Day 4 with the G1

I decided to go ahead and dive in and try the new Android phone from HTC.  The only thing I had to get over was that it was on TMobile only -- And from what I remembered, their coverage all around the country was horrible.  It turns out after 4 days of using, testing, beating and sharing the device with other people, the service isn't bad at all and the software and hardware rock!

First off, the hardware.  The G1 is solid phone with a slide out keyboard.  It's a little bit narrower than an iPhone and a bit taller as well.  It's a tad heavier but it fits very comfortably in your hand and next to your face while chatting with your lover -- or a business associate.

As far as the software goes, the OS is bangin'!  It's fast, simple to learn (almost as simple as the iPhone) and very robust.  Unlike the iPhone, you can run applications in the background and the software is open source.  This means that developers don't have to get approval from Google or anyone else to sell their sweet wares.

I've been downloading, chatting, emailing and snapping pictures constantly.  Below are a few applications that I think many people would love to have on their phones:

• Locale - This app tracks where you are and the time of day and changes your profile to suit.  So I tell it where work is and when I'm in the office, my phone automatically goes to vibrate.  The movie theatre, it sets to silent.  Cool?


• PixelPipe - For a photo nut, this app is a must-have.  It can upload your photos to a whole lot of photo sharing services in one click (sort of).  TwitPic, Picasa, Flickr and many more are supported.


• Twidroid - A great tool for those of us addicted to Twitter.  Post, follow, read and reply right from the comfort of a neat little Android app.


• Compare Everywhere - Magda loves this application because it scans bar codes of products with the camera and looks up local and web deals to tell you where to shop.  For those ladies (and gents) out there that are always looking for the best deal, this is for you.

While I am loving the phone so far, I have a few gripes.  All of which should be able to be solved with some additional software or Google software updates (which are pushed down to the phone over wireless).

• Battery life - Granted, I'm guilty of over-using technology during the honeymoon period, the batter life (with 3g and wifi enabled) has been pretty bad.  I had to recharge about 3/4 through my day.  Without 3g or wifi on, I can run it for at least 24 hours straight.


• No on-screen keyboard - While I love the slide out keyboard for writing emails and love-notes to the fiancee, I would like to be able to send quick little messages with an on-screen, one-handed keyboard.  Having to slide it out all the time to say "Yes" can be quite a pain.

So far, so good.  I have about 10 days left on my TMobile trial and I have had very few dropped calls and very good luck with reception from Baltimore to New York City (and everywhere in between).  That's what I have for now.  There will be another review as I learn a bit more about the phone and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Comments

[srcasm (Jesse Middleton)]

My thoughts on the G1 4 days into testing it out. So far, 4 out of 5 stars. http://bit.ly/4qZfWO

[srcasm (Jesse Middleton)]

My thoughts on the G1 4 days into testing it out. So far, 4 out of 5 stars. http://bit.ly/4qZfWO

[Matius89]

Yeah the phone has a few gripes but the rest of the phones 'awesomeness' completely overshadows it. Glad to hear you decided to give it a try!

[srcasm]

My big concern was that the TMobile service wouldn't be up to snuff for me. So far, it's been excellent.