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Does the T-Mobile G1 Android Phone live up-to Expectations?

Categories Google Nexus Phone Comparison
Author by James January 5, 2009
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This is for all our T-Mobile G1 readers; I’d like your opinions on the T-Mobile G1 handset and the Google Android operating system.

Are you happy with the G1 handset; is Android all its cracked up to be in your opinion? Does the G1 and Android like up to expectations or has it let you down in some way?

We’ve seen all the hype on just how great the G1 and Android are, but I want to hear back from the real people that count, the owners if said handset and get to know just what they think.

So G1 toting readers, Does the T-Mobile G1 Android Phone live up-to Expectations?

James

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7 thoughts on “Does the T-Mobile G1 Android Phone live up-to Expectations?”

  1. Mark Braddock says:

    Hey James

    Had the G1 since the beginning of December after selling my iPhone 3G! Why sell the iPhone I hear people gasp, basically because I was hacking it and got fed up of the hassle every time an update came out.

    The G1 in a nice phone, which is very easy to use with great web browsing. What it does lack is the music and video playing, and yes I do miss not having a film or music videos to watch on long train journeys. I have not managed to get a video working on the G1 yet. I also miss the Calendar function on the iPhone and especially the “Cloud”. The GoogleMail is OK but not great. My real gripe with the G1 is the appalling battery life. What, oh what were they thinking! Its baffles me sometimes how they can release a premier phone and with a gaping great flaw. The battery life is not good enough for a phone that begs to be used often. I have resorted to buying Kensington charger for battery top-ups.

    What I do like is the idea of Android, and look forwarding to seeing it develop. I’m hoping the “Cupcake” update gets pushed out soon and the rumours that T-Mobile are going to send out extended batteries free of charge are more than rumours.

  2. Mason says:

    I’m convinced. Over the years I’ve used my share of electronic devices. As a consumer I’ve always been extremely skeptical and have made sure to make the most educated decisions I can. This time was no different.

    Actually, it took my wife to wake me up to the G1. You see, when I read the initial reviews near the time of the phone’s release, I had my normal rash of skepticism. It wasn’t until just before the holiday season that I took a second look at it. I read through article after article that basically panned the phone. The articles all had the same themes, something like “this feature is really cool, but…” and concluding like “this phone stands no chance in comparison with the iPhone.” Still, I read past all the senseless iPhone lovin’ and concentrated on the features of the phone that I thought would fit me the best. I loved the interface options it offered. The combination of a highly responsive touch-screen, physical keyboard, and trackball seemed to far exceed other full-touch handsets. Perhaps the biggest factor for me, was the promise offered by the open-source Android OS. Then, after handling the T-Mobile guy’s G1, that was all the more convincing I needed. A couple of days later, the G1 was my early Christmas present.

    Since then, I’ve been using the phone non-stop. It’s a thrill to have all of the features so skillfully integrated in one package. Of course, the same could be said of the iPhone, so let me tell you why I prefer the G1:

    First is the interface. The way the phone works just feels right. After having handled everything from the LG Dare, to the BlackBerry Storm, to the vaunted iPhone 3G, I’ve never handled a phone with an interface that is this smooth. From customizing the home screen, to adding shortcuts to my favorite apps (or contacts, or web pages, or basically anything else!), personalization is a snap. The home screen and applications menu, and the awesome notifications pull-down, are all well organized and just plain work. I’ve never had any trouble navigating the phones extremely rich features. The best, though, is the slick browser. You just open it and start typing. You can type a web address or search terms, as google’s industry leading search engine is built right into the browser. The menu button makes bookmarks and navigating between windows a snap.

    Then there are all the cool apps already available. My favorites are YouTube, Maps (with GPS directions and Street View), IMeem radio, Compare Everywhere (an app that allows you to scan a barcode on a product, which then pulls up the best prices online and at local stores and then allows you to go directly to the website, add the product to the cart, and buy it online. Or, if the best price is at a local store, you can tap on the store from the menu, get map directions from wherever you are, and call the store to make sure they have the product in stock!), and Movies (an app that detects where you are, shows all the movies playing near you, their show times, and reviews and ratings). Best of all, I can do all of this while listening to my favorite music (stored on a removable 8GB micro sd card I picked up for super cheap), and I can play cool games in between things (Brain Genius is the best free game I’ve ever played, period).

    In short, my phone has become the single most useful thing in my life. Out of all the tech I’ve owned through the years, the T-Mobile G1 takes the cake as the coolest thing I’ve ever had. Not a day goes by where I don’t thank my wonderful wife for getting it for me.

  4. daniel says:

    Mark Braddock you can create videos for the g1 fairly easily and free.

    FormatFactory and Super are two easy programs to encode with. I used super, for video i used 480kb/s MP4 h.254 codec, and for audio used 96kb/s mp3 or AAC. 480 x 320 is the resolution, use the app video player from the marketplace to play them.

  5. Mason says:

    Hey, Mark!

    I’ve been using Super to encode and the Meridian Video Player from the marketplace and they both work extremely easily and flawlessly. The Meridian player has instructions that appear at startup. If you dl Super and follow the very simple instructions for encoding (just tells you what resolution and codec to use when encoding. Couldn’t be more simple), it WILL work. The quality of this player is awesome, as are the features packed into it. It is controlled by simple gestures (like tapping the screen to start and pause, or dragging your finger accross it to seek), and even does automatic screen orientation detection (finally, a G1 app that does this!). Also, using Super, you should be able to pack a dozen or so movies onto a very cheap 8GB microSD. (I know this sounds more complex than iTunes, where you just dl your video, sync, and go, but this method is free to use where you have to pay for iTunes movies. Fact is, if you wanted to put your own DVDs on your iPod or iPhone, you would have to follow this same process anyway).

    Oh, and music playing is built in and is AWESOME! DRM free music from Amazon! What a dream!

    I WAY prefer the calendar on the G1 to that of the iPhone, and GMail is the current standard setter for email, so I don’t know what your gripe is here.

    All in all, the G1 does everything the iPhone does and then some. Perhaps you like the way one phone does something more than the way the other does, but neither lacks for extremely rich functionality. I personally far prefer the G1’s implementation along with the promise of Android.

  6. Mark Braddock says:

    Thanks Daniel and Mason.

    I do like the G1 and I’m happy with it. I feel the battery life is the main gripe I have with it.

    I have a Mac so both Super and FormatFactory don’t support OSX. I have Handbrake and will have a play about with it. I’m considering investing in the Elegato Turbo.264 which I hear speeds the encoding up significantly. Currently Handbrake takes an amzing time to convert a movie.

    Anyway thanks for your replies and will have a play.

    Mark.

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