The MehPhone
Roger’s first Google Android phone, the HTC Dream (G1) ($79.99 on a three-year contract) lacks a single compelling feature that would make it a must-have smartphone.
And that’s a problem in a highly competitive marketplace dominated by Research in Motion and Apple. I’m excluding Palm at this point because I don’t believe the Pre is a serious competitor and that I firmly believe Palm has entered a period of permanent decline ala Nortel, and as for Microsoft and Nokia … yeah, enough said.
Having said that, the G1 isn’t without merit. It boasts a crisp, 3.2-inch, 320x480 touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, 7.2 Mbps HSPA (High-Speed 3.5G), GPS, and of course, Google’s Android OS, which is showing great promise in its early iterations. Android’s features include a touch-screen interface, tight integration with Google Apps and of course the Android Marketplace, where users can download the apps that put the smarts in smartphones.
Surfing the web on HTC Dream using Rogers 3G network in Fredericton was fast and pleasant, with most pages loading quickly and displaying properly. The HTC Dream suffers from the same limitations as the iPhone, the Pre, and Samsung’s Instinct when it comes to Flash video however. (Like the iPhone, the Dream does have a built-in YouTube Client).
I had not issues with the call strength or quality of the HTC Dream, although punching in numbers on the touch screen took far too much effort.
A few things irritated me about the HTC Dream. I found its GPS to be inferior to the iPhone 3G, it’s boot-up time to be ridiculously long and its touch ball / pointer to be a bit oversensitive.
Here’s the bottom line. For $20 more you can get a much sleeker, more versatile smartphone – the iPhone 3G, which Rogers is also the exclusive carrier of in Canada. The iPhone 3G’s touch screen is more responsive than the HTC Dream’s and has more gestures available. The iPhone 3G is also a smaller, better-looking phone than the Dream.
For those who aren’t interested in the iPhone (and there are some people) and who are looking for a sturdy, reliable phone with a solid OS and a decent keyboard, the HTC Dream is a good candidate. It’s certainly a better option that the Pre (offered by Bell) if only because of the long-term future of Android OS is secure with Google and the variety of available applications will be far better on the HTC Dream than on the Palm Pre. Overall, I found the HTC Dream to be a better phone that Blackberry’s Bold (Also on Rogers). I admittedly haven’t tried out the Storm – available through Telus.
All this being said, Rogers shouldn’t exactly fret if the HTC Dream isn’t a major seller. The fact is it has the two top phones in the marketplace right now – the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 3G. And frankly even the third-place HTC Dream is better than the best Bell and Telus have to offer right now.
As for Bell and Telus, well if the merger rumours are true, both had better be working on a plan to support HSPA so that they can try and get the iPhone as well.
P.S.
Roger's is running an interesting competition on Facebook. http://apps.facebook.com/rogersbestapp/. Weekly finalists will win a free HTC Dream or Magic and are entered in for the grand prize. Interesting...
