G1 News

I know most of you already have your Cupcake updates working nice and smooth, how’s about having another detailed look at the slick and sexy interface of HTC Rosie, running on a T-Mobile G1!

Said to come with the new HTC Hero, these videos from Androidpit.de show off everything! The slick bookmarks, the new side-scrolling, the music player, all of it is gone over in massive detail!

The interface is set to German, but you’ll still get a great idea of what’s going on when you have a look!

Join my Twitter! It’s great! I write loads of stuff, and then it gets cut off because I only have 140 characters! You’ll love it!

www.twitter.com/TMoG1News

Haven’t got that many followers…but you can change that!

Update: Cheers guys, have got loads of new followers! Hold on tight to the tweet train, WHOO WHOO! (Sorry, I’ve had a lot to drink this morning, and am high on new subscribers!)

In a final act of defiance against the evil leakers of his HTC Hero firmware, G1 developer Haykuro has released his own version for download!

Installing this isn’t for the faint of heart, but seeing as we T-Mobile G1 owners might never get this officially, enjoying the awesome new menus and interface of Android via this new firmware is an opportunity too good to pass up!

It’s not perfect with some features such as Bluetooth not working as yet, but as he says he has homework to finish, I’m going to cut him a bit of slack…because Rosie is amazing!

Okay, it’s up on XDADevelopers now for download, as are the instructions. I’m about to try and do it, will let y’all know how it goes, maybe even a video demo how-to!

Installation is as follows:

Installation:
1. Download http://www.droiddeveloper.com/hrbuilds/app_s.zip
2. extract “app_s” into your sdcard’s ext2 partition.
3. Download http://www.droiddeveloper.com/hrbuilds/hero-signed.zip
4. Place on regular sd card.
5. Reboot into recovery, wipe and flash.
6. Enjoy.

Farewell Cupcake, I hardly knew ye…

UPDATE: Check the comments for some detailed instructions, courtesy of AB. Cheers, but use them at your own risk!

Source: Android Central

Another detailed look at the new firmware for the HTC Hero, demonstrated on the T-Mobile G1 by resident development genius Haykuro.

A good look at the latest build, complete with Twitter client and more detailed look at the home screens.

Sad part – unscrupulous folks have managed to leak Haykuro’s ROM, and his general loss of faith in the community has made him upset enough to take early retirement.

We’ll miss your updates, Haykuro, you made our G1s much happier when you were around!

Say what you like about the HTC Hero looking exactly like the result of a steamy night of congress between the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic, the interface is super slick!

The Rosie version of Android may ditch the dessert-based naming conventions, but it makes up for it by being awesomely awesome! Watch out for the smooth rotation of the images, finally a handset catching up with the iPhone!

I know it might all just be mock-ups for the camera, but it’s gonna be close…

Good ad for it got leaked, Android Community did the right thing and stuck it up!

I don’t know, might go for this instead of the Magic as my Android upgrade…what about you guys?

T-Mobile is do to be backing Android heavily into this year, and are slated to have four phones powered by the new OS. We’ve just seen the latest one, dubbed the Motorola Morrison.

Looking similar to the ‘Bigfoot‘ in terms of form, the Morrison is a slider in the vein of the HTC Touch Pro, hiding a QWERTY keyboard behind the screen.

Further specs are unfortunately thin on the ground, but it’s interesting to see how similar the form factor is for all these devices! Not that free when making touchscreen phones, it turns out…the G1 is starting to look pretty unique!

Motorola is indeed the third partner for T-Mo hinted at earlier, and it proves that some big player are really committed to Android moving forward, with some needing it to be a success for them more than others.

If you aren’t as technically savvy as a NASA control centre operator and just want Cupcake in your G1 early, it seems like you can do it without rooting your G1. I know, right? Great news!

Oddly, you do need the Blighty version of Android 1.5, but it will work okay in your US G1…provided you follow the darned instructions!

This is courtesy of bigfoot85t and Android Central, by the by, full disclosure and all that!

1. Head over to the T-mobile Forums to download the UK version of Android 1.5 Cupcake
2. Put the downloaded file into your SD card
3. Turn ur phone off and re-boot it holding the home button
4. When you see the triangle hit alt+L
5. Then alt+S
6. Press home and back when it tells you to (to reboot your phone)
7. It’ll say installing Radio after you hit home+back (thats normal)
8. It’ll reboot a couple times and after you see the new Android loading screen, you’ve got Cupcake.
9. When Android 1.5 for the US comes out repeat the process with the US download

Being the UK version of Cupcake, you see how hobo-fabulous us guys in the UK live, without snazzy things like Voice Search and Amazon MP3. Them’s the breaks, but you know that you can upgrade to the real deal when it does come out, so worry not and enjoy early!

I feel for you guys, I really do. Whilst the roll-out seems to have gone without incident in the UK and Europe, the US launch of Google’s Android 1.5 “Cupcake” update has faced yet more delays!

An official announcement seems to be telling the US to sit on their hands for a bit and wait:

G1 Community,

We’d like to provide an update on the rollout of Android 1.5 for T-Mobile G1 customers.
We are working diligently to get Android 1.5 out as soon as possible, while aiming to ensure a consistent, positive experience for our customers. We’re finalizing the build this week to ensure optimal functionality and smooth delivery. Therefore, the rollout schedule has been reset by approximately a week, and we expect all G1 customers will have the update by early June.

Your device will notify you when the update is available.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.” T-Mobile USA update

Many, including SlashGear, think that it’s the T-Mo tinkering – the addition of MyFaves etc. – that has caused this minor setback.

Well, the delivery thus far has been all but smooth, let’s give them the extra time they need to get it out and get it right. It’s worth the wait.

See you in early June, then?

We get a glimse of what the “with Google” back tattoo on the UK HTC Magic and T-Mobile G1 actually means, now as without them the Singapore Magic is without the search box, extensive branding and “Google-ised” mail requirements. This version rather has a suite of programs developed by HTC themselves, running off the back of Android.

HTC’s Eric Lin clarifies the “with Google” situation somewhat:

“This simple phrase indicates that the phone has a pure Google experience – no customizations have been made to the software. The Magic being sold in most of Asia is not a Google experience phone so we have started to put some of the HTC special sauce into Android.”

That sause is pretty special as the modded Android device comes with mail support for Microsoft Exchange, predictive text input, an improved camera interface and extra widgets. The “with Google” distinction explains so much careful manufacturer and network talk when the G1 was released in the UK…

Better camera and Exchange support? Get me some Google free cupcakes!

Android Central has been lucky enough to get their hands on what is apparently the T-Mobile US Android Cupcake release schedule, and guess what? You shouldn’t have it yet, and you’re lucky if you have!

• 5% of Android Devices will receive the Android 1.5 Cupcake Update on Monday, May 18th
• 15% on Tuesday, May 19th
• 30% on Wednesday, May 20th
• 45% on Thursday, May 21st
• 60% on Friday, May 22nd
• 75% on Saturday, May 23rd
• 90% on Sunday, May 24th
• 100% on Monday, May 25th

That’s why many of you are still sans Cupcake. But nice to know that in the next 10 days everything will be sorted!

Then you can pine for the Android Donut 2.0 update, and the cycle continues…