The G1 gets a near-complete unboxing, we get totally jealous

Well we see where this is headed. It was nice to catch a few of those quasi-unboxing pics of the T-Mobile G1 the other day, but now the cats and kittens at TmoNews have gone and gotten pretty much the full monty. If you want to get a taste of what's to come, here's the perfect chance. You can check out photos of the Android device being wrenched from its packaging, as well as some glamour shots of the bundled accessories -- including a bizarrely retro remote on the earbuds and "handsome" carrying pouch. October 22nd, you can't come soon enough.

[gyros23 @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:12AM]

yeah engadget, try to hype this really ugly phone? poor try...

[green_aliens @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:31AM]

I agree It looks like a battery pack selotaped to the bottom

[green_aliens @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:33AM]

although it is distinctive rather than the samsun instinct or something

[TMM @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:48AM]

Agreed. This thing is MEDIOCRACY in it's purest form.

[Pete99 @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:56AM]

OS = Possible Thumbs Up
Phone = Big Thumbs Down

[noyp @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:06AM]

http://img205.imageshack.us/my.php?image=facepalmvl2.jpg
I actually prefer this to the iPhone
*flame suit on*

[ZSX @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:16AM]

@TMM

Perhaps you mean "mediocrity" rather than "mediocracy"?

"Mediocrity": ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding.
"Mediocracy": government or rule by a mediocre person or group.

[Frankenstein Black @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:37PM]

It just needs a little Colorware love ;^)...
http://www.colorwarepc.com/

[TMM @ Oct 4th 2008 5:35AM]

ZSX: Thanks, your're right.
Medicority is what I meant.

I'm not a native English speaker, so mistakes happen.

Doesn't change a thing about the fact that it looks as mediocre as you can get ;)

[gyros @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:13AM]

just another try to hype this phone?

[1234321 @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:31AM]

troll or not double posts will happen, but how for your on two different accounts?

[Ryback @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:28AM]

What's up with the unboxing pictures/videos? Who cares about the packaging? Take the god damn thing for a spin. That's what people care about!

[TareX @ Oct 2nd 2008 7:26AM]

Is there a site that HASN'T done that? I've seen all of them walkthroughs.

- The 3-desktop swiping.
- Showing off the browser, (choppy scrolling, zooming), Magnifying glass effect.
- Showing off the Android Market, download an application, "see how easy it's installed".
- Showing off Street-view, "see how useless but nonetheless amazing it is"?
- Pull down status bar, talk about IM.
... the end.

[Pete @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:29AM]

Engadget trying hard to put lipstick on a pig.

[trickards @ Oct 2nd 2008 7:07AM]

But... it's still a pig eh.

[Bob @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:44AM]

You're a dumbass.

[davidgiannini @ Oct 2nd 2008 6:58AM]

Honestly i think that if you removed "Google Phone" and "SDK SUCH AS The iPhones" , this phone would just end up like all mediocre touch screen phone's which tries to compete with the iPhone, ending always in failure

[Ryura @ Oct 2nd 2008 7:34AM]

Yeah. And yet it's not like one of those phones because it [the software] IS made by Google (who always releases quality software) and it DOES have an SDK, an even better one. You can't say "If you removed this or that, it'd be just like..."

Apparently I'm alone in thinking the phone looks good, and I can't wait to get mine?

[chefgon_ign @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:48AM]

And if you removed the Apple logo and the App Store from the iPhone, nobody would care about that either.

Likewise, if you were to remove the engine from a car, nobody would buy it.

If you removed the beef from a hamburger, it would be a totally lame bread roll imitation with pickles in the middle.

[Bob @ Oct 26th 2008 11:18AM]

Likewise if you removed the brain from someone's head they would make a comment just like davidgiannini did.

[TareX @ Oct 2nd 2008 7:19AM]

Why HTC, why?

[James @ Oct 2nd 2008 7:40AM]

Even the case looks generic -- like one of those you get from the dollar store.

[Deeznuts420 @ Oct 3rd 2008 11:40AM]

yeah because none of the other cases that comes with phones do. riiiiiiight....

[iEye @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:11AM]

Ok Ok everyone, lets just give it a chance first, we may just find that this is quite useable, granted it looks like crap,

but let me ask you a question....

If I told you that you that for the next 3 years, you would be locked in your house, and the only way you could browse the internet was with your cell phone, would you really take the iPhone?

iPhone- looks good but you are locking in your house
G1- looks like crap but it is made for use

iPhone - good chance that after a week the screen craps out on you... uh oh, you can't leave your house to get it changed at the Apple store!
G1- dedicated buttons and a real QWERTY keyboard

[Curnsie @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:20AM]

what?

[archibalis @ Oct 2nd 2008 10:18AM]

rly, what?

[Mez Jr @ Oct 2nd 2008 2:57PM]

If I was locked in my house I'd want a computer. Part of a mobile phone is it's mobility, slide out keyboards add thickness, and a mechanical element to an electronic device. The G1 is 30% thicker than the 3G iPhone, making it less portable. One of the reasons I switched to iPhone was I had a thick phone with a slide out qwerty keyboard, I wanted something that would be thinner in my pocket.

[ZenDaddy @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:21AM]

Put me in the minority. I'm not blown away by the looks, but it's style/form isn't what overly concerns me, in excels in function - keyboard, check, trackball, check, touch screen, check, 3.5mm jack, well can't win them all.

I'm confused how they're supposed to add all that function and make it look as slick as an iPhone. You can't get serious work done with a virtual keyboard, so I'm willing to give up a little to gain that. The trackball was probably overkill, but I like the hard dedicated buttons.

It's not like this is a bulky ugly mess.

[chorizo @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:23AM]

agreed..

[TareX @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:30AM]

You're not in the minority. We know about the functionality/potential of Android. I guess everyone was pretty clear about the looks of the phone, which was the EASY part.... of which HTC was responsible for.

[AlexL @ Oct 2nd 2008 4:01PM]

What exactly do you need a 3.5mm headphone port for? If you plug your headphones in there, how are you going to answer a call? Take out an earpiece and hold the phone against your ear? Or were you actually able to find a headset with a microphone that wasn't complete crap in terms of audio quality?

My point is that people should be using music phones with microphone adapters anyway. We can lament the fact that the G1 doesn't come with an adapter out of the box, but there's no reason it needs to have a 3.5mm port.

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 2nd 2008 11:05PM]

They took the keyboard of the sidekick the screen of the iphone and the blackberry trackball. You can say it draws inspiration from everything but it was rushed to market. I believe we wont see the true high end Android contender phone until next year after they have all the bugs worked out. After all I dont think they want the phone to be beta tested on a $500 device unlike other manufacturers because that would piss off a lot of people.

[Bob @ Oct 26th 2008 11:21AM]

Wrong! thedesolate1, there are very few bugs, I have a G1 now. Incredible. I guess I would go to say "no bugs," but add on "for now" because I have not found a single bug. As far as featureset... This kicks the iPhones a$$.

[John Datserakis @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:26AM]

oh my god, the apple fanboys have landed...

[noyp @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:46AM]

No. We have to call them fanbois to make them feel special. It's the only time they'll be special

[LondonConsultant @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:09AM]

Apple's stock has fallen 40% since T-Mobile announced the G1... Apple fanboys are afraid and in denial...

[Eric @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:24AM]

@London:

Whole market is down over 20% since the Android announcement:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=1y&s=AAPL&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=&c=^GSPC

There's been a little more going on than new phones...

[Trinnan @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:53AM]

I don't see anything at all wrong with the looks. I'd love to get one, but I'm gonna wait for one with more features.

[TareX @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:59AM]

I bet there's a sweaty HTC executive somwehre reading the reaction to the G1 hardware all over the web and saying to himself, "we're cool... we're cool."

[htd @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:18AM]

xvid/rmvb playback capability any time?

[Danny @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:25AM]

People don't seem to understand it is open source, you can do whatever you want to it. If it doesn't support something, you can "it".

I feel it is growing on me and I'm am looking forward to the G1 coming to the UK so I can see it in person (if you see where I'm coming from here)?

Some people seem to just be saying "it's ugly in the picture, so it must suck", I think that has got to be the most stupidest thing I have ever heard. It hasn't even came out yet, so you couldn't have seen one nor used one.

I will make up my own mind, in person, with my own hands on.

[Gary @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:20AM]

Arggggggggg.

Look at that big, black, ugly charger and big ugly cables.

I will definitely stick with my Apple iPhone 3G and it's elegant stylish accessories.

Apple is class and style. Pure and simple.

Remember, the key is in the details.

This Google phone thing and all its accessories is ugly as sin.

[BluesK1d @ Oct 2nd 2008 10:07AM]

"I will definitely stick with my Apple iPhone 3G and it's elegant stylish accessories. Apple is class and style. Pure and simple."

This really says it all. It summarizes fanbois in all their facets. It's just like a woman's almost trance-like, useless attraction to diamonds. "Oooh pretty. I must have..." Function completely follows form here.

It is a device, not a smugocity statement.

[McPOW @ Oct 9th 2008 9:16PM]

Thanks, couldn't have explained the stupidity of apple fanboys better myself. You seriously judge which portable internet device you want by the color and style of the wall-wart? genius.

[cocopuffy @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:21AM]

I don't get all the bitterness surrounding this phone. Just because you like or use an iPhone doesn't mean that you are obligated to hate and troll against the G1. Different phones appeal to different people-it doesn't mean that one is any better or worse than the other. Its just another option-it doesn't have to be an 'iPhone killer.

[Chris @ Oct 2nd 2008 11:31AM]

It's because the G1 has a lot of real advantages over the iPhone and they don't want to admit it. Personally I'm getting a G1 for all its functionality, that doesn't mean iPhones are bad in any way. They are perfect for what they are

[Michael Scrip @ Oct 2nd 2008 2:08PM]

> "Personally I'm getting a G1 for all its functionality"

You're gonna jump in and get the first Android phone without waiting for any other models?

Well, it takes early adopters like you to test the waters...

[Saki @ Oct 2nd 2008 8:49PM]

I like it and i hope that this is the phone to finally knock the iphone down a couple notches i am so sick of it always being the phone to beat its time for change baby

[chefgon_ign @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:51AM]

Seeing videos of this thing in people's hands makes it look absolutely beautiful. Just because it looks ugly in blurrycam pics doesn't mean it's an ugly phone.

[Checkmate @ Oct 2nd 2008 11:09AM]

Here we go with the iPhone killer stuff again. The iPhone feature wise has been killed along time ago. I have an iPhone, and I don't understand what's so pretty about it? Its a screen with a button, wow.....amazing, never seen that before. I like this device because it isn't an iPhone. No longer will I be stuck scrambling for a charger at the end of the day, I can just pop in my spare battery. No longer do I have to take forever typing an email out like a 3rd grader who hasn't had a typing class, I got a slide out keyboard. No longer will I hafta use both hands to navigate a web page, I got a trackball. Most of all, no longer will I hafta jailbreak/hack void my warranty to get somewhat the full potential of a device I paid good money for, I got android.