Android unleashed

In movies and science fiction novels, androids generally inspire delight or fear. Think C-3PO from "Star Wars," or the governor of California as "The Terminator." But real-life androids, far from threatening to conquer the world, can just barely walk. So it's fitting the first cellphone to be based on Google Inc.'s Android software is something of a letdown.

The G1 phone, made by HTC Corp. of Taiwan and available only through T-Mobile USA, the nation's fourth-largest cellular service, is supposed to hit shelves Oct. 22, though there are rumors some retailers will start offering it tomorrow. The G1 costs $179, plus a two-year service contract. In exchange, buyers will get a gadget that's half phone, half science project.

Forget comparisons with Apple Inc.'s iPhone; the G1's hardware doesn't match the iPhone's elegance and simplicity. That's not always a bad thing. For instance, the iPhone achieves its seamless look by locking down the battery compartment. Installing a replacement requires a trip to the repair shop. HTC's engineers included a removable back cover with a replaceable battery. HTC also doesn't share Apple chief Steve Jobs's hatred of push-buttons. The G1's got seven of them - eight if you count a BB-size trackball. And that's before you slide back the touch screen and reveal the QWERTY keyboard.

IPhone critics who dislike typing on a touch screen will enjoy the keyboard, even though it results in a thicker phone. But the phone's external buttons can sow a fair amount of confusion. Why a trackball for scrolling around the screen, when a fingertip serves as well? Why a separate button to activate the G1's camera, when a touch of the onscreen camera icon will do the same? It's a belt-and-suspenders approach that adds unnecessary clutter.

But it's the software that makes this phone an Android. Google built its wealth and power by developing search software in the open, uncontrolled environment of the Internet, where anybody can create and distribute any kind of software. But most cellphone software is tightly controlled by its creators - companies like Microsoft Corp.

Wireless phones are a much bigger market than the traditional Internet. About 1.4 billion people now use the Internet, but the International Telecommunication Union estimates that by year's end 4 billion people will use cellphones. Google figures it can only thrive in this immense market if cellphone networks become as open to software innovation as the Web.

Android is Google's response - a software system that allows it or any other software developer to easily create new programs and services. Cellphone providers like T-Mobile have warmed to the idea; so have independent software developers who hope to sell clever little programs for Android-based phones.

The G1 offers us a first look at Android in action, and the view is not without its charms. No surprise that Google's online services are presented to good advantage. There's a very good implementation of Google Maps which serves up driving directions, and G1's program for displaying videos from Google's YouTube service is better than its iPhone equivalent. I blew the better part of an hour watching "Three Stooges" videos, because it was so easy to get at them.

But Web surfing on the G1 is nothing to write home about. The browser is serviceable enough. But the G1 doesn't let users "pinch" the screen to expand and contract the text, as the iPhone does. Then again, I like the little magnifier box that can be dragged to any part of the browser. Once in place, the box zooms in for a full-screen close-up of the underlying text. It's not as good as the pinch function, but not bad.

It took Apple most of a year to open the iPhone to outside software developers. The G1's ready from day one with Android Market, a program that lets you choose from a couple dozen miniprograms. It's quite a mixed bag, ranging from useless to marvelous. Does anyone really need a program that turns the phone into a miniature seismograph? If the ground's shaking enough to matter, you'll probably notice.

On the other hand, you've got to love ShopSavvy, which uses the phone's camera to take a picture of the bar codes on products. It then uses the phone's data connection to look up the product and search for Internet retailers that may sell it for less. And it uses the phone's GPS location system to see where you are, and try to find nearby retailers that might offer a lower price.

Locale, another remarkable program, was developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ever forget to turn off your phone's ringer in church? With Locale, you can program the phone to alter its behavior depending on where it is. Using GPS, Locale can tell whether you're at home, at school, or anywhere else, then modify your ringtone. If you've got a friend who uses the Twitter messaging service, you can program Locale to recognize his number. When he calls, the phone can fire off a Twitter message, telling him you're busy.

Locale works nicely, when you can get it to work. It's riddled with bugs, as are several Android programs. Apple would never have allowed such programs to crawl aboard its iPhones, but Android, like the Internet, takes pride in an amateur-hour approach to software development. That's not always a bad thing. I expect plenty of innovative programs in the years ahead for the G1, as well as upcoming Android phones from other manufacturers. But I also expect many programs won't work properly.

No surprise, really. Like every other real-life android, this one is an experiment. And it'll probably be a year or more until we know how it turns out.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.