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Loading ...The Pitch: It’s a not just a phone, it’s “a premium, easy-to-use mobile web and communications experience.” The G1 throws full internet access, messaging, a full QWERTY keyboard, and capacitive touchscreen against Google’s open-source Android OS, and comes away quite the mobile maven. Google Maps Street View, GMail, YouTube, and Google Talk offer all the functionality you’d expect, having played with the desktop versions, plus there’s the ever-growing number of third-party apps available for on-device download from the Android Market.
Pros: As the first Android device, the G1 has a lot to prove; thankfully, in most key areas it’s a tour-de-force of functionality and user-friendliness. Eye-catching features like the Street View-controlling compass start off looking like gimmicks but end up must-haves, while HTC’s sturdy design may not win too many beauty pageants but doesn’t, at least, fall apart in your pocket.
Cons: Despite the hype, this is no iPhone killer; the G1 appeals to a whole different segment of users looking to tinker with their handset and have the open-source blessing of Google to do just that. For the rest of us, that means a smartphone with a few obvious omissions, like no on-screen keyboard, and the inevitable teething pains of a spanking new platform.
Recommendation: Undercutting the iPhone 3G’s outright purchase price, together with recently lowered monthly price plans, make the G1 a serious budget option as well as an open-source dream. Future Android devices may heap on the glamor, but they’ll owe no small debt to the G1. For innovation, flexibility, and promise, the G1 has to go forward.
