Sprint "Too good for Android"?!

Ok, this one gets a great big "You've got to be kidding me!"

Apparently, Reuters has quoted Sprint CEO Dan Hesse as saying Android is NOT ”good enough to put the Sprint brand on it.”

Back when the Open Handset Alliance was starting to make news, I remember feeling very excited to see Sprint's name on the list of interested carriers. Honestly, part of me sort of felt that this meant Sprint would be getting the first Android phone, since they could severely use some positive press.

I must give credit to T-Mobile for actually being the first with an Android product out the door, but I figured Sprint's Android phone was to follow shortly before the "big boys" ( AT&T, Verizon ) catch up.

Dan, Please... Sprint needs this. Sprint is currently my preferred provider for data services (with their liberal smartphone policy and 3G coverage practically everywhere), yet their smartphone lineup is dominated by Windows Mobile devices. Now, I'm happy enough with WM because I can make it do whatever I want, however the interface could use a makeover. I don't feel that WM is for everyone, and it'd be nice to see some options available on Sprint. However, since Palm OS is still stuck in the Dark Ages of an antiquated feature set, Symbian has thusfar ignored the CDMA market, and the iPhone being, well, by Apple (we're cool cuz we're exclusive!).... Android was poised to bring a breath of fresh air into Sprint's lineup.
Mr. Hesse, its been a shaky relationship, and you're new there, but I've grown to love Sprint. However, Windows Mobile is not the most intuitive platform, and many people consider the HTC devices "broken out of the box", only to be "fixed" with aftermarket software and ROMs. I've seen many people not willing to take the time to learn WM, and promptly return their devices for something simple, like a Blackberry. Yet, Sprint is usually the first to release the latest HTC devices while other CDMA carriers work the kinks out first. Android is still 1.0, and may not be perfect, however don't think for a second that Sprint is too good for Android.

If you can release the Mogul, which was released with a bluetooth problem at launch, and didn't have the promised EVDO and Rev A until half its life span had passed, not to mention the Moto Q (arguably the buggiest smartphone of all time) and others... and have no problem putting the Sprint brand on them... then I'm sorry, there's no excuse not to release Android.

I'm wondering if there's more to this story...

More Android videos

Google's Android is a hot topic out here on the inter-webs.
Its not surprising: Between the Google brand name and the open-source business model, Android is poised to become a major player in the mobile market.

Youtube, the video-blogging medium of choice, has so many Android videos its dizzying and fascinating at the same time. I'm posting some of the ones I found interesting below, however I highly recommend flipping through youtube if you want to see where mobile OSs are going.

The first one is a simple walkthrough of the UI (via PhoneScoop):




This second one comes from Eric Lin, an HTC Rep (Who I had the pleasure of meeting in NYC at another event). Eric shows us a bit more first-hand UI details.




Finally, here we have a practical example of a third party application developed with the Android SDK. An impressive taste of more things to come:


Looking good, Google. Let's get a few more handsets and carriers announced, though. The OS looks good, but I have mixed feelings about the G1's cosmetic appeal and it'll take more than that for me to return to T-mobile...