Full Review of the T-Mobile G1 Android Device

palmsolo writes "Want to see the biggest and most in-depth review of the T-Mobile G1 Google Android device from a person who has been using it for a week? Check out over 260 photos and 5 videos of the device and just about every screen of the Google Android OS. Find out how well HTC, T-Mobile and Google did with this first-generation device." I played with one for a few minutes and found it a solid unit. It feels less polished than the iPhone, but the screen and keyboard are great. It'll be a real test of Open Source to see what happens with the iPhone App Store's closed system vs. Android's open one.

Comments

Open source a selling point?

[anomnomnomymous]

In all the ads/product reviews I've seen so far, none has mentioned that it's build on an open source framework.
Whereas people will of course be plucking the fruits of the (free) apps that will be developed, right now it's not a selling point that makes any impression with the 'normal' user.

I hope that, once released, there will be a place where all the apps will be collected (maybe accessible from within the phone), otherwise I don't think that people will -ever- know about the existence of such apps.

Re:Open source a selling point?

[ThinkingInBinary]

I hope that, once released, there will be a place where all the apps will be collected (maybe accessible from within the phone), otherwise I don't think that people will -ever- know about the existence of such apps.

There is a Market app on the phone that allows you to download free apps. In the future it will also allow developers to sell apps. It's also perfectly possible to post source code on SourceForge or Google Code or elsewhere, and I'm sure third-party directories of Android apps will pop up.

Frankly, advertising open source to an end user is meaningless. Advertising "lots of available apps" and "if you're a programmer, you can write your own for free" is more likely to make an impression.

Re:Open source a selling point?

[anomnomnomymous]

I have no clue why I was modded troll... Moderators must be on Hatorade today.

I didn't know there'd be a Marketplace app on there, though that sounds excellent.
But as I mentioned before: I haven't seen any pointing in the ads/product reviews of how they're going to be loads of apps: So to the ordinary user this is 'just another phone'.

Oh great...

[xgr3gx]

From the article:
"When installing a new app, Android flags up which services - camera, network, GPS, etc. - it will use. That way, the user can judge whether the software is going to do what it claims it will, or something nefarious. It's useful, but it assumes a degree of understanding that many users just won't have."

Just what we need...the average cell phone user having to decide wheater or not something they are about to install is nefarious.

Get ready for automatic crank calls from a contact list worm.
Or better yet, a virus that will randomly take snapshots with the camera, and mail/text them to everyone in your contact list

Not too helpful

[XxtraLarGe]

Without a doubt, people will compare the G1 to the iPhone and out of the box you honestly have to say the G1 wins over the original iPhone with wireless syncing capability, cut/copy/paste, games, a wireless music store, application store and 3rd party application support, integrated GPS, multiple client IM clients, and multi-tasking capability.

Unless I'm mistaken, all iPhones can run the 2.x software, so why would he compare it to the original iPhone's software? iPhone 2.x already includes MOST of those features, and I'm sure Apple's App Store is way ahead Google's right now.

Then how do you feel about the G1?

[SuperKendall]

Severely restricted bluetooth, poor / absent MMS capability... Both blackmarks for me.

Since the G1 has the same limitations then, you must continue to be sad.

I still don't see why anyone would use MMS when they can email or post photos. I do find it odd the iPhone still has the same limited Bluetooth support, and that Android has matching limitations... I know it would hurt battery life but I really feel they should let the user choose here.

Re:Then how do you feel about the G1?

[Em Ellel]

Severely restricted bluetooth, poor / absent MMS capability... Both blackmarks for me.

Since the G1 has the same limitations then, you must continue to be sad.

Yeah, but you can write an MMS app for it without having to hack your phone and invalidate your warranty. In fact it is encouraged for Android as opposed to iPhone.

I still don't see why anyone would use MMS when they can email or post photos.

Erm, because most people CAN get MMS and CANNOT get email with photo attachments. Not everyone has an iPhone or G1. Before going to iPhone I used to be able to send pictures to people - can't do that with iPhone... ("Can't do that with iPhone" should be the "truth-in-advertising" campaign slogan for iPhone - it applies so well to so much)

I do find it odd the iPhone still has the same limited Bluetooth support, and that Android has matching limitations... I know it would hurt battery life but I really feel they should let the user choose here.

Now, aren't the drivers for Bluetooth open source - or can at least be replaced with open source versions? If they figured out how to put A2DP onto Treo 650 with closed source OS, no docs or support - I can't imagine someone will not be able to write a full Bluetooth stack if there is enough demand.

-Em

Re:Then how do you feel about the G1?

[Nushio]

Yeah, thats why Gmail hasn't had a single update in years.

Not the Labs, not the IMAP support, or Gcal integration or force https... Nope, no updates..

Re:Yup, it ticks all my boxes

[Arthur Grumbine]

Uh...if that's all you need from a phone why would you consider any but the cheapest (free w/ plan) phones?!?

Re:Not quite so open

[Idiomatick]

4) They are simply covering their asses incase they accidentally send a program with malware through their store. If you install an ap through a source other than the store they cannot killswitch it. Which means about 10seconds more effort to install something at WORST.

Why in the hell would you do that?

[hellfire]

"Because he's comparing the first generation of this phone to the first generation of that phone. That's not unreasonable, given that Android will see major upgrades quickly, just as the iPhone OS did."

Timing is everything, and everything moves quickly in the tech industry. The original iPhone without 3G is over a year old. That's old news. By the time Google has updated it's phone, Apple will have more updates too. Comparing what you can get now to a piece of technology that's a year old is dishonest and smacks of the old tactic where PC consumer mags that would always compare the latest PCs to older Macs and declaring that PCs won in head to head tests.

This is not properly comparing apples to apples (or as the case may be Apples to Androids). Compare what you can get now from Apple/AT&T with what you can get now from Google/T-mobile. I have no desire here to smack down google or be an Apple fanboi, I'm just saying for a smart review, you need proper comparisons.

Re:Not quite so open

[aztracker1]

If you install the app yourself, considering source may be available, I'm sure you could change the name/reference for the app for your use, so that it won't be auto-nuked... I'm pretty sure this functionality will be limited to apps installed via the app store.