The iPhone has already become old, it is time to go open source with the Android-powered HTC G1/Dream
Rumours had always been doing the rounds, spy shots kept appearing on tech sites and blogs, speculation was rife. But the HTC G1/Dream handset remained elusive. So while the world, and some of its geeks, waited with bated breath for the iPhones and N96s, the super geeks, waited for the Dream. This was a world where Apple’s iPhone had become the yardstick for every innovation in mobile telephony—the perfect setting for Google and High Tech Computer (HTC) to go for a ‘dream launch’.

Even before we go into the specifications, it is important to realise that the Dream is a developer’s... well, dream come true. It points in the direction the whole software business is slowly moving towards—open source. The applications on the Dream, unlike the iPhone, are not channelled through a single access point like the iTunes store and are, hence, not ‘regulated’. This means the much loathed third-party applications can and will work on the Dream.

The website of Android, the open source operating system of the phone, says it was built to enable developers to create mobile applications that “take full advantage of all a handset has to offer... An application could call upon any of the phone’s core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users”. Because it is open source, Android “can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications”.

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