HTC’s G1, the first Android phone, had a long and interesting life until it was retired last year, and although I loved the phone, I’ll be the first to admit that being limited to Android 1.6 was kind of a disappointment. Naturally modders had their way with it, but development slowed down long ago in favor of newer and more popular phones.

But today, in a feat of nostalgia and hacking skills, XDA-Dev poster Jcarrz1 has made a working AOSP port of the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, for the venerable G1. It may not extend the life of many phones out there (most have been long since abandoned, though not mine), but definitely demonstrates the flexibility of the platform.

Of course, with a lot of work, you could probably get Ubuntu to run on the G1, or Windows 95. But Really, this is a very pleasant development. It’s amazing to think that the G1′s paltry 528MHz processor and 256MB of RAM (paltry compared to modern phones, anyhow) can run a mobile OS designed to debut on one of the most powerful mobile devices out there right now, the Galaxy Nexus.

Naturally not all is well in G1 town. This is just an AOSP port, not a fully customized ROM, and is labeled as “Alpha 1,” which should give you an idea of the state of the thing. Wifi and Bluetooth don’t work, no doubt owing to incompatibility with the wireless chipset used, and a number of hardware features are unsupported, like some buttons and lighting controls. And of course it runs like a dog.

On the other hand, the browser is apparently snappy, calling and SMS work, and interestingly, using the trackball produces a little cursor like a mouse’s. This last detail, if it’s not just a holdover from debugging, indicates ICS will have support for external pointing devices, since few if any phones include a trackball or trackpad any more (though the pointer does feature in Google TV and the Asus Transformer and is in the ICS settings, as commenters note).

What’s next? Now that basic compatibility has been shown, a custom ROM with unnecessary stuff snipped and better support for the G1 hardware will probably appear in the next couple weeks. Thanks to Jcarrz1 for his hard work.

I like to imagine that a special place exists somewhere on the Web where a bunch of unassuming “ordinary” folks get together to solve world technology issues. A brotherhood (that allows women too, of course) of sorts that uniformly scream, “HACK3RS UNITE!,” and then figure out how to stick it to the man. I’m not entirely sure anything that amazing exists, but there is something close – the XDA Developers Forum.

The latest philanthropic project taken on by these fine young men and women was to port Google’s new Navigation app (which comes pre-installed on the DROID) to the original Android Czar, T-Mobile’s G1. And low and behold…they’ve done it!

I don’t pretend to be any type of haxor whatsoever, so instead of trying to explain how to make the port myself (as if I could even make sense of any of it), I’d suggest giving this entire thread a read through. While they’ve outlined the process for all, it’s not for the faint of heart. With that said, let us know how it goes!

[via Engadget Mobile]

Hey, hey. This hack will probably make more than a few G1 owners giddy. Apparently someone got their hands on a leaked copy of a Motorola Cliq ROM, which just so happens to have all the stuff for Motorola’s custom Android build, MotoBlur, and has converted it for the G1. Don’t ask us where these files are or the install instructions for your G1. We don’t know. But what we do know is that this port probably doesn’t make the Motorola suits all that happy, but this is the joy of an open platform like Android. Get use to it.

T-Mobile’s original Android phone, the G1, is now selling for $130 (with a two-year contract) direct from T-Mobile’s web site. That’s a $20 price reduction, although savvy bargain shoppers know that you can find the G1 from plenty of reputable places for around $100.

Does that mean, then, that stores like Amazon and Walmart, for instance, will soon be discounting the G1 down to around $80 like they just don’t care? I guess we’ll find out. At $80, the G1 is pretty much a no-brainer if you’re already on T-Mobile or you’re looking to switch.

T-Mobile G1 [T-Mobile via TmoNews]

While nothing is set in stone yet, it’s looking pretty grim. The latest “Cupcake” Android update apparently pushed the G1′s memory to the limit. And subsequent updates should only require more. But what’s crazy about this is that the G1 was launched just 10 months ago. Certainly, the devices will keep working with the current flavor of Android, but just imagine the pain early adopters must feel if their device is already a dinosaur that they can’t upgrade, not yet a year into its release.

I’ve used the G1 pretty extensively, having obtained a demo unit from Google shortly after its launch. From just about day 1, I didn’t like it. The obvious comparison was to the iPhone, but it was a hard one to make since the devices were so different. The G1 had a physical keyboard, no multi-touch support, and could run applications in the background to name a few things. The better comparison is to the so-called “G2″ also known as the “Google Ion” or the myTouch 3G. That device, also built by HTC, is similar to the G1 but improves on it in just about every way. It’s faster, thinner (thanks to the removal of the awful keyboard), has better battery life, and just feels nicer.

The myTouch is actually the device Mike switched to after rejecting the iPhone, and as I hear from him every time I see him, he loves it. I don’t hear anyone say that about the G1. Sure, there are plenty of people who use it, and some like it, but I think all would concede that there are better phones out there. And if they won’t yet, when a new Android update comes out that the G1 can’t handle, I’m sure they will.

So big deal, a phone that a few hundred thousand people use is passing away before its time, right? Well the issue behind it is a potentially much larger one. The G1 going out of date speaks to a problem the Android platform has: Its open nature and the desire to support as many phones as possible is always going to leave some devices out in the cold.

Of course, that is hardly an Android-only problem, it’s a problem with just about every platform besides the iPhone. While the original iPhone has been out for over 2 years now, it was still able to be upgraded to the latest iPhone firmware, 3.0, this year. Granted, some of the features were disabled because the hardware has evolved, but it can still do the majority of things that the other iPhones can do.

With so many different devices, and many more said to be coming by the end of this year, the Android platform will continue to get fragmented in a way that is likely to be confusing to consumers. And that doesn’t even speak to the fragmentation of developers developing for phone-specific features of Android devices when more come out.

Of course, there are upsides to this openness, and we should see plenty of applications and features that aren’t available on the relatively-closed iPhone. But it’s a tricky trade-off if consumers are buying a device that they’re not sure will work with all the applications on the platform, and worse, the newest versions of the OS itself.

Really, I just wanted to write a eulogy for the G1. I’m looking forward to some good Android phones in the future, the G1 was not one of them.

[photo: flickr/rainer ebert]

How do I know? Well because I’ve actually had a unit for a few weeks now. You see, the myTouch 3G, which will be available in early August for $199 with a 2-year agreement, is actually the same device as the Google Ion phone that was given to everyone who attended the Google I/O conference a few weeks ago. And technically, both are really the HTC Magic, which was released a few months ago in Europe, and more recently in Canada. But for the myTouch 3G, T-Mobile is offering some other bells and whistles to differentiate it.

The biggest thing T-Mobile is trumpeting for this device is a deep level of customization. Users will be able to customize the menus, wallpapers, icons and a range of other things on the device with the use of themes and skins. This is a sharp break from a device like the iPhone which has a completely un-customizable look and feel.

And the device itself will come in three colors: black, white and what it calls the “distinctive” merlot. (Which only makes me think of Paul Giammati in Sideways, “I am NOT drinking any fucking merlot!”). But there will also be the option to completely customize the shell of your phone too.

The other key point T-Mobile is touting for the myTouch is something called Sherpa, which T-Mobile worked with startup Geodelic to create. Basically, Sherpa is an application that claims to learn from a user’s actions. So, for example, if you’re searching a lot of Thai food, Sherpa should recognize that as something that you like in the future. And it uses your location information to give you tailored results for what it believes you will want based on what you’re around.

Here’s T-Mobile’s spiel on it:

At the heart of the T-Mobile myTouch, Sherpa™ is an application with a built-in learning engine that automatically customizes itself to your preferences. Created by Geodelic, the application learns your likes and dislikes through behavior and user feedback, prioritizing recommended retailers, restaurants and attractions. Seamlessly blending behavior recognition, a recommendation engine and location-relevant information, this combination of learning is exclusive to Sherpa and unlike any experience currently on the market.

The Hardware

But how does the actual hardware of the myTouch stack up against the G1? Very well.

The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s substantially smaller than that G1. This is all thanks to the removal of the physical keyboard. Because myTouch uses the Android 1.5 “Cupcake” software, it utilizes a virtual keyboard. While this will undoubtedly annoy some users, from a design perspective, it was a very good move. It allows for a device that is not only smaller, and lighter (it’s about an ounce and a half lighter), but it looks a lot nicer too.

And it’s gotten a little bump in its specs. While it features the same processor, the myTouch has double the internal memory of the G1 (now 512 MB), which makes applications load and run much more smoothly.

The screen size and resolution remain the same (3.2-inch TFT-LCD 320 x 480). And, unfortunately, while the display is capacitive, it still does not support multi-touch which is a key feature of the iPhone and the new Palm Pre.

The myTouch also has the same 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus that the G1 had. And the device also comes pre-installed with a 4GB microSD card, but this is user-upgradable to any size.

But the most noticeable difference has to be the battery life. In my experience, the G1 had very poor battery life. The myTouch offers a huge improvement in that regard. How much? Well just in everyday use with a couple applications running in the background, my G1 battery would be gone in a few hours. The myTouch battery easily lasts all day in the same environment.

The iPhone

While this device trumps the G1 in every way, the comparison that more people may be interested in for the myTouch is likely how it stacks up against the iPhone. With the removal of the physical keyboard, the devices are more similar now.

Before I get to that, I will say that the biggest factor for which one you’re likely to enjoy more will be if you’re a bigger fan of the more open Android platform, or the more tightly controlled approach Apple is taking with the iPhone OS.

In terms of hardware, there is still no question in my mind that the iPhone is still much nicer. HTC managed many solid improvements over the G1, but when holding the two hand in hand, the myTouch still feels plasticky, and as a result, cheap, compared to the iPhone.

If you have the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G, you’ll appreciate the 3.2 megapixel camera and the ability to shoot video with the myTouch, but the just-released iPhone 3G S matches both of those features now.

In terms of speed, it’s a bit hard to compare the two since the platforms run different applications. The myTouch, like the G1, features a 528 MHz processor which is a faster processor than the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G had. But again, the new iPhone 3G S meets that speed and even pushes past it, in terms of raw processing power.

I’ve only played with the iPhone 3G S for a few days, but I think it’s safe to say that for day to day use of any application and browsing the web, the new iPhone blows past the myTouch in terms of speed. But again, the myTouch seems noticably faster in many regards then the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G.

That’s not the say that the myTouch has no advantages against the iPhone. It has a huge one: It can run third-party applications in the background. Apple has been toying around with the idea, but the Android phones have done this since day one. And as I noted above, while this severely hurt the G1′s battery performance, the myPhone performs much better even with applications running in the background.

Price

But in a move that still isn’t being talked about all that much, Apple may have dropped a bomb on devices like the myPhone 3G not with the iPhone 3G S as much as with the $99 iPhone 3G. At $199, the myTouch is the same price point as the entry-level iPhone 3G S, but I can see a lot of new smartphone buyers opting for the older iPhone for $100 cheaper.

Pre-orders for the myTouch will take place for existing T-Mobile customers on July 8. The device will be $199 with a 2-year agreement, and generally availability is set for early August.

If you have an Android phone with a physical keyboard (so, as of right now, the G1), you can now use the same keyboard shortcuts you’re accustomed to in Gmail on your computer web browser. So, for example, if I’m reading a message in mobile Gmail that I want to archive, I can simply hit the “e” button on my G1 keyboard. The same will not work for devices with a virtual keyboard, presumably because it only pops up when you’re in “writing” mode, and when you’re reading email, you wouldn’t be in writing mode.

Google rolled out this new feature as a part of some overall improvements to the mobile Gmail experience. The other big improvement is that auto-completion for all phones, including the iPhone, should now be faster. Google sped this up by using previously fetched auto-complete matches. It’s a small, but nice improvement.

Back to the physical keyboard for a second, it’s nice that Google has found a way to make the G1′s not completely worthless when everyone gets the Android 1.5 “Cupcake” update which includes the virtual keyboard. But having a large portion of your device serve as basically a shortcut button area is not something most people will care about.

I know that most Blackberry’s have nice physical keyboards, and people are obsessed with them, but I finally got around to trying out the Palm Pre’s keyboard — it’s laughable how bad it is. Perhaps if I had index fingers for thumbs it would be okay, but the keys are way too small and crammed together. And the fact that it always feels like I’m popping bubble wrap when I type doesn’t help either. Virtual keyboards for the win.

[photo: flickr/Andrew Mason]

Upon launching the application, Express News brought me to the general headlines display, listing 10 major stories that I would find atop any popular news portal on the web. A ‘get more stories’ button at the bottom grabs 10 more stories, listing them in ascending order from time published. From here, I checked out the article on Toys R Us’s acquisition of FAO Shwartz. It brought the article page at lightening speed (granted, I was connected over Wi-Fi), the story’s imagery intact.

Each story also has a “Share this” button, allowing you to send the link to your compadres via SMS or E-mail. It lacks a “Tweet this” button, which seems quite odd in the midst of the current Twitter-frenzy. If nothing else, it’d be nice if it tied into any of the Android Twitter apps already available.

And, for the sake of folks like me who can’t see 10 feet in front of them: You can change the text size quite easily.

Not only is the readability great, but the navigation setup is brilliant – but it needs a tutorial for first time users. Instead of going back to the main page or any category choice, users can ‘flip’ through articles and topics with a swipe of the finger. It’s a great feature for those who enjoy skim-reading; stories load fast enough that if the headline doesn’t grab you, the picture might. When, however, you do want to change the category of articles, just dropping ‘Express news’ bar at the top will display available categories including politics, general, and U.S. headlines to name a few.

Alas, it’s not all perfect. Our biggest qualm is with the lack of content customization. Though they claim to source from 300 sources, we’d like to be able to use this client for our sources – that is, RSS feeds. As far as we can tell, you’re stuck with what they give you.

The popularity and positive feedback of this quality application is most likely caused by its business model: instead of charging users, Express news is ad-supported. The advertisement is pretty non-intrusive, only seen at the top of the article selection pages. Free is great, but they really ought to figure out how much the average use brings in from ad-clicks in a few months or a year, and offer an ad-less version. Finally, if we can’t have RSS, at least give us localization. It’s a good news application; add local, nation and international news, and it’d be nearly perfect.

For the final price of free, this application is great; If you’re interested in the world around you and aren’t too interested in bringing in your favorite sites, it’s worth checking out. Everyone likes news, everyone likes free things; this app offers quality and no cost to the users.

What we liked:

• Great functionality, with a design fit specifically for the Android platform
• Incredibly performance – As I was playing with this app for an hour or so, I didn’t encounter one performance related issue
• News-paper feel, with flipping of the pages
• Ability to share articles of SMS and E-mail
• We like free things, everyone does

What we didn’t like

• No premium application, you’re forced to look at ads
• Lack of RSS feeds, or at least localization – This is a big minus

[PSGallery=2begjxs20j]

Please note that before you update manually (This will not ‘root’ your phone, don’t worry about that), that this method is not supported by T-Mobile. We’ve done this countless times as new updates have rolled in, and its worked flawlessly – but if your phone explodes, it’s not our fault.

So, follow these steps exactly and you’re going to have a nice, delicious cupcake too! (not a real cupcake, just a bad-ass update)

• Rename ‘signed-kila-ota-xxxx.xxxx.zip’ to ‘update.zip’
• Transfer update.zip to the ROOT of your G1′s MicroSD card. (For some reason, I couldn’t transfer the file directly from my desktop to the phone, I had to manually take the chip out and transfer it that way. The issue was caused by an I/O discrepancy.)
• Make sure your phone is powered off completely
• Hold down the ‘Home’ and ‘Power’ buttons From here it will bring up the bootloader.
• Open your keyboard and press Alt+L to bring up the bootloader command terminal
• From here, press Alt+S to apply the patch and let that sucker install!
• When it’s finished you’ll net to press Home and Back to begin manual reboot (note- not the power-button)

If you see the chip, everything went kosher and the radio is being configured and updated.

So, there you have it, just be patient while it boots up, the first time around it takes anywhere from 2-4 minutes. And I noticed that it was EXTREMELY slow after it became operation, however it completely subsided after 2 minutes or so. After the fact the performance has been nothing short of outstanding. The entire process took about 20 minutes from start to finish, and I’m a proud owner of a newly updated Cupcake. Now, I’m off to make senseless movies about my cat with the new video camera app.

[Via Phandroid and XDA-Developers]

To fully appreciate this software, I felt I had to find myself outside of my familiar surroundings and truly get lost. So, off to the foothills of Northern California’s Sierra mountains I went. My almost-aimless journey led me few miles west of Auburn, California, known most notably for it’s rich gold-rush history. The town was perfect to put TeleNav’s power to the test, with desolate roads and winding paths, it would be easy for anyone with no familiarity to find themselves turned around out there. Being of the XY gene pool, I have no skill or courage to ask directions, so I powered up TeleNav’s software to get the ball rolling on my trek home.

TeleNav’s G1 software is pretty set to go right ‘out of the box’. It acquired my location with near-perfect accuracy and prompted my destination address. I decided, instead of typing out the address, I would put TeleNav’s voice search to the test. It asked me for the city and state first, after 2 attempts it correctly acquired the destination city I sought
after. Following the city/state combination, it prompted me to search for the exact address of my destination. It correctly recognized the address the first time up to bat, so kudos for clear and almost-robotic speech on my part, I suppose.

After TeleNav knew where I was and where I intended to go, it’s navigation user interface loaded. Very sleek and quite fluid, the screen gave a print out out of the basics: The street I was currently on, the street my next turn would be on, the direction and distance of my next turn, the total mileage of the trek, and the roughly-assumed travel time.

Without any issue, TeleNav guided me with a soft female voice around every turn and change of direction (Also offers español support for those who prefer Spanish). Having it search for traffic issues every few miles was also pretty neat, but seeing how it was 11PM, I didn’t expect much as far as backups or traffic jams. Before I arrived to my destination I made a quick detour to a local burger shack for a milkshake (all that driving builds a monster appetite). Back on to the road, TeleNav re-calibrated the millage, destination time and directions without me having to touch one button. After the 30 mile drive, I arrived at my destination with a very warm greeting from the robo-lady and her smooth demeanor. Not too shabby, I was pretty well impressed with the entire journey. It was the first time I had intentionally gotten lost, only to instill trust in to a mechanical device I had never used before. Having no issues on my return trip was a big plus.

The TeleNav software for the G1 surprised me, I wasn’t expecting this kind of quality for a GPS system on a mobile phone. I own a Garmin Nuvi, and it’s always pulled its weight as a standalone GPS device. Having this option of going mobile, however, is really sweet. But, as nothing in life is perfect, there are a few flaws. TeleNav doesn’t offer any hardware holster, which has become a standard feature with many standalone GPS devices. I was left just tossing my phone in a cup-holder, hoping it wasn’t in the mood to jump out. On top of that, if you don’t have a car charger, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting this product to you for any use beyond the shortest of trips. The G1 is synonymous with god-awful battery life and the GPS/3G just butchered my battery. The 20 minute trip knocked 30% perfect off of the freshly charged battery, which is impractical any way you look at it. This isn’t something I can get passed, but it isn’t really a flaw of TeleNav’s anyway (Ahem, HTC). Another issue that really irked me was the traffic report details feature… I LOVE this, but was sorely disappointed when I had to flip out the keyboard and press 0 to obtain any information. As it may be normal and justified on any other phone, I feel that could have been much less arbitrary, specifically to the design of the G1.

Overall, I was impressed with its functionality, TeleNav’s G1 GPS navigator has some big shoes to fill with the likes of the standalone systems out there, but they’ve done a great job growing in to them. The GPS voice was soothing, the speed and functionality was pretty mind-boggling (on 3G, at least. If you’re on EDGE, it’s a bit of a drag, but still completely usable), and the accuracy was damn impressive. Now if you’re looking to grab this software, it isn’t available in the Android Marketplace quite yet (The spokeswoman at TeleNav confirmed that it’s on the way) but is available directly through TeleNav’s site. The pricing is pretty heavy and is only available through subscription plans. The plans weigh in at $9.99 monthly, $99.00 annually, and $249.00 for a four-year block (The monthly plan offers a 1-month free trial before purchase). This may seem a bit high, but in the standards of GPS hardware, it isn’t the most expensive setup out there. I, as many would, wish the pricing was a bit lower… then again, I also wouldn’t mind finding bargain-bin Filet mignon, aged scotch, or DeLoreans (with in-tact and functional Flux Capacitor, of course.)

I wouldn’t recommend this application for public-transit commuters, but this is a great tool for business commuters and adventure seekers alike. The price is pretty well justified with the features, being an application for a mobile phone, it’s a keeper for me for sure. Now, in the opinions of many, this could be just a bit too much buck for the bang.

What we like:

• Awesome response time and pin-point accuracy
• Instant re-calibration for pit-stops, milkshakes, or human-error
• Soothing female HAL-like voice
• Solid voice-search functionality
• Weather-report feature
• Live traffic-incident reports on most major roads and highways

What we didn’t like:

• Telenav doesn’t offer a G1-friendly hardware holster
• Poor battery life with GPS/3G use
• Pricing plans only as subscriptions
• Traffic-incident details can only be viewed by pressing 0

The search function for businesses and places

The GPS travel user interface

The traffic and incident report features

The weather feature, GPS location by default but can be changed to any city or area

Please join me as we gaze in amazement at the T-Mobile G1 running the GP2X gaming platform consisting of MAME, SNES, and Genesis emulators, to name a few. The “GP2X G1/Android Emulator” is currently in pre-alpha, so don’t expect it to show up in the Android Market just yet. Still looks pretty good even at these early stages, though.

[Android GP2x World via Engadget]

Lookie, lookie. It seems that HTC’s next Android handset couldn’t avoid the geek paparazzi. We hear that this phone is the rumored HTC Hero and might get a release sometime in Q3 of this year, which sounds ’bout right if working handsets are already in the wild.

The overall design countiunes the cues set by both the G1 and Magic, but this incarnation doesn’t sport a track ball on the trademark chin. Also, it seems that this HTC handset might have a real life 3.5mm jack. Given HTC’s track record of Internet leaks, we’ll probably see more of this handset before too long.

Lookie, lookie. It seems that HTC’s next Android handset couldn’t avoid the geek paparazzi. We hear that this phone is the rumored HTC Hero and might get a release sometime in Q3 of this year, which sounds ’bout right if working handsets are already in the wild.

The overall design countiunes the cues set by both the G1 and Magic, but this incarnation doesn’t sport a track ball on the trademark chin. Also, it seems that this HTC handset might have a real life 3.5mm jack. Given HTC’s track record of Internet leaks, we’ll probably see more of this handset before too long.

It’s true! The built-in compass can be used as a metal detector, allowing you to detect keys that are very close to the phone. Is this particularly useful? Probably not, but now you can rub your phone against people like a stud finder and perhaps make new friends when you search for their “keys.”

Some folks at HDblog.it shot some video of the app in action. Worth a look.

via AndroidGuys

That quote was part of a message sent to the developer behind an application called WiFi Tether for Root Users, a very excellent program that basically turns your G1 into a wireless 3G hotspot.

This doesn’t mean that there won’t be a myriad of hacks and workarounds that allow you to tether your G1 on T-Mobile’s network, it just means that T-Mobile won’t ever be okay with it. Perhaps T-Mo will develop its own tethering app, but you can bet it’ll cost a pretty penny per month on top of what you’re already paying.

[via Android Community]

The question raised is this: will apps have to comply with all carriers’ terms of service once Android is on AT&T, Sprint and the like? That could lead to a lot of confusion. At the moment it’s hard to say since only T-Mobile’s terms apply, but it had better get hashed out soon or developers are going to get antsy.

If you’re savvy, you can still get the app and code here.

It’s available over at Amazon.com — buying it directly from T-Mobile will set you back $180, so this Amazon deal is pretty delicious.

T-Mobile G1 Phone [Amazon.com via Mobility Site]