Samsung Launching Google Phone in 2009
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Cell Phones, Google, Holiday Gift Guide 2008
T-Mobile G1 'Google' Phone Now Available in Frosty White
T-Mobile G1 Coming to Wal-Mart for $148.88
Well, now isn't this something? Best Buy has its fancy little iPhone 3G, but it'll be Wally World offering up the G1 outside of official T-Mobile outlets. As we'd heard yesterday, 550 Wal-Mart stores across the country will begin selling the Android-powered handset beginning tomorrow, and folks who opt to pick one up here versus a traditional T-Mob store will save $31.11. Yep -- according to company spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien, the new / upgrade-eligible customer price for a Wal-Mart-sourced G1 will be just $148.88 with a 2-year agreement.
Wait, what? You already purchased your G1 at the full price? They always said the early bird pays the premium... or something along those lines.
Cell Phones, Editor's Picks, Google, Switched Video, Reviews, Holiday Gift Guide 2008
Is the G1 Google Phone Worth the Hype? (Hands-on Review)
HYPE CHECK: T-Mobile G1
What it is: The T-Mobile G1, a.k.a. the Android "Google" phone.
Why it's different: The G1 is the first phone to debut the Android operating system for mobile phones, which is Google's entree into the cell phone space (and an attempt to go head-to-head with the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile phones). This means it's essentially a newfangled smart phone that's optimized for Google functions such as Gmail, Google search, and Google Chat, but will still work with your other favorite e-mail (though not Microsoft Exchange) and IM programs. It also has a unique combination keyboard, touchscreen, and jog dial interface for getting maneuvering around and controlling stuff that rarely leaves you in the lurch, control-wise. The G1 is just the first phone in what Google hopes will be a boatload of new Android-based handsets.
What we like: It has a nice, big and wide screen, which makes watching YouTube videos and editing photos (yes, you can do basic edits like cropping photos with a tap and slide of your fingers on the touchscreen) easy on the eyes. Ditto browsing the Web with the browser that accurately calls up most Web sites (minus those with Flash videos or animations). It also has a full-fledged keyboard that's uncovered by sliding out the swiveling front screen, which makes texting and e-mailing an easy process (especially compared to the iPhones overrated and clumsy touchscreen keyboard). This comes in especially handy for instant-messaging (IM), which is easy on the G1 since you can keep all your favorite IM programs (AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger) open simultaneously (unlike on the one-IM-app-at-a-time iPhone).
Cell Phones, Google, Mobile Software
T-Mobile Officially Unveils the G1 'Google' Phone
Well, it's finally official (this morning T-Mobile and Google made an announcement in NYC, which is where we are right now). The Google phone is officially now known as the T-Mobile G1. When closed it looks an awful lot like the iPhone, which a touchscreen that, at least from watching the video T-Mobile showed us this morning, looks an awful lot like the iPhone. But that screen actually swivels out to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, something it iPhone doesn't have.
The phone will cost $179, and existing T-Mobile customers can preorder the phone starting today and have it shipped to their homes by the official commercial launch date of October 22.
The G1 is 3G-enabled, so it'll work on T-Mobile's newly rolled out 3G network, which T-Mobile USA CTO says will be in 22 markets by the launch date and 27 markets by mid-November of this year. It also has Wi-Fi.
It'll read Word, Excel, and other Office documents, but so far isn't compatible with Microsoft Exchange, so no work e-mail compatibility, yet.
Some other cool features we saw demo'd during the presentation: music purchases available through a special Amazon.com music store, drag and drop functionality for images (which can be dragged right onto your screen saver) and applications, Google Street View with directions for getting around town while you drive or walk (plus the ability to get directions instantly by clicking on any address), and ShopSavvy (an app that lets you scan the barcode on any product with the phone and immediately get the best prices via the Internet).
At any rate, that's the basic word on the G1's basic features. As soon as we get more hands on, a bit later today, we'll update you. We're particularly eager to see just how nimble and responsive the touchscreen is, and whether surfing is at all faster than the iPhone's (according to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who made a surprise appearance at the announcement, it is -- presumably the G1's browser is optimized for surfing and search).
For more specific details on today's announcement, check out Engadget's live blog (hey, they're much faster typists than we are!).
Gallery: G1
Meet the T-Mobile G1
Update: TmoNews has just uncovered new specs and info on the phone. Here's what they've got so far: the phone is 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 inches, weighs 5.6 ounces, features a 480 x 320 HVGA display, sports 3G (obviously), GPS, has a 3.1-megapixel camera, supports up to 8GB of memory (though no format is mentioned), and will feature 5 hours of talktime with 130 hours of standby. Strangely, the phone won't do video capture (what?), won't have stereo Bluetooth, will require a Gmail account, and won't be sold at stores outside of a 2-5 mile radius of T-Mobile's 3G coverage areas. That last bit sounds a little odd to us, but we're guessing a lot of the functionality of this device will be shot in non-3G regions.
Head on over to Engadget for a gallery.
[Thanks, Luis; Via, TmoNews]
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
