AT&T is playing with black magic, and some of its closest ties may get burned. AT&T will be launching the HTC “Lancaster”, powered by Google’s Android platform, making its way to retail stores in August of this year. Having AT&T’s first Android-powered device being released soon looks like this isn’t something that AT&T is setting on its back burners. This may be mildly damaging to Apple as they’re working on contracts and negotiations with AT&T for continued exclusive support for the iPhone. So is this AT&T’s way of showing Apple that it hasn’t become a one-trick pony, relying largely on the success and popularity of the iPhone? → Read More
A man once told me that I could not have my Cupcake and eat it too. He was obviously dead wrong. Today’s big buzz on the Android front is that the official OTA install package for Android 1.5 (lovingly known around the internets as ‘Cupcake’ update) is now available for direct download and manual patching. For those of us who have waited patiently for the official patch but just can’t wait another day for it to come over-the-air, it is our day of rejoicing. At long last, we get to sink our teeth in to that green sugar-coated muffin, complete with video recording, on-screen keyboard, an expanding library of widgets, and stereo bluetooth support (to name a few additions). → Read More
After four long months,the Android v1.5 “Cupcake” update has finally been made available to the masses in the UK and USA. As April 29th came to a close, the first reports of update notifications came trickling in, and they’ve continued throughout the morning. As usual, it’s not hitting every handset at the same time. Don’t panic if you’ve yet to see the prompt – you’ll probably see it within a day or two, tops. This one’s a big one, so look forward to some exploration. You’ll have video recording, stereo bluetooth, onscreen keyboards, live folders, new widgets, a brushed up browser, and a slew of performance upgrades and bug fixes to check out. Be sure to drop a comment and let us know when it hits your handset! (Our favorite part: Though “Cupcake” was originally just an internal moniker for the development branch, the name has become official enough that it’s in the update notification.) [via Phandroid] → Read More
As work on the Android “Cupcake” build (Firmware 1.5) continues, the developers continue to slip more little features in under the radar. We were spending a few minutes with the just announced HTC Magic last night, and we noticed one bit in the live folders screen we hadn’t seen before: YouTube Favorites. Live folders are a new addition to Cupcake which allow you to add self-updating folder to the homescreen. Previously, we’d only seen the first three on the list in the screenshot above: All Contacts, Contacts with Phone numbers, and Starred Contacts. The YouTube Favorites live folder, as you probably could guess, pulls your favorites from your YouTube account and makes them accessible with just 2 clicks. It’s the first non-contact-related Live Folder we’ve seen so far – and the one that seems the most useful, as well. → Read More
As 2008 came to a close, we saw the first hints of a new developmental branch of Android called “Cupcake”. Promising video recording, copy and paste, stereo bluetooth and more, an endless clamor has rang from the userbase ever since. There’s still no word as to when we can expect it to drop onto devices, nor are they making promises that any specific feature will make it on to any given handset (be it the G1 or a future release) – but with the Cupcake branch at a reasonably stable point and beginning to show some of its new tricks, we thought we’d do a video run-through of what has made it in so far. → Read More
The T-Mobile G1 has an update in the works. When the firmware will be available to owners is the main question after most of the details leaked out of the kitchen. Cupcake, as it’s been dubbed, should improve the look and the feel of the OS. The buttons should pop a bit more, there is a new transition when opening and closing apps, but most importantly is the new virtual keyboard. That particular new feature doesn’t seem to provide much function in the physical keyboard-equipped G1, but hopefully the G2 or the upcoming Huawei handset will take full advantage of it. Early screenshots after the jump. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
