The phone has a nice hefty case that contains a triple-threat of Web navigation. For one, there’s an actual Qwerty backlit keyboard, not a virtual one. But there’s also a touch screen and a built-in track ball, very handy for navigating Web pages shrunk to fit the three-and-a-quarter-inch screen.
As a Google product should, the G1 easily synchronizes with applications like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and, of course, Google Maps. Because it is backed up on the Web, if you lose your phone all of your contacts and data will be restored automatically when you get a new one.
The phone has a 3.2-megapixel camera and a slot for a microSD card that lets you expand the memory up to 16 gigabytes, the current card limit. It has a music player and links to Amazon.
As a GSM phone, it can also be used overseas.
But it’s the phone’s potential that qualifies it for the futurist. The first applications are interesting, but they don’t always work smoothly. The system should improve as it goes, and it holds great promise. By putting few restrictions on the design of applications for the phone, the G1 could be the first to incorporate some of the coolest software.
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