Not having 3G service is not very fun, but with the use of Wi-Fi I could activate the Application Market for the G-1, which is still in Beta. At first glance it isn’t as snazzy as the Apple App Store, but it fits the rest of the UI. The start page divides the selections by Applications, Games, Search, and My Downloads with a coverflow-ish interface at the top with recommended apps.
Android Marketplace
When selecting Applications you are presented with different categories. After selecting your category you can view all the apps within and choose which one you want to download. They can be organized by popularity or date released. Either way you pick you are able to scroll through the apps and purchase the ones you feel you need.
Applications within a category
Once you choose the application you want to download, for this I chose Flashlight, you are presented with a summary about the app and reviews written by users. At the bottom you can touch the install button to start downloading and installing the app.
Flashlight information page
When you download you get a notification in the notification bar at the top. When you drag it down you can see the application downloading and when it is finished you can click the notification and the application will open. You can download and install multiple apps at the same time while browsing the store.
Downloaded application in the notification bar
The Application Market is a great experience but in good need of apps. There aren’t many available, but they are all free so far. I haven’t found a paid app, but then again it is still in Beta. With the home screen you can select the application from the menu by holding down on it and then add it to one of your three screens. The Application Market could be very profitable and can be a very pleasant experience if Google makes it that way.
With the experience I have had the best application so far is ShopSavy. It allows you to use the camera to scan a bar-code or use the keyboard to enter a bar-code or ISBN number. Then if it recognizes the code or picture it will look up the product online and show you where you can find it cheaper online. If you have the GPS on the app will also show you local stores that carry the item and their prices.
The first Antivirus software for the G-1 has been created. SMobile Systems released their software today which they dub, VirusGuard. This will keep spyware, viruses, etc off of your phone and keep it running without bugs. The software also scans the memory card looking for files that could harm the system and firmware. SMobile is not releasing the app to the store until 2009 but you can go to their website and buy directly from them for $9.99 for the full software. With the release of a Jailbreak of the Android platform this might be needed in the future. SMobile also makes this program for Blackberry and other mobile platforms.
