SIM- and Hardware-Unlocked G1 Available to Developers (or You) for $400
The Android Dev Phone 1, a totally unlocked G1, is available to “developers” for only $399 after paying a small setup fee. Just register as a developer over at the Android Market and the phone is yours.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Android Market’s launch gave Android developers a distribution channel, while a community-led G1 unlocking effort showed demand to use the handset beyond its carrier configuration. The Dev Phone 1 turns that interest into an official purchase path for registered developers.
Because the device is both SIM- and hardware-unlocked while retaining Google applications and services, developers can test software on a less carrier-constrained version of the G1 rather than relying solely on consumer handsets.
First-order effects
- Registered Android developers can obtain a G1 configured for broader SIM use and lower-level device experimentation for $399 plus the setup fee.
- T-Mobile’s consumer G1 configuration is no longer the only practical hardware route for developers building and testing Android applications.
Second-order effects
- Android Market developers gain a tighter loop between distributing apps and testing them on an officially supported unlocked handset, making the platform more usable for developers working across carrier environments.
- The official device offers an alternative to informal unlocking efforts, shifting some developer demand toward Google’s registration and hardware channel.
Third-order effects
- If Google continues pairing software distribution with developer-accessible unlocked hardware, Android’s application ecosystem can become less dependent on any single carrier’s retail and device controls.
The trend: Android is building a developer platform around both application distribution and direct access to modifiable reference hardware.