The day has come. Tomorrow T-Mobile will show the world G1, the first Android phone. Not exactly the same buzz we have seen for the iPhone, but a milestone in the mobile world nonetheless.
Many rumors are filling the blogosphere. That they will have three colors: white, black and brown (brown? C'mon, the last gadget I saw in brown color is the Zune, with its international success...). That it will be built by HTC (on this one, I am ready to bet any sum). And many others, linked to the App Store and such.
The one I found more interesting - because of what I do for a living - is in an article by Fortune: apparently, T-Mobile is going to offer free email (Gmail, obviously) ad-sponsored. Free as in really free, even the data plan will be free. If this is the case, it is big news. Free email sponsored by advertising is something we have been pushing lately, but we were pretty much alone. If Google gets in the game with a carrier, then it is going to change the landscape pretty quickly.
I am not convinced the free data is going to make a big difference, though. People that buy an Android phone are going to have a data plan anyway. There is no reason to buy a smartphone that has Maps and browsing as the main features, and not have a data plan.
Still, the idea is intriguing and it will accelerate the push email market greatly. Show it to consumers and they will get excited pretty quickly. Yes, even in a recession. Wanna bet they are going to sell a lot of Android phones and very fast? People are cutting down on milk, but not on phones. Sad but true (and not really sad if you are in this market...).
