G1 News

Truly, the only thing stopping me and many others from getting an HTC Hero the moment it was released was that they sexy ‘Sense’ interface was said to be more than a little laggy. Thankfully, HTC have sewn up the sole Achilles Heel of their top flight Android phone, as this video demo…well, demonstrates.

The update takes Rosie to the next level, making the phone a no-brainer for those looking for the slickest phone experience that isn’t Apple flavoured.

It seems like an imminent US release will be met with a nice shiny software update. Nice to see that the Brits only ever get things first when acting as guinea pigs…

Source: MoDaCo via Gizmodo

Earth shattering news in the mobile world as Nokia seems to be embracing Google’s Android operating system as the backbone for a new handset!

With the Nokia World annual conference looming in September, rumours are rife that the device will be unveiled at some point during the event. With the current Symbian interface being structurally sound but looking slightly archaic in the face of slick mobiles like the iPhone and Samsung Jet, Android is the perfect platform to launch both a visually arresting interface as well as a one which will offer a smooth online experience for browsing and sending mail.

The smartphone market has been heavily competitive in recent months, with many manufacturers targeting this lucrative sector as mid-range sales dwindle. With Nokia losing ground to the current generation of ‘casual’ smartphones from Samsung and Apple, a device combining the brand strength of the Finnish phone maker with a great user experience could reverse current fortunes.

The Nokia N97 has been a success, yet many feel it wasn’t a big enough step forward. This open source experiment seems set to show exactly what Nokia can do!

UPDATE: Nokia is pretty adamant that this is not true.

“There is no truth to this story whatsoever. It is a well known fact that Symbian is our platform of choice for smartphones.”

We can but dream…but the fact that Android is a direct competitor to the open source Symbian platform should really have started alarm bells ringing!

Source: Daily Telegraph

What a tangled web is weaved when navigating the mire of multitouch lawsuits.

Follow this:

- Palm shows off Palm Pre, chock full of lawyer baiting multitouch features that iPhone owners find familiar…

- iPhone makers Apple agree, threaten to sue pants off Palm for plagaristic Pre multitouch.

- Google breathes sigh of relief, admits that Android can do multitouch, but they flicked the switch to ‘off’, thinking that Apple might be protective of their multitouch tech.

- Chinese manufacturer Elan Microelectronics pop out of nowhere, threatening to sue pants off Apple for infringing on multitouch patents.

- Elan flicks Android multitouch switch to ‘on’, shows off ‘eFinger’ multitouch on their devices in vid below. Apple’s head explodes with rage (maybe).

Truth be told, multitouch looks pretty at home on Android! Let lawyer-battle commence!

Gizmodo sure knows how to stir the geek juices, and this three-way touchscreen battle between the T-Mobile G1, Apple’s iPhone and the new Palm Pre is certainly one of the juiciest.

They go into pretty graphic detail regarding the pros and not pros of each handset from hardware to web integration, and whilst the G1 doesn’t win quite as many rounds as it ought to (Cut & Paste? Really?), it still makes for some compelling reading.

Have a gander and make up your own minds.

My thoughts? Android is far more than just a new handset, and it is going to take a lot more than a banana QWERTY and a sweet user interface to take down the two big boys.

Let battle commence!

There is probably nowhere better to get some concrete Android info (apart from right here!) than the official Project site, and this time they have announced a host of upgrades they are making to their fluid operating system.

New features to be added include many refinements to the camera including stabilisation, video recording and playback, as well as bringing a sorely missed virtual keyboard to the touch screen. Finally!

More developments include MMS support as well as adding Bluetooth for stereo headphones! Who would have thought that so many things could be brought to Android/the T-Mobile G1 from simple firmware updates?

If only the iPhone could take a leaf out of the Cupcake development handbook, possibly the page headed ‘ADD SOME DAMN USEFUL FEATURES LIKE COPY & PASTE OR MMS OR DECENT BLUETOOTH SUPPORT’.

That would be a swell start.

Whilst Apple push away Adobe’s lustful advances, Google have been only too happy to embrace their essential Flash technology, with the result being the elusive ‘full web experience,’ running on a T-Mobile G1.

Director of mobile platforms at Google, Andy Rubin, was understandably pleased with this collaborative effort: “Adobe Flash is crucial to a rich Internet and content experience on mobile devices and we are thrilled that Google will be one of the first companies along with the Open Handset Alliance to bring Flash technology to the smartphone market.”

When it will actually be on our G1s is unclear, but certainly sooner rather than later given the stable nature the demo was reported to run at.

With this move, the iPhone becomes the only operating system not to run Flash content in some shape or form, despite being equipped with a full HTML browser in Safari.

Adobe still try to court Apple’s affections, however, with word that their new Flash 10 is optimised to perform well on Mac computers. Loosely translated, Adobe were saying: “We love Macs, we love Apple, help us help you on the iPhone!”

With Flash shown to be up and running on the G1, it might just be the thing to spur Jobs and Co. into action…

UPDATE: Here’s a video to see for yourselves the Flashy goodness the G1 will soon have! Very impressive…

Source: Android Community / I4U

With the launch of the handset over a week away, T-Mobile and Google must be all champagne and high-fives upon hearing that they have already managed pre-order sales to the tune of 1.5 million!

Despite the lack of a proven track record for both Google and their Android operating system, people are clamouring to get a hold of the touchscreen/typing wondermachine!

The hype machine has continued unabated, with those in the know spreading info about the device by word of mouth, rather than the blanket TV ads and “infinite money cheat=ON” method used by Apple with the iPhone.

T-Mobile are certainly ready for the influx of customers on Oct. 22nd, as they are rumoured to have in an extra 2 million handsets to cater for demand.

Must be good to know you’re onto a sure thing, so far before it’s even in the shops!

Source: moconews

The battle for touchscreen supremacy rages on, and with the Nokia 5800 throwing it’s plectrum covered hat into the ring only yesterday, this fight just got sexy!

Techradar goes into insane detail, exploring in great depth each phone’s respective strengths. The lack of video playback on the G1 really stuck in their throat, but with a slick new operating system and whizzy internet, the phone is definitely defending it’s corner well…

The T-Mobile G1 seems a little underpowered when lined up with the iPhone 3G and 5800 Xpressmusic, but arguably they are targeting pretty different markets, but with the crazy free spirit of Android, we hope the developers will create a software based solution to keep it in the game.