I have a not-so-secret pride. Android is now 15 years old, and I was one of the early adopters. In fact, the first Android phone was my very first phone as well. Although I have since transitioned to the Apple ecosystem and switched to the iPhone, there’s still a part of me that appreciates the bulky and unconventional design of that first Android phone.
These days, Android phones are everywhere. As my colleague Jessica Dolcourt points out in her retrospective on Android, 70% of the world’s phones use Google apps instead of Apple. However, back in 2008, when the T-Mobile G1 (known as HTC Dream in some regions) was released, it was seen as a radical departure from the iPhone-dominated market.
During those early days, using the T-Mobile G1 set me apart from all the iPhone users. The iPhone, which had just been unveiled in 2007, was the ultimate smartphone that everyone coveted. It was a symbol of status and it sold like crazy. However, after a year had passed, I felt the pull to get myself a smartphone. But I didn’t want the “magical” iPhone. No way.
Apple’s ecosystem was like a closed garden, while Android promised freedom, just like my experience with Windows on my PC. Plus, at the time, AT&T was the only carrier offering the iPhone, and as a long-time T-Mobile subscriber, the G1 on T-Mobile was significantly cheaper than the iPhone on AT&T, thanks to the two-year contract requirement from each carrier.
The original anti-iPhone was strange, but admirable
From the moment I held the bronze-colored G1 in a T-Mobile store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I was captivated. It was a peculiar device, the complete opposite of the sleek iPhone in many ways. Chunky and bulky, with a distinctive “chin” (which I loved), it deviated from the standard rectangular profile. It boasted various features: a microSD slot for expandable memory, a trackball on the chin for navigation and selection, dedicated buttons for Home, Back, and Menu, as well as separate call buttons. And it proudly displayed the “Google” logo on its back.
Of course, the G1 also had a slider keyboard, which was the best part. I felt superior to iPhone users with this feature. The tiny on-screen keyboards that occupied half the screen seemed slow and awkward compared to the powerful QWERTY keyboard that occupied a dedicated five-row space on the G1.
I loved how the screen automatically adjusted when I opened the keyboard. The satisfying “snick” sound it made when it slid into place was delightful. It also made the phone feel substantial, almost like a mini computer. It seemed incredibly advanced at the time, bundling all the complexities of a camera, GPS capabilities, and navigation into a small portable package.
The chunky design and distinct “chin” of the HTC T-Mobile G1
Gmail worked seamlessly on my phone, and I discovered that I could perform tasks like typing and saving notes just as I would on my PC. I also appreciated the home screen widgets, such as Google search, and the convenience of scrolling to the top of the screen for notifications like new messages and emails.
Read Also: The T-Mobile G1 Is Similar to a BlackBerry
Pulling out my chunky phone to make calls or send texts sometimes attracted attention, but in New York City where iPhones and BlackBerrys were ubiquitous, most people didn’t pay much notice.
I played many games on the G1, ranging from Bonsai Blast to Doom to Chrono Trigger, and the physical keyboard greatly enhanced the gaming experience. While other games during that time had on-screen controls that covered the display, some G1 games utilized the physical buttons in a way that allowed the entire screen to be dedicated to the game. I could fire with the spacebar and use WASD to move around.
I remember that the Android software ecosystem lagged behind Apple’s, especially in the early days. The available apps and games on the Android platform were limited at the time, and my friends with iPhones had access to popular apps like Angry Birds that I didn’t. I justified this by telling myself that most of the useless things I wanted to do, like reading articles and forums, could be done in the phone’s web browser. Looking back now, in a world dominated by apps and with diminishing mobile browser usage, I can’t help but laugh at my naive self.
Comparison between the HTC T-Mobile G1 (left) and Galaxy Note 8 (right) with their keyboards
After using the T-Mobile G1, I eventually upgraded to another remarkable Android phone, the Samsung Vibrant. It was T-Mobile’s version of the first Galaxy S phone and it surpassed the older G1 with its larger and superior OLED screen, although it lacked a physical keyboard. By then, I had grown accustomed to on-screen keyboards, and with features like autofill and predictive text, typing was faster on the Vibrant than on my old G1.
Later, when the pandemic hit and I began to work from home, which meant filming all my TV shows in my basement, I made the switch from Android to an iPhone 12 Pro Max. I read numerous reviews (thanks, Patrick) and believed that the iPhone would excel in photography and videography. I also felt a sense of belonging to the crowd that I had previously shunned in my younger years. Many of my tech-savvy friends and colleagues at CNET raved about the ease and simplicity of the iPhone, particularly its seamless integration with other Apple devices, like my Mac, which I had been using for years.
I still have my iPhone 12 Pro Max, and truth be told, it’s an outstanding phone. But 15 years ago, Google’s first Android phone was the best in its time. It solidified my loyalty to Android and paved the way for more advanced and innovative phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note series and foldable devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, thanks to Google’s open platform that allowed manufacturers like Samsung to push boundaries and create geek-friendly devices.
I may never need a physical keyboard on a phone again, but thanks to the T-Mobile G1, I will always have that anti-Apple geek credibility.
This article was originally published in 2018 when the author was still an Android user and has been updated since then.
