Sprint Becomes Second U.S. Carrier To Launch Android Phone

Sprint (NYSE: S) announced today that it will begin selling its first Android handset on Oct. 11, making it the second U.S. carrier to roll out a phone based on Google’s platform. Release.

Up until now, T-Mobile USA had been the only carrier in the U.S. to sell an Android phone. Many theorize that the Android platform won’t start see a dramatic uptake in usage without multiple handsets and carriers using the platform. A wave of announcements are nearing, especially with Motorola (NYSE: MOT) set to unveil its Android strategy next week in San Francisco.

Sprint will be selling the HTC Hero, which has been
available in Europe since early this summer.
It will cost Sprint subscribers $180 after $150
in rebates and will require a two-year contract.
They will also need an unlimited
data plan, which costs $100 a month for unlimited
minutes or $70 a month for 450 minutes. Sprint’s
Hero is the first in the U.S. to feature HTC’s user
interface overlay, called “HTC Sense.” Users will
be able to switch between “Scenes” to reflect
different roles in their lives, such as work, social,
travel and play. For example, the companies said
a work Scene can be set up to include stock
updates, work email and calendar, whereas a
play Scene could have music, weather and a Twitter.
In a release, Andy Rubin, Google’s VP of mobile
platforms, said: “Sprint and HTC are helping to
drive openness and innovation in the mobile
industry with the introduction of the Android-powered
HTC Hero.”

Some of the features and specs:

—Camera: 5 megapixel camera and camcorder.
—Email: POP, IMAP, and Exchange Active Sync
accounts.
—HTC Footprints: An app users use to chronicle
their moments by capturing a digital postcard
on their phone, and taking notes and an audio
clip of that favorite restaurant or special place
while identifying its specific location.
—HTC Hero is a full-featured smartphone with
Wi-Fi capability, a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen
with pinch-to-zoom capability and a fingerprint
resistant coating, integrated GPS navigation,
and trackball navigation.
—Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless technology
—accelerometer, light sensor and home screen
widgets for improved usability
—multimedia capable with microSD slot
(32GB capable, 2GB included)
—Sprint TV with live and on-demand programming
—NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup
MobileSM
—easy access to social networking sites,
including Facebook®, Flickr® and Twitter
—visual voice mail for quick and easy access to
specific voice mail messages

Source : http://moconews.net/article/419-sprint-marks-second-u.s.-carrier-to-launch-android-phone/

Unlock of a G1: done

We all know that the G1 is locked to T-Mobile. Well it seems it's not the case anymore. The G1 has been successfully unlocked and despite few glitches, works pretty well on other networks.

And because business is business, if you want to unlock your phone, Unlock-TmobileG1.com offers that possibility for $22.99.

The unlocked phone then opens up to other networks and allows you to make the usual phone calls or send text messages.

However, according to AndroidCommunity, there are few glitches. The most notable one is that they couldn't seem to log in with their Gmail account. No login in Gmail means no Android Market either. But still according to AndroidCommunity, there are no indication this cannot be fixed as they also point out they used the network's standard settings.

For the skeptical ones, here's a video showing an unlocked G1 working on AT&T network:

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Welcome to the UK, dear G1

The T-Mobile G1, the first Android-powered phone, officially arrives in the UK today to any T-Mobile shops.

Note that the G1 over there is free and our British friends have the choice between two price plans, going from £35.

The first priceplan is called Combi, costs £35 per month and this for 18months and gives 800 minutes of voicecall to any networks and unlimited texts.

Or for those who like complete freedom over how they spend their money, they can go for the Flex priceplan. It is £40 per month, for 18months in total and gives £250 that you spend in any way you want. If one month, you mainly do texting and the other you find yourself calling a lot, this priceplan does give you the flexibility to do so. However, it is a bit like managing a budget and it can prove to be fastidious sometimes.

Please also note that both priceplans give out unlimited internet access. Check out all the infos you need on the T-Mobile UK's official website here.

Have your Sidekick look like a G1

In these harsh times of crisis, getting a G1 could prove to be difficult. For those of you who are desperate to get a G1 but decided to stick with your Sidekick for the time being, you can always get a feel of the G1 with these new themes.

The 2 G1 themes were created by CubanitaStylezz and are compatible with Sidekick LX / Sidekick Slide and so on...See below for the links

Theme 1
Theme 2

We know, it's only a temporary solution while you get your hands on a fresh brand new G1.

50 apps for the UK

The T-Mobile G1 makes its European debuts this week on Thursday October 30th and we now know that 50 apps will be available for free to download on Android Market.

That's a bit less than for the American release but some of the best apps will be there. ShopSavvy, which lets you scan a barcode to see a listing of all the prices for this particular product will make it just in time to start some Christmass shopping.

Another cool app that will be available is Shazam. It finds out a song title, album and artist for you. However, we have no seen imeem Mobile in the listings, let's hope that it will soon be available too.

Here's what Jim Hyde, CEO of T-Mobile UK, said:

"T-Mobile is committed to opening up the internet to give customers the freedom to do whatever they want online, when the internet has no boundaries it drives innovation and the T-Mobile G1 and the Android platform is designed to do just that. The open nature of Android Market has already sparked an exciting range of applications which allow customers to tailor their phone to suit their lifestyle. We're really excited to be able to offer the first 50 applications free of charge and believe the T-Mobile G1 has the potential to revolutionise the way we use and view our phones."

And here's the full listing of all the apps available for the UK release:

Shopping:

• Barcode scanner
• ShopSavvy - lists and compares all the high street and online prices
• ComparEverywhere - scans barcode and also gives directions to local shops

Lifestyle:

• Mandalbrot Map - map viewer
• Krystle II - pet for your phone
• Pocket Seismograh - follow the earth's activity with your phone's accelerometer
• Translate - translation tool
• Pro Football Live! - news and updates on Football
• BreadCrumbz - User generated pictures navigation
• e-ventr - Event organiser
• Weather (TM) - weather app
• Ecorio - track and reduce your carbon footprint
• Cocktail - learn how to make cocktails
• Cooking Capsules Taster - learn how to cook
• Wikitude
• AR Trav - travel guide
• AccuWeather.com - weather app

Multimedia:

• Shazam - identify and purchase music
• PicSay - input text on pictures
• Panoramio - Pictures of touristic places n your area
• TuneWiki - social media player
• BlueBrush - Draw and share with friends
• Video Player (v.01) - plays vids from your SD card
• Photostream - browse your Flickr
• Ringdroid - make your ringtones
• SplashPlay - learn how to play the guitar

Productivity:

• QuickList - To do notes
• WikiMobile Encyclopedia - Wikipedia on your mobile
• Maverick - IM client, compatible with Google Talk

Tools:

• Radar
• Task Switcher - switch between active apps
• Spare Parts - Android developping tool
• Text-To-Speech Translator
• Any Cut (v0.5) - make your own shortcuts
• Locale - manage your phones settings based on your location
• Contacts De-Dupper - de-duplicate your contacts
• Shutter Speed - set up the camera with very detailed settings
• DiskUsage - manage your SD card
• Rings Extended - replaces standard ringtones

Games and Puzzles:

• Pac Man - Namco
• Metamath Solitaire
• MisMisMatch
• Anagrams (v0.2)
• Slide Puzzle
• Divide and Conquer!
• Blackjack
• Bubble Bash
• Bonsai Blasts
• Balls 2 the wall
• Tetris Android
  

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First T-Mobile's G1 TV commercial

The T-Mobile G1 being the first Android powered phone, we were expecting a big ad push from T-Mobile and it is coming.

The promotion of Android was mainly done through informative videos from Google but T-Mobile is now ready to launch a full campaign.

According to T-Mobile’s marketing head Denny Marie Post in an interview with WSJ, T-Mobile will roll out a tv spot based on the idea that "curiosity is everywhere". The TV spot will be aired this week and will build up over the next weeks.

About Goole, Post said the entire ad strategy lies with T-Mobile, Google, a"nontraditional marketer" will only ensure their company is represented fairly.

Post when she was asked if the G1 could generate as much buzz as the iPhone, also said:

“More than the device, it’s opening the door to the open platform. And I think that’s where the news is going to come from. I think we've taken our own path here."

But enough bla bla and here's what you are waiting for, the first tv commercial for the T-Mobile G1:



When you think that exactly a month ago on September 23rd, Google released the first promotional videos of the G1 and it has now become a reality. For old days' sake, here's one of these promo videos from Google.

Lining-up to go droid

For those of you who were still sceptical about the T-Mobile G1 sales, everything seems to be going well.

MocoNews are reporting that people were lining-up to get their hands on the first Android phone in front of a T-Mobile store in San Francisco, which opened at 6pm. People had a chance to go droid 11hours before the official release and that probably explains this lining-up. Ten minutes before the gates opened, there more than a hundred waiting for the precious.

We'll keep you updated on similar news when the phone is officially released this morning at 8 am. Will there be queues too? Possibly, mainly because of the limited stock availability. On the other hand, given the fact that T-Mobile customers were able to pre-order their G1 to receive it as early as the beginning of this week, it could also be quieter day than expected.

What is sure is that there is a genuine interest for the G1, both for hardware and software reasons, and that customers should soon see the infamous "Sould out" sign.

If you have any pictures or videos of people lining-up for the G1, don't hesitate to share them with us. Until then, let's keep our eyes wide open.

Picture from mocoNews.net

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Tips, tips for your little droid

The T-Mobile G1 has just hit the stores but many specialised websites offers many different little tips to get the best out of your Android phone.

Two very useful tips come to us thanks to livecrunch, and the first one is about installing non-Market applications.

To achieve this, it's fairly straightforward. Go to Settings, then application and checkmark Unknown-Resources to access non-Market apps.

However, let us remind, like livecrunch, that if your phone starts giving you errors, you can reset it. It will remove all your apps but keep your pics and music.

To do a reset, follow these:

Slide open keyboard

Press Alt and L at the same time you will get a screen with some options listed

Press Alt and W at the same time to wipe device to factory reset

Once it is finished press home and back key at the same tim

Remove the battery

Reinsert the battery

This will wipe your device to factory reset and should fix your issue… You will need to log in to your gmail account like you initially did.

The internet will soon spring with many more cool tips like these.

Original articles by livecrunch

• android.process.acore problem fixed on Android
• How To Install T-Mobile G1 Non-Market Applications

More on the Motorola Android phone

As we already discussed it previously, Motorola plan to release an Android-powered phone, orientated towards social-networking.

Thanks to a report in Business Week, we have more details on the phone. It should feature a touchscreen interface, similar to the iPhone's one, a full slide-out qwerty keyboard, very much like the T-Mobile G1 and will come with a whole lot of social-nertworking features.

Motorola, a member of the Open Handset Alliance said:

"We're excited about the innovation possibilities on Android and look forward to delivering great products in partnership with Google"

The phone is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2009.

The timing could not be more perfect for Motorola, as these details were leaked only three days before the release of the T-Mobile G1, the first Android-powered phone. The race for Android phones has indeed started.

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MocoNews get their hands on G1

MocoNews have also posted their hands on review of the T-Mobile G1, due to be released in two days in the US.

In a nutshell, the Android-powered phone is satisfying and competes well with the iPhone in terms of fun. Check the full article here.

And because pictures are sometimes more powerful than words, check out their hands on review video below:

Gizmodo review of the G1

As we are getting closer to the US release of the G1 in a week, Gizmodo have put up their review of the T-Mobile G1.

Their final verdict is one of hope, as it is a solid start for Android. They addressed every single aspect of the phone, from hardware to the OS and its usability.

Check out the review here.

Related article

• Google Phone Review: Brains Over Beauty

T-Mobile G1 UK release October 30th

The T-Mobile G1, the first Android powered phone, will land in the UK on October 30th. The phone will then arrive only a week after the US release and will be available in two colours: white and black.

The phone will be free and priceplans will start from £40, including unlimited internet usage. Here's the full press release from T-Mobile UK:

T-Mobile G1 with Google to Hit the UK on 30 October

First phone to run on Android available from T-Mobile on 30 October

London, 15 October: T-Mobile today announces the hotly anticipated T-Mobile G1 – the phone built for the internet and the first to run on the innovative Android open source mobile software platform – will be available in the UK from 30 October.

Exclusive to T-Mobile, the G1 offers a completely new mobile internet experience with full touch screen functionality plus a QWERTY keyboard for easy online communication, high speed internet with popular Google services already on board, and access to innovative application downloads from the new Android Market.

Since unveiling the device in New York in September, over 25,000 UK consumers pre-registered their interest in the device. The wait will be over on 30 October as the T-Mobile G1 hits the shelves at T-Mobile stores just five weeks after its official unveiling.

The G1 is available for free on T-Mobile Combi and Flext price plans from £40 a month, including unlimited fast mobile internet browsing powered by T-Mobile’s award-winning network. Combi 35 offers 800 minutes and unlimited texts while Flext 40 gives up to 1,250 minutes or up to 2,500 texts or any mix of the two.

Jim Hyde, Managing Director T-Mobile UK said: “With so much excitement generated by the announcement last month, we’re thrilled to bring the T-Mobile G1 to the UK in time for Christmas. It’s set to revolutionise the way we use the internet on our mobiles: it’s uniquely built for effortless online communication – whether you want to email, text or blog – and with access to some groundbreaking applications on Android market, the possibilities really are endless.”

The T-Mobile G1 will feature a range of exciting applications pre-loaded at launch and with a couple of short clicks to Android Market, customers can find and download innovative applications from games and navigation tools to on-the-go shopping comparisons.

The G1’s full QWERTY keyboard makes it simple to write exactly what you want to say and navigating is even easier using the touch screen and trackball. There’s also one touch access to all your favourite Google applications including web search, Google Maps, Google Talk and Google Mail. So whether it’s email, instant messaging, social network updates or even calling and texting, the T-Mobile G1 is perfect for whatever form of communication you prefer.

With Google Maps, T-Mobile G1 users can instantly view maps, satellite imagery, find local business and get driving directions. And Google Maps synchs with the built-in compass – an industry first – to allow users to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by simply moving the phone with their hand.

Vital statistics: The T-Mobile G1

• Available in two colours – black and white
• GPS and compass
• Rich HTML email client which seamlessly synchs email with POP3 or IMAP services
• 3.5G (HSDPA/HSUPA) and Wi-Fi connectivity
• 3 Mega pixel camera
• MP3 music player
• Pre-installed 2 GB Micro SD memory card (device supports up to an 8 GB card)
• Bluetooth-enabled
• Up to 130 hours standby and up to 5 hours talk time
• Dimensions: 117.7 x 55.7 x 26.5 mm
• Weight: 158g

Android is reality!

Lock that phone

People at TechCrunch, who are always hot on news, often ask themselves interesting questions and their last one is on the lock function on the T-Mobile G1.

You all probably know it but unlocking the G1 requires you to draw a pattern of at least 4 dots out of the 9 displayed on the screen.

This amounts to numerous possibilities and seems to be the most secure to lock your phone, unless.....your fingers give you away.

Those iPhone or other touchscreen phones users already know this but every time you use the screen, you leave a sort of oil trail and if you don't clean it, it's clearly obvious to see where your finger has been on. Besides this, TechCrunch argues that most users will start their pattern with the top left dot to go diagonally towards the right.

So remember that if your fingers can bettray you, well clean that screen and it will be all safe! And it will look better too!!

For those of you who still have no clue what we are talking about, check out the presentation video below of the locking/unlocking feature on Android.

T-Mobile G1, it's a millionair

The latest figures are simply astounding; The G1 pre-orders sales have reached 1.5 million units meaning T-mobile have sold their entire pre-orders stock. Besides, HTC had tripled the order and all was sold as well in no time.

This simply tops all the expectations T-Mobile and HTC had for the G1 and it proves that the interest for Android is very much real and alive.

HTC will be shipping millions of new G1s from October 23rd and be sure to order yours! Getting your hands on the G1 might just be a bigger struggle than expected!!

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First T-Mobile G1 review

Android Community have an exclusive first user review of the T-Mobile G1. One lucky dude, Kaziko, an Android Community forum member, spent several hours with the G1 to give this inside look at the G1.

Kaziko's compares the phone to the T-Mobile Sidekick, saying :"Its a sidekick on massive steroids". However, the G1 runs on a smooth OS that comes pre loaded with cool apps like an instant messaging app.

The Android market runs as smoothly as the App Store and already features a fair number of apps to be downloaded.

Of course there are few glitches to this and Kazuko noticed that some apps "stutter" sometimes when they start up and the phone has to be restarted. This, of course, will have to be double checked with a commercial version of the phone as this was a pre-release version.

These little glitches can easily be corrected with software and firmware upgrades so the overall impression on the phone is pretty good.

Oh can't wait to be October 22nd now to check all of these for ourselves. In the meantime, check the orginal article here, it also features a QA part.

Find your way with Android

After a very detailed post on search in Android, David Convey, product manager, just posted more details on the official Google mobile blog about the Google Maps app for Android.

Besides already detailing what we all already know, it is interesting to see a recurrent theme in each of these posts. The developers are very adamant to remind us two main things:

- There will be strong interactions between apps so that in only a few clicks, you can perform several actions. The example taken here is that once you have received a mail or a text message with a location, click on it and it will show in Maps where you can find your way and have directions to go there. If that location comes with a number, click on it to instantly make a call. There's nothing new and many phones can actually do similar things but it's reassuring to see that for a first phone, it's working very well

- What's more interesting though is the openness of the platform and Google have been insisting on this for a long time. But it's coming to life and in this case, for example, any developers will be able to use the MapView or Location APIs to implement them in their own apps. This particular point is Android's biggest strength. It offers an easy and free environment for developers to create their apps. There were also recent rumours that some developers who planned to develop their apps for the iPhone have given up to turn to Android. At the moment, the App Store is a definite success with over 3,000 apps (mostly games) available and have topped 100 million downloads since July. But would it be a surprise if the Android Market reach those numbers? Surely not.

Coming to the Google Maps app, you can check out the video below. It will show all the different features we have come to know very well: location, map, satellite and street view with compass mode and search.

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Load it, try it, play the droid

You can't wait t get your hands (well fingers) on the G1? October 22nd is still too far away? Well for the time being you can at least get your mouse on a virtual G1.

T-Mobile has released an emulated version of the G1, very much like the Android emulator that comes with the Android SDK. But this emulator only needs a web browser and is dedicated to the G1.

However, don't expect too much out of it yet because many apps in the emulator are not really functioning. They often come with "this screen is not fully functional" message. Still it's good fun to have a feel of the G1.

Click here for to go and play with the virtual G1 and make sure you click on the emulator link.

Related article

• Emulator gives you the T-Mobile G1 experience now

Android Market's website

The hype is still high after the announcement of the T-Mobile G1 as more and more people are eager to get their hands on the phone.

On Android Market's official website, you can already access few pictures of how some third-part applications will look and work. These are only firsts of many that will follow on Android Market.

More interestingly perhaps is that you can also read the Android developers blog (check out also our RSS feed right there in the sidebar). Blogs have become a true source of information and the Android developers blog is no exception. Recently, they have announced the release of the Android SDK 1.0 version.

The 1.0 SDK (available here )will get apps developpers ready for the launch of the G1 and ensure maximum compatibility with the Android Market Beta. Dan Morril, the post's author, also ensures that with the SDK all the apps will be fully compatible with the G1 and that developpers won't have to rewrite their app's code every time the SDK is updated.

Besides this, he's announcing that a second Android Developper Challenge is underway, so that's one thing we'll definetely keep an eye on!

Check out this video of the Android emulator available from the previous SDK:

Related articles

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T-Mobile G1 shows off its curves

This is a Reuters video presenting the arrival of the T-Mobile G1 on mobiles market:



An officiel website for the phone has also been launched here.
Here are some of the photos you can find on the website:





Overall, it seems that the T-Mobile G1 is slightly bulkier than the iPhone. The design, though is pretty slick and besides the touch screen, it's pretty neat to have a full Qwerty keyboard.

Android to be revealed today!

T-Mobile and Google are to reveal, today their first phone to be powered by Google's Android.
The T-Mobile G1, developped by HTC, will be presented at a press Conference in New York at 10.30am EDT (around 4.30pm Paris time).
The whole press conference is available here. Feel free to leave us your comments on the event.
We will follow up the press conference with our take on it so stay tuned wih us!
Enjoy!