The communication revolution? – T-Moblie Google G1

Fresh off the market on Wednesday was T-Mobile’s new smartphone, the G1. A new phone to say the least, the G1 features Google’s first attempt at a cell phone operating system, namely Android. Built by HTC, and with the help of Google Design, the G1 has full 3G capabilities from T-Mobiles, a dispersed but growing 3G network.

The good:
First of all, it is not a brick, but it is not as stylish as the iPhone. Despite its size, it is still quite compact and relatively light, especially when you consider the full QWERTY keyboard built into the interior of the phone. HTC and Google could have easily changed the design to its touchscreen and in turn drastically reduced the size, but what’s so fun about it? It would just be an iPhone clone.

The Android system. By far one of the best phone operating systems I have come across. What is really useful is the phone’s menu bar that can be lowered from the top of the screen in any application (besides certain games). It makes checking messages, checking missed calls, and all general notifications incredibly easy and efficient.

Although it has not yet been fully adopted, it can prove quite powerful in the future of G1 and that would be the Marketplace that runs on the Android operating system where any publisher and releases their software to share it publicly. Software like a barcode scanner, music tracker, and map maker are available now. The ability of any encoder to create software could create a large number of applications for the phone and make its possible interests of use limitless.

By far one of the most important and attractive features would be the integrated keyboard. It works amazingly and is remarkably easy to use. The buttons are slightly beveled so that you can feel each key, but not significantly so that they stick out.

The YouTube integration is phenomenal. For a Google-designed operating system, you can expect the G1’s YouTube app to be top-notch. The videos are neatly organized into different categories and it is quite easy to search.

For what it’s worth, the G1 won’t disappoint, but it doesn’t surprise either. Overall solid and a big leap for Google’s Android system – some tweaks can be set for the next version and a new gold standard.

The bad:
First of all, the G1 is not an iPhone killer. While pretty impressive, the G1 needs to fix a few major drawbacks before it starts pinching Apple’s pockets. First of all, and probably the most notable, is the rattle of the rotating screen. It’s a bit unstable and makes a little squeak when pressed. It’s not a big deal, but it’s still something that should have been resolved. Next, the design is a bit iffy. It lacks the sleek styling of the iPhone and has an odd “chin” at the bottom. The G1 also lacks multi-touch, again, although not the biggest deal, for its price and design these things should have been included with the package. The little things affect the G1 too, like not having a standard software touchscreen keyboard and the inability to shoot video. Finally, the media must be renewed. Music and media player software needs a good kick as the stock ones aren’t good. There should also be a headphone jack, not a primitive USB port. It’s pretty ridiculous how HTC, the maker of many other smartphones, all of which have a standard headphone jack, decided to take it off in perhaps their biggest launch to date.

All that said, done, the G1 is similar to the iPhone when it was first released. It was pretty solid, however customers still had their complaints. But after a review and troubleshooting, it became even better, that is, the refined iPhone 3G that is marketed today. If T-Mobile, Google and HTC know anything about how to perpetuate their market, they would also launch a second edition of the G1. The ironic name of the G1 provides a perfect name for future models. I guess the following would be called “G2”, “G3”, etc.

Hopes are high for the G1. The Android operating system proves to be surprisingly user-friendly and user-friendly. It’s not the iPhone killer right now, but if T Mobile, Google, and HTC release a refined version, Apple and AT&T should be watching their backs.

So if Google, HTC, or T Mobile ever gets to read this, the following is the minimum of changes you need to make to the G1.

1. Fix Squeaky Screen – Rattling makes it feel a bit cheap.
2. Headphone jack, please.
3. A little more stock memory would be nice. 1 gigabyte is simply not enough these days.
4. Multi-Touch. Complete the steps up to here and you’ll be on par in terms of hardware compared to Apple.
5. More elegant and smooth design. Get rid of the “chin” that sticks out from the bottom. Was it really necessary?
6. Add better music playback software not to mention better camera software as well.
7. Extend 3G coverage. (T-Mobile, if it plans to sell more of these, it will need to build towers that support all 3G capabilities.)

Caijun Sun

Faro Marketer