The G2 is T-mobile’s follow up to the first commercial Android device, the G1. In the two years since the release of the G1, cellphones have changes radically, and the differences between the G1 and G2 are a great example of the advancements. The G2 takes advantage of T-mobile’s HSPA+ network, which allows for download speeds in excess of 20Mbps (faster than most home internet connections), and has a “stock” version of Android. A “stock” version of Android allows the Android operating system to be upgraded faster, which I have found to be a major benefit of the Nexus One that I’ve been using. I consistently get Android operating system updates 2-3 months before anyone else. The bottom line, if you’re looking for a clean Android experience and can’t get your hand on a Nexus One, the G2 is the next best thing.

Nokia also began shipping its N8 smartphone last week. While still the leader in both overall and smartphone shipments, Nokia has become all but forgotten due to all the iPhone and Android hype. It’s quite an unfortunate situation as Nokia still makes great hardware, and the N8 is no exception. However, since Nokia does not have a strong relationship with any of the major US carriers, no one has launched a major marketing initiative around the device. Unless Nokia really steps up both their marketing effort and carrier relationship status in the US, I would suspect that Nokia will continue to fade away into a niche player in the US market, which is a shame based on the quality of their hardware. If you’re seriously interested in picking up the device, your best bet is going to be to shell out the cash and buy the N8 directly from Nokia.

While I am not a huge tablet fan, BlackBerry maker RIM announced their tablet called the PlayBook last week. My first reaction was that RIM is making a huge mistake, until RIM co-CEO Mike Lazardis spoke about it. RIM is positioning the PlayBook as a companion to their smartphones targeted directly at business users. I think BlackBerry may be onto something. Businesses may be hesitant to buy employees iPads due to the level of distraction from games and apps that are available. With the PlayBook, enterprises will be given more control and the majority of applications will be business oriented. I suspect that businesses will be more receptive to buying their employees PlayBooks, which could overflow into consumer sales, much like their BlackBerry smartphone platform. In essence, I like the strategy, now it is up to RIM to execute.

In other handset news, another interesting device released last week was the R2-D2 themed Droid 2 from Motorola. Themed cellphones is an untapped market in my opinion. People are always looking for a way to stand out from the crowd, and themed cellphones are a great way to achieve it. I’m very curious to see how well these R2-D2 themed units sell. If they sell as well as I think they should, I suspect that you will see a lot more themed cellphones making their way into the market.

Finally, if you are interested in what the future holds for mobile phones, then take a look at this Mozilla video for a concept phone called “Seabird – A Community-driven Concept Phone.” Mozilla does not have any intention to build the phone, but it is clearly a sign of what is possible and what could be coming to mobile phones in the near future. I particularly like the idea of the included Bluetooth headset/mouse as well as the projectors that allow you to turn any surface into an interactive screen. I suspect that you will see phones within the next 2 or3 years with this type of technology, and I can’t wait!

Both companies really should be more concerned about potential new competitors. One such company is Huawei, the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in China. Huawei is releasing smartphones into the US market and is working on some very interesting concept phones (see video below from Andoid and Me). I have experienced working with Huawei firsthand in a previous career, and they are very aggressive when entering a market and determined to win, at any cost. With Huawei entering the market, all the current major players – Nokia, Apple, HTC, Samsung and Motorola – need to pay close attention to Huawei’s next move. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get very aggressive here in the US and Europe with their smartphone offerings, particularly on price. Make note of the name . Huawei’s first smartphones should show up on T-mobile later this year.

Finally, for those who like green initiatives, one innovative person came up with a new way to charge a cell phone – by hamster! I’ve seen phones that use solar to charge, or movement, but this is the first time I’ve seen a phone charged by hamster. Who knows if it’s real or not, but it sure makes for an entertaining video.

The prevailing opinion is that Verizon will help Apple sell a lot more iPhones. While I am sure that there would be an opening weekend feeding frenzy for the devices, I don’t see Apple as the big winner – Android will be.

Why?

1. The iPhone is a shiny object
Apple is exactly what Verizon wants to lure more people into its stores. Once there, they will see lots of great phones, Android phones: the Droid Incredible, the Droid X, the Fascinate, and the Droid 2. All of these devices can hold their own with the iPhone. Plus most of these phones will be cheaper than the iPhone. I’m willing to bet a lot of casual buyers will get drawn into a Verizon store because of the iPhone but leave with an Android device.

2. Verizon’s bait-and-switch strategy
Verizon will heavily market the iPhone to draw people into their stores, but once there, people will see signs pushing Android, and lots of them. Verizon has clearly aligned itself with Google. Verizon and Google’s joint net neutrality proposal and rumors of a Google Chrome tablet exclusive for Verizon should indicate who Verizon’s real partner is.

3. Just another face in the crowd
At an AT&T store, the best device was an iPhone, hands down. Not the case in the Verizon store. Instead of being the top dog, the iPhone will be just another smartphone. In fact, people will notice greater diversity with Android handsets with regards to form factor and screen size as well as features like a slide out keyboard. Android offers a lot more versatility over the one-size-fits-all iPhone approach.

4. There’s no reason to wait
If someone really wanted the iPhone, they should already have it from AT&T. Sure AT&T service on the iPhone is poor, but people who want the iPhone  have already moved past that and just sucked it up – they’ve had four years to switch carriers. The only place there could be some pent-up demand is on corporate Verizon accounts where it was cost prohibitive for people to switch.

5. New customers, but only for Verizon
The majority of people who want the iPhone on Verizon want to switch from AT&T. A recent study showed that 1 in 3 AT&T iPhone users want to switch. I believe this is the same group who are feeding the rumors as well. They must think that if they wish it hard enough, Verizon will pick up the iPhone and give them freedom from AT&T. In fact, if the Verizon iPhone winner is Android, the loser is AT&T.

The bottom line – it’s inevitable that the iPhone, or an Apple equivalent, will make it to Verizon. It would be silly for Apple not to let it happen. If I was Google, I wouldn’t be concerned. In fact, I’d relish it. It will only fuel Android’s rapid growth.

To start off, Microsoft announced the line up of Xbox Live games that would be available on their mobile Windows Phone 7 platform. I don’t play Xbox (Playstation is my platform of choice), so I couldn’t tell you if the game list is interesting or not. However, what I do find interesting is Microsoft’s mobile strategy. It appears that Microsoft is going to tie its mobile success to the Xbox platform. I wouldn’t call this a genius strategy as much as I would consider it a high risk bet. In my opinion, Microsoft has already lost this round of the mobile OS game to RIM for the enterprise, Apple for the high end, and Android for the general consumer. Since no one has gone after the hardcore gamer, Microsoft is filling an underserved niche to build a loyal following. On the other hand, it will take time and lots of resources, i.e. money, to grow the niche. Given Microsoft’s deep pockets, they are one of the few companies that can pull it off, and I like the fact that they are going after a niche in the market rather than trying to immediately compete head to head with Apple, Google and RIM, although I am sure they will end up there soon enough.

Behind the Microsoft announcement, rumors were leaked that Sony is working on an Android-based Playstation mobile phone. Adding phone capability is the next logical move for the PSP, and not because people want to use it as a phone. It is for the over the air download capability and the social gaming aspects that can occur using the mobile network as its backbone. Given Microsoft’s moves with its Xbox/Windows Phone 7 platform, Sony must do this, and quickly, to keep from losing customers and market share in the highly lucrative gaming console market. Of course, all of this could become a moot point if Google and Verizon get their way and regulate traffic on the mobile internet (OK – I’ll admit that last comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I couldn’t resisit).

Finally, to wrap-up this week on a gaming note, Mashable pointed out 10 classic PC games that have been reborn on the iPhone. I was a bit surprised by how many of them I recognized, and played! It brought back memories of my college days and made me wonder how me and my college roommates ever graduated! Take a look and let me know which games you recognize and which was your favorite. Just for the record, mine would be Prince of Persia, although Doom runs a close second.

One company that is seeing declines in market share is RIM with their BlackBerry platform. BlackBerry has been the dominant smartphone in the US for what seems like forever. However, unless you are addicted to email or are a business user, BlackBerry’s hardware and overall user experience lags behind the iPhone and Android. As BlackBerry users are coming off contract, it’s obvious they are switching platforms. BlackBerry attempted to stem their losses with last week’s launch of the BlackBerry Torch 9800. While it closed the gap on features, it still does not put it on the same level as the iPhone or Android. At this point, RIM needs to stay focused on its bread and butter, the enterprise. As I pointed out in an article last week, RIM cannot serve both enterprise users and consumers with the same platform. They have a dominant position in the enterprise that they need to protect. So while the consumer market is where all the media attention is, RIM needs to stay focused on who’s paying their bills.

In the end, I see Android winning the market share game by dominating the middle and low end of the smartphone market, Apple winning the high end of the market, which is the most profitable, and RIM winning the enterprise. Left on the outside looking in are Nokia, Microsoft and HP. I’m not so sure that any of these three can carve out a piece of the market as I don’t think the smartphone is big enough, at least today, to support more than three strong companies.

With the hot summer handset releases behind us, who is the worldwide leader in the market? According to Strategy Analytics, Nokia (remember them?) sold the greatest share of the 308M handsets sold in Q2. Nokia’s share was 36.1%, follwed by Samsung at 20.7%, and LG at 10%. RIM, the only dedicated smartphone maker in the top 5, came in fourth at 3.6%. So while smartphones grab all of the media attention, the low-end of the market accounts for all the volume. If the market is largest at the low end, then why are all the manufacturers chasing the smartphone market? Because that’s where all the profits are. For example, Apple is nowhere to be seen on the market share list, yet they are far and away the most profitable mobile phone company.

Speaking of market share, a report on mobile search was released by StatCounter last week. At the top of the heap was Google, with a whopping 98.29% share of the market. I’m not sure how accurate the numbers are, but even if they are off by 20%, that’s still a dominant share of the market. If that doesn’t convince you that you should have a mobile presence that Google can index, then you’re losing lots of business to your competitors who do have one - without even knowing about it! Both Yahoo! and Bing, the two other big mobile search providers, account for just 1.25% of the market. On the bright side, I guess Yahoo! and Bing’s share can only get bigger, because it certainly can’t get any smaller!

Finally, just to kick start everyone’s favorite rumor mill, I am going to jump on the bandwagon and say that AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity may be coming to an end this year. Why? Well, AT&T made a statement that they are going to be the premier vendor for Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7. I don’t understand why AT&T would back a competitor to the iPhone unless their exclusivity is coming to an end. It’s time to place your bets. I say that the iPhone is available on another carrier for the holidays, and I’ll predict T-mobile over Verizon since T-mobile’s GSM technology is the most compatible with AT&T and Apple, out of spite, wants to stick it to Verizon for their Android promoting, iPhone-bashing ads. What do you think? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

The releases of these new smartphones have not been without troubles. Even the iPhone 4.0 has had its share of issues, primarily with reception. The issue got so bad that it forced Apple to hold a press conference with Steve Jobs responding to the criticism. In Apple style, they did a great job of spinning the problem and declaring the iPhone reception as good (or as bad, depending on your viewpoint) as every other smartphone. I thought the point of paying the “Apple tax” was to be a cut above everyone else, not as good as the competition. Either way, the iPhone 4.0 is still the class of the field these days, and it certainly helped Apple post great earnings for last quarter. Whether you love Apple or hate them, one thing is certain – they are posting impressive results!

In addition to the iPhone 4.0, the Droid X from Motorola that launched on Verizon has also run into its share of issues. Screen problems are plaguing the device, although both Motorola and Verizon have been quick to step in and remedy the issue. The increasing problems with smartphone introductions leads me to believe that manufacturers are rushing devices out the door prematurely to save/gain marketshare at the expense of quality. Manufacturers need to start doing a better job of quality control in order to preserve consumers’ trust in purchasing new devices.

Finally, one large player that has been absent from all of the mobile discussion has been Microsoft. Once a leader in the smartphone market, they have become a laggard. They are trying to stem their losses with a new OS called Windows Phone 7 (WP7). Microsoft is working to push out the OS by the end of the year, and it appears on schedule as they released hardware last week to Microsoft employees and select press members for review. Initial reviews have been mixed, and I get the feeling that the first release of WP7 will be half-baked with rapid improvements planned, similar to Apple’s original iPhone release strategy in 2007. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the market has shifted dramatically since 2007. iOS and Android are mature enough that I’d be surprised if users are willing to adopt an immature smartphone platform. While Microsoft has lots of resources to place behind WP7, I predict that they will compete with HP/Palm for third place in the smartphone market behind leaders Apple (iOS) and Google (Android).

If you’ve picked up one these, or a different, handset this summer, leave a comment – I’d like to hear how your experience has been. I’d be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who picked up a Samsung Vibrant on T-mobile. It’s the most underrated phone on the market in my opinion, and variants of the device will be available on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon by this fall.

In the US, AdMob is reporting 10.7M iPhone OS and 8.7M Android devices accessed its network in April. That is a ratio of 1.2 iPhones for every one Android device. In the rest of the world, 16.8M iPhone OS and 2.9M Android devices accessed its network in April. That is a ration of 5.8 iPhones for every one Android device.

Why the big difference? The iPhone does not have a carrier exclusive relationship in the rest of the world as it does here in the US with AT&T. In fact, lets look at the ratio of iPhones to Android devices in a few select countries to show just how dominant the iPhone is in countries with no exclusivity:

Source data: AdMob Mobile Metrics Report, April 2010

I sure hope that Apple is getting paid well by AT&T, because the data confirms what I pointed out earlier this month – Apple is losing the opportunity to dominate the US smartphone market through its exclusive AT&T arrangement.

Head over to the Admob blog at metrics.admob.com to download the April 2010 Mobile Metrics report and the country specific data.

To understand Palm’s fate and why it ended up where it did, one need only look at Motorola to see what Palm should have done. Motorola fell into the same trap as Palm by resting on the success of its RAZR line of phones. Just as Palm was the king of the smartphone market in 2005, Motorola was at the top of the cellphone market with the RAZR. Motorola found itself in the same position as Palm in early 2009. It needed to redefine itself to recapture market momentum.

How did Motorola recapture glory with the Droid, while Palm could not do the same with the Pre?

1. Partner selection
Motorola forged a partnership with the #1 carrier in the US – Verizon. Verizon was in dire need of a device to compete with AT&T and the iPhone. It had the desire and poured all the necessary resources into a $100M+ ad campaing supporting the Droid.

By contrast, Palm chose an exclusive relationship with Sprint, the #3 carrier in the US that was losing subscribers to both Verizon and AT&T at a rapid rate. Sprint was anxious to stem its subscriber losses and figured the Pre could do the trick. Unfortunately, Sprint did not have the resources to launch a significant ad campaign in support of the Pre, so Palm was left on its own to promote the device.

The result: Motorola’s launch was a huge success which continues today, while the Pre launch was a dud and never recovered.

2. Messaging
The Droid ads were edgy and defining. Verizon made no bones about going directly after the iPhone with its ads and positioning the Droid as a device that could not only hold its own against the iPhone, but in many cases surpass it. In effect, the Droid ads turned the device into a must have for Verizon users.

Palm’s advertising strategy for the Palm was confusing, to say the least. There did not appear to be any strategy or clarity of messaging, and, worse yet, the commercials were even painful to watch in most cases. An example from each ad campaign shows just how different the two approaches were.

3. Focus
Perhaps Palm’s biggest downfall was focusing on both the hardware and the software for the Pre. Many technology pundits argue to this day that WebOS is the best smartphone operating system on the market, but by owning both the software and hardware, Palm spread itself too thin. Perhaps it was John Rubinstein’s Apple roots that led him to believe that he could follow the Apple model, but Palm did not have the resources to continue to innovate on the hardware and software, while at the same time courting developers and building an ecosystem around webOS.

Motorola, on the other hand, focused exclusively on the hardware and leveraged the developing ecosystem around the Android OS. The leverage for Motorola was that it did not have to worry about developing and nurturing the Android ecosystem, Google did it for them. By freeing up resources, Motorola was able to focus solely on the hardware and has been able to continue innovating on the hardware beyond the Droid, while Palm has seemingly been at a standstill since the launch of the Pre.

In retrospect, Palm recognizes that it made fatal mistakes in how it handled the Pre launch - Jon Rubinstein admitted as much in an interview with Fortune a few weeks before the HP acquisition. Unfortunately, as my high school class motto stated, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”

I, for one, am sad to see Palm go. Nothing will be able to replace my fond memories of my first handheld PC, the Palm V. Rest in peace, Palm.

Luckily, in the meantime, the mobile industry continues to rocket forward. In case you missed it, the most exciting news of the past couple of weeks happened last week at the Google I/O Developer’s Conference where Google announced the release of Android 2.2, code named Froyo. Google’s Vic Gundotra delivered a polished keynote describing and demonstrating the features, as well as throwing in jab after jab at Apple. In fact, Android may have just found its Steve Jobs equivalent in Vic. Anyway, I’ve embedded the video below. While it’s a bit long, it’s well worth watching if you are at all interested in where mobile technology is heading. It’s also very entertaining to see Google lay down the gauntlet with Apple.

It’s clear that Google and Apple have become the key players in the development and advancement of mobile technology. These companies, which were once close allies in a battle against Microsoft, have become fierce competitors in computing’s latest battleground. (See the excellent post written by MG Seigler at Techcrunch on Google & Apple’s evolving relationship – it’s a must read for fans of ABC’s Lost Series)

While Apple has staked itself to a huge lead in mobile, it’s amazing how quickly Google has been able to close the gap in just 18 months. In fact, with the Froyo announcement, some might argue that, technologically speaking, Google has passed Apple – at least until Apple announces the iPhone 4.0 OS at its WWDC event on June 7. Given the frontal assault that Google unleashed at Apple, I suspect that Steve Jobs will have plenty to say when he kicks off Apple’s highly anticipated developer’s conference.

How has Google done it? Well, for one, they’ve innovated and released new features quickly, even at the risk of fragmenting the OS. It will be interesting to see how long they can maintain the pace of innovation. Secondly, Google has embraced the existing mobile ecosystem and allowed both OEM hardware manufacturers and carriers to customize Android to suit their requirements. Instead of going it alone as Apple has, Google has relied on the combined strength of many partners and companies.

In the end, I don’t see there being one clear winner in this battle. While I’ve chosen the Android camp for now, and can’t wait for Froyo to hit my Nexus One, I’m glad to see that two strong competitors have emerged in the mobile space. As Vic points out at the beginning of his keynote, a market in which one company and one person dominates is not good for innovation, or for consumers. With these two Goliaths going at it toe-to-toe, I expect the features and pace of innovation to accelerate – all for our benefit.

Game On!