I was reading David Pogue’s article (16 October 2008) in the New York Times, “A Look at Google’s First Phone.”
“Like the iPhone store, this market is a gigantic development, rich with possibilities; as programmers everywhere create new programs, mostly free, this ‘phone’ will turn into something vastly more flexible — and patch many of its feature holes.
Better yet, Google insists that its store will be completely open. Unlike Apple, it will not reject software submissions if they don’t serve the mother ship’s commercial interests. For example, Apple rejects programs that would let you make phone calls over the Internet, thereby avoiding using up cellular airtime. Google and T-Mobile swear they would permit such a thing.”
The part that rang loudest was that the “store will be completely open…programs that would let you make phone calls over the Internet, thereby avoiding using up cellular airtime. Google and T-Mobile swear they would permit such a thing.”
Wow.
How often do you work on a product that is that user-centered?
To be fair, I’m not surprised that Google and T-Mobile are doing a completely open market. After all, we know the Google. I had T-Mobile for 5+ years. During that time, they launched T-Mobile wireless calls with a fairly good billing deal. (If you started a call wifi, you didn’t use any minutes; leave wireless and you still weren’t using minutes. And, if I remember correctly, the rate was $10/month.) They seem to be ok with getting their subscriber fees. I thought it was nicely done.
But, still. It’s open. Totally and completely open. That is going to make for a very rich collaboration between the companies and their stakeholders.
Google and T-Mobile: I tip my hat to you. Also, thank you. You are going to be a great basis for some rationale next time I propose a feature that is very user-centered.