The Google phone

While I covered the key highlights of why I like the T-Mobile G1 in today’s Tech Buzz column, there’s much more to say. Simply put: the Google phone is a delight to use, fun to explore and it will certainly be a hit this holiday season for T-Mobile.

The G1 runs on an open-source software platform called Android. It was developed by Google and a consortium of other companies in the Open Handset Alliance. It goes on sale Wednesday, Oct. 22, at T-Mobile for $179 with a two-year contract, or for $399 without a contract.

Here’s a great example of how robust our gadgets have become: In today’s review of the G1, I did not provide a single word on making a phone call.

The G1 is not so better and not so worse than other mobile phones in terms of call quality. Calls did not drop on me, but I haven’t made many. The dialing keypad is virtual, like the iPhone, and I had no trouble using that. 

If you’d like to listen to a phone call, I used the G1 to discuss the Google phone with Spike O’Dell on his WGN radio show. 

Touch screen. Not as impressive as Apple’s multi-touch interface, but it’s the best touch screen I’ve used otherwise. The G1’s screen is very responsive and scrolling through photos, contacts or Web pages works well. You can click on a link in a Web page with your finger and a tap will open an application. 

If you hold your finger on the main screen for half a second—called a long tap—you can access a second menu to customize your home screen with applications. 

Media files. Transferring media content—music, pictures and video—is simple, downloaded onto the phone via USB. 

The music player is very nice, best since the iPhone. That’s high praise considering the iPhone includes an iPod. Navigation between albums, artists and playlists was intuitive, plus there’s a shuffle feature and the big screen displays album art well. 


Camera at 3 megapixels, it’s better than the iPhone but the shutter speed is slower. Images are better than average for a phone.

But here’s the best thing about the G1: it’s just the first phone from Google’s Android project. Expect another version from Sprint early next year and Motorola is hiring developers to build an Android phone geared toward social networking. 

There is just one iPhone, but there will be many Google phones.