David over at TmoNews swears up and down - or blogged, anyway - that a trusted source got wind of some kind of a "new" G1 coming from T-Mobile soon and a myTouch 3G Version 2 already on tap for next year:

First, MyTouch is now considered a franchise name for T-mobile. ThinkSidekick. Other details were pretty sparse, but apparently topics ofdiscussion were a "new" G1 coming "soon" and the MyTouch2, coming 2010.

On the one hand, the first myTouch 3G hasn't even hit stores yet, but it's also customary for carriers and handset makers to plan their product lines a year or two in advance, so it's certainly feasible that the next myTouch is already on a product roadmap PowerPoint deck somewhere in Tmo-Land.

Given that T-Mobile's CTO made no bones about calling myTouch 3G the carrier's flagship Android phone for the rest of 2009, I have to guess that we're looking at a minor refresh to the G1, if this information is valid. T-Mo's done it before, with the Dash 2.0, so a G1 2.0 could certainly be possible for the holiday shopping season. Maybe with an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack and a better keyboard? That'd be kinda nice, right?

The Google Experience virtual keyboard

HTC's Sense keyboard

I should point out that several of those devices were refurbished; someone had damaged the phones or was unhappy with their condition when received and they decided to return them. Therefore, my observations do not necessarily evidence unusual build quality anomalies. So does this indicate that the G1's keyboard is easily damaged or just that some people are really careless with their phones? I don't know. What I do know is that tiny flaws can have a huge impact on satisfaction when it comes to hand-held keyboards.

The G1 keyboard comes in two flavors: silver and black. The white and bronze G1 come with the silver kb, the black, with black. On the silver model, you'll find blue letters with red symbols. On the black, white letters with blue symbols. Overall, the silver keyboard is far more difficult for me to see. When the back-light comes on, the red symbols practically disappear; in bright light, I can barely see the blue. It's maddening. The black keyboard is perfect in my mind when it comes to the color scheme, but there are other variations to consider. (cont.)

You can touch-type with your thumbs, right?

Ah, that's better!

Some keyboards don't sit properly; the keys are pressed up against one or two of the edges of the holes through which they protrude, causing friction and a shoddy look and feel. The back-lighting is sketchy and inconsistent, and this problem seems worse on silver model keyboards. For instance, the bronze G1 I'm using now has a light nearly as bright as the Sun sitting under the number 6, while the rest of the keyboard is dim at best.

These issues were a contributing factor to my G1 exchange cycle, which has been resolved. But as I look around, and handle other G1s, I realize that I'm not the only one noticing inconsistencies. Some people have perfect keyboards like I did, before I bricked my G1 with hacked software. They think the G1 QWERTY is fantastic. Others have never even used what I consider to be a high-quality G1. They take a crappy board for granted. But those who have been around know the difference.

Despite it being the public release of a developer's preview, my number one complaint about the G1 is the poor quality of the keyboard. I love the design. I love the materials--at lease the ones used for the black phone. But what many see as the device's greatest strength is, to me, it's greatest weakness. So aside from the pretty colors, potential for skinning, and all the other superficial stuff that comes along with virtual keyboards, I'd have to say that their single most significant advantage--at least in the case of current Android devices--is uniformity. (cont.)

Black ink on white keys. It almost makes too much sense.
 Anybody know where I can get one of these? (I'll need to hold it first.)

Have I answered the question of whether or not you need a hardware keyboard? Probably not, but I can help you decide for yourself. If you're looking to buy a G1 for the keys, test them out first. Test them on the exact phone you plan to purchase.

• Google Search by voice
• Google Latitude, a new feature of Google Maps for mobile used for finding a friend's location on a map, sharing your location and status with friends and then being able to contact them via IM, text, or call
• Get reminders for calendar appointments
• The ability to check for upgrades directly from your G1
  

You can find out more information about the update at T-Mobile Forums.

CONS
Battery Life sucks, I mean it really does. I.M sucks it keeps kicking you out.. Cam is slow, and thats about it. if you can live with those it is the best phone since the car Phone!!!

SUMMARY
You will love the phone. It does everything, like i mean everything and all Apps are free!!!! if you thinken bout getting the phone get it. Its cheaper then switching to the Iphone and its different.. Has the best touch screen next to the iphone. I love it i have no second thoughts about it. ]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/htc-g1-white.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_htc-g1-white&utm_campaign=PhoneDog12/3/2008 3:51:29 PMI don't want to kill anyone's Black Friday shopping buzz, or discourage you from buying the G1 as a holiday gift. But I have dedicated a lot of posts to pointing out the benefits of this phone, and it's operating system, Android. I think it's time that I cover some negative aspects of the device.

CONS
Internet-sometimes it won't load my page, but I don't know if that's the service or the phone...My guess it's the service.
Battery Life-Not so good...I ALWAYS have to charge it at night and sometimes during the day.

SUMMARY
I LOVE MY G 1...I had recently upgraded to the Behold and I hated it because it didn't do half the things that my blackberry did...So I called and asked if I can exchange it for the white G1 and they said sure...Best decision ever...I get all the functions that I used on my Blackberry plus a touch screen...

I'm so satisfied with my decision to upgrade! I would recommend the G1 (white) to anyone. Especially if you like the functions of the blackberry but you want a touch screen phone.

I haven't used the camera functions yet but I see that it doesn't have a flash but hopefully the pictures still turn out well. At the end of the day all I can say is that the phone is worth the money...And I should know, I paid $400 for the phone, including express shipping and handling.
]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/htc-g1-white.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_htc-g1-white&utm_campaign=PhoneDog11/23/2008 7:37:23 PMT-Mobile G1 launch party at Skylight Studio, it wasn't much different, except everyone was checking out each other's hand candy—and grousing about the half hour wait to get in.

Inside, the scene was surreal. Crowds of designer-clad trendsetters circulated amid tragically un-hip geeks and the rumpled reporters from the city's media, resulting in a weird—and big—mix of partygoers. In total, 400+ attendees came to the launch, including stars like Jason Biggs, Erika Christensen and Alan Cumming. With such a wide range of tastes to cater to, no wonder the food was so eclectic. They had everything from seared tuna to hotdogs.

But I didn't come to eat, so I pushed my way through the packed room to look for the star of the show: The G1. The large hangar-like space was designed to bring the phone to life, with a photo booth set up on one side and a YouTube "confessional booth" for on-the-spot uploading at the other. On the far end, the words "Android Market" was projected onto the wall, above little stations set up to tout featured apps.

Cutting through the crowd wasn't easy. I kind of felt like Frodo going on an epic journey, but when I reached the back, it was worth it. There, in all its glory, was the precious. I asked model/actor Jasyn Woolley, who was hired to showcase the phones, what his favorite features were. "I love the full QWERTY keyboard and the rollerball. It is so much easier than swiping all over the place." He passed it to me so I could get my own impressions.

The phone wasn't as heavy as I expected. Sure, it was no lightweight gadget, but the rubberized exterior felt surprisingly good. And it didn't feel like it could slide out of my fingers. Still, I thought there was room for improvement. The G1 was pretty thick, and I didn't really dig the thought of using a USB headset for it.

I turned the cell over and over in my hand, listening to the DJ spin tunes and peripherally catching the lights and videos in the room. All the while, I couldn't help but wish that the phone itself was as sexy as the party that was thrown for it.

By now, Jasyn and I were buds, so he let me put the G1 in my pocket to feel what the heft and dimensions would be like on the go. It slid into my jeans nicely and didn't feel like it would fall out, which is great. I looked up to tell my new friend, and that's when I spotted the huge guard behind him, inching closer. He saw me stash the goods and was ready to pounce if I started sprinting for the door.

Yeah, I was tempted, but instead, I gingerly handed the phone back to Jasyn with two hands. Then I backed away slowly, toward the stations that spotlighted featured apps—ShopSavvy, cab4me, BreadCrumbz and EcoRio—along the rear wall.

I wanted good design, and I sure got it from Android and all its goodies. Using Google Maps on the G1, for example, felt like standing inside the streetview itself. When you turn around, the motion sensor tells the map to pan around with you. Pretty cool stuff. And, says Tom Harlin, T-Mo's PR dude, it won't take long before there are tons of new programs. "It's an open market with a user rating system for applications," he said. "The market is going to drive demand, and this is going to grow with the market."

Overall, it was an awesome party, with lots of candy for the hands and the eyes. The Raconteurs were hot, igniting some serious dance jams, and I even got a photo with Biggs. The only downside was that the Google guys weren't there. It would've been cool to chat with Sergey, Eric and Larry on this new idea I had for a Google laptop...

Coders already have the ability to add Android programs to their Handango account, and can opt to charge a one-time purchase price; set up monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription fees; or just give their wares away!

Handango was kind enough to provide a teaser list with a sampling of software that will be Available for Android:

• MONOPOLY: Here & Now
• Tetris
• The Weather Channel for Android
• Voice on the Go, which makes email completely voice-interactive
• ShopSavvy an app that scans bar codes and compares prices online.
• EzQuote a financial portfolio tracker
• GoogHelper a utility for launching websites
• Tipper a split tip calculator
• FitSync a workout logger that compares your exercise habits with others'
• Par 72 Golf II a realistic 3D golf game with three 18-hole courses
• Vegas Pool Sharks a 3d pool game
• Accutracking this one provides real-time locations, speed, and headings
  of your family members or cars/vehicles
• FotMob get live coverage of most major European football leagues

On top of this heaping pile of good news, Handango is sponsoring a contest that awards the creators of the best apps with $25,000 worth of marketing. It's open until November 7th, and winners will be announced on December 15th.

By the end of the year we are going to see some exciting things happening in the Android software world. Well, probably before then, but it's definitely a ramping-up of activity. I'll be back with some info on these (and other) applications as soon as I get my G1.

There ain't no party like a G1 party, cuz the G1 party don't stop!

Take for example, the HTC TouchFlo 3D interface, which is incredibly sleek and fluid, as well as central to the identity of the phones that feature it. Certain aspects of Windows Mobile become evident at inopportune times - reminding you that TouchFlo is only a skin, and that the somewhat awkward and familiar settings that you've struggled with on other phones have returned to disrupt your experience.

Unlike Windows Mobile, Android is open: the Linux Kernel is open; the Android software stack is open; and the platform is open. Practically, this means that the software on Android-equipped phones is much friendlier for developers and designers to work with. With Android, customization can be much more thorough and integrated with the operating system.

This openness presents the possibility of a total reworking of the Android interface for different phone manufacturers and cell carriers. Perhaps the Android we know is just its stock persona. It makes sense that carriers and OEMs would want to give their Android-powered phone a character of its own and perhaps some software branding.

I think that what I like to call the speciation of Linux in the world of personal computers could be indicative of its future in the cell phone market. At least in terms of appearances. After all, these two spheres are becoming less distinguishable over time.

Take look at the netbook, or subnotebook niche, where Linux is chosen because of its solid performance on low-spec machines and as a means to deliver a cheaper product by avoiding software licensing fees.

The Eee PC from Asus uses the Xandros operating system, which is a Distribution of Linux featuring the KDE user interface. Xandros is based on Corel Linux, which branches from Debian Linux.

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 ships with another Debian-based flavor of Linux: Ubuntu's netbook remix. The default flavor of Ubuntu comes with the Gnome UI.

There's also the Cloudbook, which has since switched to Gnome, but began with the Enlightenment interface. It runs on the Ubuntu-based gOS.

Confused? I haven't even mentioned the user interfaces out there for those who don't choose Gnome or KDE, such as Fluxbox, IceWM, XFCE, etc. And if you look beyond the handful of computers that ship with Linux already installed, into the realm of downloadable distributions, the variety can be mind-boggling.

The point is this: the examples above are all aesthetically different versions of the same operating system. They all share one thing in common. The heart of the OS: its core; the kernel. Deep down, Linux is Linux. What makes each flavor unique is the applications the distributors package it with, and their choice of user interface. There are some other geeky distinctions, but on the surface, it's mostly an issue of taste. That's what Linux is all about; choices both for distributors and consumers. 

Up to this point, Linux has played a very minor role in the cell phone market. Motorola has embraced the OS in some of its phones and we can see that their decisions mirror those of netbook manufacturers - the trend is to reconfigure or completely redesign the UI, giving the software an identity to be associated with the OEM (or in the case of cell phones, the service provider). I see no reason why Google's Android should be exempt from this pattern.

A company called The Astonishing Tribe, or TAT, contributed to the interface for Android. While they haven't made any specific comment on future plans, their website does feature some videos of a breath-taking interface we haven't yet seen in the wild. Check them out. (Clickable images provide a video.)

Once you get over that sexiness, take a look a list of companies that have joined the Open Handset Alliance, and think about the various potential reasons for their doing so.

One of the things that makes open source software interesting, is the way manufacturers can customize the user interface. And one of the things that makes industry hype so much fun is endless speculation - something I enjoy heartily.

Linux has been indispensable in the research of world-class universities, in the management and functioning of public transit systems, and in the logistics of the most powerful financial institutions of the world. Linux is responsible for the data management of countless individuals, companies, and governments. And yet this marvel of collaborative effort and technical evolution goes unnoticed by the public at large.

This is the first time that we in The States are hearing the word "open" used publicly as a selling point. And with it, Android kick-starts the proliferation of Linux in one more territory. "Open Source" would probably sound to geeky and intimidating for the average consumer right now. And we Linux enthusiasts should be happy with whatever progress there is in ousting our beloved penguin from the proverbial closet and establishing him in national consciousness - open and proud.

The question is: what additional apps will come pre-installed on the G1, and what will be available to users post-purchase via the Android Market? It's impossible to accurately forecast which programs will make the final cut for the initial release without some inside info, which I don't have. But we can make educated guesses about which ones are likely to be the first to hit the marketplace, and glimpse potential marketing points for the G1 and future Android phones.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Google has allocated 10 million dollars to motivating developers to come up with unique, useful software that will exploit and showcase the strengths of Android. At the end of August they divided $ 3.75 million in prizes amongst the top 20 contestants in the Android Developer Challenge. Clicking that link will take you to a page filled with screenshots of the winning apps, as well as links to the developers' websites. Most of their homepages have extensive information with cool demos, so it's definitely worth your time to study them. These are the projects that excited Google, and these are the types of programs we are likely to see them pushing to the end-user. While none of them are sure to ship with the G1, you can count on hearing more about (at least) the top ten, very soon.

The pricing structure and business model of the Android Market is a bit hazy at this point, but it is clear that Google's inspirational techniques have encouraged developers to think different (yes, I did that on purpose). I suspect that Google's monetary rewards, in conjunction with what is widely expected to be a free and open marketplace, will result in highly competitive pricing and product development. I think we will see the cell phone reinvented in many ways; with coders conjuring up new uses for the ubiquitous handset that are sure to please the most cynical and demanding consumer. Just a cursory examination of the top 20 applications provides the distinct sense of a unique, progressive and eye-popping identity for Android:

• Think social. Most of these programs are focused on interaction with other users, based on location, interests, tastes, and other personal characteristics.
• GPS isn't just for finding restaurants; these programmers have come up with some nifty uses for it, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with navigation.
• When is a camera more than a camera? It depends on the way software interprets visual data. The Bar Code Scanner app is already in the sample market. Is a retina-scanning phone lock beyond the realm of possibility?
• Is that a Babblefish logo I see at the bottom of the pic? It's listed as being free. How many more of those free applications will turn up? I suspect many.

Put it all together, and the future unveiling of the true Android has the potential to be the mind-blowing announcement we had anticipated for the G1; the phone I now see as a sort of stepping stone for Google. Perhaps the blow-your-head-back revelation will occur when the Android Market revs up and, maybe, takes center stage. So far, the options look great: programs that facilitate comparison shopping; a Google talk-capable messaging client, which also allows posting Blogger entries; and an application that coordinates races between athletes at opposite ends of the Earth.

Cloud-based file-sharing, environmental responsibility tracking, collaborative art projects - these are forward-thinking endeavors for a smart phone. Locate a taxi or take a guided walking tour of a strange city, focusing on attractions that fit your unique tastes. Android is designed for the person on the move who likes to stay in touch with their schedule-driven friends and family. And now you can tag your contacts with interests, so you can very quickly send a hot new story you came across in an RSS feed to each of your friends who happen to be proponents of bio-diesel. Dope. (At what age do I have to stop using that word... or was it a year?)

There's one aspect of Android's Linux roots that deserves brief mention here: virtualization. Linux is legendary for it's virtualization capabilities. While this sort of thing is currently of interest only to the geekiest of geeks, it could eventually shake things up a bit for the rest of us. Virtualization is when an operating environment, like Windows, is emulated within another OS. For example; I use Linux for my laptop at home, but can easily run most Windows programs with a sort of emulator called Wine. I can even run an entire Windows desktop via programs like Qemu or VMWare. Parallels for Mac is probably the most widely-known of this type of software. In researching this article, I ran Android on my laptop within Eclipse - the program coders use to test their Android applications. (Not recommended for most readers.)

An ardent tinkerer and Android Market content provider could make virtualization as easy for all of us as installing any other Android application - a few clicks, and it's done. And while I can't guarantee anything, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually saw a vid or two on YouTube featuring an Android phone running a Windows Mobile app, or (gasp!) an iPhone app. Honestly though, with the stuff we're about to see the hitting Android Market, who needs 'em? Android is open to all, and there will be an equivalent for every smart phone program you can imagine, along with plenty of originals you can't.

Aesthetic issues aside, the G1has some nifty features that facilitate Android's abilities. Case in point: Radar mode. Many of us have seen the demonstrations of the G1 being moved about in a space, with the motion tracked and reflected in Google Maps street view; giving the user the experience of being present in the represented location. Cool gimmick, eh? But the compass has a purpose beyond novelty. Working in concert, GPS, accelerometers and a compass become... a freaking homing device! Constantly forgetting where you left your car? No problem, Use GPS to mark it on a map when you park, and your phone will guide you back after dinner - not with spoken, sometimes inconvenient directions, but with an actual radar screen that pinpoints where you stand and where your car is; all the while monitoring your direction of travel in relation to the endpoint.

Here's a video from the Android Developer's YouTube channel showcasing radar mode in all it's glory. Oh, it's prefaced by a couple of minutes of touting Android as the ultimate comparative shopper's sidekick. It's worth watching the whole clip.

Things are heating up, and with an open platform, we won't need to wait a year for things to get hotter. It doesn't hurt that Google is offering $10 mil for the developers who can rock our socks the hardest. Personally, I'm hoping that some enterprising young coder will use unique GPS IDs to create a proximately sensor application that plots a user's friends and enemies on the radar screen. Audio/vibration feedback is presumed. The purpose is obvious: epic paint ball and water gun combat. I'm sure others will ponder more useful, productive, and boring applications... like meeting for lunch or something. Whatever is around the bend, it's sure to be interesting. I expect the open nature of Android, along with Google's generous offer, will inspire the innovation, spirit and productivity that we've seen with each Google Summer of Code. In other words, the brilliant apps will be coming, in droves.

I'm starting to recover from the anticlimactic introduction of the G1. A name like Google commands respect, and they've done so much to astound us in the past; I'm sure they will do the same via Android. The exterior of the G1 just isn't the show-stopper that I hope the software (and hardware) deserves. It's like the homely girl next door who has an encyclopedic knowledge of your favorite band, and answers your questions before you finish asking them: it's impossible to deny the attraction, she just happens to be a bit modest and frugal when it comes to clothing. Still, The more I get to know her, the more I want to know. (No more hokey analogies, promise.)