T-Mobile G1 with Google Android Phone - Rated 3.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews
The reviews of the T-Mobile G1 with Google, phone the first Google Android phone, are positive and peppy for the great responsive display. Kudos were given for the 360 degree street views and 3 megapixel camera.
We reviewed the top reviews of the T-Mobile G1 with Google Android phone formerly know as the HTC Dream.
The T-Mobile G1 syncs with all Google apps, calendar, contacts and Gmail well. The web browser based on Chrome is fast and renders Java Script well and was called "the best" by two reviewers. The call quality was terrific. The keyboard has received mixed reviews. Two reviewers noted that the G1 lacks a video player and video recorder. However one of readers notes that there is now a video player on the Android Market. The bottom of phone juts out making it hard to hold. Functions that the T-Mobile G1 has that the iPhone 3G does not are "copy and paste," Goggle Street View, multimedia messaging, replaceable battery, voice dialing and an expansion slot.
Wal-Mart is selling the T-Mobile G1 for $148.88 with an upgrade or two-year contract.
The first SNAFU could be that there is currently no
desktop-synchronization software with the phone, making contact syncing a pain. If you have all your contacts in Gmail it's not a problem. Another problem was that the T-Mobile unlimited web/data plan was capped at 1 Gigabyte. (Maybe that's why they called it the G1) The cap was removed due to bad PR.
A slight security flaw has been found in the browser, which was fixed by an update on October 31.
Ben Paterson, Yahoo’s Gadget Hound wrote that the T-Mobile G1 with Google is a true iPhone competitor the Android OS is peppy and he loved the design, while the keyboard was a disappointment. Call quality was excellent and Google syncing worked well. 3G reception was good. The web browser is one of the best he’s seen on the phone. The music player wasn’t slick but did well. He notes the phone lacks a video player and recorder.
Bonnie Cha and Nicole Lee at CNET rated the T-Mobile G1 with Google 3.5 out 5 for its full features, GPS, keyboard, Wi-Fi and GPS. There review is like the Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is?” The G-1 does offer some more features than the iPhone such as “copy & paste,” Google Street View, better camera and multimedia messages, but they don’t like that the G1 doesn’t support MS exchange, stereo Bluetooth or video recording. They were impressed with the Android OS and the future of smartphones becoming mini-computers. They found that the bottom of the G1 juts out making use of the Sidekick-like keyboard weird with keys a little too small. The capacitive touchscreen worked fine. The battery is usable replaceable. Gmail address books automatically update into the G1 address book. There is no stereo Bluetooth and the headphone jack is not standard. You can only download Amazon songs via a Wi-Fi connection and G1 doesn’t support T-Mobile Hotspot@Home service. They experienced hiccups with the web browser, but they liked the customizable settings. GPS performance was mixed. The media player will satisfy most casual music buffs. Taking photos was a challenge. They were impressed with its “peppy performance.”
Walter Mossberg called the T-Mobile G1, ‘the first real competitor to the iPhone.” He thought the software was slick but found typing on the keyboard OK. An added feature the iPhone doesn’t have is copy and paste functionality.
David Pogue wrote that feature-lovers will be in heaven and notes that it is open source and can be unlocked and thinks that the Android OS is infinitely superior to Windows Mobile. T-Mobile’s 3 G network only covers 19 cities. It does not play videos. lacks multi-touch functionality and it is no iPod. Non iPhone features include removable battery, voice dialing and expansion slot.
Sacha Segan at PCMag rated it the T-Mobile G1 with Google 3.5 out of 5. He wrote that although it it missing features, while the media player and email is good. the T-Mobile G1 looks like an iPhone with a Sidekick body and that the touchscreen is quick and responsive. The QWERTY keyboard is slightly rubbery and well-spaced. The Google Android OS ran efficiently with several ways to do each task. The calendar, contacts and email syncs with Google’s online services. The browser was called one of the best with the best Java Script performance. It lacks MS Exchange syncing and you can’t edit MS Office files. Google maps was the best of its kind. It lacks a video player and video recorder. He has high hopes for the growing apps available on the app market.
Please note: the T-Mobile G1 is not to be confused with gi as in GI Joe.