Google has done rather better than expected with its first mobile phone, says Claudine Beaumont



In its first full test, the Google phone emerges as a serious rival to Apple’s acclaimed iPhone. The G1 phone, the first mobile handset running the new Google-backed Android software, promises to change your life. You’ll be able to locate where your friends are without having to call them. You won’t need a home computer to find the best price for a pair of shoes or a new camera; the G1 will tell you where the best price is in the nearest shop. You can leave the A-Z at home – this phone will do things no dedicated GPS device can. And in the future you might even be able to use it to pay for your groceries.

Does it really work? InGear had an exclusive hands-on G1 testing session, and as we found over the course of several hours, Google’s Android software combined with this clever handset does deliver, though it wasn’t possible to test all the applications in the time available.

First, the G1 is packed with fresh ideas. A compass overlaid on Google Maps lets you navigate by rotating the phone. ShopSavvy is a program that promises to let you scan the barcode of a product in a shop and then bring up images and data about the item. BioWallet stores sensitive information that requires you to sign the touchscreen to access or – in true sci-fi style – undergo a retinal identification scan. Downloadable programs such as Lifeware tell people in your social network where you are or recently were (don’t use this if you’re having an illicit affair).

On many smartphones, adding program icons and shortcuts to software will soon clutter up the home screen. With Android your desktop cleverly extends beyond the edges of the phone’s 3.2in LCD screen. Flick your finger across it to the left or right to reveal this extra space. Swipe downwards at the top of the screen and a menu descends like a window shade, containing the phone’s messaging options.

As you explore the options and fire up a few bundled applications, you soon notice how quickly the G1 responds to commands. This is nothing to do with the phone’s hardware; rather the Android software is so much less demanding than two of its clunkier rivals – Windows Mobile and Nokia’s Symbian system. In many respects it even makes Apple’s much vaunted iPhone seem sluggish.

To begin using the G1 you must first register a Google Mail account. You are then free to set the phone up with other e-mail providers, but Google’s own comprehensive suite of free tools – online diary, e-mail, photo sharing and so forth – are so well presented in Android that it would be tempting to rely on these over alternatives. They are also free, which is a big advantage over Apple’s rival £60-a-year MobileMe service.

To get online you have a choice of a T-Mobile 3G data connection or a wi-fi network. The built-in Google Maps software swiftly found our location and displayed it as a conventional 2-D map or an overhead satellite view.



Google Maps is of course available on any current smartphone; what’s unique here is Street View, which shows photos of real locations taken at ground level with directional arrows. The photos even reorientate themselves as you turn the phone – particularly handy when trying to work out which direction you’re facing as you leave a building. It’s typical of the close integration between Google services and the G1’s hardware.

Android’s web browser, based on Google’s new Chrome software, is excellent. You can navigate through a web page by swiping a finger across the screen in a manner akin to the iPhone. Unlike its Apple rival, though, Android demands that you prod a screen icon to zoom in or out, which is less elegant than the iPhone’s multi-touch system, but superior to all other rivals. The G1’s photo-browsing application works in a similar way.

In other respects, the Android operating system is far from perfect. For some people it offers too many options, which could prove confusing, though its software-based features are likely to improve as Android users are encouraged to create their own applications. These can be uploaded to a special area of the internet called Android Market then downloaded to their phone by other users. As a taster, already on offer are fast-moving 3-D video games, cooking tutorials and even ways to plan what clothes to wear from your wardrobe (MyCloset).

The iPhone of course already has something similar – the App Store, operated and rigorously controlled by Apple, which vets every piece of software submitted. Android Market, however, promises to be there for anyone who wants to develop their own features or even write them to order for others.

This open concept could prove a masterstroke once enough users get involved, and as long as Google stays on top of any attempts by criminals to hide malicious software under the guise of innocent-sounding titles.

For the G1 handset itself the prognosis is less rosy. Business users will love the solid, back-lit keypad that slides out from the side of the device: it makes text messages and e-mails simple to type, although the style-conscious will note that in consequence the G1 is substantially chubbier than the iPhone.

And in a nice touch, as you open the keyboard the screen reformats to landscape instead of portrait. However, G1 users cannot currently sign up for the popular business e-mail services offered by BlackBerry and Microsoft.

Nonbusiness users will bemoan the 3.2Mp camera’s inability to capture video, the fact that it doesn’t have a flash, and its extremely limited Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Although it comes with headphones, if you want to use your own pair you’ll need to attach an inelegant USB dongle before you can connect them.

Granted, the G1 has a handy trackball navigation control, a user-replaceable battery (unlike the iPhone, where it is locked into the casing) and a slot for a memory card of up to 8Gb capacity. Ultimately, though, it feels plasticky – as if the phone were put together from parts left over from T-Mobile’s similar Sidekick smartphone.

However, the G1 does enough to prove that future Android-equipped smartphones – more than 30 are said to be in the works – will give Apple and its rivals a run for their money. Roll on the G2.

The G1 is exclusive to T-Mobile, and will be free on contracts costing £40 a month or more. This includes unlimited data use in the UK (watch out if you check your e-mail or browse a lot overseas). It will be available in the UK in November.

WHAT IT OFFERS

T-MOBILE HTC G1, AKA THE GOOGLE PHONE

Key features Advanced software with a rapidly growing list of applications. Classy 3.2in touchscreen and slide-out qwerty keyboard plus a navigation ball. Has no flash on its 3.2Mp camera and only minimal built-in memory, but does have a memory-card slot. No 3.5mm headphone socket. Free e-mail, contact and calendar syncing via Google. Limited video playback and Bluetooth features. Weight 5½oz.

Price Free with an 18-month £40-per-month T-Mobile contract.

Verdict Exciting software trapped in an underwhelming handset.

ANDROID: WHAT’S THAT?

- This exciting new mobile-phone software wasn’t created by Google and isn’t owned by it, though its development was largely funded by Google via a body known as the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). This loose confederation of tech firms includes handset makers, mobile-phone networks and Google.

- The OHA allows phone makers to run Android on a suitable handset, without charge. Several have signed up, including Samsung, LG and Motorola. T-Mobile is the first UK-based mobile network to join. Others may soon follow.

- Android is less demanding of a phone’s hardware than traditional smartphone software such as Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and runs quickly, making its rivals seem sluggish by comparison.

- As Android is open source, anyone can create programs for it. These are available to download to the phone from the online Android Market. Many are free; others must be paid for via Google’s payment. system. Innovative new programs include ShopSavvy, whereby you scan a product’s barcode with the phone’s camera and it checks for the best online price, then shows you the nearest store on a map.

- Android’s open-source approach also means that a handset maker or mobile network could hobble its version of the software by removing features such as a phone’s ability to make free calls over the internet.

- As the software is self-policed by an online community of fans, Android raises security concerns. That said, this already works well for Linux, the computer-based operating system upon which it is based, and the Firefox web browser.

- Despite Android’s multimedia pretensions, it cannot yet play videos in either Apple’s QuickTime or Adobe’s Flash format – both popular on websites. Google has at least fixed this problem for fans of YouTube, which uses Flash.



THE RIVALS

APPLE iPHONE

Key features Swish software with growing list of applications. Slick touchscreen and virtual keypad, plus 2Mp camera without flash. Built-in (unexpandable) storage of 8GB or 16GB. Standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Automatic wireless e-mail, contact and calendar syncing with Apple’s MobileMe service (£60 a year). Weight 4¾oz.

Price £99 (8GB) or £159 (16GB) on contract of £30-£35 a 18-month O2 month. Free on pricier contracts; £350-£400 on pay as you go.

Verdict Still the coolest smartphone you can buy, despite faults such as inability to cut and paste text or perform several tasks at the same time.

BLACKBERRY BOLD

Key features Quirky software is not upgradable. Navigation ball and full qwerty keypad. Disappointing 2Mp camera despite its flash. Built-in storage of 1GB plus a memory-card slot. Standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Unlimited global e-mail service typically adds £8.50 to tariff. Contact and calendar syncing must be done manually on a PC. Weight 4¾oz.

Price Free on pricier contracts; from £400 without contract.

Verdict Handset is too wide for comfort as an everyday mobile but an ideal ally for e-mail junkies. The best BlackBerry so far.
Have your say

Travis -- you were reading an article from the Times of London (United Kingdom), the contracts mentioned are for T-Mobile in the UK, where, indeed, the phone is free for certain contracts.

Watch out for the Blackberry Storm, which will be a good rival to both the G1 and iPhone.

Andy, london,

yes, I have dropped my ipod...and dropped my ipod...and dropped my ipod. Amazing, the ipod in a clumsy girl's hands, I have yet to be overwhelmed with a cell phone. My music needs have been met a million times over...still shopping for new cell phone. Husband loves his iphone...may have to follow

Mindy, Turlock, USA

The real revolutionary new phone is the Nokia E71 which is cheaper, has much better functionality and most of all, can be operated using just one hand. The IPhone, which I have just ditched, requires two. It sounds trivial but it puts the Nokia in a totally different league.

Mike Smithson, Bedford, UK

Google's first mobile phone, known as the G1, runs the open-source Android operating system.

The phone, which is made by Taiwanese manufacturers HTC, features both a touchscreen and a slide-out Qwerty keyboard.

I had feared that this compromise would result in a chunky, bulky, pocket-bulging device, but I'm pleased to report that the G1 is actually... well, rather nice.

While it's not a patch on the sleek lines and precise styling of Apple's iPhone, the G1 doesn't disgrace itself in the looks department.

It has just a few buttons ranged beneath the 3.2in screen, including call answer and hang-up buttons, back and home buttons, and a menu button.

Interestingly, there's also a BlackBerry-style trackball just in case you don't fancy prodding the touchscreen to access applications.

UK customers will be able to take their pick from black and white handsets, and I personally preferred the white version, which had an almost pearlised finish.

While, despite its best efforts, the G1 still falls short, aesthetically at least, of the iPhone, it goes toe-to-toe with Apple's all-conquering mobile device when it comes to features.

As you would expect from Google, web browsing is a breeze. There's one-touch access to a Google web search bar, simply by sliding a finger across the phone's screen from right to left, as well as whenever your in the browser.

And while the G1 lacks Apple's patented "multi-touch" technology – which allows users to make pinching and expanding gestures with their fingers to zoom in and out of web pages and photos on the iPhone's screen – the G1 retaliates with some tricks of its own, easily enabling users to magnify areas of a website at the touch of a button.

The G1, like the iPhone, lacks support for Flash videos – the sort of video clips we use on our Telegraph website, for instance – because of the type of processor chip used in the phone. And despite having a three-megapixel camera (still a paltry amount considering that Samsung recently launched an eight-megapixel cameraphone, but still a whole megapixel better than the iPhone, nonetheless), the G1, like the iPhone, can't record videos.

The Android development team hinted that this might be something added in future versions of the device, but building video-capture straight into the handset at launch would have struck the iPhone a blow, and Google has failed to capitalise on that opportunity.

Annoyingly, the G1 lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so I'm afraid you can forget about using your hideously expensive Bose noise-cancelling headphones with it – you're stuck with HTC's proprietary earphones.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you'll be able to not only listen to music on the G1, but buy music on the phone too. That's because Google has signed a deal with Amazon to provide G1 users with one-click access to the Amazon MP3 store.

The store is currently only available in the US, but rumours have been building for a while that it would be rolled out in the UK by the end of this year, and that would certainly tally nicely with the G1's November launch date.