Google Android based T-Mobile G1 is better than Apple iPhone 3G

Looks like its game on. The T-Mobile G1 powered by Google’s open source Linux based operating system, Android, has already seen huge interest from the pundits and consumers alike. There have been recording pre-ordering for the G1 and it appears that the G1 will give the iPhone 3G quite good competition.

Personally I feel the biggest disadvantage that the G1 has is in the looks department. The design and looks of the G1 are nothing compared to the iPhone 3G. HTC just does not know how to make good looking phones. For them its all about using cheap plastic and tacky design philosophies.

Anyway. In a recent speed test done by CNET the T-Mobile G1 beat the pants of the Apple iPhone 3G with regards to web browsing. Click here to see the speed test video.

I am not sure how accurate this test is because web browsing performance depends on the network a lot. So even though the testers might have tried to neutralise the “network effect” I am not sure to what extent they were successful.

Apple iPhone will lose to Google Android powered T-Mobile G1

The Google Android powered T-Mobile G1 was being waited for ever since reports leaked about it. Now its a reality. The G1 is the new kid on the block with the goods to give Apple’s hallowed iPhone 3G a run for its money. Spec wise the G1 surely has a lot more to offer than the iPhone. Check out my feature comparison between the two. T-Mobile’s network is not that bad even though it has limited 3G capabilities. But all that is going to change once T-Mobile rolls out its 3G network in full.

So does Apple need to worry? You bet it does. 

The G1 comes with a lot more goodies for its price. It beats the iPhone in most feature comparisons. The only thing that the iPhone has going in its favour is looks. The G1 is positively ugly. But it more than makes up for that with its feature list. Being powered by an open source operating system from Google also gives it an advantage. The thriving open source community is more likely to come up with future enhancements of the OS than any proprietary company can. 

The iPhone’s success was accelarated by the launch of the App Store from where users could download third-party applications for the device. Google has already announced the launch of the Android Market on the lines of the App Store but having a lot better and transparent policies for developers. With the Android Market, Google has ensured availability of a rich set of third-party applications for users. Google’s approach with the Android Market is going to be very hands-off thus encouraging more development of applications for the Android platform.

Apple’s arrogance in dealing with developers of the App Store is bound to hit it where it hurts the most. In fact, chances are high that a lot of miffed developers, whose apps were unreasonably rejected from the App Store, may be switching allegiance to the more open Android Market. 

In spite of the outcry from developers asking Apple to come clean on its publishing policy for applications on App Store, Apple has kept quite. Its attitude is more like a dictator and some developers might even view its policies as tyranny. And they would be right. What was bad with IAmRich,  NetShare, BoxOffice, MailWrangler or Podcaster applications? What was the reason for Apple banning these applications from its App Store? Will someone from Apple please answer? Or is it below their hallowed self esteem to answer such questions?

If Apple does not act quick and take certain important decisions, it runs a very high risk of alienating those loyal group of developers who are the reason behind the resounding success of the iPhone 3G, even though the device itself is plagued by many serious flaws. The sooner Steve Jobs and his group of control-freaks open things up in the App Store, the better it would be for Apple.

Comparison: Apple iPhone 3G vs. Google T-Mobile G1

Here’s a cursory feature comparison between Apple iPhone 3G and the new T-Mobile G1 powered by Google Android:

Feature	Apple iPhone	T-Mobile G1
Keyboard	On screen	Full QWERTY slide-out keyboard
Connectivity	3G, WiFi, Tri band GSM, UMTS, Bluetooth	3G, WiFi, Quad band GSM, Dual band UMTS, Bluetooth
Messaging	Email, Instant messaging, Microsoft Exchange support	Email, Instant messaging, Special GMail push support, Multimedia messaging, multi-tasking while messaging
GPS and other services	Assisted GPS	GPS, Google Maps, Google Maps Street View with compass mode
Media store	Apple iTunes music store	Amazon MP3 store
Camera	2 mp	3.1 mp
Dimensions (HxWxD)	4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 in	4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 in
Weight	4.7 ounces	5.6 ounces
Storage	8/16 GB	Expandable up to 8GB
Screen resolution	480 x 320 163 ppi	480 x 320 65K color screen
Talk time	5 hour talk time, 300 hour standby time	5 hour talk time, 130 hour standby time
Application support	Apple App Store	Google Android Market
Voice dialling	No	Yes
Removable battery	No	Yes
Copy & Paste support	No	Yes

As seen from the above comparison, the phones stack up pretty well against each other. In connectivity, messaging, GPS and the camera, the T-Mobile G1 has an edge over the iPhone. Some would argue that having a full QWERTY keyboard is also a major feature. So we can consider the T-Mobile G1 better in that area too. In the others the iPhone is pretty good. The overall user experience should be better with the G1 because of certain features like copy & paste, etc. Also the fact that the G1 has a removable battery makes a big difference.

If T-Mobile can provide service and coverage at par with AT&T, the G1 does have the goods to give the iPhone a run for its money.

T-Mobile G1: The Android phone or the Google phone … the looks are not going to kill

Android Guys published an image of the Google/Android phone that T-Mobile is supposed to release. Code named the G1, here’s how it looks:

Judge for yourself. I think its positively ugly. If they are intending to take on the iPhone with this thing, they got to be joking. The keyboard hidden under the display like some of the present phones, is really something of an acquired taste. And way too many buttons.

The site had an article that spells out the specs for the Android phone. Take a look(verbatim from the article):

• 528Mhz Qualcomm 7201 processor
• Data kit for USB connectivity in the box
• 64MB Internal RAM
• 128MB Internal ROM
• 1GB MicroSD card
• 5 Row QWERTY keypad
• Trackball
• Dedicated camera button
• 3.1MP camera (no flash) 2048 x 1536
• Video playback files – H.264, streaming, 3GPP, MPEG4, and Codec 3GP
• Dedicated YouTube Player
• Audio playback files – MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, MPEG4, WAV, MIDI, REAL AUDIO, OGG
• Wallpaper supports JPG, BMP, PNG, and GIF
• Speakerphone (mono, natch)
• Ringtones (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA)
• HTTP, WAP Push, xHTML
• Bluetooth (class 1)
• Picture Caller ID
• SMS and MMS support (Take that Apple!)
• POP, IMAP, and SMTP, AOL, and GMAIL email
• AIM, MSN, YAHOO, and GTALK messaging
• Quad Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900)
• 3G
• 802.11b & 802.11g
• UMTS (1,4), HSDPA, SUPL
• 1150mAh battery
• Screen size is 3.17? with HVGA (480 x 320)
• Handset 117 x 55 x 16mm
• 5.6 oz weight
• Sync capable with Google Calendar
• Downloadable content via Android Marketplace
• Google Streetview with built-in compass

Spec wise things look ok, but when it comes to looks, I guess people expected a lot more.