T-mobile G1 – The first of the Google Android Phones. Part 1.

I swore black and blue that I wouldn’t succumb to the desire to get one of these as I felt that being an early adopter on this was not somewhere where I wanted to be. I was waiting for the release of the HTC Touch HD which hardware wise seemed to be a far superior option however on finding out the initial release pricing of £500 for the hardware alone (no contract), or changing suppliers to Orange for the privileged price of £40 /month and dishing out an extra £80 for the phone, left me cold.

The end result was that I called up my supplier (T-Mobile) which I was at the end of contract with and asked for an upgrade. They came back with a brilliant offer of £20 /month, unlimited Internet access (meaning 3GB before they ask questions) and the hardware for free. Now had they said to me that I would have to pay the £40/month new subscription rate I would’ve told them to take a long walk of a short pier. The question then is after having used the phone for the last week in anger would I change my mind on the initial release pricing? I’ll tell you at the end of this review.

So let’s take a look at the hardware and stats both from what is professed by HTC and also from what T-Mobile state on their website. The reason I have included some specs from both websites is that T-mobile have been a little more realistic in their expectations from the hardware especially in the standby time.


Plenty of good stuff in there and entirely what we would expect from a competing smart phone except perhaps the side - width and height seem fine but when you compare the depth to the current king of touch screen smart phones, the iPhone, we see that the G1 is a full 5mm deeper. This chart shows a direct comparison with some of the other smart phones that are currently on the market and we see that it is not quite the massive beast that it first appears to be.

Physical Features

The front of the G1 is not pretty. Whilst it is dominated by the 3" touch screen the buttons and trackball area really do look like an afterthought kind on tacked on the bottom. The buttons are fairly self explanatory in that starting from the left we have the call/answer button, then the home button, menu over the trackball (which is also a button), back and finally the cancel/hangup button. The configuration works very well and I have not been caught out hunting for buttons.


The Left side has the volume rocker button and also once you open the keyboard slide you have access to the micro SD slot.


The right side has nothing but the camera button on it but it is in the logical place as you would only really use it with the slider closed.


On the back is the speaker and the camera lens.


The bottom has a mini USB port that may look a little odd but works with any mini USB plug.


With the back open you can see the battery and also where you insert your sim so nothing special or surprising in there. Getting into the back is just a matter of levering it off much like some of the old Sony Ericsson phones.


Build wise the hardware has left me somewhat disappointed. The plastic that it has been made from is a bit flimsy and the way it all fits together leaves some odd gaps (as can be seen in the right side view). The feel of the buttons and the keyboard is just fine however I am a long way from touch typing like I could both on my Blackberry and my old Samsung D900.

Ergonomically the keyboard is ok and even with the raised button console on the bottom of the phone the keys are easily reached however my one call would be to make the buttons in slightly higher relief as there are times when you are not entirely sure that you've pressed them properly.

The slide mechanism has a good solid snap to it and doesn't feel like it's going to break. On extension it does look a little wonky which again lends itself to my rather disappointed build quality call.

Access to the Micro SD slot is a bit of a pain but to be fair you're not going to be swapping them over that often and it sure beats other phones that require you to remove the back and the battery for access.

Overall it is a perfectly functional body that isn't over sized and doesn't make me feel like I need to treat it like eggshell. The build could be better and things like the top of the slide and the body of the phone not meeting up and visible cast marks on the chassis that make it feel cheap especially when you compare it to the likes of the HTC Touch HD and the Apple iPhone.

In Part 2 of this review I will go into the functionality of the phone, the responsiveness of the touchscreen and best of all in depth into the brand new OS from Google - Android.

Brian Adams - at the O2 London

Last night was a little bit of a guilty pleasure for me and my fiancé. We went to see Bryan Adams at the London O2. It was a brilliant concert and the venue itself serves really well.

We had nose bleed seats and the screens were pretty small at the other end of the stadium but it in no way detracted from what was an excellent night!

I do have one question tho - does that make us old?

Obama is the US President Elect.

An amazing result - for once there is an active demonstration that ANYONE can be what they want to be. The statement holds true and is actively shown not just told. This is an historic moment and one that will be remembered as a keystone in a new and more international United States.

Well done America, it took you a long time, but you got there in the end.

Senator McCain has to be one of the most graceful losers that I have ever listened to. Full respect to the man in recognising what the result means and the importance that all America needs to now stand behind this result.

Source: BBC

2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition.

Every year there is a photo exhibition on at the London Natural History Museum. Myself and my fiancé go to see it without fail. We have not been this year but as it runs through to the 26th of April we have plenty of time. Since we are coming into winter it strikes me as a pretty good way to kill some time and once you've done this you can visit both he Natural History Museum and also the Science Museum situated behind it. Both are excellent examples of museums and certainly a full day of very interesting stuff for young and old. For the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition you have to buy tickets before hand that then provide you with a specific time slot when you can visit. You can get tickets here. If you have ever had any love for animals, nature or photography I could not more strongly suggest you get along to see it.

Here are some examples of this years stunning offerings. More can be found here

Artificial Heart - From the 'holy mackeral' books!

I find this stuff amazing and more than a little scary.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- French scientists have unveiled a working prototype of a fully artificial heart which is based on the technology of satellites and airplanes.

The device could save millions of lives and beats almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow.

The French model is made from natural materials including polymer and pig tissue, which have already been used in heart valves implanted into people. The artificial heart would initially be for patients who had suffered a massive heart attack or who had heart failure, but might eventually be used in patients who are not that sick.

The artificial heart is expected to cost about 150,000 euros or $192,140. (ed: that'd give you a small heart attack anyway!)

US Election - Game on...

So it's Game On for the US Presidential Election today and I'd have to say the initial polls are looking pretty good. Across all the polls there has been a fairly predictable trend of sitting on the fence (March - September) but now when it really count it looks like the country is beginning to make it's choice and it seems to be swinging in the Democrats favor.

I have several reasons for hoping for a Barack Obama win not the least of them being that I think it will make the US more 'approachable' as a country. The perception that I have always got from talking to people about America has been that it's a redneck lead country that has little international awareness and little relevance to international issues. I think this perception has been bred by seeing Bush charge into conflicts in Iraq and his constant greater than thou international policy.

Whether there is any reality in the change promised by Barack Obama leaves to be seen but the first and greatest part of the battle is to change perception. A positive swing in the worlds perception of what is going on in America can only be a good thing not only for how people view America and Americans but also in their outlook for the near futures world economy. I would not be at all surprised to see a pretty substantial positive boost to the stock markets world wide if/when Barack Obama becomes president.

Disclaimer: I know sod all about politics or world economies apart from what I read in the papers and see in the news. As the title of the blog suggests this is my personal opinion.

RED - DSMC DSLR?

The very well respected HD video camera maker RED (Used by Peter Jackson among others) have been dropping many not so subtle hints that they may be joining the DSLR market but with every intention of using their experience in the motion picture hardware industry and speculation suggests that it will be a DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera). The real interest comes when the RED CEO suggests that "the most aggressive speculation will not come close to what we will announce Nov. 13th.".

Sounds interesting however it's a huge ask to get people to shift over from their current preference (Nikon, Canon etc.) because of the large investment that goes into lenses. Now if the mount used on this hypothetical camera is changeable so that either Canon or Nikon glass can be used it could well be an interesting prospect. The likelihood of this is not very high as the president has been set by the likes of Sony and Pentax in supplying their own glass and RED already make their own HD movie camera lenses. As their HD movie cameras go for around £6000 I can't see this coming in at an affordable level but we can all look and ooh and ahh at it for free.

As and aside more competition in the DSLR market is always a good thing however what we really need is more in the mid range prosumer market to drive the body prices down a bit.

A bit of a teaser from Engadget - it's a bit ambiguous and not a photo but a Photoshop.