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G1 Google phone

The T-Mobile G1.0. The first-ever Google Andriod smartphone is a solid initial effort that, given an open development platform, will grow with time. It's missing a bunch of key features right now—like a decent media player and support for corporate e-mail, for instance. But the G1, manufactured by HTC, is a quality phone with few bugs, and given the open nature of Android, I'm confident that more features are on the way. This makes the G1 a good choice for anyone who wants an expandable phone and is interested in the future of mobile communication.

The 5.6-ounce G1 looks like a grown-up Sidekick. It's a rectangular black phone (4.6 by 2.1 by 0.6 inches—HWD) with rounded corners and a big 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel capacitive touch screen that's bright and responsive. Below the display, there's a trackball; Menu, Home, and Back buttons, and buttons to pick up and end calls. Volume and camera controls are on the sides of the handset, and the 3-megapixel camera is on the back.

To select items on the screen, you can use either your fingers or the trackball. I found the trackball especially useful in the Web browser, where some links were too small to click with my finger.

Overall, the G1 appears to be a highly capable smartphone that doesn't blow away the competition in terms of hardware or features. But the Android platform is all about the software, and only time will tell if Google and developers can make this OS better and more compelling than the incumbents.