Hackers have found a way to circumvent controls in the Google Android operating system used on T-Mobile’s G1 mobile phone, allowing them to get around restrictions created by the phone’s designers.

The hack gives G1 users a way to read data on parts of the phone that are normally walled off and could be used to install new programs, or even a new operating system, on the mobile phone. Currently, programs for the open source Android operating system must be written in Java, rather than other popular programming languages such as C or C++.

oogle has begun distributing a patch to its Android mobile phone operating system, an early test for how nimbly the company can respond and how well the infrastructure works to distribute and install updates.

For the Android test phone I’m using, a T-Mobile G1, the update was smoother than the process by which the software problem came to light publicly on October 24.

The handset I’m testing gave me a message Saturday afternoon: "A system update is available," and a choice to update now or later. When I clicked the button to begin the update, it downloaded new software, which took a few minutes, then installed it, then resumed working with no hitches.

The patch fixes the highly publicized security problem with Android’s Web browser and makes a few other minor changes, according to a Google spokesman quoted in IT World on Friday.

Read more @ Cnet news

Asustek Computer plans to launch its first Android-based Google phone in the first half of 2009, according to company sources. Asustek may initially sell the Android-powered handsets under its own brand in the Taiwan market before also launching customized models for overseas clients, said market sources close to the company.

In other news, the company sources also noted that Asustek plans to gradually phase out EMP-based handsets and instead will switch to handset platforms from Qualcomm and Marvell.

While launching its 3.5G P552w PDA phone in the Taiwan market on October 28, Asustek plans to launch one 3G handset model built using Qualcomm’s dual-core solutions in the first quarter of next year, the sources noted.

Asustek’s shipments of smartphones in the Taiwan market totaled 30,000 units in the first nine months of this year, and the company expects the annual shipment volumes to reach 40,000 units by year-end.

Read more @ DigiTimes

Source: Gearlog

There was outrage last month when it was discovered Apple had included a "kill switch" into the iPhone software.

The kill switch meant that any applications Apple did not approve of or were dangerous could be disabled remotely by Apple themselves.

In the terms and conditions of the Google android fine print Google has said they "may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion".

The T-Mobile G1 is the first phone to run the Android software developed by Google and goes on sale Oct. 22.

Will Google get the blogger world and mainstream press up in arms like Apple did?

T-Mobile is backpedaling on the limit it placed on the so-called unlimited data plan that will accompany its Android phone, but the operator isn’t saying exactly what the new terms will be.

When T-Mobile introduced the G1, the first phone based on Google’s Android mobile platform, on Tuesday, it said that subscribers would be able to sign up for a US$35-per-month unlimited data plan. But the fine print on the Web site for the phone said that users would actually be limited to 1G byte of data usage per month, after which their connection would slow to a 50K bps or less rate.

The operator quickly came under fire for the limit, which is relatively low for people who hope to use the phone regularly to view maps, check e-mail, watch YouTube videos and browse the Internet.

On Thursday, T-Mobile said it removed the 1G-byte limit from its policy statement. But it didn’t say that users would have true unlimited download capability. “The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with all customers,” the company said in a statement.

The Web site now has a more generic statement about possible repercussions for people who use what T-Mobile calls a “disproportionate” amount of bandwidth. “To provide the best network experience for all of our customers we may temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of customers who use a disproportionate amount of bandwidth,” the fine print reads.

Read more @ pcworld.com

From PC World.

The launch of the new Google Android phone on T-Mobile USA’s network is fast approaching, but will the phone live up to its hype?

T-Mobile USA is expected to announce the new phone, called the Dream, on September 23. And it is expected to start selling the device, which is made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, sometime in October.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that sources close to the manufacturer say HTC is forecasting that it will ship 600,000 to 700,000 phones by the end of the year. This is much higher than the 300,000 to 500,000 phones analysts have predicted the company will sell.

Neither HTC nor T-Mobile would comment on the story, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The phone, which will be the first to use Google’s open-source Android operating system, has been hyped for months. Blogs and traditional news outlets have been reporting every rumor and leak about the device, which is expected to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones.

The phone is expected to be packed full of bells and whistles that combine those found in the iPhone with some found in a BlackBerry. For example, it has a large touch screen like the iPhone. But it also has a swivel-out QWERTY keypad and trackball for navigation similar to the BlackBerry.

But I think the success of the Android-based Dream will be based on how well the software and applications work. Apple’s open API (application programming interface) for the iPhone and its App Store, where applications are easily sold and downloaded, have created a robust marketplace for new applications for the iPhone.

Full article @ news.cnet.com

BERLIN (AFP) - T-Mobile said Monday it plans to launch a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, making it the first operator to do so and posing a direct threat to Apple’s popular iPhone.

A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s German parent, declined to comment on the launch date for the device which is made by mobile phone maker HTC.

According to a report in the New York Times, the phone will hit the stores in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.

The new device will have a touch screen like the iPhone and other smartphones that use software from firms like Palm, Microsoft and Nokia to allow users to access the Internet.

Read more @ Yahoo! news

Last week, we told you that Taiwan-based HTC, one of the largest mobile device makers in the world, was readying the first smart phone to use Google’s Android operating system.

Well, on Monday the Federal Communications Commission approved the device for use in the United States.

The F.C.C. posted certification documentation on its Web site. The documents confirm is the name of the new phone: Dream. Most important, though: with the smartphone’s certification behind it, it is possible for T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 4 wireless carrier, to go ahead with plans to debut the phone next month and begin selling it ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

The new phone is an important step in Google’s plans to expand the company’s presence beyond the personal computer and into the mobile universe. Google executives have been vocal about how the mobile Web is key to the company’s plans for growth, as well as expanding the market for its products to a global audience.

Read more @ nytimes.com

T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, according to people briefed on the company’s plans. The phone will be made by HTC, one of the largest makers of mobile phones in the world, and is expected to go on sale in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.
The high-end phone is expected to match many of the capabilities of Apple’s iPhone and other so-called smartphones that run software from Palm, Research in Motion, Microsoft and Nokia to access the Internet and perform computerlike functions.
The HTC phone, which many gadget sites are calling the “dream,” will have a touch screen, like the iPhone. But the screen also slides out to expose a full five-row keyboard. A video of the phone has been posted recently on YouTube. A person who has seen the HTC device said it matched the one in the video.

Link: Read the full story @ The New York Times