TMobile G1 Google Android Phone Review

It’s been a little over a month since I got my G1 phone from T-Mobile. So far, I’m really enjoying it. My old phone was a Blackberry Pearl, which was a great phone, but this G1 lets me do so much more. Even though T-Mobile doesn’t have the 3G network here in Utah yet, most web pages load pretty quickly, and if I’m somewhere I can get on a wifi network, it’s super quick.

What I like:

Multiple ways to navigate. You’ve got the touch screen, roller ball, full qwerty keyboard and the four buttons below the screen. I like to have options, and this phone has multiple options for moving around and getting to what I need.

Easy set up and syncronization with my stuff. Since I was already using Google apps for email, calendar, and contacts, it was as easy as entering my username and password to get everything up and running. I wish everything in life were this easy. For anyone using Outlook for email and contacts, you might have a few more hoops to jump through to get it to sync up.

Cool apps. Every time I check the Android app market, there are more apps in there. One of my favorites is ShopSavvy - this one lets you scan the barcode for any product and it will search for it and find the closest stores that sell it (based on your GPS location), along with prices and phone numbers. It also searches and compares prices from online stores selling the same product. another very cool app is Shazam, which will listen to any music and tell you the name of the artist and song. It also provides a link to buy the song from Amazon MP3 and a link to the band’s MySpace page if they have one. The strangest app I installed is one called Krystle II. It turns your whole screen into a picture of fur, and then it purrs and vibrates when you pet it. My kids love it. I think it’s stupid, but people I show it to get a kick out of it, so I haven’t uninstalled it yet.

Micro SD Card for more storage. The phone came with a 1GB micro-SD card, and can easily be upgraded for one with more storage capacity. As far as I can tell, however, there’s not currently any way to store apps on the SD card, just images, music, video, etc.

What I don’t like:

Battery life is pretty weak. It won’t last a full day if it’s fully charged in the morning. I guess it’s because there is a lot of stuff going on all the time, plus with the big display, it wears down the battery life pretty quick. I’m near a computer and/or electrical outlet most of the day anyway, so it’s not a huge deal to plug in when needed. Plus, I bought a recharger that works in the car, so I should be able to power up almost anywhere.

No flash player. I don’t need flash for most of the sites I care about using on my phone, but it would be nice to have when I need it. Plus, my kids are pretty bummed that webkinz doesn’t work on my phone.

Touchscreen Dialer. It takes some getting used to coming from my blackberry pearl. After a month, I’m still getting used to the touchscreen, and I find myself sliding out the keyboard to surf the web or send a text message more often than I call, anyway.

Overall, I’m very happy with the G1. It fits nicely into my lifestyle and lets me get what I need online wherever I may find myself. As long as the battery holds up, I’ve got the tools to get some work done on the go.