My G1 Experience.

[TheNorthernForest]

After trying out the G1 for about 3 weeks, I can say I still prefer the Sidekick platform over any other device out there.
While the G1 may sound nice with 3G, GPS, Wifi, touchscreen, and the ability use any mp3 you have as an alert/ringtone, there were little things in the core OS that began to get annoying which makes for an unpleasant user experience despite the above features.
Here's a quick, not in any particular order, rundown on them:
Gmail Application

1. I can't stand gmail threading. It makes for a real clunky interface on such little real estate to me

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POP/IMAP Email App

1. Even though I set it to check for email every 5/10/15 minutes, it doesn't always check it. When it does check and sees that there is new mail, it won't always notify you. So you might have new email and never know it unless you go into the app and check the inbox.

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Both email clients

1. When you reply to an email, it puts the reply in an uneditable text box. This is Annoying since I like to reply inline sometimes in the original email to specific questions.
2. There's no multi-select, so to delete email you have to delete them one at a time.
3. You also can't simply empty the trash folder (or any folder for that matter). Again, you have to delete messages one at a time.
4. Sometimes I'll delete a pop email message from the trash and it would reappear in the trash.
5. To attach multiple images, you have to do it one at a time (menu > attach > select image..menu > attach > select image..etc..etc... Annoying and can take a while to attach several photos.
6. It embeds attachments in the message, like Mac Mail does and not as real attachment, so some clients and webservers don't see the attachment. My webserver does this so I couldn't blog photos with G1.

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IM clients

1. All were very flaky. Would drop connections often, not auto-reconnect.
2. AIM/Yahoo/MSN used SMS for delivery. Only Gtalk used real data. So every message you got or sent counted against your 400 limit, unless you pay another $10/month for unlimited SMS.
3. If you have an open conversation window in any IM client and the client signs off for whatever reason, it closes all of your chat windows loosing any on going conversation you had. Lame.
4. Occasionally messages simply won't go through. I had two "did you get my last message?" moments where nothing came through at all from the sender.

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Audio

1. "muting" the phone doesn't actually mute the entire phone, only alerts. Apps like YouTube will still play loud and clear when you think it'll be muted.

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Alerts

1. If you're in an application, a notification alert won't be triggered if you get a new message. For example, if you're in a AIM chat with someone you'll never get send/receive sounds as you chat. I found this annoying because if you put your device down to do something while still in the chat window, you'll never know you got new messages until you look at the device because it's not making any audio alerts. Same goes for email, etc...

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Phone

1. When on the phone, backlight will turn off but if you need to push a number to say delete a voicemail or something, you have to hit menu to wake up the display first. Can be annoying sometimes.

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Back button

1. The back button sends you back to where you were before. If you're in the browser and go to the IM app, if you hit back you go back to the browser. Can be handy, but also annoying if you jump to the IM app to a chat and simply wanna backup to the buddy list. You can't without going back to the home screen and entering the IM app from there.

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Camera

1. You can't change size of photo taken. You're stuck with a full-res 3mp image size. I liked using 640x480 on the SK for emailing/blogging photos. Makes me sent out emails smaller in total size too.

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No dedicated Headphone Jack

1. Can't charge and listen to music on headphones at the same time.
2. Can't use your own headphones without an adapter

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Battery

1. GPS kills your battery.
2. Wifi kills your battery
3. Any amount of decent usage on 3G will kill your battery. I averaged about 5 hours before needing a charge with 3G on will my usual web, email, im usage and checking the marketplace for apps every now and then.

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That's about it. They might be little things, but they occurred often enough to annoy the crap out of me. No amount of fancy features like 3G, GPS, or "ZOMG, there's a crazy amount of free apps!" will keep me using a device where there are flaws in core apps that I use and depend on the most.


In conclusion, I went back to my Sidekick.

[Fanatic]

Nice review!

Out of curiosity, what did you do with your G1? I thought the G1 was supposed to be the iPhone killer?

As for Gmail, I know it's a matter of personal taste but I LOVE the message threading. It makes so much sense (to me, anyways).

As for the IM clients, I'm there are alternate IM clients that would use the data network instead of SMS. IM is such a personal thing. Some people prefer SMS for IM messaging, others like an all-in-one client, etc. It makes sense to just download and use what fits your style.

I know you really didn't get into the third-party apps, but what did you think of Android overall? Eventually there will be other (better?) devices available with Android besides the G1, but if Android sucks out the gates, it doesn't much matter.

Any impressions on Android overall?

[TheNorthernForest]

Out of curiosity, what did you do with your G1? I thought the G1 was supposed to be the iPhone killer?

I gave it to a friend of mine in need. He didn't have a phone at the moment, so I just handed it over to him. What he chooses to do with it at this moment is in the least of my concerns.

Any impressions on Android overall?

Ya know, I know that Android has great potential. The G1 is a pretty solid piece of hardware, but the software could do a lot better. But, we have to remember that this is just the beginning of Android. I guess we have to wait and see where they take this. Samsung has announced three phone that will run off of Android, so I'll probably check those out if I get the chance. Like I said, we'll have to wait and see where Android goes in the future; most likely up.