Google Android

Ok, so the T-Mobile G1 hardware ain’t going to set the world alight, but what about the Google Android Operating System??

What are peoples views on it?

Has anybody got the G1, what’s your experiences?

…tumbleweed drifts slowly across screen from stage right…

I guess you must own an iPhone…

got potential but it’ll be a while before it gets good.

i’ll stick with my iphone…

Cheers jambo, that does seem to be the general consensus.

A number of manufacturers (LG, Samsung & Sony Ericsson) are releasing Android phones in the Summer of 2009, plus some more variants from HTC… so will be interesting to see how things are then. Garmin have confirmed their working on an Android Phone also, and they are supposed to be collaborating with TomTom on a phone, probably the same one.

I’ve still got 4 months on my WinMo contract so just looking at the alternatives for later this year.

I’ve had a G1 for a couple of months now, the Android side of it is really good. I’ve previously used Nikia and WinMob devices and I can say that this is a major step forward.
I guess the big question is what do you want from a phone? For me the decision to go for the G1 was the google integration, the fact that its an open platform and that I did want a real keyboard. I suppose i ought to admit that there was an element of “newness” about it too 😀

The G1 handset is really only let down by the battery life, it seems to have improved since the December patch, but its still sub peachy.

Hope that helps.

If you want something that does everything, have a look at the new S-E Xperia (WM). Biggish but the absolute danglers, and decent battery life. Lots of S/W and panels available online. Also look out for some really cool new Windows Mobile phones arriving in September along with WM 6.5 – should be less enterprise bias, and better battery life than current WM phones

Cheers guys… my current setup obviously favours WinMo as that’s what I’ve currently got… but happy to go Gmail etc for the Android.

It comes down to whether I want to stay WinMo or go for something new… not interested in Apple whatsoever (too restrictive and it doesn’t really grab me)… seen Android on a mates G1 and very impressed indeed.

The actual phone depends on what’s available at the time for the O/S of choice, hence the wait until Summer… it won’t be the X1 though, probably Touch HD at the moment for WinMo… would love to see the TouchHD with Android and a capacitive multi-touch screen.

Should be a big thing, the Zune of phones…

I’ve used it and an Iphone. Both other people’s though.

It isn’t as flashy as the iphone, and nowhere near as beautiful, and I don’t believe it has the multi-touch gimmickry but it did seem very usable. I was surprised at how nice it felt. Also it has a keyboard which is nice, I’d take a hardware keyboard over an on-screen one any day.

I kind of hope I’ll be able to buy one when my phone dies, but really I’ll get it only if there is some software that does OS maps on it (memory maps or viewranger or similar).

Joe