T-Mobile G1

Full specifications | Add your review

The keyboard itself is only so-so – the keys are relatively large and well-spaced, but have barely any profile and it’s difficult to feel if your finger is positioned properly to press one. Some keys are also in odd positions – Shift sits to the left of the Space bar (rather than on the row above) and Return on the right of the bottom letter row (ditto). The fat lump of plastic that sits at the right of the case when the keyboard is open doesn’t interfere too much with typing, but it’s value as something to hold in with the phone in landscape mode is limited by the tendency to accidentally nudge the trackball that sits in its centre.

HTC (and perhaps T-Mobile) is to be applauded for recognising that a 21st Century smartphone needs a capacitive rather than a resistive touch-screen. The G1’s is smaller than the iPhone’s, but it has the same 320 x 480 resolution and works just as well. Actually, scratch that – make it “almost as well”.

The problem is that while the G1’s touch-screen is superbly responsive to the lightest of touches, Google seems to have omitted certain useful features to distinguish Android from the iPhone’s operating system. Most obviously missing is Multi-Touch, and so zooming in and out of web pages involves pressing the screen to bring up two zoom buttons that work in increments that are just that bit too small.

HTC and Google also seem to have taken a few tips from Windows Mobile on streamlined interface design and rather than stick with a single interface for all Android user interaction, it’s chosen three. So, while the touch-sensitive screen is used for most things, you have to lift finger and press a physical Menu button to access any context sensitive settings.

Equally unnecessary is the trackball – dragging and tapping the screen works perfectly well, so the need for a physical control that duplicates this functionality is a mystery. And if you want to type anything, from a short SMS reply to a new web address, you need to flip open the keyboard – there’s no on-screen alternative. And while we’re moaning, what's happening with the accelerometer? The G1 has a built-in motion sensor, but doesn't use it – the only way to flip the screen into landscape mode while web browsing is to select the option from a menu or open the keyboard.

These complaints may not sound like much, but the constant back and forth between input methods is tiresome, and someone at Google or HTC seems to lack the nerve to commit a single, simple input method. The iPhone may have been criticised for its lack of a physical keyboard, but it’s reliance on the screen for everything makes it much simpler to use.

• 1
• 2
• 3

We couldn't find any prices for this smartphone. Click for our full smartphone price comparison