The OC Technophile

It’s been a crazy week for technology. The latest phone from T-Mobile featuring the Android platform is getting a ton of publicity and it looks like phones have reached early reviewers such as Engadget, Gizmodo, and others. It’s generally getting positive reviews and seems to be a positive plus for the mobile platforms and gadgets. According to various reports, up to 1.5mm phones have been presold with them hitting the T-Mobile markets this week. We’ll see how the Android platform works and sells.

The big computer news last week was a series of laptop refreshes by Apple. Steve Jobs held the latest press preview last Tuesday and announced new Macbooks, Macbook Pro units, a speedier Macbook Air, and a new Apple Cinema Display. The Macbook features a lower price point at $999 and two other models while the Macbook Pro features more memory, larger hard drives, and lower prices. Both units feature a huge update in the manufacturing process that evolves from a single block of aluminum which the units are carved from. The newer Macbook and Pro units also feature the glossy screens, so you matte fans will have to just adjust to the new screens. We got a chance to see these units at the Newport Beach Apple store and they appear slicker and lighter. The 17″ Macbook Pro’s and updated Macbook Air units will be released in the next few months featuring the new design on the Macbook Pro and a larger 120GB hard drive on the Air in addition to a faster processor.

Yesterday was an exciting time for fans of the Android platform, as Google and T-Mobile jointly announced the T-Mobile G1. The T-Mobile G1 is the first in a series of smart phones that will feature the Google Android operating system. Features such as a 3 Megapixel Camera, full integration with Gmail, GTalk, and Google search, Bluetooth, a slide out keyboard, and more make this an exciting release that will be out by the end of October. Additional multimedia features such as GPS and Amazon MP3 store features make this a fully mobile office phone. At $179 with a 2 year contract, it is quite affordable for a phone of this magnitude as well.

Where this phone will beat the iPhone is in the MP3 store and Android market features. You will be able to listen and purchase songs from the Amazon MP3 store wirelessly, without being tethered to your desktop or laptop. With the iPhone, you could purchase songs from iTunes but only if connected via Wi-Fi. With the G1 you can do it over the 3G network. Also the Android market will be a place to purchase applications, games, and utilities for the phone and it is rumored that the store will be free for the first 3 months.

Is this the iPhone killer? It certainly gives it a run for the money. We’ll see as they ship and are released soon..

Photo courtesy of Engadget:

Photo courtesy of Gizmodo: