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44 out of 53 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"MOST BIASED REVIEW I HAVE EVER READ! GG CNET!"
Pros: KEYBOARD, KEYBOARD, KEYBOARD! Copy and Paste, 3MP camera, GPS/AGPS, Google OS, screen size and brightness, user replaceable battery life.
Cons: Bulky, lack of headphone jack.
Summary: This is the most biased review I have ever read. Every feature of the G1 was automatically inferior to the iPhone without any justification. Those features that the iPhone lacked was immediately critiqued. For example, "Oh, you have a keyboard on this thing. Too small though. Next." How can the keyboard be something to critique. No large screen touch phone has one, it is revolutionary. Also, most of the negative remarks are software-based and already in the works such as video recording, exchange support, etc. And knowing Google, they'll be offered for FREE at their store.
By the way, how can you review a cell phone and not talk about its battery life. C'mon now. Oh, wait, I know why. Cause they wouldn't be able to put the iPhone on top in that category since the G1 has almost a third more battery life in a REPLACEABLE battery.
Very dissapointing CNET! You need to review your staff asap!
Updated on Oct 16, 2008It's not an Crapple product, automatic 5-stars worthy! Have fun with your iPhones, leave us alone!
- 30 replies to this review
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Thank God im not the only one who sees cnet as bunch of apple ****** I cannot stand bonnie chas reviews because nothing could ever be as good as her precious iphone.
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absolutely, not everything is inferior to the iphone and if it is a little below iphone level it is probably being fixed. right on dude.
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I TOTALLY AGREE!!! I'M TIRED OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO JUST THINK THE IPHONE IS THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD... I HAVE EVEN SEEN REVIEWS WHERE THE IPHONE IS COMPARED TO A NON TOUCH-SCREEN PHONE... THIS PHONE BLOWS AWAY THE IPHONE!!!
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I totally agree, just reading this review u could tell CNET was bashing it on all corners. The stuff they were disliking was insignificant what people want to hear about a phone anyway. I really felt they were uplifting apple while trying to distance people away from the G1. Cmon CNET, i looked at many other reviews from other sites and they did describe it faults but really praised it for its potential and appeal for users who really want the new age touchscreen phone but are afraid of touchscreen keyboards. I love this phone. CNET u should be dissapointed.
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I have the G1 and loved it at first. But after having it for the past 4 months I have decided to downgrade to a different phone. I would have to disagree with you when you talk about the battery life on this phone. Yes it last a long time if you don't get on the internet or play any games. But once you start browsing and playing games it drains annoyingly fast. The picture quality is irritating seeing as how you pretty much can't move at all to get a clear picture. I do love the fact that I can go without cleaning out my inbox for a very long time and I love the android market. This phone has good points and bad but I personally don't think it's worth the money.
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I agree with the fact that this review was biased. However I think when AOTS reviewed the G1 they did it right. They reviewed the 2 parts of the G1 individually. The hardware does have weak points as few as they are. However the OS blows the iPhones away.
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Thank you for your UNOPINIONATED review of the G1. Based on the info (so many here refusing to let the G1 get bullied!), I have decided to get this instead of the Memoir!
Thank you! -
Okay, sounds great. I would definitely need a keyboard to type, because i will be texting religiously hehe. But thanks so much for the help Saregister, im going with the G1:)
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Mandre24: I've had my G1 since a few days after launch. I did notice a slight creak a couple weeks after having my phone, and i haven't noticed it getting much worse since. Unless you sit there and play with the screen to let it annoy you, it shouldn't be a factor and should definitely not affect your decision. IMHO the G1 won't please everyone. it's more for people who want to play with their stuff and learn it, instead of be tied to a store and be told what to do like you get with the iPhone. They are both very comparable (I've used both extensively) in their features, and a buying decision should really be made on which would make you more happy after using each for a little bit. For me, the biggest selling point was the keyboard as i just couldn't type on the screen to save my life on the iPhone and the keys on the G1 are spaced well enough apart to make typing very easy.
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Akarol, you seem to know your way around the G1, and i am on the verge of choosing between a G1 or an Iphone is there is only one determining factor remaining in my decision. A lot of talk has been going around that the G1's swivel screen will creak after only a few days of use, and with more it makes louder, more annoying creaks. Please tell my if this does in fact occur in the G1's mechanics. Thank you so much in advanced :)
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I agree. Their biggest problem seemed to be the lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack (they mentioned it 5 or so times in the review). My G1 came with an adapter you can plug any 3.5 mm headset into - it even has a mic in the adapter so you can answer calls while wearing your favorite earbuds. They should correct/update the incorrect review.
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The review actually isn't that baised, because the iPhone is pretty awesome, but the iPhone does cost more, and you can't open the back up either for SIM cards and such.
And you can compare the keyboard theorically because the iPhone has a touchscreen one, but you are right in the fact that no other phone has a REAL keyboard.
And when you take the fact that the comes with gmail and other things, it's a tie at the least the G! may even be better. -
amen! it is the most wonderful phone I have ever had and their is a usual assumption that the iphone is always the top of the line. but anyone who does their research will find out that the whole way the phone functions (keyboard, OPEN SYSTEM) ANDROID ROCKS!
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I agree. The G1 will only get better as more people hack it and more third party apps come out. Keep any eye out.
http://FreeHTC.com -
I agree with your comments about being bias. I cant believe they are hating on the full qwerty keyboard, I was all ready to get a iphone until I heard about the G1 so I waited and compared the 2. If you have even decent size fingers texting is nearly impossible on the iphone. It is very difficult to press the correct letters without touching the ones next to it. Not to mention that the android phone allows anybody with a good idea to write an app for it rather than being controlled by Apple. Apple thinks that they are the new Sony and want to be different from everybody else. I now have the G1 and love it. The only complaint I have is that the screen doesnt change when you turn the phone but rather changes when the keyboard is out. I hear that there will be an app out soon that will correct that. Just make sure you get unsurance though, as with anything hi tech it could probably break easily if dropped..
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@rotcadet
The iphone wasn't the first touch screen it was sony Ericsson Apple did inovate and made a better phone but it wasn't the first one. -
Got an iPhone and it's a pile of bug. I kept it thanks to the great development the Open Source community made around it once it got jailbreaked. I'm looking forward now to buy a real phone with a real OS (one that can run more than 1 ap at once!) and it looks like the time has comes. Bad Kudos for CNET.
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I believe people should stop picking on the iphone. yes it may have had some flaws but it was the 1st touch phone it was the pioneer of touch screens i think its not fair to compare to the iphone. i beieve the g1 is good but it wasnt made to compete .
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I sort of agree with you; the phone is fantastic and the article is pandering mess. However, I don't think they are biased so much as incompetent; or not given enough time with any phone they don't own. Presumably, they all own iPhone's so everything gets compared to that.
My beef with Cnet stems from the review of Sprint's Samsung Instinct. It was, without question, the worst review I've ever read for any product in my life. There are some reviews that you might simply disagree with ... but the review on the Instinct was brutally inaccurate. They managed to miss/ignore that the phone was NOT Java complient (no keyboard would pop up on any application not specifically developed for the Instinct) and said that browser "could be refined" when, in fact, they had to rebuild the browser from the ground up ... three months later.
They've proved that their review staff spends no more time on the phone than we do when we are at the counter looking at a demo phone. -
I agree, this was a totally biased review. there was nothing newtral about it. focus more on the cons than on the pros.
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Thanks akarol. I think on the basis of your review alone I'm probably going for the G1 phone. :D
B~ -
Almost an entire paragraph dedicated to complaining about the lack of a headphone jack-less than half a sentence regarding the user replaceable battery.
Why doesn't CNET hire someone without the mindset of a teenager to write reviews? -
I completely agree that there was a bias here, and I don't think that this should be compared to the iphone, T-Mobile isn't shooting to compete with the iphone with this phone, anyone who watched the press conference can see that. Anything Apple puts out will be iconic, don't be surprised when you see people start buying Apple Toilet Paper, because it was made by apple. Cnet will probably be wiping their ***** with that too.
I used to respect cnet's reviews. Especially Bonnie's. Not anymore. -
allstar650,
Not every smart phone with a touch screen is an iPhone wannabe. Android sets new standards in smart phone software design, and OSX on the iPhone dosen't come even close to it. Now, when I say software design, do not think about just the UI, which is what you're likely to think.
The concept of open software is kinda difficult to understand when you do not wish to come out of your confined iPhone "heaven", so I wish you good luck in there. Rest of us with G1 will breathe some fresh air with this open environment. -
Guys I now own the G1 and I have owned an iPhone before. The iPhone was amazing and it was like wow! Because it was new at the time and there wasn't anything out there like it. It was truly amazing. The G1 is also revolutionary..heres why...open handset alliance...yup open source..everyone will want to make apps for android. Microsoft Exchange already covered...video player...and there is already an OTA rolling out this month. I personally like the G1better..why? It hasn't crashed yet. The software is very stable. This isn't about the body of the phone..its whats inside..Android is the new hotness. So check it out for yourself before you make judgments. Go check out phonedog.com's review. It is the best one I have read..and i have read like 20 lol
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I just wanted to add that I completely agree with you. Shame on CNET for that review...face it...it's almost over, G1 and Apple coming to the finish line and G1 beats Apple...deal with it
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I disagree with all your replies. its only fair that cnet is bias towards the iphone, after all this is an iphone wannabe in the ugliest body ever. plus, the iphone is the standard to beat! the Gi should be betther then blackberry or windows mobile but this is clearly not better then the iconic IPHONE!
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I agree on the bias, though your assertion that the keyboard is "revolutionary" is silly...the HTC Touch Pro (released before the G1), by the same makers of this phone, also has a QWERTY keyboard, touch screen and everything this phone lacks, namely a headphone jack, exchange support, etc.
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I have to Say I am VERY Surprised at Cnet for this Terrible Review. Other Reviews all over the Net have been MORE in Depth, Fair, and Backed up what they said with REAL points and/or Facts.
I believe that Cnet Completely Missed the Ball with this. While the Score is Pretty Good they are Missing ALL the Positives that Everyone else see's when they've used the phone then Reviewed it.
Absolutely WONDERFUL VERY Responsive Glass Touch Screen, KeyBoard is a DREAM to use, and the OS is Intuitive and Easy to use. They also seem to forget all of the things that the Original iPhone Lacked at Launch and some of the features that the iPhone and iPhone 3G STILL Lack!
First time that Cnet hasnt been Completely right.
G1 and Android BOth are Completely impressive ESPECIALLY for a First Gen Product to carry the OS.
And can Only get better with Time.
= D -
I agree with you %100. Bet she has an Apple in her pocket.

T-Mobile G1 (black):

