That popular VoIP application for mobiles, Truphone Anywhere has just arrived on the HTC Google OS driven device the G1.
This Truphone release is now available in such far flung countries as the UK and the US of A, with Austria and Germany being on the cards next. The last one ties in nicely with the unveiling this week of the only Android *cough* handset to be releases in Germany for March. Coincidently it’s the exact same time the Truphone Anywhere application will be available, in that very countries language. Hurrah!
If you weren’t already aware and shame on you for not, Truphone offers far more than just VoIP. Instant messaging is an integral part of the software, with the likes of MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and Twitter all taking pride of place within. With Skype access only being just around the corner too, although we’re not sure it’ll be here in time for CeBIT where it’s being rolled out.
On both Google Talk and Skye, it’s possible to speak to people for just the price of a local call. Although if they’re local, why not just pop around instead – food for thought there.
It’s now downloadable from Google’s OS app store, the Android Market – which still sounds far too close for our liking to a place in a Philip K. Dick novel.
With this announcement, Truphone for the G1 has now joined the illustrious ranks of being supported on devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Nokia handsets. All that’s missing now from their line up is a version for Widows Mobile devices and stretching further afield, PC and the Mac.
Who knows, we might have just pre-empted the next few unveilings of Truphone. But for the time being, let’s just say Anywhere for Android is now in good company.
Happy New Year from yours truly and what not. I had a brief moment yesterday (while chilling out in front of my laptop) when I came across Ed Hodges’ MIR post covering his thoughts on the G1.
The thing is, I never actually got round to publishing my thoughts on said handset as, well, it drove me NUTS. Why? Allow me to explain.
Back on that fateful day in November, not too long after my epic rant on the Nokia N96, our glorious leader here at Mobile Industry Review – Ewan MacLeod – furnished me with a brand new T-Mobile G1. The point being that we’d capture this moment on camera for a special G1 edition of the MIR show.
From that initial handover, much to Ben’s (who had paid for his) and Dan’s (who’s now finally got one) joint annoyance, I had said G1 in my possession for about three weeks. The only advice I was given, and I quote:
“James, I think you might benefit the most from this handset. It’s your opinion I want… BUT. I don’t want you to review the hardware; I want your POV on the software, the OS and most of all the ‘out of the box’ experience.â€Â
Ewan made this VERY, VERY clear. So, software. Not hardware. Check. Right then, let’s dive in shall we? Here we go…
Today kids, I want to talk about ‘centricity’. What do I mean? Well, within the first couple of days of using the handset, a few things came to mind that made me look at the G1 in a very odd light. The issues I’m going to raise in this piece aren’t necessarily about the device per se, but they do relate to the kind of person that you’ll have to be to truly benefit from owning one. It should be noted at this point, I am notthat person.
You see, as you all know, I am a mobile geek. My career in this industry has seen me move from product management to user experience, marketing, online, branding, blogging and ultimately a combination of the lot with the advent of Social Media. In this short time, there have of course, been learnings. These learnings bring me back to that word again; centricity.
Brands, tech, carriers/network operators, companies, banks, post offices, you name it – many of these over recent years have claimed to be USER-centric or CUSTOMER-centric. Now that, if executed well, can be very good for the organisation in question and of course, for the consumer. Fantastic stuff.
However, that’s merely my introduction to the notion of ‘centricity’. As the iPhone before it has benefited those consumers out there that have a mac-centric lifestyle, the T-Mobile G1 works best for those who live their lives through Google. GContacts, GMaps, GTalk, Gmail, … Geee-Ma! Look at my new phone!
You name it, it’s got it. You turn the phone on and you’re immediately invited to sign in, sign up or sod off. BUT! Before I get into the negative (because surprisingly, the thing ain’t perfect), I really must, must, must point how truly awesome the actual setup process is. Turn on, log in and within minutes the entire phone sucks down all your *cough*GOOGLE*cough* info; mail, contacts, calendar etc. and is up, running and totally in sync. Brilliant. Nokia – Everyone can learn a lot here.
At this point however, I believe it’s time to roll up my sleeves and get dirty…
The thing is, the G1 and I immediately got off on the wrong foot with each other because it assumes that the user (you/me/whoever), must have a GOOGLE-centric life.
Your contacts? Google.
Email? Google.
IM? Google.
As I said, a Google centric life.
Of course, this is the T-Mobile G1. The ‘G’ obviously stands for Google, which really wouldn’t be a problem if the phone had just appeared on the scene without much fanfare (yeah, like that’d happen). But it’s not the fuss that I’m moaning about, it’s the fact that it’s positioned as being ‘OPEN’ that gets me. I mean really, really gets me. OPEN?! OPEN?! Don’t make me laugh! I can’t even sign out of the bloody device without doing a full factory reset, and don’t even get me started on how such an ‘open’ device is LOCKED to T-Mobile… sigh
I digress. Imagine the scene; it’s a cold November afternoon, Ewan and I are sat in a quiet room at One Alfred Place. The show is ‘in the can’ as you say, when he turns to me with; “I’ve got one more thing for you.†Then he hands me the G1.
“I want to film it from the moment you turn it on and sign in with your Gmail credentials.â€Â
“But dude, I don’t use my Gmail account. I send my Google Alerts there and that’s about it.â€Â
“Ok, that’s fine. You can sign in with your Mobile Industry Review Google Group account.â€Â
“Yeah but…â€Â
“No, no, it’ll be fine!â€Â
“But EWAN! I use Yahoo for my email, thanks an’all for that MIR account, but I never use it.â€Â
“OK, fine. Then we’ll just export all of your contacts and calendar info from your Outlook, that’s easy enough.â€Â
“Er… Alright. Let’s do that.â€Â
This is where we come unstuck. The ‘out of the box’ experience – as no doubt the video showed – is fantastic. However, what really rubs my rhubarb is Gmail. Let’s make one thing clear. I have two Gmail accounts; one for MIR and one for me, personally. I never use either of them. Everyone always goes on about how wonderful they are, but I’ve tried – really I have – and I just can’t see the attraction. Really. Smite me G-Man, but I just don’t get it.
‘Gmail BETA’ to give it it’s full four year old name (Bored of beta? Yeah you are!) is sobad it makes me want to plunge USB keys into my eyes just to see if I’m able to find some way around their heinous contacts management system! It is atrocious!
You’ll see on the video (which you’ll just have to go and watch now I’ve referenced it three times) that once the contacts have finished sync-ing, the first thing you see is a bunch of ‘unknowns’. This isn’t my doing. I don’t have random numbers stored in my handset kids. Oh no, you can place the blame firmly and squarely on the ‘revolutionary’ G1.
My N95 8GB and my E71 both sync perfectly with my Outlook over Mail For Exchange. WHY would I want to have a (broken) contacts management system such as the one Google provides as part of Gmail!? It’s not just me either. The BLIND LOVE shown by many a G1 owner that I’ve met is almost as bad as that of the Mac owner (you know who you are). For example, before Christmas I went to visit my ex-colleagues at the Mippin HQ offices in Fulham. Scott Beaumont, my old boss and now new G1 owner almost leapt out of his seat with excitement because he’d FINALLY managed to completely ‘de-dupe’ his entire Google contacts list which (surprise surprise) the G1 had royally messed up with its first sync.
“Look! I’ve done it! At last! It’s taken me FOUR DAYS but I finally did it!â€Â
I nearly fell out of my chair with laughter. Just the fact that he was SO pleased, he had to scream it from the rooftops. Anyway, the point is, as simple and as (supposedly) easy it is to sign up/in into a G1 phone – if you don’t have a Google centric life, then this phone is not for you. Think about it. Think about it a lot. Then think about it again.
And on top of all that, the camera’s crap and the phone feels like a fisher-price toy.
Hi there, Ed Hodges here. From the videos! Well, more precisely, from the recent Phone Calling Under Water video feature that Ewan published last month.
I’ve just got my hands on Ewan’s very own G1. I have to say the software’s brilliant! AND I love the response the handset gives to the touch with smooth scrolling and responsive ‘touch-thru’ to the next screen. Even more impressive is the speed it loads Google’s applications. For instance, opening Gmail (which being Ewan’s has thousands of messages in it) occurred instantly, then, setting up the ‘Compose’ screen took milliseconds too…. beautiful – Something Microsoft Windows would do well to heed. So far the software reacts at the speed of thought
However, the hardware is different, it’s nice and all that, but very ‘plasticky’ (spelling?). I’m also not that fussed about the resolution of the screen, it doesn’t take much to see the pixels and many of the icons can look blocky. The screen rotation mechanism is good, giving a satisfying ’snap’ when opened or closed, however, it feels a touch insecure when open. The biggest let down about the whole experience is the QWERTY keyboard. The tiny keys are more or less flush and take a concerted effort to locate visually rather than semi watching the screen. They don’t give particularly good feedback and I felt I was typing slower than I would normally with more nispakes.
Finally, the phone feels unbalanced when using the keyboard, the base of the phone which sits on the right hand side when in landscape, forces your hand away from the keyboard and makes it more difficult to use fast – while on the left hand side there is a lot of space between the edge of the phone and that fat part of your palm below your thumb (what’s that called? anyone?). As a result, you can find yourself pushing the handset across from the right to left when trying to type fast or reach keys/the screen with your right hand.
So, software is bloody impressive, as we’ve all established and swapping between applications and screens is super fast – brilliant! The handset…. meh, next! With HTC bringing out such beauties as the Touch Pro and HD, I don’t know why Android was put in that brick.
That said, I’m looking forward to the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which is where, I suspect the next announcements about new handsets and perhaps Android upgrades will appear. After all, you’ve got to allow time for handset manufacturers to work out the best form factor for such an amazing open platform…
I’m looking forward to seeing what Samsung have to offer in terms of Android. What about you? Have you used or seen a G1? Viewpoints? I’d like to hear them!
In nearly a month from now, Mobile World Congress will be over, done and dusted, put to bed, an ex-event, acabado – finished.
What are we expecting to see, what are we likely to experience, what will astound us and what will we all be talking about five weeks from now?
From what we’ve already seen aired at CES and the meeting requests with various companies – the following is what we believe will be the main themes from the event. Along with the topics that could be addressed, and the avenues of discussion that we suspect will be throughout the event.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room, the very large grey beast that is the OS. We doubt the whole event will be taken up by talk of platforms, but they will have a significant presence at this year’s MWC.
With the inclusion of Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer as a keynote speaker, the attention will turn to the next generation of Windows Mobile on phones. At least we’re assuming he’ll be there to announce a product, as we doubt he’s just going along to increase his air miles.
Rumours have been around for a while now as to what Windows Mobile 6.5 will most likely contain, from the likes of multi-touch to the known IE version 6 being included. All that anyone can really wish for is that the new OS will fix the issues that plagued 6.1. Saving us all the bother of downloading cooked ROMs from the xda-developers website to resolve them.
Motorola has already spoken publically about their new handsets running this OS, due in the second half of this year which realistically means Q4. We’re wishing good things for that company too, as they need all the luck they can get right now.
We’re assuming, as most will be, 6.5 will be more of a service pack than a long term OS that will be with us for many years to come. As we’re hoping the attention will be on Windows Mobile 7 at MWC. If we’re all led to believe the hype, this will include the likes of Zune-esque features and an integrated live mesh mobile version.
With the world’s economy being what it is right now, the cost of Windows Mobile will be undoubtedly drawn in to the argument this year. As the alternatives around will be surely weighed up as a comparison, now they’re all here and phones around running them all. At the end of last year, a slide was shown at Orange Partner Camp just highlighting the cost associated with WM as compared to the others. To quote a tweet from Rafe Bladford “in open platform session – cost of platform – Symbian, Limo, Android = $0; Windows Mobile $14 (est). not often you see that slide comparison”. Seeing this in black and white just hammers home what Windows Mobile will have to achieve, if it wants to survive in these times.
There’s bound to be a heated, intense discussion of this nature, which we’ll enjoy and throw some spanners in to the works in order to get some decent feedback. Arguments will be made from all corners, which will be interesting to say the least on what everyone will say. Some will be diplomatic on the costs, although we’re hoping to hear from the European against the North American perspective. As it’s no secret the Americans love their Windows Mobile handsets, so we’re unsure if they can give a balanced opinion.
It’s been a year since Android was first shown off on a few phones at last year’s MWC, and only a few months since the HTC manufactured G1 came out. Since then there’s been a lot of rumours as to who will have the next Google OS powered device, who will be the first to market, who will be known as leader with these handsets in the future and not tied solely to a network.
CES saw a few models of not all that well known companies doing the rounds, with a few whispers of who really will be next. With leaks of late coming from HTC, Asus and others all showing they supposedly have Android phones in the mix. Perhaps one of those will show up with a ready-to-market model. Let’s not forget that only two months ago 48 of the biggest players in the mobile world all signed up to the Open Handset Alliance, so we’re all expecting good things from everyone soon.
We have it on good authority, the next one will be around very soon so keep your eyes peeled and stay reading MIR. We are expecting everyone and their dog, to be making some noise over their Android handsets either publically, or behind closed doors. Our money goes with HTC and we’re taking good odds on that spread right now.
They’ll also be talk of the next Android version or the updates, in the form of ‘cup cake’ and possibly how this will be rolled out. If not that, then at the very least what it will possibly contain, if not how the development is going. Although most of what’s what is already known, there’s bound to be some news to be aired as they’ve been rather quiet of late.
Not to be out done, and in the realm of keeping up with the Joneses, there’s bound to be news from Nokia’s Symbian platform. This time last year the world was completely unaware of the grand scheming going on. As far as we all knew Symbian was just a good OS running phones, which included Nokia and that was that. A few months later, the landscape of the platform world would change forever, with Nokia announcing its intentions.
We doubt we’ll hear anything great from Symbian at the event, perhaps some minor announcements but nothing too much. We do however expect to hear rumblings from Nokia, perhaps leading with an update on the N97 and when it’s actually due. Perhaps more on location based services, along with how well Ovi mail is doing on the Series 40 handsets, plus how that service will be expanded.
Some other rumours we’re hearing are that nVidia possibly, maybe, could be, might have something to say at MWC this year. This is all to do with them entering the mobile graphics world on phones, with a possible association with HTC being in the pipeline or so we hear. Whether or not this holds any water is yet to be seen, but it sounds like an interesting concept and partnership.
There’s bound to be noise over LTE, WiMAX and HSPA+ with some networks, carriers and handsets being spoken about. Don’t hold your breath in seeing any of this on the horizon anytime soon, just watch and read with glee and think of flying cars.
We’re even hearing completely unsubstantiated mutterings that even DELL will be making an appearance. This is with a view to be showing up with a Smartphone in tow, of all things. This rumour is picking up even more and more worth in the last week, as more and more sites have begun reporting on it. Why not have a phone; DELL seems to have everything else. They’re turning out to be like a large Sainsbury’s, a one stop shop for everything you need.
Other keynotes that have been booked in already come from large companies such as Vodafone, to even MySpace’s CEO and its co-founder. With the latter obviously appearing to let everyone know MySpace is still around, despite the fact Facebook jas stolen all its limelight and people have completely forgotten about them.
Many CES delights will surely make an appearance, there’s no getting away from that. The LG watch phone and the palm pre will be shown off to the coos and the wonderment of the Europeans. It’ll be interesting to see if the Palm phone and webOS will have the same reception as it did in Las Vegas, also if they’ll be tougher questions to answer now the dust has settled on the announcement.
It’s bound to be a veritable smorgasbord of mobile delights and treats, we’ll undoubtedly bring you as much information as your eyes can handle.
Thanks to Mobile Industry Review reader, Vlad, who shared me a Google Reader item he picked up about a new battery for the T-Mobile G1.
Sorely needed. The device is continually online (if you’ve got it switched to constant-sync for email and the like) which does screw your battery quickly.
Uberphones report that Seidio has knocked out a 1400mAh battery that’s the same size as the existing device battery. At 400mAh more than the current one, that’ll give you a bit more juice. 15% more to be precise.
It’s on the Seidio site priced $42.95. Possibly worth it if you use your G1 as a primary device.
Me? I actually switch mine off when I’m not using it to preserve the battery. Crazy, I know…
MIR Reader Grant wrote in today to tell me about his T-Mobile UK retail frustrations. He’s been after a G1 and thought he’d have a look at one before possibly buying.
Turns out that’s not possible in Harrow. Over to Grant:
- – - – -
Hi Ewan,
Today I went out in search of a T-Mobile G1. Not to buy, but to try. After doing lots of research over Christmas I’ve *almost* decided that I want the phone, but before I do so I’d like some hands-on contact. Responsiveness is really important to me, as well as it’s ability to load my most important webpages.
I live in a North London town called Harrow. Harrow is quite big, and we have a large town-centre with lots of shops and lots of busy shoppers. T-Mobile’s shop is really well placed in a great spot in St Georges shopping centre. I got into the store and it was quite active – it seems lots of people were spending their Christmas money on new phones/tariffs. After waiting for a while I got to the front of the queue and asked if they had any T-Mobile G1 demo units. I was bowled over to hear the store assistant tell me that there weren’t.
I then went on a trek across Harrow, visiting 3 Carphone Warehouse stores (yes, they’re like fleas where I live!) and none of them could provide me with a demo unit to look at. I can forgive them mostly – the G1 is a T-Mobile branded device which is probably seen as niche as far as their customer base in concerned.
Why on earth would a T-Mobile store NOT have a G1 unit for prospective customers to use? Particularly when it’s their new, landmark device? The key to the G1 is meant to be it’s useability and you can’t demonstrate that with pretty pictures and big words. Surely getting ONE device out to each of your stores is reasonable, particularly stores in high volume areas (Harrow isn’t exactly the countryside…)? It’s not like they have to replace them, is it?
For now I’m going to be holding off – I want to make sure I’m making a self-informed handset decision. In the meantime, 3UK are likely to call me and offer me further incentive not to leave them. If they offer me a good enough handset-free deal, then I’ll take my business to them and *maybe* eBay a G1 later.
- – - – -
Grant, what a total arse.
I know just what you were expecting. You reckoned they’d have one or two on display, stuck in those cages or something like that?
I’d have put money on T-Mobile having them available to play with.
Perhaps there’s been a run on G1’s over the Christmas period? You’d expect them to have one or two around in Harrow, North London. Not exactly a remote location…
Has anyone else been out at the shops today browsing or buying?
Building on the search feature of FoneFood this application takes advantage of the magnetometer (compass to you and me) and GPS built into the G1 to locate entertainment venues, restaurants, landmarks and other stuff on a radar-like interface. At last! A way to find the nearest Pizza Express wherever you are without relying on Ewan’s legendary instinct.
News of the availability of the HTC DreamT-Mobile G1 Android based mobile phone has just reached us.
Sadly from the post seen here, it appears you have to be registered as a developer to obtain such wonderment. As it’s really geared up just for them and them alone, but who’s to say we aren’t all developers at heart.
We’re sure most of us have drunk our fair share of redbull in the past and stayed up to see dawn more than three days in a row. Doesn’t that qualify us all? Surely it does.
From reports it appears to have the cost attached of just $399, or around £286. With UK ordering also being available from the main site – Android Market on http://www.android.com/market/
Going under the moniker ‘Android Dev Phone 1’, it appears to all be above board and a legitimate SIM free unlocked mobile running Android 1.0. Just in case you were after such a beast and you’re still tied in to your contract for another 9 years, or something like that.
There’s more to be seen here, on what you need to do to qualify for the ADP1. Not that we’re endorsing in anyway shape or form deceiving Google *cough*
Also, you do need to sign up to become a developer here as well.
If this all seems too much bother, then it probably is.
Seeing as the deal with Nokia and Symbian is all wrapped up, done and dusted, put to bed, etc – perhaps an unlocked SIM free N97 could be obtained too.
For the purposes of development of Symbian, of course *cough* *cough*
