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My phone is crapcakes. It's the dumbest of the dumb-phones (and was bought for that reason, I'm an all or nothing type), and the LCD screen is completly broke, so I can only recieve calls and call the two people I have on speed-dial and anyone who's phone number I know off the top of my head. I've been itching for android, but I have hesitations on the T-mobile G1.

I can afford one, but I'm stingy (scottish genes) so I'm hesitant to buy anything rashly, unless its under 5 dollars, and even then...

So I've been doing my research. I wants Android. The G1 is good enough for me (so far the problems I've heard with it aren't that big a deal to me, I like that it doesn't look snazzy, I'd have to watch my fingers to text anyway (had to do this on my old POS-phone, wont mind doing it still), and so on. I have faith that most of the issues will be fixed with firmware updates, but I have some questions before I buy, hopefully someone here can help.

T-mobile is my biggest concern.

I don't live in a big city, so I wont have 3g, but I have edge in my area. Is 3g really a make/break loss? Can I still browse the web with it?

T-mobile seems to have a pretty sparse network, I currently use Verizon, who seems much better in that respect. I'd be more comfortable using Sprint than T-mobile, but I don't want to wait too long (see crapcake phone above), especially if sprint is going to cripple android as I've hear rumors. Anyone with more experience with sprint or paying attention to sprint or verizon have any thoughts here?

I also had a couple minor questions:
What about the chin? is it a huge impediment to typing?
The camera, I've heard it cannot do video, is that something that can be changed by an app or upgrade, or limited because of hardware?


Sorry for all the questions, thanks in advance for the help.
 
I'm sure (hopefully) someone with more (accurate?) details will chime in, but here are my thoughts:

- We dont' have 3G here either, and that's a dealbreaker for me, unless someone here can show me that it's not that big of a difference.

- If sprint can and is going to cripple it, that completely defeats the purpose and they won't gain my support.

- Verizon is very much resisting Android atm, there are several recent articles on it. I have Verizon now, have been with them 8 years, and will leave them as soon as 3G is in the area, for the 'Droid.

- Don't think many care about the chin, and I do believe the Video problem can be resolved with an application.
 
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Thanks for the help, I wasn't too worried about the chin, nice to know it is workable, same with the camera.

I did find that T-mobile is expanding their 3g coverage, has that already happened? or is that up and coming so I may be getting 3g soon?

Also, I went through looking at pricing, am I incorrect in thinking that to get the g1, I need to buy both the unlimited data plan AND a plan for using minutes to call? or does the data plan cover calls too? I kept reading about the G! plan costing about 50 bucks per month, but if I need both plans thats going to be more like 70-80 (I said I was stingy)
 
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Buy it! The more Android phones there are, the better the platform will be and the more motivated developers will be to turn out great software.

Also, EDGE isn't that slow, and coupled with WiFi this should be enough to fill in the gaps until 3G is available. But yes, Verizon has a larger overall network than T-Mobile in my experience. I still hate Verizon, personally. I prefer GSM carriers.
 
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The best way to find out if EDGE isn't good enough for you (although reading the description of your current phone, I don't see how that's possible) is to find someone who has it and see for yourself. But if you're in an area without 3G coverage no matter the carrier it shouldn't matter at all. It's a great phone, pure and simple, and you can always send it back to T-Mobile if you're unsatisfied early on.
 
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I'm gonna have to go against the grain here....i say wait till they have a second or third round of G1's. As of right now, the build quality on these things are mediocre at best. Im sure that as time goes by, they will find the hardware bugs and hopefully fix them. The OS is fantastic, but the hardware is not.
 
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I'm gonna have to go against the grain here....i say wait till they have a second or third round of G1's. As of right now, the build quality on these things are mediocre at best. Im sure that as time goes by, they will find the hardware bugs and hopefully fix them. The OS is fantastic, but the hardware is not.
I'd say it's the exact opposite. I've seen more software glitches than hardware problems. But that's just me.

EDIT: Also, I must admit I've only had the phone for about 5 days, so I could be wrong. But everything I've seen so far points to software issues. The hardware, though not perfect, seems decent in my eyes.
 
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Well, I'm not too concerned with the phone itself (rogue6 was right, anything is better than what I have) more concerned with T-mobile. If someone else is going to make one better within the month or so, I may wait, but if edge is enough for Internet browsing and checking my email, etc and the G! is going to be the only option out there for a while, I'll go for it, once I work up the courage to agree to pay 70 bucks a month...
 
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i was also concerned about switching from verizon to tmobile, i knew there was no 3g in my area, but we do have EDGE. do what i did, simply go to you nearest tmobile store and ask to try out a live model of the phone. my store was pretty close to my house and has the same network coverage. after surfing the web for a few minutes and watching some youtube, i decided that EDGE was plenty fast for me and most tasks id be doing while im out and about. i use my phone only a little at work (edge) and while im home theres wifi which is faster than 3g anyway. any traveling you'll be doing, unless confined to a major metro area, you'd probably be in and out of 3g anyway.
 
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I'd say it's the exact opposite. I've seen more software glitches than hardware problems. But that's just me.

EDIT: Also, I must admit I've only had the phone for about 5 days, so I could be wrong. But everything I've seen so far points to software issues. The hardware, though not perfect, seems decent in my eyes.

I know this might seem off, but try doing a master reset of the phone. I spoke to a tech last night and he told me that some of the apps screw with the original files the system carries. I did the reset and its damn near flawless. Check it out.
 
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I know this might seem off, but try doing a master reset of the phone. I spoke to a tech last night and he told me that some of the apps screw with the original files the system carries. I did the reset and its damn near flawless. Check it out.
Yeah, I did that on Sunday, and except for the data connection issue evident in RC29, it's working smooth as silk. Hopefully they publish a fix for that soon.
 
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