Get your G1 (Google Android) yet?

[l00p]

I like the one that is linked in this thread, page 1. It is the T-Mobile one. I like it because T-Mobile employees post there with notices of updates, etc...

 

[Mal]

I just got mine today, but I'm having issues activating it. I didn't have an existing data plan and as a result I may have to wait up to 48 hours for it to be added to my account. It's kinda ridiculous.

 

[RockyBalboa]

This is an embarrassing question, but I got my phone last night and I can't figure out where to plug in the headset. It came with the phone in the box, but there's no place in them manual where it shows and there aren't any holes on the phone.

I'm talking about the regular headset, not any blue tooth stuff.

Does anyone know where to plug it in?

 

[homer]

there is only one hole. everything plugs into that (i.e., the charger, the headset, the usb cable, etc.)

 

[l00p]

You can get double usb's if you want to charge and lsten at the same time.

 

[RockyBalboa]

Yeah, but the headset isn't USB, it has a circular plug in like a regular pair of headphones.

Oy.

 

[RockyBalboa]

I called support and you have to get an adapter. Wish it would have come with one!

Oh well. Sweet phone though. The Market Tool is unbelievable.

 

[homer]

ohhh, yeah.

htc (maker of the g1) recently changed the default headset that is bundled in with the phone. now it regular audio plug. early adopers of the g1 have a headset with a usb-type plug.

but your package didn't come with a usb-to-audio adapter? weird. i assumed that it did.

[the plug isn't even really usb, it is some proprietary plug -- looks very much like female mini-usb though]

 

[l00p]

I found this article to be a good read as well as the others with links on page 2. The G1 obv. has fewer app's available than an iphone which had a head start. But progress is being made in leaps and bounds.

Link:
The Link

 

[hornian]

In reply to:

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[hornian]

Here's some of the apps I have and like:

Pac-Man - It feels like the real thing!
Last.fm - Pretty sweet interface
Shazam - Works well at finding songs
Ringdroid - Maybe the best made app of all, turns any audio (music, voice recording, etc) into a ringtone
Skymap - Uses the compass/mangtometer to tell you what constellations you should be able to see. Pretty neat.
Compass - Just a visual compass. I like it
Stopwatch - Comes in handy
Bubble - It's a level, on your phone. Already used it to straighten out a crooked painting in my living room.
Power Manager - Has differnent power profiles that get applied situationally, helps with battery life tremendously.
Toggle Wifi - For turning wifi on and off with one click. Very useful.
Flashlight - makes your screen 100% white and 100% brightness, it is really ridiculously bright.

That's just a few that I liked.

The things I really like are the widgets. I have a couple of picture frames on my left and right home screens to give them some character. And I like the flexibility to put a shortcut to just about anything on your home screens. It's infinitely customizable.

The GPS works great, although I only turn it on once in a while. Using it all the time will KILL batteries. And I find that I'm turning 3G off most of the time. If I'm somewhere that I want to browse the web, I'm usually around a wifi network I can use, which is faster than 3G anyway.

And I really like the call quality. No dropped calls, and the speaker/mic seems to be very good. Much better than my blackberry on both ends.

There are some gripes the - the cut and paste function currently only works in text entry situations, so no more looking up quotes on IMDB to text friends like on my blackberry. I had a bit of trouble synching my contacts with gmail - but that might be because I had about 500 useless contacts in my gmail I should have gotten rid of. And a visual keyboard would be nice. I hear the rumored "cupcake" update should fix some of those issues, but there's no real concrete date that update will go live.

Anyway, about 4 days in and I like it a lot, although I still kind of miss my blackberry.

 

[hornian]

Oh, and SMS Popup - it makes your text messages pop up sort of like on an iphone, adds the contact's picture if you have one, and you can custimize the color of the LED notification. Pretty slick.

 

[l00p]

I was going to suggest Shazam to you but you already know. I like the compass too.

The game I have is Banzai Blast. I am also a dork and downloaded the Light Sabre. I know, I know.

AK Notepad - A notepad
Bubble Wrap - Bubbles that pop
Desk Bell - In case I need Cowbell or even a Japanese Bell
Foot Mob - To get international Soccer scores and info.
Compass
Flashlight - love this feature esp. in a dark club or something
Ping Pong
The Schwarz sabre thing

I tried the power saver App but either I did not try to figure it out or I screwed it up so I kicked it out. I get good battery life as is so I may not need it unless you say it is worth it. I keep 3G off most of the time too.

 

[macksman]

Have a few questions for you guys. My contract with Sprint is up, and i've been looking at switching to Tmobile for the G1. How is it on battery life? From most reviews i've read, the battery life sounds terrble. Also, how is the touch screen? I played around with one a few days ago, but not enough to get a great feel of it.

 

[l00p]

People who complain about battery life are leaving things like GPS or other drains on all the time. I would bet that is the case. i say this because my battery life is great. Some days less, some more. But I have no complaints.

I took my phone to Hong Kong and it was a god send with terrific battery life. I got at least a day and a half per charge and it was used quite a bit. Granted, I used only Edge and not 3G most of the time.

I cannot comment on the touch screen as I have not used another phone with one. This is my only point of reference. But I really like this phone and many app's are better than the iPhone versions due to open source or platform of the Android Network. In the end you cannot go wrong with either of these phones. However, the future is bigger with the open platform.

I am also biased because TMobile has been nothing but spectacular to me as a customer each and every time I have had a question or thought I had an issue to resolve. They also took it upon themselves to reward me with unlimited phone minutes all the time for the same price as I was paying before. They called me and asked me if it was okay. Ha, nah, don't give me more for the same price with no extension to my contract.

Hornian will let you use his phone for a weekend.

 

[macksman]

Thanks for the insight.l00p . I'm heading over to the Tmobile store after work to fool around with it. I've only heard good things about Tmobile and the G1 though. From what you've said and what i've read it sounds like a great phone from all aspects.

 

[l00p]

There are some forums (one of which is linked earlier in this thread) " for users of the phones. You will see gripes that are usually solved and user error and praise for things. There are some things I learn about and would never discover without those brainiacs. I suggest hitting up the official TMobile G1 forums and also one or two unofficial ones.

You can pose questions as well and they would all be willing to help out. This way you get more input than just mine or a couple of others. Don't get the White one. That is for Nancy boys.

 

[macksman]

Yeah, I saw the white one in the store today and thought the same thing. I ended up getting the black one, with the 34.99 a month data plan. It's is a hell of alot cheaper than what I got with Sprint. I'll start reading those forums though, I took a quick look and it seems like I can find anything I need there.

 

[l00p]

Welcome to the collective.