G1 News

Motorola Droid fans rejoice!

If you want a little bit of freedom to download custom themes, application and games onto your fancy new Android device, you need to perform a little magic that goes by the name of ‘rooting’ the device.

It works on both the original Android 2.0 that the handset ships with, as well as the new Android 2.0.1 software update which was recently released as an update for the Droid.

AllDroid once again to thank for the honours…

Step 1 (Recommended): Update to the latest Android 2.0.1 (over the air) software update.

Step 2: Download the file for Android 2.0.1 OTA update for Motorola Droid posted in the AllDroid forum here.

Step 3: Rename the .zip file that you downloaded in Step 2 to update.zip.

Step 4: Move it to the SD Card on your phone.

Step 5: Turn off the DROID, then power back on while holding the X key.

Step 6: When you see a “/!\” symbol, press both the vol+ button and the camera.

Step 7: Now simply follow the onscreen menu to install update.zip file.

Step 8: Reboot your Droid phone.

Now you’re rooted! Your Droid is ready to roll if you want to do anything from adding a fancy new theme to sprucing up the browser!

Flying in the face of recent statements, Gameloft have issued a press release unveiling plans to launch High Definition gaming on the new breed of Android phones including the Motorola DROID/MILESTONE and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, as well as cementing their support of current generation Google-powered devices.

Earlier this week, Gameloft’s finance director Alexadre de Rochefort spoke of scaling back investment for the fledgling platform, citing iPhone sales as being 400 times higher than on Android Market for their games in the last quarter, as well as a lack of assistance from Google in the promotion of titles.

Whilst the press release places a great deal of emphasis on referring to the ‘2nd generation’ of Android phones, it seems as though Gameloft are attmempting to clarify their intentions of maintaining a presence on the operating system, at present as well as in the future.

In that case, are they scaling back investment, or not?

This latest announcement does little to play down rumours that Gameloft may concentrate their efforts on iPhone in the meantime, with a view to ramping up Android development once the platform has a bigger slice of the smartphone market and a wider range of handsets available to consumers.

A European version of the Motorola DROID Google phone revealed last week in the US has also arrived on retailer sites across Western Europe, now daubed with the name ‘MILESTONE’.

Available in November on the O2 and Vodafone networks in Germany and Italy respectively, the Motorola MILESTONE sports some interesting new features that separate it from the iPhone-botherer on the other side of the Atlantic.

The MILESTONE’s Android operating system seems tweaked to access features not found on the US DROID, namely pinch and zoom support.

Multi-touch is certainly a welcome function, and will certainly be put to good use when browsing the web on the 3.7″ TFT display.

However, Motorola’s new Android phone has been confirmed to not be shipping with the impressive Google Maps Navigation software that debuted on the DROID, instead opting for a proprietary MOTONAV service.

We hope that Maps Navigation for Europe is in the works and on the way!

Core features like the 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, slick slider form factor and push mail support remain intact, but the memory card included has been trimmed from 16GB to 8GB.

The price on O2’s German site is €481, but everything seems fairly quiet regarding a UK Motorola Milestone release date, let alone pricing…

What Moto giveth, Moto also taketh away. Which features would you prefer to see on the MILESTONE?

Be still my beating heart.

Just as we thought the plucky T-Mobile G1 was about to be left behind as the Motorola DROID and Android 2.0’s charms courted everyone’s attention, a man named Akira Harada has given us all hope by porting it across to the original Google phone!

Whilst the update isn’t fully optimised, and the G1 does need to be “rooted” for this to work (instructions here), the video proof shows that it is a risk I will be willing to take for Android awesomeness.

Expect to see it on XDA Developers any time from now, and a link to it from our site about 15 minutes later.