Official Thread: T-Mobile G1 Q&A - Your Questions Answered

[kaziko]

Please post any G1 questions you may have... I will update this post to include the questions and any answers I have.


Q. Any word on saving the apps from the market on the microSD card?
A. Not even sure where the market apps are stored at this point in time.

Q. Simple question regarding ring tone options: Does it have vibrate then ring?
A. The only option I see is vibrate on/vibrate off

Q. I have a sidekick 2008 right now. Could i use that same microSD card in my sidekick 08 for the G1?
A. Yes you can use your microSD card up to 8GB without having to reformat.

Q. Any word about a third party appliation to use AIM, ICQ, MSN.
A. There is a program preinstalled that handles all instant messaging (Google Talk, AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo)

Q. How are IM app buddy lists structured? Are all buddies (GTalk, AIM, Y!M, MSN) on one list, or are they seperate screens? And are groups utilized on the buddy lists if you are using them in AIM, etc?
A. They are not structured like they should be for sure. Each messaging program has it's own group and your personal groups are broken down inside the specific clients

Q. Do the buttons on the chin light up like the uk version?
A. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the buttons by the chin, but the visible buttons do light up.

Q. Can I use my 19.95 unlimited family messaging plan with the $25 dollar G1 internet feature?
A. You can actually just use a $19.99 Data plan alongside the $19.95 messaging to eliminate wasting the $5.00, T-Mobile just doesn't want people to know they can do this.

Q. How is the responsiveness of the touch screen?
A. Ever played with an iPhone? If so, it's rather responsive, anybody who's owned an HTC device knows how aggrevating the touchscreens can be. HTC pulled a fast one and really made the TS extremely usable with just the slight "touch" of a finger.

Q. If you lock the phone, does sliding it up automatically unlock it?
A. The only form of lock I've used is pressing the power button to blank the screen and that pretty much locks the device, opening the keyboard does not turn the screen back on. i will try to pattern lock tonight and get back with a better answer on this.

Q. Is there any kind of headphone adapter in the box?
A. No the G1 comes in box with Stereo headset with inline volume control and answer/end/command button, A G1 branded microfiber slipper protective case, Travel Charger, USB cable and A user manual/getting started guide. This is what was in my G1, which is a pre-release model and might be different than the one actually released.

Q. Is the screen made of glass(like iphone) or plastic?
A. I'm not sure 100% about this but I think it's glass, plastic screens don't seem to have the sensitivity like glass screens do, and this runs perfectly so I'm assuming glass but I will get clarification on this matter

Q. Can You Still Use The Touch Screen Feature When The Phone Is Up Revealing The Keyboard?
A. Yes you can.

Q. Will I really ever use the trackball? seems like it is not needed with the phone having touchscreen and all.
A. I asked myself the same exact question, and while playing around on the G1 I've found that I tend to use the trackball more than I do the touchscreen, but only because I use the phone one handed alot and the touchscreen isn't practical for one hand use.

Q. How's the web browser is a bit laggy when you move around or zoom in at a website?
A. The web browser is seamless. No lag at all except the lag of page load delay when browsing on the edge network.

Q. How long of phone use did you get before your 1st recharge? im on my cell alot so i wanna know how much play time i will get before i have to recharge the phone =)
A. Granted I work for T-Mobile and I show the phone off to every person that asks about the phone, including almost every feature on the phone (ie. GPS, StreetView, Call Quality, Shop Savvy, Camera, Music Player, Google Maps, Youtube). I got about 11 hours before the phone poped up a warning to recharge the battery that it was below 25% battery remaining.

[jgoldy15]

Simple question regarding ring tone options: Does it have vibrate then ring?

[snoslicer8]

How are IM app buddy lists structured? Are all buddies (GTalk, AIM, Y!M, MSN) on one list, or are they seperate screens?

Are groups utilized on the buddy lists if you are using them in AIM, etc?

[Don Won]

didn't see you started this one.

does the buttons on the chin light up like the uk version?

[djdlite512]

Q. How is the responsiveness of the touch screen?
A.

[dkvitus]

For reference purposes, could we number the questions pls? If 2 or more Questions are posted at the same time and happen to have the same number the uses could edit to 1a and 1b to differentiate them.

Just a suggestion.

Q-6. If you lock the phone, does sliding it up automatically unlock it?

[tread]

Q. Any word about a third party appliation to use AIM, ICQ, MSN.
A. No doubt there will be something out. There isn't any for sure word from developers but something like this is always developed very fast.

Q. How about third party navigation applications?
A. I've e-mailed some major players in this market and they haven't given me a solid word on whether or not they're developing for the Android platform... to me it seems they're waiting on the inherent success of the platform before beginning any major programming.

Q. Can I use my 19.95 unlimited family messaging plan with the $25 dollar G1 internet feature?
A. Yes, you family messages will override the 400 that are included with the $25 dollar plan.

Q. Can I use the same multi-touch gesture features like the iphone?
A. Apple has patented many things on their phone in order to keep the profits on their side. Word is that the capacitive touch screen developed by apple is protected by pending patents for them as well as the multi-touch features, but there WILL be workarounds for this.

Q. Will I have a cap on my internet usage with the $35 dollar unlimited plan?
A. Technically, and reportedly from t-mobile, it will not be truely unlimited. Plans are for capping extreme usage customers in regards to the 3g internet.

Q. How can I check whether I'm in 3G coverage or not?
A. Go to www.t-mobileg1.com, click on the maroon "learn" boxlink, click on "about 3g" on the header menu, and then the "check out our current 3g areas" link.

[FSUftbllfan]

Originally Posted by dkvitus

For reference purposes, could we number the questions pls? If 2 or more Questions are posted at the same time and happen to have the same number the uses could edit to 1a and 1b to differentiate them.

Just a suggestion.

Q-6. If you lock the phone, does sliding it up automatically unlock it?

I believe I saw a video somewhere (trying to locate it) where they had the phone locked, they then flipped out the screen to reveal the keyboard. This did not unlock the phone, it just changed the orientation of the unlocking mechanism to the "landscape" mode. They still had to slide their finger across the dots to actually unlock the phone. Hope that was what you were referring to.

[Technickal]

is the AIM "instant"??????????
is it as smooth as the sidekicks aim?

[birdtales]

Just got home from visiting Kaz at his store. Here are some pics I took while i was there. The lighting wasn't great and obviously we couldn't move to better conditions.


I asked or answered a few of my own questions while I was there. I'll post them in a moment as well as my first impressions.

P.S. Kaz is a great guy and it was good chatting with him.