Analysis of the HTC Dream, the World’s First Android Mobile

The HTC Dream , better known in the US as the T-Mobile G1, was not just any phone. What would be known as the first Google Phone will go down in history as the world’s first Android mobile . It was launched on the market in October 2008 and now, finally, we have been able to get our hands on it to see how the Google ecosystem has changed in all these years.

Already at that time the phone boasted a fairly basic Android interface , a touch screen, HSDPA connectivity and a QWERTY keyboard, although in the model we have achieved, as it is a German phone, it sports a QWERTZ keyboard. Of course, and as you can see in the following video, it was not a perfect phone at all, since it did not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack (ahead of Apple), it is impossible to record video with it and it does not even have a Remarkable audio.

This phone was not a before and after in the market as was the first Apple iPhone, but it was the first step in the creation of countless unified devices under a common umbrella, the Google ecosystem.

A very different mobile than what we have now

At 117mm high by 53mm wide by 15mm deep and weighing 159 grams, the G1 is definitely not the most stylish terminal in the world but it does have a solid construction and features a soft-touch finish. Despite having a physical keyboard, its screen is tactile and, when the phone is opened, its orientation automatically changes from portrait to landscape mode.

HTC Dream

Its touch screen is 3.2 inches but only allows us to move around the screen, no pinching to zoom out or in the content. It has a resolution far removed from today’s minimum standards, with 480 x 320 px and 256 Mb storage (along with a 1 GB MicroSD), coupled with 192 MB RAM. Interestingly, 11 songs were preloaded on this 1GB microSD card.

In the mobile there is also a 3 MP camera with which you can only take photos (although there are no camera settings, such as white balance, effects and shooting modes) and a GPS. Its battery is incomparable to the current ones with its 1150 mAh, although thanks to the size of its screen and its resolution it offered an autonomy close to 24 hours.

HTC Dream

In terms of its software, most strikingly, the first smartphone to run the Android operating system was the first time we were able to enjoy integration with Google’s mobile products, including Gmail, Google Maps and Google Calendar. Even YouTube already appeared on the phone, although to enjoy it in “maximum quality” you would have to use a Wi-Fi connection. At that time we could also see the first steps of the Play Store, called Android Market in 2008 and with a very limited number of apps.

In short, a nostalgic little gem that makes us see how much we have changed in a decade.