Google

Was about to buy an Android

I was thrilled to spot the news about unlocked developer version of Google’s Android based phone.The news revealed a network unlocked phone called “Android Dev Phone 1″. So far, the only Android based phone which has been available is T-Mobile’s G1 – which is a network locked phone and will not work in India (where I live).

Note that the Dev Phone is meant for developers which just means there will be no support by any company (which includes Google, T-Mobile or HTC). Still it costs as much as a consumer phone (as mentioned later).

I instantly decided to go for it. Took the first step which was to register at the Android Market place by paying $25 (Rs. 1237 approx.).

After registering, on my home page (@ Android Market), I spotted an enticing link saying:

As a registered developer, you can purchase an unlocked phone. Buy Now>>

The cost of the phone is $399 (Rs. 19,750 approx.). So far I assumed that I will be paying 1237 (for registration) + 19750 = Rs. 21,000 (approx.) for the phone. Not “so” bad. My current Windows Mobile phone costed me about Rs. 27,000.

First Stumbling Block – “Buy Now” did not work:
Clicking on “Buy Now” loaded up the same page (home page) again and again. Googled around for sometime to see if there is something specific to Firefox or India (I obviously specified my location as India). The news item said clearly that the phone can be shipped to India too.

Fortunately, when I tried again, after a couple of minutes, I was greeted by the phone’s page.

Second Stumbling Block – No GPS ?:
The buy now link which showed me the page on “Android Dev Phone 1″ mentioned the following specs of the phone:

• Touch screen
• Trackball
• 3.2 Megapixel camera with auto focus
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth v2.0
  • Handsfree profile v1.5
  • Headset profile v1.0
• 3G WCDMA (1700/2100 MHz)
• Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• QWERTY slider keyboard
• Includes 1GB MicroSD card (Can be replaced with up to 16GB card)
• Included in the box
  • HTC Android Dev Phone 1
  • USB Cable
  • AC Adapter (with US plug)
  • Stereo Hands-Free Headset
  • Battery
  • Getting Starting Guide
  • 1G Micro SD Card (inserted into Device)

Note the missing GPS. Googled again and read that the Dev Phone 1 is the same hardware as T-Mobile G1, which has built-in GPS. So I half heartedly assumed that the Dev Phone will have GPS and the page would have not mentioned it by mistake.

Third and last Stumbling Block – Shipping @ $224.60!
Yes, the sheer shipping cost of the phone was $224 (Rs. 11,100 approx). This means to grab the phone I will end up spending 1237 (for registration) + 19750 (phone’s cost) + 11000 (shipping) = Rs. 32,000 (approx.). That’s where I gave it up – buying a 32K phone with no support and maybe no GPS.

Anyone on their way back from US ?

Besides being network unlocked, I was excited to read: “Hardware unlocked – Rebuild the Android operating system, and load it onto the device”. This means I can customize – may be logos, boot up screen, text (here and there) of the core operating system, build it and load it on the phone. But this excitement MAY NOT ( still thinking ) be worth @ 32K.

Update (Mar 19, 2009): It took me 3 months to decide to go for it because now I have bricked my Windows Mobile phone (I-Mate 8502). Called up home and found that Android Dev Phone 1 has arrived! I ordered the phone on March 16, 2009 (at about 2130 hrs IST) and got it today (March 19). That is, it shipped within 3 days of the order, to New Delhi, India. I paid $571.71 (inclusive of everything) for this phone, which is yet to be unpacked. Hoping to undress (only the packaging ) it tonight. More on this deserves a new blog post.

Was about to buy an Android7.0101

© 2008 Shekhar Govindarajan’s Blog.