T-Mobile today unveiled the G1, the HTC Dream phone based on the Google Android platform. It’s basically an HTC phone so T-Mobile’s $179 + 2 year contract price may hint of a possible unlock price when it goes global.
First things first though, the actual specs of the T-Mobile G1 phone:
- 3.2 inch touch screen (480×320 pixel resolution)
- 3G/HSDPA
- 2GB internal storage (up to 8GB via microSD)
- GPS
- 3MP camera
- WiFi 802.11 b/g
- qwerty keyboard
What’s still unsure is the actual price of the handset once it ships out to other regions but based on the pricing history of previous HTC mobile phones, it might not be pretty:
HTC Touch Dual: Php36,000
HTC Touch Diamond: Php42,000
HTC Touch Pro: Php50,800
HTC Dream (Google T-Mobile G1 Phone): somewhere between Php36,000 - Php50,800. It could be somewhere in the vicinity of Php42,000 just like the Diamond.
So if people got frustrated with the iPhone 3G’s price, no doubt they’ve be more frustrated with this one (to think that Google Android is free).
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Is this even appropriate in the Philippine environment? i mean, are the features well supported here? 3G browsing IS a problem already. I can think of any reason to even consider buying this at the moment. Although the features are nice. I don’t think the Philippines is ready for this.
I think that its going to be a great phone,I really love my blackberry but I’m sure that this phone is going to be a major connection to google. etc google maps, gmail, images the list goes on and on
This is a phone that will mostly appeal to developers and not much of the consumers, not yet anyway. The highlight of this device is not the hardware but rather the Operating System which is the first of its kind and the first of many more to come.
The 2nd generation android phones are the ones that the regular consumers should be excited about. Not only will they be more intuitive but probably also cheaper. Not to mention the quality of applications that will be available by that time.
@Dusty - but considering that the business model behind Android is to push search on the mobile phone, the device must be at least 3G-capable right?
@yuga
Well, I’m not so sure about the business side behind Android being based on search but there are rumors going around that the Android OS is actually not a “phone-only” OS. Next year it could possibly be found installed in other consumer electronics, maybe even appliances.
If you remember a couple of years back, there were rumors that Google was developing their own operating system on the PC. But it turns out the OS that they were actually after is the entire WEB. The “Cloud OS”. With the launch of Google Chrome it just goes to show how much Google needs the web to be so much faster and stable because all of its applications are located on the web. All it needs is a good browser and you are instantly using their “OS”. With the inception of the Android they basically targeted every single device out there, not just PCs and phones.
Taken all this into account, the possible business models that can be derived from this can boggle the mind.
@yuga
oops that became a long reply … the short answer is ..
Yes, a Phone with Android should have at least edge or something near 3G speeds to fully utilize the potential of the OS.
Google does it again. Am sure hoping this would be a start of a new branch of Google Telco.
I wonder why T-Mo actually went on with this design. It’s going to eat up their SideKick revenues.
Looks a lot clunkier than the highly streamlined iPhone, but in terms of the number of features I think the G1 beats the iPhone.
IMHO..this is great news for many as it gives a proper choice for consumers like myself. The downside is the price. HTC is a great hardware manufacturer, what I don’t understand from the local distributor is why they had to overprice their products (my opinion). I’m really not a big fan of the iPhone 2G/3G..aside from the hype..there is really nothing much on it. Dont get me wrong..I love apple..I own a macbook myself but for other manufacturers wanting to ride on with the iPhone’s popularity wave end up possibly hurting their products. When the HTC diamond was announced…I was damn excited to get…but the mucho expensive price tag pushed me to purchase a Samsung Omnia instead. And trust me..the Omnia kicks both the iPhone & diamond’s arse! And looking at this T-Mo/Google Android..i’ll be sticking with my Omnia for quite a while.
looks pretty good. am concerned for the price though.
i do like that it has that keyboard.
@ Matt. Amen to that. If you add the Samsung Omnia to Yuga’s comparison, it’s only about 30k for the 8GB version, way cheaper and MORE powerful than any HTC device in my opinion. And that’s a lot coming from someone who’s been using HTC devices (around five of them).
I don’t think it’s the G1 phone that will be keeping me away from my Omnia.
kindly explain where you based the high prices. in the phones official website, the phone’s price is $179.9. converted to PhP, that’s just roughly P8,000.
@dan - it is based on contract-free prices of HTC phones in the Philippines:
HTC Touch Dual: Php36,000
HTC Touch Diamond: Php42,000
HTC Touch Pro: Php50,800
I will wait for a Motorola Android Phone
Then I’ll mess it up :p I love tinkering with my phones and so far, only Motorola gives that flexibility.
Will the T-mobile G1 phone work in the philippines? Do they have unlocked version of the G1?
The unlocked G1 Developer phone’s 3G will not work in the Philippines, bec. Globe/Smart uses 1900mhz, whereas the G1 uses TMo’s 2100+-mhz 3G.
What’s dumb is that the EDGE doesn’t work also… at least with Globe. Either that or their techs aren’t very knowledgeable when they tried to get it going.
FYI my settings:
APN: http://www.globe.com.ph
Proxy: 203.177.42.214
Port: 9201
U/P: not set
Server: http://www.globe.com.ph/globe.wmlc
MMSC: http://192.40.100.20
MMS Port: 9201
MCC: 310
MNC: 470
APN Type: mms.globe.com.ph
My G1 works on SMART altho I had to buy an unlock code for $25 first. I have a choice between network types: GPRS (to save battery) or UMTS.
My settings:
Name : Smart
APN : Internet
MMSC : 10.102.61.238:8002
MCC : 515
MNC : 03
(All other spaces leave blank)
My problem is I can’t receive MMS and there is no Smart menu. Otherwise, calls and text works fine, not to mention full internet browsing. Its blazing fast!
Has anyone got this to work on Globe? If so, what are the settings? I’m stuck on the activation screen and have tried every single Globe APN out there with no results.
pls send me the handset settings for globe myphones21 gprs and mms settings
i cant get it to work on my globe. i tried the apn setting but it just keeps going back to the same sign up page. please i need help
awesome cheers