The Dev phone isn’t missing the Youtube application. I was mostly just commenting on the fact that the built-in browser does not support Flash.

My phone might have an issue with the buzzing. It doesn’t happen all the time. I seem to mostly hear it when I first initiate a call. Once the person on the other end picks up, I don’t seem to hear it any longer. Another thing I have noticed though is that if I have the phone near me when I’m talking on a regular analog phone, it causes interference in the analog phone. I’ve noticed this before with other GSM phones, but this G1 seems to be worse. And no, T-mobile is not an option where I live…

You’re right. I did say that the lack of 3G isn’t an issue. That’s because I don’t have 3G coverage. All I have is EDGE. So yes, I’m going to complain about EDGE being slow, because it is ) That isn’t the fault of the phone though and I didn’t say it was

So far, I do like the G1. I don’t quite love it though. I think that’s mostly due to the actual hardware design of the phone. It takes a lot for me to fall in love with a phone.

you complaints about the number of actions needed to call are, in fact, pretty much mitigated by the voice dialer. when i call from the car, i put on my bluetooth headset, unlock the phone, and press and hold the green key. i say the name into the headset, and then have to glance at the screen (for the first time in this sequence) to confirm the result. everything except for that glance at the screen can be done tactily. i don’t feel unsafe doing it while driving.

about youtube videos – my phone plays them, beautifully. (no other flash content works, however.) my understanding is that this is standard, and i would be surprised if it’s a missing feature on the dev phone. maybe, though, if it fails on your phone.

re battery life – someone suggested getting some little toggle apps, for wireless, gps, bluetooth, from the app market, plus screen handling stuff. i agree that you need to resort to the market to handle it, but there’s one slice-bread caliber app, Power Manager, that does the trick automatically, according to your configuration and the current power circumstances (external power vs batter). it extended my battery life dramatically, to the point that i’m comfortable.

you also were frustrated with the on-screen browser resize controls, but i haven’t had the same problems. i can get exactly the size i want by tapping the +/- buttons without fuss. i haven’t used an iPhone, though, so haven’t experienced the bliss of multi-touch gestures.

like travis, i also believe the phone is, in part, designed to leave some of the nuances to the market. or, it may be that the early release was done confidently because some of the essentials (like power management, notepad, etc) are taken care of by market apps. your insistence on not using market apps may better represent the situation of people unwilling or unable to navigate the addon mindset, but i also think you could help guide those people to some of the essentials. for me, they include:


- Power Manager
- aTrackDog (and market updates tracker)
- BuzzOff (to reactivate your audible ringer after configurable time or distance)
- Password Safe
- Skype (for chat with those not on google talk)
- notepad (personal choice among available - i like AK Notepad)
- WorldClock
- countdown timer, stop watch, enhanced alarm (personal choice among available)
- My Maps
- Compass


there’s actually lots more that substantially enhance, like Weather Bug, ShopSavvy, VisaMobile, etc, but the above fill in some essential gaps.

you say being without 3g isn’t a big deal, but in the next sentence complain about EDGE speeds. thing is, this is another consequence of using the phone in an atypical way – it’s kind of amazing that you get all the functionality you do, considering that you’re on a network for which the hardware wasn’t intended. (AT&T uses a different set of frequences for their 3g, as you probably know.) perhaps t-mobile isn’t an option for you, but that’s making a distinct difference in your experience, and that’s worth expressing explicitly as a factor in the review.

i suspect (but am not sure) that the potential showstopper that you mention at the start of part 3 is the earpiece buzzing during calls. that sounds like a broken phone, justifying warranty repair or replacement, and not a fault of the platform in general. (i haven’t heard about the relative reliability of the hardware, but mine has been flawless.)

personally, the combination of android and the google productivity apps settles what’s been a 15 to 20 year pursuit (including various models of the sharp zaurus, other pdas, small computers, etc) for a comprehensive communications tool. one that doesn’t ghettoize my contacts, email, calendar – i want the info available at hand *and* on my desktop, at work, etc, without a lot of fuss. there is zero fuss with the g1, and the high quality of the apps (on computer and mobile device) is delicious icing. hopefully i’m not just a zealot, and the above info is helpful – i can’t recommend the platform enough, and would like to see it thrive. anyway, thanks for your thorough review!

I think I’m mainly only missing the voice dialing application on the dev phone, so I don’t think I’m going to play around with reflashing at this point…

Source: http://tinyurl.com/cm54st

Sure thing. I found the following info at the link below:

” Q: What is the difference between the G1 and the ADP1 (Android Dev Phone 1)?

A: The differences are cosmetic, radio lock configuration, and bootloader. Cosmetic differences consist of the removal of T-Mobile branding and a new etched back design. In addition the firmware that comes standard on the ADP1 is missing some of the customization Google and T-Mobile added to the G1. (However, this isn’t a major issue, as the ADP1 can be flashed with any firmware, including the official G1 firmware). ”

Source:

I do like that the G1 has individual call timers in your call log – I’m hoping the next iPhone software update will include that very easy feature.

The voice dialing thing probably is T-Mobile specific. I believe that voice dialing requires a remote server of sorts to process your voice, unless (like most iPhone apps) it’s prerecorded on your phone. That being said, there’s a good chance T-Mobile has something like that (could be how Verizon did it for my V325), so it has to be a T-Mobile-issued phone to work. Just a guess.

The Gtalk and Gmail clients look nice – of course, since Google played a big part in the development of Android. Can’t wait to see the rest of your take on it!

I’m reviewing it with an “out of the box” type approach.

How did you find the multi-tasking on G1, are the background notifications working well?

How does this phone compare to against the iPhone please???

You are referring to your ADP1 dev phone as a G1. They are not the same phone by far, and I don’t think its fair that you are reviewing a dev phone from the standpoint of a very casual user. This phone isn’t meant to be a normal G1, thus the signing up to be a developer and all.

If you want a better experience on your ADP1, you can visit some developer forums, and gain root access and install a heavily modified (but incredibly brilliant) version of Android OS called “JF 1.41″. This will give you pinch zoom in the browser, and will also give you auto rotate in the browser without having to open and close the phone.

There are things you can do to take care of the battery life. Turn off your wifi, and GPS, but DL and install “ToggleWifi”, and “ToggleGPS” from the market, and just create a shortcut on your desktop. Then you can just turn it on/off as needed. Also turn the brightness of the screen down and install “Fastbright” from the market. Then you can turn the screen brighter momentarily but have it revert to the same brightness after your task is done.

Try creating shortcuts on the desktop for some of your favorite contacts, this will seriously cut the number of clicks.

I like the review, it’s nice to see the phone from someone else’s point of view, as I am almost the only one I know that has one.

Mod it out, and have some fun with that thing. If not maybe we can trade, as I have a rooted regular consumer G1.

1. You have the dev adp1 phone, but use it like it’s a consumer grade G1. Most people that have this phone have prob modified the os for dev testing. You should do the same by getting root access, and installing the modified Android os named JF 1.41. This gives you finger pinch zoom in browser, along with.auto rotate without opening the phone, which is nice.

2. I don’t think you are familiar enough with some of the settings available to save you clicks. Also, if you DL toggle wifi, and toggle GPS from the market, you can turn them off when not needed-thus saving battery life. Also be sure to turn down the brightness, and DL a prog called fastbright from the market. This should help out a bunch!

Like the review so far, its interesting to hear someone elses perspective.