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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.
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.
When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
So, Android needs to be ported, like any OS. Mobile phones, in particular, have very specific hardware. If you tried to put the OS from the G1 onto another phone, you'd need to add drivers for the other chips on it, especially things like the cellular baseband chip, and the hardware for things like audio input/output, LEDs, etc. It's sort of like RockBox in that it requires a large chunk of work to be ported. They initially ran on only one device, but, over time, gained additional compatibility.
ttuttle is a rankmaniac
A few people have put together a list of all the apps observed in Market to date.
I'm sure this will flood with even more over the next week when they open the developer portal. Oh yea, and I reverse engineered the iTunes remote control protocol and released an Android client GPL'ed: http://dacp.jsharkey.org/
1) Some phones will lockdown the kernel, some might allow you to replace the kernel.
2) Android drivers are open source, but vendors might throw in binary blobs (particularly for cell phone functionality).
3) They use their own custom GUI toolkit and display -- not X, not GTK, not QT, not swing.
4) The app store, sdk, etc are built for java. If you have a phone that isn't locked down, you could probably put native code on it, with some work.
5) Also, they use a custom jdk (and libraries), so the java apps have to be built specifically for android
6) Android is the distro. The app store is the package manager
7) The app store will be able to check for updates to installed apps
8) Debian can be used on some ARM and SH-based smart phones.
It's not as bad as you think. Before you compare it to Apple's kill switch....
1) The source is open. They're not hiding it from people's view, like Apple's. People had to dig down for Apple's to find it ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion"
2) They state this in their Terms of Service: "Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement
3) They offer a "return" (not sure how.. it's electric) within 24 hours if it's found the application has an issue and must be blocked. Apple does NOT do this.
One disturbing thing is that apps can only live in the internal phone memory (I believe 192MB). The point out most apps are just a MB or two, but as you see more games and more polished apps with more graphics, that number increases quickly. Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone for example, is I think 32MB or so.
I imagine it's for speed of access, but should probably still be allowed...
On the plus side, I had read before you could only sync with one google calendar but am happy to see you can at least see other calendars in addition to your own. But I think the limitation is still there to be able to only hook into one gmail account at a time, which I don't think I could work with as I have multiple gmail accounts for different domains.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
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.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Here is a bigger problem: ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion."
"Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/16/android_kill_switch/
That is a show stopper. I'm still rooting for Openmoko.
More music, fewer hits
No, as in your cellphone connects over WiFi and any new calls are completely free. There's no need for an ATA, no need for a different handset, no complicated call forwarding setup, you just connect to WiFi and you cellphone becomes a free VoIP phone with your normal number and cellphone features.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
The clause only covers applications distributed through the Android Market, but the whole point of Android is that anyone can distribute any applications they like.
Not quite as locked down as you think. The "App store" has the right to uninstall only the apps that it installed. I would imagine that Google is covering its ass in case someone releases malware or other potentially dangerous app into the Android store and gets downloaded by some unsuspecting users before anyone finds out. I doubt they'll remove legitimately useful apps "just because it competes with us". The resulting fallout would be enough to kill Android.
And unlike Apple, you don't need to use the Android Market to install software.
Sigs are for losers
Here is a bigger problem: ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion."
"Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement
As per article, this applies only to apps sold through their App Store. What I am curious about is - does this mean they can delete any app (regardless of how you installed it) when you use the app store or does this mean they can only delete apps you got via their app store if they discover something is wrong with it? I can kind of understand the latter with proper disclosure, but it needs to be made much clearer.
-Em
RelevantElephants: A Somatic WebComic...
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.
"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.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Does OpenMoko even have an app store?
Before you poo-poo the question, bear in mind you don't have to use Android Marketplace to install software on an Android phone. Android Marketplace is a trusted, easily accessible, application store. A kill-switch in that context makes sense, you've downloaded something from a trusted authority and it turns out it's malware, Google has an obligation to hit the kill switch or else at minimum destroy the credibility of the store.
From the reports, it doesn't appear as if the kill switch applies to non-marketplace software, as the switch only applies - according to Google's ToS - to software that violates the GM developer agreement.
I'm seriously not seeing the problem here. The phone is open - you can install anything you like on it. If you choose to have your hand held, Google will hold your hand for you, but you don't have to.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.