MobileUX

My colleague Chris gave a shout out earlier today about Techcrunch’s reported existence of an Android-powered device that will be offered directly from Google. There have been rumors for months about a Google Phone (even hints back when Android itself was first announced many moons ago.)  Now this device from Google hasn’t been officially announced – just tweets from some Google employees who have be using the device, and some rumors at this point.  The early impressions are very positive and the specs do look impressive: thinner than the iPhone, 1Ghz+ Snapdragon processor, unlocked, OLED display, great camera, sound-canceling technology.  This all sounds good, but good specs don’t necessarily make for a good mobile user experience. However, there are a few “features” of this device that stand out and stand to make the Google Phone a game-changer. Here’s why.

First, this is Google’s first hardware entry into the mass market. This puts Google in the position of owning both the software and the hardware, and being able to optimize the user experience.  They of course have to get it right – tight integration of all aspects of the device – but this puts them much more in the Apple and RIM (Blackberry) camp of being able to call the shots on all aspects of the device and how the user interacts with it.  The fast processor will help as well. My experience from owning a G1, and more recently a Motorola Cliq, is that Android needs something fast under the hood to make the screens and interactions move fluidly. Both of my Android devices get bogged down easily from background processes, screen refreshes, and network activity, which make for a painful experience at times. I’m particularly not very fond of the unregistered screen presses and choppy scrolling.

The second “feature” worth noting is that the device is rumored to be sold unlocked by Google itself. What is this a big deal, considering you can already buy many unlocked devices? Several reasons:

• Google will most likely offer an attractive and competitive price point. Google will want to get these devices into many hands, and may be willing to cover the subsidization costs (that the carriers normally absorb). If any of the free (read: company subsidized) products that Google currently offers is any indication, the Google Phone may carry stong price appeal in the market.
• The device-network balance will shift. By buying an unlocked device, you get to choose the device first and then shop for the carrier. This flips the model we are used to in the U.S. where carriers tend to have “exclusives” on mobile devices – subsidized devices in exchange or 1- or 2-year contracts – thus locking the user onto a particular network if they want a particular device. Want an iPhone?  You’re stuck with AT&T.  How about a Palm Pre? Hello Sprint. By putting the device first, you are able to select a carrier that meets your particular needs, be that best nationwide coverage, lowest-cost plans, discounted international calling, etc.
• Carrier contracts may change or (hopefully) go away. If you buy an unlocked phone and can go to any carrier, what will the carrier be locking you into a contract for?  If you are not getting the device subsidized by the carrier, they are really acting as your ISP and providing the data pipe. Aside from startup costs to joining a new carrier like porting your number or activating an account, the whole idea of the Early Termination Fee will become irrelevant.

Oh, and the Google Phone is rumored to have Google Voice included, which allow you to make VoIP calls and bypass many of the services offered by carriers such as visual voicemail, low-cost international rates, and built in SMS messaging – all additional charges by the carriers. Another thorn-in-the-carrier-side and disruptive  (did Apple/AT&T ever get around to approving Google Voice for the iPhone?)

I haven’t heard (beyond speculation) about ad integration.  It would seem that a phone built by Google would naturally integrate advertising (and they did just buy the mobile ad network AdMob.)  Perhaps the device will be free, but will have banner ads in your calendar and music player. Who knows – we will hopefully see soon.

With the Google Phone, I see several wins for users here – the potential user experience win that comes from tight hardware and software integration, and the potential consumer win that comes from changing established models in the wireless industry. These aren’t a given, but we’ve seen boundaries pushed by the introduction of the iPhone – perhaps Google can push them even further.

There are already two Android-based devices on the market: the original T-Mobile G1 and the recently released MyTouch. Both built by HTC. On September 10th we should finally be seeing an android device by a second manufacturer – Motorola. This is big because now we are starting to see more commitment to the platform and because Motorola has the experience to create a great hardware + software combo. As noted a few months back, Motorola has heavily invested in Android as their platform of the future, which bodes well for Google and the others involved in the creation of the free/open-source Android.

Sweet. Now let’s see some additional devices based on Palm’s killer WebOS!

Vinton Cerf, internet co-founder and Google CIE (chief internet evangelist), spoke this week in Madrid about, well, the internet and Google’s role in it. One of the main points that he re-iterated was that for many people in the world, connecting to the internet from a mobile device will be their first interaction with the web.  What I read from the highlights of his talk is that Google, with its Android OS, is positioned not only to run on a mobile device that fits in your pocket (like the T-Mobile G1), but that it will run across multiple form factors, including netbooks. Since Android is free and open, Android will make a good run for netbook OS share.

And what does Palm, with its forthcoming WebOS, and Apple, with who-knows-what-announcement(s) at their upcoming developer confernce in June, have to offer?  From what I’ve hear, Palm’s WebOS runs on processors typically found not only in mobile phones but in netbooks as well. And can Apple’s OSX run/be modified to run on a device somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook, perhaps a stripped down version of OSX? Yes, but since Apple doesn’t like to license its OS (they like to control the whole UX of the device), might we see a new device from them in the coming months?

All this is to point out that the idea of mobile is expanding – it is not just limited to one-handed operation and easily carried in our pockets. It is extending out to netbooks and other devices with wireless access. As an interesting example, some wireless carriers (Verizon, ATT, cough, cough) are now offering subsidized netbooks for signing up for multi-year service agreements. Sound familiar?  Same model U.S. carriers have tended to follow with mobile handsets – provide an inexpensive device but lock people into long/expensive/hard-to-get-out-of service agreements.

From a UX perspective, the landscape keeps changing. The number of screen sizes and input modes are increasing. Additional use cases and behaviors are unfolding. And additional best practices will need to be sorted out. At this point the space is expanding and things are getting sorted out, but we will hopefully start to see some convergence soon…

Boom times ahead for mobile Web access.

The folks over at engadget have posted some spy shots of the HTC Dream running Android.  As you might know, the Dream is the device that has been talked about as being the first Android device. The one that is supposed to be out soon, like next month or so.  I would say that the device looks more functional than sexy, at least when compared to some of the cool looking devices HTC has developed (like the Diamond and the Touch Pro.) As engadget speculates, we might be seeing the Dream sooner than expected. And with the T-Mo 3G launch currently rolling out across the US, it kinda makes sense…

Meant to point to this before – Wired did a great article a little while ago on Google, Android, the killer apps that have been built so far, etc.  A nice piece giving insight into how Android took off, Andy Rubin’s role (co-creator of Danger), etc. Although there are some more recent piece on Android developments in the past few weeks, this article is a good background read. Worth checking out…

You’ve probably heard tidbits here and there that Google is going to release their own phone – informally dubbed the “gphone” or “google phone”. What’s really going on is that Google built an open source operating system called Android. Through an alliance with hardware and carriers, there is an initial device being built by HTC and will run on T-Mobile’s network.  HTC is the the Taiwanese company with U.S. headquarters in Bellevue that make some very nice hardware (but often have the not-so-user-friendly Windows Mobile installed on them, like the Dash, Shadow, and Wing.)

Now there are some interesting pieces to the story that have been developing over the last few months. Some is unconfirmed (e.g. analyst speculation, fanboy lust).  I highlight some here:

• the new phone is tentatively called the “Dream“. It will be a little smaller than the iPhone, but slightly thicker. FCC filings show that it will have a touch screen with haptic (vibration) feedback AND a slide out qwerty keyboard (sweet.)  Also has all the popular radios: wifi, GPS, fast data (i.e. HSDPA). For lots of deets, check out Engadget’s Android post roundup.
   
• tentative release date Oct-Nov.
   
• they have their own app store called Android Market - similar to the Apple iPhone app store, but some say better and more extensive. There are already some amazing apps announced (thanks Robert B for the link.) Google sponsored a competition for devs to create killer apps before launch – to the tune of several million dollars. The community responded.
   
• there is talk that the gphone will be very web and search centric, and will integrate with Google’s suite of online apps. There is also talk that it will support Exchange, but probably not in the initial release.
   
• and there is also talk that the gphone will be cheap and, perhaps, supported by advertising somehow. Cheap is nice, but with cheap always comes some other tradeoff like being stuck with your carrier for many years. Not clear on the pricing of the device or data service as of yet.

So what does this all mean? For one, I think we will have some true competition for the iPhone – not just in the device, but also in the ecosystem surrounding the device. This is really what helps makes a mobile device take of – great integration with, and extension of, your world. One missing piece (that I’m sure is being thought about as you read this) is media content – will there be an accompanying “gtunes” music store? My bet is yes (even though at this point T-Mobile is the only major carrier in the U.S. without some sort of online music/media store.) Perhaps the gphone will let you simply use whatever service you want, like AmazonMP3.  If you’ve heard anything about this, please shout out…

Second, when they get Exchange up and running, it might provide true competition in the corporate space (probably not right away while they figure out all the security/SOX compliance stuff and work on their 1-2 sucker punch on blackberry/windows mobile.) It also might have mass appeal, great usability and low price point that would make it appealing to the masses. As such, it might be a viable option for your own company. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone is cool and I love that there are more and more of them popping up here at work. However, the gphone may turn out to be another great option (that doesn’t feel like you had to compromise.) Even though the iPhone provides a really great user experience, it is also fairly locked down – the gphone may represent a true open-source mobile device with great developer community support.

I’m excited to see how the synergy continues to develop between Android, device manufacturers, and the growing community of developers…