T-Mobile G1 First Impression

by Carlo Longino on 29. Oct, 2008 in Mobile Phone Evolution

g1.jpgI went to my local T-Mobile store to check out the G1 over the weekend. The G1 is a nice device with what appears to be great software, but overall I wasn’t that impressed from my 5 minutes with it. Here’s why:

- The G1 is chunky. It’s fairly thick, and it’s a bit bulky as well. Compared to my Nokia E71 or the iPhone my wife is eyeing, it looked and felt like a whale. The hinge mechanism that flips the screen up to expose the keyboard also looked slightly janky to me, raising some doubts about the G1′s durability and build quality.

- It wasn’t as fast at loading web pages as I expected. Whether that’s because of a slow 3G network or a slow browser, I’m not sure.

- The Android UI looks pretty nifty, but I think that many of its features will be lost in complexity on many users. In addition, I found the presence of both a trackball and a touchscreen a bit odd. You can get a very basic idea of the interface from WDSGlobal’s demo. The UI wasn’t particularly intuitive to me, and I think most users will face a pretty steep learning curve with it (as they do with most new platforms).

- One thing I thought was really cool was an app called Locale, which was one of the top 10 apps in the Android Developer Challenge. It’s a GPS app that allows you to create situations and conditions on your device that change its behavior. For instance, you can create an “At Work” situation, which based on your location, will silence your device automatically (or shut off Wi-Fi or forward calls) when you’re at work. Nifty stuff — and the sort of thing that should come standard on GPS devices IMO.

Like I said, these impressions were based on 5 minutes with the G1, and I’m looking to get a hold of one for a longer period of time to play with it some more. If you’ve got a G1, or have spent some time with one, chime in with your thoughts in the comments, as I’m really curious to see what other users think of the device and the software. And if you’re looking for an in-depth review, check out Phone Scoop’s lengthy review.

—–>Follow us on Twitter too: @russellbuckley and @caaarlo

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  • Carlo,

    I am absolutely saying that because it is cheaper people will buy it. In turn, I also said on the iPhone, because it was made by Apple, then people would buy it because they had a tried and true following. Now, if the G1 was a piece of junk that had no functionality and was a flip phone like the RAZR, then no. But here you have a well publicized product, being touted with the Google brand behind it and their ad dollars, first of its kind, incredible user interface, simple set-up instructions, easy to get gmail or yahoo mail or any other mail on it, great applications coming down the pipe, and certainly has the "cool" factor going for it plus a working browser that does well. Now, throw in that it is some $50 a month cheaper, over a two year contract, that comes to what, over $1,200.00 total! Yes, this is a phone the normob can not only afford, but understand and use.

    And yes, I made a very general and sweeping comment about the TMobile user. In general, my comments are correct. They have better price plans and attract the more price conscious consumer, but in the past have tended to lag in technology, thereby not having to spend their revenues on being first to market. I would most likely guess Steve Jobs never even approached TMobile about bringing out the iPhone. In general, my comments on ATT and Verizon customers are correct as well. These are general characterizations of their client base, which being "general" does not imply "everyone", but the majority.
  • So you're saying just because it's cheaper than the iPhone, people will buy it?

    I think you're making a pretty sweeping generalization about T-Mobile users that's not necessarily true. They've sold scads of Sidekicks, and plenty of Blackberrys.
  • Carlo,

    In looking at the G1 let us remember what carrier is bringing this out and what their customers look like. This is being brought to market by TMobile. TMobile for years has been a follower in mobile technology, from adoption of 3g services to trendy handsets.

    Verizon claims to have the best network. ATT bought Cingular and looks to have the best service. Corporations love using Verizon and ATT, therefore their executives use the same carriers. Verizon and ATT are big with Blackberry and the enterprise.

    Now let us take a look at TMobile. Great pricing plans, great bundles, less expensive phones. Now, who would therefore gravitate to TMobile? The younger age group and those that are more price conscious. Trust me when I say there is a huge price difference with TMobile then with their competitors.

    Therefore, when there was only the Blackberry, TMobile folks didn't much care because they didn't need to be paying out for a data package just for email as the web was far too slow on GPRS. Then the iPhone came out. TMobile customers were 'wowed' by it, but the pricing plan...no way. $130 a month for 24 months...no can do. But they wanted it as it was cool and they wanted to have the best, but couldn't do it pricing wise.

    Now comes the G1. Total monthly costs under $70. A cool phone. One they can 'claim' rivals the iPhone and simply integrates their google accounts, thus making email simple and no need for the corporate Blackberry. They can do google maps and all the other great features. It is also the first go round on this and better models will come out.

    The G1 found the right carrier in TMobile to bring out their handset. It will do very well with their clientele.

    Is it smooth and clean like the iPhone? Not really. But to the TMobile user, it is more then they could have ever hoped for at an affordable price.

    When carriers make things affordable, people use them. This has been discovered over and over again.

    Giff
  • Zec
    I have a song for G1 or ''mobile fridge''. I know it is cynical, but G1 or any smartphone needs to wait for appropriate mobile content
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