With just over a week before the T-Mobile G1 launched, there were a few things worth doing to make the Android experience a little smoother from day one. These all related to the Google Account the G1 would connect to. When you first powered on the phone, it asked for a Google email address and password, then synced with Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar, and Google Talk.
Update Your Gmail Contacts
The phone’s address book synced with Google Contacts, accessible within Gmail. Many frequent email contacts would already be listed, but phone numbers and other details could be added manually. Google Contacts also supported groups, and the G1 could be configured to sync only selected groups. A Work group, a Family group, a Friends group — contacts could belong to multiple groups, making it easy to filter down to exactly who you needed.
Prep Your Gmail Account
Gmail labels functioned like tags, and filters could automatically apply them to incoming mail. The G1 could be set to only sync mail with specific labels, so only the messages that mattered would trigger a notification. Gmail also supported pulling mail from other accounts via POP/IMAP, or other accounts could be forwarded to Gmail for faster push delivery to the phone.
Get Familiar with Google Calendar
The G1 calendar synced with Google Calendar, including shared calendars. Repeating events, driving directions pulled directly from calendar entries, and shared edit access with family or colleagues all worked from the phone just as they did on the web. If you weren’t using Google Calendar yet, the G1 launch was a good reason to start.
Get Familiar with Google Talk
Google Talk was Google’s Jabber-based chat service. Unlike Yahoo or MSN chat, it allowed simultaneous logins from multiple devices without kicking the other sessions off — meaning you could receive a message on your desktop and pick it up on the G1 without interruption. The G1 address book also surfaced which contacts were currently online, making a quick chat an easy alternative to a phone call.
