G1 vs iPhone

Here are some comparative differences between the G1 and the iPhone.
Note that these notes where compiled mostly in November 2008. As the software for these phones is updated, my commentary may no longer be relevant. Also, I realize that people may have other phones that perform one or another function better than either of the phones discussed below.
Where I feel the G1 was better, I have marked those in BLUE. And RED is for when the iPhone performed better.

1. Mail-Web-Maps
a) Using both on a wireless network, I checked a mail account for a specific letter. G1 pulled up the letter quicker.
b) There was a link in this letter that I opened. G1 was quicker pulling up the web page.
c) The G1 showed the page in a readable format so some of the page was off the screen, whereas the iPhone tries to display the full page and hence in not readable. So, on the iPhone you have to do the 2-finger stretch, which could be quite difficult when only one hand is available (I'm referring to driving and nothing else!!). But on the G1 if I need to increase the size of the screen you merely have to push a + or - sign that appears at the bottom of the screen when you touch it. So, although I love the 2-finger gesture options with the iPhone, I now can see the advantage to G1's solution.
d) On the web page that pulled up was the address for the company. On the G1 you just push on the address and it will pull up Google maps. This option does not exist on the iPhone (yet - I assume). 

As a side note, I was comparing using the location function on the map while driving. On the G1 when your current location moves off the map, the map then re-centers the map with you as the center point. The iPhone, however, will let you run off the map.

On the other hand recently (2009) the G1 has not been showing me my exact location on the map. In fact a couple of times I was either out in the middle of the Puget Sound or Lake Washington. Fortunately, that was not the case! 

2. Installing apps
One thing I hate about installing apps on the iPhone is that you have to enter your iTunes password each time you choose install an app. And then after the app is installed you have to reopen the AppStore application to get another app.
On the G1 there is no request for a password and the app is downloaded and installed in the background while the Android Market stays open and you can choose to install additional apps.
However! Updating apps is so much easier on the iPhone. The reason is that the iPhone's AppStore let's you know that there are updates for those apps you've installed. The Android Market has no such functionality (yet!). Some of the applications will let you know that there is an update available. But I've found that most don't. 

3. Mail
On the iPhone I can tag each message and then choose to delete or move to another folder. On the G1, however, I can only perform such an action to each message individually. 

4. Battery
The battery on the G1 can be removed. So this means you could always have a spare ready and you don't have to turn your phone into Apple for a couple of days to get a new battery installed.
On the other hand the G1's battery won't last you an entire day! In the course of a normal day my iPhone depletes maybe 20%. But the G1 will be totally drained after about 8 hours!!! In fact, in order to extend the charge of the battery on the G1, it is recommended that you disable the GPS functionality when it is not needed. So I do this regularly. If I left it on, as most people probably do, it's probably spent in 5 or 6 hours.

5. Updating
Updating both phones is rather simple. However, the G1 wins on this score for the following reason. The updates are just downloaded to the phone. The phone will then inform you that there is an update. You have the option as to updating the phone now or later. 

6. Music/Syncing
iPhone wins hands down on this one. Add removing music from the iPhone is so simple!!!
I will note however, that the G1 does play formats the iPhone doesn't!

7. Adding Contacts
If I get a letter from someone and I wish to add them to my Contacts, it's very easy on an iPhone. I have not figured out yet, how to do that on the G1. 

8. Keyboard
The jury is still out on this one. There are things I like about both keyboards. At times it's annoying that in order to enter text I have to pop out the keyboard on the G1. But then the G1 offers a lot of text manipulation options: move to the beginning or end of a word/line. Delete a word or line. Copy and paste. And other functions. There are numerous shortcuts offered by the G1's keyboard as well.
At night it's, of course, much easier to see the iPhone keyboard as it is displayed on the screen. The G1 does have a backlight, but it's hard to discern various symbols in particular.
Also, the iPhone supports keyboards in various languages. The beauty of a virtual keyboard is that the letters change according to the language to be input. The G1 will probably never be able to out perform the iPhone on that issue (unless a virtual keyboard is developed). Also, as I recall the iPhone didn't have the ability to switch between input languages when it first came out. I think the G1 will surely end up supporting the input of other languages. There are apps that help accomplish that, but they are not very convenient. 
So each has it's advantage.
(BTW, the next major update for the G1 should be out at the end of January 2009 and it promises to have the on-screen keyboard.)

9. Multiple apps and web pages
On the G1 you can have multiple apps (up to 6) running at the same time and up to 3 sites open at once. Now on the iPhone you can open multiple web pages and I don't even know if there's a limit to that number. However, say I did a Google search and I want to open the results in separate windows. You can't do that on an iPhone. So keep having to go back a page(s) to get back to your search or whatever page you went from. This can be extremely annoying if say you were on some web page that can take a long time to load. 

10. Voice calling
Voice recognition calling on the G1 works out of the box. I've tried the free applications on the iPhone and none of them worked well. 

11. Email attachments
The eMail app on the G1 can't open many attachments. It opens pictures, but not pdf, doc, or xls files. Big minus!
However, the Gmail application does open most all files, even video. I should mention though, what the G1 does is convert the document into html format. So, I've found that there may be differences in formating between the true document and how it is rendered on the G1. Also, there is no way to focus in or out of the document.


All in the big advantage of the iPhone over the G1 is that it syncs up with iTunes so easily. The G1 is apparently only intended to sync up with your Google account (and unfortunately, only one!). There is no easy way to get music on and off the device. Also, I've noticed that all applications are installed to the on board memory, as well as  any downloads, etc. Nothing is automatically moved to the SD Card. So, it wasn't long before I had a memory error and had to delete a bunch of apps. Actually, the advice is to also occasionally delete your Internet cache, as it can really build up.

Overall, I miss my iPhone. The Android system is a great and I think it has a lot of potential. The iPhone has gone through a lot of updates, making it better and better, while the Android system is still in its infancy. I think we will see a lot of improvement in the Google phones as time passes. But the iPhone does everything I need it to do and does it rather simply.