iPhone News Updated

Google launches android smartphones in Canada

The Androids have arrived.

Google Inc.’s vaunted mobile phones were introduced across the country Tuesday by Rogers Communications Inc., marking the online giant’s foray into the Canadian wireless market.

While the launch failed to generate as much fanfare as the iPhone 3G a year ago, Google’s HTC Dream and Magic smartphones will rival Apple Inc.’sdeviceasmoreconsumerstake their Internet to go.

Both the Magic and Dream, built by Taiwan-based phone-maker HTC Corp.,boast the standard elements of today’s next-generation devices: 528 Qualcomm processor;256 megabytes of RAM; 192 MB on-board memory; trackball navigation;a 3.2 mega-pixel camera, camcorder, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.

The handsets also sync effortlessly with Gmail, Google Maps and, of course, Google’s search engine.

In short, it comes with everything one would expect from devices attempting to unseat the iPhone’s preeminent standing with consumers.

Perhaps the biggest advantage the phones have is the Android, Google’s super-charged operating system.

“It’s an open-source platform,”said Keith Nowak, director of communications for HTC Canada.

Unlike Apple or BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd.,Google allows for third-party development for things like applications without charging royalties or licensing fees, he said.

The approach is drawing the attention of developers, who have flooded Google’s online application store, called the Android Market, with more than 3,500 widgets that allow users to personalize their devices.

As more consumers adopt mobile Internet, Google is banking on the tactic to lure subscribers away, said Richard Tse, equity analyst at National Bank Financial, who just completed a tour through Silicon Valley in late May and paid a visit to the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.

“This is a big opportunity for Google,” he said.

The potential in mobile Internet is just being realized, with wireless data growth soaring by more than five per cent a week at one U. S. carrier, he said.

Rogers, which has scored another coup by possessing the only network in the country compatible with the advanced handsets with its GSM/ HSPA technology, has an introductory price tag for both the Dream and Magic of $149,making it more afford-able up front than the iPhone.

The price comes with the usual strings of a three-year contract. Early subscribers can expect to pay about $75 a month for voice and data.

Competition among mobile phone-makers is about to get fierce as wireless Internet adoption ascends into the consumer mainstream. Despite the global recession, smartphone sales climbed more than 12 per cent last quarter while overall wireless sales slumped 14 per cent.

Analysts say Apple is preparing to launch a less-expensive iPhone within weeks in the U. S., with a growing consensus among industry observers that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will offer a subsidized model at $99 US.

Google’s handsets will also have to contend with the Pre, the long-anticipated smartphone from Palm Inc. A spokesperson for the company confirmed last week the device, launching on Saturday in the U. S. for $199 US, will be available in Canada through Bell in the “second half”of the year. RIM is developing a pair of new handsets, as well.

Tweet This Post 

Comments are closed.