Android – the Google “Open Source” answer to smart phone software, doesn’t seem like it is really ready for primetime.  I was surprised this week when T-Mobile and Google announced the new G1 phone and Android software.  It was an event full of “It will probably” or “we imagine someone will…” promises to support how great their new platform is.

It’s just another product in the long list of “beta” solutions from Google.  This time, it seems like a desperate move for connecting people to the Google service suite.  There is no desktop syncing software.  If you want calendar, address book, and push email – you must do it Google style.  The big open platform is tied to a single service.

Furthermore, where is the outrage for it being tied to a single carrier?  What about the contract needed to get the good price?  What about the fact that T-Mobile has no 3G coverage in most of the US?  All things that people went after Apple and others on, Google gets a pass.  All in the name of Open Source.  What a joke.

Even Microsoft’s dated Windows Mobile 6, and the many phone options from HTC blow the G1 away in quality, features, and design.  I really hope they get this phone and software in better shape by the time it ships in late October.  Unless they do, this will not be a real smart phone alternative.