For now, Android's got about as much enterprise support as a Sidekick (well okay, a little more, but not much) -- so that's got to be keeping G1s out of the hands of throngs who are too tied-down to Exchange, Notes, or some equally stuffy piece of server-side software to be able to make the switch. China's QiGi feels your pain, which is where the company's surprisingly okay-looking i6 comes into play: the handset supports both Android and Windows Mobile, although you can't dual-boot -- you've got to choose one and run with it until you decide to install the other. It packs a 624MHz processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, a trackball, and -- in lieu of a QWERTY slide -- an on-screen Chinese keyboard with stylus support that we haven't seen before. Android, we love ya and all, but until you go through puberty, this multi-platform support is just about the best thing we've ever heard.

[Thanks, zsx]

The G1's got its fair share of accelerometers -- one need only pop open compass mode in Street View to figure that out -- but one thing it doesn't have is screen auto-rotation. That's where the ever-vigilant developer community comes into play, and Google's all's-fair policy toward third-party apps should guarantee that this nifty little hack will be readily available to anyone who wants it. Follow the break to see the keyboardless magic in action (hint: it works pretty much how you'd expect it to).

Nothing like a couple passive-aggressive keynote speeches and some spirited debate to get the blood pumping -- and with competition in the open mobile platform space more heated than it's ever been before, it was just a matter of time before these cats met up in a back alley brawl, Anchorman-style. That brawl came at San Francisco's Open Mobile Summit last week, where tensions boiled over into a series of subtle (and not-so-subtle) jabs between Google exec Rich Miner, Symbian veep Jerry Panagrossi, and Nokia's Mary McDowell. Pimping Android's security model, Miner came out swinging with accusations that Symbian's architecture leaves it with security flaws, a claim Panagrossi vigorously denied; interestingly, Larry Berkin of Access (yes, that Access) -- of all people -- stepped in to break up the fight and say Miner had it wrong. Panagrossi went on to suggest Android might be a niche platform, and... well, you can pretty much imagine that it went downhill from there. Drama!

[Image via I Can Has Cheezburger?, thanks Jota E.]

While most Danes are more concerned with securing a Snuggie right now than securing a next-generation handset, we do have some stellar news for those waiting in tense anticipation for Android to head that way. According to HTC's Peter Frølund, at least one Android-powered handset will be coming to Denmark next summer. In fact, he's quoted as saying that "one or more Android products" will land in all of the Nordic countries simultaneously, though he couldn't get any more specific than that. Bonus Snuggie coverage after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We've heard that it's been showing up on doorsteps and in stores for a few days now, but T-Mobile has just officially given the word that the G1 is now available in white to complement bronze and the especially personality-free black (not to say there's anything wrong with that, black G1 owners). The price, hardware, and software are all the same, so if you thought this release might somehow magically bring a soft keyboard with it, think again. Any guesses what -- if any -- future colors we might see on this puppy?

Perfect timing, eh? We're really not too concerned about the supposed browser hijack being reported on G1s the past couple days -- there's no proof at this point that it's actually a browser issue, and even if it is, we expect Google to be Johnny-on-the-spot with a patch -- but it's still cool to see a viable alternative getting developed in the form of Opera's venerable Opera Mini in its latest 4.2 beta form. We've played around with it for a few minutes and it seems to work pretty dang well, so if you G1 owners are feeling wild and crazy enough to switch up your browsing routine, give it a go -- it's free, after all.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Those crazy zzzPhone kids are at it again, and this time they're jumping on the open handset bandwagon. Sure, the whole thing has always seemed excessively shady, and as far as we can tell no one has ever received a one of these devices, but apparently the made-to-order cellphone is now "shipping" with Android. If the optional TV tuner, 100,000 candlepower flashlight, or solid gold case (decked out with one karat diamonds) wasn't enough to lure you in, maybe this new development will seal the deal for you. Of course we're dying to put the modular mobile boom box attachment through its paces, but not so much that we'll be sending our hard earned cash over to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone any time soon.

There's already been a G1 firmware pushed out to patch up a browser security issue, but you know how it goes with those -- two flaws seem to magically sprout up in place of every one that's snuffed out. It's unclear exactly what's going on here, but some G1 users are reporting that attempting to visit Yahoo!'s home page is intermittently redirecting them to a totally legit-looking page imploring them to download some bogus Microsoft AntiSpyware crap -- and while we're thinking that this fake site was intended to target slightly larger computers of the Windows variety, it's disturbing that this redirect somehow managed to filter down to Android. It could be a DNS hack or a problem with T-Mobile's proxies, in which case the G1's own defenses are absolved for the time being, but that's not much comfort for Joe Yahoo-User, now is it?

[Via Android Community, thanks Dooosthy]

When reviewing the G1 we found a lot to like, but a lot to dislike too. We knew that some of its shortcomings, like the missing headphone jack, were sadly permanent (free adapters notwithstanding), but hoped that it would just be a matter of time before some enterprising soul (with an enterprising compiler) would take care of another complaint: the lack of multi-touch. Lo and behold now is that time and Ryan Gardner is that coder, author of a little app that proves the inability of the G1 to accept a two-finger salute is not a hardware limitation. You can see for yourself in a video after the break, and once Ryan is done cleaning up his code he pledges to post that, too (don't forget those comments, man). Okay, so being able to cover your screen with red and yellow splotches isn't going to convert any spoiled iPhoners, but we're thinking the rest of you developers out there should be able to pick up this ball and run with it. So make with the running, already.

It's not going to somehow magically conjure a jack where there's currently nothing more than a sad-looking ExtUSB port, but new G1 buyers can take some solace in the knowledge that they'll be able to plug in, turn it up, and tune out right out of the box. We've received official word from HTC that 3.5mm headphone adapters for the ExtUSB port are now being bundled with the phone, meaning you won't be stuck with that janky (no, seriously, it's insanely terrible) headset with the special connector that you get free of charge; after all, when we're blasting the Jonas Brothers at full tilt, we need the kind of fidelity that only high-end earbuds can provide. What, you got a problem with that?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

The G1's taken some flak for being just a little less fashion-forward than the hottest handsets on the market, but as retail Android handsets go, it's the most beautiful thing going -- and we think that illustrious title's safe for the time being. Meet the "Dream G2" (groan) from China's Sciphone, a brick of an Android-powered handset promised for a November 28 release featuring EDGE data, WiFi, 4-megapixel cam with autofocus, 50MB of internal memory, microSD expansion to 16GB, FM radio, a QVGA display, and "the most advanced software ever engineered." Without a physical keyboard (as far as we can see, anyhow) and no software support in Android promised for a few months at minimum, it's unclear how you'll input text, but hey, the release is still a good ten days away -- maybe these guys are good at thinking on their feet.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks neerhaj]

At Adobe's MAX event this morning, none other than Andy Rubin himself helped to demo Flash running on a G1, proving that it's possible (in case years of Nokias with S60 browsers haven't already done a sufficient job of showing that) and that Apple's running out of excuses. It wasn't mentioned exactly when we'd see it pushed out in an over-the-air update (or available from the Market, possibly, we suppose), but at least Rubin confirmed that Adobe and Google are pooling their collective noggins to make it happen. Ads for life insurance just aren't the same without an animated dancing dude or flying pig, so we're delighted to hear that some balance is going to be restored to the world.

Oh sure, a few remarkably lucky and / or well connected individuals out there are yapping it up on a white T-Mobile G1 right this very moment, but for the bulk of us, coming across one is basically impossible; in fact, the white G1 isn't even listed on T-Mobile's website currently. TMO News has it that the lightest hue of the HTC-built handset isn't expected to ship until at least the US Thanksgiving holiday, meaning that you've still got some serious time to kill before wrapping your paws around the increasingly enviable mobile. Rumors have been rampant that a paint chipping issue is at fault, and while we've yet to hear any confirmation of that, we have seen problems with white paint throw a wrench in the production plans of other mega-corps in the past. There's always the black G1 + Colorware if you're really impatient, you know.

Huawei's a member of both Google's Open Handset Alliance and the Symbian Foundation, so it stands to reason that the Chinese manufacturer might have more than a passing interest in pumping out handsets powered by the platforms. Sure enough, the marketing directory of Huawei's handset division now says that it'll bust into the Android and Symbian markets next year, offering carrier-branded devices to go along with its Windows Mobile-powered fare. Despite its failure to attract outside investment, the company says that it'll be able to get its new smartphones out the door by lengthening the shelf life of its lower-end devices -- the devices it's classically known for -- which will lead to higher profit margins and, presumably, enough organic revenue to fund its own R&D.

[Via Unwired View]

We'd already gotten a general idea about what Google's RC29 and RC30 Android updates for the G1 did, but if you're curious about all the little details, you'll no doubt be pleased to know that the Google Android Security Team has now finally come out and explained the updates themselves. As we had heard, the RC29 update fixed a vulnerability that could potentially let malicious sites take over your browser, but it apparently also fixed two other software bugs, including a universal cross-site scripting problem that could also give someone control of the browser, and an exploit that let folks bypass Android's locking mechanism by booting the phone into safe mode. As for RC30, it apparently not only fixed that little root access issue, but two other bugs related to WebKit, which could, again, let someone take over your browser, and access to the G1's memory to, for instance, read stored cookies and gain online privileges. Google has also clarified that it intends to wait until all users have access to updates before it discloses the full details about them, so it looks like this cycle of confusion is going to be a regular occurrence for G1 owners.

[Via Talk Android]