Reliable and a good entry level smartphone... get a G2x if you can ;)

The G1 is my goto, backup, any port in a storm, cell phone since I first bought one new, a couple of years back. If my new G2x breaks, I have a G1 ready to go.

Simply put, it does everything I need it to do, and a whole bunch of stuff I don't need but can waste the hours messing with, while I wait for my next flight.

My Microsoft Exchange at work clones all my work emails to my Gmail account so I can reply to any work email as I'm moving around. The G1 is built for Gmail but it handles all my other accounts with ease... AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, all run side by side.

Physically, I've dropped mine a couple of times with no drama, the buttons are in muscle memory and Thank the Lord for real buttons to text with. I hate, repeat hate, screen texting but that is the way we're going. The roller ball is mostly an annoyance, designed to tab you into insanity until you finally learn to stop rubbing it with your spare finger :)

The charger connection is widely used so I can jack just about anybody's connector or charger and the USB connection is fully automatic with no 'will it, won't it' going on.

The signal is as good as any phone for calls, and it makes the best of G3 and EDGE for data, which not all phones can say. Call quality can be variable from unit to unit and I've had three of these with some comments from the other end that my voice would occasionally ..... and then would come back. I suspect it was always their fault :)

Battery is an issue for this lil phone, since it's ragging the processor all day and night, you need to be on a charger whenever possible or you have a couple of hours before kaput. The inability to significantly increase the battery capacity is the only real negative I found with this phone...

... except the camera. The camera is not good, the camcorder feature is beyond pitiful. This phone is functionally blind.

Now, you can get a Used, boxed one of these for about $90 and you'll be happy. Bleeding Edge it is not, capable as a means of communication it is... and it's considerably smaller than the average smartphone now.

I would suggest, if you can afford $90 for a G1, make sure you have a G2x first and use the G1 as backup. The G2x is the best phone ever. Trust me!

T-Mobile G1- The Beginning of Android

I bought the G1 solely because it was the first and least expensive Android phone available to use as a backup device. Compared to my Nexus One, it's incredibly slow, but after rooting it and running a custom ROM, it runs well. It may not be lightning fast, but I can use it to watch videos and to keep connected while my N1 is away for repair.

HTC made one horrific mistake when they put out the G1. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack, only a special modified version of a mini USB port. This port must be used for charging and for attaching an adapter to allow headphones to be attached. I have discovered that despite the slightly different design of the port, a regular mini USB cord can be used to charge it and to sync it with my PC.

The internal memory is limited on the G1 as well. With the internal memory as short as it is, you can't install many applications before running out of memory. Those willing to modify their software and install custom unsupported software on their device can overcome this by storing the applications on external storage.

One complaint I've heard a lot is about the "chin" on the device- the part of the phone that is left in place when the screen slides open. I haven't had a single issue with it and I kind of like the design.

A single charge typically gets me through the day even if I use the device heavily (50-100 texts, about 2 hours of video playback, an hour's worth of phone calls, and occasionally a bit of web surfing all while running with an overclocked processor) and leaves me with about 20% battery remaining. On the rare occasion that I do run out of power, changing out the battery is incredibly simple.

The keyboard is great! It has a dedicated number row unlike most devices which place the numbers on the same keys as the letters and uses an ALT button. It's easy to type on and nicely spaced out. I can type faster on it than any touchscreen keyboard I've used.

Official development for the G1 long ago reached its end, but unofficial development continues on development websites. Ports of Google's latest OS, version 3.0 (Honeycomb) have already begun for the G1, though for my own, I prefer Froyo.

I love my G1. I wouldn't choose it over a newer, more powerful Android device (like my own Nexus One), but I'd take it over an iPhone or blackberry any day. It does everything I need it to do and is able to do just about anything I'd want to do as well.

Good starter phone and back up phone. Best one I have used period from HTC.

HTC phones generally burn the battery up pretty fast, but without upgrading the battery this phone last pretty long as long as you have good signal. Wi-fi mode works great, has QWERTY keyboard and also touch screen. It has its flaws as well, if dropped too much can become unusable rather quick. Also screen can damage easily if dropped even once. A little bulky, and good but slow reacting cam. Come usually with SD card. The layout is pretty easy to understand and use. Requires Google account to start phone. Love this HTC Phone. Think it's the best one by far. Newer phones way more glitches or errors I always go back to this one. Phone body sturdy, just screen is delicate. Water damage is not its friend.

HTC g1... android... yes, ANDROID

Industrial design

The first thing that strikes you about the G1 design is its... well, surprising lack of "design." In a world filled with shiny silver / black sticks, and consumed by an unhealthy competition to be the absolute thinnest, the G1 stands out with its decidedly trend-bucking, quirky styling. That's not to say there's nothing to love here -- quite the opposite. The device bares a kind of charming, retro-future look; like a gadget in a 1970's sci-fi movie set in the year 2038. The smooth, round edges make the phone seem eminently approachable, and HTC (and design partner Google) forgo single-button simplicity for functionality, dotting the phone with all manner of hardware controls. One thing that's clear is that the phone isn't trying to break any dieting records -- but while the G1 isn't super-thin, the thickness is by no means a deal breaker. At 0.62 inches it hardly measures up to standards set by similar devices like the iPhone 3G (0.48 inches) or not-so-similar (yet venerable) RAZR V3 at 0.55 inches closed, but it won't have any trouble sliding into your pocket. Getting it to slide into your heart, however, is strictly going to be a matter of taste; this form factor definitely inspires strong feelings.
Flipping out the screen -- which slides along an odd, curved hinge -- reveals the keyboard. The mechanism the hinge is built on is fairly robust, allowing you to whip the screen out and up when you nudge it with your thumb. At first we felt like we were going to snap the thing off, but it's clear that HTC intended this to be used quite roughly. Overall the effect is positive, though when not in use the screen has a little squeaky give, a looseness, that we found annoying -- it's particularly noticeable when the phone vibrates and you get a little rattle.

On the keyboard side, the physical layout here is generous to say the least. Clearly a lot of thought went into making this QWERTY usable, and usable it is. While the keys aren't especially raised against the backing (in fact, they're nearly flush), they are fairly responsive and widely spaced, making two-handed typing a breeze. The placement of the "chin" does get in the way of speed typing at first, but once we figured out how to avoid over-extending our right hand to get to certain keys, it became less of a problem. Alternate key characters are distributed in a reasonably sensible fashion, and you're provided with another "menu" key on the left side, though we rarely found occasion to use it. We had a little bit of re-learning to do going back to physical input after using the iPhone, but once you get the hang of it, this keyboard makes dealing with lots of email or IM sessions a breeze. Our biggest gripe on input? The keyboard is the only way to interact with text on the phone. If you need to send a quick SMS, you have to get the keyboard out. This can be an incredible pain sometimes, and we're hoping that some enterprising coder comes along and gives Android (and the G1) an alternate virtual keyboard -- it would be a tremendously helpful alternative.
Battery life

We haven't yet run an all-out, scorched-earth standby torture test, but we can tell you that we got about 11 hours and 21 minutes of life running the media player on shuffle while connected to a 3G network with WiFi turned off. No calls were made or received during that time.

Thanks engadget (engadget.com)

Great value and does what I need it to do.

The G1 is the very first Android phone and as such is lacking many of the bells and whistles present on the newer models. Speed is noticeably slower than on the newer models and it has the major flaw of not having a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. With that said, this is a great phone for the value. The phone can be purchased for less than $75 and contract free. Things this phone has that many newer models do not are an rare five row Qwerty keyboard (meaning it has a dedicated number row) and a well established development community. For people willing to study up a bit and spend the time, this phone can be loaded with virtually any version of Android. With a decent sized SD card and proper partitioning, downloading and running apps is unlimited. Texting, emailing, and any form of typing is superior with the traditional full Qwerty keyboard.

This phone should easily be the first choice for a reliable backup phone or starter phone. For someone who primarily wants a phone for the phone's sake with the ability to occasionally do other things, this phone is more than satisfactory for every day use. After some disappointments with newer models and undesirable repair costs, I've turned to this device with a custom rom and overclocked processor for my every day phone use and use a tablet for more intensive tasks.

I have had no issues with dropped calls or call quality. The physical keys (as opposed to soft keys) make placing and receiving calls much quicker. The standard battery will only last a day but definitely lasts the full day for me, which is not at all a problem. Camera quality is sufficient for quickly capturing every day moments but I wouldn't rely on it as the primary source for vacations and special occasions. I prefer my 15 mp digital camera for that anyway.

Overall, I definitely recommend this phone. Just remember it is what it is and nothing more.