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Category: Tmobile G1

Google Android 1.5 code name Cupcake released May 11 2009


Thursday May 14, 2009

Reading Time: 3 minutes

T-Mobile G1 users will be getting an OTA (over-the-air) upgrade to the Android 1.5 “Cupcake” which is being pushed by T-Mobile randomly this month. Some of the features that are coming with the upgrade should have been there on the initial release and have been far pass due.

Some of the new features include an on-screen QWERTY keyboard (which helps prepare for the next Google phone which rumors say will be released this summer as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G). Other enhancements on the Cupcake include direct photo upload to Picasa and video upload to YouTube with the option to make them public or private. The picture or recorded video can also be sent as MMS and type in a title or caption.  Faster browser thanks to the new JavaScript and webkit engines.

A new radio has been added on this release which should help the battery life as well. A few things that were not mentioned on the release also include contacts photo appearing next to the contacts name, home screen widgets, voice search, and of course a call log that makes sense. The Android 1.0 told you how long ago the last call was made but not what time. The Android 1.5 displays what time the last call was made (this feature should have been available on the 1.0 release).

Would you like a Cupcake?

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While surfing the web doing some research on the next phone I want to get my hands on I came across some news on the new HTC Magic (what some rumors say is the Android G2), codename Sapphire 2.0 which was just released couple of days ago on February 17th, 2009 to Vodafone customers outside of United States. Every HTC device has a codename that is given before the release of the device.

HTC and Google have made great improvements from the first release of T-Mobile G1 by. The HTC Magic has followed other phones such as the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and Touch HD in taking off the slide out keyboard and having an on screen keypad like the iPhone or HTC Diamond.

A cool feature I noticed on some of the videos is a wide screen keyboard. The traditional camera which was on the T-Mobile G1 now has capability to record videos as well as take pictures. It’s not clear whether or not the T-Mobile version which will be released sometime this summer in the states will have the same features or not but we’ll have to wait and find out.

This phone is slightly thicker than the iPhone but feels like the same size. Great improvement in design since the G1. The only flaw most tech journalists found was the keyboard was a bit cramped but 3rd party keyboards will probably be available soon.

For those that are wondering, the HTC Magic is running on the Google Android Cupcake, incase you want to try implementing it on a Windows Mobile device as was done with the first release of Android. Click here for Google Android for WM found on XDA Developers =)

Do you think the HTC Magic has anything on the iPhone? What are your thoughts on the new HTC Magic?

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Google launched their G1 phone last year with the Android OS. Now you can get the Android OS on you Windows Mobile device without having to switch phones. XDA Developers, an online community that promotes tweaks and upgrades for your Windows Mobile device.

This isn’t a hack of any sort. Its simply a Linux image running on Windows allowing you to launch Android. Best part is, unlike a ROM update from XDA Forums which replaces your Windows Mobile OS, you do not need to flash your device to run Google Android. A simple soft reset of your device (re-boot) will launch the Linux application.

Have you tried running Android on you Windows Mobile yet?

Learn how you can run Android on your Kaiser (ATT Tilt/8925)

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T-Mobile partners with Google in releasing the new T-Mobile G1 phone. G1 will be the first phone released to run Android, a new operating system by Google. HTC, the manufacturer of most Windows Mobile Devices in the market has partnered up with Google to release this new line of mobile phones.
What features does the T-Mobile G1 have?
Touch screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, slide your finger to unlock, icons on Home screen, downloadable App store and music store, Google Maps (like you’ve never seen before), full-screen Web browsing, accelerometer that rotates the screen when you turn the phone 90 degrees,
full QWERTY keyboard, voice activated dialing, memory expansion slot, etc.
The Android, a Linux based OS, doesn’t beat the iPhone user interface but sure leaves a lot of room for customization being that its an open source platform for the community to develop new programs. It does beat the Windows Mobile OS since it’s known to slow down over time, Android being a Linux based OS probably will not encounter such issues. I myself am a Windows Mobile user and cannot imagine using anything else (although Darin would go for the iPhone over a Windows Mobile any day).
You can pre-order your new Google T-Mobile G1 Phone now. Click here for the Google Phone