I have one as well, and after seeing how powerful and flexible Android is to both users and developers, I'm in love.
Probably the best app I've found is called Locale, and it just proves how much you really can do with the phone/OS. I've set up a set of series of situations, some triggered by my location, others by time or incoming contacts, and each situation allows me to specify a set of configuration changes that take place when triggered. For an example of what's possible:
- When it detects that I'm near work, it sets my ringtone to something less obnoxious, and turns off notification sounds.
- When I step foot on campus for classes, it silences my phone and turns on the WiFi for internet access.
- When it's night time (between 11pm and 8am), it silences the phone so I'm not disturbed while sleeping.
- If my wife calls, it ignores all of the above settings and rings at a moderate volume, because it's probably important.
- If my mother calls, and I'm not at home, it sends her straight to my voicemail.
I have a feeling it'll be a cold day in hell before Apple lets iPhone apps have that much control over the phone, but my G1 could do it all from day one, including background tasks and cut/paste...
I checked out the Locale site, this quote is an awesome introduction to a product:
"In March 2005, Judge Robert Restaino jailed 46 people when a mobile phone rang in his New York courtroom and no one would admit responsibility. So we invented Locale. Problem solved."
"By indiscriminately committing into custody 46 defendants, [Restaino] deprived them of their liberty without due process, exhibited insensitivity, indifference and a callousness so reproachable that his continued presence on the Bench cannot be tolerated."
I think there's a bit of a quality control issue, or perhaps early batteries had problems. I have two G1s...a standard issue that arrived on release day, and a developer edition that I just got a few weeks ago. The former doesn't last a whole day of moderate usage with 3G enabled (but lasts about 1.5 days of moderate usage with 3G disabled). The latter easily lasts all day with 3G enabled. I charge every night, and I've never found it to give out by the end of day on days when I remember to charge it (and when I have forgotten to charge it, I've been pleased by how fast it'll charge up).
I have no complaints at all about battery life on the newer phone. The older one was disappointing, and I was afraid I was stuck with something that would never really be great.
Someone else suggested a "break in" period, but my older phone never got better after extensive use. The new phone was good from day one.
Depends on the usage. If you're using WiFi it won't last more than 3 hours or so (not kidding!) Playing music is also battery intensive. If you're not doing either of those, it lasts a whole day, but you'll definitely have to plug it in every night. Which I find acceptable.
It will last a 6-8 hours of fairly heavy surfing (no video, 1 or 2 podcasts) on the cell data network, or a full day of normal use/non-use. I usually leave wifi and GPS off, and haven't really had any problems w/battery life.
Battery life on the G1 is terrible. I have to bring my charger with me, if I plan on using it quite a bit that day. I hear that its the way the Android OS interfaces with the device thats the primary reason behind this. If they sorted out the battery life and added what was mentioned above, it would almost be the perfect first gen device.
