T-Mobile officially launches the G1; not everyone cares
Android is upon us! The HTC G1 is now officially available in T-Mobile stores across the country. We already know that tons of internet pre-orders have been filled early but today is the day that you can walk into your local T-Mobile store and snag one right off the shelf (well, actually it became available last night in some locations). So how is the release being received? Are hoards of eager soon-to-be Android junkies lining up to get their G1 on? Yes and no, it would seem. There is definitely quite a bit of fanfare in certain areas. The image above for example, shows a line of about 150 people outside of a San Francisco store waiting eagerly to purchase the world’s first Android offering courtesy of HTC. There’s even a guy on stilts, umm, entertaining them. The Market Street store in San Fran was actually the first location to make the G1 available and it celebrated by handing out “I was the first to get it” t-shirts, a free 4 GB memory card for the first 100 G1 buyers and a raffle where the winner got $1,000 and a free G1. Woo hoo!
Unfortunately, not all locations saw the hoopla Market Street enjoyed. Sure, there are a few modest groups convening at various locations but we have plenty of emails and comments detailing a much different scene at tons of T-Mobile locations. Many describe empty stores and even an employee sitting “with his feet literally up on a desk.” Ouch. News that pre-order sales were not quite as fantastic as many had initially thought emerged last week and a generally lukewarm reception nation-wide might be an indicator that customer anticipation isn’t quite what it was hoped to be. Then again, HTC and T-Mobile aren’t the hype machine Apple is, so we would expect a more gradual sales curve compared to the mobs resulting from the iPhone 3G launch. Whatever the case, if you’ve been jonesing for an Android fix but wanted to check the G1 out in person as opposed to pre-ordering one online, get off your couch and head down to your local T-Mobile store. It sounds like they could use the company. If you want to know a bit more about the Market Street shindig, hit the read link.
I think the mixed reviews are making ppl iffy about getting it. The less aggressive 1st adopters are now finna sit and wait to get some reaction from the regular ppl instead of gadget blogs.
I’m suprised people actually got in line for this, but then again, this is like T-Mobile’s iPhone…
Yeah, it is promoted as a national launch but the only stores that will have G1 in stock will be those in the 3g markets. Stores in Non 3g markets will have live demo phones so customers can see the limitations with having egde only access on the G1. If a customer wants the phone and are willing to be limited to edge they must order phone from Tmobile.com or customer care. The G1 is T-mobile flag ship phone right now and they want to make sure those using it will get the most out of it or atless understand its limits. Plus only having demos in edge markets will prevent a Tmobile sales rep from pushing a phone to a customer who wouldn’t get the full benifits of Tmobile 3G network.
a little insider info:
the guy on stilts has been given instructions to beat any unruly customers
One very important detail is missing from this story: If you don’t live in a 3g market, your local store does not carry the G1 in stock. They have to order it.
I’d be in for trying one if I could get Exchange Mail. However, I wouldn’t be able to leave the city with it and expect coverage. It is TMO after all.
Or it’s the lack of 3G… Duh! I thought you would know this BGR. I’m disappointed in you BGR.
I have had the phone for a couple of days now and overall i like it alot. This is my first touch screen phone and its incredibly smooth and easy to use. The phone looks alot better in person than in the pictures. its actually alot smaller and sleeker than i thought it would be. The keyboard is easy to use, but i wish their was an on screen keyboard (which im sure somebody is already working on. Lots of cool apps in the market place right now, im sure lots more to come. The only thing that im having a problem with is the battery life. I’m used to having non smart phones so i have nothing to compare it too. If this helps anyone you can get about 9 hours of battery life with moderate/heavy use.
I think the G1 is cool but like a green banana it needs some time to ripen and turn yellow. I’m currently using an unlocked N95-3 with tmobile and it has some features that I often use (i.e. camera) that are much better than the G1. With this in mind, I cannot throw away $300+ on a G1 when I feel my current phone is much better.
I think given time, G1 will kick ass, but right now I have something better.
To Mr Hi-Definition, the G1, is not T-Mobile version of the Iphone. It might be similar but It’s in a class of its own and once you use it you will find it hard to compare it with any other mobile device out there. Now when the Samsung t919 Behold comes out in a few weeks you can and most people will comparing it to ATT Iphone and or Sprints Instinct.
Wouldn’t touch it. It looks cheap, it’s designed weird, and you have to deal with the slowest technology adopting wireless carrier in the US. Epic Fail.
I would have snatched one up from the jump were it not for the fact that T-MO’s data coverage where I live: GPRS. Not even EDGE ppl. I say it again… GPRS.
I have this phone. One thing I can say is that the software is better than I anticipated. It is smooth as silk, just as good as the iPhones touch sensitivity. The phone itself is ok, all soft touch material and the keyboard is very good, but one thing I don’t like is the weight, this baby is heavy! I think it’s stated as 158g but it feels heavier than that, heavier than my Blackberry 8800 world phone. This trackball is actually very useful and works great.
I have to say that 3G works very fast and even when on Edge it is slower of course but faster than any AT&T edge that I used in the past. Unfortunately I don’t get as many bars with 3G as I do with Edge, hopefully that will be fixed. GPS is fast too and spot on.
I only see this UI getting better. Like I said the only thing I don’t like is that it has the weight of a brick.
My bro-in-law just got his on the 19th, if I remember correctly. He opened it at my house.
I’m a current iphone user, and plan to switch to Vz for the Storm if it feels right. Having said that, the G1 felt pretty good to me. The screen is different than the iphone, but once you get used to it, it works fine. It looks way better in person, even the chin. Bottom line, if the Storm doesn’t work out, then I may move to Tmo for the G1.
Got mine yesterday & played around with it for a few hours last night. Coming from a TMo Dash w/ Win 6.0 & older BBerry this thing is awesome. Phone portion works well, speakerphone works well. The length & width fit my hand perfectly while on phone calls. Haven’t paired my bluetooth yet. Sync’d my 100 google contacts in less than 5 min. during initial set up. Love the touch screen, overall pretty intuitive to navigate with, only need quick guide for copy, cut, & paste keystrokes. Trackball works smooth. Initially the keyboard was different but after 30 min I felt totally comfortable like my BBerry. 3G is blazing compared to EDGE, but set it only for EDGE & it worked reasonably well on train ride into Chi-town. To me it feels solid, but not as heavy as brick…i can deal with it. Camera has a small learning curve, but after I figured out timing I get clear shots consistently (maybe i just have a steady hand?) Only have downloaded 2 apps from app store, but haven’t tested either yet. Haven’t loaded any of my personal music yet. Voice dialer worked, more than can be said for WM6.0 voice commands. Overall intially I’m happy with it. Hope this helps others.
…if you pan a little to the right in that photo above you’ll see it’s actually an AT&T store.
Oh noes….Tmo recycling iPhone buzz.
i just came from a t-mobile store in n.y. and boy let me tell you what lines are you guys talking? the only line i saw was the line of reps waitin for someone to walk in the store. this is nothing compared to the iphone no one was on line 3 days before the phones release. And as far as going into the store to check the phone out, no such thing where i was at. there weren’t any as the rep put it live phones in the store. if you ask me t-mobile is the worst service and has the worst phones. this is the first phone to give the iphone competition and boy it does everything but that. i cant wait til my contract is up. this phone isnt woth signing o with t-mobile for another 2 years and t-mobile is well aware of it. what a disappiontment…..no phone to even play with in the store… t-mobile is the worst…
A word to the wise is sufficient: you people with negative comments best stay away from the guy on stilts. Go ahead, laugh and make fun. Several in the crowd engaging in “G1 comparison” now have bleeding welts on their bodies.
My Bro just got his over the weekend. I had to admit this is HTC most fugliest phone. But Android itself it rather sweet. The G1 is not a bad phone just not one of HTC’s best bee it gots all the features to make hacker drool.
tmo doesnt want to be held back with coverage like people think. how long ago did tmo purchase the 3g spectrum their about to use 2 3 yrs ago the govmt made them wait the longest time possible due to tmo not being as compliant with their customers info. like the other carriers they look out for customers. when others are asked by govmt to give up data info they do tmo asked the govmt for warrant.they are a german comp that understands the american laws better than att vzn srnt or at least protect privacy for their customers better. it took tmo to acuire sun com 1 1/2 yrs it will only take vrzn 1 or less to acuire a 10 times bigger comp than suncom was.that says alot about our govmt not helping at all. we have 3g at our call center but it cant leave the building due to fcc regs. the other day we could pick it up outside the bldng in smoking area they shut it off to tone down the signal to avoid being fined. g1 kicks ass even on edge but on 3g its a kila device.peace!!!
I’m in the same boat. I’m using an N95-4 on T-Mobile and I’m waiting to see how well the G1 is received and if the Android Market gets alot bigger. I love T-mobile but my contract is up in March so I MIGHT jump ship to AT&T to make use of the 3G. Plus my N95 already supports flash and I can get all the apps, ringtones and games I need for FREE at http://mosh.nokia.com I already have Crash Nitro Kart 3D (same as iPhone), Assassin’s Creed, God of War, Pac-Man, Tomb Raider: Legend and more. ALL FREE. Check it out.
@trdtaco
Thanks that actually helped a lot. Right now I have a sidekick and I know people are saying things about it but this phone has everything I need. Im debating if I should get this phone or not but hearing how it works especially in Chicago is tempting to make an impulse buy.
The Android Software is a winner. The Hardware (imo) is a failure. I do not want to feel like I am on a sidekick constantly sliding up the screen to type. No matter how “good” the keyboard is, I wish the G1 had on-screen keyboard capability.
Also, all of the marketing I see for the G1 is for the white colored phone, which has not yet been released. What’s up with that? The white colored version makes the hardware a lil more easy to overlook.
Can’t wait to see other phone manufacturer’s take on Android software.
@Da Ereeser
Thanks for the link!
Was wondering, I havnt see any type of avertisement for the phone other then web. I am not within 3g network so it doesn’t suprise me but has anyone seen ads for the G1 other then the web or at Tmobile store?