G1 longevity question

[Aita]

hello all!
i just have a quick question about the longevity of the G1 phone or more to the point do you think that it will still be viable for the next 2 years(will it or wont it be able to upgrade frimware, 2.0"donut" to be exact) or will they phase it out and only offer firmware updates for newer phones? i know that android is an OS and can be upgraded but not all hardware is created equal and though i love the G1's design(trackball/touch/qwerty) I'd rather not be left i n the dark when any big changes happen, when I'm stuck with the 2 year agreement. Also i know that none of you really have THE answer I'm just trying to get a sense of where people who are more in the know that i am stand on the subject
My contract expires with At&T in November9or was it december?) and to be honest, none of the new designs that i have seen(including that FUGLY samsung bigfoot pic/other one was nice though) entice me at all. i'd rather stick with the original but not if it wont still be a viable(read i dont need it to be world class just able to get potential updates) platform for the near future.

 

[justjimjpc]

hello all!
i just have a quick question about the longevity of the G1 phone or more to the point do you think that it will still be viable for the next 2 years(will it or wont it be able to upgrade frimware, 2.0"donut" to be exact) or will they phase it out and only offer firmware updates for newer phones? i know that android is an OS and can be upgraded but not all hardware is created equal and though i love the G1's design(trackball/touch/qwerty) I'd rather not be left i n the dark when any big changes happen, when I'm stuck with the 2 year agreement. Also i know that none of you really have THE answer I'm just trying to get a sense of where people who are more in the know that i am stand on the subject
My contract expires with At&T in November9or was it december?) and to be honest, none of the new designs that i have seen(including that FUGLY samsung bigfoot pic/other one was nice though) entice me at all. i'd rather stick with the original but not if it wont still be a viable(read i dont need it to be world class just able to get potential updates) platform for the near future.

Time will tell,

1.) However the G1 has all the Basic hardware any Smartphone needs ....

2.) 90% (IMHO) of any smartphone is end the sortware ...

3.) The balance is in the support of the Carrier & the Manufacturer (the Carrier in this case have a fairly good history with me since 2001) This is my First HTC phone so can't say there ... but to date It has been a solid platform for me ...

 

[JackieNoff]

With the amount of apps made by people put out for the phone I would say it has the potential to stay alive somewhat underground even after the more mainstream success dies. That is of course dependent on devs and how many people stick with the phone.

Im sure the thing to kill the phone will eventually be hardware. Something new will come out, new features etc, and people will want to get it. Its a natural progression with electronics. Theres always something cooler about to be out as soon as you buy what you bought.

 

[Aita]

eh not so much worried about all of the BIGGER BETTER BRIGHTER, things that will come out eventually. As long as the G1 can still be viable at least a year from now then it would be worth the purchase. Everything is where i want it on the phone. The screen is out of the way the keypad is nice and big and my hands are large enough that the chin is a non-factor,plus the trackball in conjunction with the touch screen is like having my cake and eating it too(would/will be my very first touch screen or trackball phone). Will i really ever use AD2P/stereo bluetooth? probably not, i'm happy with my headphones and my headphone amp can make up for any musical shortcomings. Will I use the Wi-fi? yes, since my campus has wi-fi everywhere. I don't need and on screen keyboard and in fact i prefer not to have one at all(except for dialing of course) so in many ways this phone is everything I've ever wanted in a phone. i jsut dont want it to go the way of HD-DVD the second I buy it lol. Really all of the designs for new android phones that I've seen look rather uninuitive(my perspective) or FUGLY(samsung bigfoot thing) so I'm not worried about that. That is of course unless the HTC Memphis is the next G1 v.2.......then I'd have to think about it lol.

PS. If i had jumped on the android bandwagon from the get go this would be a moot point lol.

 

[JackieNoff]

Well first and foremost its a phone. That will definitely continue for years. I see no reason to think it would go anywhere in a year. Especially with Android starting to spread more.