Review of T-Mobile G1

G1's shortcoming:

• need to mount SD-card to access its content when connecting via USB. This should be done automatically like iPhone
• no built-in file manager/browser even though it comes with a SD-card
• why does the "red" end call buttom lock the phone? that's so unintuitive as I am used to use it to "cancel" things.
• the screen lock timeout setting is hidden under settings -> Sound & Display
• why isn't there a Google Reader app?
• no auto-complete when I search apps in Android Market
• store all downloaded apps in tiny 74MB internal storage. No way to store them in a SD card(unless you root your phone). A game app can demand 10+ MB storage!
• deleting a app is not as easy as on iPhone
• there's no built-in battery status. And it does seem to consume a lot of battery if you enable WiFi, GPS, data network(3G or EDGE).
• it doesn't have a iTunes-like desktop application to sync and manage phone's data(music, contact, files eg)

Well, I still love G1:

• a physical keyboard is nice.
• background notification is really nice.
• G1's OS Android allows apps to access and enhance native phone features like contacts, dialer, and gallery. 3rd-party apps can integrate tightly with system apps and other apps, eg: add your app on the list of programs that can handle a pic, a contact, enhance SMS to support grouping, group SMS sending.
• communication across app is nice. eg: users of a non-twitter app can send tweet through a installed twitter-app like twidroid.

Favorite Applications:

• Google services(maps, gmail, calendar)
• Barcode scanner-related apps: Barcode Scanner, ShopSavvy. It's cool to scan use Barcode Scanner to scan a app's barcode(example) and get redirected to Android Market on G1 for installation.

Tags: android t-mobile g1