Android lovers will always look back fondly at the HTC G1, the device that started the love affair for many of us. The G1 and Android 1.0 launched with many distinctive features such as the slide out keyboard, home screen widgets, pull down notifications and curved ‘chin', many of these features are still present in Android 4.0 today.
Meet the Google Sooner, the phone that might just have launched in place of the G1 had it not been for a late change in strategy from Google. With a full qwerty keyboard and non touch-screen design it's clear that Google was initially chasing after Blackberry and Symbian before the huge success of the original iPhone positioned itself as a more ambitious target for Google to take on. Oh how different things may have been.
Developer Steven Troughton-Smith has been fortunate enough to get his hands on the Google Sooner and has posted some detailed commentary and high resolution screenshots to his blog for the rest of us to enjoy. You can take a look at Google's own Sergey Brin walking us through this early build in the video below, we've also posted a few photos of the Sooner.
Those of you who bought the original HTC G1, would the Google Sooner have caught your imagination in the same way had it ever reached the market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
source : Steven Troughton-Smith blog
i like how this phone looks, without all the glossy plastic / glass looks of today.
Remember, back then, the Iphone wasn’t even technically a smartphone. Users couldn’t install extra apps (there was no ITunes App Store).