Google

Yes, the T-Mobile G1 can be unlocked and run on AT&T's network, but not without limitations.  Better yet, Google is now offering the Android Dev Phone 1 a SIM and hardware-unlocked G1 for $399 (free shipping to the US).  Unlike retail devices, the bootloader on the Dev Phone 1 doesn't enforce signed system images, enabling you to flash custom Android builds to the device (plus you get the cool custom Android logo design on the back).  To order one, you have to register as an Android developer in the Android Market (one-time $25 setup fee).  Now you can finally have a test environment for all those mobile apps you've been developing!  Haven't been coding anything?  Well, what are you waiting for?  Here's Hello, Android! to get you started.

On Tuesday, the FCC voted 5-0 to approve unlicensed white space usage.  FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has voiced his support throughout the process, along side major companies like Google, Microsoft, and Intel and their campaign toFree The Airwaves.  The National Association of Broadcasters weren't too happy though, as they fear it could interfere with wireless audio equipment.  No word yet on when the world will support our efforts to Free The Future.

Representatives from T-Mobile, HTC, and Google all kicked off the official launch of the first Android phone, T-Mobile's G1 (previously known as the HTC Dream) with a live event today in New York City.  Here's a round up of the day's activity.

Every day millions of people search for answers to life's questions. What are the symptoms of Small Pox? Who was the 19th President of the United States? How tall is the Eiffel Tower? Now imagine that you are responsible for leading these people to the correct answers. Welcome to Google. An article in this month's Wired magazine reminds us of the scope, power, and responsibility we have given Google.

Everybody's favorite search engine is facing some tough questions after their recent acquistion of Pyra Labs, the company that makes the popular the popular weblogging tool Blogger. Over the years, Google has been notoriously tight-lipped on what they actually are and how they plan to make money. Simply a search engine, I promise you, they are not. Leander Kahney's recent article on Wired, Why Did Google Want Blogger? explain some of the basics behind Google's decision. Thousands of weblogs and weblog indexes like Daypop have been loaded with debate about what the deal meant for the Web, for searching and for blogging. The acquisition has puzzled some onlookers: what would a search company want with a tool for making weblogs? Weblogs are a rich source of links, which are posted in a fast, timely manner. Not only that, many weblogs are readable in RSS, or rich site summary, a standard syndication format that is easily parsed and indexed by search engine spiders, the bots that search engines use to crawl and index the Web. Google will likely use Blogger to develop sophisticated searches that utilize the rich metadata inherent in the RSS feeds from weblogs: who wrote what and when, what it linked to, what linked to it and its level of popularity with Web surfers. The acquistion of Blogger gives Google an unbelievable ability to monitor a very large mesh network. That means targeted ads, targeted searches, and targeted content. Google's doing its best to reassure customers that they will use the data they collect for good. But man, when the content and the infrastructure are owned by the same company, its dangerous. Be afraid, be very afraid. The Google Gods are here. Rumors also have it that they might IPO. Get ready to invest, Google is gold baby. It's starting to look more and more like Dave Winer might win his long-standing bet against Martin Nisenholtz, CEO of New York Times Digital. If you're looking for more reading on this, the original link in this post, from SiliconValley.com the site that broke the story, has a plethora of links at the bottom of the page to key commentary from such figures as Userland's Dave Winer and Ben and Mena Trott, of Movable Type fame, and many more. Plus the discussion threads from Slashdot and Metafilter.