Funk Babblings

So the first Google Phone is finally available, a year after Google revealed their phone plans. The phone is called the G1. This is the first wide-availability phone with open-source firmware, Google's long-awaited Android platform. And unlike the iPhone's closed development environment, Android can be customized by any developer. (Both Free and non-Free Apps can be downloaded from the official "Android Market", or from a number of third-party sites.)

I've been waiting for this for a while, especially since my ancient phone has been on its last legs for at least as long as the Google phone has been anticipated.

There's only one major problem: It's only available from T-Mobile. And their coverage is pretty bad. It's so bad that when Neil Gaiman tried to buy a G1 yesterday at a T-Mobile store filled with G1 posters, they couldn't sell him one because it won't work in his area.

I currently have Verizon, which has a good reputation for their coverage (and not much else), and because of that coverage they have little incentive to provide leading-edge phones.

The G1 is partly a response to the iPhone, which is tied to AT&T, (which also has decent coverage, including excellent coverage where I live). That means they also have little incentive to provide a phone like the G1.

(The other major carrier, Sprint, has better coverage than T-Mobile but a hole around my house. I'd assume they're next to have a similar phone.)

Apparently if I want a G1 that works where I live, I should buy a no-contract version from T-Mobile for $399, toss the SIM card, then go to AT&T and sign up for their service, putting their SIM card in the G1. I'm not sure if that option is actually available yet though. (And it's not an option that will be available with Verizon or Sprint, because of the different technology those carriers use.)

Or I could keep waiting for a better option while my old phone continues to die its slow death.

Update: Here's an interesting 5-minute video demonstrating Android on the G1 and comparing it with the iPhone.