Bwana.org » Smartphone

T-Mobile G1: Beware Of The Limitations

Bwana — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:50:47 +0000

Today, the Google Android platform had its coming out party, and the first phone to use Google’s new mobile software, is the T-Mobile G1. Rather than bore you with all the details you’ve read about one the web already, I’ll summarize some limitations of the T-Mobile G1:

No 3.5mm headphone jack. (Update 09/25/08 – T-Mobile will eventually ship adapter but not in first shipments)
No modem tethering
Includes only 1 GB Micro SD memory card (expandable to 8GB)
~~Data transfer limited to 1GB/month~~ (Update 09/25/08 Lifted by T-Mobile)
Lack of Microsoft Exchange support out of the box
No desktop/computer sync option. All data in the cloud!
No A2DP/Stereo Bluetooth
Google Account required to use
No video capture
Update Copy & paste is limited to form fields. It is not global.

Granted this is the first release of many Google Android supported phones, some of these limitations can be taken with a grain of salt. The major limitation I can see at this time is that Google Android is all about cloud computing, and I don’t think adoption rate will be swift with that limitation. Not everyone is ready to completely move to the cloud. Since I haven’t had first hand use of the device, I can’t really recommend it or not, but on paper, if I were to make a decision today, I would pass on this model.

The RIM-pire Strikes Back – Blackberry Bold

Bwana — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:23:05 +0000

Today, RIM announced an update to the Blackberry series called the Blackberry Bold (or Blackberry 9000). Price has not been disclosed yet, but some of the features include:

HSDPA and EV-DO version
Wi-Fi and GPS
625MHz CPU, 1GB internal flash memory
802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2Dp), GPS, MicroSDHC
480 x 320 video recording, photo geotagging

PCMag has a first look of the unit, while Kevin from Crackberry gives us a tour of the interface:

Clearly, this is a statement by RIM that the iPhone is not the only phone on the block with a nice interface. RIM has been popular amongst business users in terms of functionality and utility, but not necessarily for style. The Blackberry Pearl and Curve were our first glimpse at RIM’s attempt to win over the younger crowd. The Blackberry Bold seems like a natural progression in terms of interface evolution. Apple’s iPhone was a bold reminder (no pun intended) that phone interfaces generally stunk and needed improving. Based on what I’ve seen from OS 4.6, RIM is taking it seriously. Will it match up to the iPhone’s hype? Who knows, but we do know that RIM dominates the smartphone market and is by no means playing catch-up. They are working to maintain that dominance, and I think they are heading in the right direction. This bodes well for us consumers.