Like many other smart phones, the G1 is truly a PC in your pocket. As the first of what will probably be many other phones using Google’s Android operating system, it is both interesting and useful. Overall, it is easy to use. Much easier than smart phones we’ve seen that use the Windows Mobile operating system. The phone has great integration with Google services which will be a boon to anyone who is comfortable using the Google calendar, G-mail, and other Google applications. Much of the functionality like phone calling, web browsing, IM, and picture taking are very good.

Since there is no support for Microsoft Exchange, the G1 will not be useful to many enterprise users, so it won’t have much impact on Blackberry users.

The phone is not as sleek as the iPhone, but it is just as useful except for two large flaws. The keyboard is poorly marked and the battery life is terrible. Both of these shortcomings will be deal-breakers for many.

Pros

•  Sturdy build
•  Good telephone call quality
•  Three ways to input choices and information: touch screen, keyboard, and scroll button
•  Excellent Instant Messaging with Google Talk, Windows Live, AOL and Yahoo Messenger
•  Excellent free marketplace for additional applications
•  Very responsive to the touch as well as to auto rotation
•  Replaceable battery
•  One Volume control for different items
•  MMS support
•  Cut and paste support
•  Voice calling
•  Good picture quality

Cons

•  Poor battery life
•  Poorly marked keyboard
•  No Microsoft Exchange e-mail connectivity
•  Nonstandard headphone jack
•  No video player