For now, the HTC Dream is still just a dream

Nicole Lee | Aug 19, 2008

Is the HTC Dream just a dream?
(Credit: Google)

News broke Monday that the FCC has finally given its seal of approval to the HTC Dream handset, which is purported to be the first cell phone to carry Android, Google's open platform for mobile handsets.

It appears that the HTC Dream will feature W-iFi, Bluetooth, a "jogball"-type navigation toggle (similar to the trackball on the BlackBerry Pearl), and there are even indications that it will support WCDMA 1700, T-Mobile's new 3G band.

Of course, the promise of the Android handset lies in its open platform. Earlier Monday, Google finally announced the first beta version of the Android SDK, which will hopefully send developers in a frenzy to develop applications in time for the Dream's release (which is purported to be some time in November, though there are rumors that it might debut as early as October).

But all of this still seems a bit pie in the sky. After almost a year of talk about the Google Phone, all we have are FCC sketches, prototype models, and demo screenshots of potential Android applications.

I understand it takes a long time for a product to come to fruition, but I'm afraid that by the time the Dream comes to market, it'll already be yesterday's news. Since it will face stiff competition by the likes of the iPhone 3G and the upcoming BlackBerry Bold, I just think the HTC Dream will really have to pull out all the stops to compete on the same level.

So I pulled up my Google phone wishlist from November of last year. My list of must-have features were:

1) An easy-to-use OS
2) Third-party application support
3) Select applications like a full HTML browser, POP e-mail, and a VoIP client
4) 3G and Wi-Fi
5) Full Bluetooth support that includes data tethering

It does sound like the Android OS will be close in fulfilling all five of my criteria, but even then, will the actual HTC Dream be a good phone? Will it be easy to use? Will the Android platform translate well to different kinds of hardware? And most importantly, will the applications be any good? There are more questions than answers right now, and I'm left feeling more skeptical than ever.

What do you, as early adopters and regular consumers, think of the Android OS and the HTC Dream? Do you think it will make a dent in the iPhone/BlackBerry/Windows Mobile arena? What do you want the HTC Dream to have, in terms of design and features? Let us know in the comments below.

Filed under: Handhelds, Mobile Phones
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ferdiei

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ferdiei says...
for this round, HTC is in a good position being a hardware manufacturer foremost & to be the first one ever to launch a Android-enabled mobile device. sure, any Android enabled handset will cause dent or may even have a mass-market appeal given its initial intention to combine both user-friendliness (strength of iphone) & pda functionality (WM platform) in a single software package. with its SDK still ongoing further development (even) after it would be first release to the open market, i hope that it (they, the developers) could come out with a respectable & desirable application that would totally differentiate itself from the pack, while maintaining its promised restraint on hardware resources, a common problem with WM applications that regarded even the most power-packed gadget sluggish in any given term (especially when multi-tasking). some notable features that i hope they could retain: cross-platform configutration whether touchscreen, qwerty, alphanumeric or combination of 2 or all, to be able to function even on low-power devices with cpu~200MHz/RAM~64MB which not only mean it doesnt necessarily take good amount of hardware resource but opens the possibility that more application could be squeezed in one mobile device, plus of course the strength of Google's network going mobile, to an even increasing fans & customers

Aug 19, 2008 17:40