T-Mobile G1

We finally get a chance to unwrap the G1, the first phone to make use of the new Google Android technology, to see what makes it so sexy.

What You Need to Know

• It's almost two tenths of an inch thicker than the iPhone and weighs an ounce more
• The weight isn't really a problem, but it's a little bulky in your pocket
• Overall, it's utilitarian, so the iPhone has it beat in design
• The glass screen is fun to touch and incredibly responsive
• You may have to tap a few times to select something, but the iPhone isn't perfect either
• It also doesn't support multi-touch like pinch or zoom
• The keyboard is great; keys are widely spaced and easy to type on, meaning it's just as good as the Voyager or Sidekick
• The Blackberry Ball is yet another easy way to navigate, but it can be a little too sensitive
• The Chrome Lite browser is awesome
• The GPS had a little trouble locating, but the integration of Google Maps and Street View was perfect
• The Android Market is an excellent app store; find what you want, tap install and the notifications on the top of the screen let you know when it's downloaded and installed
• The music player uses the Amazon MP3 Store to download DRM free tracks
• You need a steady hand to use the camera
• As far as the operating system goes, we haven't had one crash in a week of use
• Battery life seems better than the iPhone but we haven't had enough time to rigorously test it
• The open source nature of Android makes this a future-proof OS, so we can see this overtaking even Apple in market share
• No headphone jack, so you'll need a USB to headphone adapter
• 3G coverage lacks like AT&T’s
• Can take 16GB Micro SDHC cards like SanDisk’s

Overall Rating: T-Mobile G1

• 87% (3.5 Seals of Approval) (how do we rate gadgets?)

Overall Rating: Google Android Platform

• 95% (4.5 Seals of Approval)

(As this is the first phone to run on the Google Android platform, we have given the Google Android software its own rating separate from the T-Mobile G1 phone)