iPhone 3G vs T-Mobile G1

Competition has entered the next level with google releasing its counterpart to the iPhone to an ever expanding array of iPhone killers. The competition has helped in the evolution of more ferocious iPhone killers in every aspect. Big daddy google has launched its contribution to the seamless array of iPhone killers- THE G1. G1 has proved itself to be a killer by the way it is gaining momentum. The fact that the iPhone is still alive and breathing hard is indeed a matter of great interest particularly with so many killers around.

Get the basic iPhone specs from my previous hub iPhone vs instinct vs dare and to know more about the Nokia 5800 tube refer to my hub Nokia 5800 tube- the ultimate iPhone killer.

The smart phone comes loaded with a 3.2 megapixel 2048 x 1536 pixel camera with autofocus and a 3.2 inch TFT-LCD flat touch screen with 320 x 480(HVGA) resolution. The phone has a slide-out 5 row full QWERTY keyboard and comes with a built-in microphone and speaker. While the phone has an internal memory of 192 MB RAM and 256 MB ROM, the memory is expandable with a microSD memory card slot which is compatible with SD 2.0. It has a Qualcomm® MSM7201A™, 528 MHz processor and works on the google Android™ platform. When it comes to device control there is the trackball with enter button for navigation and when it comes to connectivity, the phone provides 3G HSDPA accessibility in addition to Bluetooth® 2.0 with enhanced data rate, Wi-Fi® support and USB 2.0. Then there is the GPS navigation capability with Google Maps™. Then there is the accelerometer which orients the display according to changes in motion. Then there are features like the digital compass, the one-click google search and above all the Android Market analogous to the appstore in the iPhone.

And when it comes to the battery life part, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides a talk time of 5 hours and 20 minutes and lasts 406 hours on standby.

Hardware

Flair and style being apple's forte, the T Mobile G1 comes nowhere near the iPhone when it comes to looks. The T Mobile G1 has a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard unlike the iPhone and the former comes with the trackball and five hard buttons.- end/power, back, home, send and a menu button on top while the iPhone sports nothing but a home button. When it comes to display, the T Mobile G1 has a 3.2 inch screen compared to the bigger 3.5 inch iPhone display which leads to tighter pixel density in the former. Another pertinent difference is that the iPhone has a multi-touch screen whereas the T Mobile G1 does not have the multi-touch functionality.

Camera

And coming to the camera, the iPhone has a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus whereas the T Mobile G1 has a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus. But unlike the iPhone, the G1's camera offers no additional options such as zoom or flash.

Storage

And when it comes to storage, the T Mobile G1 comes preloaded with a 1 GB memory card while it is expandable upto 8 GB while the iPhone comes in 8 GB or 16 GB sizes, neither with an expandable memory slot.

Battery life

Coming to the battery life part, the T Mobile G1 boasts of 5 hours talk time and 130 hours standby while the iPhone provides 5 hours talktime and 300 hours on standby.

Platform

The G1 is based on an open platform which can run any third party application and presents unlimited potential for development and while the Mac OS X in the iPhone is proprietary in nature.

what the G1 lacks is a comprehensive syncing software like the iTunes in the iPhone. In the G1, content can be added through a removable storage card but according to T Mobile, most content will be downloaded using Wi-Fi connection.

Then there is the Android Market in the G1 corresponding to the appstore in the iPhone and that is where one of the main elements of difference between the two phones lies. Coming to the Android Market, the Software development kit(SDK) is open source and the applications don't need to be vetted to run on the phone while in the case of the appstore, the applications need to be approved by apple to appear in the store.

The iPhone tops the G1 undoubtedly when it comes to music management and the G1 comes preloaded with google applications like Gmail, Gmaps, Gcalender and Youtube.

While the speed factor is entirely dependent on the network available, the G1's browser loads pages faster than the iPhone according to some basic tests. While AT&T has an an extensive 3G market penetration, the T Mobile has considerably less of that.

The G1 is priced at $179 with a two year contract while the iPhone is priced at $199 for 8 GB size and $299 for 16 GB size each with a two year contract.

The iPhone seems to top the G1 in several aspects but the open platform of the G1 provides unlimited potential for development. Which one is the best is a matter of personal judgement and as always I leave that to you.