History: I've had a Treo 650 for three years. I do a lot of email, and push email is important. Using ChatterEmail on the Treo, I had an awesome ush email system. I loved the Treo, but it was dated. Bought a used iPhone. Hated it other than the browser (especially compared to the Treo's browser...if you can call it that)
So enter the G1.
As I said, email is big for me. My biggest gripe with the iPhone was the non-existant push email, even though there was a setting for it. It just straight up didn't work, especially with ver2.1. It would piss me off to no end to turn on my phone and have 8 messages pop in from the past 4 hours even though it was set to check every 15 min. With my Treo I would get them instantly....and the battery lasted 24 hours or more.
I am not happy to report that the email program on the G1 does not check email either. I set up my IMAP account and set it to 5 minutes. The first email I sent did not notify me until I turned the phone on (at which time it immediately gave me a notification.) The second one I sent, even after 10 mintues, did not show up until I ran the email program.
Very poor. Even Gmail is not always instant push. Several minutes is not uncommon, but most of the time its pretty quick.
I will agree that the keyboard is too flat. I was able to type very quickly on my treo by "rolling" my fingers to different keys, using the feel of the key to know where I was. Because this keyboard is so flat, it is very hard to get a sense of where you are. I will hold off on my final decision about the keybord though.. it may just be a "need to get used to it" thing. It can't possibly be as bad, and as flat as the iPhone keyboard..
While I hear a lot of people asking for onscreen keyboards, it reminds me too much of the iPhone. Though I do find it a little annoying having to flip open to type a few characters.
I do like the notifications bar, which was severely lacking in the iPhone.
I'm not too keen on the build quality. People said it feels solid, but the screen seems awful loose when closed. If I push on it a little right above the power button, the whole thing moves around.
I never had a trackball before, I like it, I think. Great for one handed operation.
This battery I dont think it going to cut it though. If it doesnt last 18 hours, its going back. I can't be charging my phone in the middle of the day. The tmo rep even told me it wont last the day. I dont know if she was just trying to sell car chargers or what.
In general, I think the GUI is nice. Its responsive. Unlike the iPhone that i sometimes have to wait 5-10 seconds before the application runs, everything seems snappy so far. It's a bit "clunkier" than the iPhone. I don't know what it is, but it seems like the font they used was just too big and they don't make good use of screen real estate.
I LOVE the notification LED.
I think all it's shortcomings (aside from the battery) will be addressed by the community. Someone BETTER bring an IMAP IDLE compatible mail client with a UNIFIDE COLOR CODED inbox. ChatterEmail for the treo was by far the best email client I have ever seen. I paid $40 for it, and it was worth every freakin penny. If no one will make something similar, I guess I will!
So enter the G1.
As I said, email is big for me. My biggest gripe with the iPhone was the non-existant push email, even though there was a setting for it. It just straight up didn't work, especially with ver2.1. It would piss me off to no end to turn on my phone and have 8 messages pop in from the past 4 hours even though it was set to check every 15 min. With my Treo I would get them instantly....and the battery lasted 24 hours or more.
I am not happy to report that the email program on the G1 does not check email either. I set up my IMAP account and set it to 5 minutes. The first email I sent did not notify me until I turned the phone on (at which time it immediately gave me a notification.) The second one I sent, even after 10 mintues, did not show up until I ran the email program.
Very poor. Even Gmail is not always instant push. Several minutes is not uncommon, but most of the time its pretty quick.
I will agree that the keyboard is too flat. I was able to type very quickly on my treo by "rolling" my fingers to different keys, using the feel of the key to know where I was. Because this keyboard is so flat, it is very hard to get a sense of where you are. I will hold off on my final decision about the keybord though.. it may just be a "need to get used to it" thing. It can't possibly be as bad, and as flat as the iPhone keyboard..
While I hear a lot of people asking for onscreen keyboards, it reminds me too much of the iPhone. Though I do find it a little annoying having to flip open to type a few characters.
I do like the notifications bar, which was severely lacking in the iPhone.
I'm not too keen on the build quality. People said it feels solid, but the screen seems awful loose when closed. If I push on it a little right above the power button, the whole thing moves around.
I never had a trackball before, I like it, I think. Great for one handed operation.
This battery I dont think it going to cut it though. If it doesnt last 18 hours, its going back. I can't be charging my phone in the middle of the day. The tmo rep even told me it wont last the day. I dont know if she was just trying to sell car chargers or what.
In general, I think the GUI is nice. Its responsive. Unlike the iPhone that i sometimes have to wait 5-10 seconds before the application runs, everything seems snappy so far. It's a bit "clunkier" than the iPhone. I don't know what it is, but it seems like the font they used was just too big and they don't make good use of screen real estate.
I LOVE the notification LED.
I think all it's shortcomings (aside from the battery) will be addressed by the community. Someone BETTER bring an IMAP IDLE compatible mail client with a UNIFIDE COLOR CODED inbox. ChatterEmail for the treo was by far the best email client I have ever seen. I paid $40 for it, and it was worth every freakin penny. If no one will make something similar, I guess I will!
