HTC Dream.. disappointing?

[Xellos2099]

Many people are saying how awesome and cool G1 is and I keep looking and looking and I do not see what is so good about G1. Admittedly It got a good camera and the suppose open OS, I don't even care about a real keyboard as I can type in my 2g iphone onscreen keyboard just fine. Even I wanted to get a G1 before the final spec. are out.

I was looking forward to a good 3g phone on t-mobile network as well but now that I see how Dream look like, I don;t feel as excited anymore. Dream just doesn't look that "nice" to me compare to what I see for X1, Htc touch pro or samsung omina or even T919. It JUST doesn't have that slickness in it. While I agree what is important is in the inside, but couldn't they use a better design as Android flagship product? It is not bad looking, but it is not good lookign either, average at best.

I find another thing that is funny that some people just say "Just get an ipod" when others were complaining about the lack of the standard headphone jack. Excuse me but the point of carrying an all in one device is so you won't have to carry other device. Carrying an ipod and a big phone like Dream? Really smart.....

Maybe I am just a little bias since I own a iphone unlocked with jailbreak for tmobile, but I just don't see what is so cool about G1.

 

[pm]

I'm a bit disappointed too - although maybe I'll be more impressed when I see the phone in person.

And, yeah, I have an iPhone on T-Mobile, my plan is cheap, my iPhone is worth surprisingly more than I paid for it and I'm generally content.

Still I'm a lot more excited about the idea of an Android-based "Google Phone" than I am about the HTC Dream itself. The things that most frustrate me about my iPhone tend to revolve around getting data onto and off of the phone - ie. wireless syncing of calendar, contacts and media, stereo bluetooth, no tethering, not being able to put things on the phone without iTunes, etc. The thing that I'm most looking forward to about Android will be having a slick OS coupled with an open OS and application architecture.

While I'm almost definitely not going to get a G1 - I'm still excited by where Android is headed into the future and I'm looking to playing around with a G1 when they are in the stores.

 

[Deeko]

It sounds like you don't like it because the casing isn't pretty enough for you?

Typical iPhone fan. Stick with apple, they cater to your market well.

 

[Xellos2099]

I agree the android os have infinite potential. Ability to change it as you please, much like lego, sound like the dream of a geek come true. But couldn't they have pick a better phone to show case the power of google os? Of all the THC phone available this year, HTC dream by far the worst one available. Although it might be actually better one I got to see it in person, I head tmobile store is going to have it up on display slightly before it state for release?

One of my biggest beef is that why no headphone jack? I know you can use the usb to headphone adaptor, but... They wanted it to be the slayer of iphone, yet it is seriously lacking on it's media function. It is like a game company rush out a game that is incomplete and they patch it up later on.

Now put android on the Touch pro or the HD and you really got your self a iphone killer, and a normal phone jack help too.

 

[pm]

Originally posted by: Deeko
It sounds like you don't like it because the casing isn't pretty enough for you?

Typical iPhone fan. Stick with apple, they cater to your market well.

Actually, no. I could care less what it looks like as long as it's not pink or something. I think it looks fine as-is. And besides I shove all of my phones in cases anyway.


It's thicker and heavier than I would like. An iPhone is about as big a phone as I want to carry - it's barely comfortable in my back pocket.

I am not thrilled about the headphone jack - especially that pre-orders won't even get an adapter. And even with an adapter, I'm not pleased to have to deal with two plugs. Adapters are the kind of thing that I tend to lose.

I'm particularly unimpressed with the amount of memory - 8GB max is pretty small.

I really wanted stereo bluetooth for mowing the lawn and riding my bike. Not a huge deal, but the geek in me was looking forward to listening to music wirelessly.

It won't sync with Outlook - which is what we use at work. So I can't synchronize my calendar or my contacts unless I put my work calendar on Google... and I would likely get in somewhat serious trouble from our "information security" guys if I shoved my calendar on Google. Since my calendar is about all that keeps the half dozen to dozen meetings per day that I can attend organized, the lack of Outlook sync'ing means that it's not going to work for me. This pretty much kills it for me.

The music player looks very basic - yeah, that is just software and can be fixed but what they have looks very unimpressive.

I wasn't particularly impressed by the ease of web browsing navigation - the videos make it look ok. But it looks harder to use than either the Blackberry Opera browser or the iPhone.

It won't ship with a video playing program - again, they will likely make one or more, but this is disappointing.

It's not unlocked - and this is another killer for me... if it's not unlocked, I simply won't buy it. I travel too much. T-Mobile's been good in the past about unlocking phones for me when I ask... and if they have the same deal with the G1, then I have no problem waiting a couple of months for it to be unlocked. But they aren't saying anything about unlocking so far that I've seen except that it will be locked.

And on the traveling, I don't like the 2 year contract, the mandatory $25 data plan (I have no data plan currently), and the fact that they will make me upgrade my voice plan. The minimum plan will basically double my portion of our family phone bill... which would be fine if I was moving up to 3G - but my little city isn't on T-Mobile's list for 3G at all. We'll be lucky to have 3G from them by 2010. If then...

It's a long way away from my dream phone... and what does it get me that's better than an iPhone? A removeable battery, a slightly better camera, a keyboard (which would be nice), removeable memory (although half what I have right now)... none of these are really getting me excited. Android - and especially that it's an open platform - is the only thing that makes me want to get one... and I have a feeling that if I wait, it will only get better.

If you have some deep dislike of Apple products, then you should avoid them. As for me, I want a smartphone that does what I need it to do... and the Dream doesn't pass muster for me - particularly with regards to sync'ing. As I said above, maybe by the time it's released some of these things won't be issues any more. But even then, I'm likely not going to get one because it would double my monthly phone bill and tie me to a contract.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Xellos2099
I agree the android os have infinite potential. Ability to change it as you please, much like lego, sound like the dream of a geek come true. But couldn't they have pick a better phone to show case the power of google os? Of all the THC phone available this year, HTC dream by far the worst one available. Although it might be actually better one I got to see it in person, I head tmobile store is going to have it up on display slightly before it state for release?

One of my biggest beef is that why no headphone jack? I know you can use the usb to headphone adaptor, but... They wanted it to be the slayer of iphone, yet it is seriously lacking on it's media function. It is like a game company rush out a game that is incomplete and they patch it up later on.

Now put android on the Touch pro or the HD and you really got your self a iphone killer, and a normal phone jack help too.

Yes, put Android on the pro or HD! That's what I want. The G1 fails for me also.

Is it true that you can't sync the G1 to your PC? A co-worker told me that, and I found that hard to believe.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: pm

Originally posted by: Deeko
It sounds like you don't like it because the casing isn't pretty enough for you?

Typical iPhone fan. Stick with apple, they cater to your market well.

Actually, no. I could care less what it looks like as long as it's not pink or something. I think it looks fine as-is. And besides I shove all of my phones in cases anyway.


It's thicker and heavier than I would like. An iPhone is about as big a phone as I want to carry - it's barely comfortable in my back pocket.

I am not thrilled about the headphone jack - especially that pre-orders won't even get an adapter. And even with an adapter, I'm not pleased to have to deal with two plugs. Adapters are the kind of thing that I tend to lose.

I'm particularly unimpressed with the amount of memory - 8GB max is pretty small.

I really wanted stereo bluetooth for mowing the lawn and riding my bike. Not a huge deal, but the geek in me was looking forward to listening to music wirelessly.

It won't sync with Outlook - which is what we use at work. So I can't synchronize my calendar or my contacts unless I put my work calendar on Google... and I would likely get in somewhat serious trouble from our "information security" guys if I shoved my calendar on Google. Since my calendar is about all that keeps the half dozen to dozen meetings per day that I can attend organized, the lack of Outlook sync'ing means that it's not going to work for me. This pretty much kills it for me.

The music player looks very basic - yeah, that is just software and can be fixed but what they have looks very unimpressive.

I wasn't particularly impressed by the ease of web browsing navigation - the videos make it look ok. But it looks harder to use than either the Blackberry Opera browser or the iPhone.

It won't ship with a video playing program - again, they will likely make one or more, but this is disappointing.

It's not unlocked - and this is another killer for me... if it's not unlocked, I simply won't buy it. I travel too much. T-Mobile's been good in the past about unlocking phones for me when I ask... and if they have the same deal with the G1, then I have no problem waiting a couple of months for it to be unlocked. But they aren't saying anything about unlocking so far that I've seen except that it will be locked.

And on the traveling, I don't like the 2 year contract, the mandatory $25 data plan (I have no data plan currently), and the fact that they will make me upgrade my voice plan. The minimum plan will basically double my portion of our family phone bill... which would be fine if I was moving up to 3G - but my little city isn't on T-Mobile's list for 3G at all. We'll be lucky to have 3G from them by 2010. If then...

It's a long way away from my dream phone... and what does it get me that's better than an iPhone? A removeable battery, a slightly better camera, a keyboard (which would be nice), removeable memory (although half what I have right now)... none of these are really getting me excited. Android - and especially that it's an open platform - is the only thing that makes me want to get one... and I have a feeling that if I wait, it will only get better.

If you have some deep dislike of Apple products, then you should avoid them. As for me, I want a smartphone that does what I need it to do... and the Dream doesn't pass muster for me - particularly with regards to sync'ing. As I said above, maybe by the time it's released some of these things won't be issues any more. But even then, I'm likely not going to get one because it would double my monthly phone bill and tie me to a contract.

I was referring to the OP's post which mostly focused on the aesthetics of the phone. Calm down.

 

[aceO07]

I think the choice of phone might be partly due to price. They may have wanted to keep the price low so that it will get more exposure. Less people would be willing to buy it if it came out at $500. If not enough people were able to afford it and use it and develop on it, it wouldn't be a success.

I'm sure there'll be much nicer and much more expensive phones that you will be able to load Android onto in the future.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: Xellos2099
I agree the android os have infinite potential. Ability to change it as you please, much like lego, sound like the dream of a geek come true. But couldn't they have pick a better phone to show case the power of google os? Of all the THC phone available this year, HTC dream by far the worst one available. Although it might be actually better one I got to see it in person, I head tmobile store is going to have it up on display slightly before it state for release?

One of my biggest beef is that why no headphone jack? I know you can use the usb to headphone adaptor, but... They wanted it to be the slayer of iphone, yet it is seriously lacking on it's media function. It is like a game company rush out a game that is incomplete and they patch it up later on.

Now put android on the Touch pro or the HD and you really got your self a iphone killer, and a normal phone jack help too.

Yes, put Android on the pro or HD! That's what I want. The G1 fails for me also.

Is it true that you can't sync the G1 to your PC? A co-worker told me that, and I found that hard to believe.

It's true to the best of my (insider) knowledge, the only software update/install method is Over The Air.

 

[Xellos2099]

I still don't see why everyone is making a very big deal on the G1. I keep reading about it and it just seem... lacking. Some people say it is going to be awesome just by looking at the picture itself. Mt brother plan to get one because he say he hate apple and will never buy its product, but that is a different story.

 

[Deeko]

I don't really see very many people making a big deal out of it. I see a lot of reports saying it's a nice first effort with some flaws, a good way for Android to get it's foot in the door, but not a game-changer.

I might get one just because I have finagled a deal to get it for $179 without renewing my contract, so even if I don't like it better than my N95 (and I love my N95), I can turn around and sell it, likely for a profit.

 

[TheWart]

I think most of the excitement comes from people who are predicting a huge surge in cool apps for Android because it is open source, will have a couple of central marketplaces, etc, etc.

It gives people who can't stand Apple - either out of principle cause it is currently the 'cool' company or their restrictive development process - an alternative platform that is not WM. I think most people agree that the phone is actually pretty ugly, but they care more about the software potential. It will be interesting to see where Android and its apps are a year from now and to see whether it caught on or sort of fizzles out...

 

[George P Burdell]

I am excited about the OS, and nothing more. Once Motorola and Samsung start making Android phones, I might get one. Heck, I'm sure HTC will ship better Android phones in 2009.

 

[dcdomain]

As is, the Android OS isn't much to rave about. DivideBYZero is right, no way to sync to your PC, I guess Google wants everything to be part of the 'cloud' and a PC <-> Android ecosystem is pretty closed. Anyway, as mentioned by others the excitement over the OS is built on the developer community coming around to support it by its release date.

Hope they come through... because once Android makes its way to sexier phones, I'll be more inclined to jump ship from WinMo.