You were the first, the front runners who accepted Android in its infancy stages by purchasing the first commercial device to feature the Android OS, the T-mobile G1.  Those of you who have remained loyal and stayed true to your G1 roots will soon be rewarded with the latest version of Android, 2.0 or 2.01 known by many as Eclair.  According to various sources the problem with the G1 has always been the small system partition of 70MB which is used by 99% of capacity by Android 1.5 and Android 1.6.  Thankfully we have huge news today straight from the devs at Android and T-mobile that they’ve found a way around this limitation.

Early adopters will finally catch a break on the T-mobile G1′s very soon in early 2010 with an official Android 2.0 release.  You will not longer have to root your G1, your official release is on it’s way via an Over The Air update (OTA).

[via Gizmodo, AndroidSpin, AndroidandMe]

In 2007 when the world was first introduced to the Open Handset Alliance and their goal of developing open standards for mobile devices we were thrilled.  Quickly thereafter the OHA’s first product was unveiled, Android, a mobile device platform with the goal of reinventing the smartphone landscape.  Now that Google has been able to develop Android into arguably one of the best mobile platforms on the market we begin to wonder whether they’ll be able to quickly deliver software updates to so many devices across the world.

The worries of Google delaying software updates stems from the release of a single device, the Motorola Droid.  Being the first device to ship with Google’s Android 2.0 OS, existing owners of Android devices immediately wanted to know when their device would see such an update.  Up until Android 2.0, all builds of the mobile platform had been open source and under an Apache License.  At this point Android 2.0 remains a closed source OS and there has been no official word on whether this will change.

Up until this point in the U.S., T-mobile has been the front runner in the Android campaign since they were one of the first members of the OHA in 2007.  Google has done a good job pushing software updates to both devices over the air albeit with a few hiccups.  The reason for this success is that both devices are ‘Google Experience’ phones which basically means Google controls all aspects of the software resulting in a default Android build.  Theoretically this means that ‘Google Experience’ devices will be the first to receive updates and all other Android-powered devices will require customization from their respective manufacturers.

As it stands today, HTC is focused on driving their Sense User Interface into the Android platform.  Motorola has also realized the power of a fresh UI on Android with MOTOBLUR.  This method of unique branding which results in what we consider a superior Android experience comes at the cost of delayed OS updates.   You can see this first hand with the mysterious Android 1.6 update that never hit the HTC Hero which is now reported to receive the Android 2.0 update in the the near future.  Does this mean that non-Google Experience devices will miss smaller Android updates and instead only be updated to major versions?  If Google needs to release and updated build of Android to address security concerns will we really have to wait until Sense UI can be compatible?

These questions are being echoed throughout the Android community, but an even bigger question is on my mind.  Is Google looking to power play Android 2.0 so wireless carriers can lure customers through exclusive devices and first access to OS builds?  Congress is working on eliminating exclusivity deals between manufacturers and wireless carriers so exclusive access to mobile platforms seems to be the likely evolution.  When the Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless was released last week and it became the first and only Android 2.0 device on the market I began to seriously doubt whether Google would be able to deliver timely updates of Android to so many devices.

There are not many reasons to want an iPhone once you have the Motorola Droid, but if there is anything that Google and the OHA can take away from Apple’s strategy it is the consistency and availability of software updates.  All devices receive their updates on the same day world wide and no device is left behind.  The current position of Android is becoming very similar to Windows Mobile where certain devices receive updates and it all ultimately relies on the carrier for your device to deliver that update.  This is not the Android I signed up for two years ago and I hope that this is not the Android of the future.

XDA-Developers have once again come to save the day for smartphone users as the Sprint HTC Hero has now been rooted.  If the term ‘rooted’ is not clicking in your minds right now, just know that when a device is ‘rooted’ you are now able to install custom ROMs.  In even simpler terms this means that you will soon be able to load a variety of version of Android onto your Sprint HTC, namely Android 2.0 with Google Navigation.  Since we know HTC is currently working on incorporating their Sense UI into the latest version of Android, may of us will opt to skip the wait and run a vanilla Android 2.0 build so that we can enjoy the latest OS build immediately.  One additional newsworthy piece of information coming from the XDA-Developers is that apps2sd, the ability to run apps from your sd card, is already working.

[via Leakdroid]

The game-changing feature in Android 2.0 is clearly Google Navigation which has set out to replace standalone GPS units for a price anyone can afford, free.  Unfortunately the GSM-based Motorola Droid which will be called the Milestone when it launches on O2 and Vodafone in Europe will not offer Google Navigation.  Instead the device will ship with MOTONAV, Motorola’s navigation application since at this point Google Nav is only a US-based service.  The other big news coming from the Motorola Milestone is that it will feature multi-touch which has really become more of a catch phrase than a live or die benefit lately.  Yes we’d like to see Multi-touch on the Motorola Droid here in the US, but if it means losing Google Navigation then that is a deal we just can’t accept.

[via]

The Sense UI is no doubt the most impressive feature on the HTC Hero which sets it apart from most other Android devices on the market, yes even the Motorola Droid can envy Sense.  Unfortunately it seems as though the Sense UI is a bit of a Catch 22, we have the superior UI over standard Android, but at the same time Android updates require a bit more care and preparation.  As we’ve seen from the missing 1.6 Donut update, the HTC Hero will probably not be getting updates as quickly as other Android devices and should be skipping intermediate updates in the future.  On HTC’s Twitter feed yesterday they confirmed that the rumors are true, the Hero will be getting the Eclair (2.0) update.  They ask for our patience but what exactly that means in terms of a time frame we have no idea.  If that means a week or two then I am more than happy to keep Sense because the UI is beautiful, but if this means we are months away from the Android 2.0 roll out I think it’s time to download aHome and cut the cord, my 2 cents.

[via]

As Google slowly takes over the world we are continued to be amazed by the power of Android 2.0 coming next week with the launch of the Motorola Droid.  If you have been waiting for Google Maps to finally come out of its shell with full voice turn-by-turn directions,  lane assist with images of the actual location you are navigating, street view and just about every possible bell and whistle you’d expect from a stand-alone navigation unit, the future is now.  In the Google Maps Navigation beta video above, Google Product manager Michael demonstrates the power of this new beta software and confirms that Android-powered phones will be getting this amazing software.  Now if we only knew when the Sprint HTC Hero would be updated to Android 2.0 then we’d really be stoked, bu this video will do in the meantime.

For more information visit http://www.google.com/navigation

You didn’t really think Google would let Verizon Wireless steal the thunder of Android 2.0 (Eclair) now did you, or course not.  Google has officially announced the launch of Android 2.0 today with two big announcements: SDK support  so that developers can go ahead and start building their wonderful apps and a comprehensive list of the changes found in 2.0.

• Support for multiple Google and Exchange accounts
• Third-party “sync adapters” allow apps to tie in to the phone’s sync services
• Quick contact menus for fast access to specific key pieces of contact information
• Unified email inbox (yes!)
• SMS and MMS search
• Text message auto-delete after a user-defined thread size is reached
• Significantly improved camera controls with white balance, macro, effects, and more
• Improved keyboard layout, dictionary, and algorithm based on multi-touch support
• Double-tap zoom in browser, support for HTML5
• Bluetooth 2.1 support with addition of OPP and PBAP profiles
• “Better” graphics hardware acceleration

Unfortunately Google did not make any announcements regarding the roll out of Android 2.0 to other carriers so we’re still waiting for new on that.

[Via]

We’ve seen Cupcake, now Donut and next in the rather ridiculous Android naming scheme is Eclair, or more popularly Android 2.0.  At the moment Motorola is confirmed to be launching the Motorola Droid with Android 2.0, but as Sprint users sit and wonder when their HTC Hero will even make it to 1.6, HTC has come to save the day.  The manufacturer has confirmed to GearLog that they have an Android 2.0 device in house and they are using it to build future phones.  Although this does not answer the question of when Android 2.0 roll outs will come to other carriers, it at least confirms that HTC is digesting the new build and they certainly plan to support it.  An official announcement for Android 2.0 is expected to come sometime this week and with any luck we’ll be announcing release dates for all of the existing devices.

[via]