sumocat, look over at google. They’ve had the SDK available for months. In fact, they had a contest to get developers jazzed about creating content, and picked some winners who would be completely subsidized.

One app, for example, let’s you use the G1′s phone to take a picture of a product’s barcode and then comb the web for the best deals.

Dig a little! There’s nothing more annoying than someone sitting in front of a vast, and constantly increasing information stream, and refusing to use it.

My thoughts on syncing: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/syncing-the-htc-dreamt-mobile-g1/

The Danger Sidekick has always been a cloud device. Even the 3rd party apps sync their data to a back end server that always restores auto-magically with a new device.

There is also a sync solution with Outlook, but even that is done through the cloud.

I find myself unable to form an opinion about the G1. The roll-out seems terribly incomplete. Lot of talk about openness, but no talk about standards. Lot of reliance on third-party apps, but no mention of how they’ll be integrated into the system. Are they running from the microSD card? Lot of hope resting on the developers, but where are the developers lining up to code for Android? And no mention of security? Right now, Android looks like it will be to mobile phones what Linux is to PCs. There’s nothing wrong with Linux of course, but it’s not strongly associated with mainstream consumers either.

Joel, I don’t disagree with your commentary or analysis at all. In fact, I pointed out that this is one of the first “cloud-only” phones. However, I think the issue for many folks is that they have to BET on open-source developers to meet their needs. Currently, many needs won’t be met by the phone. I hope you’re right, but I don’t think this concern is unfounded. People don’t want to buy a phone for features and functions it might have (or might not have) in the future; they want a phone that meets their needs now and in the short-term. Definitely worth watching to see how this all unfolds!

Oh….David Zatz: There will be NO cost….it will be free. I am betting vlc will be running on the G1 if not on day one, very soon after.

First off, the G1 is a exclusive cloud device. Everything is to be in the cloud. There’s no RSS reader because you can use Google Reader via the browser. There’s no desktop sync because your supposed to use Gmail and Gcal. With that said, within months of it coming out, it will have all of this and more.

Also, and it’s been pointed out in a couple places, there’s no video player because it won’t take long to get VLC ported to the G1 and then it can play ANYTHING…..more codecs then the iPhone even.

You guys are listening to Google and Tmobile only and aren’t looking at the fact that this is a OPEN SOURCE device. With in days to months of the device being released in the wild it will have all of this….and more.

A beginning, certainly, but no switch until Nokia stop selling 1 million ‘traditional’ handsets DAILY!

I came away shaking my head… no native video player? No standard audio jack? No desktop PIM sync? Things that not only does the iPhone have, but so does Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and S60. They did not hit one out of the park yesterday. The openess suggests these things will come – but when, by whom, and for how much?