I know this is not directly Media Center related but it is relevant to the whole ecosystem as I try will be trying to integrate my new phone with the rest of my system over the next few weeks.
I have been using various mobile devices for years, I started with a Apple Newton in 1994 which I loved (and still works) and then went on to a Palm Pilot (which was ok) and then to a Casio Windows CE device around ‘98. I have stuck with Windows CE and moved on with it to Windows Mobile, I have seen Windows CE progress over the years and I find it sad how Windows Mobile has been left behind modern Smartphone world.
I have become frustrated with Windows Mobile, my latest device a HP 910 Messenger is nice hardware but Windows Mobile 6.1 is essentially the same as Windows Mobile in my 6 year old iMate PDA which is almost the same as my my 10 year old Compaq iPaq. In other words the WinMo 6.1 looks and feels 10 years old. Yes you can get lots of apps for it, I have TomTom sat nav which is great but there is nothing new of exciting in it and I have looked with envy at newer phones like the iPhone, Palm Pre and Android
So I broke down and got a HTC G1 that runs Google’s Android OS, sure the iPhone is a great phone but it’s not available on Vodafone in the UK (my company uses Vodafone) and I am not a big Apple fan (I hate iTunes) and I want some thing a little different.
My first impression of the G1 is that the hardware reasonable, the capacitive touch is great (so no more finger nails to try and select tiny buttons in Windows Mobile) but its the OS that shines, is very slick and modern and leaves Windows Mobile looking like a very out dated and clunky OS. Out of the box Android has some nice features like a great Web Browser (based on Webkit) and great integration with Gmail but it with all the 3rd party apps that it really shines. There are thousands of free and paid application some are really great like ShopSavy where you can scan a product barcode and it will search for the product online and give you online prices, local availably and reviews. There are internet radio players, twitter apps, apps for syncing with Exchange email and just about anything you can think of.
One interested application is AndroMote a DLNA controller app, you can select a Media Server and a Media Player and then control music, pictures or video play back. I had it working streaming content from my Windows Home Server to Media Center running on my Xbox 360. I will do a post on AndroMote another time
Back to the G1, the whole phone is a pleasure to use, its fast, responsive and easy to use, it feels modern the market place is full of great application. There are some downsides: The G1 has no headphone socket so you need a mini USB to headphone adapter and the default music player is a little basic and the battery life is no so good, I have not done a full day test yet but if you use wifi, Bluetooth and keep play with the phone like I do I doubt you will get a full day out of it but you can buy extra batteries and larger capacity ones too.
One thing I have noticed that I am sure other G1 users and iPhone users have found is that it’s not just a phone it really is a Mobile Internet Device and it means you can leave the PC behind and still have full internet access unlike the very poor experience you get with Windows Mobile. I will miss the simple tethering of WinMo and the Exchange email but I am sure there are 3rd party apps that will fill the gaps ( TouchDown for Exchange is great) and I will be still using my Zune for music and podcasts but there is such a massive potential with Andriod, I am going to download and start developing apps for it (a Windows Media Center Remote Control app) so I am really enjoying the G1 and Android
Maybe I will come back to Windows Mobile with the release of WinMo 7, I have tried 6.5 on an old Treo and while its an improvement on 6.1 its not enough to keep me on the OS
So look out for more posts on integrating Android and Windows Media Center
0 thoughts on “First Impressions of a HTC G1, or bye bye Windows Mobile”
Very interesting that you made a switch away from WinMo. I too am really hating winMo as i have been using it for many years as well hoping that someday it too would be a great OS. I was given a iPod Touch a few months ago and I absolutely love it. It is so smooth and has so much bulit into. I was not a iTunes lover, but it is starting to grow on me. I never used a Zune, because it just seemed like it was made so cheap. I love how easy iTunes gives you podcasts, movies, and music so easily. I was about to jump the MS ship and head over to Mac, but with Windows 7 being such a huge improvement I am excited to see what happens with WinMo7. If that is a good OS I will then old off on jumping over to the iPhone.
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Very interesting that you made a switch away from WinMo. I too am really hating winMo as i have been using it for many years as well hoping that someday it too would be a great OS. I was given a iPod Touch a few months ago and I absolutely love it. It is so smooth and has so much bulit into. I was not a iTunes lover, but it is starting to grow on me. I never used a Zune, because it just seemed like it was made so cheap. I love how easy iTunes gives you podcasts, movies, and music so easily. I was about to jump the MS ship and head over to Mac, but with Windows 7 being such a huge improvement I am excited to see what happens with WinMo7. If that is a good OS I will then old off on jumping over to the iPhone.
Don’t you hate that HTC likes to leave out the headphones plug??!! My HTC Kaiser go into the gym with me if it supported headphones.
WinMo has been rather depressing lately. The largest improvements have been from HTC! WM7 had better rock the house.
Interesting to read. Strange that I find Opera Mobile 9.7 as good as mobile safari on the iPhone/Touch. Am I the only one then? 🙂