T-Mobile G1 Updates » G1 Applications

Quick and Easy G1 Texting Tricks

Chad Sweely — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:29:11 +0000

The T-Mobile G1 is a great phone for texting, especially with the landscape QWERTY keyboard. With this in mind, I have provided some tricks below on how to enhance your texting experience with this quality phone:

ALT + Delete – Delete one line of text.
ALT + Q – Indention / tab.
ALT + Spacebar – Insert a special character.
ALT + Trackball – Put cursor at start or end of text.
Menu + A – Select all of the text that you have made.
Shift Twice – Enable ALL CAPS mode.
Shift + Trackball – Highlight / select a section of text.

You can also copy/paste text by following the steps below:

Copying – Select the text that you want to copy by using Shift+Trackball, hold the trackball in, and then select the “Copy” option.
Pasting – Place the cursor where you would like your text to be pasted, hold the trackball in, and then select the “Paste” option. Your copied text then will appear.

If there are any useful texting tips that work for you, please feel free to share them below in our comments section.

‘AppPack’ Is Now Here!

Chad Sweely — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:09:29 +0000

T-Mobile G1 users have been waiting a while for the ‘AppPack’ and it is now here! This application package recommends software to you from the Android Marketplace that would best suit you.

Some of the most recommended software that ‘AppPack’ suggests are:

Mobile Backup – Ever fear that you will lose or damage your phone, and also lose all of the contacts within your phone? Fear no more, because this app uploads all of the information of your contacts on a remote, safe server hosted by T-Mobile.
My Account – As discussed in my post of this app. My Account lets you view stats of your account with T-Mobile such as your activity, bill summary, etc.
Sherpa – This application presents users with locally-relevant business information, such as places to eat, banks, and tourist attractions. Over time, Sherpa will also recommend new places to you as they become available. This is a great app if you are traveling or new to a specific area.

The ‘AppPack’ is available from the T-Mobile Android Applications Store, and is a great way to get involved with your G1. Any readers that have experienced the ‘AppPack,’ please leave your feedback below.

Bar Code Scanner Application – Great Christmas Shopping Tool!

Chad Sweely — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:04:53 +0000

Have your shopping list? Check! Have your G1? Check! The G1′s barcode scanning tool called ShopSavvy is a great tool for your Christmas shopping needs.

The advantage of ShopSavvy is that comparative shopping is not a hassle anymore. When you scan a bar code off of any bar coded product into your G1, it will…

Automatically provide the product price (if a price tag is not provided)
Present you the price of the product from competitors in your area to give you the best price (with thanks to GPS)

Other features of ShopSavvy are:

Wish Lists – This helps you keep a list of products that you have in mind for other people.
Price Alerts – If you are wanting to know if a certain product decreases price over time, you may specify if you want to be alerted.

This is an instant way of getting the best deal on a product without having to go shop to shop around town, which can be very time consuming–especially during the Christmas holiday rush.

I have listed steps of how to download this handy application to your G1:

Launch the Market application, then touch Applications, and then Shopping
From the market applications list, choose ShopSavvy. A description of the product will appear–just scroll down and touch Install.
A notification will appear stating that the application has access to: network communication, your location, and hardware controls. Touch the “Ok” button at the bottom of the screen.
Once ShopSavvy has been successfully downloaded, it will then be accessible from the Applications tab.

Please feel free to leave any feedback with regard to this excellent shopping accessory.

G1 Shop Savvy Application Just Blew My Mind

Ryan — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:54:08 +0000

After all the hype, I was anxious to find out more about the much talked about “ShopSavvy” application that was developed for the Android mobile platform (for the G1phone) by “Big In Japan“. The application has had some major air time on all the major media outlets, including NPR the other day, which is where my Mom heard about it, said it sounded amazing, and told me to check it out asap.

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:

What it costs at several other outlets online
Costs and local locations you can get the item at
Reviews
Save it to your wish list
(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)

G1 Now Receiving Support For Meebo

Adam — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:29:38 +0000

Meebo is a new online networking program which allows for a very simple chat panel to contact your friends with only a single buddy list and a short login/password.

We are excited to provide Meebo users and Android enthusiasts with a new way to connect live with their friends. Enabling access to Meebo on the go means that more and more people will think ‘Meebo’ for open communications whether they are at home, work, school or none of the above!” said Seth Sternberg, founder
and CEO of Meebo. Meebo was founded in September 2005 by Sandy Jen, Elaine Wherry and Seth Sternberg and is a Californian based company.

The Meebo app doesn’t use SMS, and only charges for the data used, it isn’t resource extensive, and displays notifications in the system tray.

To download it, go to http://www.meebo.com/android/

Latest G1 Applications Are Super Hot

Adam — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:48:58 +0000

With the T-Mobile G1′s operating system “Android” being declared open source, program developers are finding it a major boon to expanding the program market which can fill the needs for the G1. The short term applications don’t have a lot of choice to other the end user, but a few gems have emerged.

Mobiola Video Studio – $24.95 USD

This program on offerÂ allows the user to view Youtube media/ DVD’s/A plethoraÂ of other formats (avi, 3gp, mov, mpeg, mpg, mjpeg, mp4, mg2, mve, m4v, mkv, flv, smk, str, vob, rm, fli, flc, wve, uv2, wmv, 3g2, asf, m4a) right on their phone. The real world uses for this program are infinite. Imagine watching Die Hard on your G1,while all the miserable sobs on the train nod off to sleep or jam themselves in front of a heavy novel.

Also included with the deal are…
*Subtitle support
*Drag and drop transfer from the computer to the linked G1
*Conversion queuing.
*Language selection.

IM+ All-in-one Messenger – $19.95

The next program on offer is the IM+ All-in-one messenger. It is a multi client messenger which allows communication via Windows Live Messenger/Yahoo/ICQ/Jabber/GTalk/MyspaceIM/AIM/iChat from your G1. Imagine being caught at the office when suddenly a powerout cuts the phones/internet off. You could still get your business/personal messages to whomever you need without suffering any setbacks.

Other benefits include…
-No cost other than data transfer.
-Lifetime updates with no additional cost.
-Status and emoticon support
-grouped contacts

T-Mobile G1 Shazam Application

Ryan — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:10:32 +0000

Courtesy Shazam.comWant to be impressed?

Looking for a hot new G1application?

Here’s what you got to do – download and install the Shazam application on your G1 Phone. Tune in to the radio, television or website, where you listen to music on. When you get to hear a song you like and want information regarding it, record a few seconds of the song using your G1Phone’s microphone. Then send the recorded song to the “Shazam factory” and receive detailed information of the song, including – the artist name, track title, track subtitle, album name, music genre and the artist’s MySpace page!

So here’s what the Shazam Application lets you do in brief – identify the songs you like, save them, purchase them through the Amazon Android Store and connect to the artist’s MySpace page!

This is sure to be one of those applications for the G1 phone that will be on every phone out there. Shazam seems to have done a fantastic job with this one, and with such a name behind it, you can expect on time updates, fixes (if need be) and just general awesomeness.

Thanks Shazam!

If you’re interested in learning more, or maybe you’re ready to download it right now, head over to the Shazam Application page.

Twitroid Application For T-Mobile G1

Ryan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:38:53 +0000

Get the Twitdroid application for your G1 Android Phone – before you get the message, “What are you doing?” Twitdroid is your G1 Android Phone’s version of the popular social message website – Twitter.

Twitdroid works like this -

Once you signup to Twitter, you should send out invites to your buddies directly or to all your buddies on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and MSN. When they sign up, they automatically become your “followers” and you theirs. And if your buddies or you, are already on Twitter, all you’ve got to do is to go to their twitter profile to connect with them and vice versa.

Now that all your buddies are on Twitter, you can update them a billion times a day regarding what your currently doing and vice versa! From brushing your teeth to launching you new product, let the world know what your up to! Twitdroid also saves you a lot time and the boring task of forwarding emails or text messages to your huge buddy list. With the Twitdroid on you G1 Android Phone, just put up your message once and let all your buddies know your status instantly! Can you imagine having to send out 2.9 million text messages like Barrack Obamba! Too bad for Obama, that the G1 Phone and Twitdroid launched only a few days back!

In short – The Twitdroid allows you to update all your “followers” instantly of what your up to in real time!

Download Twitroid Here

GMote – Turn Your G1 Into A Digital Remote Control

Ryan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:27:40 +0000

So here is a hypothetical scenario (actually it’s quite common), but for the sake of examples, here we go:

You’re laying on your couch, favorite chair, maybe even your bed. Let’s pretend that you’re tired of TV, simply because there is nothing on worth watchin’ at the moment, and you decide you want to listen to that hot new tune you downloaded on your computer.

Problem – You absolutely don’t have the tiny amount of energy it takes to get up and make those dreadful couple of mouse clicks to start the song. What do you do?

If by chance you have your new T-Mobile G1 phone handy (and chances are, it’s probably right next to you), you could download and install GMote! GMote turns your Androidian phone into a digital remote control entertainment center that can play songs, movies, or whatever on your nearby computer. Just point, and click, and the bass starts thumpin’.

You can pause, rewind, fast forward, play, mute, and every other standard function that you would expect to be available at your command. Let me tell you, if we aren’t already lazy enough, this isn’t helping. But we’re not complaining…no, we love the idea, and quite frankly it’s about time someone had the pure genius to whip up something like this.

So you want to get your hands on it?

Not so fast.

As you may or may not know, Google isn’t allowing developers to upload apps until the 27th of October (right around the corner), so you’ll notice that it’s not available in the public marketplace. So until then, if you really want to get your hands on it, head over to the official Gmote site and download it! It’s right on their front page, and it’s the same exact version as you’ll get on the phone in a few days.

Marc from Gmote says:

The application is Android 1.0 compatible and downloading it from the
website is identical to what you would get in the Android market. The
only reason it’s not in the public version of the market yet is that
the market doesn’t currently allow developers to upload their own
applications. As soon as it does, the app will go up on the market.

Also, here is a link to the official GMote Google Group, just in case you want to drop in and say hi, thanks, screw you, or whatever else is on your mind

Amazon MP3 Android Application Comes Preloaded

Ryan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:12:44 +0000

Google’s G1 Phone which is based on the open source Linux platform, Android, comes pre-loaded with the Amazon MP3 Android application, thereby offering you a user friendly mp3 purchasing and downloading experience. The Amazon MP3 Android has been especially designed for G1 and allows you to search, download, purchase and play the song of your choice from over 6 million DRM free mp3 songs of brand name music labels as well as from thousands of individual labels. There are no subscription charges, once you download the song, its belongs to you for life!

Bill Carr, the Vice President of Amazon was thus expectedly excited when he made the announcement that Google had joined forces with Amazon to offer the search, purchase and download – mp3 service for the G1 Android phone.

The mp3s sold through the Amazon’s MP3 Android application are quite reasonably priced; the the top 100 songs are available for just 89 cents, while the top 100 best selling albums are priced at $8.99 or less. Similarly, most albums on the G1 Amazon store are priced between $5.99 to $9.99.

While the iTunes Store faces no major competition from Amazon MP3 Android as of now, it is assumed that in the coming weeks the Amazon MP3 Android will capture a large amount of iTunes customers as the G1 phone gains popularity!

Since G1 has been launched on the 22^nd October, thousands of G1 owners have started downloading add-on applications. A quick warning to G1 customers, since G1 phone developers are not yet able to register or upload their applications to the official Google G1 site there is no guaranteed that the G1 scattered all over various internet websites are safe. Thus please don’t download applications from any other website other than the official G1 phone website – Android.com, as the various applications distributed by other websites have not gone through Google’s stringent security checks and maybe harmful to your G1 phone!

NOTE: Please wait until the 27^th of October when Google finally allows developers to upload their application to Android.com.

Hence, I’ve stuck to reviewing the Amazon MP3 Android Application for now, which is on its way to being one of the most popular G1 Android Phone applications.