My G1 totin buddy Ethan Cox told me yesterday that his wife was getting T-mobile 3G bars over at Buffalo General Hospital. He didn't have it, and a glance down at my device let me know I didn't either. Today I was gallivanting about in Williamsville when 3G lit up for the first time. it kept kicking in and out then dropped to edge when I came in to Lancaster/Depew. Arriving home I'm back in the warm and battery draining embrace of 3G. This is right on schedule too. The MyTouch was just released, and August was about when I said it would turn on so I'm pretty happy.

Back in November, I wrote about the discovery that while Multi-touch wasn't available on the HTC Dream (aka the T-Mobile G1), the Synaptics screen had the capabilities for two-fingered gestures. This was discovered by developer Ryan Gardner, who found that the kernal driver had lines commented out that watched for the second input. His methods were simple, though it required a recompile, and a flurry of rumors started as to why multi-touch was disabled if the G1 had screens to support it. HTC and Google stayed out of it, with only HTC stepping up once to say that the G1 was only ever meant to be a single touch device. However, the Android community wouldn't take no for an answer, and today we have working evidence that should bring more light into what the G1 can do in terms of Multi-touch, and why it will never be supported, on the G1 at least. Android Developer Luke Hutch has managed to activate multi-touch without having to recompile the kernal, and only rewriting one classfile. He has a video demonstrating his application, and explains the current limitations of mulititouch. Luke says that the Synaptics screen is not a true 2D touchscreen, but rather a 2x1D, which basically means that it's hella responsive for single input, but would cause overlapping touchvalues when fingers cross the x or y axis. He does show that gestures like swipe and pinch would work, but rotation and other complex gestures would not be possible on the current hardware.

What does this mean?

Nothing. Unless the Android Source team decides to support this (read: NO), it will never make it on the G1. It would also be foolish for developers to write gesture only applications at this time, seeing that the only people to benefit are developers themselves. This is not an end-user solution, and though the community is still looking for official multi-touch on the G1, the answer today is still "well, yes.. but no." You can check out his very detailed explaination, as well as download the sourcecode for free at his site: http://lukehutch.wordpress.com/android-stuff/

Oh me of little faith. And here I was thinking the goodness wouldn't come to the G1 till Summer of 2009... The core Android development team just announced a roadmap for  a special branch of code, called "cupcake" that will be merging into the main branch in January 2009, giving much needed fixes and features to G1 users.

via the roadmap - During Android's transition to an open-source project, some development has continued to happen in a private branch.  We are working to move the rest of these changes into the open as soon as possible, and all future open-source work will happen in the public git repositories.  All changes that have already been submitted to the public repositories will be merged into the newer code base, so nothing should be lost.

Click though the jump to read about some of the features and improvements that cupcake has for the G1.

• MMS - The ability to save attachments, plus some performance increases when scrolling through conversations lists
• Email - Fixes most if not all of the bugs and troubles facing those using the Email (not Google Mail) app. Noted improvement handling POP3/IMAP connectivity.
• Alarm clock - has its own intent and the alarm fires directly. Fixes issue where some modal dialog boxes block the alarm.
• Music player - allows for music to fade back in after a call ends. New intent allows for Song title, album, or artist to be searchable (think being able select a song that's playing and sending the info to an app that can find similar music, Pandora style). also works with video and Youtube.
• Browser - Updates Webkit and Javascript engine. Copy and paste text in browser by holding "shift" and dragging over the text. also adds the ability to find text within a page. General performance improvements.
• Voice Dialer - open apps with voice commands
• Camera - This is the big one: video recording, and native  local playback. Share video intent, and thumbnails for video files.
• Bluetooth - A2DP & AVRCP (stereo bluetooth) profiles finally supported. Still holding out for BPP (Basic Printing Profile). Fixes connectivity with certain automobiles (Mini Cooper, and late model BMW)

Once the holidays are over, we can expect more progress with the branch merges, and possibly hope for an early february OTA update.  Stereo  bluetooth (along with video recording, though it will probably be a novelty) has been the one feature I've been needling for; I'd really like to use my Motorola S9's again. All in all, the cupcake branch fixes a lot of worry that Android would be a stunted OS, and if the development community works as well together as they have been, we can expect even greater things this Summer. Source.Android.com

My Maps Editor is a recent free addition to the Android Market, the result of 20% time from Brian Cornell, a software engineer at Google. The app allows full viewing and editing of the My Maps section of Google Maps, with a few bonuses like GPS support and local caching. With My Maps (you can find this as a tab in google maps), you can add placemarks, shapes, and paths, upload photos, and insert HTML formatted content in the placemark description. You can then share your custom map, keep it private, or open it up to collaboration.

With this application you can create, edit, share, and view personalized maps on your Android powered phone synchronized with the My Maps tab on Google Maps. It supports full editing functionality for markers, lines, and shapes, plus the ability to mark your location using GPS or attach a photo directly from your phone.

Click through to read the rest of the review, and see lots of pretty screenshots. The app is a 493KB download, and well worth it. All of your map data is stored on your SD card; the actual map tiles still have to load from the cloud, but Google Maps caches a little of that anyways. Since My Maps is a Google service, you have to log in with a  "@google.com account" if you are using AppsForYourDomain to host your email like me (buffawhat.com email uses Google FTW). After a successful login, My Maps Editor will pull any custom maps you have in your account. I actually use My Maps, and have a few already to go. Lets take a look at Shop Local, which is a collection of some of my favorite places to shop and eat in the Elmwod Village area. The first thing I noticed is that My maps will replace any custom marker icons with defaults. You can look on the web version of My Maps and see that the markers are custom icons that I host on my server. I was a little bummed at first (I love my cutsey icons), but it quickly went away when I saw that the rest of the formatting for the marker info loaded perfectly. Notice that you have the option to move the marker somewhere else, or edit the information. In the edit screen, you can also change the marker icon to one of the many multicolored symbols and pinpoints that Google Maps has to offer. Creating a new map is a breeze as well, and probably the strongest use for My Maps Editor.  Yesterday, as I went about my recreation duties, I tracked my location with GPS. When we arrived at a POI, I tapped the plus sign and selected "Mark my Location." A new marker showed up where the GPS said I was, bouncing for me to edit it further. In the spirit of Moblogity (new word, mine),  I tapped "Add Photo" and took a picture, which was loaded to Picassa and HTML embedded in the marker description. You can also select from your Picassa Web album, or choose a photo from your phone. When loading from Picassa, thumbnail load times are suprisingly quick on EDGE. Also, note that My Maps Editor creates an album for you called "Drop Box" inside your Picassa account. Lines and shapes edit and place fairly well, though there isn't any dragging support: you must tap where a point should go. The one super limitation is that you can't get directions from a marker, but I still see this as one of the best map applications to date. From the Google Mobile Blog

The folks over at ModMyGPhone claim that Lenovo has a phone in the works, with pictures to back it up. Dubbed "OPhone," this is a sweet model and beautifully designed. No word on specs, but from the picture you can tell there is a spacious touchscreen with embedded "hard buttons," USB port, and a headphone jack.

China Mobile has been working on OMS for quite some time now. With the Apple deal going nowhere after multiple rounds of negotiations (because of China Mobile's refusal to share any of its profits), it needs an OS of it's own. A well placed source said,"Given these(iPhone, Android, Symbian) developments, it is becoming very clear that developing a proprietary handset operating system is essential for dominance of the mobile Internet market in China. At the moment, China Mobile is in a comparatively weak position without its own operating system. With its own operating system, China Mobile will be able to commission customized phones from handset makers and keep its hand strong in negotiations over profit sharing. There is even the possibility that China Mobile may move into manufacturing handsets itself."

The one catch, we will never see this in the US. even if Lenovo could possibly bring it over, it would be seasons past by that time and most of the internal parts would have to be replaced to work on a US carrier and spec regulation.

That being said, who will be the one to bring the Shiny Shiny, the beautiful phone with the killer features, to the US, finally giving android a cute body to go with all them brains?

Let's face, the HTC G1 is nothing more than a glorious consumer-passable dev model. Google even admits it as they are now selling it as an sim-unlocked dev model for $399 to developers. I'm not saying the G1 is a bad phone; its a great phone spec-wise if we can forgive a few HTC blunders (more on that later). the G1 is a buttaface (yea i said it). Right now, we have a few comanies saying they are making phones for the Android OS, but lets focus on the ones that can actually give the US some love.

• Motorola - yea.. ya know what? Uh-uh Sources say the Moto+droid will look like the Krave ZN4, and be cheaper and faster than the G1. As a multiple Motorola owner, I used to replace a RAZR every three months, and every other Motorola phone I've had has bit it somehow or another. They make great throwaway phones that shatter on impact; I want a smartphone to be a little more durable. Plus, I don't think they'll have enough life left in them to make more than one model.
• Samsung and LG - I do not like their phones. Any of them. Plus, they were in the race to get the first out but something happened and we probably wont see anything till midsummer next year. I would love to eat my words and be humbly surprised but I doubt it.
• Sony Erricsson - I am going to put my bets on a high-end Android phone from Sony Erricsson in the Summer of 2009. A recent addition to the fold of the OHA, Erricsson has experience making a great high power phone, with robust media features, and powerful cameras. One of the biggest gripes about the G1 is lack of pretty, no headphone jack, and a crappy camera. With all-star releases like the cybershot K800i and the new Xperia under the belt, Sony Erricsson is not going to pull any stops to make an Android phone with everything.
• HTC - They already have a G-Phone out, so I'll give them the credit for actually being able to create, market, and sell an Android based smartphone. The question here is can they do it again, this time with better hardware?  I've had a few HTC phones, and 3MP doesn't mean shit if the shutter is slow. I can only manage to take great pictures on the G1 by holding the phone really still and hoping my subject doesn't move. This is really rough for my attempts at getting hot bear du jours in the wild. I can forgive the lack of video recording; it's an Android feature that isn't available yet. And while HTC could put a 3mm headphone jack in their next G-phone, they probably won't because they LOVE their ExtUSB ports and think you should too. HTC designs a pretty phone, and have done wonders in making Windows Mobile less of a giant turd, just by wrapping it in some shiny. The point is that HTC can do the shiny shiny for Android, but the G2 will be a shiny turd as well if the can't boost their hardware.

It seems that the race is really between HTC and Sony Erricsson. Can HTC fix their issues and pop out a beaut instead of a turd? Or will Sony Erricsson lay down the mother of all iPhone/Nokia killers? Tune in this Summer.

What do you think? Who else is in contention? Does Motorola have a chance in hell? Let 'em rip in the comments.

One of the best things about Android using a Webkit browser is that we get to share in the same mobile web improvements as the iPhone. Flickr updated their m.flickr.com site yesterday, making it play really nice with Webkit and other highend mobile browsers (Fennic, Opera). The new interface is smooth, quick, and easy to use. You can access you profile information like your secret upload email addy, leave comments, view photo stats, and even modify your own uploads' titles and descriptions. Video also plays on mobile flickr, but only works for iPhone and iPod Touch, or so they say...

Video playback is currently limited to the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch, but support for more devices will follow as soon as possible.

sure looks like it plays to me...

Flickr is Going More Mobile

Droid sans Tweak Tools Lite is a utility that activates a yet-to-be supported window transition effect in the Android OS. You can control the speed of the window slide, as well as window fade speed (effect you see when notifications pop in and out). You also have the option to turn it all off and go back to the boring way you were before but I bet you won't.

For icing on the cake, Tweak Tools Lite also lets you deactivate your data connection for those not on a all-you-can eat data plan. I've not tested this since I have unlimited data, but I did demo the transition effect for you below.

Note that there is another app in the Market called Tweak Tools, which does other things (written by the same dev) but only runs on rooted (modded RC29 or RC30) G1 units. DroidSans

The first thing people say when they see my G1 is, "Is that an iPhone?" The second thing is "Well, does it have multi-touch?" the first answer is a sturdy and confident "No," but the to the latter, I respond "not yet." Officially, no. the HTC G1 is spec'd to be a single-touch device. That being said, the G1 uses a Synaptics touchs module that is capable of handling two-finger responses, and blogger RyeBrye has found some clues that may lead to possible activation of multi-touch.  he says that after "uncommenting a bunch of lines in the synaptics touchscreen driver, and recompiling  my kernel and replacing my boot.img - I was able to enable the debug logging of the touch input that tracks 2 fingers." The problem is, that while these findings mean that its totally possible, it would require a community built version of Android to be installed, with all the drivers and supports added manually. Plus, just because the screens on this wave of G1's are built for multi-touch, doesn't mean that the next wave will have the same screens. So, yes, multi-touch can totally come to the G1, but more than likely will happen officially on a new phone, with a long-updated and bug-worked-out Android release. However, I'm in the hacker mind and still can't wait to get whatever I can out of the G1.

I do a lot of text messaging, most of which is either to Twitter, BrightKite, or John. A caveat with smartphones is that with more functionality comes more steps to get to the simplest of actions. Luckily, Android lets you put shortcuts to your favorite apps, email labels, and contacts right on your homescreen. Any Cut, a free app from the Android Market, unlocks even more possibilities. This tip shows you how to use folders and Any Cut to organize a two tap quick SMS list.

Any Cut allows you to create shortcut icons on your homescreen that link directly to actions like calling a number, sending an SMS, or accessing settings like wifi. First things first, find and install Any Cut from the Android Market. Next, go to your home screen and longpress (hold your finger down for a second) on a blank spot. The "Add to Home" menu will pop up. Expand "Shortcut" and select a folder. Now we have a folder named "Folder." That's a little unimaginative, lets change that. Tap on the folder and it will expand into a blank window. Longpress on the title bar (over the "folder") and give it a new name. I chose "Quick." Tap the "X" to close the window, pull up the applications drawer, and launch Any Cut. Select New Shortcut and then "Direct Text Message." Scroll through and find your contact. I'm going to add Twitter, since I'm pretty much addicted to it. You have the option to shorten the name if you'd like. Notice the contact's icon serves as the shortcut icon. If you don't have a picture set, it will just show an SMS bubble. Hit OK. The Shortcut lands on the homescreen by default. We want it in that folder. Longpress on the icon until it detaches and you get some haptic love (that little vibrate you feel). now drag it over the folder and release. Rinse and repeat Any Cut until you have your quick launch folder just the way you like it. Remember, Any Cut lets you create shortcuts for nearly any action, and you can even write your own!

There may come a time when you need to reset your G1 phone because some jerkbag set your touch pattern and locked you out and you forgot your gmail password and reset it but it didnt sync so you have to reset the whole damn thing. If that ever happens, here's some handy instructions on what to do... Master reset the T-Mobile G1 from Nathan Strang on Vimeo.