Precursor to GPhone? On My Blackberry?
Mark Evans last week picked up on an Engadget post which suggests the much anticipated GPhone is actually a phone with Google, not Google phone. Based on the associated press release from LG Electronics this line of phones will combine appropriate hardware with Google software, namely, Google Maps, GMail and Blogger Mobile
But a while ago, via my Blackberry 8700's web browser I went to the standard Google Mobile link. It detected that I was on a Blackberry and came up with a screen that asked if I wanted to download and install five "applications": Google Search, Google Maps, GMail, Google News and GTalk. So I installed all five and ended up with the main Blackberry "Home" screen shown above. The filmstrip below then shows some of these applications in operation.
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog
Is this Blackberry configuration the precursor to what the GPhone experience will be -- at least on the LG handsets as suggested on Engadget? Of course to be totally user friendly, Google Maps would link into the Blackberry Contacts (but that's Blackberry Maps logo beneath the Google Maps logo and it already has those links) and GMail would link into email addresses in my Blackberry Contacts Manager. To be a true navigation application Google Maps also needs an ability to interact with a GPS via Bluetooth. Finally, GTalk is purely IM with no voice component but we already know VoIP is not readily adapted to wireless platforms. I guess one can always hope. (Note that Blogger Mobile requires carrier adoption and is not yet available for my wireless carrier.)
What I do find is that I use the Google Search and Google News "applications" more often than using the embedded web browser (lower right icon).
When I went to the same Google Mobile link on my Nokia N80i, it recognizes the web browser as being on an N80 and basically wants to run Search, News, SMS and Blogger from hyperlinks within the web browser while separate applications are installed only for Google Maps and GMail. Interesting ...
All this certainly provides a pragmatic hint of how Google is building the components for, and may evolve into, the phone space.
For those who are curious: Icons in the second row: Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry Maps (yes it can be downloaded for an 8700), iotum Talk Now's Free/Busy icon, iotum's Talk Now Status Screen, Phone Log.
Powered by Qumana
Comments
What is the free busy icon all about I can't find it in a google? Please PM me.
Posted by: tritan | April 4, 2007 06:17 PM
why cant i download googletalk? it was not one of the apps that popped up. have 8700
Posted by: suav | April 5, 2007 01:59 PM
Hello there,
I was browsing the web to find out if I could get IGoogle to come up on my Blackberry 8830 and 8700 and I came accross your site. I have my BBs configured with all teh main google gadgets as well and I love it! In response to the person who posted that last question, I wanted to let you know that I had the same issue with the googletalk apparently dissapearing from the original bundle. I could have sworn I had downloaded it last time from that same site mobile.google.com! I even tried their alternate site google.com/talk
(I believe that one works for desktops)
So in the end, I figured out (reseached or remembered????) that the link to access this download is blackberry.com/googletalk
Thanks for the read!
Posted by: Rahel | October 4, 2007 12:54 PM