I switched from a Blackberry to an Android phone about two months ago – and found it a great improvement. I’d compare the switch to maybe a Windows PC to an Apple in the late 90s, but that would be ignoring the clear leader in smart phone innovation over the last years, Apple itself, which is gearing up to launch its Slate to great fanfare shortly. The Android OS poses a reasonable competitor to the iPhone, and clearly much “smarter” than a Blackberry. The main repercussion of going Android, is that users will be fully tied in with Google’s complimentary software universe. Mobile integration with Google Calendar, Gmail, GoogleVoice, and even YouTube make using these services vastly more compelling than stand alone PC web apps.
My personal interpretation is that this move is an experiment, upping the ante on the Android strategy bet, and possibly a harbinger of M&A activities. What does Google get by reselling an HTC phone directly for a comparable price that T-mobile sells similar HTC phones already ?
1. the obvious point: ability to optimize the user experience and speeding up the development cycles by asserting (more but hardly total) control over processors, hardware and components independent of manufacturer and network operator’s own priorities.
2. if that is successful in boosting interest in the OS, then it can be seen as an experiment with vertical integration, i.e. the acquisition of a device hardware company and/or wireless broadband /network services operations (perhaps connecting Google’s interest in open access for 700 MHz spectrum). Per the New York times, Motorola Co-CEO Jha commented: “I think the Nexus One is a good phone; I think the Droid is a good phone,” … Mr. Jha appeared to embrace Google’s plan to market phones directly to consumers. “I see this potentially as an expansion of the marketplace.”
Posted by au24 
