HTC G1 Cell Phone

A little prologue

I’m a fairly astute observer of technology, not an enthusiast, but I keep an eye out for products that can make my day-to-day life easier, more productive, and enjoyable. So having been tethered to a cell-phone for the last 3 years that both served me well (to a point) and became antiquated just a few months out the door, I’ve been particularly predisposed to thoroughly research and appreciate a long overdue upgrade. My initial contenders were the Samsung Instinct, the HTC Touch Diamond, the Sony Xperia X1, and the HTC Dream (aka the Google Phone or G1).


Expectations

The features I considered most important were (in a rough order of preference) a stable and intuitive web browser capable of rendering most websites essentially the same as they’d appear on a computer, a reliable array of internet connection and speed options (i.e., Wi-Fi, 3G, and an at-least dial-up speed stable 2g network to fall back on in case the former became unavailable), an efficient set of task, time, and note-taking tools,  a spacious (relatively high-resolution) screen, and decent and dependable call quality. Aesthetics were important too, and though I found the iPhone to be attractive in most of these regards, I simply didn’t want to be tied to the iTunes application (which for some reason visually and usably turns me off).


A few comparisons

The Samsung Instinct was ruled out due to the many reported problems with its web browser. By far I was most attracted to the HTC Touch Diamond, but after trying it out in-store I found the hard glass/resistive touch screen to be mildly (and tactilely) annoying after only a few seconds of use. Additionally the Sprint version did away with the most aesthetically striking and attractive feature (the diamond designed back), and the unlocked version with the diamond back would have proved too expensive considering I already planned to be on a cell-phone service contract for 2-years, so no sense forgoing a subsidization of the price from the carrier. That left the Xperia and the G1, the former of which was initially more attractive and appealing in features, but over time the design actually seemed to be dating itself rather quickly, and the price and release-date pushbacks were enough to negate my interest.

With the G1 as my final contender I have to admit that every time I saw a picture of the phone online I found myself scoffing at the size and design (particularly the ‘chin’) of the device. In images it seemed so bulky and un-intuitive that I eventually only decided to go with it due to the fact that it would be running Google’s Android operating system, and my experience with nearly every Google service was the epitome of simplicity and function. So with this resignation – and perhaps because it lightly lowered my expectations – I was taken aback by the beauty and character of the device when I saw it in-person. It’s like a person who’s completely non-photogenic in images, but gorgeous in-person. I can’t emphasize this aspect enough; this is truly a device that needs to be seen in person to be appreciated, and that’s a sentiment echoed by many of the device’s initial design naysayers.


The Takeaway

My experience with the G1 has been beyond enjoyable. From a practical standpoint it has simplified nearly every aspect of my online life that’s tied to my real life: Communication, Organizing, Scheduling, Information Access, Efficiency, Simplicity, and Adjustability. The initial setup is ridiculously simple, just enter your gmail e-mail address and password and you’re done. All your gmail contacts are automatically pushed to and synced with the phone. If you don’t use gmail, google does still require you establish an account in order to use the phone, but offers a built-in POP3 e-mail application to use alongside or in place of your gmail account. The push-gmail e-mail works effortlessly, almost not like a program at all, and it comes across as central to the entire experience – literal, instant, e-mail in your pocket. The internet browser and system navigation works like silk, and I’ll leave the simplicity of that statement as proof of its satisfying the most important factor on my desired features list. The touchscreen is super (but not over) responsive, and the screen is gorgeous.

On the home screen, the pull-down notification bar displays succinct - real-time - alerts for everything from what song is currently playing in the background,  to e-mails or text messages you’ve received (including scrolling the from: and first line details), to system and application downloads, installation statuses, calendar reminders, e-mail and program pushes and syncs, connected and available networks, as well as the typical missed call, battery, alarm, and reception information,  all while managing neither to confuse or overwhelm. It’s just well organized and implemented.


Utility and Expandability

The wealth of applications in the marketplace have comfortably complemented the phone’s included programs, offering a wide range of note and task-management programs, music and image editing options, games, random utilities like an accelerometer based bubble level (as in measuring angles), and internal and MicroSD card file management and organization. Even remarkably useful periphery social utilities like real-time GPS location tracking via the web, or the ability to locate your phone if it’s lost or stolen. MP3s can be easily set as ringtones and cut/spliced into whatever parts you like most. There’s no fuss with paying for ringtones. Pictures taken with the camera can be e-mailed or sent as message attachments with a simple long-press (holding your finger down on the picture for about 2 seconds). And troves of advanced options are accessible in most applications with that simple gesture or via the dedicated ‘menu’ button.


Battery Life

While probably not as high in comparison to some other phones in its class, battery life for me has been ample and on par with expectations, and enough to hold its own. The phone has shortcuts that provide statistics, percentages, and hours of time on, time since boot, time on battery, time with screen on or in-use, and these provide a great overview of what life you can expect to get out of the battery and phone based on your usage. In my case I get roughly 2 days worth of moderate use before having to plug the phone in at night. Alternately, with constant use – either with Wi-Fi or 3G data turned on – at the default screen brightness, and GPS enabled, the power lasts for about 3 hours. Considering the experience is comparatively equivalent to having a small computer with you, 3 hours is about an hour more than my typical experience with a laptop, and the G1 is of course much more convenient to tote around. I have turned the screen brightness to its lowest, browsed the internet on the edge/2g network, and disabled Wi-Fi, GPS, and ancillary programs and options, and have squeezed out 5-6 hours of constant use, which is pretty impressive considering the screen is still very usable at the lowest brightness setting. At its lowest the screen still seems pretty bright. And at its brightest it’s like a blinding massage for your eyes.


Hardware

In the sun the screen fares well. In what appears to be a function of the film coating used in the capacitive touch screen, the screen has a hologram-like reflection in direct sunlight that actually makes the text and content on-screen easy to read and see. The brightness itself is cancelled out by the sun, but the screen somehow finds a way of co-opting the glare and making it make the content (or at least the perceptible outline of it) extra-visible. I can’t explain it as well as it works, but it’s just another fine touch to an already great package.

I’ve found the 3-megapixel camera to be both very good and very bad in varying circumstances. With no flash the camera is especially bad in certain low-moderate-light situations. For macro or up-close shots the camera is amazing. And in normal daylight (at the right orientation towards or away from the sun) the camera can snap very nice images. The shutter is just bearably slow, while contrastly the auto-focus is very good. The keyboard is nice from the start but really becomes exceptionally usable once you’re used to it, in my case it took about 2 weeks. The dedicated navigation buttons work without hitch, although the menu button has seemed to sink down to a lower level than it was on day one, making it somewhat odd at times, and can lead to an occasional false sense that you’ve pressed it.

Another hardware aspect to address and one I take probably the most issue with, is the placement and functionality of the speaker and phone volume. Essentially there is one dedicated speaker on the back of the phone that can be very easily muffled on a wide variety of surfaces just by having the phone setting in a normal position (on its back). The phone’s in-call speaker could have been – and could be – utilized to slightly alleviate this problem. This coupled with a volume variation that seems to go from too soft to too loud too soon (with maybe 1 or 2 levels of middle ground) just exacerbates the problem. On the flip side, with the phone in hand or on certain surfaces, sound quality is just shy of very good, and in-call quality is good and has a fair volume range. Speaker phone works well but suffers from the same problem outlined above, and doubly so as there is no volume control in the speaker phone mode (It’s just initially very loud, and then easily muffled if set on certain surfaces). The vibrate mode is ho-hum, owing to the space between the flip-up screen and keyboard, which serves to make the phone rattle more than vibrate.


Other areas for improvement

Some usability issues have cropped up and in some cases increased after over-the-air updates pushed out from t-mobile. One example is the screen not turning on after pressing the menu button (the sole button dedicated to turning it on). Press the menu button about 5 or 10 more times and it finally comes back. While a very rare occurrence, and having never locked me out of the phone for more than 10 seconds, it is nevertheless a curious issue. In addition, after installing a second update that was designed to fix a security flaw in the operating system, the phone will slow to a crawl for about 30 seconds, about a minute after a reboot, meaning it’s not likely the initial startup/operating system loading causing the delay. As a frequent visitor to the official and unofficial G1 forums online, I haven’t heard from anyone else experiencing these particular issues, but there are a variety of examples of minor problems appearing for users either out of the box or after updates. To be fair this is standard fare for most new, first generation products, and so far nothing has been so out of the ordinary to merit much of a complaint other than to point it out to the interested review-minded reader, as things to consider and be aware of; in other words, that not every kink has been worked out yet. The android OS itself is at launch in a quasi-beta form, but overall none of the issues I’ve experienced or read about have diminished my impressions and satisfaction with the G1.

Lastly, I would be remiss to not mention an aesthetic issue evident on my phone and on some other users’ phones, where the flip-up screen hinge causes the screen to tilt at a very subtle downward angle, that to anyone with an eye to catch it can prove quite the pet-peeve, though the reports are that the newer manufactured batches have resolved this problem.


The Bottom Line

The device embodies a sense of vitality, productivity, attention to and appreciation of simplicity, form and function. The included MicroSD slot with its upgradable storage capacity, the open-source operating system and marketplace applications, and the impending addition of Adobe flash support, Bluetooth A2DP, and developer programmed multi-touch, makes the G1 for most intents and purposes significantly future-proof; a rare feat among phones.

In sum, I’m extremely pleased with the G1, and happy knowing I made the right choice.