Cheap HTC Dream – T-Mobile G1 – Google Android Phone

This Phone At A Glance:

3.5G • 3G • Android • Bluetooth • Camera • Edge • Email • GPS • HTC • Motion Sensor • MP3 Player • Organiser • PC Sync • QWERTY Keyboard • RSS • SMS Text Messaging • Speakerphone • Touch Screen • VGA • Video • Video Recording • Voice Activated Dialing • Web Enabled • WiFi

After the review: Live Google Android Auctions - Bid Now

Google Android HTC Phone

Here it is - the first Google Android phone. Just released in the USA with carrier T-Mobile, this mobile phone platform very exciting and is sure to be interesting. We wonder what Apple are thinking right now - can this be a significant challenge to the iPhone?

The HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1) is the first smart phone model running on the Android platform. The official release date is October 20, 2008, but on below on this page you will see a whole lot of Android phones ready to be delivered to your door! So what's the big deal?

First of all, here are the standard features: it has a full 5 row QWERTY keyboard, which slides out from under the screen. There's a 3.2 megapixel camera, and touch screen just like the iPhone. Connectivity via Bluetooth, WiFi up to (802.11g), and USB 2.0. It has GPS. Storage features: 192MB RAM, 256MB ROM, and support for microSD (SDHC) cards.

HTC Dream - Google Android - showing Google Maps

What are the new features? It's optimized to run all the Google Apps, e.g. Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Talk, Calendar, and more. Don't forget Google Search - there's a one click feature to get straight into search results. Connectivity-wise, this is a 3.5G phone, which means downstream transfers of up to 7.2Mbps. Physical interface, we're looking at a touch screen plus a trackball with an enter button. Battery life is quoted as up to 350 minutes for WCDMA. Lastly it includes a digital compass and motion sensor.

Update: The Gmail Blog just released some screenshots of Gmail on the T-Mobile G1. You can see them here. The interface does look great compared to most cell phones. And they discuss the tactile way in which Gmail is interacted with, e.g. swipe to pull down the notification pane when the phone shows that you've received new emails, and press and hold on links to bring up the sharing menu. There is an example of the Gmail inbox on Android to the right.

Gmail on T-Mobile G1 - HTC Dream - Google Android cell phone

Gmail Inbox on Android

Just like on the iPhone, Android owners can download applications from the Android Market. What is interesting, is that Android applications do not have to go through an approval process (like on the iTunes app store) - which is why it is named a Market. That said apps can be available on a free basis intitally, with a paid model being available post-1.0. It is not 100% clear how the market is accessed but there are a bunch of videos on the official Android site that explain the application features.

Some say they could have spent more time on the design, but let's not forget the similar HTC Touch is a very popular phone. The HTC Dream Android phone is not as pretty as the iPhone, and is not as exciting as the new Blackberry Bold but the feature-set for those who regular use the Google Cloud is unparallelled. They come in black and white. Both T-Mobile and unlocked models are available to buy - see below.These are selling out super fast - so click below to get yours now!

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