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Android Software Keyboard on G1

Nerd Grind — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:50:12 +0000

This is a demonstration of the Android’s Software Keyboard on a G1 phone. The Software Keyboard is from the cupcake development branch of Android.

T-Mobile Lowers G1 Price in the UK

Nerd Grind — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:18:52 +0000

Although T-Mobile only launched the Google Android G1 phone a little over a month ago on October 30, they’ve already started slashing prices to move them. Initially customers in the UK had to sign a £40 monthly contract in order to get the phone for free. Now new customers can get a free phone for a £30 tariff.

It sucks to be an early adopter.

Industry insiders say the price cut was necessary to help "overcome fierce competition from other high-end devices." T-Mobile denies the claim.

A T-Mobile spokesperson said:

"We have chosen to offer the device free with a £30 contract to make the pricing more competitive in light of recent device launches. We are well on track to achieve our sales forecasts."

Price cuts are always a good thing, as long as the quality of service doesn’t decline along with the price.

Coder Develops App to Enable Multi-Touch in G1

Nerd Grind — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:05:49 +0000

The G1 generally gets good reviews but one of the things reviewers note, across the board, is the absence of multi-touch support. A coder named Ryan Gardner has solved that problem. He authored an app that proves the G1 hardware will support the ability to use two fingers at once.

See for yourself in the video below. Gardner promises to post the app as soon as he finishes tidying up the code. Now the question remains, why wasn’t it already implemented by the original G1 software coders? Curious. Curious indeed.

Adobe Announces Flash Support for Windows Mobile – Apple iPhone Support Missing

Nerd Grind — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:47:35 +0000

Adobe is set to demonstrate a fully functional build of Flash on the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform today. The demonstration is going down at the Adobe MAX conference. That’s good news for some of you out there. The company also indicates that development for the Android platform is currently underway.

However, mum is the word regarding the Apple iPhone. The company says it is "up to Apple" but offers no indication as to what that means. This is disheartening considering months ago the company promised the program would be coming to the iPhone in "a very short time." A very short time, indeed.

American Airlines Offers Cellphone Boarding Passes on Certain Domestic Flights – Joins Continental

Nerd Grind — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:10:01 +0000

American Airlines has joined Continental in offering boarding pass barcodes that customers can download to their BlackBerry, iPhone, G1, etc. The airline will be allowing the service for domestic, non-stop flights departing from O’Hare, LAX and Orange County airports. Get your phones juiced because the service starts on November 17th. The company has offered no word as to when the service would be showing up at other airports.

Google G1 Android Ships with Reboot Bug

Nerd Grind — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:14:50 +0000

Reports are coming in that Android has shipped with a rather peculiar bug: The OS interprets every word as a command, and if you open up the keyboard and type r-e-b-o-o-t the G1 will do just that.

It will activate with other commands as well, so best avoid combinations of rm and rf. The bug affects any G1 with firmware version 1.0 TC4-RC29 or earlier. If you’ve already downloaded the RC30 update, then you are good.

Research Finds Samsung has Taken Over Number One Cellphone Spot Over Motorola

Nerd Grind — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:44:20 +0000

According to research by Strategy Analytics, Samsung is now the leading cellphone vendor in the US. The company’s ascension to the top spot has pushed Motorola into second place. During last quarter, Samsung managed to push it’s sales up 6.2 percent over the previous years results to 47.4 million handsets.

Motorola’s market share fell from 32.7 percent last year to just 21.1 percent this year. Sources indicate this is due to the lack of an Android-type phone until late next year, therefore the company has nothing to compete with the iPhones and the G1s of the world. Sorry Moto.

How to Manually Update your T-Mobile G1 from a MicroSD Card

Nerd Grind — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:32:12 +0000

The T-Mobile G1 phone does not require an over-the-air update to be upgraded to the new RC29 firmware. All you need is a MicroSD card.

WARNING: This update method is not supported by T-Mobile, or Google. If you brick your phone, it becomes a useless paperweight, and all your information gets lost, don’t say we didn’t warn you. On the upside, we haven’t heard of anyone having any problems, which means manual updates could become a routine option at a later date.

Here are the instructions to complete the manual update to the RC29 firmware:

1. Get the RC29 update from Google ( Download here )

2. Rename it the downloaded file from signed-kila-ota-115247-prereq.TC4-RC19+RC28.zip to update.zip, and place it in the root of your Micro SD card.

(Don’t forget to unplug your handset from Computer USB before proceeding for next step)

3. Turn off your G1, then turn it back on by holding the Home+End keys until you see an icon popup after the T-Mobile G1 logo.

4. From the icon screen, open the keyboard and hit Alt+L. This will display the log saying what is happening (although you can skip this step).

5. Now press Alt+S to begin the update. Remember, the update needs to be in the root of the Micro SD card and needs to be named update.zip.

6. Once it finishes, just follow the onscreen instructions and press Home+Back to finish.

7. The G1 will reboot a few times to flash different parts of the firmware.

T-Mobile Offers Firmware Upgrade for G1 – Able to be Manually Installed

Nerd Grind — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:08:32 +0000

T-Mobile’s RC29 upgrade for their G1 arrives on November 11th. For the impatient, there is a way to manually force the upgrade. Simply download the update and move it to a MicroSD card. That’s pretty much it. T-Mobile has warned that the manual upgrade isn’t officially supported, so if you muck up your G1 you are on your own. Also, the company has yet to reveal exactly what is on the upgrade. Curious yet?

G1 Ripped Open to Find Same Trackball that RIM Uses – Panasonic Board

Nerd Grind — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:15:35 +0000

The G1 has gone through a teardown so we can see what makes it tick. Several surprises were unearthed during the teardown, including that the trackball is basically identical to what RIM uses. Also of note: Panasonic built the main board and the compass was built by Asahi Kasei. Detractors note that the keyboard element seems too thin; ditto for the plastic bar connecting the sliding display to the phone.

NerdGrind - How-to Computer Help - Tutorials - Tech and Gadget News » G1

Android Software Keyboard on G1

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