So, the time has come for another review. Since it seemed that my format for the U600 worked out very well and I'll continue to do this with the G1. I was going to post yesterday but decided to play with the phone a bit more to get an idea of how well it work.

First impressions

Design:

Simple yet elegant. There really isn't anything flashy about the phone but it's attractive at the same time. It's a rather dull black so fingerprint aren't very noticeable.

The material is a dull black and comes out looking and feeling somewhat cheap. it isn't really noticeable when you're using the phone though.

Screen:

I have the setting set to about a quarter of the total brightness and it's very legible. Since I got it in the evening and it's overcast today, I haven't had a chance to test it in bright environments but if i'm not having a problems with a low setting, I imagine turning it up won't be much of a problem. I'll let you guys know as soon as I get a chance to see this thing outside.

The sensitivity is astonishing. Out of all the touch phones i've used, this is right up there with the iPhone. I haven't had it missense a touch or gesture yet.

Since this is my phone, I'm not going to test the durability of the screen. I'll just post updates if it gets scratched, how bad the scratch was, and what caused it. I will not be getting a screen protector just so I can test the durability over time.


Hinge:

The hinge/sliding mechanism appears to be solid in the way it's been designed. There is little play when closed and 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch of play when it is opened but I'm not surprised since the screen is on the edge. Any changes that come up will be posted

Keyboard:

I've read a lot of comments on the keyboard being almost completely flushed with the phone and it's somewhat true. The outer keys are raised and the inner ones seem to reside into the phone more. The spacing also adds to the feel that they are flush because you just don't feel the phone itself. Don't mistake this for me saying that they're too close to each other because they are spaced apart just right for comfortable typing. Feedback is minimal and you can feel it if its paid attention to but I've found myself having to second guess myself a few times. I'm sure this will change as I use the phone more often.

Reception and sound:

It's above average. My U600 would constantly drop calls when in my basement. I would only manage to get one bar at most and even then calls would not come through. I get 2 to 3 bars with the G1 and can walk around comfortably without any drops or echoes.

Voices came through clearly with a bit of depth to them. I have not heard any complaints from people on the other end about my voice.

3G reception is so-so around me but I am on the edge of it out here in Indiana. I'll be in Chicago this weekend and around Plainfield during the week so I will get a chance to see how well it works. When I do get it, it's blazing fast. AT&T's 3G beats it but I'm impressed with T-Mobile on this one. Even Edge is quick so long as photos don't have to be loaded.

Ringer volume is above average. It's lower than my U600 but still loud enough to be heard. In loud environments I don't see myself hearing the phone. Vibrate is rather weak as well so I don't know if it'll help.

Battery Life:

This is rather disappointed but I have been pretty extensive with it. I left my house at 7:00 this morning with a full charge. GPS on and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth being off and not on the 3G network, I am down to 59% at 10:47. I have been very extensive with the use of the phone and have gone online, texted heavily, downloaded apps, and used the map application along with youtube for two songs.

Music and speaker volume

The music player is very basic and there is nothing attractive about it. Looking forward to an app to takes its place but it works for now. For now, you can select songs by artist, album, just songs themselves, or through playlists. Sound is good. The small speaker in the back manages to play very loud and songs come through clearly although they are rather flat but no surprise there. There are no special settings here so no equilizer or sound profiles from what i've found.

Camera:
I was disappointed with the lack of options on the iPhone's camera and the G1 is no different. Only options are where to save it and if you want a notification. Again, I imagine they want others to create apps for this but at least provide some functionality.

Photo quality is average. Colors come out duller than they are and there isn't as much detail. There is some blurriness that goes along with this. My U600 produced better photos and I'm going to miss it but I find I have a camera on me most times anyways. Here is one sample. The red in the sky was much redder and deeper.




Chin:

The chin has come under a lot of criticism and worry from what I've read and I find it to be barely noticeable. If I am typing and reach far with my right hand then it does get in the way but I am just over extending my hand I've found. If i reach a bit further with my left then it eliminates the problem.

GPS

GPS is fairly accurate. It looks for a spot where you might be and then covers and area in which you might be at. It's been pretty accurate so far. There are times when it finds the location within seconds and other times I've been waiting for a few minutes. Still, the furthest it's been off was about two blocks. If I was looking for a general vicinity then I'd be happy with that. These tests have been done inside as well so that amazes me even more. Outside test are to come.


UI

Now for the main part, Android itself. I will extend this section as time goes on but from first thoughts, it's very impressive. Google did a great job with putting so much functionality while keeping it simple.

The synchronization with Google's apps is seamless and works great. I did find that contacts on the SIM have to be imported in order to see them. They will synchronize with your Google contacts afterwards so if you haven't really used it, like myself, be prepared to do a lot of organizing. You can see contacts in not just a list but also according to their groups meaning you can seperate your friends, family, and work contacts. This is helpful to anyone who has an extensive list.

I setup my Comcast account but have only managed to download one email. That's right, just one. It's been infuriating and I've had to forward them to my gmail account for the time being while I find a solution. Unless it's an uncommom service provider, the client finds settings automatically but you are provided with an option to set it up manually if you choose to.

IMing and texting is very similar. with IM, contacts are shown in a list and you have a space for conversations just above it. both IMs and SMS messages are threaded. When texting, it will show you the contact, how many texts have been sent, and the history (which can be deleted).

The homescreen is easily customizable and each screen holds 16 icons. If you find you've used them all up, folders can be created for further organization. You cannot stack icons on top of each as they are automatically aligned to a grid. To moved them, just press and hold and once the screen vibrates, the shortcuts can be moved or deleted. To add a shortcut on the home screen, just press and hold on an empty space and a screen lets you add applications, shortcuts, widgets, or wallpapers.

Notifications are always at the top and the bar can be brought down to view them. You can go between emails, texts, and IMs this way. It's always there and sends a sound out when you get something from another application or service.

Web browsing has to be second only to the iPhone. the zoom in-out gestures would be greatly appreciated but it's so simple here. whenever you're navigating through the page, there is a zoom in-out icon at the bottom. If you want to zoom out all the way, there is an option to view the page like that and then zoom-in automatically once you find where you want to go. I haven't seen a browser I liked more outside of Apple's.

Google maps does a great integration and street view works almost as well as shown. Moving the phone up and down moves the view perfectly but it just doesn't seem to go left or right. It moves a bit and then frantically goes all over the place. I hope this is just because I haven't used it a lot but we'll see over time.

Impression so far

I am very impressed with the G1 so far. Mainly, it's Android that's the big hit here. If it was Windows Mobile or any other OS, I think the G1 would quickly be ignored but the possibilities of Android is the biggest attraction here. It still has a while to catch up to the rest of the game but for a first round, I'm very impressed.

There are still a lot of things missing that I would like to have. Exchange support, stereo Bluetooth, video recorder, and a camera with setting as some of the options. The excuse of it being open-source and allowing others to create apps is nice but unacceptable to me. You should put a phone out on the market that isn't lacking greatly compared to those in its class. I can only hope until then that this will be solved in a short time.


Expect an update sometime this week as I use this more and feel free to add comments or questions if you have any and you're not getting help in the G1 section.