Preview the Google Phone
by Volker Weber
Mitch sent me an interesting link today: Precursor to GPhone? On My Blackberry?. Use your mobile phone and go to standard Google mobile page. You should get a page which looks similar to those:
Notice how Google offers a few links for Windows Mobile, but five applications for the BlackBerry 8800: Google Search, Google Maps, GMail, Google News and GTalk. (Actually GTalk is on a different page for the BlackBerry). These are all Java apps, and Microsoft is not delivering a JVM with Windows Mobile. Isn't it funny how Microsoft stubbornly tries to keep out of the mainstream on mobile devices? On the BlackBerry, Google offers you a rather small install:
These applications might give you an idea, what a "Google Phone" is all about.
Comments
It seems that Google use the Blackberry as their mobile device of preference, I use the Google Apps for my domain to run my mail etc and, bizarrely, the Gmail Mobile app is only available for the Blackberry currently whereas the free Gmail Mobile runs on most Java enabled phones.
My guess is that these new Java apps will be rolled out to other Java enabled phones within a fairly short time.
Matt
Matt, I run Gmail on my palm 650, I installed the IBM websphere everyplace JAva engine and Gmail runs fine. It's documented on Googles site how to do it.
That is a 45 MB download. Is IBM kidding me? And then it is a Windows installer. Do you see a CAB file for Windows Mobile 5.0 anywhere?
Volker, could you please post the direct link for the Google Services package download visible in the third screenshot? Unfortunately I can't download it using my 8800 cause my BlackBerry browser is always redirected to the German version of the website. The German version of mobile.google.com does not offer the application download.
45MB? Are you sure he didn't mean this (for PalmOS)?
Good news for us old school 8700 users; the same Google Services are available for us as well.
Volker,
the menu is also dependant on the phone - and maybe the carrier.
I have Mobile Windows 5.0 on the MDA Vario 2 with T-Mobile in Germany. Google is recognizing it as a MDA Compact and offers also "Google Mail" as a download and SMS which is more or less an expensive way to get Google-results via SMS (send a SMS to 31010 in Germany with the search in the body of the SMS).
