New G1 Google Phone Receives Lukewarm Reviews

Posted on 06. Nov, 2008 by Derek in Smartphones

The newly released G1 (Google Phone), widely touted to be the next must-have gadget, has been met with mixed reviews by smartphone aficionados. Aimed primarily at consumers, the G1 was devised by Google as a means to bring the Google platform to the mass mobile market.

Based on Google’s open source Android operating system, the G1 comes with a number of features common to today’s smartphones, including: Internet browsing via 3G, YouTube video, e-mail, text messaging, interactive maps and playing or downloading music. The G1 also features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, inbuilt camera and touchscreen user interface.

The main criticism seems to be the lack of innovation we have come to expect from Google; it simply doesn’t live up to the hype. Based around existing smartphone designs, and with similar features, the G1 just doesn’t stand out from the crowd. With strong competition from major brands such as Nokia, HTC and Apple, the G1 would have to be something incredibly special to wow the already saturated market.

The first wave of consumers also complain of a number of design flaws. The phone is described as being clunky and cumbersome when using the keyboard, lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, and ergonomically ill-conceived amonst other things.

Already available in the UK, the G1 is available for free on the Flext or Combi T-Mobile price plans, though at £40 per month you may wish to consider other options such as the acclaimed Nokia N96, or one of HTC’s range of excellent smartphones.

The G1 is still available on Amazon

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