RegGuheert Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) I see there are a few iPhone users out there, but I don't see any discussion about Google Android. I'm wondering if there are other Android users out there or others who have been interested in an iPhone but are unwilling to move to AT&T to get one. Briefly, Google Android is a computer operating system which is based on the Linux 2.6 kernel, similar to what is done in the iPhone. The first deployment of Android was in the T-Mobile G1 SmartPhone. MomsintheGarden and DS19 each got one of these phones last October when they were released and they LOVE them, as do I. The phone has a similar feature set to the iPhone, plus a few extras: - A physical keyboard for those that find a virtual keyboard too cumbersome. - A compass, which enables Google Street View, among other things. (This is rumored to be coming to iPhone in the future.) - Excellent integration into gMail. Here are some other things I prefer about Android: - For us, it is MUCH cheaper than switching to AT&T to get an iPhone. MomsintheGarden's plan provides unlimited calling, unlimited internet and 400 text messages for $70/month. DS19 uses his G1 with a $20/month plan and accesses the internet only when on wireless LAN (which is everywhere at college). By comparison, a plan for MomsintheGarden on iPhone on AT&T with similar capabilities would cost us $130/month. (Please note, this plan is only available to those who have been on-time-paying T-Mobile customers for at least the last 21 months.) - Android is not limited to one phone and one carrier. In fact, I expect that nearly all carriers will have Android-based phones by the end of 2009 or early 2010, including AT&T. - Android is not limited to cell phones, but is starting to show up on other types of computers, as well. It has already debuted on some other handheld devices and I would not be surprised to see it on laptops in the future. I haven't moved to Android myself, yet, since I do not like the slide-out keyboard on the G1. I prefer a virtual keyboard like is found on the iPhone. T-Mobile will release a sibling to the G1 without the keyboard called the MyTouch 3G in August that I am considering. (This new phone is already available to Vodophone users in England.) If you would like more information on Google Android[/url], Android Community covers all aspects of the platform, application software and devices. Also, if you want to see what applications are available in the Android Market, Google has some of them here on their site. There is also a third-party site which lets you browse the entire Android Market, but this site usually doesn't work very well. Edited June 20, 2009 by RegGuheert Fixed my links and added links to the Android Market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 My brother and my niece got the android phones last year when they first released - they happened to be traveling to California and bought them there as I don't think they were available in the midwest yet. I know my niece loved hers and was the envy of her friends lol. I've looked at hers and it's very nice - my dh and I don't use smartphones (yet!) so no androids for us. :) I am pretty sure my dh has his eye on an iphone when the time comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 T-Mobile is offering the myTouch 3G for pre-order by existing customers starting tomorrow! I've been holding out for this phone since I'm not a big fan of the slide-out keyboard on MomsintheGarden's G1. Now to make the final decision whether I really want to swallow the additional $25/month data access fee... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommylaw Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I've had the G1 since November. I LOVE it! The maps/street view is really cool. I've been a Gmail only user for years so that was a big seller. There are literally hundreds of cool apps. My favs are the bike and jog trackers (speed, distance, altitude). . It is a bit fatter than the iphone because of the slide out keyboard but it isn't huge. When it updated last month it added a virtual keyboard. I mostly use the virtual one but it is really nice to pop out the bigger keyboard when I'm typing a long email or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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