T-Mobile sold right out of its original allotment of G1 pre-orders quick, fast and in a hurry, and even the second round has been claimed in a flash.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/12/1-5-million-t-mobile-g1s-already-pre-ordered/ |
They said not to expect lines...but should we? |
I take it you've already seen this, but if not.... here, have a fresh regurgitation of Android-flavoured, tech-crunchy hearsay, innuendo and gossip:
Mikale Arrington: Android's Login Is Cool, But Is It Secure?
[...] Unlike other phones, which require a four digit number for unlocking, the Android simply puts nine dots arranged in a square on the touch screen, along with the words "draw pattern to unlock."
http://www.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/androidunlock.jpg
[...] Except a very low tech side effect of the touch screen may be giving Google pause. From what we hear, some people using the phone are noticing that the oil from a user's fingers may leave enough of a smudge that the unlock password can be guessed at some of the time. Particularly since most people start their unlock pattern with the top left dot, and then move right or diagonally right. If you can see the smudge, it's an easy guess what the unlock code is. [...]
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/12/androids-login-is-cool-but-is-it-secure/
ME INFORMED COMMENT: this is certainly novel, and quite clever way to "open up" a phone, or any other touch-screen-operated piece of equipment for that matter. Pretty ergonomic too, as we often tend to remember e.g. others' phone numbers via their haptic (i.e. touch) "footprint," or "dynamic signature" on a numerical keypad. I believe Android could have raised the stakes of such "guessable-routes" by allowing a combination of "taps" and "chess moves" as the unlocking code, not solely an unbroken path of at least 4 by-the-layout-of-things-always-adjacent dots. |
