Product Review: Unlocked HTC Google Android GSM Phone
Google HTC Dream G1, Google Phone, Unlocked
Other helpful reviews
A bit more than mediocre
The good: The T-Mobile G1 features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The Google Android operating system offers good integration with Google applications as well as access to the Amazon MP3 Store and YouTube. As more applications become available, the G1 will also become a more powerful smartphone for all types of users.
The bad: The G1 doesn't include a standard headphone jack and lacks stereo Bluetooth and Microsoft Exchange support. There are some annoying design quirks that make the smartphone uncomfortable to hold and difficult to use. The GPS tracking was disappointing, and speakerphone quality wasn't the greatest.
The bottom line: While I'm not in love with the design and would have liked some additional features, the real beauty of the T-Mobile G1 is the Google Android platform, as it has the potential to make smartphones more personal and powerful. That said, it's not quite there yet, so for now, the G1 is best suited for early adopters and gadget hounds, rather than consumers and business users.
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Great Phone
This phone is a fun toy, and a useful phone. First off, this phone is not for people who want a camera or an MP3 player, it does neither of those things well. I wanted a phone, and an organizer, and this does both very very well, as well as being a fun toy into the bargain.
Out of the box, it's not perfect. There were a lot of little things that bothered me. I have been able to use the market to solve all but one of those things. The market is what really really makes this phone. I didn't like that the screen went to sleep while I was talking on the phone (this made setting up my voicemail a PAIN!) Out in the market, I found a free app called "Shake Awake" which allowed me to wake the screen back up with a quick flick of my hand. The only irritation I haven't been able to solve at the market is the fact that on the Bronze that I have, the keyboard backlighting is insufficient -- especially for the ALT characters. That is what keeps me from making this a 5-star device. I don't type in chat speak, I use full sentences with punctuation and capitalization. Not being able to see the punctuation makes doing that hard.
If you are looking for a phone that EXCELs at being a phone, internet, e-mail, and organizer, this is the phone for you. Anything else you could want, you'll find it at the market anyway.
Very good first product - a few usage misfeatures
After using the phone, I can say it's not as smooth as the iPod touch I use, but as an "all in one" device, it is reasonable.
Not perfect, but reasonable. It's a trade-off I welcomed in exchange for the freedom from AT&T and Apple's heavy-handedness.
Battery life could be better, but I'm never far from the car or office charger. The device can use the 'mini-USB' style chargers, and can charge from your PC or laptop's USB port with the included USB-miniUSB adapter.
The biggest miss is having to open the device at all, for text messages. I want a virtual keypad with either query layout (sideways), or a keypad with T9 character recognition. If I'm going to type a lot, I'll open the keyboard myself.
Some of the polish is missing from the Applications, some even suffer compared to my 2002-vintage Treo 180 (with the original firmware). The original Treo 180 set the standard for being able to use in the car at night, with the backlit keypad, and other features that made the usability testing in the original Treo obvious.
I have to go out of my way to enable the keypad, and the keyboard backlight. The G1 can 'know':
a) it's dark outside (based on the time and date)
b) when I'm in my car (take a GPS fix), if I'm on a road feature on the map, I'm unlikely to be on foot.
c) that it's dark outside (based on the camera)
so making the software more situationally aware shouldn't be a problem
The G1 needs a few more usability studies to make automotive use cases more helpful. The backlight timeout is a little too short.
I've already deleted the 200+ calls in my call log accidentally, because the 'clear call log' function is too easy to accidentally trigger - I'd welcome a feature requiring a 4-digit ERASE code to prevent accidental deletion.
The GPS receiver in the Maps application seems a little spotty, giving me frequent "could not connect" messages. A standalone program that shows you how many GPS satellite signals its receiving would be helpful here, to help with issues like "where can I put this in my car". It would be helpful to be able to use bluetooth GPS receivers as well.
There are several "notification" icons at the top of the screen, but after a while they add clutter and the targets are too small - you can't really click on them to do anything.
BTW, My standard for a excellent 'telephone app' is the early Handspring Treo 180 phone. Later firmware revisions are inferior.
Thanks to Google for making this happen.
Simply useful phone.
I'm very happy with my G1. I pre-ordered it from TMO last October and have been happy with it ever since. I'm already very google-centric, using Google Calendar, Gmail, and numerous other free Google products for what I do. So having a phone which pulled it all together on a simple device makes me very happy.
I like the slide-out keyboard. It feels sturdy and not like cheap plastic like most other phones i've had.
The person complaining about the Trackball obviously has a defective phone. I've had the phone for months and haven't had the symptoms he's whining about. That guy is also comparing the Sony Xperia (a $900 phone) with the G1 at half the price.
The apps are very useful and nice. SnapTell and ShopSavvy actually save me money. I use Moxier and TouchDown to get my exchange emails. I use imeem, lastfm, and streamfurious to listen to music at work. After the latest upgrade, the Camera functions as well as any other camera phone with focus.
Google Voice search has been great to use on the road and when I can't look down at my phone to search for something nearby.
It already has Google Maps well integrated into the phone, but the last major thing I think it needs: turn-by-turn GPS is coming to the phone on the 24th of February.
I will be keeping this phone for a long time to come. Android updates will keep my phone going strong and up-to-date well into the future.
Best phone ive ever had
I have used alot of carriers, in fact all of the major ones. I switched to Tmobile from Verizon because of issues I need not mention here. I have also used alot of phones in the past 10 years.
The G1 Android is the first phone I have bought that I found myself enjoying. The open platform has lead to a marketplace with programs that cover anything you could ask for on a cell phone and so far they are all free.
Programs aside the G1 has incredible reception and the voice quality is top notch whether speaker phone is on or off. I also never have issues with people hearing me. The touch screen is about as good as it gets on a screen this size. I have never had an issue with it not working or being inaccurate which is a huge change from the Samsung Glyde I was using before this.
Enough good things cannot be said about the phone and Android platform. The integration with Google is seamless and despite the fact that I havent even had it a full month yet I dont know how I lived without it.
Thbe only complaints I have are accessories. Good luck finding a proper holster/case for the phone. I went to every store I could think of and I ended up buying a BodyGlove belt clip pouch that doesnt fit quite right but its the best I could find. I wish someone would make one just for the G1.
Also the phone can get a slight creak noise when you push on the screen too hard. This happens because of a plastic piece rubs on the slide out screen. It can be easily fixed with a quick google search and its an issue that causes no harm to the phone but that doesnt mean it any more pleasant.
Overall if you want a solid cell phone, or a phone that can do anything an iphone can do (and then some) you should buy the G1. You will not feel let down by this phone.
