To be precise, it’s the G1 phone from T-Mobile, with the “G” software provided by Google. I did not visit the nearest T-mobile store by Panera, but I saw it from T-mobile web site.
The paradigm shift in Smartphone market
About 3 months ago we have seen the debut of iPhone 3G, now with the GPhone from T-Mobile/Google, suddently the smartphone market in the US became crowded, esp. considering we are entering a recession.
This is a perfect storm for the incumbent, the Blackberry maker Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), today its stock took another 5% hair cut. Keep in mind traditionally RIM has been courting the enterprise market: the business and goverment. But RIM started enphasizing consumer market since last year, and has been extremely successful: one reason being the only meaningful competition so far is iPhone (1st gen). With the debut of G1, I belive both Apple and RIM will face more pressure. Traditionally RIM is very strong on wireless communcations and push email; Apple is famous for its sleek design. For smartphone one key differentiator is software (or service depends on how you look at it), and Google is obviously an formidable competitor in this arena. I am sure RIM will fight back with its Bold (first touchable BB).
The war on smartphone will be really interesting to watch…