It really hope it does well and I love the direct marketing blitz attack on the iPhone... It's about time Apple had some real competition and Google is really the only company that can give them that..

I just feel bad for the established players.. They're going to have to watch as their core markets erode even further.

A lot of the comments here seem to be about how ugly the device is. While I agree that they could have done a better job to make it more aesthetically pleasing, it's the hardware and software that are important. It could be a bright pink Hello Kitty phone, and I'd still want it.

Can you get a version that doesn't have 5 logos from 3 different companies on it?

Yes, it's funny how the iPhone has no logo whatsoever on the front, and a subtle, elegant one on the back.

If it's a great piece of design, you don't need to stick labels all over it.

It's on the back so everyone can see it.

It's a fashion statement to have an iSomething. Even here on HN you never (or rarely) read I have booted up my Asus or Dell or whatever BUT there's always "my Macbook" or similar.

I like the underdog companies and I appreciate their effort and technology and I'm not buying into the iXXX hysteria. Apple was clever as it is being paid for being advertised. People pay sh%%loads for their products and they never ever forget to mention it in their discussions that they have one.

Geeks are a very small percentage of the market so unless the phone is not a "fashion accessory" there won't be massive commercial success with it...but it will be a great thing I hope.

I agree with your last point. It's too bad the Apple brand has been reduced to that of a designer fashion by the masses, or some kind of status symbol.

It's like some people want a BMW just to impress the neighbors with a badge, while others can appreciate the level of engineering and the minds that went into the precision you can feel when you are driving it.

I like to make purchasing decisions based on the competency of the company in making what they make, but unfortunately most people don't think that way so a phone like this doesn't even get a chance.

"while others can appreciate the level of engineering and the minds that went into the precision you can feel when you are driving it."

I'd like to see a blind test for that. And who cares anyway if an expert can detect a certain "feel", other than for status?

"get a version that doesn't have..."

This is the first thing I said to myself. I've never been a fan of the Verizon logo.

The other thing that came to mind in terms of the interface for some reason IBM's OS/2 Warp

acetone.

The thing about Android is that eventually, there will probably never be a phone that is as beautiful as whatever iPhone's doing, but that there can models for everyone's tastes. Something like this for the geeks, a slick, slim clamshell like you say, and all kinds of others.

Which is/was the same philosophy behind Symbian and Windows Mobile.

Suffice to say, that flexibility comes at non-trivial cost.

First, Android is already light-years ahead of Windows Mobile.

Second, from what I've seen of the SDKs, Google is doing quite a bit (most notably with their manifests) to maximize the reach of the platform (e.g. netbooks, automotive systems, set-top boxes) without unduly burdening cross-device portability.

What is the data underlying point 2?

Seconded. The sidekick was pretty popular with girls, for all I know.

Also I personally like the look. The edgyness may indeed not appeal much to girls - but I'd say it's definitely geek-compatible.

I know about 200 girls. 0 of them have slide-out keyboard phones. It's not a very significant number, but it's enough for me.

It's like me claiming that star shaped eyeglasses are not in fashion, because I don't see people wearing them, and you ask me to prove it. I can't prove it, but it just seems to me to be correct.

I think just about every phone with slide out keyboard is either Nokia Symbian (they suck) or Windows Mobile (sucks beyond what polite language can describe)

Only now we are starting to see nice phones with nice software with slide-out keyboards.

An interesting point is implied - that men are more resistant (or less sensitive) to suckiness than women. That's something to debate.

I have a Nokia Symbian(N82), and it is amazing, would never trade it for an Iphonee. I don't see why you would make such a blanket statement about them.

"I don't see why you would make such a blanket statement about them."

Haven't tried the N82, but I had a series of E-series phones and all shared a tendency to crash, of being slow (starting many programs took several seconds, booting took up to two minutes - mind you: more than Windows does on a desktop PC) and having a generally confusing interface.

I had a Palm Centro briefly and despite its limited software, it was one of the best QWERTY phone I ever had. I look forward to the launch of WebOS phones here in Brazil.

I also assumed we were talking about QWERTY phones like this Motorola unit. I understand the Nokia S-60 series interface is less confusing on a simpler keyboard and the N8x series is among the best media phones you can buy.

I know at least 2 girls with Nokia N95s, so that disproves that then :-)

I suppose it's mostly fashion. Flip phones seem rare these days, for example.

It's more than that. Slide-out keyboards are a geek thing. Teen Girls like things that are dainty, and nobody ever used that word to describe a slide-out keyboard. Teen girls grow into women who want feminine things, and bulky phones with slide out keyboards are rather masculine.

Teen girls around here like full-sized BlackBerries.

As with fashion, maybe it's regional? Aside from those using iPhones (and my Grandmother) every woman I know has a slide-out keyboard. (Mostly Sidekicks, Navigators, enVs and the like)

well it kinda looks ugly...

What's about that golden thing in the center of the cursor pad?

I believe it's the fingerprint scanner.

I imagined a blood-sampler for foolproof biometric authentication.

I had a couple HP desktops in the late 80's that required blood to be shed in order for them to let a technician open their cases. Except for that, they were really fine computers.

looks like, but think it's just an ugly button.

Very ugly. It looks like an advertisement with a phone and crappy keyboard duct-taped on.