Jan Zdarsa Although it may not sound like it here on the blog, I'm certainly not an Apple fanatic. In short, I like the best products or solutions for my purposes, regardless of which workshop they are from. The fact that there are most of them from Apple is simply the art of this Californian company. Just as I recently had to try Windows 7 (and I still have it installed in Parallels Desktop to my satisfaction), this time I just wanted to try the Tmobile G1 with the Android platform from Google.
In our area this phone is only sold by Tmobile, but the device is unlocked and sold only in white version. The manufacturer of this phone is the well-known company HTC. In the packaging of the phone, you will also find stickers with different shapes, which you can "improve" the design of the phone. Personally, I don't really need bow ties on my phone, so I'll probably resist.
The phone weighs 158g with dimensions of 118 x 55,7 x 16,5 mm (in comparison, the iPhone 3G weighs 133g with dimensions of 115,5 x 62,1 x 12,3 mm). Personally, I already find the iPhone heavy in my hand, and the Tmobile G1 is not that much heavier. On the other hand, after playing with the Tmobile G1 all day, the iPhone will seem terribly thin and small. It's like an iPhone 3G user picking up an iPod Touch 2G.
The phone boots slightly faster than the Apple iPhone 3G. It's not a speedster, but you won't be turning off and restarting such a phone very often. After running it you need to sign in to your Gmail account (or create one) so that your contacts can be synchronized with your phone. Purchased applications will likely be tied to this account as well.
The application is launched on the Tmobile G1 in a similar way to the iPhone. On your "desktop" you put the icons of the applications you want to have quick access to. You can scroll left or right on the screen. You can also insert widgets on this desktop, currently it is a clock or a Google search bar. There is a menu on the lower edge of the display, which you can slide out by sliding your finger up the display. This is where all the apps are located and from there you just move them to the desktop as I mentioned.
Another pull-down menu is located at the top of the phone, where po pull out to display various notifications such as missed calls, received sms, emails or possibly notifications from other applications that run in the background - for example, notifications about new Twitter messages.
The Android platform is known for being unlike the Apple iPhone here the app really runs in the background. But don't expect the same approach as Windows Mobile, where after running a few apps the phone will become unusable because it won't have enough resources to run all those apps. If Android starts to run out of resources, some applications simply go to sleep and run in the background as a service - only its notification service works. I haven't studied the details, but I assume so the principle is similar to Apple's push notifications, which were introduced last June and we still haven't seen them.
Tmobile G1 can be proud hardware keyboard, which is really well written. I have to say that this is probably one of the best hardware keyboards on a smartphone that I have ever come across. Tmobile G1 is therefore really suitable for people who type a lot on their phone. However, the keyboard also takes away a big negative from me, and that is its backlight. I don't know what the G1 designers were thinking and under what conditions they tested, but the backlight is absolutely tragic and if we are in the dark, we cannot decipher the inscriptions on the buttons. That's why I had to install the Dark Keys application shortly after the purchase, which just turns off the backlight of the keys.
In the current state of Tmobile G1 firmware does not have a software keyboard even to write a few letters you have to slide out the hardware keyboard. This is very inconvenient. But the so-called Cupcake update is expected, which should add the software keyboard. In the Android Market (similar to the Appstore), some manufacturers add their own software keyboard to their applications. For example, the SMS Chomp application completely copies the SMS application from the iPhone and also adds the copied software keyboard from the same phone.
The display is of course smaller than that of the Apple iPhone, and although it is not much, it seems to me that this significantly reduces the comfort of using the phone. You will recognize it both when typing on the software keyboard and also when surfing the Internet or using some applications.
As I already mentioned, if you want to write on the Tmobile G1, you have to slide out the hardware keyboard and this will turn the view into landscape mode (wide). However, the authors of some applications do not think too much about the ergonomics of their applications in this mode, and use thus becomes such a small suffering. Even such an Android Market, for example, contains really large buttons for switching sorting by popularity or by date, and there is not much space left for listing applications. I feel cramped in that app and often juggle between extended and retracted keyboard. However, imagine running the Appstore application with a landscape view, that would be suffering. The iPhone does not have to deal with this, because thanks to the software keyboard, some applications can fix one view and simply use it.
Tmobile G1 se controls with a combination of hardware buttons and touch. For control, we most often use the button to return to the home screen, the button to move back and the Menu button, which will make available some other application options (such as settings). With the G1, you can also use the ball for navigation. It works, for example, in an Internet browser as a normal pointer on a computer, or you can use it for scrolling in applications (although I prefer scrolling with my finger).
An excellent browser is installed here for surfing the Internet, or you can download the Opera Mini application from the Android Market, in which you can, for example, turn on image compression or turn off images completely. The mobile Internet feature is often priceless. Safari on iPhone lacks any setting option and is a pain on slower internet. I would definitely welcome the Opera Mini application on the iPhone.
Too much for me here missing multitouch to zoom the Internet page. It just isn't the same without him. You probably get used to it over time, but you certainly get used to worse, less intuitive controls. It's not that the Tmobile G1 can't multitouch, but Apple has a patent on multitouch and they allegedly agreed with Google that the Android firmware won't be able to multitouch.
This brings me to the openness of the platform. Everyone would think that Google will have a completely free platform when it comes to modifications, but this is not entirely true. Only special developer G1 or possibly hacked phones have full access to the phone (so-called Root access). Thanks to this, you will be able to install unofficial modifications, such as the addition of multitouch control.
But there is also a big problem for Google with this access to the phone. Recently, paid applications have appeared on the Android Market, but these applications do not have any special protection. In short, it is located in a directory where a normal user cannot get to, only a user with root rights can access it. But an application without protection = a paradise for pirates. Just pull the app from your phone and later you can install it directly from your PC on any Tmobile G1 phone without paying. Additionally, the Android Market policy is that you have 24 hours to potentially return the app and thus receive a refund. You can probably imagine how rogue users began to behave. Google's current response is that people with a developer G1 phone (with full rights) cannot access paid apps.
An often criticized thing is the Apple iPhone and currently the Tmobile G1. This phone cannot send files via Bluetooth either. Again, Bluetooth is only for use with hands-free headphones. I personally don't mind it at all, I don't use it, but I thought it was important to mention it here.
But overall, Google's app policy is very loose. No types of apps are banned from the Android Market, and anything can appear here. For example, recently here discovered by MemoryUp, which did report some feature, but as a result installed adware on your phone, spammed your email account and deleted all your contacts. One should certainly behave more cautiously in this environment than in the Apple Appstore.
Stay on Tmobile G1 battery is very weak. From my observation, it is even worse than the Apple iPhone 3G. On the other hand, the Tmobile G1 has a replaceable battery and it is possible to buy a larger capacity (the G1 then becomes a nice fat one). The creaky construction still bothers me on the phone, but a simple trick was found to eliminate this – cut out and stick a foil on one part of the construction. It's not an elegant solution, but it certainly works.
Absence of audio jack on the Tmobile G1 the problem is already much bigger and personally I was very disappointed by this. The supplied headphones are a mockery for me. I'm sure there will be Android devices with an audio jack in the future, but right now it's a really big minus. The camera in the G1 does not reach the quality of mobile cameras of Sony Ericsson phones, but the presence auto-focus really pleases and the quality of the photos is sufficient for snapshots. With the G1, we can take a picture of the text, which is then really readable. There is a lack of white balance, but you can definitely live with that.
But something is still missing in this review, perhaps the most important thing. What would an Apple iPhone be without the Appstore and its apps? The fashion wave would have died down and now he would be losing his breath. But the iPhone is gaining momentum, and there are increasingly strong reasons to buy an iPhone. And so it is necessary to pay attention to the Android Market and, in general, applications on Google Android.
But I'll leave that for another article. So, if you were interested in this article and are interested in how the Android Market compares to the Appstore, you should wait for the next article. In the next article, I will give my own assessment of the Tmobile G1.
Good article…
As it was written there that after using Android, the iPhone is tiny, so it's the same as when I take my iPhone out of its case. Even a couple of mm are noticeable.
Interesting, thanks a lot! I'm already looking forward to the next article :). I thought they'd be more sophisticated...
Just by the way, am I the only one who can't use RSS?
I can't, I don't know why :-(
So I'm glad RSS doesn't work for more people. I thought the problem was with me. It won't be a few days. She was swimming fine before that. Success
Good balance dear, I praise!
Google Android has a friend, so I only have it in my hands and what I like most about it is playing games that use location functions (the phone reacts to the user's movements). Otherwise, I dreamed and agreed that it is more of a gaming phone, because it has enough of these "crap" in it. What I also like is the connection with google, which I use a lot.
the rss is already running :-)
Benny: however, such things are also on iphone, windows mobile and maybe even on symbian
otherwise, I still praise the review, even if I'm not going to buy the G1 yet (android needs to mature and HTC needs to give away the HW keyboard)
The camera features can be improved using the free SnapPhoto application – it can set the white balance, JPEG compression level, shoot a series of 6 pictures with one press of the shutter button and even manage something like optical stabilization using a motion sensor. Here it is by the way overview of my favorite apps for Gé number one.
Hello, pretty good review, I've had the G1 for about 2 months and I'd say it's the absolute best value for money phone :-)
Of course, it has a few beauty flaws:
flashlight, on the other hand 40 min. calls per day, approx. 2 hours online and lasts 24 hours, which I think is comparable to the competition
the processing is probably not even HTC :-(
incomplete app list, I miss office and proper car navigation, both for work
But also pluses:
a combination of a super keyboard, a trackball and a large touch display
great potential for development, when new machines arrive approx. 20 this year, the number of people will grow and it will be significantly more interesting for developers
shortcomings such as multitouch (apple did not defend it in the lawsuit) and sw keyboard disappear when updating the fw
It's all about habit, but if you don't mind that it's not perfect yet, which it is, it has no major flaws...
Hi, I'll just add: in order to get root rights, you don't have to hack the g1; next: have you ever tried writing an email or any other text with punctuation on an iPhone? Can't!! Furthermore: once the person in question has access to root, it is possible to send data via bluetooth and it is also possible to adjust the GPS; further: synchronization with google services is absolutely brilliant. And in addition, android will soon run on many other multimedia devices. At the end, I just want to add: I wrote this text on an iPhone, 12 minutes!!!
Hmm that looks interesting. I really don't understand why I don't put a 3.5 jack there... and normal bluetooth. Everyone just wants to send something here... . Otherwise, the hardware keyboard is priceless. I don't enjoy writing on the touch screen anymore.