Comments on: T-Mobile G1: What we didn't get

The T-Mobile G1 offers some promising features, but it misses some important features as well.

[dirty55409]

Hmmm I actually thought about getting one of these but considering it has a proprietary jack as opposed to a 3.5mm jack turns me off completely. I realize there is or will be an adapter, but seriously, how dumb is that to not include a 3.5 jack? Not to mention I don't think the camera has a flash on it. But I could be wrong. Heck my 2 year old BB Pearl 8100 has a flash on it! Get with it phone manu's.

[bjbarnes23]

I was ready to buy this phone today but won't because it doesn't support exchange email. I hate exchange but I'm tethered to it nonetheless.

[trey2trey]

it comes with a 1gb memory card. this is a teriible terrible entry into the 3g world and into the world of smartphone/iphone competition. $130 gets me a instict from sprint with 4gb internal storage and 2bg memory card. and $200 gets me a iphone with 8gb storage, thousands of available apps and a 200% better looking phone. and a phone thats on a network that doesnt have 3g nationwide. this is stupidty run amuck.

Amazon MP3 store-Very Smart. iTunes needs the competition. No stereo Bluetooth? No 3.5 jack? Duh? Amazon can't be happy about these omissions, I'm not. For me they're a deal breaker. I'm a T-Mobile customer, been waiting for this phone. Not buying this version of it! Throwing off old proprietary shackles for new proprietary shackles.

[plaguester]

I too am curious whether the bluetooth profile is a hardware issue or a software issue. Also, unless t-mobile has something in the contract prohibiting it, there is no reason why a 3rd party could not create voip or tethering software.

The biggest missing feature for me is GPS. There are lots of apps that were in the Android Developer Challenge that utilize location-based services. Sure, you can get general location from towers, but several of those apps would be way better with GPS. I'll probably wait until a few more Android devices come out before choosing (although my crappy razor definitely needs replacing).

[urr_quasdim]

Your biggest missing feature is actually more powerful than the one on the iPhone, since it includes Street View!

[98clru]

Exchange server should be able to be accessed via gmail fetcher. I'd much rather have access to my contacts email and calendar via 3g than to have to deal with a dumb phone like a blackberry which seems to forever have server issues not to mention expense for a phone that doesn't have user friendly task or calendar. I use my curve primarily for the wifi and UMA.
After you use the g1 if it works half as well as the videos show you won't go anywhere near a BB unless forced to. My curve had no video at first but os4.5 (which someday will be supported by us carriers), added that to the standard curve still cam and I've seen lots of posts in forums that it works as well as any other cell phone video. It's a matter of time for the G1 to get video and stereo bluetooth via apps. I don't understand how it's hardware dependant but I've seen postings that UMA is hardware dependant, so I'll need to wait for the G2.
Questions I haven't seen answered is power port (isn't that part of the open handset movement) and I've seen nothing about not being able to sync via cable but maybe I missed that.

[Thomas, David]

...

"Video recording
We've raked Apple over the coals for not including this on the iPhone, so we'll have to to the same for the G1. Video should just be standard on a phone with a 3-megapixel camera."

What's with this idea of a phone doing video recording, yet still have the capability of being a decent handheld computer/mp3/phone? Battery Life HELLOOOOO!

Point being, it is probably not just ill advised, but a "STOOOOOOPID" idea to do video recording on an iPhone, or Android Phone (G1). Before you're going to see video, these devices would have to be a thousand times more efficient than they are today. And by todays standards, they are pretty efficient. Instead of having to plug it in each day, how about we start worrying about video, when we don't have to plug them in for a week?!!

[buggermenot]

the thing about the proprietary headset jack in place of the 3.5, is that this port is also the charging port. So, you cannot lay back in bed, or the airport, and listen/watch a podcast or music or whatever, while simultaneously listening to your G1 like you can with the iPhone (which I had for all of a week but gave back due to it sucking as an actual phone) or my pearl 8120 . Also proprietary connectors are just dumb.

[punkzanyj]

you can get an adapter for that. T-Mobile gave me one free with my Wing, so they do exist, and HTC does make them.

[tvphil]

Dear Kent German....News flash, it's open source. You honestly believe none of the big issues, namely stereo bluetooth, video capture and enterprise syncing can't and will be solved by the app community of developers? It can and should happen before version 2.0, that's the beauty of open source Kent.Stereo bluetooth is a software, not a hardware issue.As for video capture, Qik.com has already announced on their blog that they hope to have a Qik app for the G1 shortly after it's released.They came out with a streaming/capture app for the iphone within one week of it being released, I think they can do the same thing for the G1. So everyone, please, try to understand open source. It's not a locked OS and it won't brick your phone like Apple does to jailbreaked iphones, hackers will love this phone. My only concern is for T-mob's insane 1 GB data limit. I don't think they'll enforce it, they love J.D.Power too much to do it.

[urr_quasdim]

Yes, hackers will love the G1 - especially the malicious variety: with no supervision over open source apps, you can bet that some of those will have malware that will put users in deep trouble! I'd much rather have a system like Apple's, where apps are tested and checked before releasing them to the iTunes store, so you can be pretty confident you are downloading clean software.

[bugma302]

I wonder how "deliberate" some of the omissions are. Obviously T-Mobile don't want you using VOIP and although I have no doubt Exchange and Outlook synching will be along at some point isn't it in Googles favour to convert people to the joys of Gmail and online apps?

[sailorz3]

@ crothers71 It has gps, It stil has bounderies but the fact that I can write my own apps and do not have to go to a (apple) store and the fact that it is completey legal to do so is the best part, the uma is the only problem I have, also here are the specs for the phone http://www.htc.com/www/product/g1/specification.html

[Fussyman]

G-Phone is no where near the beauty of the iPhone. It is like any Nokia mobile phone which is fast lossing its sexy appeal. People don't just buy a lifestyle phone just because it is 'functional' or come with more features (which is not with the G-Phone). If rational reason is key, Creatives Zen musical device would have beaten iPod long ago...

[u_ser_name]

C O P Y and P A S T E
is conspicuously missing.
I'm not talking about being able to copy and paste from one email message to another.
I'm talking about the feature as we all know it, where you could copy from any program to any other program (e.g. from the web browser to email or work processor.
I T'S M I S S I N G.

Please o your job and report the facts (as in *real* journalism). Be a promoter of progress that way and help unveil product shortcomings while hailing worthy achievements. Play the two contenders against each other so that we can all win through better, more competitive products.

WAKE UP!!! Don't be corporate a$$ kissers.

[urr_quasdim]

Check out Nicole Lee's Crave on CNET, comparing the G1 to Apple iPhone 3G. It is the comparison you seek, and you'll see that the G1 does have copy and paste capability.

[gautam_bjr]

The G phone should compete with iphone 3g not the first iphone. It would be like comparing a new computer with a 8086. And when you compete with something you try to make it better not the same. Too much crap for an expensive device.

[mbenedict]

Just to correct a few posts here, the G1 phone DOES have GPS built-in, plus a digital compass, plus accelerometers (motion sensors.)

[sting7k]

Is stereo bluetooth really that important to people? I don't know a single person who uses this on any phone. And the very few I have seen complained that it killed their battery fairly quickly. I have a hard time using wireless headphones, I just don't see how they can be better than a set of good wired ones.

[punkzanyj]

they aren't, they're just cooler and easier.

I have a pair of bluetooth headphones, and use it with my wing. First, it had distortion, which I fixed with a registry tweak. THe side effect being that my videos no longer get sound when I record. It just doesn't record sound with the video. Secondly stereo bluetooth makes it run very slow, and it's pretty near impossible to listen to music in bluetooth stereo and try to do anything else, like text or read, or surf. It doesn't just kill battery, it locks up the processor, too.

[heartattackman]

Umm...how about the fact that for roughly the same price as an iPhone you get 1/8 the storage space? Seems like a rather serious omission for an iPhone competitor, no? If they throw in a free 8 or 16GB flash card, then I'll be happy.

And for me, who uses their iPhone predominantly as a music player, having to carry around an adapter for the headset really is a big deal. I'm not sure why people are so gung-ho for stereo bluetooth though. Is carrying around a pair of wired headphone really that much of a hassle?

[deed211]

I'm thinking the G1 has the simplelist features like multimedia messaging ect... im a current iphone owner but if this phones adds all the features named above and a better browser than the iphone and also be available in a green model version, I'm willing to make a switch.

[angry jubu]

Typical of HTC - close, but no cigar. I think the deal breaker for me may be the lack of a 3.5mm jack and support for stereo bluetooth (although, if that's a firmware upgrade, I can wait). Lack of GPS *would* be a deal breaker.

BTW, it's a black phone. I don't know why they've got it pictured here as white.

[davidsmi]

wow - keyboard and touch screen - that is great!

I think a lot of early-adopoters on the iPhone will move if iPhones doesn't open up more. But having this phone may make that happen.