Some of you (including me) did the manual update. It’s really not that hard, and when it’s done, almost everyone who does it is reporting that the phone, within minutes, will tell you that RC30 is ready to be downloaded. I did the manual update from RC19 (which is what most people have on their phone when they take it out of the box) and within about 5 minutes of manuall updating to RC29, I got a message telling me that RC30 was ready. So it seems that as soon as you have RC29, the phone “checks in” with the database, and promptly encourages you to install RC30 (which apparently fixes a security loophole of some sort).

So the question is – why doesn’t Google/T-Mobile set up something on their website(s) that would officially support manual updates of the phone? Doesn’t Iphone do that through itunes? I don’t see how hard it could possibly be, give the resources of both companies. Plus, it would quiet down about 95% of users who are rightfully past being patient in waiting for their updates.

On the other hand, officials over at the T-Mobile forums have said from the beginning that we need to be patient in waiting for the OTA updates for the G1 phone. I have to give them and Google credit, because I’m sure they’re doing their best in updating the phones in a safe and effective manner, but perhaps they overlooked the sheer amount of G1 users that they were actually going to have. Who knows.

As for the title of this post, I ask the question about what your experience is with the latest update, because I’ve literally heard everything from “It’s GREAT!” to “It bricked my phone!”, and everything in between. I must say that I’m one of those users that have had nothing but good experiences with the RC30 update, and it even seems that my battery lasts longer. Call it a coincidence if you want, but my G1 runs smoother than ever before.

Let me know what you think, what your experiences are with updates, and what you think of the updating progress so far. We’ll discuss in the comments below. Thanks!

The clear case for the G1 is definitely something I’m going to order (as I was typing this, I ordered two of them – perhaps one for a give-away?), as it looks like it’s a very solid protective container for your phone. The one thing I’m a bit concerned about are the bottom keys on the phone (home, back, end/power) and the trackball. It appears that the case surrounds them pretty well, and although I’m sure they’re still just as usable, it may take some getting used to before you’re totally comfortable.

But I have a deadly combination that in theory will offer the ultimate level of protection for your precious G1 phone – order a PhantomSkinz pack (you get 2 for 1), apply it, and then use the clear plastic case on top of it.

That’s like maximum security for your phone, and you can thank me later.

Anyone have this case yet? If so, we would love to hear your thoughts on it below in the comments!

Also, stay tuned, as I’ll probably give my second one away to one of our nice readers

And it doesn’t take much to tickle my fancy.

So without further ado, I’d like to present a list of the top 10 accessories for the new G1 phone. Keep in mind; there isn’t much to work with yet, but we felt that the following items were worthy of a recommendation:

1. G1 Phone accessory bundle – Includes a car charger, nice little flip case, and a spare wall charger. I don’t know about you, but I find that having two wall chargers comes in handy more often than not, especially when you lose the first one!

2. G1 Solid Black Snap- On Cover Hard Case – This case seems to be the most popular G1case being sold right now. It’s marketed under several brands, but they all appear to be the exact same. So until more G1 phone cases hit the market, this seems to be the one to have.

3. T-Mobile G1 Phone Stereo Converter/Adapter – Perhaps the most needed accessory out there. It would be quite hard to listen to music on your G1 phone without a converter like this!

4. G1 Phone 8GB MicroSD Memory Card – Obviously this card wasn’t made exclusively for the G1, however, upgrading your memory card is one of the first things you should do (since the one that comes with the phone is only 1GB). We picked the 8GB over the 16GB for the price.

5. HTC G1 Bluetooth Wireless Headset – Chances are good that you have one of these already, but if not, here’s your chance to pick up a nice one for an even nicer price. I’ll let you click through to see how much this baby is selling for. Pick up 2 or 3 at this price!

6. Hot Pink Rubber Feel Snap-On Cover Case – This is basically just a hot pink version of number two on this list…but it’s received quite a bit of attention from the ladies. Female G1 owners fought in the streets to get their hands on this lovely shell. Not really…but makes for a good story, eh?

7. G1 Sleeve Case (Black) – This case may not be for everyone…but it has a certain appeal to some users. It’s sleek, sexy, and fits your G1 phone like a glove. We really like this one.

8. Emergency AA Battery Charge Extender for the HTC Dream – Since the number one complaint about the G1 phone is the battery life (or lack thereof), we decided that this emergency battery charger might not be a bad investment. You know, something to keep around just in case.

9. G1 PhantomSkinz Protective Skin – The LAST thing you want to do to your new phone is accidentally scratch it up. It’s happened to the best of us – usually a pure mishap. PhantomSkinz.com makes the absolute best protective skin for your mobile device, and this is a must have for any phone (or any other sensitive electronic device for that matter). Check them out, and what’s cool about them is that they send you 2 kits for the price of one (just in case you botch the installation, or perhaps a spare set for down the road). One of the coolest features is the “self healing” feature of the skin…you have to see it to believe it!

10. Spare G1 Phone Battery – I don’t have a link for this one, and I’ll tell you why. As mentioned several times in this blog and across the blogosphere, the G1 phone is seriously lacking when it comes to battery power. This issue will hopefully somehow be magically improved with a future patch, but until then, we have to figure out ways to get the most bang for your buck. Word on the street is that if you are genuinely displeased with your battery life on your G1 phone, you can call T-Mobile and after you express your concern, they will ship another one out to you no charge (not requiring you to send your current one in exchange). So, bam – 2 batteries. In no way am I recommending trying to cheat T-Mobile out of a battery, but for $400, I want a phone that lasts more than 8 hours. Ya feel me?

There you have it. Top 10 accessories for the G1 phone have just been laid out for you, so what are you waiting for? Get to buying!

So I did.

And I was absolutely, hands down, blown the f**k away.

I downloaded it free from the Android Marketplace (on the phone, obviously), and right off the bat I was already preparing to make fun of how slow, inaccurate and clumsy it was surely going to be.

I was wrong.

As a matter of fact, I was so wrong, that I couldn’t have possibly been “wronger”.

If you’re still wondering just what in the world this Antichrist of applications claims to do, well, long story short, supposedly you can turn on the application, hold your phone’s camera lens up to any bar code on Earth (whether it be a tube of toothpaste, a CD, a book, whatever…) and it will scan it, analyze it, and return all sorts of useful information to you such as:

1. What it costs at several other outlets online
2. Costs and local locations you can get the item at
3. Reviews
4. Save it to your wish list
5. (perhaps the coolest) Set an alert if the price changes to a price you enter.

So, to say that this application is cool is definitely not doing it justice. I consider myself a pretty tech savvy individual, and as someone that pays attention to new technology, you get to a point where you literally think you’ve seen it all (or a variation). I can truly say that not once in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be able to use a cell phone to scan a product in a store in real time and find out if I’m paying too much.

The speed was eerily fast (and being in the St. Louis market, I don’t even have 3G access on my G1, I’m using Edge) and I was truly shocked at the speeds for all aspects of the application (load speed, results, camera speed, scan speed, etc…). Holding the scan bar on the product takes a few seconds to focus the camera in on it so that it can grab the info, but again, overall everything is VERY smooth and quick to the touch.

I’m going to end the review here…because I’m still in awe, and I have to give HUGE props to the evil genius devs over at Big In Japan (the creative creators of Shop Savvy).

Sirs, you have officially humbled me. Out of sheer humility, I bow to you.

Now excuse me while I finish scanning everything in my house just because IT’S SO DAMNED COOL!

(Image from Biggu.com)

Interesting, right?

Well, it turns out that because the finishes of the black G1 and the “bronze” (brown) G1 are slightly different, and because of that, the owners of the black version were experiencing the creak because of a tiny offending ridge of plastic underneath the screen above the end/power button. The reason that the owners of the brown version weren’t getting the creaking noise is because the paint was a little smoother than the black version, as the black version is more of matte finish – causing more friction, which caused the creak.

Thanks to “TechGuru” over at the official T-Mobile Forums for diagnosing this and letting us know how to get rid of it!

Instructions on how to get rid of the infamous G1 creak:

I was certain it was the screen rubbing on the phone body. I diagnosed the problem using a very thin piece of paper…like a credit card receipt (super thin thermo-paper). I slid the paper in between where the screen bezel meets the phone body (above the menu key) and moved it back and forth and up and around the screen hinge, and that’s were I found the tight spot of the screen touching! …there’s a tiny ridge on the far left side that you can see if you hold the screen open (see picture) ~ half way. I believe this raised was intended to keep the screen from slamming into the phone body itself and preserve the case?! I didn’t care, I wanted the darn squeak to stop!

To modify the little nub/ridge, I first used a small object to hold the screen open slightly to give clear access to it. Then, I used an Exacto knife to cut the smallest sliver from the nub and PRESTO! No more creak!

My wife has the brown G1 and it does NOT make any squeaks or creaks, but I think its because the paint finish is glossy smooth while the black one has more of a matte or flat finish to it.

You get to wait again for RC30!

Apparently a leet haxor was able to find an exploit in the current software version that allowed them access to the root level of the Android operating system. Although Android is open source, I don’t thing Google enjoyed the fact that people were now able to go through a “back door” (yeah, I hate saying that phrase) to access the lower levels of the virutal Android basement.

In any case, the new RC30 updates will probably be pushed out pretty fast, due to the sensitive nature of the security flaw. This is good news and bad news…as those waiting for the last update and finally got it will now have to wait for another, but, those that haven’t received the update yet will at least hopefully get it a bit faster now. We’ll see.

A statement from Google:

“We’ve been notified of this issue (Jailbreaking of Android) and have developed a fix. We’re currently working with our partners to push the fix out and updating the open source code base to reflect these changes.”

Although I’m not too frustrated by the upcoming update, I wonder how many people out there are starting to question the phone’s logevity with all of these security flaws and updates? Just remember, we WERE told from the beginning to wait, but one can only wait so long…

We’d love to hear from anyone that received the RC30 update or any other update experiences you’ve had. Just post in the comments below. Thanks!

Need more juice? More juice seems to be what everyone is talking about with the G1 phone. Try the Motorola Portable Power P790 battery. It will give a quick-fix charge to anything you recharge via USB, especially your prized G1. This handy gadget sells, on average, for about $50. Or, how about the mini USB portable battery starter kit that allows you to charge your battery via usb cable. Would look great on your desk too!

Got Bluetooth? How bout while you are driving down the road?  You can acquire several different accessories for this very purpose, including a HiTT Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit, which sells for roughly $55, and a BlueAction Bluetooth Portable car kit.  Both are great for the road.

Or, if its extra cables you need, why not look into a Mini 5-pin 2.0, Retractable USB Data Cable? This device not only saves space, but it sells at an inexpensive $5 on average. Or, looking to save some serious room? How about the HTC 2 in 1 Audio charging USB Cable. It performs several functions, in one small convenient device – for around $5. Now that’s a deal.

Another thing you may want to look into (like we talked about last week) is a case for your G1. Now come on, do you really want your prized possession to fall out of your pocket onto the concrete? There are a multitude of cases available, from $10 on up, from cool looking to downright armor-clad…you will definitely find a case to fit your needs.  You can even get different colors. You a pink kinda guy? Get a pink case! You ladies prefer black? They have them.

So, get out there, and acquire some accessories, so that your G1 can be even more awesome than it already is – if that’s possible.

G1UnlockCodes.com was launched yesterday with the simple format of:

1. Submit your G1s IMEI number and your email.

2. Make payment (only $23.99)

And within 6-18 hours, you’re alerted when your 8 digit unlock code is ready! It’s a very simple concept, and the site is secure with an SSL and of course, an endorsement from G1Updates.com!

A lot of folks out there who are waiting to purchase G1 phone’s simply because they’re not sure about the unlocking process can rest easy now, as G1UnlockCodes.com is ready to serve you immediately. Customer support is great, and plenty of instruction is provided to make sure you submit the right numbers, and are able to successfully unlock your phone without issue.

Even Better News

In an effort to drum up some business, and get the word out about G1UnlockCodes.com, we’re giving away a free unlock code to one of our lucky readers! All you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section below expressing your interest, and we’ll randomly choose one person within the next 48 hours to give a code away to! Also, if you win, you must promise to take a picture of your phone showing that it’s unlocked.

So if you’re interested, again, just leave a comment below (and please leave a valid email address in the email address box (kept confidential), so we can get in touch if you’re the lucky winner.

Looking foward to hearing from you, and if you have any questions, just let us know!

If you don’t have time to wait, and want to unlock your G1 phone right now, then head on over to G1UnlockCodes.com right away!

Additional Note Of Interest – As reported in the comments below, it seems that the method below DOES work fine, as long as you use a different MicroSD card then the one that came with the G1 phone. Thanks to our readers for picking up on this – great information!

Further Developments……

According to “Will”, who is a T-Mobile forum moderator, there is some new information on this “manual” updating process that you need to be aware of (here is the original post):

I’ve checked with our Product Development staff and they have informed that this is definitely not what we want people doing.  The Updates are intended to be distributed to everyone via an Over-The-Air Update.  While I understand that many of you have downloaded this update and seem to have it working, T-Mobile cannot support you in doing so.  If you download and attempt to install this or any other update (regardless whether its from Google or not) to your device, and it is rendered unusable, you are out of luck.  Even if we do exchange it, you will be without a device for several days (or possibly even weeks).

The updates are being sent out to everyone.  We didn’t plan the OTA updates to be installed on a phone which had already been updated manually.  Hopefully the OTA installer is smart enough to realize the update is present, but who knows.  If your phone is ‘bricked’ due to the offical OTA being installed on a manually updated phone, once again, you are out of luck.

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So, you’re tired of waiting for the RC28 RC29 update for your T-Mobile G1 phone? Do you have a MicroSD card laying around?

Apparently, a lot of people were tired of waiting. The update was scheduled to take place over the air over the period of a few weeks, as reported by official T-Mobile sources. But like any good tech savvy gadget head, someone got cranky and decided to figure out how to do it on their own, and here’s the deal.

• Download the update from Google website: https://android.clients.google.com/updates/signed-kila-ota-115247-prereq.TC4-RC19+RC28.zip (even though it says RC28, apparently it is in fact RC29)
  

• Rename the file you just downloaded to update.zip

• Copy the file update.zip to the root of your micro sd card.

• Now turn off your phone and turn it back on while holding the home key.

• When you see a triangle with a exclamation sign and a phone, slide open your keyboard and press ALT-L to display the menu and then ALT-S to start the update process.

• Wait for the update to finish. If prompted, press Home + Back to restart your phone.

• Wait a little bit more and done!

After reading the comments of folks that tried it, they all pretty much said the same thing “Thanks, it worked great!”. But there were also plenty of people who were more content on waiting for the update to be delivered safely OTA. Updating via your MicroSD card, as stated in the disclaimer at the beginning of this post, should be approached with extreme caution, and plenty of bravery!

If you did attempt this G1 update – please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear what happened!

(Image source: http://androidcommunity.com/update-your-t-mobile-g1-from-a-microsd-card-20081031)

In this day and age filled with more gadgets then one person could possible handle, we tend to overlook the fact that they need to be taken care of. When spending $500+ on an electronic device the size of a credit card, thinking they’re indestructible is the wrong mindset – because in fact they are quite fragile. There are some basic precautions you can take to protect your electronic toys (such as the G1 phone), and we’ll talk about that below.

Think about it – how many times are you on the run, and you stop to pick up a sandwich, fries, or whatever tickles your fancy. You pull away, and in one hand you’re carrying your G1, and the other hand holds a monster burger which you easily multi-task. What you’re not thinking of (probably because you’re so hungry) is all the grease, bits of food, and other related unpleasant things are probably be rubbed, dragged, or lodged into the keys or on the screen of your device. Oh no! You just realized that you gunked up your phone, and now something isn’t working right. If only there was a solution to keep that from happening? Perhaps a protective skin? Read on…

Sure, there are quite a few options out there. You can jump on ebay, Amazon, or wherever you fancy shopping, and pick up a protective “skin” for your device, but…is it really what you need? Most of the skins out there are “one-size-fits-all”. Now you tell me – how many advanced handheld devices out there are equal in size to one another? That’s right – none! Every company has different specs, different models, and so on. What you need is a protective skin that was made 100% specifically for your device (in our case, the T-Mobile G1 phone). Luckily, someone was smart enough to realize this, and we’re proud to endorse Phantom Skinz.

PhantomSkinz.com produces high quality, specifically made skinz for your phone or other handheld device that fit better than a glove. With their insanely high quality urethane films, your G1 phone (or whatever device you use) will be super protected against daily abuse.

And it’s not just about protecting your cell phone screens either. Remember, your electronic devices are at risk from many different dangers every single day, and it’s not just the fancy screen you have to worry about. That’s why you need full-body and keyboard protection besides a cell phone screen protector. That’s where PhantomSkinz.com comes in quite handy!

So if you’re the type of person who likes to take care of what they buy, then before you invest your money in some phone screen protector that won’t fit and won’t protect your entire device from danger, consider getting a Phantom Skinz self-healing one that’s custom-designed to be so much more than a touch screen protector.