T-Mobile G1

[adamz]

As many of you may know, T-Mobile was the first carrier in the USA to release HTC's first phone (the HTC Wallaby) which was also the first full touch screen smart phone available in North America. It was running Windows Mobile, then known as Pocket PC Phone Edition and, at the time, was the most powerful Smartphone around. That was six years ago. Now, T-Mobile has released HTC's first phone that does not run Windows Mobile. The G1 runs the Open Handset Alliance and Google's first attempt at a Smartphone operating system called Android.*The following review will primarily look at the G1's offering from the perspective of a heavy user of Windows Mobile. <a href='http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=1108'>Read on</a> for the detailed review!

<b>Overall Rating</b>:
<img>http://pocketnow.com/images/rating/2half.jpg</img>

<b>The Good</b>
<li>Completely navigable via hardware keys</li>
<li>Includes Google Street View with Digital Compass</li>
<li>Syncs with GMail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar</li>

<b>The Bad</b>
<li>Plethora of functional limitations compared to Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 </li>
<li>Large form factor </li>
<li>Poor build quality</li>

[allankleung]

Google Navigator 4.1 and above for WinMo also has "Street View" function though without digital compass. Basically G1 is not the first mobile device having this sweet function.

[adamz]

Well, look at that!
http://www.pdafun.net/index.htm

You're right, Windows Mobile does already have street view support. Thanks for the correction. Google Navigator looks very feature-rich, but $59 is a bit up there.

[bluetoof]

The main post shows a final score of 2.5 overall but the 3rd final page shows 3 overall. Which is it?

[allankleung]

A bit more info to share:

http://www.intomobile.com/2008/10/10/google-maps-street-view-on-windows-mobile.html


The freeware "Google Maps" for Blackberry and iPhone has already included "Street View".

It will definitely come to WinMo, just the matter of time. :=)

[adamz]

The main post shows a final score of 2.5 overall but the 3rd final page shows 3 overall. Which is it?

3.
Appears to be fixed now.

[Jenna_Ice]

I got a chance to play with this for about an hour, and I just cant get over the plasticky looking feel and sheer size of it. It's pretty good but I honestly don't see how this would appeal to the consumers who are being presented with a whole array of "great looking" phones. That being said, the review was stellar as usual, as only Adam Lein can do. Very well done.

[natestera]

great review!