Those early adopters of the new Motorola Milestone Android smartphone may find their access to the Android Marketplace limited, with most paid-for content unavailable. As a potential early-adopter myself, I did some digging into these claims to see if I could shed some light on the truth behind it, and to what extent it would affect customers of Motorola’s latest flagship device.
For those Android fans out there, the Motorola Droid, dubbed the Motorola Milestone in Europe, is arriving on our shores on December 7th, almost one month to the day that the device released in the US. Exclusive to Expansys UK until the end of the year, the phone is available SIM Free for £449.99, or for £49.99 on an 18-month T-Mobile Combi 30 + Web N Walk tariff for £35 per month.
The Motorola Milestone / Droid is the product of a direct collaboration between Google and Motorola. Both companies have clearly taken a lot of product feedback from the previous HTC Devices, and come up with a device that will meet almost everyones needs. This is one of two devices that Motorola are releasing with a hardware keyboard, a feature not seen on an Android device since the HTC T-Mobile G1. Motorola have improved on this design no end, but created something that is both beautiful, and remarkably practical and robust.
To springboard the testing, Google is asking each of the invitees to nominate people to also receive early invites, with the promise that they will (soon) open the doors to more users, once the platform is stable. Google is quick to point out that this constitutes a ‘Preview’ of Wave, and that the platform is not yet ready for production use.
From previous experience, early Google product previews tend to be relatively stable, and if the live demo of Wave back in May was anything to go by, then we’re in for a real treat. We could indeed be looking at the shape of things to come.
“Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year.” – Google, May 2009.
To me, Google Wave is essentially a combination of Email, Forum, SVN, Sharepoint, and Instant Messenger. The approach they’ve taken to the modern internet communication is revolutionary. I can see a whole new terminology evolving around this new service, with people saying ‘Wave me’ instead of ‘Email me’ (Firefly fans rejoice).
The things I would love to see is:
Mobile device integration – (This is potentially a platform that could revolutionize mobile communication – Maybe even a viable SMS / Mobile email replacement)
Voice / Video support
Flexible privacy / Identity Management controls – (ability to hide your address, not let people find you through other contacts, etc.)
While the transition away from email may be only a pipe-dream, a viable platform has really never existed, until now.
The main issues with this platform (as demoed) will be ones of Privacy and Security. Misrepresentation, defamation, and creative copyright issues may become an issue as well, especially with the ability to edit other peoples posts. I expect these issues will be addressed by Google in the future, and we’ve got to remember that what was demoed was an early Alpha.
So, could we be looking at the future of communication? Discuss
Bootnote
The Google Dev’s appear to be Firefly fans. Did anyone else notice Firefly terminology such as “Wave me” and “Shiny”?
Apple WWDC Kicks off today. Steve Jobs' Keynote at 1800-BST. New iPhone expected, as well as the new iPhone OS and more.07:06:57 AM June 07, 2010from web
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Those early adopters of the new Motorola Milestone Android smartphone may find their access to the Android Marketplace limited, with most paid-for content unavailable. As a potential early-adopter myself, I did some digging into these claims to see if I could shed some light on the truth behind it, and to what extent it would affect customers of Motorola’s latest flagship device.
For those Android fans out there, the Motorola Droid, dubbed the Motorola Milestone in Europe, is arriving on our shores on December 7th, almost one month to the day that the device released in the US. Exclusive to Expansys UK until the end of the year, the phone is available 
