As mentioned earlier, I got the latest system update for my G1. Now running firmware 1.5, aka Cupcake. Here are some of my first impressions:
* More polished: transition in between menus and graphics are a bit softer, dynamic and feels more elegant
* Better UI: onscreen keyboard w/ auto-correct feature; Gmail's most used feature are readily below each email, everything just feels a bit more convenient with the update
* Onscreen Keyboard not as robust as iPhone's but the word suggestion is VERY handy!
* Chrome/Browser much improved, very smooth and URL bar/search makes good suggestions like desktop Google toolbar; still unable to edit blogspot posts however and can't handle Lotus notes webmail (same fate as iPhone's mobile safari)
* Camcorder: simple operation, with an on screen record/stop button; two video quality (MMS is low, SD storage is High); YES, it supports upload to YouTube (via YouTube app)
* General performance feels a bit faster all around
* I have not played with this update long enough to comment on battery life
It definitely feels like this update has iron'd out a lot of kink; I think I am falling in love with my G1 all over again.
Showing posts with label g1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label g1. Show all posts
Samsung I7500 Smartphone, Android Done Right!
As my subject line suggested, Samsung folks have been studying all the complaints and grips about the HTC/Tmobile G1 and launched their iteration with style and performance. Engadget has the details on specs so I won't go there. What I will mention is why it will be superior over the existing G1.1. Physical Appearance: Much more refined looking and get rid of the annoying looking chin. This image rendering looks more professional duty by design and looks to have all the buttons much more accessible and laid out.
2. Feature rich + improvement: WOW! AMOLED display at 320x480. 5 Megapixel camera w/ LED flash. Tri band 3G (900/1700/1900) 1,500mAh battery (much needed improvement over G1's meager 1150mAh) and finally, in the words of Barney Stinson... "wait for it...wait..." 3.5mm audio jack!!!
This thing is pretty exciting. It just might convince me to make the switch again! Looks like Samsung is back and on top of the mobile biz.
Mobile Experience continues to change our Computing Ways
Personal computers were originally introduced as a tool for small households to increase productivity for various personal tasks. From spreadsheets, small desktop publishing to multi-media/gaming, our trusted computers have been there for us since the mid 80s. When internet arrived on scene, it increased our computation output exponentially with the ability to download real-time information to make our productivity higher than ever. Shortly after the arrival of broadband internet in the late 90s, I have personally shifted my reliance of communication and information retrieval process primarily to my computer. Some of these activities including:* Voice CommunicationsIn the early 90s, PDAs where introduced to take on a few of the tasks above as the first mobile experience. With the arrival of 1G and 2G internet, early forms of smartphones start to take place and improved some of the computing tasks on the go.
* Text Communications
* Online Shopping / eCommerce
* Organization
* Real-Time Information Fetching
* Banking / Financials / Complex Calculations
In the last two years, things got interesting. Mobile carriers beefed up its 3G network while phone makers stepped up smartphones performance to allow the mobile experience to really take off. I am now able to do most of my day-to-day tasks on my iPhone 3G quickly without having to commit any time in front of my laptop from home.
*Voice Communications: The iPhone is a phone, so majority of the domestic calls are taken care of. With Skype App and Fring, I was able to make VOIP calls over WiFi.These are just few of the things I do on my smartphones. Having the flexibility and capability to do these things whenever I feel like empowers me to use my downtime more effectively. Without my smartphone, I would have to cut into my TV watching time… how boring is that?
*Text Communications: There are countless solutions to IMs on iPhone or any other smartphone (Google Talk, Fring, AIM, etc…). As for emails, all smartphones can take care of this via built-in client or over mobile browser. I check my emails frequenty and whenver I have down time (in a bus ride or waiting for friends, etc…). The support for corporate email is pretty much there for all smartphones across the board. IMAP email setting makes your smartphone a true desktop companion. With social media in the mix, I can keep up my status or friend’s on Loopt, Twitter or FaceBook.
*Online Shopping: I do most of my shopping over Amazon and eBay. Both sites have great mobile version over browser but for iPhone, I can seriously manage my buying or researching needs over their mobile apps. For iPhone owners, we’ve had the ability to buy songs off iTunes over our handset which is really cool if you are traveling. Having a full internet browser pretty much will allow me to buy or research for anything on the go.
*Organization: Smartphones are handy for staying organized. Calendars and contacts can be synced to your PC. The G1 will even do most of its syncing wirelessly with Gmail. I use the notepads on my smartphones to jot down tasks or to-do lists. The camera is often used to take visual notes for myself (ie. label of a wine I liked or the address off of a business card). With GPS-integrated phones, photos can even be geo-tagged so you remember your location.
*Real-Time Info: I get weather updates, stock quotes, news and scores whenever and wherever. This is probably the most helpful little tool to help me make my day that much easier. Between Google Reader (which is compatible to almost all mobile browsers) and some iPhone apps like Bloomberg, NYTimes and USAToday. I can always get real-time information whenever I want.
*Banking / Financials: While the financial industry is staying a bit more cautious with their mobile application rollout, they are starting to participate. Most banks have a mobile site to access while some have developed applications for various mobile handsets (ie. BoA, e*Trade, Visa, etc…). As for me, I don’t often bank online from my phone, but its nice to know that if you have a mobile browser capable of full internet access, you can pretty much login and check status for every financial services site on the go.
More People Surf Web on Mobile, No Surprise!
Internet Retailer magazine published an article suggesting more than 63.2M people (approx. 29% of total U.S. population) accessed the web on their mobile devices in Jan 2009. Amongst them, 22.4M did so daily and that is a total increase of 107% from Jan of 2008. (Source: comScore). The article goes on to suggest that it is no surprise since most mCommerce websites are experience an increase in traffic with the proliferation of 3G network and smartphones such as the iPhone, G1 and BlackBerry Storm. I started this blog little over two years ago while using EDGE data on a BlackBerry 8700c to surf the web on the go. It worked for the small things I needed it to do (checking weather, some stock quots over Yahoo Mobile) but it is not the same compared to web browsing on a G1 Chrome or iPhone Safari browser. From a mobile experience standpoint, the web browsing today is more convincing thus explains why the big jump in usage.
Where are the Google Android Phones?
On my way to work this morning, I read multiple RSS feed entries regarding to HTC to ship atleast two Android powered phones this year. I kind of chuckled at the stories thinking I have heard that one before. When I ran across this article titled "Google Android: All Dressed Up, Nowhere to Run" published by Scott Mortiz at TheStreet.com, I thought, this couldn't be more true.
Personally, I am getting frustrated waiting for hardware makers to come up phones running Android OS. Especially for the hardware makers that are lagging behind in the mobile space such as Moto or Palm, why wouldn't they focus building a high performance hardware running on Google Android right away. HTC is already cranking out good looking WM devices and taking the lead in Android development. Palm should stop wasting time on the "Pre" OS and crank out a few handsets running Android to get the cash flow going then maybe come up with its own OS at leisure.
Is it too much to ask for a more sophisticated and polished Android device that didn't get hit by the ugly stick?
Personally, I am getting frustrated waiting for hardware makers to come up phones running Android OS. Especially for the hardware makers that are lagging behind in the mobile space such as Moto or Palm, why wouldn't they focus building a high performance hardware running on Google Android right away. HTC is already cranking out good looking WM devices and taking the lead in Android development. Palm should stop wasting time on the "Pre" OS and crank out a few handsets running Android to get the cash flow going then maybe come up with its own OS at leisure.
Is it too much to ask for a more sophisticated and polished Android device that didn't get hit by the ugly stick?
Smartphone Mobile Experience Progresses Nicely
A little over a year ago, when I was shopping for a laptop, I really wanted a laptop that was 4lbs or less (in the ultra-portable category) with high performance. I thought this would give me the freedom to experience mobile computing on the fly. At the time I was looking at the Sony VAIO S series as well as Dell's XPS M1330 both will cost me roughly $1800-2000 with a reasonable spec. I ended up with a 15.4" MacBook Pro because of its sheer power and graphics capability. In the back of my mind, I always thought I'd pickup an ultra portable later on.Throughout the past year, some interesting things happened. MacBook Air, Netbooks like the Eee PC and extreme ultra portables have arrived the scene. While small, their cost and low CPU performance never made me think twice about them. Yesterday, I saw an amazing offer from Dell XPS M1330 with reasonable features for as low as $800, I still did not find myself intrigued at any of the options mentioned above. Why is that?
For one, the smartphones have really stepped up over the past year. iPhone in its current firmware version has drastically improved since its first days (albeit still lacking copy & paste function). Google G1 has arrived offering a new flavor in open source mobile experience. BlackBerry(s) have been refined including its all new touchscreen interface. Even the boring old Windows 6.1 is now sexier thanks to HTC's overlay.
But what does this mean? It means that smartphones have finally leveraged light and robust applications to carry a very focused functions which gets our job done whenever we want to: ie. check your emails or chat online via IM, look up weather conditions for local or traveling destination, get a stock quote, grab a movie review to help you decide what to rent/buy, look up side effects of a medication, check flight status, and so much more can be retrieved on your little smartphone from anyone at anytime.
I didn't bring my personal laptop on my last trip visiting friends and family to the West Coast. My iPhone managed to get me through the entire trip for all the basic computing needs. I was even playing a FaceBook game called Mob Wars over Safari in the non-mobile friendly site. To be fair, I did bring my work laptop along simply because I was in the middle of a project integration and VPN is required to access some information. Perhaps that will be the next step for smartphones. As for me, the chances of me picking up an ultraportable laptop in the near future is slim so long as my MacBook Pro is still going strong.
How to Turn on GPS on Tmobile G1?
The Google G1 can be very intuitive at times but there are other features that just bugs me. (ie. the information bar doesn't always pull down when need to, lack of on screen keyboard, no file manager or video player by default. etc.). The biggest gripe I have is how hard it is to find GPS on/off switch. For me, it was completely non-intuitive. Instead of keeping it in Settings/Wireless Controls, they have a dedicated menu under Settings/Security & Location.
Searching the web wasn't very helpful for me so hopefully this post can help anyone looking for GPS switch. PS - by default, GPS is deactived, so My Location feature is based on IP/Cell Tower proxmity.
Searching the web wasn't very helpful for me so hopefully this post can help anyone looking for GPS switch. PS - by default, GPS is deactived, so My Location feature is based on IP/Cell Tower proxmity.
Google Latitude Installed on G1
I dusted off the G1 phone from the drawer and decided to give it a go again because of the recent news on Google Latitude, an update to GMAP 3.0+. Basically, it gives away your position via GPS or GSM network and allows you and your friends to see each other (kinda like Loopt on the iPhone,... actually just found out Loopt is available on Android Marketplace as well, pretty cool actually).
I haven't played with this a heck of a whole lot, but in short this is what I know and seen:
1). To install it, wait for your G1 to signal you for an update. As for me, it was a 2-part update. The update process was poorly organized. It can't be manually triggered in settings for system update. You just have to play with your phone until suddenly you are prompted with said update. After part 1 has been completed, my phone didn't automatically start part two. Again, after playing with it for a bit, it prompted me for part 2 of update. (Note: I have a developer Android firmware so my experience may be different than T-Mobile G1 customers).
2). Latitude resides within GMAPs on G1. You'll see a new icon in the middle of the menu bar with GMAP. Clicking on it allows you to invite friends and see friends who are already in your list. Those with a Google account will be tied seemlessly (you can IM and see their status, etc...).
3). Those with G1, BlackBerry and WinMo should be able to get on Google Latitude. iPhone guys may have to wait a while until this gets pushed out in a new firmware release. If you have non of te above, you can still use your PC and hookup via iGoogle gadget. I'll continue to play with this for a few days and report back.
If you'd like more info, visit:
http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html or point your mobile browser to: google.com/latitude
I haven't played with this a heck of a whole lot, but in short this is what I know and seen:
1). To install it, wait for your G1 to signal you for an update. As for me, it was a 2-part update. The update process was poorly organized. It can't be manually triggered in settings for system update. You just have to play with your phone until suddenly you are prompted with said update. After part 1 has been completed, my phone didn't automatically start part two. Again, after playing with it for a bit, it prompted me for part 2 of update. (Note: I have a developer Android firmware so my experience may be different than T-Mobile G1 customers).
2). Latitude resides within GMAPs on G1. You'll see a new icon in the middle of the menu bar with GMAP. Clicking on it allows you to invite friends and see friends who are already in your list. Those with a Google account will be tied seemlessly (you can IM and see their status, etc...).
3). Those with G1, BlackBerry and WinMo should be able to get on Google Latitude. iPhone guys may have to wait a while until this gets pushed out in a new firmware release. If you have non of te above, you can still use your PC and hookup via iGoogle gadget. I'll continue to play with this for a few days and report back.
If you'd like more info, visit:
http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html or point your mobile browser to: google.com/latitude
T-Mobile G1 Android Firmware Update 1.1 Now Available
According to Gizmodo, the latest T-Mobile G1 Android firmware update version 1.1 is now available for everyone to download. For more details hit the source link.Source
T-Mobile Put Android Phone G1 On the Web
Want to play with an Android smartphone before you own one? T-Mobile has set up a website with a 360 degrees view of the T-Mobile G1, including the QWERTY keyboard view. There is also an online emulator where you can simulate activities like incoming calls, incoming SMS/MMS messages, incoming email and incoming instant message. Click here to access the online site.
T-Mobile G1 Packaging Design Appear
One of the video on ktla.com is now revealing the T-Mobile G1 packaging design. Too bad they only did an introduction to the T-Mobile G1 but not a unboxing video. Check out the video here.
TMobile G1 Official: $179, $25 Data Plan, Rad!
The cat is out, TMobile G1, first ever Android OS based smartphone has been unveiled this morning. Looks like itTMobile HTC Dream, G1 or Android Phone
Folks, meet the TMobile Dream or HTC Dream or G1 or Google Phone. Whatever it will be named, this is the Android boasting smartphone with all the buzz. We are about 10 hours away from the official launch event but Engadget got some updates from TmoNews and found these pictures with following specs:* HVGA 480x320, 65K Color
* 3.1MP Cam back, VGA Cmos Cam upfront
* GPS
* WiFi
* No Stereo Bluetooth (I think there is regular bluetooth)
* Google Apps (Maps, Cal, YouTube, GTalk, etc.), Gmail Acct is req'd
* 5.6oz. 4.6" x 2.16" x 0.63 (kind of a big boy phone)
* Data plan req'd, no prepay plans allowed
I gotta admit, from these views alone, I can't seem to be aroused by these product images. This looks like a love child of an HTC Tilt and iPhone. However, Google typically has a way of launching cool things that makes me eat my words. So I am still holding high expectations for this phone, more importantly, the Android OS that will ultimately change the way mobile community behaves.
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