First Impressions of the Android Dev 1

Well, I've had my Dev1 unit for a few days and thought I'd share my first impressions of the device and the Google OS. There are a lot of reviews already for the T-Mobile G1, so I'll mainly focus on the differences and my specific experience along with a basic run through of what I've seen so far.

Overview

The Android Dev 1 is the developer version of the T-Mobile G1 released last fall. It is basically the same unit, but it is unlocked (you don't have to use T-Mobile) and you can flash the OS with non-standard (custom built) versions of the OS.

The phone I received has firmware version 1.0, baseband version 62.33.20.08H-1.22.12.29, and kernel version 2.6.25-01843-gfea26b0.

The phone is not recommended for end users, mainly because there is limited customer support for the device. If you buy it, plan on a lot of "self-service". To purchase it, you have to register as an android developer for $25, then you can purchase the phone for $400 with free shipping in the USA.

Complete details are here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/device.html#dev-phone-1

I thought the pricing to be on the high-side of reasonable, for an unlocked device like this. I can see the price coming down in the future as I've heard the parts cost about $170 to build the device (add labor and profit). I would think subsidizing the price for developers would make sense at some point, but I suppose keeping the price a little higher keeps out the riffraff (it didn't keep me out, so that doesn't seem to be working).

Device

The device itself comes in any color you want, as long as it is black, with a cute fractal/android custom developer backplate design. There is one USB style port used for everything; headphones/mic, charging, data, etc. (I would have liked a dedicated headphone jack). Buttons on the sides include the camera button and 2 volume (+/-) buttons. The "chin" of the device has 5 buttons (green dial button, home button, menu button, previous button, red hang up button) and a pearl-style scroll ball/button.

The screen slides out and up to reveal the full-QWERTY keyboard (everybody seems to think the way it swings out is cool). Doing so will bring the Dev1 out of sleep mode. Some users have complained that the slide mechanism starts to get noisy after use, but I haven't experienced that, yet. The keyboard is really nice. Some users have complained about the "chin" of the unit sticking out and making it difficult to type with your right hand, but I actually like the way it cradles in my palm--it seems to steady the unit and puts my thumb in the right place for thyping (thumb typing).

The unit has a nice weight and feel. The back cover pops off with a little fiddling on the release and reveals the battery and SIM card slot. The microSD card is just below the green dial button (a 1GB card is included).

The touch screen only works with your finger (no stylus is needed nor will one work) and is responsive and pleasant to use.

My kids think it is a cool phone.

Setup

You can't get past the setup wizard without a working SIM card and data access, so don't think you can buy this phone and just play around with it off network. Because of the design of the OS, the phone doesn't even understand the concept of "off network". You also need an "all you can eat" plan for data because this thing slurps it up continuously.

Because of coverage in my area, and the fact that T-Mobile has a really bad reputation (and coverage) in my area, I wanted to go with AT&T. The staff at the local store was very helpful in getting my account set up and getting my SIM card, but they couldn't help me with any data settings. I was also really impressed that they were so responsive and open to help me get an unlocked phone set up. They set me right up with a special Tech Support number, using a store landline, and Tech Support did their best to help me. I ended up fixing it myself using some information I got by googling with my old phone while I was on hold and found that these APN settings worked great for me.

After I had the APN settings right, I was able to complete the sign up wizard and point my account to my existing "Google Apps Standard Edition" account. Within a few seconds, my contacts and domain email were all sync'd and ready to use!

I'd say the setup process was a little harder than it should have been in the real world, but was great on the phone, once the data connection was enabled. Google has a reference to a external website that talks about possible settings, but it wasn't helpful. I'd like to see documented settings or preset APN values for a lot more providers. That would sure help.

I'd also like to have a way to use the phone with wifi without having to get a cell phone plan. If I could have gotten past the setup wizard and messed about with the phone, I would have been a lot happier. Perhaps somebody knows of a key combination to skip the setup wizard?

I have a pretty big complaint about the device, when it comes to data. The phone is 3G enabled, however, it only supports T-Mobile's 3G. Apparently, AT&T 3G runs on a different frequency than T-Mobile's and this phone won't see it. EDGE works quite well on the phone, but it was a huge disappointment to find that was the best this phone can do on AT&T. I knew I was taking a risk buying a phone to run on an unofficial/unsupported provider's network, but I sure would have like to have known that before I jumped in. I did some searching about people's experience on AT&T's network with this device, but failed to read anything (hopeful blindness on my part?) that warned me about this issue. T-Mobile doesn't have 3G in my area, so this point is kind of moot for developers around these parts.

Using the Android OS

I found the phone pretty intuitive to use, for the most part. I do get the feeling that I'm missing out on some functionality and that I'll be exploring it for awhile.
Most of the built-in applications work as you'd expect, but I found that when I wanted to change some behavior on an application, the setting just wasn't there. Also, the settings that are there are often buried deep in the program. For instance, I always run my phone on vibrate only. Instead of having an external switch, or even a setting that was right on top of the OS where I could find it, I have to slide the program panel out, scroll to settings, select Sound & display, turn on Phone vibrate and turn on Silent mode. Even that didn't turn off everything because if I start a game, like the addictive "Labyrinth Lite", I still get game sounds.

I see quite a few more UI improvements (having to do mostly with access to options/settings or screen behaviors) that could be made, but considering how young the OS is, it is looking pretty good. For instance, I can't find where to change the clock on the "desktop" from the default analog clock to a nice digital format.

Speaking of looks, I really like the look of the interface. I think it is miles ahead of Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian, and especially Palm. There is a pleasing overall look and feel and a lot of the interface is pretty intuitive. The OS has been rock solid with no problems there.

Most of my issues have been with not knowing where I am (a task switcher would be helpful) or not having/finding an option that I'd like to affect behavior. I often find myself hitting the back button repeatedly to get back where I want (even if hitting the home button would have made more sense). I'm sure part of the problem is with me having to switch from what I'm used to.

Android Market

I found Android Market (where you can download free or purchased programs) to be easy to use. I'd like to see better options for searching and a few little UI points like always showing the description of the app, not going to the comments (which might have been where I was at on the last app displayed).

I'd like Google apps to stand out better. Given a choice between an official Google app or a 3rd party developer's that does the same thing, I'd probably choose Google's app. In fact, that should probably be a separate category.

Overall, the download/install/uninstall process has worked flawlessly.

Google Apps

The apps provided to run Google Apps have been well thought out and run as expected. Gmail is fantastic. The browser is fantastic. Contacts works well and is much more flexible that what I'm used to.

It feels more like you are running a tiny PC, than a phone. I haven't tried accessing spreadsheets or documents--I'll leave that for a more in-depth review.

Oh Yeah, It's a Phone, Too

The phone aspect is well integrated with the overall system. However, I have run into a few issues that I haven't sorted out, yet. For instance, on my old phone, I could set up a pop-up speed dial and I haven't figured that out yet on this phone. This inability is offset, however, by the automatic "Favorites" tab on the dialer (most frequently called or received calls are shown and sorted automatically).

It can be hard to find a contact as I have so many that I have to switch to landscape/typing mode to find who I want to call (at this point I can start typing part of a name and it will update this display with just the matches), then switch back to portrait/phone mode when the call gets dialed. Either there needs to be an on screen letter pad or something here to make calling contacts easier.

Another issue here with the Contacts application: my contacts in Outlook (migrated to Google Contacts) are mostly by Organization name. This results in no name, just a number, in my Contacts scroll. I either need an option to change the priority for what is displayed (Org, then Name) or blank names should default to org name on the contacts list.

Calls have been clear and the AT&T service has been OK in the locations I've used the phones (I checked a coverage map before setting up my account to make sure the areas where I spend most of my time are covered). I'm not sure about "more bars in more places", but my experience so far has been OK.

I'm concerned about battery life. My previous phone, which I did not use to check email, would last from 6am until midnight with normal usage. So far, with the way I have things setup, this phone starts warning me about battery life at about 7pm. I'm not sure my usage pattern is stable, yet (it is a new toy, you know), so I'll reserve judgment on that, for now.

Speaking of battery life, I did try using the GPS capability on the phone, but it sucked battery life and was pretty slow to find where I was. Google maps would sometimes stop tracking me. There is a lot more work to be done here before this functionality is really usable. I was disappointed about that because one of the apps I want to develop was going to depend on the GPS functionality.

One last point--I've not gotten used to the way the dialer behaves while I'm on a call. The touch screen seems to react to my face and at the beginning of the call there seems to be a point where I can hang up on the call just by putting the phone up to my face. I haven't nailed down just what is happening, but I'm pretty sure that is it. Also, the dialer goes to sleep right away (maybe to keep this from happening) and this means when I check voicemail, I have to keep waking up the screen to push a number button.

Summary of Issues

• More personalization options and settings are needed.
• Some apps need a little more capability (the Contacts display format, for instance).
• Can't use the phone without SIM card and a plan.
• Battery life is a little short, especially when using the GPS functionality.
• AT&T 3G data is not available on this phone, only EDGE data.

Conclusion

I recommend the Dev1, if you are looking into developing for the Android platform.

It has some big advantages over the T-Mobile version, as far as a developer is concerned, and it is a good working phone. If you are an early adopter consumer, this phone might be a better option for you than the G1, if you don't like T-Mobile or need an unlocked phone, but you won't get any support--you'll be on your own, except for some help from helpful developers, and you may not get the data speed you want, depending on the frequency your provider runs on.

On a broader front, I'd say that the Google Android OS is well on its way to providing a quality alternative to the other phone OSes. I already like it better than the other options. I don't think I'll be going back.

March 2, 2009

Updates

March 2, 2009
I just completed this review and guess what? My phone just rebooted in the middle of getting a voicemail. I was trying to turn down the volume whilst listening to speakerphone call.