T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream): a first look
Published: 24 Sep 2008
T-Mobile and Google have announced the first-ever handset with Google's new Android operating system. Called the T-Mobile G1, it has both full touch-screen functionality, a QWERTY keyboard, a trackball for one-handed navigation, plus access to mobile web applications like Google Maps Street View, Gmail, YouTube and more. The G1 will be available from October 22 in the US, from early November in the UK, and will roll out across Europe in early 2009.
The key features are Wi-Fi, 3G (HSDPA), multimedia messaging, email support (Gmail as well as other POP3 and IMAP email services), instant messaging (with Google Talk as an option of course), a full HTML browser, GPS functionality, a 3-megapixel camera, the ability to multitask, a music player, Bluetooth and quad-band GSM support. Another exciting feature is its one-click contextual search, which lets you search for anything simply by typing in something with the keyboard.
As for Google Maps, it will support Google Maps Street View, which lets you explore cities at the street-level as if you were right there on the corner. It will also have a built-in compass on the phone and allow you to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by moving the phone around.
Last but not least, the G1 will offer access to the Android Market, which is an application store similar to the iTunes App Store. Some of the available applications include ShopSavvy, an application that lets you scan the UPC code of a product with the phone's camera and instantly compare prices with other stores; Ecorio, an application that tracks your carbon footprint; and BreadCrumbz, an application that lets you create a step-by-step visual map using photos. Of course, you can also buy games like Namco's Pac-Man.
It's important to note that the T-Mobile G1 won't have Microsoft Exchange support right off the bat, although its open-source infrastructure means that can be easily remedied with a third-party application (according to Google anyway). Also, Gmail is available as push and you can use it to read Microsoft Office documents and PDFs. There is no stereo Bluetooth, and you can't use it as a tethered modem. And no surprise here, the G1 is SIM-locked to T-Mobile for the time being, although we expect there will be efforts to unlock it.
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