GigaOM » World News

The Google Phone Review: What I Love & Hate About T-Mobile G-1

Om Malik — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:00:45 +0000

It’s here: the Google Phone. After years of speculation and months of waiting, the first Google Android OS-based smartphone has finally been released by T-Mobile USA. The device formally known as the G-1 and made by HTC has started to ship and will be made available to those who have pre-ordered the phone sometime today.

T-Mobile USA sent me a pre-release review unit, and after playing around with it for a few days, I have some observations, which might help you make a buying decision about this device. I am eschewing the traditional review format because there are dozens of very smart people who have reviewed the G-1 after putting it through its paces. Here are my major takeaways:

This isn’t an iPhone competitor. If you look at it, you can very quickly see that the G-1 is a Honda to iPhone’s BMW. After a few days of usage I have become increasingly convinced that people who like the Apple iPhone will find Google-based G-1 aesthetically lacking.

Maybe it’s because I have been so conditioned by the iPhone’s touch screen, but I don’t care for too much buttons on a phone that has touch-screen ability, though it makes navigating through a complex array of features relatively easy. I like the trackball, which makes flipping through features very easy as well.

The device is very easy to use overall. It took me less than an hour to figure out how to use the phone — most of its features including touch-screen abilities, surfing and setting up the network — without as much as referring to the accompanying handbook even once. Most people who use Windows XP or Vista for their daily computing will find the Google Android user interface remarkably familiar and find comfort using this device. In other words, it will sell a lot of units. And yes it is going to become a thorn in Windows Mobile’s side.

What I like about the G-1 Phone.

It has the width of a normal phone, and still packs a big enough screen to make web browsing via a great Webkit-based browser a meaningful experience. (iPhone still has a better, bigger, crisper screen.)
The keyboard makes it easier to sift through a lot of emails, whether they are coming to your Gmail account or from your IMAP account.
Seamless instant messaging with Google Talk, Windows Live, AOL and Yahoo Messenger, and the cutest, funniest smiley icons based on the Android logo. This has to be the best Mobile IM client on the planet!
Google Apps and Search are so tightly integrated into the phone that you often wonder why you don’t use these services more often.
Amazingly robust operating system with little or no lag time. It makes Windows Mobile feel like a retiree; even the iPhone feels like a middle-aged person compared to Android OS.
A simple, easy and comfortable keyboard designed with real people in mind. The keys are small but well spaced and comfortable to type with thumbs.
Music player supports MP3, M4A (iTunes AAC, DRM-free), AMR, WMA, MIDI, WAV, OGG Vorbis.
Phone part of this smartphone actually works like a phone, something I can’t unfortunately say about the iPhone.
Multitasking of apps is the best amongst all mobile platforms.

What I hate about the G-1.

G-1 feels bulky in hand, even though it has svelte dimensions. It is heavier than the iPhone: 5.6 ounces vs. the iPhone 3G, which weighs in at 4.7 ounces.
Despite the heft, the battery life isn’t superior to the iPhone if you have all networks (including Wi-Fi) turned on
Google Maps on G-1 feels like a poor cousin of the iPhone-based Google Maps and Microsoft Maps on Windows Mobile. Though I do like this feature, which uses the built-in compass on the phone to allow users to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by simply moving the phone with their hand. G-1 also lacks turn-by-turn directions.
Not enough built-in storage – the device comes with a puny 1GB MicroSD memory storage.
The AppStore when compared to the iPhone lacks in user experience, and reminds me of the carrier decks, which are awkward and non-intuitive.
And lastly, I hate the dialer on this phone. It just isn’t good enough.

So what is my verdict? Will I recommend this phone to anyone out there looking for a smartphone? The answer is yes, especially if you don’t much care for either Windows Mobile or Apple’s iPhone device.

http://blip.tv/play/AdPLXYX+KQ

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Daimler to Electrify Autobahn With “e-mobility Berlin”

Craig Rubens — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:09 +0000

Berlin’s autobahn will be getting a charge from the “e-mobility Berlin” program Daimler AG officially unveiled today. The automaker is working with German utility RWE to put more than 100 electric cars on the city’s roads by 2010. Under terms of the joint venture, Daimler will provide electric vehicles from its Smart and Mercedes-Benz lines while RWE will install some 500 charging points around the city.

The announcement gives no legs to the rumors circulating about Daimler’s possible partnerships with a slew of cleantech startups. Last week, the Financial Times reported that electric car poster child Tesla Motors would be supplying the batteries for the Smart cars, but the release doesn’t say whose batteries will be in them.

It does, however, say that as early as next year Daimler could put that same lithium-ion technology into serial production for its Mercedes S 400 BlueHYBRID. Reuters had reported that battery giant Continental would be providing the lithium-ion batteries for the luxury hybrid, so perhaps this isn’t the deal Tesla Elon Musk said he was working on with Daimler? Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung earlier this year he was “in talks” with Agassi’s Better Place, but the Silicon Valley startup tells us that they are not involved with the e-mobility program.

The 500 “electricity filling stations” will be capable of identifying individual cars and owners allowing for charging of the vehicle and the credit card on account as well as “smart charging” or “vehicle-to-grid charging,” all features Agassi promises his charging stations will provide.

So far, the only partners announced in this project are Daimler and RWE, but we’re hopeful some cleantech startups will be helping with Daimler’s electro-auto-revolution.

Image courtesy of Daimler.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Lafayette votes today for city-wide fiber optic network

James Kendrick — Sat, 16 Jul 2005 17:31:01 +0000

The citizens of Lafayette, Louisiana vote today to approve the funds needed to build a city-wide fiber optic network for high-speed internet connectivity. The city won a legal challenge by the two private sector companies that serve Lafayette earlier and if the voters choose to approve the network this city in the heart of Cajun country could be the impetus to other cities throughout the country.

If Lafayette is successful in winning support for its network, it could help rally citizens in the 14 states where municipal networks have already been banned or limited, said Joey Durel, president of Lafayette Parish.

"What the cable and phone companies do a lot better than provide service to customers is work politicians," he said. "Unless towns like Lafayette get moving, I’m afraid that more states could pass laws limiting these kinds of networks. If this referendum passes here in Lafayette, I think we’ll start to see some states undoing those laws."

(via CNET)

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.