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It's no secret that HTC's G1 - the first device to ship with Android - has become a hacker and modder playground. As far as I know, it is the most tweaked and twiddled phone in the annals of (somewhat) mainstream consumer-grade gadgetdom. People who couldn't wait for highly-anticipated features or accept the limitations imposed by security concerns made the G1 exactly what they wanted it to be; perhaps what it should have been from the start.

Now, it appears that a brick wall - in the form of  maxed-out memory - may cement the G1's place in history as the ultimate hacker's phone. Why? Because the G1 isn't likely to get the Eclair update expected to bring officially supported multi-touch to Android. In addition, thanks to the "with Google" branding, G1s will never see the ultra-hyped Sense UI that HTC debuted on the Hero. Without that luscious ROM, it's unlikely that Hero would have been much more noteworthy than any other forthcoming Android handset. The people want both of these things, and the people will have them.

While it has probably received too much attention, the following August 14th tweet from French Google coder, @jbqueru, gives us an inside look on what Android devs are thinking behind the scenes:

"As much as I'm hoping that it'll be possible to somehow continue updating the G1, I can't promise anything."

That doesn't sound good. But his retweet on the 18th calms fears that there are *no* G1 updates in store: 

"RT @morrildl Rumors of the G1's demise are greatly exaggerated."

So the G1 won't die in accordance with its end-of-life schedule. Still, I think a boost or addon here and there will do little to alleviate public demand for multi-touch - a prerequisite for top-of-the-line virtual keyboard action, and the future of Android gaming, browsing, media management, etc. It's also the *only* way to roll with HTC's Sense keyboard.

So where does that leave us? My best guess is, in the forums of hackers and modders who are unwilling to settle. The Hero OS just received (what I consider to be) a major update that kicks the phone into high gear - the qualms of many-a-reviewer thereby appeased. But hackers have been providing this improved performance for some time now - not to mention they've been offering it on G1's... with multi-touch, no less. 

The popularity of G1 modding has grown exponentially since the first cooked Hero ROM made the scene. When multi-touch hits the net, I think many G1owners, previously weary of mods, will be looking to hack their old device. While still a risky procedure, there won't be much left to lose. The benefits are beginning to outweigh potential problems. So while some of you are looking to sell, there are plenty of us waiting to buy - if only for a hack-friendly back-up.

One last tweet from that French developer to leave this post on a high note for the by-the-book consumers out there: "funny, market is where we're hiring the most for android." Oh, man. That is music to my ears. Though my favorite Market apps require root access.

Via jkOnTheRun

 

The indefatigable Eldar Murtazin of Mobile-Review.com (a Russian mobile tech site that you really should check out if you haven't already) got his hands on a Nokia RX-51, aka N900, aka "Codename Rover" and just today posted an extensive preview of the device complete with hardware and screenshots galore. The almost as indefatigable, if less well connected, Andrew of TmoNews.com linked to Eldar's post by way of saying, "we can assume that T-Mobile will be seeing the Nokia N900 sometime in the future."

Whether or not common wisdom holds true and a GSM/AWS banded N900 graces T-Mo USA in the near future, Rover represents something of a watershed moment in Nokia's history. The longtime Symbian stalwart has publicly stated that they'll be moving at least some of their "multimedia computer" action - smartphones and Internet tablets - to the Linux-based Maemo platform going forward. While this doesn't necessarily mean the end of S60-based N and E-Series devices in Nokia's lineup, it certainly does represent a change.

From the looks of it so far, the change may well be for the better. Eldar generally digs the N900, though he holds back on some juicy bits of info in his preview, saying at one point, "as for the rest specs, we'll keep them to ourselves untill the announcement date," and at another, "I thought it wouldn't make much sense to go through all features of the phone just yet - I'm not lazy, I just have to leave some bread for Nokia's announcement guys!" That, kids, is just one of the many, many traits of the well-connected blogger: the abliity to simultaenously tease your readers, build your "insider cred" with them, and keep your corporate connections happy by not spilling too many of the beans, even if you've already got all of the beans in hand well before they were supposed to have left the factory.

While the N900 looks in many ways like a sleeker, nicer, blacker N810 with 32GB of storage and a 5MP camera, its those screenshots of Maemo 5 that have my curiosity raised. Dare I say Nokia might actually have a modern touch-based user interface in its hands? After a 2009 full of half-baked, cobbled together attempts at adding finger-friendly features to S60, even the merest chance that a competitive touch UI is forthcoming from Finland is welcomed news. Despite what some may say, I don't hate Nokia. Not at all. I just think they need to get on with it and embrace the modern trend of power mobile OS's fronted by easy to use, easy on the eyes UI's. S60 with some chunky widgets didn't do it for me (sorry 5800 and N97). But maybe just maybe Maemo 5 will.

 

Eldar seems to think so.  While he won't go so far as to say N900 will be a "hit" (he pointedly says it won't), he does call it, "the true mobile powerhouse in every sense of this word, that comes wrapped in a very eye-candy and functional UI at that." Boom goes the dynamite. Two years ago this October I got my first look at the N810 at a launch event in San Francisco. At the time, Nokia brass spoke of a multi-stage plan in which the N810 was for "technology leaders," but future Internet tablets would lead the company to a mainstream consumer user base. The N900 looks to be the next step along that path, and hopefully we'll see it in its fully official glory come Nokia World in Stuttgart on September 2.

 

Paul from MoDaCo got his hands on a build of the forthcoming firmware update to HTC's Hero, and he says the new build takes the Android smartphone "to the next level." Gone is the lag. Smooth are the flicks between home screens. And that annoying thing where the analog clock updates itself - while you watch - every time it reappears on your display? That's gone too!

Seriously, if you've never used a Hero, that analog clock thing is super annoying.

HTC has confirmed that a new build of Hero's ROM is on the way, and I'd heard tell from a few anonymous sources that the performance difference in the coming firmware will be very noticeable. Paul here basically just confirmed that for me - and you - on video. Now if only he could get rid of that high-pitched noise in the background before his next vid ;-)

And yes, I'm still hearing October 11 for Hero launching on Sprint. Though I'm guessing we'll see it in the flesh on October 7, the first day of CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment in San Diego, CA.

More over at MoDaCo's Android section.

 

Tell me there's a decent processor and a 3.5mm headphone jack on this thing and I'll buy one. I'm more and more enamored of Android all the time, and while HTC's Hero has the best virtual QWERTY to be found on any Android phone to date, I still say there's nothing like a true hardware keyboard for hammering out Emails on the go. Samsung usually makes decent QWERTY boards, and if these leaked photos of the forthcoming Samsung Instinct Q for Sprint are real, and it also comes packing a nice display - with that long-awaited Android 2.0 multitouch support, to boot - I could be staring my next daily dialer square in the face. Or one of 'em, anyway. I'm the Sr Editor at PhoneDog so, you know, I have more than one phone ... 

Check out more photos of the Instinct Q over at Phandroid.com. Along with that supposed October 11th launch date.

Despite the fact that summer is coming to an end, the phone releases aren't stopping anytime soon.  Heavy texters can rejoice, as T-Mobile and Samsung today announced the availability of the Samsung Gravity 2 in "Berry Mauve" and "Metallic Pumpkin."  Sporting a full QWERTY keyboard, 2-megapixel camera, Stereo Bluetooth, microSD card slot (with support for up to 16 GB cards), A-GPS, quad-band support (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), and 3G support (AWS 1700/2100 MHz bands), the Samsung Gravity 2 comes in at $29.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, with a new two-year agreement.

Not a bad price at all.  Anyone planning to rush the T-Mobile store for one?

 

Tom, our noble leader and Top Dog, tipped us Editors off late last night to a forum post by which all other forum posts should be judged. So long as you're not a stickler for grammar and punctuation, that is ;-)

Seriously, PhoneDog reader "elserg" went above and beyond in outlining the happy dilemma facing Sprint customers this holiday season. With all of these super tricked out smartphones supposedly ready to launch, which one should he be hoping that Santa (or Hannukah Harry, or whoever) leaves under his pillow this year?

elserg does a really great job of running down the pros and cons of several current and rumored-to-be forthcoming Sprint smartphones: Palm Pre, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Hero, and Samsung "Q." I'll ignore the headline I wrote for this post and let you read elserg's thoughts in their original format, instead of plagarizing them to include here. But I will run down a few highlights with a few follow-up comments of my own:

Palm Pre: Pretty much agree with elserg across the board. Palm and Sprint really need that app catalog to ramp up in a hurry already.

HTC Touch Pro2: TouchFlo 3D 2.6 has been leaked online and it looks even better than version 2.5. I totally agree that the "slide out tilting screen keyboard rocks."

HTC Hero: I'm 99% sure that the Sprint version will look different than the versions currently on the market in other countries. How? I don't know. But Sprint has a history of giving HTC phones cosmetic makeovers (remember last year's Touch Pro?), and I may have heard a rumor somewhere about this being in the works for when Hero drops on the Now Network. Hopefully they'll keep the sweet Teflon coating that elserg refers to. And, oh yeah, HTC is hard at work at a firmware update meant to make that Sense UI faster and smoother.  Good times!

Samsung Q: elserg gets it right when he says, "The biggest question here is what exactly is this?" He then references a few widespread rumors about Sprint's next high-end Sammy, namely Android, an AMOLED display, and HD video capabilities.  I actually think the "Q" he describes is two different devices: "Q" or "Instinct Q," running Android and "Instinct HD" with AMOLED and HD video capture/playback that runs a custom feature phone OS similar to the ones found on the current Instinct and Instinct s30.

elserg ends his post with a request aimed at me: "In addition if any of the phonedog staff is reading this, a dogfight between the touch pro and any of these phones would be great in helping people decide if the upgrade is worth the money or is it bettwer to wait for next year?"

Sounds like a plan, dude!  And thanks for the awesome post.

We’ve published a review of the Samsung Solstice over at Wirefly Learn. Check it out! Or watch the video review on YouTube. Share This

Since we can't actively cover every news article that breaks (as much as we would love to), PhoneDog compiles various announcements and press releases that have been published throughout the week and places them in one easy to read article.  Enjoy!

(Formerly known as "Weekly News In Review")



Verizon reduces LG enV2 to $19.99 for three day sale
In what appears to be an effort to exhaust inventory of an aging device, Verizon Wireless has discounted the LG enV2 to $19.99 with a new, two-year agreement.  The deal, which runs for three days (ends on August 20th), can be taken advantage of with any price plan, as long as it is a new activation.


WMDeals offers T-Mobile Touch Pro2 for $149.99
The way we see it, you could either go to a T-Mobile retail store and pay $349.99 for a Touch Pro2, or pick one up for $149.99 from WMDeals.  Available through the month of August, the offer is available for new lines of service only, and in order to get the discount, the customer must call the toll-free number in the picture above.  More than half off of T-Mobile retail cost - not a bad price at all!  Via WMExperts



Verizon Wireless launching OS 4.7.1.42 for BlackBerry Tour soon?
Though it seems to be rumor and nothing more at this point, BGR is reporting that OS 4.7.1.42 could be en-route to Verizon Wireless' BlackBerry Tour customers (and Sprint shortly thereafter).  No word on what improvements the software will bring, but it's possible that it could fix some slowdown and lag problems that customers are reporting.  Via BGR



Clearwire and Sprint launch WiMAX in Atlanta, Portland, and Las Vegas
Clearwire and Sprint formally launched WiMAX in Atlanta, Portland, and Las Vegas today, bringing the 4G technology to a total of four markets in the United States.  Unlimited service costs $69.99/month, while a day pass costs $10.  At present, only one device is available for use with the service (on Sprint's side) - the U300 USB modem.  Clearwire and Sprint are slated to launch the following markets by the end of 2009: Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Ft. Worth, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Austin, Texas; Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; Charlotte, N.C.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, N.C.; Honolulu, HI; Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Salem, Ore.; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, WA: Waco, Texas; and Wichita Falls, Texas.  Via Engadget

I haven't had the chance to test this one out for myself yet but it looks pretty great. I think it's safe to say you shouldn't be running the auto-rooting app on your myTouch. From what I've read, that phone presents a different set of problems in terms of hacking. Progress is being made though. I don't have a G1 on hand right now, but when I do I'll post the results.

As always: I don't recommend doing anything remotely like this. IT CAN RUIN YOUR PHONE! That said, If this is a reliable method, what a time saver!