The G1: A New Messiah (unlocked)

The T-mobile G1 is an extremely powerful phone with controls and abilities far beyond its time. Coming into play shortly after the iPhone 2.0 was released it has a repertoire of similar and new features however it does so with a source code that is openly available to the public. This makes editing the phones basic and extended functions a possibility for all interested developers.

The operating system itself is beautiful and easily navigated with the touch of a fat finger. The OS is developed by Google and then released into the wild with its source code exposed shortly after release of the G1. The phone itself was created by HTC working closely with T-mobile and Google.

The phone I purchased was unlocked running the developer code (as all unlocked G1's are considered.) These are some limitations that come with buying an unlocked G1:

1. Google will not let you purchase certain programs or games because of a hole in unlocked OS's allows someone to download progarms for free, so Google blocks your phone at the server level.
2. At&t's 3G is not the same as T-mobile's, you will not get 3g signal just Edge and wifi. This is a hardware issue, not software. There is no fix.
3. The integrated instant messaging application won't run AIM. You can download a free AIM app to get around this

As for the model itself its important to know a few things:

• This phone is a computer and will often run like one. Meaning application crashes, delay, lag, and reboots. It's not too bad compared to a computer, but awful compared to a basic phone.
• Running powerful applications and games will deplete the battery like camel's piss. Seriously, an hour and a half of any strenuous activity will completely empty the battery's bucket.
• This phone doesn't have any headphone jack. You have to buy a USB adapter. it sounds the same but will cost you extra, plus its one extra part to carry around.
• The camera on this phone is useless for any timed shooting. The object must remain still for at least 36 minutes. This camera will blur at the slightest movement or batting eyelash. Forget you even have one.

On a positive note this phone is capable of things I can barely conceive right now. Developers are hard at work on some of the most amazing applications that have yet to exist anywhere until this point. The phone has integrated Bluetooth (stereo), Wifi, 3G, GPS, and an extremely intuitive user interface. These features combined make for astounding capabilities in the work and recreational markets. The full sized, back lit, qwerty keyboard has a the most functional and cleanest layout on a phone I've ever used.

The real prize is location aware application can provide a simple interface to find weather, news, restaurants, movies, stores, and off the grid places relevant to your precise location. By combining Yellowpages type sites and user feedback on forums a G1 user can discover anything about an area. So maybe I'm in the middle of a city, and I'm curious about private spots to bang my hooker. I can check an application to receive directions and previous tenants' information on its quality, privacy, and features. One can easily find the value in thousands of users sharing their knowledge on the places and issues we all invariably deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Overall I have fun using it for games and various tools that are free or very cheap. It'll change the way you shop and travel with its easy Internet based applications, maps, and browser. However, this phone and others like it have the ability to change everything about our lives at a speed that humanity has yet to see. Even laptops don't stand a chance at making an impact compared to these little devices.

Despite what fast, powerful computers are capable of, the convenience of an item wins out over its versatility. The only recommendation I have is, if you can help it, wait for the next set of phones running the Android OS . The phone is great but very overpriced considering that despite its potential the phone is stuck in the "what if" stages until developers and larger companies light a fire under their ass and develop the fuck out of this operating system.