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Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10 fails for the T-Mobile G1 (Google Android phone)

Discover several ways that the new "Google Phone" comes up short

Brennon Slattery

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T-Mobile's G1 mobile phone debuted last week and critics have been quick to compare it with Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry. However, because there are many omissions, shortcomings and flat-out disappointments in Google's first foray into the mobile phone market, the G1 and Google Android aren't faring too well. Here's our round-up of the 10 biggest disappointments of the G1.

10. Multitouch MIA
A small oversight, but those familiar or in love with Apple's innovative multitouch interface will groan when they discover the same feature isn't present on the G1.

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9. Accelerometer quirk The G1 includes an accelerometer, but it functions only when the keyboard flips out, not by tilting the device. So if you want to surf the web in widescreen, you must first double the size of your phone. Cosmetic differences such as this could spell 'selling point' or a 'walk-away'.

8. Uninspiring interface While it's not the ugliest kid on the block, the G1 interface doesn't 'wow' in any way. It's ok but its not quite what you'd expect from HTC's innovation and coming from under the shadow of Apple's obsessive aesthetics.

7. No video recording You'd think HTC would pack in some video recording capabilities with that 3.2Mp camera. It didn't, forgoing a unique opportunity to beat Apple at its own game - the iPhone does not support video recording either. If they'd snuck in that feature, some of the G1's other shortcomings would be more tolerable. As is, the newcomer is playing par for the course and not challenging mobile phone conventions.

6. Battery life lacking Talk-time on the G1 is standard: five hours. But the phone's stand-by time is a raging disappointment: the G1 can sit still for only 130 hours, compared to the iPhone's 300. And I thought my iPhone's battery was inadequate; this is almost unacceptable. So keep your charger handy, because you'll need it.

5. Skimpy Storage The G1 comes standard with 1GB of storage with an optional 8GB Micro-SD add-on. 8GB might sound like a decent number, but with competitors handling as much as 16GB built-in, the G1 becomes more of a money suck.

4. Stingy data cap Google on the go - but with a hard stop at 1GB. T-Mobile quietly announced a 1GB data cap on the G1. However, the iPhone offers "unlimited" data connectivity. Moderate to heavy data users will plow through T-Mobile's 1GB cap in no time at all, leaving them with 50Kbps. This is not so much a problem with the phone itself, but T-Mobile's stinginess is tied to the G1 and impossible to ignore.

3. Desktop synching absent Like the lack of Exchange server support, the absence of desktop synching makes it difficult to connect with Outlook. No desktop synching means no ActiveSync; no ActiveSync means millions of Outlook users are left out in the cold. The G1 is bad for business.

2. Wanted: 3.5mm headphone jack If I were going head-to-head with one of the biggest music giants in the world, I think I'd pack some tunes. Unfortunately the G1 neglected to include a 3.5mm headphone jack, relying instead on a USB port. That means buyers of the G1 will have to purchase a headphone jack adaptor to enjoy their Amazon.com MP3 store on the go. This omission is so foolish it's almost hilarious - who thought this could possibly be a good idea?

1. No exchange T-Mobile and Google will be hard-pressed to compete with RIM's BlackBerry or any other modern smartphone, given the absence of Exchange server support. This omission seems particularly foolish given the G1's built-in qwerty keyboard and 3G connectivity. The iPhone's touch keypad is awkward and messy for people writing email on the go; with the qwerty, the G1 had a primo opportunity to hone in on Blackberry's turf. Google reps said they expect third-party application developers will create Exchange support soon enough, but its absence from the initial rollout sets the G1 behind competition just one day after its release.

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Comments received


dave said on Tue, 30 Sep 2008

T-Mobile has rescinded their 1Gb cap. Currently, they are reevaluating what the cap should be and will announce the new cap later. It will still be labeled "unlimited"...

Revels said on Tue, 30 Sep 2008

@Zdamaga er, right! Word and stuff. You sure you're at the right party?

I still think that the G1 looks pretty sweet. Look forward to trying one. Not sure if I'd swap my iPhone over but at least Google is trying something different.

James said on Tue, 30 Sep 2008

Im a macworld subsriber, but why are you spending time reviewing the Google android when its not an apple product? surely you should be digging more for info on the new macbooks?

jake said on Tue, 30 Sep 2008

Accelerometer quirk: the accelerometer works WITHOUT the keyboard open, just depends on the application implementing it. See second video here with the videoplayer auto-rotating with the keyboard CLOSED @ 2:00 in the 2nd video on Engadget's "T-Mobile G1 video hands-on"
Currently the OS is configured to rotate to landscape view when keyboard is open.
3.5mm headphone jack: T-Mobile is including the adapter for later phones that ship according to Engadget's "T-Mobile G1 impressions".
Skimpy shortage: nice of you to mention capacity but not price, 8gb microSDHC is $25-$50 shipped depending on where you look, if on ebay you can get 2 8gb cards for ~$50-60 making the price $240 for 16gb + the 1gb included. 16gb microSDHC @~$80 is just announced and the G1 just needs a firmware upgrade to support that and up to 32gb microSDHC if that becomes available. So memory price isn't bad at all.

Benny said on Tue, 30 Sep 2008

Battery life lacking - that is rich. The iPhone has no life and you can't even keep a spare battery to swap it with.

Stewart said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

The absence of Multitouch interface does not make or break a Phone... If the UI does a good job with regular touch screen, then its good enough.


Andy said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

@ Benny - I often find people complain about the iPhone's battery life yet fail to acknowledge the need to recharge often comes from actually making use of their iPhone far more often, for a huge range of functions on top of standard phone calls, than any previous phone they've tended to own. All previous phones I've ever owned failed in that respect, with their designers seeming to think it made sense to bury important functions several layers deep, or including functions that were useless for the majority of people. Then there's the complete rejection of the Mac market, providing Windows-only software and tending, as most recently I discovered with LG, to treat enquiries about providing Mac software with absolute disdain.

When I've been playing Spore on the iPhone for a couple of hours, I'm not going to be surprised or annoyed at the need to recharge the device. It stands to reason - the more you use it, the more things you use it for, the less the battery life.

Meraj Chhaya said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

Why is there a post solely on T-Mobile G1 on a site dedicated to Macs???

parv said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

people who complain about the iPhone battery life should buy an external battery pack. I bought Kensington one and it works perfectly. Okay, it's ugly but it works!

Revels said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

@Meraj Chhaya I think your answer is in the first sentence: "people have been quick to compare it to the iPhone". The G1 is clearly a rival to the iPhone and therefore of interest to everyone on this site.

Judging by the number of people commenting here it's certainly interesting enough to all us regular Macworld readers and iPhone owners.

Kev said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

@parv - no they should not need to buy external anything. The battery should be changeable without paying Apple a cent.

Chris said on Wed, 01 Oct 2008

There is so much false information in this article... Sorry that a phone came out that's going to trump you iPhones. Get over it.

graystar said on Thu, 02 Oct 2008

The plain truth is that both Iphone and Google G1 have shortcomings. Neither will please both sets of owners/users entirely. Video Recording seems an issue with both handsets although you can download a Video Recorder application with the Iphone and may be able to do the same with the G1. The Samsung Omnia is also a good rival and this still has shortcomings! All these similar handsets will have lovers and loathers and that is I guess just healthy competition in this very intense smartphone marketplace.

me said on Thu, 02 Oct 2008

sooo...the phone is good..or bad? ahh i wish it came out here already...soooo..most ppl prefer the iphone?...^^

J40 said on Thu, 02 Oct 2008

I'd rather have 1GB internal memory with the option of adding extra cards rather than being stuck with the 16GB in my iPhone. Forget video... I want a memory card slot in my phone. A woeful omission by Apple; surely to force upgrades when higher capacities come along

Justin said on Fri, 03 Oct 2008

Do your research, all but one of these are false. In reguards to the no video recording, buy a camcorder.

JRuin said on Sat, 04 Oct 2008

The cap is going to be much bigger than 1G, that's for sure. And being an open source device, there will be an application to make it capable of video recording, I would be willing to bet on that. The 3.5mm headphone jack would be nice, but I'm more concerned about it not being Stereo Bluetooth supported. And I'd rather have 8gb of swappable memory over 16gb built in any day. One more thing too, who needs the standby time on their phone to exceed 100 hours? How hard is it to plug it in while you get ready in the morning, or just before bed? My Blackberry dies in about two days, but I charge it daily, so I have nothing to worry about.

Marni said on Tue, 07 Oct 2008

I bought my boyfriend an iPhone for his college graduation. Now I'm a PC and he's a Mac, but even I have to admit that the iPhone is damn sexy. I even looked into buying one for myself and unlocking it, but...oh, what hassle. Also, there were things I just didn't want to live with, such as the lack of voice dialing. Trivial to some, but I really use this feature, so this was a deal breaker for me.) I'm with T-Mobile and I love my service. I have nothing really to complain about with them. So you can imagine how excited I am about this phone since iPhone really isn't an easy option for me. I'm not knocking the iPhone. I'm just glad to have this option. Whether you're a Mac or a PC or neither, these two phones are good news...at least in my house. Now I'm just hoping for some cross-platform apps that my boyfriend and I can both run to interact with each other!

HS said on Sun, 19 Oct 2008

10.U R RIGHT.
09.SW Fix.
08.SW Fix.
07.SW Fix.
06.Full Keyboard.
05.up 2 16G card can u swith a card?? :-).
04.WiFi is more than enough.
03.WHO needs sync,I Google.
02.U R Right;HW Limit.
01.WHO needs exchange,push email is good.

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