T-Mobile G1 Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls
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Marianne Schultz Published on November 05, 2008 Comment on this |
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| It's pretty quick to dial a call on the G1 when it's already on, but be prepared to be patient when you go to make a call when the G1 is off. The send and end keys are absolutely lilliputian in size and there are no on-screen equivalents readily available. The G1's ringtone volume is comparatively low and the vibrate function is unpleasantly noisy, but if you add the two together, you probably won't miss any calls. | |
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Dialing Speed (8.03)
To test dialing speed, we time how long it takes to dial test phone numbers, starting from the home screen in the unlocked state. We keep the G1 in the closed position for this test, since it's faster using the touchscreen to dial than taking the time to slide the it open to reveal the keyboard and dial using the relatively small number keys. The G1 did very well in this test, posting the highest score of all of our comparison phones with an average dialing time of 2.49 seconds.
Dialing a call on the G1
By default, the Dialer application is on the G1's home screen, and it takes you right to the dialpad regardless of what screen was last viewed in the application. Though the on-screen number buttons aren't as large as you'd find on the iPhone 3G, they are still pretty easy to hit, the screen is responsive, and there's no lag in this application. The G1 does not have an on-screen Send key, so you will need to reach down to the physical end key to initiate a call. This typifies the odd mix of on-screen and physical key navigation of the G1's interface, although it didn't seem to slow us down at all. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
Send and End Buttons (4.0)
The G1's Send and End buttons are small, at just a hair over 1/4-inch in diameter, and round and completely flush with the front of the phone, and there are no nubs on them so you can find them by feel alone, though they're easy enough to get to if you start feeling from either edge of the phone. They don't have a lot of travel, but there is good tactile feedback and an audible click when pressed. They can be a bit of a reach to get to with your thumb in their less-than-ideal position at the very bottom of the front of the phone.
The G1's Send and End buttons up close
There is no on-screen Send key, so you'll have to reach down to it after dialing a number on the touchscreen. There is an on-screen End key, though it's hidden in the menu that you can get to by pressing the Menu button or sliding the menu up using the tab at the bottom of the screen - this is a little odd since this takes 2 steps to end a call, versus the one required to just reach down and use the physical End button. The omission of full-time on-screen buttons shouldn't be a matter of prioritizing screen real estate when a phone with a smaller touchscreen like the HTC Touch Diamond manages to have at least an on-screen End button in addition to physical buttons without any issues.
Call Management (7.0)
The G1's phone application has multiple tabs, like the one on the iPhone 3G, that can get you to the dial pad, Call Log, Contacts, and Favorites. The Call Log shows all calls received, sent, and missed at once, with no option to sort or filter this list. Next to the number or contact dialed is the duration of the call, as well as how long ago the call was made, received, or missed. Pressing on an entry simply dials that call, and the Menu button only reveals a single option to clear the call log. There are no timers to show total time spent on incoming, outgoing, received, or all calls in the phone application nor anywhere else on the G1.
The G1's call log
While on a call, the Menu button brings up options to swap calls, merge calls, add a call, or end the call. You can also put the call on hold, mute, speakerphone, or connect to a paired Bluetooth device from this menu. At the bottom of the screen is a tab that can be tapped or dragged upward to reveal the dial pad so that you can enter an access code for a voicemail system or dial an extension. The G1 does not have a proximity sensor like the LG Dare and iPhone 3G that turns off the screen automatically while on a call to avoid accidental screen presses by your cheek, but this is a bit of a luxury feature that few phones have so we don't deduct any points from the G1 for this absence.
The Android operating system can multi-task, allowing you to go to the home screen to open other applications while you're on a call. Additionally, when on T-Mobile's 3G network, you can also browse the web or do other things that require wireless data while a call is active. The G1's in-call options and call logs are not the most comprehensive we've seen, but are still good and should do quite well for most users.
Startup to Call (1.73)
To test this, we time how long it takes to start up the phone and dial standard test numbers, ending at the moment the call is initiated. Smartphones tend to take a bit more time than non-smartphones because they have more complex operating systems to load at start-up, often including 3rd party applications or extensions. The G1 is no exception to this general rule, taking a few seconds shy of 1 full minute on average to complete this test, more time than the iPhone 3G and Nokia E71. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
One quirk that did not help the G1 in this area is that its default settings lock the phone immediately upon start-up. So, if you're going to make a call quickly, you have to unlock it first by pressing the menu key. This is strange behavior, and we can't think of why the OS was designed this way. After all, when you turn on your phone, it's ususally to use it, right? Why lock it down right away? This is yet another UI oddity of the G1 that is unusual and annoying.
Ring Volume (8.56)
The G1's maximum ring volume measured 85.6 dB, lower than even the iPhone 3G, a phone about which we already had concerns about missing calls in loud environments. This volume level puts the G1 dead last among our comparison phones. If you are regularly in loud environments, you'll need to be ultra-attentive to catch the G1 ringing even at its maximum volume setting.
Ringtones (6.0)
In the Music application, songs can easily be designated as ringtones though they can't be edited to select the desired portion and duration to be used - the G1 had no problem doing this with the MP3, WMA, and AAC test files we loaded on it. Ringtones can be added manually by creating a "ringtone" folder within the music folder on the G1's microSD card. With no voice recorder application out of the box, recordings cannot be created on the G1 and then used as ringtones.
Non-Audio Alerts (6.0)
The G1's vibrate setting is pretty noisy since the two halves of the phone seem to vibrate separately and make more noise than it would if it were one piece - it will definitely be noticeable in a quiet meeting. This is a bit of a shame since vibrate mode is really meant to be less obtrusive for others than it is for you. The strength of the vibration is pretty good and shouldn't go unnoticed in a pocket or a purse or bag that's not packed with too much other stuff. When a call comes in, the screen also turns on and shows the incoming caller ID, though the LED light in the earpiece speaker does not flash or light up at all.
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