First Impressions T-Mobile G1 Android
Our T-Mobile HTC G1 finally arrived and we’ve had a few days to put it through its paces. On opening the package we found a few goodies inside . The phone came with a free 8GB memory upgrade, USB cable, charger, leather case, headphones, battery, SIM, manuals and a sticker kit.
T-Mobile G1 welcome pack.
The phone was straight forward enough to setup. On removing the outer case the SIM card and battery can be inserted. Flicking back the screen allows access to the push type memory slot. Note the G1 already has a 1GB memory card installed that must first be removed before inserting another. After powering up Android on the phone a setup menu was then followed to agree to some disclaimers and create/add Google account details. The HTC G1 specification is quite impressive. Its fantastic to see convergence of so many technologies on one device!
Android desktop on the T-mobile G1.
Androids interface on the G1 was simple enough to follow. A simple slide of the finger across the screen allows navigation across the desktop and application menu. The default desktop applications are the dialer, contacts, browser and maps. The dialer was simple enough to use but we would have liked to have seen a call log option to add new dialed/received numbers to contacts. The web browser was intuitive enough to use but requires pulling up a separate menu for URL, search, bookmark, functionality etc. All the functionality associated with a standard toolbar. After browsing a few pages we hit a page that was content locked. Content lock is a web filtering service by T-Mobile applied to content deemed unsuitable for those under 18 years of age. To remove content lock it is necessary to verify your age by supplying credit card details over the phone or online. Once we did this we could access the web unfiltered.
Androids application menu on the T-mobile G1.
It was sad that there were two functional omissions from the G1 in comparison to the Apple iphone. Firstly there is no multitouch functionality. Details have appeared on the web on how to enable it on the G1. It looks like it missed the cut because applications aren’t actively making use of it. That said functionality doesn’t suffer and applications requiring magnify/demagnify have buttons that appear. Secondly, applications don’t make use of the onboard accelerometer to change aspect as the phone changes orientation. This only happens after the keypad is exposed. These two functions we’re likely missing from Androids current state of development but will likely appear in the future.
We found it difficult to switch tasks in Android. There is no native task manager that shows active tasks and the ability to switch between them. However, separate applications can be downloaded to do so. We also we’re confused when the camera, picture viewer and some other applications failed to start. We found that in having the USB cable connected for charging and SD card access prevents applications accessing SD memory. This happens without a clear indication what the problem is which is confusing unless you know otherwise.
Such a powerful smart phone does have its down sides in battery life. We found the G1 needed a daily charge, perhaps more with frequent use. Its worth noting battery life can be increase by switching off some of the functionality of the G1. We also got a surprise on a very cold day where the G1 died and refused to start until in a warmer environment.
Given the issues stated above there was one major savior, Android Market which we’ll discuss more in another post.
