# Wednesday, October 22, 2008

G1 - Initial Thoughts

Apparently everyone wants some first-hand impressions of the new T-Mobile G1 Android phone. I've only had it for just over a day, and can't quite give it the full review that it deserves, but here are a few highlights:
  • Smaller than I thought. Apparently some people think it is big, but perhaps they aren't used to carrying around a smart phone.
  • Battery life sucks. Seriously. If you have ever complained about battery life, you will certainly complain about the G1. Seriously.
  • App store is empty. Well, it is growing, but it's nothing like the Apple D App store at it's launch. I do expect great things, however.
  • Keyboard. Nice to have one, but as I've seen elsewhere it isn't really raised and doesn't provide the tactile feedback that a sidekick keyboard does.
  • Integration with Google. Wish I could do 2 Google Apps for my Domain accounts, but the integration that it does have is great.
  • WiFi. Haven't tried that yet.
  • GPS. Tried once, but it couldn't get a bead.
  • Case. There really isn't one, just a soft pouch. Had to buy something else.
  • Screen. Bright. Very bright. I have the screen turned down in brightness, and still the color pops nicely.
  • However. Screen is also a magnet for finger prints. I have some screen protectors on order, but we'll see...
  • Mini track ball. Just like the new Sidekick and Blackberries. And it's nice.
  • The notification bar? Just incredible. Reason enough to leave my Windows Mobile device in the dust.
  • SMS is threaded. Nice.
  • Camera is a bit weak, but nice enough to power some UPC lookup software.
  • The "Locations" app. You can save locations (based on GPS or WiFi Mac address location) and then trigger events like new ringer, new wallpaper, volume settings, sending a twitter... Nice.
  • Shazam app lets you sample a song near you and it tells you what the song is. I think iPhone has that, plus 1/2 a dozen other phones, this is the first phone I have that can do it.
  • Phone. Such a low priority for me, but I did receive one call already, and I could actually hear them. That's a plus. Haven't tried my Bluetooth headset though.
  • Voice dialer doesn't work well when you are trying to call "Sriwiyaty", apparently not a "normal" name...
So far, so good. I can live with the meager battery, and to be honest I have been playing with the phone non-stop, so it's pretty heavy battery use, but even if I was doing very little it would suck. They should have replacement better batteries at some point, so waiting might help with that one. I'm still waiting for some cool apps too, but they should be along soon enough...

gadgets
#    Comments [7] |
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:16:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Does the battery at least last a day? I plug my phone in every night, so as long as it can do that, I'm good to go. ;)
katie
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:19:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Hasn't yet.
David Kearns
Thursday, October 23, 2008 12:36:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Just to chime in, I went to Baltimore to get mine last night and got a little confused trying to go to E. Pratt St. I was on West Pratt. If only I had a phone with maps on it...

So I got it and I agree, it doesn't feel too big to me. The Trackball is awesome, I use it constantly. Notification bar is great especially for switching from what your doing to see the notification and then go back to what you were doing.

I turned on wifi in about 10 seconds at home, and on my way to work I got a notification I was in an unsecured wifi area and connected. I'm in DC so no 3G just yet...

When on wireless the browser is very responsive and loads quickly.

I really do like the 6 physical buttons and use all of them. Never used a qwerty keyboard on a phone before so it will take some getting used to.

I scanned the Market but didn't see any kind of podcast subscription type app, do you know if there is one out there? I'd love to get rid of my nano.

So far I love this thing, but i did notice the battery was draining fairly quickly.
wenogg
Thursday, October 23, 2008 1:19:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
I'm not ready to ditch my iPod. It's nice to have both in the car, with the iPod playing music, a podcast, or entertaining the kid while still having access to my phone...
Kearns
Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:19:35 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Thank you. So maybe I will wait a couple of months.
Henri
Thursday, October 23, 2008 8:00:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
I don't think I could be parted from my iPhone (especially until my 2 year commitment with AT&T runs out) but I think I will risk the technolust by asking to see your G1 ASAP.
Nate
Monday, October 27, 2008 3:49:28 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
Yeah, I have to admit... my name's not "normal". That's why I go with "Yaty" instead... that's least not "normal" :P. And I'm still struggling with my hand-me-down DASH *sigh* (still couldn't find how to get the ringing louder... I still couldn't hear it when you call ;) )
Yaty
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