Skip to main content

T-Mobile Launches Android-based G1

T-Mobile has formally launched the T-Mobile G1, the first mobile phone available to consumers based on Google’s Android platform. Android is designed to be an open source mobile platform that encourages third-party application development, and as the first phone out of the gate the G1 doesn’t sport a plethora of applications. But the handset does tap into Google Maps Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and other services—and an Android Market promises future apps for sale.

"During the past month, we’ve seen unbridled excitement for the T-Mobile G1 and the positive impact it will have on the mobile lives of our customers," said T-Mobile USA’s chief marketing officer Denny Marie Post. "In fact, among those T-Mobile customers who have pre-ordered the phone, roughly half have traded up from a basic handset, illustrating the leap many consumers are taking to a rich, accessible mobile Web experience."

Recommended Videos

Made for T-Mobile by HTC, the G1 offers a touchscreen, 3G connectivity, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and an integrated music player along with 1 GB of microSD storage (expandable to 8 GB), a QWERTY keyboard for messaging, "real" Web browsing, support for Google applications like Google Calendar, Google Talk, YouTube, Gmail, and others, and integrated Wi-Fi wireless networking for surfing the Web from hotspots while you’re out and about. The G1 also features one-click access to Google Search, and an integrated accelerometer so the phone can switch between portrait and landscape screen orientations just by tipping. The phone operates on T-Mobile’s 3G network—which isn’t available in all areas—but also works on the operator’s 2G and EDGE networks.

So far, reviews on the Android are mixed: some are hailing it—and Android—as an iPhone-killer, freeing mobile users from the tyranny of having to deal with a single provider for hardware and applications (e.g., Apple). But, when compared to the iPhone, many reviewers find the G1 coming up short: no multitouch capability on the screen, and applications that don’t take advantage of the G1’s features: for instance, reviewers haven’t found any apps that are actually aware of the G1’s capability to switch between portrait and landscape modes.

The G1 costs $180 with a new two-year service contract; without a contract, the G1 is priced at $400. T-Mobile plans to offer the G1 in Europe later this year.

Time will tell whether the Android platform will give Apple’s closed iPhone ecosystem—and competing mobile operating systems like BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, LiMo, and even Palm OS—a run for their money. But, coinciding with the G1 launch, the Open Handset Alliance released the source code for Android…now, it’s up to developers.

Read Digital Trends T-Mobile G1 review.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Here’s every Pixel phone that can download Android 16 Developer Preview 1
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL next to the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Even though Android 15 launched only recently, Google is already moving on to Android 16, which is much earlier than is typical. And if you have a Pixel device from the past couple of years, you can get the Android 16 Developer Preview 1 right now.

Typically, when Google releases a beta for Android, the Pixel lineup gets it first before any other phones. When Google announced Android 16 earlier today, we didn’t know exactly which Pixel models would be able to get the Developer Preview. But Google just revealed which models can run Android 16, and two of them are a bit surprising.

Read more
Gemini in Google Maps may be the best use of mobile AI yet
Google Maps on the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra.

We scarcely need reminding that Google is putting AI into everything, but its latest push is probably one of the most interesting and immediately helpful yet, as Google Maps has now entered its Gemini era.
Vast experience
Before going into the many AI updates happening across all of Google’s “Geo” (the collective name for all its mapping tools) departments, it’s helpful to understand just how rich Google’s location data already is. Collected over the last 20 years, Google’s mapping expertise is available in more than 250 countries and territories across the world, and Google Maps alone has more than 2 billion active users each month.

Google already uses AI in its mapping products, such as the Lens overlay in Maps’ AR mode, which puts live place information in front of you on the map. Google is now using AI to improve the photo-realistic 3D tour in Immersive View, a feature first launched last year, with live data on the location, including weather, parking, and turn-by-turn information. Immersive View is now set to launch in 150 cities this week and will include university campuses, too.

Read more
If you want 5G, don’t use the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold on AT&T
Pixel Weather app running on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

If you’ve recently bought a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and intend to use it on AT&T, there might be an issue you should know about. Some early adopters have reported that they cannot connect to AT&T’s 5G network with their new phone. Instead, they can only connect to the company’s LTE network, according to a Reddit thread (first spotted by Android Authority).

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was introduced last month along with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. It’s the latest phone to hit the market, and it’s the only one of the four handsets AT&T is not selling. However, this should have nothing to do with the growing 5G problem.

Read more