Google Nexus One Available on AT&T 3G

With the Google Nexus One launch and the gadget show CES both taking place next week, it’s shaping up to be a weekend of hardware rumors. The latest requires the usual cautions: It’s a single anonymous source, and the parties involved have not commented publicly.

Nonetheless, BoyGeniusReport (which has a decent hit rate on its rumor reportage) claims that the Google Nexus One (aka “Google Phone“) will be made in an unlocked version compatible with AT&T’s 3G network:

“…we’ve heard from a source that there will be an AT&T 3G-compatible version of the Google Nexus One. Our connect described it as being a ’second’ unlocked model, with the T-Mobile-subsidized unit being locked to T-Mobile. Our tipster was so impressed by a Nexus One in person, they said they would 100% give up their T-Mobile BlackBerry 9700 for one when it’s available.”

So little is known about Google’s() deals with carriers that we’d urge caution on this until the Nexus One launch on Tuesday.

Android 1.1 update available

Google has issued an update for the unlocked version of the Android phone. The version is specifically made for developers.

Several bug fixes for issues that involve the alarm clock, device sleep, POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) email, and email notification are among the updates. Added to this includes the ability to save MMS attachments and voice search. As for matters of accessibility to applications, Google will only block those applications, regardless of whether they are free or paid, that use Google’s copy protection. Different from the consumer version which allows users to copy applications which are sold exclusively through T-Mobile’s Network. With this however, Google is blocking access to all copy protected applications, even for copy protected applications on the open device.

Dan Morrill, Developer Advocate for Android says “many developers are concerned about the unauthorized redistribution of their applications, developer phones like the ADP1 allow for unrestricted access to the device’s contents, making it impossible to enforce copy protection. If you choose to add copy protection when you upload your application to the Android Market, then you won’t be able to test it on the ADP1’s Android market client.”                 [via CNET]

TeleNav GPS Navigation Service for T-Mobile G1 Android phone

T-Mobile G1 owners will soon be able to use the feature-rich TeleNav GPS Navigator.  TeleNav made the official announcement this morning that their award winning software will be released on February 24th via their website, and will be available in the Android Marketplace later this year.  Android Community was given the opportunity to test out the program in advance of its release.

While the G1 comes preloaded with Google Maps, that app certainly falls short if you’re looking for the full PND experience on your phone.  Street View and directions are useful, but they’re no substitute for spoken instructions and dynamically-tracking maps.

The GPS Navigator displays directions in full color 2D and 3D maps with voice and on-screen turn-by turn directions in both landscape and portrait orientations.  I decided to literally take the program on a test-drive.  The database has a large, easy to search listing of businesses, restaurants, gas stations (which you can sort by price), shopping, entertainment, lodging, hospitals, services, etc.  You can do your search by entering a specific address, by voice or by text.  I found the voice recognition to be a bit buggy, so I opted to use the text entry method.

I decided to do a search for local restaurants.  It immediately brought up a list of nearby restaurants, indicating their distance from my current position and rating.  Once I chose one, I had the option to call the restaurant, rate it, drive to it, map it or save it to favorites.  I chose to drive to it and within a matter of seconds I had on screen directions to get me where I was going.  I found the GPS to be accurate to within about thirty to forty feet.  At one point, I purposefully made a wrong turn, and the program quickly recalculated my route for me.

One of my favorite aspects is the ability to go into the “My Stuff” file and create commute alerts.  You can enter specific routes, indicate the days and times during which you travel them and it will send you a traffic alert via email to warn you of congestion.  If you are already in route, and a traffic situation occurs, you will receive both a verbal and on-screen notification, with an option to find another route.

TeleNav offers current weather conditions and a five-day forecast for your present location, or any other location that you choose.  Another nice feature is the ability to sync your phone with your online account at www.telenav.com.  There you can add contacts, addresses and even spots to share with friends.  You can also pre-plan your trip online and then send it to your phone, bypassing the on-device text or voice entry altogether.  There are additional plug-ins available for download, including a TeleNav button with which you can highlight an address on the web, click the button and have it send that address to your phone.

Overall, I found the program to be very responsive, accurate and useful.  It is one that I can see myself using frequently, being a commuter in a large city, as well as a frequent traveler.  It can provide users with traffic information, maps, where to dine and lodge, movies, weather reports, and more all in one package with a very friendly user interface.

TeleNav is available for a free 30-day trial at http://www.telenav.com/gps-navigator/t-mobile-g1-phone.  After the trial period is over, you can continue the service for a subscription fee of $9.99 per month.

Google Voice Search, updates coming for T-Mobile G1

It’s no Cupcake, but T-Mobile G1 customers will receive newer firmware this week. Starting Thursday, February 5, T-Mobile will send subscribers an over-the-air update that adds:

• Google Voice Search
• The ability to save MMS messages/files
• A feature that searches for system updates
• Bug fixes and new features that address known issues

A small group of G1 users have already received the OTA RC33 update, and T-Mobile will roll out the update to other subscribers from February 5 – 15. It will be the first widespread firmware upgrade since T-Mobile confirmed that it had no immediate plans to release the “Cupcake” update. However, RC33 does provide one feature (the ability to save MMS content) originally promised in Cupcake, meaning it’s likely that we’ll see more of those features rolled out over time rather than in one massive cell phone upgrade.Disappointed subscribers should take solace in the G1 finally getting Google Voice Search, which has been available for the iPhone since November. The iPhone version of the Google Mobile application performs type-free search queries, can deliver results based on location, and launches Gmail or other Google services through voice commands. One can only assume and hope that the Android offering can perform similar features.Here is the official message posted on the T-Mobile support forum:

As some have posted, we have indeed begun issuing an update to G1 users. The update, Firmware version 1.1 / RC33, was released to a small number of users today, but will be sent to all G1 users over the next two weeks. The update includes several bug fixes and feature enhancements, but is not ‘Cupcake’.You need not take any action as the update is issued at random and will reach everyone in due time.For those interested in exactly what is included in the update, I will follow up tomorrow and post any information I am able to track down.Thanks for your patience!

New RC33 G1 Firmware Update Begins Rollout

It appears that a new G1 firmware update is currently being rolled out to T-Mobile users. The new update is RC33 and sadly is not the Cupcake update we’ve all been waiting for.

With only a handful of users so far having received the update, it is still not certain what new functionality (if any) and fixes the new RC33 update brings.

“To ensure a great experience with the T-Mobile G1 with Google, customers with these devices will receive an Over the Air (OTA) update to their devices between February 5 and February 15. This OTA will include new system enhancements such as the ability to save pictures or files to file by long-pressing an item, check for system updates, and use the Google Voice Search feature. The OTA will also fix a number of known issues. New G1 activations will receive the OTA up to three days after service has been activated.”

If you’re one of the lucky few to have received the new firmware already, let us know in the comments.

Dell Planning To Launch Android Powered Handset?

According to sources quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Dell are “preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month.”

The news comes just weeks before the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, where many cell phone manufacturers are expected to make their big announcements.

The Round Rock, Texas, company has had a group of engineers working on the phones for more than a year from an office in the Chicago area, these people said. They produced prototypes built on Google Inc.’s Android operating system and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile software, these people said.

Sources claim that smartphone protypes included a QWERTY-less touchscreen model and another with a sliding keyboard.

Android App Breaking T-Mobile G1?

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.

Android G2 Outed

Oops–looks like someone from smartphone makers HTC leaked its 2009 handset lineup. Included in the details is what appears to be the second Android phone, which may or may not end up being called the G2.

Look at the shape of the phone: Codenamed the Sapphire 2.0, there’s the same tilted chin and in the image there’s what looks like the “my faves” button on the bottom row. It looks pretty much like an uprated Google/T-Mobile G1 from a design point of view–and it also seems to have taken a leaf out of the iPhone 3G’s design book with black and white options, and a curvier form-factor than generation one.

There’s no technical data in the leak, but it’s easy to speculate the phone will incorporate more memory and a faster CPU/GPU. While the image doesn’t show a keypad, from the phone’s general shape it looks like there’s enough bulk to conceal a sliding QWERTY–unless it’s deceiving and the G2 will be touchscreen-only.

In the same leak there’s a handset that appears to be the Wing 2–it’s codenamed Tungsten, has similar design elements to the Sapphire 2, minus the chin, and with this time a sliding QWERTY keypad showing.

Both are apparently destined for T-Mobile, which makes sense given how much fuss and excitement the G1 caused. Expect more leaks with technical data over the coming months.

Android cash market still on track for Q1 2009

Google’s Android Market team wanted to finish off the year by reminding developers that the “apps for pay” market will still be launching in Q1 of 2009. An e-mail was sent out to the registered developers of the Android Market, stating that the service will soon be going live. Due to payment support systems for multiple countries, staggered roll-out will go to (1) United States and UK; (2) Germany, Austria and Netherlands; (3) France, Italy and Spain with additional countries to be announced at the end of Q1 09. The e-mail also lets developers know that they will now be able to tailor their apps for different markets. When launching an app, developers will chose which countries it will launch in. This should help keep the market clean for users. There have already bee a handful of apps that are country of language specific that should not be visible to the entire market.

If you want to read the entire e-mail, be sure to hit the read more link. Thanks to TalkAndroid for the news.

Hello,

Thank you for your participation in Android Market!

Since we launched a couple months ago, the team has been working on
several significant updates to Android Market. I’d like to let you know
about these upcoming changes and what they will mean to you and other
members of our developer community.

Many of you have asked about international expansion plans. I’m happy to
inform you that Android Market will become available to users to download
apps in additional European countries starting early Q1 2009. Some of the
countries we will initially support are Germany, Austria, Czech Republic
and the Netherlands. As we add support for additional countries in Europe
and Asia, we will send out subsequent notifications to you. In
mid-January, we will update the Android Market publisher website to enable
country targeting. Please start thinking about which countries you want to
target and begin preparing your products accordingly (e.g.,
localization). Note that your apps will not become available in these new
countries unless you specifically select them in the publisher website,
after we update it.

Additionally, I would like to confirm that Android Market will support
priced applications starting early Q1 2009, as we’d originally stated last
fall. Given the country-by-country work required to set up payment support
for developers in different countries, we will enable priced app support
in Q1 for developers operating in these countries in the following order:
(1) United States and UK; (2) Germany, Austria and Netherlands; (3)
France, Italy and Spain. By the end of Q1 2009, we will announce support
for developers operating in additional countries. Developers operating in
the above listed countries should begin finalizing their priced
applications, including determining the appropriate pricing strategy.

Finally, please note that our team may need to occasionally contact you
via email or the publisher website to collect necessary product
information (such as screenshots and descriptions). This information would
be used for the Android Market website, found at
http://market.android.com, which gives applications a second channel of
exposure via the web in addition to the normal on-device access.

We will send out additional details on all these items in the coming
weeks. Thanks for your support, and we look forward to continue working
with you on Android Market.

Eric Chu,
Android Market

Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Android running Python, Still a little rough

A lot of people are getting into development mode and really tearing into their T-Mobile G1, but developing in Java doesn’t seem to suit just anyone these days. For those open source fanatics out there who prefer Python to java have we got a treat for you.

Damon over at damonkohler.com has managed to install Python on his G1 with the help of his friends Manuel and Thomas. As you can imagine this is still a bit rough around the edges, but will only get better with time. It sure is exciting to see what users are coming up with when they tear into their G1.

Here’s an early Christmas present for all those Python fanatics (self included) out there! With a lot of help from my friends (thanks Manuel and Thomas!) I managed to install Python 2.4.5 on my G1. It’s still rough around the edges, but I think it’s a good start. Klaus Reimer has a nice overview of how to cross-compile Python. My instructions borrow a lot from his.

This method is not for anyone however. Only those who know how to apply patches and compile code should attempt this method as it does have its risks.

Assessing Android’s potential in 2009

Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in the cell phone industry this year was the final release of the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream), and with it, the first commercial version of the Android operating system.

Even though we thought the G1 itself left much to be desired, we were impressed overall at the potential of the Android OS, and encouraged that Google’s Open Handset Alliance might finally move the open-source platform forward. But, of course, Google faces great challenges ahead just in terms of market share–Symbian and Windows Mobile have a huge stake in the smart phone market, not to mention the Apple iPhone and RIM’s line of BlackBerrys.

Still, there are several indications that 2009 might be the year Android truly comes into its own. We’ve heard news that Sony Ericsson and HTC are planning new Android phones in time for summer next year; Chinese company Huawei is developing an Android smart phone; and Samsung has revealed plans for a “full touch screen” Android handset by next year as well.

But even more than that is the ever-evolving nature of the Android operating system itself–because it is an open-source platform, it’s built to be nimble and open to change. Already, we’ve seen plans to add stereo Bluetooth support, video capture, and the ability to save MMS attachments to the next Android build, a mere two to three months after the G1’s release.

But with that potential come the limitations of hardware and carrier restrictions. We mentioned in our review of the G1 that we weren’t too thrilled with the odd placement of the keyboard and the lack of a standard headphone jack. So here’s hoping future Android devices will resolve these issues, and perhaps add a little more flexibility–the ability to do data tethering would be nice –so that the OS can truly shine.

What do you readers think? Are you looking forward to an Android phone next year? What would you want out of it? Let us know.

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