One million Googlephones expected in '08 Google's Android platform appears to be a much hotter seller than first anticipated by HTC, maker of the T-Mobile G1 phone. The Taiwanese handset manufacturer is almost doubling its G1 shipment expectations for the year. HTC believes it can ship about one million G1 phones by the end of 2008, upped from figures of around 600, …
They need that design company, badly.
If they think they can flog more G1s then more power to their elbow, but you have to wonder who's buying them. Even the greatest fan of the OS has to concede that there's got to be better Android phones waiting in the wings.
I'm certainly *not* the greatest fan of the OS - it seems completely undercooked to me. Aside from the long list of missing features, the shocking battery life is a serious concern, and not just for the G1.
>And the winner was
>Android.
In a speed test yes. So what? It's obvious a hardware keyboard is going to be better. But that means carrying a brick around with you.
Once companies other than HTC start making Android phones and offer things like multitouch then it will take off.
I've nothing against the software, it will get better and better and hopefully kill off the dismal clunky rubbish that is Symbian S60.
iPhone OS and Android will certainly concentrate the minds of Microsoft and Symbian, they've been doing nothing to advance the mobile experience for years.
It's should HAVE you illiterate fool. If you'd actually thought about what you are writing you might not have ended up looking like an idiot.
The Queen OF England.
A packet OF crisps.
I HAVE been to school, you clearly HAVE not.
You should HAVE gone to school.
It's pretty bloody obvious.
Also, I don't mind the looks of the G1 and certainly prefer the UI (not to mention the price) to the iPhone's. I think I'll go out and pick one up today.
Ok, it's no iPhone beater on looks... but they actually look pretty good in the flesh compared to the images I've seen online and in magazines. I'm pretty happy with mine so far... just waiting for more killer apps to come along... but that's the beauty of android... build it and they will come! ;p
Tux? Because Android is a bit like Linux... great foundation for something great as long as the developers get behind it!
Long list of missing features? It does email, web, pictures, sounds, contacts, calendar, texts, oh, and you can also use it to talk to people. Having borrowed an iPhone, Blackberry Storm and G1 from friends and used each for 3 or 4 days I ordered a G1 from T-Mobile 30 minutes ago.
The only downsides I noticed are the lack of a video player, someone will end up writing a half decent one soon - plus watching video on a tiny screen is something only schoolchildren on the backs of buses do; and I'm not too keen on the kink at the bottom, I'd rather it was flat, but that's not something that'll worry me greatly.
Battery life was not a problem, especially with the RC8 update, but then I do this weird thing whereby I plug my phone in to charge up overnight whilst I'm sleeping. Strange, I know, but then we all have our crosses to bear.
It has email, calendar and contacts if you live through your Gmail account. If you're in the real world and use Exchange, the G1 is a waste of space.
The battery life may be improving (I don't know) but it was certainly very poor on release - not in the "charge it every night" way but the "charge it every few hours" way. That they released the phone in that condition doesn't really bode well for Google's understanding of what makes a good phone.
I don't use an Exchange server as I work from home (note, this still appears to be the "real world" from where I'm sitting - rather nice actually, couple of squirrels trying to get onto my birdfeeder and two robins fighting over the other side of the garden).
I sync the data automatically to Gmail and then it automatically syncs to a G1 (I set this up for my friend, as mine doesn't arrive till tomorrow I only know that it worked in testing and he hasn't complained yet). This seems less hassle than plugging in a cable and doing a manual sync, although Android being fairly open I'm sure someone will write an app to do it manually soon. If I find my method doesn't work for my needs I'll just write an app myself.
As to the battery life I didn't have a problem, but then I don't spend hours doing email and surfing the web on a phone, for serious work I'll use a computer. Does anyone really do hours of work online on a phone? And if so can any of them manage it?
Sorry for the double post, I should mention that if I was running Exchange (and didn't mind the added expense of running a BES) I would go for a Blackberry for the reasons you mention. Although not the Storm due to Vodaphone's stupid call prices abroad (110p a minute from the US! Twice what T-mobile charge) and the fact I don't get on with its touch screen. I'd probably go with a Curve in that case but I'd still prefer the G1's UI.
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