should i get the G1

[johnnewhouse]

up until very recently, i was always going to get the G1 as soon as my contract was up (right now).
i was looking forward to the android o/s since it was announced and i like the idea that its not locked down like the iphone is.

but i am now having doubts for a few reasons,
i had the G1 in my hand when i was in a t-mobile store, and the screen was very loose when it was opened so i could see the keyboard, it was not quite parallel with the phone. obviously thats a display model and will get bashed around a bit, but still, i am expecting to have it for 18months, so i assume mine would be like that by then.

i also can not believe that you can only store apps on the actual phone itself. that must be an oversight. hopefully that can be rectified in the o/s so i dont have to do it myself in terminal (assuming that you can get to the terminal on this device).

the battery life is not great (that may be an understatment) judging by some of the comments on this forum. and whearas normally i will be near a power supply (work pc, car, home etc...), what happens the times when i am out and about (when i would use things like gps), will the battery die on me if i try and connect to a wi-fi network or watch a movie!!

there are a few other things that i am not too impressed with as well, but not so much towards bugs as they were to be expected and hopefully will be ironed out fast with google's might behind it (remember that windows mobile only became really user friendly in the last couple of incarnations).

so in essence, are you all happy with the G1 and are the problems not as bad as some make out.
i could wait until the second lot of devices get released as i think its only going to be a few months, but no ones making any firm statements on that.
plus i dont want to wait ;-)

 

[sleebus.jones]

Only you can make the decision if it's right for you or not. I always trust my own opinion more than some bunch of whackos on the internet.

Yeah, I'm including myself in that bunch of whackos.

 

[Vintik]

so in essence, are you all happy with the G1 and are the problems not as bad as some make out.

I have to say i really happy with my G1. Of course, there are some bugs, the battery is not so good (i mean when using all the features G1 provides, of course battery will die soon), but in spite of all annoying things in it, i like G1 very much (first of all for android!) ! It has great future.

 

[johnkzin]

I love my G1, but I new I was getting a 1.0 OS on a 1.0 handset.

If you're unsure about the G1, but like what you're reading about Android... then at this point I would almost recommend that you wait and see what new android devices are going to be announced in December/January, or at least wait for deals to be announced for the holidays.

You're close enough to the holidays and the timeframe where we're expecting to hear about new android devices, that if you're not sure about getting into a 1.0 device, you should just wait a few weeks, IMO.

 

[Cryptic79]

My battery is good enough for me. I don't leave Wifi, GPS, or 3G on constantly, though. I keep Bluetooth on because I have a headset.

The battery is much better after the first few weeks.

I have it plugged in at work, but that's more so the screen doesn't lock as opposed to keeping it charged.

Don't forget, though, that no matter what smartphone you buy, you'll have battery issues with similar use. My wife gets great battery life with her BB Perl, but she doesn't browse, watch video, or use Wifi (if it's even available). There's no GPS.

I would imagine the Storm is/will be a good benchmark for battery life as that will be the closest BB in specs.

 

[agentaaron]

I can honestly say that I am happy with my G1...will it be my last phone? No...but thats just my nature, im already scanning gsmarena for my next one

As for storing apps on the phone or reading and editing office docs....im not a developer myself, but im sure one of them out there is currently rectifying that problem for me.

As for the battery...the first week, I was really doubting it would get better than 6-7 hours, but it has. Just yesterday I unplugged it about 6:45am on my way out the door, with a total of 61 emails, approx 20 personal texts, and about 2 1/2 hours of surfing the web and catalog using wifi last night...I was quite surprised that when I finally plugged the phone in last night about 11:30pm it was still at 25% battery life.

I just saw an app last night that acts as a power manager (disabling GPS when the battery drops below a certain percentage, dimming the screen when running on AC power, etc...) which may further help conserve battery life.

Do keep in mind though that I do not use GPS (I know my way to and from work just fine). I also live in a 2G area...so 3G is turned off.

 

[johnkzin]

My battery is good enough for me. I don't leave Wifi, GPS, or 3G on constantly, though. I keep Bluetooth on because I have a headset.

I don't even leave bluetooth on. I hate BT headsets (many reasons) ... so without bluetooth DUN, PAN, BIP, HID, nor FTP ... there's no reason for me to ever have BT on.

I'm also not a big GPS user (I tend to be very good with direction sense and landmark recognition, so just reading a map is good enough; if I was out orientiering or geocaching that might be different, but ... as it is, GPS isn't for me).

 

[Deleted User]

I like the G1 mainly because of how fun the OS is. But as for the hardware...i think they really went cheap on it. Its shoddy, you really have to get lucky with a good one. The apps being installed on the phone memory is another issue on its own. I think its mainly to keep people from stealing others work. But thats just me.

 

[nelsonf]

I like Android i think the G1 is pretty bad. but i think Tmobile needed to bring a Phone to the Market that could compete with the Iphone and to make it more Expensive would have been a bad idea so i think overall they did OK. i sold my first one because i really didnt like the Phone but then i ordered another relizing that i really did like the Phone i am a Big Google user and love the Market so when i was back using my Sidekick i was really bored with all the features i didnt have anymore. Just my 2 cents

 

[Deleted User]

I dont even need to write long paragraphs like the people above me.

the answer is yes.

 

[mikeeh]

yes, just a really handy phone that came in very useful for me.

but just keep the charger handy at times.

oh and do check out the white one to compare with the black and bronze, the local stores should have them on the 24th

 

[johnnewhouse]

well, just ordered the G1 from T-Mobile UK.
they musn't be selling as they have just lowered the price of the plan to

 

[yesky]

frankly, if i have a second time, i mean if i did not buy G1 on Oct22, I will choose Iphone. I hate the Tmo 3G network. I usually use internet in daytime, but when i want to use it, it either cannot connect to the network or very slow. TMO should add more network equipment. The signal is really piss me off. Today I almost want to cancel the data plan. I almost do it because in office and home i have internet. G1 is really for fun for me, but now no fun at all!

 

[noonehereyet]

Love the phone would buy it again and as far as everything on it pretty happy still however I would REALLY recommend you check 3g coverage in your area first....

 

[johnnewhouse]

i dont know what i was worried about.
got my phone today and i am really impressed. feels good, looks good, and i haven't broke it yet.

i'm still getting to grips with it, but so far so good.

i have had 3g in my area for about 2 years now, so i knew that would not be an issue.
but i guess the web access (main part of the phone) would be a serious problem if speeds were slow in your area, that would definitely be something to consider

 

[sThig]

John I did not like this G1 at first but it has substantially grown on me. I thought I'd be missing out by not getting an iPhone but with all the rampant faboyness of it on the internet, I'm sure I'll never miss one thing about it (plus I own an itouch, so it's almost the same thing. In fact I'll rarely ever use my G1 for music).

Anyway, I think...maybe? yeah I think it's a keeper.