The G1 Review for the iPhone Owner

We received our G1 today, and its awesome. Here are the unboxing shots. It is officially released this Wednesday, but most people who pre-ordered on the first day they became available are receiving their phones today. Keep in mind that over the course of the review, I'll constantly be making comparisons to the iPhone, seeing as I have one, and the two phones are now competitors. Now on to the review!


Hardware: At a glance, the G1 is big. It is significantly larger than the sleek iPhone 3G. The G1 weighs almost 1 ounce more, and is much thicker. This is a trade-off, however, for the physical keyboard that is a must have for many users. The G1 features a brilliant screen that is slightly smaller than that of the iPhone, but is still bright and very user-friendly. The keyboard feels sturdy, as the rest of the phone. Another thing worth mentioning is that the camera on the G1 is 3-megapixels, compared to the iPhone's 2-megapixels. Another major difference between the G1 and the iPhone is that the G1 has a removable battery, when the iPhone doesn't; this is a major inconvenience for iPhone users, and it doesn't really make sense to me that Apple would do this... Our reviewing unit is Black, but it also comes in White and Brown. Overall, we give hardware a 8/10, due to some nuisances while typing on the keyboard, and the bulkiness of the phone. Oh, yeah, and no headphone jack!



Software: This is the main difference between the iPhone 3G and the G1. The G1 is Open-Source, iPhone is proprietary. This is a fancy way of saying that Apple has locked up all of their units so they can regulate what is put on them, where Android doesn't regulate anything, and doesn't care. This is an awesome thing because it makes the phone extremely customizable and allows any apps to be installed. And, although it isn't fully integrated into the apps yet, the G1 features an accelerometer similar to that of the iPhone. The G1 does beat iPhone in 2 more major ways: all applications can run in the background, and MMS is included. The G1's tight integration with Google applications is another nice feature. Another place that the iPhone beats the G1 at is the iPhone's UI and multi-touch capability. No-one can compare with Apple's clean design and intuitive controls. They are flawless and are beautiful. The Android's UI is nice, but its nowhere near Apple quality. Also, one of the main features of the iPhone is its multi-touch functionality, which allows for the "pinch zoom", etc. Multi-touch is incredible to use, but is nowhere to be seen on the G1. We give the software a 9/10 because of its openness and cleanliness (but Apple's UI still kicks butt).



Final Thoughts: The G1 is a great phone. It comes packed with great apps (Go, Compass Mode!), and more apps can be added through the ever-growing Android Marketplace. Although it is chubbier than the iPhone, it makes up for this with physical keys and a removable battery. The Software is also revolutionary in the sense that it is completely open source, which is great for functionality and customization. But the software, as of right now, lacks the basics of an accelerometer, multi-touch functionalities, and an Apple-level User-Interface. Overall, we give the G1 a 7/10, and the iPhone 3G an 8/10.


The G1 does beat the iPhone in many ways, but the iPhone beats the G1 in more ways: multi-touch capabilities, sleek design, smooth UI, and the overall awesome feel of using Apple's cellular platform. So, I think I'll stick with my iPhone 3G for now, but definitely swap it out for a G3 or G4 after the basics are added, the UI is worked on, and the kinks are worked out.


Here is a comparison chart between the iPhone 3G and the T-Mobile G1 made by Fortune:


(Now that you've read the review, check out the unboxing!)

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T-Mobile G1 Announced

The highly-anticipated Android is having its first debut. It will come in the form an HTC phone made for T-mobile. This phone is called the T-Mobile G1, and is supposed to be the first real competition for the iPhone.

The G1 will be available in late October and will cost around $180. Here are the specifications:

• HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
• WiFi
• 3D graphics acceleration
• 1GB integrated storage plus microSD expansion
• 3-megapixel camera
• Android Market for on-device app purchases
• Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
• Push Gmail support with full HTML client
• Bluetooth (but no A2DP)
• Google Maps with Street View
• No Microsoft Exchange support
• No desktop synchronization -- it all happens over the air

There are some great upsides to this phone. 1st, the biggest, is that it is open source. This means you can do whatever you what to it, as well as upload any apps to the "Android Marketplace" with no restrictions. This is good so that you'll never be in need of an app, but is also somewhat bad because you'll have to sort through thousands of garbage-apps before finding one worth keeping.

Another great thing about the T-Mobile G1 is its integration with Google. It has a GTalk app, a Gmail app, among others. It has a touch screen, slide out keyboard, and expandable memory.

There are some downsides however:

• It runs on the very scarce and spotty T-Mobile 3G network.
• No headphone jack!
• You'll have to sort through some worse apps before finding keepers, due to a lack of restrictions and rejection processes.
• The memory is expandable to only 8GB.
• The Android marketplace used to install apps is, for now, very flawed and glitchy.
  
• It is larger and heavier than the iPhone, with a smaller screen.
• No video support, as with the iPhone.
• No multi-touch functionality
• No desktop or 3G syncing or downloading, wirelessly with WiFi is the only way.
  
• Since its the first-generation, things will be a little bit slower and less stable than in later models.
• UPDATE: The data, while being advertised as unlimited, may be capped off at the minuscule amount of 1GB.
  

That's about all there is to say about the T-Mobile G1, Android's first phone. Its open source, with a large app marketplace, a decent camera, and a physical keyboard. But I think that a lack of a headphone jack, a truly comprehensive 3G network, lots of memory, and the bulky size will prevent some users from buying the G1, but I am sure that the G4 or G5 will be near-perfect, and will be worth ditching the iPhone for. But, for now, I believe that the iPhone is superior to T-Mobile's G1.


Links:

• Official Site
• Gizmodo
• Engadget
• PC World's iPhone vs. T-Mobile G1
  

Updates: Here is a really good hands-on video with the G1 that I stumbled upon:




Also, Gizmodo pointed out something very interesting; the main promotional image for the T-Mobile G1 has inconsistent clocks with different times. Click on the link, or here is the image:


And yet another update! The ad for this phone is funny, and somewhat pokes fun at Apple. They call it "Funnerer" and "Connecteder". Here's the commercial:

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