1.5 Million Google Phones Pre-Sold

The Motley Fool has a good point: unless the upcoming G1 Phone is a complete and utter failure, Google wins whether or not its entry into telecom hardware market does well.

The money quote:

Google wins when more people use the Web. If the Android platform kills the iPhone, that’s great. Google wins. If Apple ends up killing the Android, it’ll have to be with better software that takes full advantage of connectivity everywhere. Again, Google wins. The only way to lose is to release a total dud, so failure this month is not an option.

In any case, a 1.5 million pre-sale figure is pretty impressive. It’s proof that Google’s concept for mobility is interesting enough for lots of people to shell out money—despite the lack of any significant experience with the phone. Unfortunately, it’s still ugly!