Google - powered G1 Smartphone

It's not really fair to constantly compare the first Google-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, a smart phone, with the Apple iPhone (smartphone).

That's like comparing a PC to a Mac.

But that PC-Mac comparison became more obvious during the week or so I tested the G1 in and around Seattle.

After more than a year of rumors and hype, the first phone using the Google-developed Android operating system goes on sale next Wednesday from Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA.

It's a great device. But with Apple having made the big leap ahead with the smartphone iPhone, and all sorts of companies now offering Web-enabled devices, the smartphone G1 doesn't feel as revolutionary as the hype suggested it would be.

In the hand, the smartphone G1 feels utilitarian. It's a solid computing and communication device, not a sexy little accessory like the smartphone iPhone.

Yet I'd argue the smartphone G1 is a better phone for one reason alone: Its battery lasts for days, in standby at least, and easily makes it through a day of occasional calling and browsing.

Millions of iPhone fans don't agree on this point, but I'd rather have extended battery life than the superior look and feel of the iPhone. I don't want to worry every day about recharging.

That gets back to the PC-Mac comparison.

Apple's the equivalent of BMW, while Microsoft and now Google, with the G1, are building the Toyotas and Hondas of the tech world.

That's clear in the exterior and interior of the smartphone G1.

As a phone, it works and sounds just fine. Its body — with a tail like a skateboard — feels more natural against my face than the iPhone's flat plane of glass.

Both devices use on-screen numbers and icons to select functions such as Google maps, Gmail and their built-in music players.

But controlling the smartphone G1 isn't quite as intuitive as the iPhone.

For instance, both have lovely on-screen phone keypads. But to place a call on the smartphone G1 after dialing, the instructions tell you to move your thumb off the touch-screen, down to the green "send" button below. It doesn't feel quite right; why isn't there an obvious "send" button on-screen?

Another utilitarian feature of the smartphone G1: four hard buttons and nubby trackball used to navigate on the screen. They're nice to have and give you more ways to control the device, like precise scrolling through a list of messages.

This reminds me of how Microsoft, back in the dawn of the PC era, put multiple buttons on its computer mice. It took the pragmatic, engineering approach, while Steve Jobs thought one mouse button was plenty for Apple.

But some smartphone G1 features are a little puzzling. For instance, you can also activate a call by tapping on the number you've just entered, but that's not obvious to the user.

Maybe you're not supposed to dial that way. One time I did this, and the Android operating system froze up and displayed a scary error message.

It said "Sorry! Activity Dialer is not responding." Then it displayed two buttons: "Wait," which I did for about 10 minutes, and "Force Close," which restored the phone's home page without a reboot.

Speaking of reboot, the phone failed its first spousal-approval test when I asked her to search for an oil-change place on Mercer Island as I drove east out of the Mount Baker tunnel.

Midway across the floating bridge, the phone completely froze and had to be restarted. I ended up taking the battery out to get it going again.

That reminded me of the time I sat in Magnolia trying to load a ferry schedule on an iPhone. It took so long I ended up missing the boat.

Despite those early-days glitches, I'm still a huge fan of these "pocket browsers." But when you're used to broadband computing, they still feel a little slow, even on new 3G networks. Maps, for instance, load much slower than on a dedicated GPS device.

It's still expensive to use these devices, even though the G1 is a bit cheaper than the iPhone. With the maximum discount from T-Mobile, the device costs $179 plus at least $55 per month.

That rate includes $30 for the cheapest voice plan, plus $25 for unlimited data, e-mail and 400 text messages per month. Unlimited messaging is another $10 per month.

Apple's iPhone starts at $199, with AT&T plans costing at least $70 per month.

The smartphone G1's screen is bright and crisp but just as prone to smudges as the smartphone iPhone.

Out of the box, it displays a handful of essential icons: dialer, contacts, browser and maps, plus T-Mobile's MyFaves, which allows you unlimited contact with five friends.

To see other applications — including the bundled YouTube, Gmail and Amazon's MP3 store — you slide a finger upward, which "lifts" a screen on which all the icons appear.

Holding a finger down on the screen launches options, similar to right-clicking a mouse, but it doesn't work in all applications.

The display screen swings upward to reveal a Qwerty keyboard. One of its keys is a nifty, computerlike magnifying glass, which you press to launch a search window. From the home page, this launches Google Search. If you're running an application, it searches within that program.

If you're obsessive-compulsive about your screen layout, stick with the iPhone. The G1 is looser, with icons here and there after you've started downloading applications.

That gets back to the Mac-PC comparison.

Google and its partners are developing a smartphone phone platform, not a phone by itself, like Apple.

The goal with its Android operating system was to create an open platform that lots of companies can use to build phones and write whatever kind of mobile applications they like.

I wonder if that openness will attract more software developers who ultimately make the Android platform more attractive, similar to the way Microsoft became dominant in the 1980s and 1990s.

For now, though, phone buyers will probably pay more attention to the look, feel and price.

If you're ready to upgrade, aren't committed to Apple and want to switch from a phone to a mobile computer sooner rather than later, you should definitely consider the G1.

Otherwise, you might want to wait a few months to be sure the version 1.0 kinks are worked out and to compare the smartphone G1 with other Google-powered phones that other companies have in the works.

Most everybody will opt for this sort of phone eventually, if battery life lengthens, service fees come down and their cameras improve.

Google's first phone smart, but needs work

Google's G1 smart phone feature-filled but there's room for improvement:

Given Google Inc.'s reputation as a trend setter on the Web, I expected great things from its first mobile phone -- especially since it is emerging more than a year after Apple Inc. launched the enormously popular iPhone.


And while it's far from perfect, the G1 powered by Google's Android operating system is packed with plenty of consumer-oriented features that may even make iPhone fans take notice.

Made by Taiwan's HTC Corp., the G1 is being released Oct. 22 by T-Mobile in the U.S. and will cost $179 with a two-year contract. The device, about the size as the iPhone but plumper, will be available in black or bronze. It sports a large touch screen, and the lower smidgen of the device is angled -- the curvature seemed more stylistic than functional to me -- and sports four buttons and a trackball.

Beneath the touch screen is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that makes the G1 feel like a grownup's version of another device T-Mobile sells, the Sidekick. The keyboard will appeal to anyone who, like me, still prefers the feel of physical keys rather than virtual ones on the screen (sorry, Apple).

There's also an adjacent microSD card slot that comes loaded with a 1 gigabyte card. Don't lose this tiny card, because it's the storage spot for photos and songs you want to access on the G1. If you want to invest in more space, the G1 supports cards up to 16 gigabytes.

From the start, the G1 was easy to use. It includes an intuitive interface and many of Google's familiar services, like search, Gmail and Google Talk.

There's also Google Maps, which is enhanced by a built-in compass that lets you see locations in the "Street View" feature by moving the phone as you hold it.

I had no trouble doing things like instant messaging my friends, searching for bubble tea stores near my apartment, and yes, making phone calls. There is a good-looking browser that is pretty simple to navigate, and the device's screen is clear and sharp.

I was more impressed with the speed of T-Mobile's 3G network than I have been with AT&T's, and noticed applications and songs downloaded fairly quickly and easily. This could change, though, as the network is still quite new and there are not many phones running on it yet. The phone also works on T-Mobile's slower but more widespread EDGE network; however, data functions aren't as zippy.

The downside of all the talking, Web surfing and content downloading is that it can quickly run down a phone's battery. The G1 promises up to five hours of talk time and nearly 5 1/2 days of standby time, but who's going to simply chat on a smart phone or let it sit gathering dust?

I gave the device a fairly realistic battery rundown -- on-and-off use of multiple functions and applications and the phone's 3G and Wi-Fi network capabilities. It's safe to say people with a serious multimedia habit will have to keep a charging cable on hand.

Early on, I noticed that the G1's main screen actually extends beyond the device's viewing area. You can access the "hidden" parts by swiping to the right or left of the screen. I used this to organize shortcuts to certain programs by type: I put all my game shortcuts on the left "screen" and kept shortcuts to things like my contacts, Gmail, browser and phone dialer on the main screen area.

A key element is the Google-run Android Market, which lets third-party developers offer add-on programs and games that you can download wirelessly to the G1. For now, downloads are free, but eventually some may cost money.

There weren't that many programs available when I tested the G1 -- I counted about three dozen applications and 10 games, a fraction of what Apple's iPhone App Store contains -- but more should come soon. And while Apple has been slowly approving iPhone applications and rejecting some that compete with its own programs, the Android Market is more open to developers.

I liked a few applications, especially the "Barcode Scanner" that uses the G1's 3-megapixel camera to read the UPC barcodes on things like product boxes and book jackets and then links you to related Web searches. It's pretty nifty if you want to know more about a novel or check prices online.

Some applications take advantage of the G1's GPS capabilities, like one called "Ecorio" that tracks your trips and computes your carbon footprint.

The G1 also connects to Amazon.com Inc.'s online MP3 store, which was easy to browse and offered quick downloads of songs free of copy protection. Take note, though, that as with the iPhone you'll need Wi-Fi access rather than just 3G cellular connectivity to download songs wirelessly.

The phone's built-in support for YouTube may appeal to video fans, but it was underwhelming to me. Even though Google owns YouTube, the clips I watched on the Google phone looked poorer than they tend to on a desktop computer.

Unfortunately, video and song playback is hampered by a major hardware shortcoming: the G1 eschews a standard headphone jack in favor of an included but uncomfortable earbud headset, which plugs into the mini USB port that is also used to charge the phone. This poses several problems, as you can't use your favorite headphones without an adapter and it's impossible to charge the G1 while listening to music or watching videos, unless you want to use the included speaker.

I thought I might be able to circumvent this problem by using a stereo Bluetooth headset, but, alas, the G1 only supports non-stereo Bluetooth headsets.

True smart phone greatness can take time, and I'm willing to cut Google a little slack. After all, the first iPhone wowed, but it was not without issues and missing features. The second version was better, and yet still there is plenty of room for improvement.

So I'm optimistic the G1 will improve soon, partly through its over-the-air software updates and additions to the Android Market. Google's search engine was not the first of its kind, either. And we all know how that worked out.