Vox

Call Me ...

...or text me, or email me, or IM me, or Tweet me......

Yep, I have the Google phone and so far, for the most part, it truly does rock.

It is small and lightweight, yet features a large clear screen. Not only is the keyboard QWERTY, it features the numbers on a separate row (my old MDA required ALT+ a letter to get the numbers) The trackball, which gets very little mention in any ads, is genius for navigating. T-Mobile customer service has been great (I've been with them just over 2 years).

But that is all just standard phone stuff - the major win is in the applications.

What I use regularly:
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• YouTube viewer - quick, easy & clear on my phone.
  
• Gmail - never had a Gmail account before but, since I can't get Cox to authorize my email through the phone (Cox fail) I use this quite a bit.
  
• Google maps/GPS - loving this, especially the ability to see the streetview.
  
• Text - OK, pretty standard but the keyboard makes it easier and, unlike my last phone, this threads conversations by contact so I can see what it was I asked my sister about when she answers me cryptically 3 hours later ;-)
  
• Web browser - other phones have it, this one is nothing special, but very handy.
  
• Music player - I love having the option of listening on my phone when I don't want to carry my MP3 player. (if I don't have the song, I can always find it on YouTube) I also like being able to choose a fitting song/sound clip for a ring tone. For instance, my sister is the hook from "Sisters", the office says "Did I make it clear you JOB is at stake?" (yes, had that on my MDA, too)
  
• Google calendar - this I have used before online, but now I have ramped it up. Very convenient to access and get reminders.
  
• Alarm - Set several alarms, repeat on the days you choose (mine is only Mon-Thurs), choose your alert music. Well done and flexible.

What I've added from the market:

• AK Notepad - Yes, the phone should come with a list app pre-installed, but at least there is a good one available. Easily make lists, set reminders...
  
• Tune Wiki - works with your music player or YouTube and scrolls the lyrics in time to the music. I have only found one song that didn't have lyrics available. Nice
  
• ProFootball, College Football, ProBasketball - Wonderful sports apps that track your teams, give you up to the minute scores, play-by-play, latest news, pics. These apps make the phone worth the monthly charge all by themselves.
  
• We The People - Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights - on my phone (OK, don't use that a LOT, but nice to have it there)
  
• Shop Savvy Compare Everywhere - Scan a barcode, get pricing. Tried Shop Savvy first, like Compare Everywhere better. Also allows you to add items to wish list or shopping list, and send list via email.
  
• Twitli Twitdroid - I am still not completely sold on Twitter, though I certainly see the appeal. Tried Twitli first and was underwhelmed. Twitdroid is much better. UPDATE: Twitdroid doesn't quite do it, either. What it adds, I don't need, what I need, it doesn't have. I will probably just use the mobile browser for all my Twitter needs. UPDATE: Re-installed Twitdroid for the picture tweeting function. And replies, which I can't do specifically through the mobile site.
  
• Pintail - send me a text message with the right code and Pintail sends you my location (complete with a map link if you have a smart phone or sent the message from computer, say via Yahoo messenger). So, if my sister or D want to know where I am, I don't have to answer them, my phone does it for me.
  
• UPDATE: GPS Tracker - I still have Pintail installed, but find this even more useful (and fun). If you don't need to know when someone is checking your location, you can give them your secret link to InstaMapper which will give them your latest location. (I think you can set it to show your full route, too) You set how often it updates, I went with a long lag since I rarely go anywhere ;-) Gives enough data for my sister to know if I am at work or for D to know if I left yet.
  
• PicSay - photo 'editing' app. Mostly just fun stuff like adding props and word balloons. Fun time killer.
  
• SkyMap - Point it at the sky above and, using your GPS, it tells you what you are looking at. Beyond cool.
  
• Shazam - This is the app you see advertised in the iPhone ads. It 'listens' to music and tells you what the song is - and gives you links to the artists MySpace page and Amazon for purchase. Awesomeness.

Games I added:

• Solitaire - This is where it falls down. The game works well enough, but the graphics are not great. Also, no score is kept - I like to see how I did, even when I win (which seems abnormally often with this game).
  
• Brain Genius - Fun app, much like Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. I use it more to pass time than on any sort of schedule, but still - fun.
  
• Zombie, Run - OK, OK...stupid game. It uses your GPS to locate you, then populates the area with zombies. That chase you. You can see them on your map as they get closer and you have to run away. What? Who doesn't love Zombies?
  
• Amazed - Yep, the roll-a-marble-through-a-maze game. Fun & mindless, and cool that my phone knows what direction it is being tilted.
  
• MineSweeper - Love this game but it isn't quite right for this phone...yet. I will still play it and wait for updated versions.
  
• Christmas Snow Globe - Just what it says. Picture of a snow globe with a Christmas greeting. Shake your phone and the snow starts to fall. Silly and cute.
  
• Lexic - make words from a grid of letters. More fun, and more challenging, than you would expect.

Now for the bad - -
* The camera, which takes great 3.2 megapixel pictures - but way too dark. It works OK outside, but inside, even with all the lights on, not so much. No adjustment to be found. Either it doesn't take video or I am just unable to find it. Also, when I get a picture or video sent to me, they don't display well. I have that whole big beautiful screen, and less than a quarter of it is used for images I receive - and they are still pixelated.
* Speaking of pictures being sent to me, I'll be darned if I can figure out how to save them and/or use them for anything. D sent me some gorgeous shots yesterday, and there they sit, languishing away in my messaging inbox.
* The trackball - yes, I said I loved it, and I do. However, I would really like arrow keys, as well (yes, I am nit-picking. It's a great phone, there's not a lot not to love.)
* Voice dialer - not even close. Give me the voice tags I had for my MDA, at least they worked 95% of the time.
* The dialer screen - actually, the screen isn't the problem. The fact that it shuts off so quickly while you are in a call is. If you are checking your voicemail, by the time you need to enter your code, the screen is blanked and you have to resuscitate it. 3 extra steps of unnecessary irritation.

I'm sure I will think of more, good & bad. Do you have any specific questions?

UPDATE: Battery life - has been very good. Despite the warning that leaving the GPS on would drain the battery, I have had no problems. I leave it on, and work the phone constantly, all day and have yet to get the battery close to drained before I plug it in at night.

3G - much faster than Edge, which I had before. WiFi also works better on G1 than it did on my MDA.

I've had several people ask me, "Is that the G1?" and ooh & aaah over it. A guy the other day asked "Do you like it better than the iPhone?" I said I didn't know since I had never had one but that my brother-in-law had the iPhone and hated it. The guy pulled out his iPhone and said, "yeah, I pretty much hate it, too, wish I could get one of those on my network"

Had a bit of a scare with my touch screen losing all sensitivity - not good. After a reboot and a night off, all is well. We'll see.

Posted by Vox at November 29, 2008 11:45 AM | technology