The G1. The founding father of Android as we know it today has finally been removed from the T-Mobile website. This device has had quite a run since its launch in the fall of 2008, and we have seen a lot more happen for this device then we ever thought imaginable. The original Android device, the one running "only" a 528MHz processor, may have not been anywhere near the top in comparison to other device specs, but this will be a device that no one will ever forget. From the protoype demo by Andy Rubin to the leaked specs to the long awaited release the device will surely never be forgotten, heck it even landed itself a 2.1 based ROM for all the faithful users. Now, let's all take a minute to remember our fallen soldier. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
19 Comments
time to sit Shiva!
I bid thee farewell my friend...it was my first Android experience and I was hooked! Now i have semi upgraded to a Hero and I am patiently waiting to get my Evo in November!!!
Let's give thanks to the OG who laid it down for everyone to have a device as multitasking as a Blackberry and the unlimited imagination of a iPhony,uh I mean ,iPhone. Rest in Freedom G1!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_iz8z2AGw
It may be sad that it's leaving, but you can't say that T-Mobile did a decent job of marketing it and Android to the masses. In fact, I would say they did a piss-poor one. If it wasn't for Verizon, Android would still be considered a niche OS and be nowhere near the competitor that it is today. T-Mobile should be ashamed of themselves and Google should stop looking to them as a premier partner.
I don''t really think that's really fair to decide. T-mobile did a fine job of advertising, to all of their customers which are mostly basic phone users (I'm a T-mobile rep. What they did is get the name out there with what almost seemed like a basic phone, and that is also when data plans were a tad cheaper, in which case in was easier for basic phone user to switch. T-mobile was the starting ground for what is becoming today, the leading OS in cell phones and soon to be tablets. I think it was a rough start, but I think Google new all carriers were going to catch on, you know being open source and all. Just my 2 cents.
Tmo must not have done too badly. They sold a G1 to my sister (still using it) when she didn't even know what Android WAS (heck, neither did I, then) She still hasn't quite jumped into its full potential, but I'm the geek of the family (she's still getting the hang of useful apps besides simple games)
Its like seing your grampa peacfully pass away, I gues if your a 2yr old phone its about a 1:38 lifespan ratio?
went from the iPhone (unlocked on Tmobile) to this baby right here because i wanted to be able to use Tmobile's 3G service, and that was the ONLY reason why i switched.....and now i am a full fledged HATER of the iPhone, i LOVE Android and will never look back thanks to the G1!! The founding father of Android has passed and the founding father of the 1ghz family is passed as well....what a sad month :(
Now for a replacement...without the chin. Rip G1, you will be fondly remembered.
Both of my daughters still have theirs and love them.
It's pretty crazy how hackers make old phones run like new.
The G1, Mt3g, Eris, etc... all run so smoothly thanks to the ability to flash roms and overclock.
That's what I think is so great about Android phones.
I wouldn't knock T-mobile too hard over the G1. They did a better job than Sprint did with an establish brand Palm and the Palm Pre. Now that was a major fail. Oh, and I own a G1 since day 1.
OMG my HTC Magic is next!!!
Rip good fella.
Did good by me. Got one in white 3 days after they were released (thanks to the morons at my local store) and took off running. WOW! My G1 and (soon) my Droid 1 are both almost distant memories.
Ah, the good ole days. RIP G1 & N1, fathers of the Android revolution.
Don't speak too soon. I'm typing this on my G1 with froyo, multitouch, tethering, apps on the SD... the list goes on.
Thanks to folks like Cyanogenmod, I don't have to get a new phone just because my carrier tells me it's time. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the G1's death are greatly exaggerated.
I totally agree my G1 sits now in front of me with Froyo. Though my G1 was born from anguish, denied for RMA, pieced back together like Frankenstein and I even exclaimed when it first booted "It's Alive!!" But as time would have it, the remainder of it's parts are starting to fail. When the Dell Streak comes out, my G1 won't be forgotten, it will be my new backup phone, or will get a home with someone who will love it as much as I have.
"Good-night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"
Horatio Act V, Scene ii Hamlet
I'm a G1 user and, as a result, a T-Mobile customer. I love my phone, and I think T-Mobile is an amazing carrier.
As far as their G1 advertisement, I think the G1 helped T-Mobile more than T-Mobile did the G1. I don't blame T-Mobile either, since they don't appear to be the cash cow that Verizon is. Furthermore, HTC doesn't appear to be as big as Motorola. In closing, I salute the underdogs, HTC and T-Mobile, for introducing what was then an underdog phone OS.