Archive for category mobile

I know that the G1 and Android has been covered extensively over the last month since the official release of the G1, but after using mine for a few weeks I wanted to write up some of my thoughts here.

The first thing that comes to mind is that both the hardware and the software far exceeded my expectations.  Now I had never spent much time playing with the SDK or reading blogs before the official release of the G1 but I just didn’t expect anything extraordinary from the 1.0 release of Android and a brand new handset model.  I have used other people’s iPhones for short periods of time so I can honestly say that I was surprised at how good the quality is on the G1 handset and the Android software was fantastic for a 1.0 release.

From the pictures I had seen before I bought my handset, I actually thought the handset looked cheap and dorky.  In reality I was surprised at how solid and nice the thing turned out to be.  I bought the new Bronze color model and it really looks quite nice and has a great feel.  Even the flip up screen that reveals the keyboard has a solid feel to it.  I don’t exactly like the keyboard and the little “chin” at the bottom of the handset, but they hardly bother me now that I have gotten used to them.

I’m really looking forward to improvements and I think that although the current release is pretty solid, the opportunities for interesting new features and improvements has me excited.  I guess I am biased since I am am open source Java developer, but the Android software has a lot of potential when you consider all the people that will be able to find new ways to tweak it.  I think there are plenty of people who will be happier working in their familiar Java language than learning Objective-C.

So if you are reading this and have any doubts about the choice between an iPhone or a G1, I recommend playing wih the G1 and giving it a try.  You just might be surprised like me.