Sure, the very first iPhone released today, but does anyone remember the first Android smartphone?
In October of 2008 HTC’s T-Mobile G1, or HTC Dream as it’s known outside the U.S would launch being the first phone with the Android OS. The G1 was priced at $179 — which was pretty affordable even in those days — and featured top-of-the-line specs including a Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, 192MB of RAM, and 256MB of internal storage (expandable up to 16GB). It also stocked a 3.15MP rear camera, and a 1,150mAh battery.
I feel like this design would work pretty well even for a modern phone. Just flatten the bottom-right menu section and extend the screen over it, and you’d get a regular full-size smartphone with a slide-out keyboard and some handy physical buttons!
That keyboard was excellent and the slider mechanism was solid! A lot of the later pkb phones don’t have a dedicated number row. And I really miss the physical Home and Back buttons, even later pkb phones lost those quickly. My only complaint is about the trackball. It was ok for some things but not accurate enough and got flakier with use.
I also loved early-Android UI. The modern stuff might be smooth but ergonomically it’s crap. For me the G1 represents a golden age, I am sad that I gave mine away.
On a serious note, I still think my HTC Desire Z was the bee’s knees… except it didn’t tolerate water that much and I live in a very wet and humid place. Feh.
Still, one of the best handhelds I’ve ever had. Gotta give it that.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !technology@beehaw.org
A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
1998?! Try 2008.
I still have my G1 and my G2! The G2 was one of my favorite phones of all time and, sadly, the last I ever owned with a physical keyboard.
Do they still function?
G2 still does! I dont think I have a charging cable for the G1 anymore so I cant test it.
I feel like this design would work pretty well even for a modern phone. Just flatten the bottom-right menu section and extend the screen over it, and you’d get a regular full-size smartphone with a slide-out keyboard and some handy physical buttons!
That keyboard, though. 🤤
That keyboard was excellent and the slider mechanism was solid! A lot of the later pkb phones don’t have a dedicated number row. And I really miss the physical Home and Back buttons, even later pkb phones lost those quickly. My only complaint is about the trackball. It was ok for some things but not accurate enough and got flakier with use.
I also loved early-Android UI. The modern stuff might be smooth but ergonomically it’s crap. For me the G1 represents a golden age, I am sad that I gave mine away.
Ah so nostalgic… HTC making phones lol
On a serious note, I still think my HTC Desire Z was the bee’s knees… except it didn’t tolerate water that much and I live in a very wet and humid place. Feh.
Still, one of the best handhelds I’ve ever had. Gotta give it that.
I remember when that flip clock widget was everywhere. You couldn’t get away from it. I think those originated from HTC.
I don’t think 1998 is correct, this was my first Android phone and I used it in 2008 (a decade later than OP) which is what the wiki also says:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Dream#History
Android itself didn’t start development until 5 years later than OP:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#History
I also found this cool category for phones that came out in 1998. They’re all Nokias. This was even a year before BlackBerry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mobile_phones_introduced_in_1998
edit: the calendar open in the picture says September 23 2008 which is when the phone actually came out…