Mobility blog | Tag Archive

Tag Archive | "T-mobile"

Tags: android, Android Market, freeware, G1, Google, Googlephone, Phandroid, shortcuts, T-mobile, widgets

My G1 Gallery and Commentaries

Posted on 13 June 2009 by Mister Mobility

The Android-powered G1 is a great device. From a distance, its looks can throw one off, but get close and experience the functionality and usability packed into the device, and you are likely to get hooked.

I haven’t had this combination of fun and productivity from a mobile device in years! The Android OS is a hit, and developers are lapping it up.

Here’s a collection of pictures of the T-mobile G1 in action, with my commentaries appended. Enjoy!

Home screen in portrait mode. Place shortcuts to applications, widgets or folders on the home screen. That horizontal strip at the top with lots of icons is the notification/status bar. Believe it, those icons are animated. You can also pull down that bar to see more details about the notifications e.g. incoming SMS, new mail, completed downlod. The bar is visible and active system-wide (with a few exceptions), so you never miss a thing.

The G1 home screen with keyboard slid out

The G1 home screen in landscape mode with the keyboard slid out. That 5-row keyboard rocks. You can create application shortcuts on the keyboard to launch up to - wait for it - 36 different applications! You can use it to select, copy, cut, and paste text. It also has a Search button for launching Google search. Eat your hearts out!

The G1 has a 3-paged homescreen, and you move from one page to the other by sliding your finger horizontally across the home screen

There's an application tab that you tap or drag to reveal/hide the main menu with application icons.

Browsing applications in the Android Market. The Market is well organised and contains loads of freebies, and not just useless concept apps either: I have a widget that monitors Alireta's web server, a Whois search application, a GatorPeeps app, a Twitter app, a comprehensive Bible, dictionary, GoogleDocs app, a GPS-based location finder, and more - all FREE from the Android Market. In addition, you are notified of updates to any applications you have installed on your device. You tap on the update notification to proceed with updating the app right away. Nifty.

Music Player supports album art, playlists, fast-forward, etc

Video playback is sharp, vivid and crisp in full screen, landscape format only

The camera supports both still shots and video recording (firmware version 1.5 upwards only)

Comic books!! I grew up reading comic books, and I am glad to find that comic books are available for the Android OS. I have read about six (6) till date.

Okay, folks. That’s it for now: my small gallery and commentary on the G1. I am loving the Android OS and its first spawn, the T-mobile G1.

Even more exciting is the fact that a number of key manufacturers have announced that they will be releasing Android devices this year. On that list are: Samsung (Galaxy, BigFoot), HTC (Hero, Lancaster), LG, Motorola (Heron/IronMan, Calgary), and Acer (A1), among others.

Andy Rubin, Google’s Head of Mobile, is reported to have said that 18 to 20 Android phones will be launched this year alone. Indeed, if this happens, I must agree with the folks at Phandroid that 2009 be named the year of the Android.

But whether or not we see 18 to 20 phones this year, I have seen the future of mobility, and it is full of robots. Pun intended.

PS: It is now my firm belief that Android is on its way to giving Symbian a run for theeir money in terms of market share. What do you think? Am I simply infatuated?

Comments (2)

Tags: android, G1, smartphone, T-mobile

10 Gripes about the T-mobile G1

Posted on 02 June 2009 by Mister Mobility

I thought I would start my Android/G1 series by highlighting the things I do not like about the G1. It is a good way to keep the balance, since I have sounded like the G1 (or Android) is the best thing that happened to mobile phones since….. who knows?

Anyway, here is my list of gripes about the Android-powered T-mobile G1:

Battery life. Battery life is frustrating! The G1 simply burns fuel like a race car. With semi-intensive use, a full charge barely lasts 7 hours. And that is with the 3G, Wifi, and GPS radios turned off. Go figure.
Keyboard backlight. It works well in the dark, but in daylight, the white backlight on the grey/silver keys simply means that you can”t see the characters on the keys without having to turn the device at an angle.
Multi-tasking and Application Management. The G1 has multi-tasking, but since there is no way to terminate applications by the user, it is up to the device to determine what applications running in the background to close. At times, it simply closes the very one you would love to have left running. There is at least one 3rd party app that provides this functionality though.
No Bluetooth file transfer. Yup; sorry guys but you cannot send or receive music, pictures or any file for that matter via Bluetooth. Bluetooth on the G1 exists only for audio. No way; this is not happening!
Inability to install applications on external memory. You can install apps only to built-in memory. Install heavy apps and run out of space ASAP.
One general Gallery. All your media files – pictures and videos are presented under one general gallery. Yes; there are sub-folders, but not in a very elegant way. again, 3rd party applications offer alternatives
No built-in file manager. Again, 3rd party apps to the rescue here!
No built-in MS Office viewer or editor. Once more, 3rd party apps fill this vacuum…

Err… that list contains 8 gripes; right? I tried. I hunted for two more to complete the list but came up with nothing else.

Up next: “Ten (or so) things I like about the G1!”

PS: Apologies to all those who submitted comments to this article. We were in the middle of a server upgrade and lost your comments. Please re-submit. Thanks.

Comments (2)