Today sees Google, HTC and T-Mobile unveiling the G1, the first Android phone, with (seemingly) all its data ‘in the cloud’. Essentially, your Contacts, Calendar, Documents, Emails and Photos all live in Google’s data cloud and sync in real time with local copies (if even appropriate) on the device, over the air. Think of it as equivalent to Apple’s Mobile Me but taken one step further.
You see, Google’s solution effectively does away with the need for syncing to a desktop computer at all. No iTunes or PC Suite software needed, you just sync to the big G in the cloud. And, probably, work with the same data, in the cloud on a desktop browser, at work or at home or somewhere in between. All very seamless.
And all very unproven, of course, we’ve yet to see people using Google’s solution in the real world. But it’s looking very good so far – and the user interface of the G1 as a whole isn’t a million miles behind the iPhone’s UI. All of which gives Apple a bit of a kick in the backside, just as it gave the rest of the phone industry a kick a year ago. Android has the potential to be a real competitor.
But it’s the implications for Mobile Me that interests me here. Google’s Android solution is all free – of course – this is Google after all. And it’s not only comparable, it’s arguably better.
When Mobile Me was first announced, I thought to myself “Neat, but I wonder if they can justify asking people to pay for it – why isn’t this free? Yet another way of differentiating Apple’s iPhone and trouncing the competition?”. Now, with the G1’s launch and oodles of videos showing how Google’s services will hang together, I’m asking this more publicly. WHY ISN’T MOBILE ME FREE?
Apple, do yourself a favour and level the playing field a little in your favour. Make your own real time cloud sync service the same price as Google’s. Go on, you know it’s the right thing to do.