This thread is for the Google Android Phone, or the T-Mobile G1.

El Reg, clearly relishing the idea of this headline for a while:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/23/tmobile_satan_phone/

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/09/g1-android-phon.html

it comes in BROWN guys

My wife is already talking about pre-ordering one and being an early adopter. She's been following this thing for some time.

I'd love to have a iPhone Touch equivalent of this. No phone, but Wi-Fi and the apps.

it comes in BROWN = well, UPS guys are away from home a lot

What are you on about, Chris? xpost lol are you making a size joek?

the real question that everyone is asking though when will it be available in the UK?

Microsoft tried the it comes in brown thing, didn't work. Incidentally I should fire up my red RNC complementary zune.

Wake me up when I can buy a blackberry storm/thunder.

no headphone jack.

less space than an iphone or a zune

I got a Nokia 5310

so far I like it but I have not put any tunes on it

http://www.beveragetoppers.com/store/catalog/images/mazel_tov.jpg

ok I'm putting tunes on it now. I'll post the playlist when I'm done.

Three weeks in and the trackball has broken. It's stopped scrolling up.

What's Tom's Nokia playlist? Air France and Robyn?

my guess is carl craig, the clash, the clash remixed by carl craig

Just got one yesterday. I love it. Especially after I learned to answer phone calls.

I have the brown one. It metallic, so it's more bronze than brown.

i took mine back. it's got potential, fun accouterments, there's just some baffling not-thought-through layouts and dis-enablements that made it untenable for business use. a problem of expectation perhaps, y'know like when i receive email i expect a smartphone to be able to open attachments??? the sidekick keyboard, bush league, couldnt get used to it. cumbersome navigation quirks, the autolocking pain in the ass. couldnt wait any longer for the cupcake of failure, which is rumored once again to be out next month... only had a month to return it anyway so nuts to that. i'll check out the 'g2' or whatever when it appears

my company pays for my service so i'm kinda stuck with t-mobile unfortunately. they have good service but their selection of smartphones is paltry. blackberrys are low on the fun chain but it came down to that; blahh.

What sorts of attachments are you unable to open? I opened a Word doc and a pretty large PDF with mine.

Man, T-Mobile is like a breath of fresh air after living for 10 years wearing feedbag full of human feces (that feces being Sprint).

they must have included it in a recent update. as of feb. it would show you an inactive picture letting you know you have an attachment, iirc there was some client in the android store that would allow for pdf attachments that was rumored to be buggy (but who knows, the comments section of all the apps is a haven for grouchy morons). tbh i got so used to lolwindows mobile (which has always had a great interface and layout, along with the bsod equivalents and lazy/unfair upgrade schedule you would expect from windows) the first phone i got after that was gonna feel my wrath. i could probably put up with g1 for personal use

Yeh, I can't speak to its use for business purposes. But for general use, personal productivity, and entertainment, it's A-OK w/ me.

Installed Cupcake - it's good.

did you seek it out, or did the update come to you automatically?

The OTA update beeped up on my phone at 4.30 this morning. On UK T Mobile, btw.

It seems to solve the blue tinge on all the photos it takes, which is nice. Still sucks the battery dry if you use the phone at all, though.

I read today that Europe is getting updates before US, tho some US customers have gotten updates. Also one site said that certain apps have prevented the cupcake update notification from showing?? Sounds weird.

My battery life is outstanding, even with lots of camera, internet, and phone use. GPS saps it though.

Ooh! I just got a service update notice. I hope it's Cupcake.

It WAS Cupcake. Cupcake is pretty great.

Okay, any reason i SHOULDN'T get this and get an iphone or a crackberry instead? I'm getting a smartphone and I'm almost out of contract on T-mobile. Make your arguments please.

i like my iphone.

lots.

is at&t service that much shittier than tmobile, as i hear? i m in ny/nj.

also my work and personal emails are on gmail.

i gmail but i really like my iphone.

so many apps & gadgets u can download for it that i think u would like forks. games and all that.

El Reg, clearly relishing the idea of this headline for a while:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/23/tmobile_satan_phone/

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, September 23, 2008 8:55 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

headline (and article) by my little brother. true story.

i kinda was hoping that the android model would allow for apps that apple would find uninteresting and potentially make it a free phone via skype and the like... android marketplace is not all that?
am i crazy for thinking a g-product is more likely to be populist?

i dunno! apple is weird with the app store but there are skype apps!

and peggle!

i gmail as well. works both thru the stock email app and the mobile interface.

I have never had an iPhone, so I'm not that knowledgeable. I would get either iPhone of G1 over Blackberry any day.

As for the G1:

Pros:
-cut and paste capability, including from web-pages, not just text your write
-T-Mobile's customer service beats the pants off Sprint's
-Plays very nicely with Gmail and other Google stuff (spreadsheets could use improvement though, but still usable)
-To put music on it, you just drag the file or folder over to the phone on your computer rather than messing w/ an iTunes library. The music interface isn't as pretty as iPhone/iPod, but that is more than made up for by what I just mentioned.
-Lots of free apps (including a metal detector app). I don't know if this is the case w/ iPhone
-equipment insurance. Though I heard a rumor that AT&T/iPhone were working on this.
-Very good internet capability. Fast and reliable
-option of using trackball/touch screen
-option of using real qwerty key pad/touch screen

Cons:

-Somewhat bigger than iPhone
-Not as attractive as iPhone
-probably doesn't play as well w/ iTunes as iPhone
-A couple things need smoothing out, such as automatic reorientation or the screen when you rotate the phone - works for everything except the apps tab. This will probably be addressed soon.

forks i get fine service w at&t

what about gmail prevents u from using an iphone? just set up an imap acct...

Cupcake took care of almost all of my problems w/ the G1. It now has video, more comprehensible icons, better control of settings, a nicer interface.

xp

My recommendation: fuck Blackberry (unless someone can why not) and get an iPhone or G1.

metal detector??

max is your email working yet?

(on iphone)

As I understand things, the metal detector uses the magnet in the compass to detect ferrous metals.

Haven't had the guts to root my phone, but PdaNet now has an Android version for tethering that doesn't require a rooted phone.

also you have to renounce your god when you sign the contract

yo my tickler just informed me I have 90 days remaining on my current contract.

do i:
a) incredible
b) nexus1
c) iphone4
d) other

iphone 4
http://en.pedalbrain.com/home

shasta what did u do

Any decent smartphones out there for £150? If so, which?

Phones4U is plotting a major marketing push to drive sales of Android phones.

In the ads, a CGI version of Google's Android robot brand character will be seen wearing a 'mankini' male swimwear item. Over the next month, the retailer will also give away a 'commemorative' mankini with every Android phone sold in its stores.

http://community.phones4u.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Stag-Do-483x580.jpg

Updated music app released on Android Market today.

Oooh.

We're sorry. Music Beta is currently only available in the United States

Maybe not.

http://images.scribblelive.com/2011/5/10/ce8d3c80-e3d9-40a9-8027-37f18373ac44.jpg

Lighting Science will start selling Android @ Home compatible lightbulbs by the end of the year.

I got my android phone from Phones4u last month and noone offered me a mankini. (this was not why I went through them)

does anyone know a way for this phone (HTC hero) to not show me every single one of my gmail contacts in the phone book? when i want to phone someone i don't really want to scroll through every single person i've ever emailed in the past 5 years??? (which is what gmail seems to do with my contacts!!!)

This is v. annoying, yes (i realise everyone has probably sussed how to do this by now, but I'm still learning)

I have my phone put people in my Phone address book instead of my Contacts address book. I think the "scans yr gmail and pulls every person, good or bad, you ever emailed" part is incredibly obnoxious.

what is music beta -- I am interested

you can star people and section them off as favorite contacts in android... leastwise the g1 allows you to.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/google-to-start-a-cloud-based-music-player/?scp=1&sq=google%20music&st=cse
tl, dr version:
music beta is google's music cloud service accessible by android devices. you can upload up to 20K songs and then stream them. There's also a hundred or so that you can leave parked in your device for moments when you're not connected to the web. google is arguing that they don't need music licenses any more than an ipod does. expect there to be some major court cases as they move to an alpha state; the industry is shook.

app is free? also by "connected to the internet" do you mean that it doesn't connect via 3G or what? (sorry, noob.)

Google Music

app is free. connects to the cloud/interwebs via wifi/3g whatever. but if you're on a plane/subway/out of wifi range, you can still access your personally chosen "most played" list.
what you CAN'T do is share music with other people or copy things off the cloud using their software. google sounds like they're banking on people being willing to cede ownership in favor of access and that's an idea that starts to make more sense. apple desperately is trying to do the same thing but they just don't beta test this shit so i imagine whatever they end up doing is going to just show up on itunes one day as a subscription service and we're off to the races.
i don't think there's clearly established legal precedents? Leastwise not enough so that people aren't already discussing going to court. too much money and power at play.

and yeah, as that other thread discusses, it's flash based which is a DEFINITE shot fired in apple's direction.

does anyone know a way for this phone (HTC hero) to not show me every single one of my gmail contacts in the phone book? when i want to phone someone i don't really want to scroll through every single person i've ever emailed in the past 5 years??? (which is what gmail seems to do with my contacts!!!)

Contacts -> menu -> view = shows options for only contacts with numbers or whatever u want to do

^^ Yes, this.

Holy crap that's perfect!! Thx.

np
Took me awhile before i figured that one out tbh

is there a way of closing down the intenet app, without having to open up bloody task manager etc to shut it down?

thx

afaict from some googling I did on this, "shutting down applications" is supposedly a kinda old-fashioned idea and thus not something Android is really made for. Or something like that.

should i get the htc sensation or the samsung galaxy S2 ?

Can anyone confirm or deny that HTC phones are essentially completely useless as MP3 players? I keep trying to transfer music over but it seems to just pick and choose which tracks it wants to recognise purely arbitrarily. I can't work out what I'm doing wrong.

No such problem with my HTC Desire. Occasionally it may take a bit more time than expected for the artist/album/song lists to update after transferring, though.

has anyone played with a nexus 4, they look p sweet (albeit kinda hueg)

idk the prospect of being another iphone owner seems unbearably mundane

at this point, my g1 and g2 have both become onuses; they're just not good phones
iphone for me in the future

heads up that t-mobile is now doing greatly discounted rates if you request them and no more contracts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/technology/personaltech/t-mobile-breaks-free-of-cellphone-contracts-and-penalties.html?hp
if you're on a plan with them, call them NOW; i just saved thirty bucks a month with no contract extension.
i really doubt they're gonna call you
will still be leaving once my contract is up tho

so I have one of these now. an in-law gave it to me. no idea what to do with it.

Will it blend

am currently figuring out how long it takes to charge. apparently quite awhile... I've never had a smartphone before, I guess my first step is to take it down to the AT&T store and get it on my company plan.

i have a new android phone. my first touchscreen. i already loathe it more than i ever thought i could loathe a phone and i've been on sodding blackberry for five years. ANYWAY what the hell do i do about this stupid machine autosyncing every one of my gmail contacts? there is no way i want them in my phone.

also, should i be worried that if i sync up someone's number with the gmail contact, that number isn't stored on the phone itself? so if i go out of signal or abroad will i be able to access it?

also i literally cannot type on a touchscreen and i cannot believe i'll ever get used to it. first attempt left me literally shaking with frustration and rage.

Are you using Swype / Swiftkey to type?

i don't know what those things are

how can i get it to stop vibrating when someone tweets me??? it's not in any of the settings

contacts folder is a gigantic mess that i am going to have to sort out manually

80% chance of me taking this thing back. i can't do ANYTHING on it and i can't get it how i want it in ANY way

back to blackberry

They are apps that you can download to make typing easier. You swoosh your finger across the keys and predictive text does the rest. They aren't perfect and are still substantially more annoying than a BlackBerry keyboard but you can type relatively quickly and accurately.

It will offer to sync your contacts with everything, including Facebook and Twitter. Always say no to this. Pretty sure it's never one it automatically for me though.

Definitely download SwiftKey, once you get used to it the predictions are excellent.

i can't find a way of preventing it autosyncing gmail contacts. it's a complete mess.

i tried swiftkey and it's even more insane and hard to get used to than touchscreens. i blame you all btw, how the fuck are these awful things the norm now?

also, i think i'm leaving the twitter and gmail apps running in the background, will i incur massive charges because of this? i don't know how to get them to stop

You must have an "accounts and sync" option in your settings and in there you can choose which accounts - Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc - you want to sync.

If Google is in the list of synced accounts, clicking it will let you choose which parts of Google you want to sync - calender, contacts, Drive, or whatever.

Like this:

http://i.imgur.com/z7k4gtq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5Pygnld.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QSi8AT7.jpg

Woah massive pictures sorry.

Sometimes you have to go into play store and settings to tinker with sync settings too.

Getting used to new interface is a pain and i really need to find a way to stop apps autoleeching my phones processing memory, but otherwise its worth sticking with for a week or two before judging it?

That said i fuckin hated that swype key thing and not only got rid but i ordered my minions to conduct ceaseless cyberattacks on their servers until they apologise personally to me, so mmv obv

I don't use the swipe key setting but it's predictor thing is fantastic.

Got a Nexus 5 and it's largely been awesome. Only thing I hate is that taking photos in HDR (I think?) mode, which takes good photos, makes it pretty much impossible to mail photos in portrait mode due to a hiccup in the way HDR works. I really like the swiping, and I've noticed the voice recognition/OK Google stuff is better than ever. Only thing that really, really bothered me, per Lex, is the way it imported all my google contacts - basically everyone I've ever emailed - so that I had to go through and manually delete 95% of my contacts list just to keep it neat and tidy. But yeah, Lex, all that stuff you can control or turn off in settings, somewhere.

i can't fucking type i can't fucking type i can't fucking type

finger on the wrong key at least 5 times out of 10, when on bus/train it's 9 times out of 10. when drunk i'll barely be able to operate it at all

WHY ARE TOUCHSCREENS THE ONLY OPTION

can't sort out contacts mess either

this phone is a useless brick

you're just not doing it right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucDFMqtZ4M