There has been a ton of hype surrounding the T-Mobile G1 AKA the Google Phone. Being the first phone to run the Android OS is a lot of pressure. Despite all the hype, we were skeptical about the G1. I’ve been a smartphone user for years – I was using them back when Windows CE and Palm were the major players. However, I got the iPhone on launch day and never looked back. When people started calling the G1 an iPhone competitor, I kind of scoffed – haven’t we heard that one before. Almost Everytime a new touch screen smartphone comes out, they call it an iPhone competitor, but none have ever really stood up to it in terms of exceptional usability and features.

 

Internet
The internet browser on the G1 is outstanding – it’s very similar to Safari in that it renders web pages the way they were meant to be. You can’t use your fingers to make pinch gestures or to zoom in and out like you do on the iPhone, but you can easily use the G1’s touch screen to zoom in and navigate by dragging your fingers in different directions. You can also use the track ball to navigate around and jump between links. Either method is very efficient and easy to use. Flash support is supposedly on its way as well.

What perhaps blows me away the most about the web browsing experience on the G1 is how fast web sites load. I’ve been testing the G1 on T-mobile 3G network in New York City, and the loading speeds are like nothing I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. The loading of a website feels comparable to using Wi-Fi on my iPhone. The iPhone 3G has been notorious for having slow loading times in concentrated areas of 3G usage, most agree though that this is AT&T to blame and not the iPhone’s hardware. But going back to the G1 – its fast web browsing speeds and excellent browser are mightily impressive. Every person I’ve shown the G1 to has marveled at how great the web browsing experience is. The G1 also has support for Wi-Fi for those of you not able to take advantage of 3G in your area.

User Interface
The U.I. on the G1 isn’t quite as slick and intuitive as the iPhone’s but it’s still superior to most of the other smartphone OS’s out there in that it’s easy to use and quick to master. Jumping around and using apps is also very fast with barely any lag. On the other hand, I do often experience lag on the iPhone, I also have been very frustrated by lag when using Windows Mobile and other OSes.
What’s great on the G1 is that you can use the touch screen to get around or the track ball, and both do the job efficiently. The interface is clean and uncluttered, though not quite as beautiful as the iPhone’s. Still, it’s very impressive for an OS that is just in its infant stages. Some unique aspects of the U.I. includes the ability to drag and drop application shortcuts on to the main screen/home screen of the device, so that your home screen is filled up with shortcuts to the apps you use most. If you want to access other apps, you can easily do so my dragging the arrow at the right of the screen to the left or just by touching the gray tab with an arrow set inside a circle. Overall, the touch screen is very responsive on the G1, but it doesn’t have as many tricks as the iPhone.
The U.I. also supports landscape and portrait viewing. If you slide out the keyboard, the G1 will automatically switch to landscape viewing, which is of course better for doing stuff like watching You Tube videos and surfing the web. However, switching views is not initiated by a built-in accelerometer like it is on the iPhone – even though the G1 does have a built-in accelerometer  as well.

Email
When you first turn on the G1 it asks you have if you have a Gmail or Google Apps account. Once you enter your account info, the G1 automatically syncs up with your Gmail account and pulls down your contacts and calendar information as well, which is pretty awesome for a Google apps user like myself. Receiving Gmail emails is a push email experience, and I received most of my incoming Gmail emails right away. The G1 comes with a standalone Gmail app that mirrors the other Gmail mobile apps out there, and also of course mirrors the actual Gmail interface with threaded conversations and the option to mark messages with stars.
Aside from the Gmail app, there is also a dedicated email app which lets you check multiple email accounts. I was able to set up my AOL account without a hitch (don’t hate on me because I use AOL and am not ashamed of it). The email app is cleanly designed and easy to use., and it supports HTML views of emails.
Perhaps the biggest downer for the G1 is that it currently has no Exchange support which might be a deal breaker for some. We hope that that feature is added later on to a software update, just like it was with the iPhone. Those using Microsoft Exchange, whom are willing to give up its  Push email abilities, should consider the possibility of checking their Exchange account via imap if they really want the G1 anyway and can live without the push.

Call Quality
The G1’s call quality is excellent. I was able to hear callers loud and clearly, and likewise they were able to hear me loud and clear as well. Even when I used speakerphone, callers on the other end said they heard me very well.

Additional Apps
The G1 comes with Market, which is the equivalent to the iPhone’s App store in that it offers a directory of applications to download and install directly to the device over the air. While the Market doesn’t have nearly as much apps yet as the App store, it does already have an impressive selection, many apps of which there are comparable apps at the App store. For example, in the Market there are multi IM clients like Meebo (however the G1 does come with a great multi IM client as well), there is a Twitter app, a Picasa uploader, a Facebook app, a weather app, and many other useful apps – the vast majority of which are free.
Other cool included apps is the YouTube app which only presents videos in high resolution when you are connected to Wi-Fi. There is also the Google Maps app with GPS support. Google Maps was able to pin point my location in Manhattan pretty quickly by using the “My Location” feature. You can also use the app to get traffic information and look at standard map, satellite, street, and traffic views.

Gaming
Unfortunately the current game selection in the Market is kind of poor. Most of the games are very retro graphically and don’t come close to the many graphically rich games that there are available at the App Store. So is the G1 a gaming machine? It’s not a heavyweight in that area, but for most people that shouldn’t be a deal breaker.

Keyboard
Of course having a keyboard with dedicated physical keys makes composing emails a pleasure. The keys themselves on the G1 are a bit low – they aren’t raised up as high as most other smartphone keyboards, and some people I showed it to felt that the keys were too low for their taste. However, I found that the keyboard is very pleasant to use. The keys aren’t stiff and are very easy to push in. Personally I think that it’s sporting one of the best keyboards out there.

Music
The G1 comes with an application that connects you to the Amazon Music Store. It’s very similar in design and concept to the iTunes app on the iPhone in that it also lets you listen to samples of tracks from albums and you purchase them directly from the device. We love the Amazon music store because all their music is DRM free, and many of their tracks are even 79 and 89 cents.
The G1 also has a built in music player that displays album art. It’s a nice interface,  but once again, it isn’t quite as slick as the iPhone/ iPod touch. Though it does do a good job of sorting through your music by artist, playlists, songs, and it has a shuffle feature.

Unfortunately the G1 has no A2DP stereo bluetooth, just like there is no A2DP on the iPhone. This is a big missed opportunity for the G1, they could have easily one-upped the iPhone by including A2DP.

 

Design
Physically the G1 is similar in length and width to the iPhone, but it’s a significantly thicker because of its keyboard. We’d love to see the G1 lose some weight thickness wise, but it’s extra thickness isn’t that inconvenient, and it’s worth it alone just to have the benefit of the included keyboard. But what perhaps is the weakest aspect of the G1 is its uninspiring design. The G1 is just so bland, it has virtually no sex appeal. Nowadays phones are really status symbols, so it’s hard to look at a phone and not judge it by its cover. We’re also confused why the bottom of it, where its dial and end keys are curve upwards. Why does it have to curve upward like that? What is the point? It adds bulk and makes the device even more unattractive. Speaking of that unattractive angled end, it houses the trackball, the Talk and End/Power buttons, a Home shortcut, a back button, and the Menu key.
For charging the device, the G1 sports an ever so convenient mini USB port- that means you can use your computer to charge the G1 when you’re on the road. But crazily enough there is no 3.5mm headphone jack included, so if you want to listen to music you have to use the included mini-usb headphones which means you wont be able to get the same audio quality you could with a pair of serious headphones.

The G1 also features a user replaceable battery, and it comes with a soft black protective case – not a very attractive case, but it does the job to protect the device. Notably, the G1 is also available in the color white.

The G1 also has a microSD slot for expansion – you can pack in as much as 16GB using SanDisk’s microSDHC card. A 1GB card is included in the package. On the left side of the phone there is also a dedicated volume control key, and on the right side there is a dedicated camera button for snapping pics. The camera button is a bit difficult to press when the display is slipped open and you are using the keyboard.

Battery Life
We got about a day’s usage with the G1 – that is with the 3G and push Gmail turned on, surfing the web occasionally and making a few phone calls through out the day. If you use this device through out the day, it should last through out the day on medium usage but it looks like you’re gonna have to charge it every night. This is about average in terms of battery life compared to most other smartphones.

Camera
Speaking of the camera, the camera is capable of taking 3.2 megapixel pictures. Pictures on the G1 are just ok, but nothing exceptional. Photos taken indoor tend to have a yellowish tint. The camera wont record video and doesn’t give you access to any settings, which is a total bummer.

Display
The display on the G1 is a clear and bright 3.2 inch display with vivid colors. It’s resolution is 320×480 which is the same as the iPhone. However it takes up a little less screen real estate than the iPhone’s display does, which is a bit of a shame. The G1’s screen also sports haptic feedback, but you only feel the haptic feedback with certain actions like pressing on an icon shortcut, which is kind of a let down as well.

Conclusion:
Am i going to trade in my iPhone? As much as I am tempted to, I wont be. Because at the end of the day I’m superficial, and the G1 just doesn’t have the looks I desire. Also, the iPhone has a wealth of available accessories, which are hard for me to walk away from. That said, I am going to miss many of the great aspects of the G1.
Overall, I highly recommend the G1 for someone who wants to stay on T-Mobile’s network. On a side note, T-Mobile does have excellent customer service as well and a great offering of rate plans. Anyway, I believe that the G1 is T-Mobile’s strongest and most powerful smartphone yet, with a ton to offer. It’s almost like a Sidekick on acid. I also don’t think that anyone who purchases the G1 won’t be thrilled with it. The T-Mobile G1 retails for $179.99 with a 2 year contract.

The Good:
Speedy and clean interface, Excellent web browsing experience, Gmail account integration just works, great keyboard, wealth of features, good call quality, Market lets you expand device with free easy to install software

The Bad:
No A2DP bluetooth, seriously bland design, no 3.5mm headphone slot, camera photos are just ok.

Update 11/23/08: According to Engadget, The G1 is now shipping with 3.5mm headphone adapters in box.