Billing Revolution Brings One-Click Payments To iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android Apps

When it comes to charging for mobile apps, payments usually have to go through either the carriers or one of the emerging mobile app platforms such as Apple or Google’s Android. The problem with charging for an iPhone app through iTunes is that Apple takes 30 percent. A startup called Billing Revolution wants to charge about one tenth as much for a seamless, mobile one-click shopping experience. Already available on other phones, Billing Revolution is announcing availability today for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android apps.

Once a consumer signs up to pay for things through Billing Revolution, he is presented with an Amazon-like one-click payment option no matter what app is using it. (Didn’t Amazon patent that?). Billing Revolution charges a 3.5 percent transaction fee plus 50 cents per transaction.

That pretty much kills any app developer using it for micro-transactions. Nobody is going to sell a digital song for $1.00 if they need to pay Billing Revolution 53.5 cents. But it could become an option for larger purchases, and as a way to charge for premium subscriptions for apps that build adoption with a lighter-weight free version.

source:mobilecrunch.com

Debian Deviously Ported to Android, G1

If increased functionality, more usability, and greater geekiness have any place in your mobile heart, this post is for you. Jay Freeman (a.k.a. Saurik)  has successfully ported Debian onto Android and the G1. Saurik is the guy that brought you (not us) Winterboard, Cydia, and Cycorder to the iPhone, so we know this is a fully legit claim.

Instructions are not for the faint of heart, although we’d suspect the faint of heart aren’t salivating over the notion of accessing the G1’s root file system.

Some readers may be questioning the usefulness of such a mod to an already open source operating system; however, at the moment the G1 and Android does not allow developers the right to access the down ‘n’ dirty of Android on the G1.

So, if you’re up for the challenge (which might be the only real benefit of this mod), use your deductive reasoning to find, and subsequently click, the read link.

[via ModMyGPhone]

Oh Thank Goodness, Someone Made an Antivirus App For Android

Ask an avid desktop Linux user if he or she (ok, he) uses an antivirus solution, and he won't give you an answer, he'll give you a sermon. And while his zeal might be inappropriate, his sentiment will be largely correct: Linux really doesn't need antivirus software. Android, with a smaller market share and simpler guts than most common Linux distros, has even less to worry about — which is why it's completely absurd for SMobile systems to release VirusGuard, the first antivirus software for the mobile platform.

The software claims to be able to scan devices and their memory cards for over 400 types of known malware, none of which, as far as I can tell, are harmful to Android phones. Now, it's not impossible that dangerous malware could find its way to you G1 in the future — in fact,Android has already experienced one security scare — but installing a piece of software that scans your device for Windows Mobile virii won't do anything to stop minor exploits like that, which can be quickly and effectively patched anyway.

Of course, all this security talk could just be there to provide parents with excuse fodder to install this on their child's G1 — it also monitors voice and text communications. Anyway, VirusGuard is already available on Handango, but will make its Marketplace debut when Google finally enables its payment system in Q1 of 2009. You misguided peace of mind will cost a whole $10, by the way. [Android Community via Slashphone]

Japan's Softbank operating profit hits record high with iPhone help

Japan's Softbank Corp. said Wednesday its operating profit for the second quarter reached a record high on cost cuts as the iPhone pulled in more mobile phone subscribers.

The Internet and telecom company upgraded its annual operating profit forecast on the back of its solid performance, even though sales slumped.

Softbank said July-September operating profit jumped 7.3 percent year-on-year to a record 180 billion yen (1.86 billion dollars) as unit Yahoo Japan expanded earnings and units Softbank Telecom and Softbank BB aggressively cut costs.

However, net profit fell 11.5 percent to 41.1 billion yen, while sales also dropped 2.6 percent to 1.3 trillion yen on weakening mobile phone sale.

The company's mobile phone carrier Softbank Mobile benefited from the July launch in Japan of Apple Computer's iPhone 3G, allowing Softbank to attract more customers than its rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI's "au" service.

Softbank president Masayoshi Son, one of Japan's richest people, said he used an iPhone every day.

"It's useful, and the more I use it the better I can understand its strong points," he told a news conference.

Softbank, which entered the mobile market by buying British giant Vodafone's struggling local unit in 2006, anticipates rising profits from next-generation mobile phones, Son said.

Softbank's retention of mobile phone customers has also improved with the iPhone, he said.

However, its mobile customers are spending less time using their phones, with Softbank's income from voice calls continuing to slide, although earnings from data services edged up.

Son said the company, which holds sizable shares in major Internet companies in Asia, including China's Alibaba, aims to further expand its broadband operations in the region.

But Softbank said that its revenue fell as lower costs for handsets offset the solid performance of Internet units.

For the year to March, the company upgraded its operating profit forecast to 340 billion yen, up from an earlier projection of 324.2 billion yen.

Son, however, warned that the company may suffer as much as 44.4 billion yen in extra losses because part of its financial commodities may end in default in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The company did not offer forecasts for annual sales, saying that mobile handset sales fluctuate on too many factors.

It also refrained from issuing a forecast for annual net profit, citing the volatility of its securities holdings, among other investment instruments. 

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVUUdEOliFOFVxTrHuHy9hpKNJUg

The iPhone Tech Talk Forum

Last wednesday, I took a day off work to attend the iPhone Tech Talk in Paris. Apple had reserved a couple auditoriums at Université Paris 5 (école de médicine), kind of a weird place for a tech event to happen. Nonetheless, the event was pretty interesting (I unfortunately cannot talk about what happened there, because it is under a NDA). Although, I can say that almost all information giving can be obtained by signing up for free access to the iPhone SDK (then you need a 99$/year subscription if you actually want to submit to the app store).

Now that the iPhone SDK NDA is lifted, I can talk freely about my experience using the tools provided by Apple in building GoVelib. As of today, GoVelib was downloaded by over 35000 people in the 65 countries where there is an Apple iTunes store. Of course, the majority of the people who downloaded it are from France. I think that I will open source the code on Google Code pretty soon. There are still tons of things I need to improve in this app, but it’s pretty usable for something I wrote in a few days. I received dozens of e-mails suggesting improvements and thanking me for the app. Open sourcing it will simplify contributions and improvements.

The most painful thing about the current iPhone SDK (I’m talking about version 2.1 here), is that Apple does not provide an official framework for mapping. Developers submitting to the the app store cannot rely on the UI components that are used in the official “Maps” app. On the one hand, Apple is strongly encouraging developers to build there app using the standard components they provided and base their UI designs on patterns seen in the Apple-provided apps (iPod, Stocks, Address Book etc…), but they are seriously affecting the overall quality of map-based apps by not providing a clean, fast, simple API for mapping. Most developers had to reinvent the wheel by implementing their own mapping component. For instance, GoVelib uses a Google Code project that basically uses a UIWebKit (a web browser component) to call the Javascript Google Maps API, this is a pretty lousy, slow and inefficient way of showing a map…. but the GMaps license prevents people from calling the map tiles directly. Another project came out recently, this one actually tries to create a full blown Cocoa-based map component by using royalty free base maps (the old MS Virtual Earth tiles or OpenStreetMap). These basemaps look pretty crappy when compared to GMaps, but at least they’re free.

The most exciting thing that Apple did recently is definitely the opening of an official, Apple-sanctioned, developers forum. I hope that developers who feel the same way I do about maps will let Apple know about it. 

Source: edito.qc.ca

Android and iPhone users have similar taste in apps

Apple iPhone users are slightly more into gaming, but users of both Android and iPhone phones like to play games, shop, and find out about music and the weather, according to an analysis of application downloads issued this week.

At least nine Android apps are already faring very well with consumers, even though Android Market only offers 10 percent as many software applications as Apple's App Store did on its own launch this summer, a new study indicates.

More specifically, nine Android applications made it into the 10,000 to 50,000 downloads territory within the first 24 hours of Google's Android Market, according to analysts at Medialets late this week, in a report analyzing downloads on both smartphone platforms.

Completely direct "Apples to Android" comparisons aren't really possible, the researchers suggested, in that Apple stopped publishing download data 15 hours after opening its App Store.

During those 15 hours, though, "only two [App Store] apps broke the 10,000 mark." A program known as Remote, the early App Store leader, got 16,000 downloads. AOL's AIM instant messaging software landed in second place on the App Store.

Meanwhile, of the nine Android apps surpassing the 10,000 download barrier, only three -- Pac-Man by Namco, Brain Genius Deluxe, and Bonsai Blast -- were games.

"ShopSavvy is at the top of the list factoring in ratings and number of reviews, followed by The Weather Channel, and Shazam, an app that helps people identify a song they are listening to," according to the report.

Produced by a company called "Big in Japan," ShopSavvy is designed to work with Google's search functionality to read bar codes on products such as boxes of software, and then conduct price comparisons among online sites and brick-and-mortar retail stores.

As previously reported in BetaNews, ShopSavvy provides street locations, in addition to pinpointing the stores on Google Maps.

In an interview with BetaNews conducted in September at the New York press launch for T-Mobile's G1 phone, Alexander Muse, the company's "Social Ninja," said the developers of ShopSavvy got drawn to the Android platform by the "flexibility" of the focal point on the G1's 3 megapixel camera.

Rounding out Android's top nine early downloads were T-Mobile Hotspot Connect, WikiMobile Encyclopedia, and MySpace Mobile, according to Medialets.

The firm also noted, "24 hours into the [Android Market] launch, it appears that either Android users are generally interested in the same types of application functionality as iPhone users, or possibly, that Android developers are generally interested in creating the same types of apps as iPhone developers."

However, in terms of percentages of overall early downloads, games seem to have garnered somewhat more interest among App Store users (about 27%) than among Android software downloaders (around 24%).

Downloads of multimedia, travel, toys, entertainment, finance, and reference software were also a bit more popular from the App Store. Android users, on the other hand, gave slightly more downloads to lifestyle, productivity, news and weather, and social networking apps.

Android Market is still in beta, with downloads of all available apps still being offered free of charge to users of the G1, the only Android-based phone to be announced or released thus far.

source: betanews.com

Android based G1: A Winner or..?

When 33 firms joined hands with Google on 5th November, 2007 to form Open Handset Alliance (OHA), it was apparent, that this alliance will change the course of handheld device industry. In a press statement issued on that day, Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt remarked, "This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future." On this fateful day, OHA also unveiled Android, an open source mobile phone platform based on the Linux operating system.

T-Mobile G1’s launch is round the corner. Technology experts, bloggers around the world have scrutinized every single detail for this much hyped “Google Phone”. Even the controversies are cropping out from nowhere , G1 still stands apart from iPhone in various aspects.

T-Mobile on 23 September became the first provider around the world to launch the first Android phone G1 (aka HTC Dream). The consumers are still short of getting the hands-on experience of G1 as there are still 4 days left for the market launch. In these 24 days, geeks world over have dissected every single chip of G1 and have come up with individual assessments.
From the debut of Android, there have been talks, rumors and gossips on the existence of HTC dream. It stirred up as much anticipation and hype as the Apple iPhone, not only because it would be the first smartphone to run Google's mobile platform but also because of the potential to overtake Apple's darling. Although G1 is good individually but when we compare it with iPhone, it lacks the charisma of iPhone.
G1 features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The Google Android operating system offers good integration with Google applications as well as access to the Amazon MP3 Store and YouTube, while G1 doesn't include a standard headphone jack and lacks stereo Bluetooth and Microsoft Exchange support.
There is huge potential for the G1 (and any Android devices after it) to become powerful minicomputers as developers create more applications for the open platform. Android has also been criticized for not being all open-source software despite what was announced by Google. Parts of the Software Development Kit are proprietary and closed source and some believe this is so that Google can control the platform. In the Android Market terms of service, Google expressly says that it might remotely remove an application from a user's phone. "Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion," the terms, linked to from the phone, read.
Despite the deficiencies, the most powerful component of G1 is definitely Android operating system. Obviously, there's enough curiosity about Google Android to attract buyers; and in fact, according to reports preorders for the G1 have already sold out.

Source:android-blog.blogspot.com

iPhone vs. T-Mobile (Android) G1 Speed Test

 Our sister site News.com has posted a speed test that pits the iPhone 3G against T-Mobiles new Google Android-based T1.

Bonnie Cha writes:

“In this quick Prizefight, CNET TV’s Brian Tong and I pit the two against each other in a 3G speed test, clocking the time it takes for each device to load CNET News from start to finish. Now, there are a couple of things to remember. Both smartphones use different Web browsers, and there are a number of factors that might affect 3G speeds, such as the area you live in and how many people are on the network at one time. However, in the spirit of friendly competition and out of pure curiosity, we decided to go for it.”

See the video embedded below or visit the full article. 

Feeling up the G1 Android phone

Late yesterday I took up an invitation from the processor architecture firm ARM to go hands-on with the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 / first-bloody-Android-phone-out-the-gates.

I won't bore you with photos, since you've seen a demo already, but I will offer my opinion on the thing. First off, it's fast. Maybe a bit slower than the iPhone, but not by much. Having an iPhone-esque capacitor touchscreen helps - this is not your standard, relatively draggy HTC screen. The phone dialer works responsively - a small point perhaps, but rather important in a phone (hey Microsoft, you listening?).

The app store is somewhat underpopulated right now, but it looks to be a seamless affair. The preinstalled Google apps (calendar etc) look nicely done, but that would need more hands-on experience for a proper, comparative opinion.

The UI is intuitive, and everything seems to work quickly and well. The iPhone is clearly a template for some of the menu systems, and why not I say. The nice thing about it is that the menus have the consistency of iPhone menus, while having the granularity of Windows Mobile menus (those of you who've played with recent, multiple-UI WinMob handsets will know how inconsistent and confusing they can be).

There are three input methods: trackball, screen and keyboard. All are good. Although the keys on the keyboard are a little too flush to the surface for my liking, they are nicely sized and spaced out. A surfeit of input methods can be a sign of weakness (jack of all trades etc), but in this case - and given that the G1 is a first try at a whole new ballgame - I think it's justified.

The build quality is pretty darn good. It may be a plastic phone, but it feels fairly solid for it. My only caveat in this department would be applicable to any handset with a sliding keyboard - that the sliding keyboard can make it feel just that little bit less sturdy. Nonetheless, the thing slides well.

That said, the curvature of the handset towards its base does seem rather odd. Idiosyncratic as it may be, it will probably be a turn-off for some, who may find it makes the phone feel needlessly thicker. Ergonomically, in landscape mode, it may make sense though - I'd need more time with it to decide.

The G1 is not perfect (the camera sucks, for instance), but it is a genuinely exciting phone. It's the closest I've seen anyone come to replicating the ease of use and common sense of the iPhone and its UI, it's well built and it will prove an excellent first step and testing ground for Android. And, if it's priced decently in the UK, it would be a no-brainer to pick up as both a decent handset and a piece of history.

Source: zdnet.co.uk

The App Test: Rating Programs for Google’s G1

Today, people interested in seeing the first Google-branded consumer-hardware product will get to satisfy their curiosity as the company, joining with T-Mobile, unveils its $179 G1 handheld computer. This touch-screen device will compete with Apple’s iPhone, and it includes a key feature missing in the iPhone: a physical keyboard.

The G1 is built around a model of openness, enabling developers to create applications — software programs, called “apps” for short — that will succeed or fail according to the feedback from the online community. Naturally, these community-contributed programs need a marketplace where G1 users can find them, and the Android Market provides just that.

BreadCrumbz makes maps.

This week, I installed various applications from the Android Market on a G1 and tested them out. Google says it will launch with around 40 to 50 applications in this virtual store, and these and all other apps will be available free of charge from now until at least the start of next year.

I found these apps to be useful, entertaining and mostly straightforward. There were a few that I felt tried to jam too much into one application, such as BreadCrumbz, an app that asks users to add pictures, instructional arrows and labels to maps that they make for friends. Other apps kept it short and sweet, like Wi-Fi Toggle — a one-touch button that turns wireless capability on or off to save battery power.

The G1’s apps are more utilitarian than most apps I’ve tested for Apple’s iPhone — and not quite as visually pleasing. I even compared one G1 program, Plusmo College Football, directly with the same app running on the iPhone, and I missed the artsy touches of the Apple version — like menus that flipped 180 degrees when selected rather than simply opening.

One downside: Only a measly 70 megabytes of internal flash memory are reserved on the G1 for storing these third-party applications. Once you fill that limited internal storage space, you have to delete some of your apps to add more. You can’t currently store apps on the phone’s roomier removable memory card. (A one-gigabyte microSD comes with the G1.) The iPhone doesn’t set such an arbitrary limit on application-storage space, beyond the physical size of the memory itself. The Android Market, like Apple’s iTunes, keeps a record of each user’s installed apps so they can be easily downloaded again later at no extra charge (if they carried a fee). But, unlike the iPhone, the G1 can’t back up your apps to a PC or Mac.

The G1’s open model means extra setup steps during app installation. For example, if an application will access certain information — such as a user’s Internet connection, location data (as identified by GPS) or other personal information (calendar, contacts, etc.) — warnings appear during installation, and the user must grant permission. In addition, many apps come with license agreements that must be okayed before users can continue. If something goes wrong with an app, people can post complaints on community boards or email developers, whose email addresses appear during installation.

To offer a general idea of what’s available, I’ve highlighted a handful of apps that I like. I broke the applications into three groups: Functional, Fun (if occasionally kitschy) and Frills.

Functional

Wi-Fi Toggle: This does what it says. Once installed, it adds an icon to the G1’s desktop that provides a quick way to turn Wi-Fi on and off without digging into the settings menu.

Locale: Like Wi-Fi Toggle on steroids, this app allows a user to set up a G1 so it dynamically changes its settings in specific conditions. The settings can respond to calls from certain people or changes in the phone’s battery power, calendar, the user’s location or the time. For instance, the Wi-Fi can automatically turn off, ringer volume can go up or down, desktop wallpaper can change or a post can be sent. Just think of all the churchgoers who could ensure their cellphone ringers are turned off on Sunday mornings or when the church’s location is sensed.

Ringdroid: Make ringtones from your own songs by adjusting bars to mark the start and end of each ringtone. Hitting Save automatically keeps the ringtone, labeled with the song’s name by default, for use on the phone.

Video Player: The G1 doesn’t have a built-in way to play videos, and this app does the trick in a clear-cut, reliable way.

Fun

Movie ShowTimes: This lets people use a finger to flick across the G1’s touch screen to page through movie poster images, titles and brief descriptions. Below each movie description, an on-screen button labeled “Showtimes Near You” uses GPS to generate lists of nearby movie times.

Pac-Man: The classic arcade game never gets old. You can move Pac-Man through his maze with one of three methods: tilting the G1 so its accelerometer moves the Pac-Man, swiping with a finger to point Pac-Man in the right direction or using the trackball to move him around the screen. I preferred the trackball.

Read more:allthingsd.com

The iPhone Hotel

Fashionfunky writes up The Malibu Beach inn which is iPhone-friendly. Guests can check in with their own iPhone or iPod, if not the hotel obliges by equipping them with a 16 gig iPod touch with a pre-installed an app called Hotel Evolution.

Guests punch in room number plus security code for access to hotel services: order room service, set a wake up call, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check your messages or set your room to do Not Disturb.

Shopping, eating and cavorting info for the area is on tap, too. Cost to the hotel is about $10 per room.

Source: textually.org

Motorola: Our Android Phone Will Be Cheaper, Better, Funnerer

More specs of the Android-based phone from Motorola have hit the Webosphere and the news is looking good. The phone will have a large touch screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and will undercut the HTC G1 by $30.

We already know that Motorola is working on an Android phone. Recently, we learned that the phone will provide access to social networking services. BusinessWeek has confirmed this, and that the phone will have a touch screen similar to the iPhone and also a QWERTY keyboard for easier text input. According to the BW report, insiders say the device will bear similar design language as the recently announced Motorola Krave ZN4.

Word is that the phone will have a higher-end look when compared with the HTC G1, which goes on sale starting this week. While the G1 will sell for about $180 after rebates with a new contract, the as-yet unnamed Motorola Android phone will be priced at the $150 level.

What we don't know is what network technology the Motorola Android phone will use. The HTC G1 uses the GSM system, and is compatible with networks worldwide. Given the large number of European companies involved in the Open Handset Alliance, it would make sense for Motorola to choose GSM-based networking technologies for its device, as opposed to the CDMA-based technology used by Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

The bad news is that the phone won't be ready until sometime in the second quarter of 2009, which could easily put it as much as six months behind the G1's launch. We don't know if this is because Motorola started developing later for the Anroid than HTC did or simply because Motorola is taking its time to make sure things turn out as good as possible.

Between now and the end of 2Q '09, more Android-based devices are sure to be announced and launched. We have to assume that HTC is already working on the successor to the G1, and other handset OEMs are working on their own Android handsets. Hopefully Motorola's late arrival will be offset by a solid device.

 Source:informationweek.com

New iPhone ring-ins will make your hip pocket happy

If the iPhone's price tag puts it too far out of your reach, two other serious contenders are waiting in the wings - and neither has anything to do with Microsoft.

The first phone, based on Google's Android platform, goes on sale in the US on Wednesday and Australian carriers are examining the device with interest following rave reviews from critics.

As well, Hutchison subsidiary Three is working on its own brand of smart phone called INQ, which will compete with the iPhone, Android and handsets from Nokia and Motorola.

Three's local spokeswoman Sarah Virtue said the company planned to launch INQ in Australia "prior to Christmas". She added that Google's Android was "an excellent platform" and that Three would be "keeping a close eye on it".

Optus declined to comment on its Android plans. Telstra said it was considering "how an Android phone might fit into our range" and Vodafone said it was following Android developments "with keen interest".

BusinessWeek reported that Hutchison's goal with INQ was to slash the price of phones that let people surf the net. The handsets were expected to cost consumers $US50 ($72) or less.

People buying an iPhone would pay carriers that amount or more every month over a two-year contract.

The move makes sense for Three because the more people there are who can afford phones capable of surfing the net, the more the company will make from the mobile plans and data bundles it sells to consumers.

"I need to hit the 90 per cent that don't buy [higher-priced phones]," Hutchison executive Frank Meehan told BusinessWeek.

The popularity of smartphones such as the iPhone, Android, INQ and BlackBerry handsets is growing rapidly in Australia.

Research released by Telesyte today revealed Australia's annual smartphone shipments have grown by almost 40 times from five years ago and that nearly three in ten mobile phones sold this year will be smartphones.

In addition to being cheap, the INQ phones, which like Android have been built from the ground up with new software, have been designed to hook directly into Facebook, eBay and Skype, with users able to monitor their Facebook news feed from the home screen.

Last year, Three launched its first branded handset, the Skypephone, which allowed Skype users to call each other without running down their monthly mobile cap.

The first handset based on Google's Android platform, the G1, will be sold by T-Mobile for $US179 on a two-year contract, which is also significantly cheaper than the iPhone.

Early reviews suggest the G1 is the first worthy competitor to Apple's much-vaunted smartphone. More Android-based devices are expected to be launched in the coming months.

Some analysts expect Apple to respond to this new competition by pushing its iPhone prices down.

"In 2009 we'll get a lower-priced iPhone - iPhone Nano - which will bring it to the masses," Shannon Cross of Cross Research told The New York Times.

Like the iPhone, the G1 includes a touch-screen but there is also a pull-out keyboard and a trackball that can be used like a mouse. It is completely integrated with Google's suite of online applications such as search, maps, calendar, email and instant messaging.

The G1, based on the Linux operating system, has built-in WiFi for more cost-effective web browsing and can play both music and videos, but managing track libraries isn't as elegant as the iPhone, which seamlessly integrates with iTunes.

Like Apple's iTunes App Store, G1 owners will be able to expand the functionality of the device by buying third-party applications from the "Android market".

David Pogue's review of the G1 in The New York Times said the device's software was sleek and intuitive but criticised the lack of an iTunes equivalent for managing songs and buying music, TV shows and movies.

Pogue noted that, unlike the iPhone, the G1 includes a slide-out keyboard, removable battery, voice dialling, picture messaging, built-in audio recording and the ability to turn any song into a ring tone.

Engadget's review noted the G1's lack of a standard headphone jack. The software "is thoroughly modern and attractive, but its high-contrast, almost cartoonish look might be a turn-off for some".

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg gave the G1 a good wrap but thought the keyboard and battery life could have been improved.

He said the tight integration with Google's services would be tedious for those who don't use them. The only way to get contacts and calendar items into the phone is to synchronise them with Google's online services and there is no way for it to synchronise with Microsoft Outlook.

"In my battery tests, the G1 lasted through the day, but I had to charge it every night," Mossberg wrote.

"That's better than the initial battery life on the current iPhone, though in fairness Apple has improved the iPhone's battery life through software updates, and I found them to be about the same for mixed use."

Source: smh.com.au