T-Mobile's Android-base G1 intro

[pm]

For more information about the G1, there is:

T-Mobile's G1 web site:
http://www.t-mobileg1.com/

Screenshots:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/0...ile-g1-first-hands-on/

Walt Mossberg's
http://mossblog.allthingsd.com...-g1-first-impressions/


For what it's worth, from my perspective as a T-Mobile customer and an iPhone owner, there's some things that are really cool, and then there's some that are a not-so-cool.

The good:
Has a keyboard
Has MMS
Has cut-n-paste
Has built-in instant-messaging
The software - according to boygeniusreport.com and Walt Mossberg is customizable, easy to use, fast and very responsive. If Walt says that it's "slick", then I'm already impressed.
It's reasonably priced - $180 (w/ 2 year contract, requiring mandatory text message + data package of $25/month on top of a voice plan).
Removeable battery
Can take memory cards.


The no-so-good:
No multi-touch - so no "pinching" to resize things. This is one of those cool almost-magic iPhone things and it's a shame that they don't have it. I wonder if Apple patented or something.
No standard headphone jack. It appears to be worse than the iPhone - where you could get an exacto-knife and trim off a bit of plastic to get regular headphones to fit.
Tied very tightly to Google's service. I like Google, but I use Yahoo email and I sync my Outlook calendar and contacts to my phone. These other uses do not appear to be supported on the G1 yet.
30% thicker than an iPhone, 20% heavier.
Less memory. For $179, you get 1GB. You can buy up to 8GB for more money. But I have 16GB on my iPhone. Once you put on some music, photos, and especially movies, 8GB feels tight.
The base software package seems limited. You'll need to add apps to add the same functionality you get already-installed on an iPhone.



I personally think the interesting thing with Android will be that it's open. So applications like Skype, ones that let you tether and other apps that Apple seems to frown on will be ok. It will be more interesting to see where the G1 goes. Now that I see the details - although I still haven't seen the screen resolution, I'm not quite as excited as I was when I was imagining how cool it could be. But I think it will be really neat to watch Android and the G1 and see where it goes. There's a lot of potential here.

 

[Xellos2099]

I agree. Now if tmobile would offer a combo of voice and the data plan it would be better. 25 dollar just for data and limited text seems expensive

 

[FoBoT]

the only thing i really don't like is the combo of no stereo bluetooth and no 3.5 mm jack
how are we supposed to listen to the music part of the thing?

hopefully they will turn on the stereo bluetooth with a firmware upgrade? i thought the FCC filing showed that is was hardware capable of doing the A2DP or whatever they call it

 

[pm]

Yeah, I'm a bit stumped by the lack of either Bluetooth stereo (A2DP), or a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's long been my belief that Apple locked down the Bluetooth stack on the iPhone to prevent hacking which is why you can only dock a mono-headset to it, but can't sync data or listen to stereo. I've figured it's a "close the doors to keep the hackers out" sort of thing. But it makes no sense for Google, HTC or T-Mobile to lock down the Bluetooth stack. I don't get it either.

I've read there isn't a video player installed by default on the G1 and Walt Mossberg is describing the MP3 player as "basic". Both of these can (and likely will be quickly) fixed by 3rd party apps, but it's a bit odd to make a phone that seems to have the iPhone in it's crosshairs and then leave off basic multimedia software, and basic things like being to plug in headphones without an adapter.

 

[abaez]

From what I've read, the bluetooth API was unpolished and google decided not to release it at launch but it will be available soon.

 

[pm]

Yeah, that's right, Abaez. I'd forgotten.

So maybe it will be added later...

 

[Deeko]

Does this thing have GPS??? It looks like it does from the demo, and various sites with the specs say it does, but T-Mobile's site is curiously lacking this information....

 

[sapiens74]

My Thoughts....


It's not pretty, especially when the keyboard it out. That may not mean much to we Tech geeks but some women won't want it, and won't want us for wanting it lol

No Bluetooth? Seriously?


No headphone Jack? Seriously?

The fact that it cannot connect with Exchange nixes it for me and many others.


The price point is too close to Iphone, without the above should be $99 at most.


IT seems its trying to do what the Iphone does but skimps on too many features. It won't sell well against the Iphone at that price. There are Windows Mobile phones that are similar price points that are also alternatives for those who do not want an Iphone.... Maybe for Tmobile users who want an upgrade from their existing phones, but that will leave many unhappy customers who really want an Iphone


I was excited when they announced this phone, but it seems like a half-ass effort on Google's part. I expect more from the next revision.

 

[FoBoT]

it has bluetooth, just not stereo bluetooth, yet. it has a headphone jack, just proprietary, not standard 3.5 mm or 2.5 mm

i assume a firmware update will enable the A2DP when they are ready? is that how it works?

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: sapiens74
My Thoughts....


It's not pretty, especially when the keyboard it out. That may not mean much to we Tech geeks but some women won't want it, and won't want us for wanting it lol

No Bluetooth? Seriously?


No headphone Jack? Seriously?

The fact that it cannot connect with Exchange nixes it for me and many others.


The price point is too close to Iphone, without the above should be $99 at most.


IT seems its trying to do what the Iphone does but skimps on too many features. It won't sell well against the Iphone at that price. There are Windows Mobile phones that are similar price points that are also alternatives for those who do not want an Iphone.... Maybe for Tmobile users who want an upgrade from their existing phones, but that will leave many unhappy customers who really want an Iphone


I was excited when they announced this phone, but it seems like a half-ass effort on Google's part. I expect more from the next revision.

The phone is made by HTC, not Google.

I'm curious about why they didn't include a standard headset jack. Google is really pressing the completely open development platform for Android, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see exchange support and stereo bluetooth before too long.

I think the phone is intriguing. Everything I've read has said it does the touchscreen aspect MUCH better than the other iPhone knockoffs, and seeing as I hate the touch screen keyboard, having a slide-out keyboard is a great feature. I also really like the trackball on Blackberry, so that's a pretty cool addition too.

It almost feels like this phone is a 'jack of all trades', it isn't GREAT at many things (except, of course, google products), but it has bits and pieces of what makes every other phone good.

I'm not ready to dump my N95 just yet, but it's interesting to see how this develops.

 

[GTaudiophile]

The non-standard headphone jack might be a deal killer for me. WTF???

 

[Xellos2099]

How to made a call? I don't see a number pad or are they going to have the onscreen dialpad just like iphone?

 

[GTaudiophile]

G1 vs. iPhone:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/0...ile-g1-video-hands-on/

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: sapiens74
The price point is too close to Iphone, without the above should be $99 at most.

Where you save money is on the monthly plans. Here is a comparison of some common plans.

Tmobile

$25 data + 400 text messages
$49.99 1000 anytime minutes + free nights and weekends

Iphone

$35 data + 200 text messages
$59.99 900 anytime minutes + free nights and weekends

The tmobile plan is $480 cheaper over 2 years, probably more than $500 when you add in fees and taxes.

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: miri

Originally posted by: sapiens74
The price point is too close to Iphone, without the above should be $99 at most.

Where you save money is on the monthly plans. Here is a comparison of some common plans.

Tmobile

$25 data + 400 text messages
$49.99 1000 anytime minutes + free nights and weekends

Iphone

$35 data + 200 text messages
$59.99 900 anytime minutes + free nights and weekends

The tmobile plan is $480 cheaper over 2 years, probably more than $500 when you add in fees and taxes.

One has to factor in the fact that TMobile's 3g network is not very widespread, unlike ATT's (not that it doesnt have its own problems, lol)

 

[GTaudiophile]

The G1 is about 80% of what I wanted...especially after watching the side-by-side comparison with iPhone video.

I want a real mini jack for headphones and some software fixes/enhancements. Chrome just looks too clunky...or they skimped on the CPU. And I want that "pinch" effect the iPhone has.

I think I will wait for the G2.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Some of the older HTC's (SDA/MDA) used the odd headphone jack arrangement.

The purpose of the Dream is to stop the migration of people that want an iPhone type phone to ATT.

I like it, but think the next few generations of it will be more to my liking. I do think it's cool as hell though, and a strong first effort.

 

[mikieboy]

I had the opportunity to actually use one today. I am a teacher and one of my parents works for google. He has had the phone for about 3 months. His phone was white, said that all google testers have white phones. The wifi worked great with our schools wifi. It was pretty cool to check out. THe keyboard is nice. For a first version it looked pretty good. Everything seemed to work well. The touch screen was pretty good as well. If you hold the screen you get more options like using the right click. He said the battery life is getting much better and the signal was pretty good. He can use it all day then just recharge at night. I am a gadget guy and thought it was pretty cool. I would probably take it over an iphone. I think the iphone is a bit more polished now but , give it a month and there will be lots of programs and addonsfor it. just my 2 cents

 

[nycxandy]

BTW, the phone does support multi-touch. It's there, just not in action.

 

[Xellos2099]

Mikie: Where is the number dial located? Is it on the device or they set it up on the touchscreen.

 

[mikieboy]

on the touch screen also he said they are working on a skype like app...sounds interesting...also he has been using on a non 3g area (denver) supposedly next month. the wifi is great for me...it was really quick

 

[ViRGE]

Humm, the hardware specs are all over the place.

RAM 192MB: Good, the 128MB of the iPhone is a bit anemic although it works well enough inside of it
ROM 256MB: Bad, it severely limits the future expandability of the OS
Bluetooth 2.0: Good, since it can support A2DP. Bad, because it doesn't currently support A2DP
Screen: Bad, it's not multitouch, and it's only 16bit at a time when everyone else is doing 18bit or 24bit
Keyboard: Good, if you like physical keyboards.
Headphone Jack: Bad, there isn't one. You have to use a USB adapter. WTH?!
Camera, 3.2MP: Good, although the limit is going to be the optics, I'd like to see some comparisons.
MicroSD: Bad, both because of the ROM limit above and because it only supports up to 8GB; it's certainly more negative than the positives of removable storage.
Compass: Good
Weight & Dimensions: Neutral. The iPhone is as big as I want a phone to be, but other people may not be bothered.

I think Google could have picked better hardware (and carrier) to launch with. It's hard to give the OS a fair evaluation when the hardware is so mediocre. For example, the OS's advantages with audio format support (it has AAC+ and WMA, yay) is made moot by the terrible method for attaching headphones to the device.

 

[Deeko]

-According to the one Engadget video, the screen actually IS multi-touch - the browser just doesn't use it as of right now.
-I like the idea of removable storage better, personally - which is why I went with the N95-3 instead of N95-4.

Otherwise I agree.

 

[Xellos2099]

I agree... what is the point of having support for all those audio format when they don't even pack a standard headphone jack. One of the reason why I got myself ihpone a year ago is because I want a decent good phone and a good mp3 player.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Originally posted by: Deeko
-According to the one Engadget video, the screen actually IS multi-touch - the browser just doesn't use it as of right now.
-I like the idea of removable storage better, personally - which is why I went with the N95-3 instead of N95-4.

Otherwise I agree.

I believe the T-Mobile guy (Desmond) from the Engadget video said there was no multi-touch due to "IP infringement". I recall seeing patents Apple filed with all the gestures on there, so it doesn't look like any other device can use them.