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It's been 10 years since Google unveiled the G1, the first Android phone. Since that time, the operating system has gone from the buggy and corny iPhone alternative to arguably the most popular (or at least the popular one).ou) computer platform in the world. But it is certain that it did not arrive without hitting some bumps along the road.
Join us for a brief retrospective on the last decade of Android devices: the good, the bad and the Nexus Q.
HTC G1 (2008)
It's the one that has triggered everything, and I have a weakness for the old man. Also called HTC Dream – it was back when we had an HTC, you see – the G1 was about as bad as you can imagine. Its full keyboard, trackball, slightly tilted screen (twisted even on official photos) and considerable circumference marked it from the start as a phone that only a real geek could like. Compared to the iPhone, it was like an ill-dressed whale.
But over time, his half-cooked software has matured and his idiosyncrasies have become obvious for the smart keys that they were. To date, I have sometimes been content with a trackball or a full keyboard, and even if the G1 was not beautiful, it was difficult as hello.
Moto Droid (2009)
Of course, most people did not take a second look at Android before the release of Moto with the Droid, a finer and finer device manufacturer of the famous RAZR. In retrospect, the Droid was not this Much better or different from the G1, but it was thinner, had a better screen and enjoyed a huge marketing promotion from Motorola and Verizon. (Disclosure: Verizon owns Oath, which owns TechCrunch, but it does not affect our coverage.)
For many, the Droid and its immediate descendants were the first Android phones they owned – something new and interesting that blew up Palm, but was much cheaper than an iPhone.
HTC / Google Nexus One (2010)
It was the result of the ongoing collaboration between Google and HTC, and the first Google phone marked and sold itself. The Nexus One was supposed to be the stylish, high-quality device that would rival the iPhone. He dropped the keyboard, had a nice new OLED screen and had a nice sleek design. Unfortunately, he encountered two problems.
First and foremost, the Android ecosystem was starting to get cluttered. People had a lot of choices and could take cheap phones that would do the essential thing. Why put money aside for a new fantasy? And second, Apple would soon release the iPhone 4, which – and I was an Android fanboy at the time – objectively blew the Nexus One and all the rest of the water. Apple had brought a gun to a knife fight.
HTC Evo 4G (2010)
Another HTC? Well, it was the prime time for the company now gone. They took risks that no one else would do, and the Evo 4G was no exception. This was for the moment huge: the iPhone had a 3.5-inch screen, and most Android devices were not much bigger, if they were not smaller.
The Evo 4G has somehow survived our criticism (our alarm now seems extremely strange, given the size of the current phone) and was a reasonably popular phone, but ultimately not to break the sales records could be great and still have sense. (Honorable mention goes to Droid X.)
Samsung Galaxy S (2010)
Samsung's debut has been rife with custom phone versions appearing in nearly every operator's store, each with its own name and design: T-Mobile, AT & T Captivate. Vibrant, Verizon Fascinate and Sprint Epic 4G. As if the Android range was not so confusing at the time!
Even though the S was a solid phone, it was flawless, and the iPhone 4 was very competitive. But strong sales have strengthened Samsung's commitment to the platform, and the Galaxy series continues to grow.
Motorola Xoom (2011)
It was a time when Android devices were reacting to Apple, not the opposite as we see it today. It is not surprising that, in the footsteps of the original iPad, we found a tablet-based version of Android with its partner Motorola, who volunteered to be the guinea pig with his short Xoom tablet.
Although Android tablets are still on sale today, the Xoom represented a stalemate in development – an attempt to sculpt a market that Apple had essentially invented and quickly dominated. Android tablets from Motorola, HTC, Samsung and others were rarely enough, although they sold pretty well for a while. This showed the impossibility of "falling behind" and prompted device makers to specialize rather than participate in a material scrum.
Amazon Kindle Fire (2011)
And who better than Amazon to illustrate? His contribution to the Android world was the Fire tablet series, which was distinguished from others by its extremely low price and direct consumption of digital media. Barely $ 200 at launch and much later, Fire devices were aimed at the usual Amazon customer whose kids were nagging them for a tablet to play on. Fruit Ninja or angry Birdsbut who did not want to buy an iPad.
This is a wise strategy and, of course, only one Amazon company was particularly well-positioned for its huge presence in online retail and its ability to subsidize the price out of the competition. Fire tablets were never particularly good, but they were good enoughand for the price you paid, it was a bit of a miracle.
Xperia Play (2011)
Sony has always struggled with Android. His Xperia The phones line for years has been considered competent – I had some myself – and unquestionably a leader in the camera business. But nobody bought them. And the one they bought the least, or at least proportional to the hype, must be the Xperia Play. This thing was supposed to be a mobile gaming platform, and the idea of a sliding keyboard is great – but it all came down to the basics.
What Sony had illustrated was that you could not settle for the popularity and diversity of Android and launch what you wanted. The phones did not sell themselves, and even though the idea of playing Playstation games on your phone might seem cool to some nerds, that would never be enough to make it a million. And more and more what the phones had to be.
Samsung Galaxy Note (2012)
As a kind of natural climax of the booming phone trend, Samsung gave it all with the first real "phablet", and despite groans of protest, the phone not only sold well but became a staple of the Galaxy series. In fact, Apple would soon follow and produce its own phone.
The note also represented a step towards using a phone for serious productivity, not just for smartphones. It was not quite successful – Android was not ready to be highly productive – but in retrospect, Samsung was thinking of moving forward and starting to establish productivity as an essential skill of the Galaxy series.
Google Nexus Q (2012)
This failed effort by Google to broadcast Android on a platform was part of a number of rash choices at the time. Nobody really knew, apparently at Google or anywhere in the world, what this thing was supposed to do. I still do not do it. As we wrote at the time:
That's the problem with the Nexus Q: it's an incredibly beautiful material that is released by the software that is supposed to control it.
It was done, or rather almost Made in the United States, however, it was so.
HTC First – "The Facebook Phone" (2013)
The first received a bad hand. The phone itself was a beautiful material with a discreet design and bright colors that stood out. But his default launcher, the Facebook condemned Home was desperately bad.
What bad? Announced in April, abandoned in May. I remember visiting an AT & T store during this brief period, and even then the staff was instructed to disable the Facebook launcher and reveal the phone perfectly. The good news is that there were so few of these new phones sold that all the stock started selling peanuts on Ebay and others. I bought two and used them for my first ROM experiments. No regrets.
HTC One / M8 (2014)
This was the beginning of the end for HTC, but their last years saw their design language update something that really rivaled Apple. The One and his successors were good phones, although HTC survived the shooting of the "Ultrapixel" camera, which proved to be less powerful, not to mention the iPhone beats.
As Samsung dominated more and more, Sony managed and LG and the Chinese companies got more involved, HTC was attacked and even a series of strong phones like the One could not compete. The year 2014 was a period of transition with the disappearance of the old manufacturers and the takeover of major manufacturers, which ultimately led to the creation of the current market.
Google / LG Nexus 5S and 6P (2015)
This was the line that really got Google into the hardware race. After the failed launch of the Nexus Q, Google had to stand out, and they managed to do it by marrying their more pedestrian hardware with really exciting software. Android 5 was a dream to use, Marshmallow had features we liked … and phones became objects we loved.
We called the 6P "the jewel of Android devices". It was at this point that Google has passed its phones to the next level and has never regretted its decision.
pixel
If the Nexus was, in fact, the kickoff for Google's entry into the hardware race, the Pixel line could be its victory round. This is an honest competitor compared to the Apple phone.
Gone are the days when Google is playing catch up on Apple's features, instead, Google is a competitor in its own right. The phone's camera is amazing. The software works relatively transparently (brings back the guest mode!), And the size and power of the phone are all you need. The price of the sticker, like the new Apple iPhones, is still a little shocking, but this phone is the teleological terminal of the Android quest to compete with its famous competitor.
Let's see what the next ten years will bring.
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