G1 for Regular Joe Six Pack

Motorola teases new Honeycomb tablet for C.E.S.

2010-12-20T13:27:00.001-08:00

C.E.S. is close at hand and if, like me, you wondered if you would see the new Motorola tablet that Andy Rubin previewed at D:Drive, then you will like the contents of this teaser video Moto posted today. Looks like we'll be seeing the hive sooner than we thought!

2009-12-23T10:33:00.001-08:00

An open letter to Lowell C. McAdam

Verizon Wireless President and CEO

Mr. McAdam,

First, I hope this note finds you well and in good spirits.

I should give you my back-story before getting to the meat of my issue with Verizon Wireless. I was a long time (8 years) customer of T-Mobile with multiple lines of service and always on the bleeding edge of phone technology. I’ve been an IT professional since 1986 and the mobile arena is exciting to me, especially now with the advent of the Android open source operating system for mobile devices.

I have owned 2 HTC Dream devices as well an HTC Sapphire device. On November 13^th, I began my relationship with Verizon Wireless. My impetus was simple, I need 3G coverage and T-Mobile was not delivering in my area or in many of the areas I do business. My first contact with Verizon was EXTREMELY pleasurable and, quite honestly, very surprising. I called and ordered 2 HTC Eris devices with the $30.00 unlimited web plan as well as the 1400 minute voice and unlimited text family plan. I also ordered two lines for the kids with a Motorola slider and a Samsung slider. The first surprise was the CSR. I originally had ordered the cheapest free phones you offer, but she immediately pointed me to better phones that were also free on a new line. The phones we ended up with were satisfying, except for my Eris, which with the amount of always-on work I do, was miserable on battery life. I tried all the tricks that have worked before with various Android devices to extend battery life and never got it to a point that I could make it through my day without a charge. Finally, on December 14^th, just before the end of the 30 day worry free period, I called in to a CSR to request a change. I was determined to stay with Android, but also could not deal with my battery situation. I told the CSR that I wanted to change from an Eris to the Motorola Droid handset. To my surprise, again, the CSR not only told me that it wouldn’t be a problem, but that it would not cost me anything to make the change. I was shocked and asked three times (I didn’t want a charge showing up on my account that I didn’t expect). I even asked about the $35.00 re-stocking fee. I was assured that there would be no charge and that the device would be delivered on Wednesday by 3pm! Imagine my excitement! This was the third time I had a great experience with Verizon Wireless CSRs. The second time was when I asked for a received a credit of $99.00 for the second Eris during the BOGO period. Oh, and the original CSR waived all activation fees on my four new lines of service, a savings of another $110.00!!! So Wednesday, December 16^th, I am excited when Fedex shows up with my package from Verizon Wireless! I open the box and IMMEDIATELY my heart sinks! Here is what I received…

There is no battery, not charging or data cable. The only thing in the box was this BROKEN Droid. By broken, I mean the sliding mechanism scrapes and the shiny rear underside (you can’t really tell from the pics taken with the Eris) is scratched so badly that it no longer shines. My first call to Verizon after this arrival was less than satisfying. I was told that the original CSR made a mistake and sent me the wrong device, I should have received another Eris as a replacement. When I told them about the call I made on the 14^th, I was told that she made an even bigger mistake and that there was no way I could receive a Droid in exchange for an Eris without a charge. Now, I HAVE a Droid that your company sent me. I then spoke to a supervisor who told me the exact same things, except that I could give Verizon $300.00 and wait until I sent you back the Eris to receive $165.00 back (I would be spending $199.00 + $35.00 re-stock - $99.00 that I already spent on the Eris). I mentioned that this was NOT my screw-up and that I should not be held responsible and would like to speak to a manager. I was told that a manager would call me back that day, the LAST day of the 30 day worry free period. Well, that call never came and I am sending this broken droid back to your company and after my initial 2-year contract is up with Verizon (and there are MANY more Android phones from all carriers available), I will leave Verizon and keep sharing my disappointing story with as many people as I can get to listen. I was prepared to spend money on the 14^th of December when I called to order the Droid in exchange for my Eris and up until December 16^th when I opened the box containing my new Droid, I was a very satisfied customer. This is not the case anymore.

Future Pumpkinheads

2009-10-29T14:51:00.001-07:00

Z-Rock Future Listeners

Kitt car.

2009-09-04T18:10:00.001-07:00

saw it hanging out at Izzy's.

Sir Conner & his Castle

2009-06-22T21:31:00.001-07:00

It's party time for my grandkids.

The hoard!

2009-06-18T06:09:00.001-07:00

Our kids and grandkids.

2009-05-30T00:06:00.001-07:00

G2? Did a Google demo reveal it!?

2009-02-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

At the recently wrapped-up MWC in Europe, Google was demonstrating the new GMail offline mail capabilities for iPhone and Android devices. About 2:30 into the demo, the Google VP pops up the "Magic"... One thing about this phone was unique, it had an American T-Mobile logo on it!!! According to the reports that are currently out on the Magic, it's only for Vodaphone in Europe. This phone was definitely branded for T-Mobile and surprise, it showed up at the FCC soon after MWC and is definitely in T-Mobile's to-do list. The only question G1 owners should have for Google/T-Mobile is when we will get the update on our phone that allows for virtual keyboard and A2DP (stereo bluetooth)... We will be following closely and hopefully we'll have some answers soon.

Next up... Running apps from your SD card...

2009-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

Early next week, I'll post on how to (now that you've got ROOT) run apps from your SD card... Making it possible to install MANY apps!

Task Manager for Root Users

2009-02-10T16:06:00.001-08:00

One of the many features that will be very useful to you, once you have root, is the task manager for root. Now you can stop running procceses.

Rooting your G1, the MUST haves!

2009-02-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

So, you got yourself a spiffy new G1 with Google phone from T-Mobile. Now what? You may want to try out some of the features that aren't available out of the box, but maybe you're a little scared that you could turn your phone into a paperweight. While that IS possible, there are ways to protect yourself. Most importantly, be prepared to re-install the base image of your phone more than once. You will probably clean your phone several times before you come up with something that you really like, or you may just return it to the state it was shipped to you in. Either way, this is an incredible device with unlimited potential. This post will tell you how to keep yourself safe from total loss of the device. (note: there is NO failsafe protection, but this is one of the best ways to pretect yourself.)

First, get yourself an 8GB class 6 MicroSD card. Keep the stock 1GB that comes with the phone as this will be very useful for you.

First things first... Register your phone with Google. The first registration takes the longest, so get that out of the way. Once you are registered, hook your G1 up to your PC and mount the SD. (There is a notification when you hook the phone to your computer, slide open the window pane on your phone and press mount). I'm assuming at this point that your 1GB stock SD card is still in the phone. If it's not, make sure you put it in.

Download the following files (there are some links following that will help you)

1. RC29 stock HTC Dream Image (DREAIMG.nbh)
2. recovery.img with something called "testkeys". What this means is not important to you, just know that you need it!
3. HARD-SPL. You need this for the special "bootloader" that makes simple restoration possible, when you are more experienced with rooting your phone.
4. The new JFv1.41RC33 update. This gives you some cool features, like auto rotate and multi-touch on the browser.
5. Theme of you choice that is compatible with the new RC33 update.

Once you have your G1 connected to your computer and the SD is mounted, format the new "removable disk" (or media, depending on your operating system) as FAT32. If you don't know how to do this STOP NOW!!! You should have at least this basic skill before going any further. It is important that the file system be FAT32!!!

Copy the first four items on this list to the ROOT of your 1GB SD card. Here are the links for these files, offered up by contributing members at xda-developers.com, an excellent resource for those wanting more from their G1 and other devices.

The RC29 image file (US users only):
http://koushikdutta.blurryfox.com/G1/DREAIMG-RC29.zip

The recovery.img file:
http://koushikdutta.blurryfox.com/G1RootWalkthrough/recovery.img

The HARD-SPL.ZIP that will allow the new "bootloader" to be added to your device:
http://koushikdutta.blurryfox.com/G1RootWalkthrough/HardSPL/update.zip

Finally, the new JFv1.41RC33 update. RC33 is the latest Android update:
http://android-dls.com/files/jf/v1.41/JFv1.41_RC33.zip

Once these files are on the ROOT of you SD card, you are ready to start rooting your G1. This next part is a direct quoted piece from forum.xda-developers.com. Once again, this is a VERY valuable resource!!!

First, turn off your G1. (this is acocmplished by holding the "end call" button until the "silent/power off" message shows on the screen, tapping power off and then confirming with a second tap on the next screen.

Hold Camera button, and press Power button to entry bootloader mode.

You should see a gray/white screen with instructions to flash your phone with the update on your SD card.

If you don't see that, make sure you followed the instructions properly.

As per the on-screen instructions, press the Power button to start upgrade procedure.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO INTERRUPT THIS PROCESS.

After it is finished, perform the restart your phone. (press the scroll button in between the green and red call buttons, then press "home, menu, back" all together to reboot)

Download an Android "Telnet" application from the Market.

After your phone starts up, type "telnetd" and press enter. (Yes, it will start up a contact search, don't worry. Just type it.)

Press the home button (not the back button, this is important, as back will sometimes exit the telnetd). Press the button to expand your list of programs and start "telnet". Press CONNECT in the telnet program.

If you connect successfully, you will have a root prompt "#".

Type the following into Telnet (these commands will give you root access easier in the future):

mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd sdcard
flash_image recovery recovery.img
cat recovery.img > /system/recovery.img

You now have root!

NOTE...IMPORTANT (if your windows explorer does NOT show the .zip part of the file name, do not ADD .zip, just rename to the part of the filename PRIOR to the .zip in the instructions. (HARD-SPL to just update and vice versa, JFv1.41 RC33 to just update and vice versa).

Re-Connect your phone to your computer and mount the SD card. Browse to the SD card.

Rename HARD-SPL.ZIP to update.zip (upper/lower case does not matter)

Power off your phone.

Start up in recovery mode by holding home and pressing power.

You will now enter recovery mode. You should see an exclamation.

If you do not see a menu on screen, press Alt-L to show the menu.

Press Alt-S to apply the update from the SD card.

After the update is complete, hold Home and press Back to restart.

Connect your G1 to your computer again and browse to the SD card to rename the current update.zip back to HARD-SPL.ZIP and rename JFv1.41 RC33.zip to update.zip.

Power off your phone.

Start up in recovery mode by holding home and pressing power.

You will now enter recovery mode. You should see an exclamation.

If you do not see a menu on screen, press Alt-L to show the menu.

Press Alt-S to apply the update from the SD card.

After the update is complete, hold Home and press Back to restart.

Re-Connect your phone to your computer and mount the SD card and browse to the SD card.

Re-name the current update.zip back to JFv1.41 RC33.zip. Un-plug the phone from your computer and power it off. Remove the SD card and keep it in a safe place! This is your security blanket!!! Insert the NEW 8GB MicroSD that you purchased so that you would have a LOT more storage and format it the same way you did for the 1GB, just don't copy all of the rooting files to it! If you've done this according to the instructions above, you now have a G1 with root access and LOTS of extra storage (because you went out and got that 8GB card)! In a post to come later, I will tell you what I have learned from XDA about using your SD card to store programs, making it possible to install just about everything in the Market if you really wanted to. ENJOY! Read the XDA Dream Forums for some great tips. Register and post your experiences for others to enjoy!

Disclaimer: The author assumes no responsibilty for the succesful performance of this or any other tweak that a user may try. These instructions are for users in the US only.