A little more than one week ago, I took delivery of the T-Mobile G1 (otherwise known as the HTC Dream); a smartphone available in the UK exclusively from T-Mobile. It runs the brand new and shiny Android operating system developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance.

About the Device

The device is primarily a touchscreen unit and competes with other smart phones such as the Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile devices, the newer Nokia telephones and the other equipment that leaves the owner wondering why on Earth these machines are still called 'Mobile Phones' when that particular aspect is modest amongst a profusion of other gadgetry!

At 117.7mm x 55.7mm x 17.1mm, the G1 is not a slight phone by anyone's standards (unless you have been transported from the depths of 1989, where a portable telephone needed four wheels and a combustion engine to move it), but it is on par with other PDA devices and part of the bulk can be forgiven due to the inclusion of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The phone features a 3.2" 64k 320x480 (HVGA) touchscreen, a small number of buttons below this, the aforementioned QWERTY keyboard, a MicroSD card slot which will accept up-to at least 16GB of memory, a 3.2MP camera, WiFi, GPS, 3G and Bluetooth. In fact, the only common connectivity protocol I can think of immediately in which it is lacking is IrDA (no infra-red port) but that is becoming quite out-dated and I shouldn't think too many would miss it.

A 1150mAh battery is included (obviously), along with a SIM Card (still stating the obvious?), 2GB MicroSD card (oh how I wish camera manufacturers were this generous), Earphones and an adaptor to connect the 'phones to the G1's MiniUSB socket - that's right, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. A small carry pouch is provided, a screen protector and a cloth to polish of those pesky finger marks that blight the screen.

First Usage

Once everything is setup, the G1 takes a minute to boot up and the first thing one is asked to do is sign in to a Google account. This is an area which people will either love or hate. The G1 is heavily tied in to Google features such as GMail, GTalk and Calendar and by adding your Google account to the G1, these apps will be continuously synchronised unless specifically told not to. This means that emails will be received almost immediately, calendar items will appear on the phone and on the website, contacts in GMail will appear in the phone contacts. Some won't like this level of integration with the search behemoth but one could always sign up for a Google account and then not use it. There is no other synchronisation option though so these users will loose out.

Once booted, the Android operating system presents a home screen which is split into three desktops containing a selection of icons linking to the various Google services and telephone functions such as SMS messaging, contacts and the phone dialler. A drawer is placed at the foot of the screen which contains all installed applications. The top of the screen contains the notification area and the usual suspect of icons indicating battery life and signal strength.

The interface feels quite intuitive, with a quick swipe of the touch-screen to the left or right to move between desktops. The notification area can be dragged down to see details of any notifications that have been received. Likewise, the drawer can be dragged up to open it and then the screen can be swiped up and down to scroll through the icons.

Applications work in a similar fashion. The web browser for example will show a full webpage which can then be navigated by dragging the screen.

Negative Points

Since the G1 is relatively new not only in hardware but in the software that it runs, there are some flaws which are worth mentioning.

One of the biggest problems is down to battery life. After a week of usage, I find that the G1 tends to need a charge every day. This is with moderate usage throughout the day using 3G internet, playing music and some games and sending a few text messages. When making heavy use of WiFi, the battery life is significantly shorter. There are 3rd party batteries on the market but I understand that these add to the bulk of the phone.

Another drawback is the quality of the camera. It is very difficult to keep the G1 steady whilst taking a picture not least because one's thumbs tend to push at the sliding screen whilst the camera button is being depressed. There is no flash, so low light pictures are pretty much ruled out straight away. On the plus side, there is a reasonable 3.2MP sensor and auto focus.

If it is the intention to use the G1 for the playing of music, the supplied player is sparse on features. One can browse music by artist, album, song or playlist and embedded album art is supported. The device will play MP3, OGG, AAC and WMA files (assuming these are unprotected files) but there is currently no FLAC support. There is also no graphical equaliser which, to my ear, makes the audio rather lacking and flat. How much this is a problem does depend on how much the user cares for audio quality though. There are additional music applications available from the Android Market. A scrobbler is available to send details to a last.fm account and TuneWiki tries to improve on the default player by integrating other online features such as lyric and community search. Hopefully, over time, audio quality and codec support will be an area that can be improved with new software.

The supplied internet browser does work well but can slow down occasionally on heavy sites. There is a zoom feature allowing more or less of a site to be displayed at once but this can take a bit of getting used to. Unfortunately the screen does not auto rotate into landscape mode when the phone is orientated as such unless the keyboard is exposed. There is no on screen keyboard which some may miss and no text search. Apart from those few small problems though, web browsing is pleasant enough. There is no Flash support at present although rumours are abound suggesting that it could be implemented next year.

Positive Points

But let us not dwell on the bad points of this phone for there are many good features too.

The GPS works very well with the supplied Google Maps application; allowing one to search for a location and navigate to it from the current location. Other GPS applications are available such as software which will record tracks which can be used to calculate a distance travelled, speed and elevation. The data can be exported to Google Maps online for viewing in a browser. Another simple application will just show the status of the GPS receiver such as how many satellites are being utilised, the current accuracy, GPS time and position.

I've mentioned it already, but the Google integration works very well. I have noticed that emails are available within 1 minute of the received date and the syncronisation between the G1's calendar and the Google calendar was very quick too. I have not had a chance to thoroughly test the Instant Messaging feature.

SMS messages are sorted by contact, so all messages to and from one person are grouped together creating the feel of an instant message conversation. This form of organisation makes communication via SMS very friendly - there's no wondering what was said in the last message any more.

The degree to which the device can be customised is a big plus for me. Android does not state that certain icons must appear on the desktop. One can remove all icons if that is what is wanted so that the only elements visible are the application drawer and notification area. I have mine setup with my main applications on the middle screen, internet bookmarks on the right and favourite applications sorted into folders on the left. Like many phones, the wallpaper can be customised and the combination of the two can make for a very personalised front screen.

One of my favourite aspects of the Android system has to be the Market. The applications and games available have really helped to make the device personal and useful. Paid applications were launched to the UK last week. Hopefully over time the Market will grow and some truly great applications will become available.

Conclusion

Overall, I am extremely happy with my G1. It appeals to my love of Open Source software and the potential for Android to become a significant player in the mobile software market is huge. Hardware wise, I find the unit comfortable to hold and not to heavy to carry. The keyboard makes working with email, SMS, instant messaging and the internet a joy.

There is no doubt that the G1 has some faults but I don't find that any of them too distracting. Really, this is cutting edge stuff. Over time, Android will be developed and will improve. Rumours are abound that an update is due soon which will provide an on-screen keyboard and stereo bluetooth support. As long as Android continues to be updated, the G1 will continue to improve.

I would already rate the Android software over Windows Mobile just because of it's customisation options and the range of software that has been built up in such a short space of time. Business users will not agree though - there is no Exchange support or MS Office document support at this time. Again though, this is likely to change through 3rd party development and software updates.

Would I recommend this phone to another? Well that depends. Heavy phone users who do not have access to power throughout the day should perhaps think again. Those who just want to pick up the phone and get going without having to investigate 3rd party applications and customisation, I'd say probably not. But for those who want to support Open Source projects, want to have their phones at the cutting edge of technology and are happy to put up with a few niggles then yes. I'd recommend the T-Mobile G1 in an instant.

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