iPhone or G1: Comparing Price, Speed, Keyboards and Specifications

Posted by Kevin in October 23rd 2008

Apple iPhone and Google G1 First off, let me just say that I am a big fan of Apple. While I don’t own an iPod or an iPhone I love my Intel driven MacBook with Parallels to death. So why don’t I own an iPod or iPhone? Well, as for the iPod, I just don’t have the opportunity to listen to music that often and if I do I’m usually near my computer and can just play it from there. I’m sure if I worked out more often then I would seriously consider getting an iPod Shuffle or Nano.

As for the iPhone, I think it is really cool but I hate the functional aspect of touch. Sure it makes for really cool commercials and delicious eye candy but who wants to spend 10 times longer trying to text someone one letter at a time? That’s a key strength of having a tangible keyword on a phone; you can enter text sooooo much faster. Have you ever noticed that in those glorious Apple iPhone commercials, they don’t show someone using the digital keyboard? Also, is the newer 3G version really as fast as it appears on those commercials? The following video would suggest they are a bit misleading.

I personally love the physical nature and layout that I have with my Motorola Q’s QWERTY keyboard. The buttons are large enough that I can text very quickly just using both thumbs. Obviously Google understood this need for entering text quickly and that’s why they integrated it into the G1. I’m seriously considering changing phones within the next month or so and possibly getting a G1. It appears that Google has taken all the best in mobile technology (physical keyboard, touchscreen, accelerometer, etc.) and tried to integrate it into their phone. I’m wondering just how fast the web browsing is on both networks. I recently came across this direct comparison of the iPhone and G1 and thought I’d share it with you.

So is that a fair comparison? Chrome, Google’s new web browser, is super fast and I’m sure they will most likely integrate key features from it into their mobile web browser. I’m sure the first version of the G1 isn’t without its own bugs but at least Google’s on the right track. They’ve also recently opened up their app store and their mobile platform called Android. It may also be that the G1 won’t directly compete against Apple in that I see Google’s phone as being more appealing to early adopters and techies who I think mostly base their purchasing decision on functionality and not for coolness or status as may be the case for the iPhone. But then again, we all want to be cool too, huh?

Here’s a direct comparison of the specification for each phone. The G1 seems to have an edge on the iPhone when it comes to phone cost ($179 vs. $199), service plan cost ($70 vs. $90), camera (3.2 MP vs. 2 MP), battery (removable vs. non-removable), and talk time (350 min vs. 300 min). However, the iPhone has a slightly larger screen (3.5 vs. 3.2, inches), works with Microsoft Exchange, and synchronizes with your computer (via MobileMe most likely).

So what are your thoughts on this? Do you own an iPhone or a G1? What’s so great about it? Perhaps you know of a better option than these two that has similar functionality? If so, what is it? More importantly, which phone do you think I should get next and why?