November 23rd, 2008
White T-Mobile G1 appearing, same lame keyboard lighting as the brown one?
It looks like the white T-Mobile G1 is starting to appear in stores for those who don’t like the black or brown models. However, after first checking out the brown model, getting my own black model, and seeing the pictures of the white one I would highly advise that you first try one out in the store before buying one yourself. The brown and white keyboards have orange alternate characters and an uncontrollable backlight that makes the keyboard characters virtually impossible to see in most lighting conditions. On the other hand, the black model has outstanding contrast between the keyboard and the background and is viewable in every lighting condition.
The white or brown ones may become a better product if someone could write a keyboard backlight utility to turn off the backlight in all lighting conditions other than very dark conditions. When it lights up in every condition it hides the alternate characters and many times even the main keys.
Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Subscribe to Smartphones and Cell Phones via Email alerts or RSS.
