HTC G1 white

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HTC G1 white Dimensions (w/h/d): 56 x 117 x 17 Weight: 158g Talk Time: 5 hours 20m Stand By: 406 hours Camera: Camera Resolution: 3.2MP Handset Type: Slide Coverage (Band): Quad Video Camera: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Memory Slot: WiFi:

Dimensions (w/h/d): Weight: Talk Time: Stand By: Camera: Camera Resolution: Phone Type: Coverage (Band): Video Camera: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Memory Slot: WiFi:

Dimensions (w/h/d): Weight: Talk Time: Stand By: Camera: Camera Resolution: Phone Type: Coverage (Band): Video Camera: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Memory Slot: WiFi:

Our Review of the HTC G1 white

On the main menu of the G1 you can drag and drop icon shortcuts to your most frequently used applications, moving icons to pretty much anywhere you like on the screen. You can move icons from any sub menu and dump them on to the main screen for you convenience.

Not since Apple announced the iPhone has there been so much anticipation surrounding the release of a handset. The G1 marks the official debut of Google's much talked-about Android OS platform designed specifically for mobile phones. Manufactured by HTC of Taiwan, makers of the desirable Touch Diamond and Touch Pro smartphones, and available exclusively on T-Mobile, the G1 is a truly collaborative effort. Much attention to detail has gone into the design and construction of both the phone and the software which runs beneath the shiny plastic casing.

Anyone familiar with the iPhone or even Windows Mobile phone layouts will feel right at home with a phone running on Android; in fact the main menu looks more or less like an amalgamation of the two. On the main menu you can drag and drop icon shortcuts to your most frequently used applications (camera, browser, maps, etc), moving icons, including the large clock, to pretty much anywhere you like on the screen. You can move links to sites and popular online applications like YouTube and GoogleMaps, moving icons around with your fingers or a stylus is accompanied by a haptic feedback buzz. You can move icons from practically any sub menu and dump them on to the main screen for you convenience.

The G1 is geared primarily for mobile web browsing and social networking on the go, and as such, the phone comes equipped with a full physical QWERTY keypad which is tucked away under the main screen. You hold the phone in 'landscape' mode and slide the display up and then out away from the main body of the phone to reveal the keyboard underneath. The slide mechanism is reassuringly robust, a good thing seeing as the G1 is optimised for internet capabilities, composing emails and general web browsing. The accelerometer built into the G1 automatically orients the screen display for you. The keys depress nicely and definitely, and the handset is large enough for you to easily grip with two hands allowing you to type with your thumbs a la BlackBerry.

Dimensions wise, the phone is a sizeable 117 x 56 x 17 mm, and is not what you'd call strictly slimline, but then again much of the phone's chassis is taken up by the sliding touchscreen display and the keyboard, so you can't really fault HTC in terms of design. As we mentioned earlier, the size of the phone is just big enough for you to comfortably get two hands around so that typing is natural and not a fiddly ergonomic nightmare. The weightiness of the phone (158g) also lends a feeling of solidity and durability. You'll also notice that the bottom most section which contains the menu keys and the tracker ball juts out slightly, like a more acutely angled Motorola RIZR Z8.

The 3.2" 320 x 480 screen displays web pages more than adequately, and you can zoom in an out of web pages by tapping the dedicated zoom in/out keys on the Android browser or make use of the much more intuitive magnifying rectangle tool; whilst neither of these options are quite as fun as the iPhone 'pull and pinch' method, it works well enough for you to be able to view text and links legibly. You can have up to six web pages open at a time, which shrink down to little thumbnails, as opposed to more traditional tabbed browsing; this takes a bit of getting used to, but its actually more space efficient. Browsing is a pretty slick affair, with no noticeably sluggish loading times; pages rendered quickly and nicely.

The integrated Music application, signified by a glowing green treble clef icon on the desktop, helps you organise your tunes into playlists and belt out tunes in a range of formats, including MP3, AAC and WMA. Unfortunately, the G1 doesn't come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you'll want to purchase an adaptor if you want to make the most of the audio playback capabilities.

The biggest gripe with the G1 is its camera, although to be fair, HTC set out to make a phone which is primed for mobile web use, and it excels at that. If you're expecting imaging miracles from the G1, then you're going to be disappointed. That said, the 3.2 Megapixel camera which comes with autofocus, isn't terrible, (pictures taken on it look fine on the large display) but it's going to be seriously outclassed by other smartphones cameras in the months to come.

The G1 comes with some 2GB of memory, and can accommodate up to 16GB of additional memory via the microSD card slot. Battery life gives you an impressive 5 hours and 20 minutes of talk time and just over 400 hours of standby power.

 Pros

Customisable drag and drop desktop menu.
Large touchscreen display combined with neat keyboard.
The ultimate mobile social networking experience?

 Cons

3.2 Megapixel camera is kinda old hat in this day and age.

Our Rating

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Another milestone in mobile phone development; the G1 offers users an excellent mobile web experience.Tapping out emails, SMS and Facebook messages on the keyboard is simple and effortless. Google's Android has landed and it means business.

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