Google Inc.'s new mobile phone has a few neat tricks, but won't keep rival developers at Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd. up all night.
The G1, running Google's Android software, has a simple user interface, handles applications fast and has a digital compass to help you navigate. It suffers from design flaws and lacks capabilities such as easily syncing work e-mail, calendar and contacts.
I miss the innovative touch-screen commands of Apple's iPhone, but I appreciate what Google has done to make Android stand out from the competition. One example is the visual lock/unlock feature. Instead of using a password, you drag your finger to connect a series of on-screen dots in a designated pattern. The phone also uses a central location for all alerts, such as e-mail, voicemail and meeting reminders.
The Google phone uses the company's applications -- Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Search, Google Maps, a simpler version of Google's Chrome browser, and YouTube. It doesn't have several Google apps that I've come to like: Documents for creating and editing office files and Picasa for viewing, organizing and enhancing photos.
I did find the phone's integration of Gmail to be helpful. You can also set up other accounts, such as Yahoo or Hotmail, but those e-mails remain separate from Gmail's.
The G1 doesn't support work e-mail that runs on the widely used Microsoft Exchange server. This was an issue on the first- generation iPhone, too, but Apple now offers the capability. I suspect eventually there will be a solution for Android as well.
Open Software
Unlike the competition, Google's phone uses an open software design that should allow individuals and third-party developers to produce just about any program -- even if it competes with services from the companies that make the G1 work.
For instance, most wireless carriers won't allow a program like an international calling application to be distributed. Not so on the G1. (T-Mobile USA, a unit of Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom AG, is the exclusive voice and data service provider in the U.S. for the G1.)
During my two weeks of tests, I downloaded a free app called iSkoot from the Android Market (similar to the iPhone App Store) that allows you to place international calls using Skype calling credits instead of T-Mobile's long distance. That means lower per-minute charges when calling most overseas numbers from the U.S. The caveat is that calls count against your T-Mobile voice minutes.
The G1 one-ups the iPhone with a voice dialer, the ability to copy and paste text, and four pre-installed instant messaging programs -- AIM, Google Talk, Windows Live, and Yahoo Messenger. These features are standard on most Windows Mobile phones and some BlackBerrys.
No Syncing
Where the G1 does only a so-so job is music software. The interface is unattractive and there's no syncing software for a PC or a Mac. In fact, there's no computer syncing at all. When you plug the phone to your PC using the included USB cable, the G1 is recognized as an external drive, allowing you drag and drop files. While this method worked fine in my tests, it would be better to have an automated way to back up the content stored on the phone.
The G1's hardware, built by Taiwan-based HTC Corp., is inelegant, chunky and brick-like. The handset is noticeably heavier and thicker than the iPhone and the BlackBerry Curve. It looks similar to HTC's Windows Mobile-based smart phones, such as the HTC TyTN II and the HTC Mogul from Sprint. It sports a 3.2-inch touch screen and has buttons for menu, home screen, back, a scroll wheel, and call start and end. I found the small keyboard's keys to be too flat and slightly slippery, and the front buttons got in the way while I typed.
Promising
The phone comes with a 3-megapixel camera that's no better or worse than most other camera phones I've tested, and like the iPhone, it doesn't capture video.
Supplied storage is only 1 gigabyte and comes in the form of a removable microSD card. That can be boosted with an additional card, costing up to $50 for 8 gigabytes and $100 for 16 gigs. By comparison, the iPhone comes in 8-gig and 16-gig models.
I was unimpressed with the tinny-sounding built-in speaker and the lack of a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. You need to buy an adapter to be able to use standard headphones.
The G1's battery life was also mediocre: it barely lasted one day when I used most functions periodically, which is similar to my experience with the iPhone. Some BlackBerrys' batteries tend to last longer.
Despite its missing features and design snags, the T-Mobile G1 is a promising handset. If I had a choice between this and a Windows Mobile phone and I lived in a city where T-Mobile's currently sparse 3G network is available, I'd seriously consider buying the G1.
T-Mobile G1 $180 with a two-year service contract Rating: 6.5/10http://www.t-mobile.com
T-Mobile's monthly voice plan ranges from $30 to $150 a month. Unlimited data services costs $35 a month or $25 for unlimited Web with 400 messages a month (messages cover text, photo, e- mail and instant messaging).
