If you're really in-depth with keeping up with Android, you're probably aware that when Android was first being designed, it wasn't nearly as polished and appealing as it is today. The original HTC Dream (which later came to be known as the G1), seen above, still tried to keep many features of phones before it. Physical keyboard, dedicated buttons for receiving and ending calls, etc. It's a far cry from the pure touchscreen devices Google offers today. That's not even accounting for the other device Google was developing alongside the G1, which featured no touch screen at all and a Blackberry-esque form factor that was internally referred to as the “Sooner.” Obviously, that non-touchscreen device never actually hit the market, which some people believe is because Apple unveiled their iPhone, which would have made the original Android device look extremely antiquated by the time it was released.
According to a comment dug up from 2012 by an Android employee, Dianne Hackborn, that worked on the project since 2006, Apple really had nothing to do with which device hit the market. Google was developing both devices, one that was a safe bet based on what was currently available (the Sooner) and one that was more progressive with a touchscreen, hardware sensors, etc. (which turned out to be the Dream, or HTC G1). Aside from that, though, the devices weren't that much different. One was obviously more advanced, but the internals and software were nearly identical. Changing course from one to the other wasn't that much of a change for the Android team.
Hackborn says that regardless of whether or not Apple had announced their iPhone, the Sooner likely would have been dropped anyway. It didn't fit with the core vision of where Google wanted to take Android, and during development it really held back what the team could do with a touchscreen device.
This is a pretty interesting bit of information to surface, true or not. We're probably never going to know exactly what happens with these big company decisions, but having some insight from first-hand accounts always keeps the stories fresh.
source: OS News
via: Phone Arena
It doesn’t matter who did what first, second, or third. Apple fans have real issues dealing with the fact that apple is THE company that does THE most copying — as Steve Jobs stated years ago, “good artists copy, great artists steal” as he was fully aware how much apple had ripped off from other companies up to that point, and continue to do so up to this very date.
Google, more than likely, adjusted plans according to market shifts like any intelligent company would do, and apple has done exactly the same thing — why do you think iOS 7 looks so much like Android now? And why do you think apple worked so hard to get a smartphone out? Jobs knew full well that cell phones were killing the ipod market — therefore they adjusted to current market shifts and copied Nokia, BB, Motorola, and Sony and came up with the iPhone. . . get over it people. Everyone copies and only ignorant fanboys/fangirls think otherwise.
Sounds like damage control to me! Should have left it alone Google, let the story go away quietly. You don’t say “We’re going to have to start over” if you already have a similar product being developed and why would it take a full year after the iPhone release if it’s been in development for 2 years
Sure the phrase “core vision” really has nothing to do with Apple, but makes you wonder what Glass will turn out like if Apple front-runs them to market with some sort of wearable device. What I don’t understand is why Google even allows their people use to Macs for development rather than Linux???
Because Macs are good productivity machines. You get the Unix framework with the ability to use iTunes, Photoshop, etc. I’m pretty sure Google doesn’t have a problem with Apple, as long as Apple allows users to to use Google services. (which they currently do)
Also, search the web for Goobuntu. Google has a skinned version of Ubuntu that many employees do use.
Yeah, well since they create much of their own low-level hardware, why would Apple not stop at spying on Google to get the first-to-market-advantage?