in November of 2007, it looked nothing like the OS we know and love today, and the SDK emulator used an image of an HTC-built prototype that had much more in common with the traditional BlackBerry than the iPhone. (Fun fact: that device eventually became the Palm Treo Pro running Windows Mobile.) It wasn’t until the G1 shipped almost a year later that Android started to look more like what it is today, and we’d even argue that it wasn’t until Android 2.0 hit on the OG Motorola Droid along with Verizon’s Droid Does marketing campaign that the platform grew into its own unique and successful identity — an identity that is now powerfully differentiated against the iPhone and driving accelerating device sales every quarter.

So, does any of this really matter? To the tech historians, perhaps — and Apple and Google clearly see what they’re doing as historically significant. Apart from that, it’s a pretty meaningless distinction; Eric Schmidt followed up Page’s comment by saying that the market was big enough for the iPhone and Android to coexist, and we seriously doubt anyone’s phone purchasing decision will ever turn on what platform was released first. But it’s also clear that the competition between these two companies is at fever pitch, which is great news for the rest of us — let’s just hope everyone involved remembers that Jobs closed his D8 remarks by saying “just because we’re competing with somebody doesn’t mean we have to be rude.”

Google’s Larry Page: Steve Jobs is ‘rewriting history’ by saying Android came after the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included

Hey, remember that iPhone class-action lawsuit we poked around in a couple months ago and discovered Apple’s lawyers confirming the original five year AT&T exclusivity agreement? Well, get ready to hear about it a lot more in the months to come, as the judge in the case has officially certified the case as a class action, meaning it now officially includes anyone who’s ever bought an iPhone on AT&T. If you’ll recall, the argument is that iPhone customers signed up for a two-year contract without being told that AT&T had an exclusive for five years — thus in reality being held to the carrier for an additional three years without recourse. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but if you bought the first-gen iPhone and wanted to stick with the platform it’s the truth — discounting the fact, of course, that no one’s required to buy another Phone after two years, and even then you have to sign a new contract. While we’re definitely curious to see if the plaintiffs can get past that little logical hurdle and win something more than a token settlement, we’re far more interested to see if they can get any more documentation from Apple nailing down its actual agreement with AT&T. Should be juicy — we’ll keep you in the loop.

iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant Android smartphone pre-orders begin at RadioShack

Today you can pre-order your Samsung Vibrant Android 2.1 powered smartphone from RadioShack. The Vibrant, which offers a 5 megapixel camera, a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, and a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, is available for $199.99 with a 2-year contract and a minimum $30 data plan. The device is also available unactivated for $499.99. Pre-orders ship on July 21.

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T-Mobile slashes Garminphone Android smartphone price

T-Mobile USA has lowered the price of its navigation-centric Android smartphone, the Garminfone. The phone offers voice guided turn-by-turn directions and features like those of Garmin’s personal navigation devices, including real time traffic, weather, and gas prices. The Garminfone is available now for $129.99, down from its original price of $199.99, with a qualifying service contract.

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Queen Elizabeth II Visits RIM Factory, Gets White BlackBerry Bold 9700

Two major icons of today’s society have recently met in the UK: Queen Elizabeth II and the iconic brand RIM, the definition of corporate handsets. Her Royal Majesty paid a visit to the BlackBerry maker’s factory in Waterloo and received a white BlackBerry Bold 9700. We also have to mention that said BlackBerry displayed an [...]

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