Android HTC G1 is a new risk for Google

Techcrunch released an article with details of the first Android hardware from HTC that will be available soon. Android competes directly with Apple’s iPhone and other “smartphones”…

Android OS looks great - actually it is better than great, it promises to be amazing. My only doubt (and it’s a big doubt) is with HTC who are the first manufacturer to offer an Android device to the market. Having used many HTC products over the years I’ve always found them to be a bit clunky… partly because of using Windows Mobile OS but also the hardware often feels shoddy in comparison to RIM Blackberry or iPhone. It looks like Android OS will be superb but lets hope HTC (and the other hardware manufacturers) can deliver the high usuability standards that RIM and Apple have set.

It will be a huge missed opportunity if Google’s Android gets a lacklustre start just because the hardware manufacturers aren’t up to scratch. Never before has Google been so reliant on hardware manufacturers - this is unchartered territory for Google. And introduces a new risk that is unfamiliar for Google. In practise, Google has little real control the hardware reliability or more importantly the usuability. All Google can hope is that competition between manufacturers will - over time - result in the highest quality hardware for the consumer.

It will be fascinating to see how this will develop. The complete article from Techcrunch is here.