Yesterday a challenge was set on the XDA Forums to see if any users could manage to get Google Maps Navigation to work on the T-Mobile G1. The thread was opened at 8:32pm last night with an answer to the problem being provided at 3:36am this morning with full instructions how to complete the hack.

Alright… i’ve yet to be able to identify the specific lines yet… but here you go.

I was able to get navigation using the 2 build props attached.

I used SU File Browser and adb to do this. You can do it all with adb but between the 2 i was able to do things faster.

Mount system as rw
delete build.prop and build.trout.prop
(or you may modify yours to match, and skip the next step)
push the new build.prop and build.trout.prop to /system/
delete /system/app/Maps.apk
delete /system/sd/app/com.google.android.maps.apk if present
delete /system/sd/dalvik-cache/data@[email protected]@classes. dex
REBOOT you have to reboot for the phone to re-read the build props
install the new maps.apk — i did adb install if you do not get Success then you missed something.

update: after all is working.. you may put your old build props back

[Read more…]

Last Friday saw the release of the Motorola DROID which is the first smartphone to run the Android 2.0 OS. Reports are showing that perhaps 100,000 phones were sold in the first weekend of it’s launch. Verizon at the weekend had 200,000 DROID handsets made available and most of the stores sold at least half the stock indicating that perhaps 100,000 were sold in total.

The information came from Mark McKechnie of Broadpoint AmTech Inc who has also indicated that Motorola expect to sell 1 million phones based on Android software this year and 10 million in 2010. [Read more…]

RIM and EA recently showed off what the BlackBerry will be capable of game wise in the near future. A video of Need for Speed can be seen below running on a BlackBerry and as you’ll see, the graphics look fantastic for a mobile device.

The graphics are down to BlackBerry supporting OpenGL ES that allows 3D gaming and graphics to be used on a BlackBerry device.

GL ES Support Enables 3D Games and Graphics for BlackBerry Smartphones

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry® Java® Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK). A beta version of the BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0 including OpenGL ES support is available at

[Read more…]

Just a few weeks ago we mentioned that Adobe had launched Photoshop for iPhone that allowed easy editing of photos on the iPhone. Adobe have now announced that Photoshop for Android is now available that allows you to also edit photos on your Android phone.

Adobe describe the Android version of photoshop as allowing you to drag your finger to crop, adjust colour, apply effects and perform a number of adjustments of your photo. [Read more…]

Nokia [NOK] have announced that the first batch of Nokia N900 handsets are now shopping. The N900 is a Maemo 5 device that has been spoken of quite a lot since first hearing about it. The phone will be priced at around 500 Euros SIM Free of course with contracts and subsidies lowering that cost significantly.

‘The Nokia N900 has generated a lot of interest since its public launch in August, which has been reflected in the device preorders. What’s exciting is the Maemo software, which takes its cues from the desktop computer and offers a full browsing experience like no other handset. We believe the Nokia N900 will be a very compelling device for people who are passionate about technology.

[Read more…]

AT&T [T] have announced a new USB model that allows mobile broadband at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. The timing of the announcement comes as they are rolling out the new 7.2Mbps service in various locations.

The USB Modem it’s self is just as interesting as any other USB modem although I guess if we were to pass comment on it we’d mention it looks like it has some sort of fancy swivelling USB connector to allow it easier access to awkward ports on a laptop. [Read more…]

Matthew Key of O2 has confirmed that Apple [AAPL] iPhones on the O2 network that are out of contract or over a year old for PAYG will be able to have them unlocked so they can be used on any network.

For those out of contract the unlock service will be free, whereas those with a PAYG iPhone over a year old will need to pay £14.97 for the service.

There is absolutely no truth in that rumour. Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks, we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honour any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator though naturally we hope they won’t want to!

[Read more…]

If you are the forgetful type of person who can never remember where you parked your car then check out this Augmented Reality Car Finder iPhone app that allows you to track exactly where your car is and how far it is to your car.

With the car finder app using augmented reality it makes use of your iPhone’s camera and overlays data of where your car is on to the stream of video displayed on the screen. The GPS part of the phone tracks where you are and figures out where your car is while the digital compass on the iPhone can help you figure out which direction your car is by detecting which direction the camera is facing. [Read more…]

The LG Chocolate Touch was announced as being available yesterday over at Verizon. The LG Chocolate Touch is designed for those who love music and comes equipped with Dolby Mobile sound. On the music side of the phone it has an FM radio, integrated song ID, dedicated side key for access to songs and for connectivity to headsets, Bluetooth is also included.

Software built in to the phone has a feature called “Join the Band” where a drum kit is launched on the screen allowing users to tap away to music and join in. As well as having the band feature the phone also has the Join the Band piano function that allows users to join in music on an 88 key on-screen piano. [Read more…]

LG have announced that they are creating a new Android based phone that will run a SnapDragon processor. The phone is set to launch in about 5 – 6 months time in Q2 of 2010. Other than known what OS it will run and that it will be powered by a SnapDragon processor, there isn’t really anything known just yet.

LG have commented that the phone will be a more mature device than the LG GW620 that was recently launched. [Read more…]

Both the HTC DROID Eris and Motorola DROID are now available over on the Verizon store as of today. The Motorola DROID has been the phone to get the majority of the spotlight over the last few weeks and rightly so as it runs the Google Android 2.0 operating system that is a big upgrade from 1.5/1.6 that other phones have. One of the big features of Android 2.0 is Google Maps Navigation that provides a free turn by turn sat nav system for Android 2.0 based phones.

The Motorola DROID currently has an online price of $199.99 (that includes a $100 discount) based on a 2 year service plan. If you opt for a 12 month contract then the price is $269.99. Contract prices start around $39.99 although that is for a voice plan with an extra $29.99 being mandatory for a data plan. If you opt for a month to month plan the phone sets you back $559.99. Full prices can be found here. [Read more…]

The Ezy100 is a mobile phone that has huge buttons and a clear screen also representing large numbers. The phone has been designed for those who are hard of hearing. The ringer on the phone is capable of +100dB and the earpiece also has been boosted and is compatible with hearing aids.

The battery on the Ezy100 is good for about 120 minutes of talk along with 170 hours of standby and the phone works on dual band networks at 900/1800MHz.

The Ezy100 is perhaps one of the first phones that has been launched in a long time that is literally just a phone. It has no wifi, no bluetooth and nothing really except the ability to talk to somebody. [Read more…]