G1 on T-Mobile

[Hands0n]

Here I am tapping away on the lads G1 and it isn't at all bad. The keyboard is not as difficult to use as I thought it may be. Not quite iPhone, the keys need quite a firm press and need nails on the thumbs to get any accuracy in typing.

Overall the build quality feels sturdy. And the G1 is not as large in the hand as it looks.

So how does an iPhone user adapt to one of these? Easily, I would say.

I like it.

[gorilla]

Having now played around with the G1, do you think android will become a major mobile operating system i.e. is it mass consumable?

Can you tell us what the email and calendar are like on it? I'm interested in how quick they are, are they native apps or web based?

[Hands0n]

The main apps like mail and calendar are indeed native. Facebook is not, it is web. The interaction across contacts of mail, SMS and calendar is similar to the iPhone.

The SMS app is good, and best of all allows message forwarding (Apple take note). What you do is press and hold the message and it pops up a forwading address panel. In use the editor is completely iPhone.

I think that the G1 is a superb showcase for Android. It is not perfect by any means. But it is good. My only reservation is that it sets the opening standard for Android in the same way the iPhone does for mobile OS X. The downside for Android is that the OS can and will appear in many different incarnations. Some will be good. Others will be better. But as sure as eggs is eggs some will be utterly dire!

I am enthusiastic about the G1. For anyone who would not touch O2 with the proverbial I think that the G1 is a very worthy substitute for an iPhone-like device. No other handset has come even close so far.

[gorilla]

I think you're right, a lot will depend on the handset manufacturer and the network / tariff. I'm not out of contract for another year, so hopefully by that time we'll be seeing some serious iphone competition.

[Hands0n]

I'm interested in how quick they are, ...?

I was on the iPhone doing the above in a spare five mins - gotta love the way it has become so completely natural to whip it out and play with it whenever I like. :eek:

I hate having to use the iPhone as a reference but really, it is the closest thing to the G1 in almost every aspect. However, I do fully accept and even promote the notion that the G1 is not, and is not intended to be, the mythical "iPhone Killer"

The G1's performance is completely on a par with the iPhone. All activities occur with a certain rush to them, they're quick. There is no apparent lag once the application opens up, it is all good in that respect.

Using the apps themselves is also a joy - again, those that are native, operate with a highly respectable speed, even if they are having to use other APIs such as Calendar or Contacts to populate fields such as addressee.

Perhaps the only criticism I have of the G1 - and this is not its fault, it is simply a design constraint - is that you have to rotate it from Portrait to Landscape to flip the mechanical keyboard out to use the apps that require typing. The virtual keyboard of the iPhone surpasses the G1 for convenience in that one single aspect.

Networking
This is very important for me, I tend to move around a bit and need to know that I can get connected and on-line whenever I want.

T-Mobile 3G/HSPA
We're in a good area for T-Mobile. The G1 latches on and performs very well across T-Mobile's HSPA network. Accessing Talk3G was as speedy as it is on a regular desktop, which shows the browser up in a good light also.

WLAN
The built-in WLAN is of the 802.11b/g variety, which is respectable enough for any mobile handset. Setting the G1 up to use a particular WLAN is a breeze, no more complicated than one would expect. Across the WLAN the G1 is even zippier than via the mobile network, as you'd expect it to be. While I did not perform any speed tests, I can safely say that the feel was as quick and slick to leave me satisfied that it was very usable. Subjective, I know, but I really do not expect a mobile handset to deliver the 20Mbps of my Virgin Media broadband connection.

Bluetooth
I did not try this out, but the BT in the G1 is, once again, as I would expect a modern handset to be. The settings were entirely predicatable.

Instruction Manual
Yes, unlike a certain other phone the G1 does have an Instruction Manual. However, unlike lesser handsets from a certain Finnish manufacturer, the G1's manual is miniscule, containing sufficient information as to how to connect it up for charging and suchlike. Also what buttons and trackball there is, what they do, and how. But the rest of the G1's functions are left to the new owner to discover. I have to say that, buttons aside, the G1 is quite intuitive and anyone having operated an iPhone will almost immediately be at home with the G1.

It is a crying shame that other lad who bought a G1, unlocked it and hooked it up to 3 decided not to play with us. It would have been really great to get his impressions. If there is anyone visiting Talk3G who has a T-Mobile G1 handset please do register on here and tell us your experiences and impressions.

[getti]

does that include me with an unlocked G1 being used on Vodafone and T-Mobile lol

[Hands0n]

does that include me with an unlocked G1 being used on Vodafone and T-Mobile lol

LOL - errr, no it doesn't :) I had completely forgotten that you had a G1. In fact, I doubt that I even knew :D

So what do you think? Are my initial impressions echoes of yours?

[getti]

Dont use it as my main phone i have a Nokia E63 and even better a Nokia 5800.

Whilst the G1 is not perfect, the price it comes at and the reliable Android OS make it an attractive package for a lot of people. Market is great as it is updated all the time so always something new.

Although the phone will work with 2G, the best experience is with HSDPA and HSUPA and once the premium apps come out and the March software update to add more features including an on screen keyboard the phone will be even more popular.

There are some things im not allowed to talk about but it is a interesting time for Android that is for sure.