G1 News

Opera Mini 4.2 for Android is now out of beta and they are offering the done-and-dusted version on the Android Market!

Improvements and enhancements (beyond stabilising and bug fixes) include:

- access to the memory card for uploading and downloading

- the ability to save web pages on the memory card

- support for video playback

- scaling of the browser by a double tap

- use of inline URL entry instead of the native Android textbox

- password text entry to show hidden characters

Less exciting fixes include improved trackball responsiveness and transitions between web pages.

Opera Mini 4.2 for Android is available now, for free, so download and let us know what you think of it!

Source: Engadget Mobile

With the Android operating system said by many to have been created purely for Google to tap into mobile ads, so you would have thought they had planned for every contingency. A huge step towards getting some of those advertising dollars was when AdWords was updated to work with HTML browsers on mobile phones, meaning targetted ads with you, wherever you go!

However ad agency AdMob has been clever enough to circumvent Android, producing an API which allows app developers to stick sponsored links into their programs and make money that way.

With devs still unable to charge for their applications on the Android Market, they are only too happy to put AdMob in there, and recoup some of their development costs through ad revenue.

AdMob vice president Alib Diab said, “We are already seeing strong interest in developing applications for Android-based devices, similar to what we saw with the iPhone last summer, and are very excited to take the lead in helping developers monetize their applications on this fast-growing device platform.”

The iPhone is full of ad-sponsored apps that allow them to be given away for free, but Google must be mad that a potential revenue stream was overlooked. Let’s see how they combat the situation as the freedom of an open source platform comes back to bite them!

Here’s a video showing in more detail and clarity exactly what we might never get to enjoy in the Android 1.5 (Cupcake!!!) update for the T-Mobile G1…

Included is the virtual keyboard which eschews the need for Sidekick-ing your phone to write a text, and an impressive Global Time application which makes even Google Earth on the iPhone look a bit budget.

Play it on repeat until T-Mobile tells us when we can get some Cupcake action!

Source: Mobile Crunch

You remember that slightly funky release pattern where if your part of the US wasn’t covered by T-Mobile’s 3G reception, the decided not to release the G1 in those stores?

Well, that’s over now, so rejoice in your EDGE connection and buy a T-Mobile G1 anyway!

So, go to your local T-Mobile retailer and check out what you’ve been missing! Just don’t try to download anything if you’ve got somewhere else to be…

Finally, after what has felt like an eternity there is a decent app for music lovers on the T-Mobile G1 (sorry Imeem, no offense!).

Last FM’s release on Android follows a successful launch on the App Store, and is largely the service we have grown accustomed to over the years.

The perfect playlist of tracks, artists and friends’ favourites are totally welcome to the G1, with the added allure of background playback whilst performing other functions! One over the old iPhone, there…

Source: SimplyAndroid

A new app called MemoryUp Personal is getting a lot of attention from the G1 community at the moment, for all the wrong reasons.

It seems that the app is ‘ a handy memory optimiser tool to keep your Android smartphone running faster and efficiently,’ yet does its job a bit too well and has the potential to wipe your entire handset’s memory.

With over 1,000 ratings, some G1 owners’ experiences with the app has made for pretty damning reviews!  Users like “kr33p1n” reported, “Doesn’t work at all erased my phone numbers and froze my phone,” whilst others have said it works fine but the problem is with the phone’s own hardware.

Either way, this issue raises the problem of a lack of restrictions or testing process in the Android Market. For every 10 developers allowed to exercise their freedom and create great applications, there may be one who makes an app that wipes all my data and contacts.

That is one app too many.

I haven’t decided whether or not to check this app for myself, as I have grown quite attached to the personal data on my SD card, but judging by those reviews MemoryUp is more trouble than it’s worth.

Source: Electric Pig

Courtesy of Android Authority, a hands-on impression of the new Sapphire 2.0 / T-Mobile G2, compared to the original G1.

As well as confirming the T-Mobile G2 pictures doing the rounds as real, here are the salient points picked out from the G2 feedback:

• The OS looks pretty much like that on the G1 (at the mo)
• The phone body itself looks nice, and has a smaller ‘chin’ than the G1 (yay!)
• It is solidly built, and quite a bit lighter than the G1
• The paint is a smooth and shiny pearly white color
• The button to the left of the trackball is the Home key, not a MyFaves key

• Auto-focus camera, but still no flash (told you!)
• Still no video (though again, this is pre-production software)
• It uses the same screen as the G1
• Auto-rotation works only for certain apps, like the browser.  No auto-rotate support for the home screen or main menu at this point
• Still no 3.5mm headphone jack (d’oh!)
• All the “iPhone lovers” seem to love the virtual keyboard
• The virtual keyboard works in both landscape and portrait modes

So…all pretty interesting. Is definitely an evolutionary rather than revolutionary leap, but that’s what a 2.0 is though, right? The good/bad conclusion that she reached after playing with the G2:

“…basically a G1 without the keyboard.”

Still awfully exciting to see the Android interface being beefed up with nice hardware!

With only 400 applications released on the Android Market as opposed to over 10,000 on the App Store, the T-Mobile G1 might have fewer, but far more exciting exclusives which take advantage of the open source platform…all free!

Android’s open source operating system allows all and sundry to create programs with few restrictions. The following are some of the best Android-only applications available, compiled by MSN!

1. Ringdroid

Use Ringdroid to create ringtones, alarms or notifications on the phone from any MP3 files on the handset, or from your SD card. The program even has a button allowing you to record anything in the real world and turn it into a ringtone!

2. MyCloset

The app for fashion forward folks, MyCloset allows you to use your mobile phone to accessorise and create the perfect wardrobe! Create an inventory of clothes and shoes, and let MyCloset choose what to wear! Going on holiday? MyCloset checks the weather where you are going, and then creates the perfect ensemble to take with you!

3. Ecorio

One of the big winners in the Android Developer’s Challenge, Ecorio lets you use your G1 to play your part in saving the world!

Using GPS, Ecorio monitors where you go (and how quickly you’re getting there) in a car or a bus, and will give you a daily tally of the trips you make. It is an easy way to track your mobile carbon footprint, and do what you can to reduce it accordingly.

The program is also a resource for users who want to know about transport and car sharing opportunities in their vicinity.

On the Ecorio site, the students said they created the program because “people care about climate change, but don’t understand how to connect their daily actions to the bigger picture.”

4. ShopSavvy (with a version localised for Europe released on January 15th)uses your G1’s camera to snap barcodes of any product. It then gives you cheap prices online as well as in shops, as well as reviews of them.

So whilst there are only free apps at the moment, the G1 definitely has a wide range of titles making the most of Android!

Truphone Anywhere is an application for Wi-Fi enabled handsets that lets users make cheap international calls. Currently the Truphone application is available on iPhone, Blackberry and Nokia devices. Truphone even works on an iPod touch turning your MP3 player into a mobile phone. From today the Truphone Anywhere application is now available for Android enabled devices, including the recently released G1 phone. Truphone works in 33 countries and saves users a vast amount of money in making international calls to those countries. Truphone also works really well with instant messaging. From one application Truphone users can use instant meassaging on a variety of networks such as MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and Twitter. Truphone will soon incorporate Skype messaging and Skype calls.

Much easier than you would think to import your fave musical playlists from iTunes onto your T-Mobile G1, without breaking (much of) a sweat. You do however, need a PC/Mac to get going, and it is a bit of a homebrew solution, but it works…

1. Connect your T-Mobile G1 to the computer.

2. If a ‘Music’ folder doesn’t already exist on the memory card, create one! Calling it ‘Music’ would be a wise choice.

3. We are simply going to drag-and-drop the playlist from iTunes into the G1, so create an appropriately named playlist folder.

4. Open up iTunes, and bring up the relevant playlist.

5. Tap CTRL + A / Command + A on a Mac to select all.

6. Simply drag and drop the entire list onto the G1’s playlist folder. This moves the actual tracks, rather than the specific order of play (the order will be done in a sec!). The files will then move across to the handset.

7. Next, go back to iTunes, and right click on the playlist, and select ‘Export Song List’. Export it as an XML file, and save it to the desktop.

8. Close iTunes, and go to http://www.davidlomas.com/playlistconverter/. Here is a playlist converter!

9. Where it says ‘iTunes song list to convert,’ click Browse and select the XML we exported.

10. Click ‘Okay,’ but the newly file doesn’t get the .m3u suffix it so desperately needs, rather it just gets renamed to the first word of your song.

11. That’s okay, just rename the file to your required playlist title, and add the ‘.m3u’ suffix manually. It’ll say some jive, but it’s okay because you want an .m3u file!

12. You now have your playlist! Go back to your G1, take the .m3u and stick it in your folder! It’ll be the same songs, in the same order!

13. Enjoy your musical wonderland of iTunes playlists in your T-Mobile G1!

Source: TodayIFeelLike