Initial reaction to the Andriod G1

Yesterday I picked up a G1. After playing with it for less than a day, I have enough experience to make some comments about it.

- I like the form factor. The keyboard works much better than the Treo I've been using for quite some time.

- I was easily to get most of my stuff set up to an acceptable level to say I haven't really lost any functionality that I had with my Treo (with the exception of all my contact in the Palm database -- thankfully I was already using GooSync to get my calendar in sync with Google Calendar).

- I like the browser and email reader way better on the G1 than the Treo. I haven't played enough with an iPhone to know how they compare, but I suspect they may be pretty similar.

- There are some minor improvements that could be made, as many have already noted. For example, the sensitivity of the screen isn't the greatest, nor is the precision (I have a heck of a time clicking on an href in the browser with my finger and usually use the wheel to do that because of it). You don't get automatic orientation changing when you rotate the phone like an iPod does (to me that isn't that big of a deal).

- There are some really critical issues that need to be resolved ASAP. First and foremost is the lack of flash support. See my previous post about Parleys.com to know why that is a priority for me.

- The other really goofy thing is the lack of a real headphone jack. Granted you can use bluetooth headsets with it, but what about listening to my flash presentations (did I mention that is a really vital item that is missing?) while I ride the bus. Or for those who don't feel like carrying an MP3 player and a phone, how the heck are you supposed to listen to those oh so conveniently downloaded MP3s from Amazon when you get to your desk at work? Don't tell me to use those headphones that connect to the USB port. Anyone who's invested in a pair or two of SHURE headphones is not going to just switch over to the ones that came with their cellphone (and if you haven't tried the SHURE products you should).

- Someone needs to round up the markets for software. So far I've used the built-in program to find new applications, but I also came across three other sites while I was googling last night:

* SlideME
* AndAppStore
* OnlyAndroid

The latter is the only one charging for the programs, so I haven't used them yet (most of the same apps can be found for free with the other options). The bummer is that lots of programs are posted on multiple sites so I see a lot of repeats digging through the lists -- whereas some are only on one of the sites so I have to dig through them all to find out if I missed out on something I'd like. Someone should consolidate the lists (maybe that is the application I can write ... in my copious amounts of free time ... right).

Hopefully Adobe will get the flash issue taken care of asap (they appear to be working on it), and the minor issues will be forgotten as I just suck it up and get a headphone converter.

Free Technical Presentations

You can find some great presentations online (and for free) at Parleys.com. You need flash to view the site, but the UI is pretty nice and the content is pretty good stuff (speakers like Rod Johnson, Joshua Bloch, Ted Neward, and Bruce Eckel just to name a few).

If you use iTunes, subscribe to "http://parleys.libsyn.com/rss".

Thanks to Paul Noennig for sharing this nugget with me after the OTUG presentation.