- Saturday, 21 November 2009
- INQ Mobile
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I find your attitude very unprofessional - Unnamed Chaintech executive
Google fanboys will love the G1
WHILST APPLE'S Ithingey feels like a portable video player with phone functionality shoe-horned in, T-Mobile's G1 feels more like a regular HTC handset that has had an engine change. Bizarrely, the INQ quite liked it.
The crazy thing about reviewing the G1 phone right now is that you really need a crystal ball. The whole point of having an 'open' mobile OS like Android (instead of Windows Mobile which is HTC's speciality) is that the net community can swiftly plug the holes which are revealed in what is effectively the first of its kind.
Since the INQ found a few glaring omissions which any half decent handset should possess, the billion dollar question is how quickly will they get fixed? And without the need for hardware changes?
A great example here is the Bluetooth functionality. At present, the HTC can only pair with a headset. That's bizarre. What Bluetooth chip could possibly have file transfer missing? When will that be fixed?
A second gripe (and proof we’re not reviewing it from the specs) is that text message forwarding appears to be missing. Why would you need text message forwarding or Bluetooth file transfer? To swap jokes with your mates and photos with friends and family, of course. So that's a major omission from a handset.
When it comes to the UI, basically this is down to personal preference. That said, this is the best touchscreen handset the INQ has tried. The way it works is logical and easy to follow. Which is surprising since – with its full Qwerty keyboard – it is reminiscent of the Danger Slide, which is unfriendly.
The personal preference bit is easy to describe. What suits you best? Using a trackerball (which the G1 has); highlighting an option; and then pressing a key? Or dragging a menu down from the top of the screen with a finger , and then tapping the screen to select an option. If the second is you, you'll like the G1.
The screen is another case of personal preference. It's a 3 inch jobbie which pales into insignificance against the Ithingey's 3.5 inches. But do you want a mobile phone or a giant calculator? The G1 is sized right for a handset you'll put in your pocket, so screen size has to suffer.
The INQ cheated and used a US spec unlocked G1 with a T-Mobile SIM card inside, so certain aspects couldn't be properly tested. However, it seems safe to assume that the network operator will continue to try to charge for IM (Instant Messaging) messages which are sent via any other IM service besides Googletalk.
Which is crazy, because you can disable the cellular connection and log into the other IM services which are built-in – such as Windows Messenger – via its Wi-fi capability. That's a mistake because T-Mobile will be losing revenue if you switch the cellular functionality off. The INQ believes T-Mobile will be forced to change its tune on that one.
Another crazy thing is the built-in Android Market functionality. Key differentiator is that it should be unrestricted and not under the thumb of the likes of a Duke of Cupertino like Itunes Apps. Um. Iskoot for Android is only available in the US. Why? You've fallen at the first hurdle, guys.
The G1 has built-in GPS which will prove to be extremely useful. It works quite well but ironically it showed up how good the Nokia E66 is at getting a quick location fix by comparison.
The reality, however, is that web 2.0 aficionados are going to have a field day with this handset especially since apps like Youtube are already built in.
There's major snag. The G1's browser uses Webkit technology and is best regarded as a cut-down version of Google's Chrome. The bloggers basically argue that the whole net should go over to Webkit anyway.
That won't happen overnight and quite frankly if the browser can't support Adobe's Flash, then that's a major hole. In effect, it can't replace your desktop PC right now.
There's some missing capabilities which no-one is really going to care about. Like you can't make 3G video calls. So what? The built-in 3 megapixel camera is more than adequate for stills and capturing videos.
The handset also supports both regular email mailboxes (POP3 and IMAP) as well as Gmail (Google's mail).
In a nutshell, if you're a Google person and you yearn to download lots of useful apps onto your mobile phone then the G1 is very definitely worth signing your life away for 18 months on contract with T-Mobile
If your mobile phone has to do all the things which any other smartphone/featurephone can do, then it will be worth waiting. After all, the G1 does boast OTA (Over-The-Air) updates and it will be interesting to see exactly what holes get plugged and how quickly. µ
See also
Fiddling
with Android does your brain in
Some
of our apps are missing
Google
guts Android at last minute
Mozilla
snubs Android
Technical Gubbins
Product: Android G1 handset
Supplier: T-Mobile http://www.t-mobile.co.uk
Maker: HTC http://www.htc.com
Price: Free on £40 pm contract
Tech Specs: www.t-mobile.co.uk/g1-with-google-phone/specs/
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/g1-with-google-phone/specs/
Type: 3G/HSDPA (7.2 Mbit/s) plus Wi-fi
Camera: 3 megapixels
Inbuilt GPS: Yes
The Good
It's a real handset
The Bad
No Bluetooth file transfer
The Ugly
IM messages treated as texts
Bartender's verdict: 8 out of 10
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"Google fanboys will love the G1"
Aren't we all Google fanboys?
8 out of 10 for a review filled with bugs, missing features and limitations worse that Cupertino's? Look, I hate the iBrick as much as the next guy who has two brain-cells to rub together, but your review paints a picture worse than the fruity offering. How much was slid under the table to you for this one then?
Unfortunately you can't use the built-in email clients if your POP/IMAP/SMTP provider uses SSL certificates that aren't signed by one of the bundled CAs. Likewise you can't securely browse to web sites that have private certs either.

I think this is a pretty big mistake; telcos obviously like to have control over the security of what connects to their network, but when you start marketing a device with features like this, you have to offer provisions for end-users to be able to make security decisions.

On the same front - the WiFi has absolutely zero support for WPA-Enterprise, which is a deal-breaker for a lot of corporate WiFi sites. Again, WPA-Enterprise setups are based on X.509 certificates, and again there is no mechanism to install your own CA certs.

It's obvious that the Google/T-mobile folks haven't clearly thought through all the usability aspects of this phone.

Using the recently posted root hack I was able to install my own CA certs to solve most of these problems, but users shouldn't be forced to hack their phones just to get the advertised functionality. Nor should users have to live in fear of the next OTA update wiping out all of their hard work, dropping them back to square one.
No IM services other than Gtalk are supported on the UK build of the OS. 

I spoke with some of the staff at Google in #android, and they say the reason is that most protocols were not designed for a device that can roam (And hence change IP).

Once your IP changes you'll have to have the connection re-established and any missed messages re-sent. 

Most IM protocols don't support this.

Their solution was for the provider (T-Mobile) to run a server that connects to all your IM accounts, then your phone connects to the server which runs its own protocol that handles the changing ip addresses of the client.

It seams that T-Mobile US made an arrangement to run such a server (at a cost to the end user).

No such arrangement has been made with T-Mobile UK and as such no support of protocols other than Gtalk are available in the UK.

There are some solutions for UK G1 owners, there are two multi-protocol IM clients available from the market, IM+ and Meebo.

IM+ at last look was a bit rubbish - it suffered from constant crashing and also suffered from the roaming issue and as a result you would get frequent disconnects (especially when using wifi as your device disconnects and reverts to edge when the phone sleeps)

Meebo is alot better, but far from perfect. Meebo has a similar server side client to T-Mobile US, but the phone side client falls short of perfect.
Not everyone is a google fanboy. I, for one, will not be caught with my hand in the cookie jar marked evil when the masks fall at midnight.

ps I will probably have been taken out back and shot long before then...
...that most cell phones encrypt their boot image with a nonpublic key that is burned into the CPUs one time programmable ROM.

This is largely done to prevend hacking, specifically of the network credentials of your SIM.

Curios if the G1 does this. If so then all the hope of a phone OS "for the people" will not really matter.
All you have to do is hold down on the text message you want to forward and the G1 displays an additional menu with the forwarding option!!!

G1, in its original form, does not have recording capabilities but there is an app that records video already!!!

And A2DP and Bluetooth File Transfer capabilities will be issued in an OTA soon.
This is an awesome phone so I don't understand the bad press out there. I got one about a week ago and already can't imagine my life without it. Downloaded 40+ apps first night over my home's wifi. Currently bidding on ebay and reformatted lots of pron into MP4. Not to mention that you do not even need to sign up for a data plan to get & send your gmail. I am a big google fan, and this little thingie is perfect. Two shortcomings - battery life and camera could be higher-quality (like Nokia's 5MP cams that practically replace a need for a standalone digicam).
I got my G1 almost a month now and not even the t-mobile reps. can't help me add my major e-mail account to the phone. I am currently living in the US but I still use yahoo.co.uk as my main e-mail address and when I had my sidekick LX I had no problems whatsoever viewing my e-mail on it now I'm so pissed I got this phone because it just won't work for me. Please help someone.

P. S it's also way off on the gps telling me I'm 4 blocks away from where I really am.
to be able to send mails using your yahoo.co.uk accounnt just use the default settings. do not configure your email settings manually. Just follow the wizard to set it up and then sending will be a breeze. i used to be able to recieve and not send. but after doing this it works perfectly now. I am wondering how to set up my uni email on it though. The tmobile uk smtp address i have does not seem to connect. If anyone knows can you post it here