Guide: Updating your T-Mobile G1 to Android 1.5 (Cupcake) manually
Guide: Updating your T-Mobile G1 to Android 1.5 (Cupcake) manually
Here is a guide for how to update your T-Mobile G1 to the new and hotly anticipated Android 1.5 (Cupcake) firmware update, manually, instead of waiting for the OTA (over the air) update that could take weeks to fully rollout. Be noted this works for other RCs as well, but for this guide I will specifically be using the new 1.5 update. Please also note if you phone is rooted (we will have guide for that up soon), then this will remove your rooted firmware, un-rooting your phone.
First off, you will need to download the update from the following link: Official US Android 1.5 update.
If you are from a different nation that offers the phone, please visit here for your update: Android 1.5 (Non-US)
Once you have downloaded the update, rename the archive to update from signed-kila… so that the full archive is intact (unpacked) and is Update.zip.
The next part is important. Insert your microSD card into the slot in your G1 and plug the phone into your computer. Your phone will give you a notification that you are now connected via USB so open the notification and select Mount. Your SD card will now be accessible via the computer as a removable drive.
Still don’t have a DTV converter box? Get your coupon before Monday
In January, the US Government postponed the mandatory DTV transition from February until June 12th, as it was clear that over 6 million households were not ready.
Today, the federal Department of Commerce has said that if you are still unready and have not applied for a converter box coupon, you should do so no later than Monday, or risk having no TV signal by the time of the transition.
Every household can receive two $40 coupons to use towards the purchase of converter boxes, and more information about the coupons can be found at 888-DTV-2009 or www.DTV2009.gov.
As of May 10th, Nielsen estimated that there are still 3.3 million households not ready for the transition.
‘PSP Go’ leaked in new video
The world’s possibly worst kept secret, the upcoming Sony PSP Go, has been leaked today via video, showing off the design of the handheld.
John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony America, speaks during the video and notes that the differences between the new PSP and the older slim PSP-3000 model are “on-board memory, the flash memory, and 16 gigs of space. There’s Bluetooth on board as well, so you can use a Bluetooth headset, and you can actually tether it to your cell phone as well. But ultimately, it’s the portability. Since you can bring all that content with you in a smaller form factor, you’ve got the most immersive games to play, and now you’ve got a smaller unit to do it with.”
It is unclear whether the handheld will remove the bulky UMD drive, but it is clear Sony is moving its emphasis towards downloadable games and movie content.
Wikipedia blocks Church of Scientology from editing entries
The user-edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia has announced today that any IP address connected to a computer owned by the Church of Scientology is now banned from editing contributions. The site says for years the Chruch has been editing anything related to Scientology to show it in better light.
“All IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates, broadly interpreted, are to be blocked as if they were open proxies,” says the site’s press release.
Wikipedia’s arbitration committee noted that for years, computers owned by the Church had been coordinating editing techniques to make the Scientology articles biased to one specific viewpoint.
“You could imply that there is a conflict of interest,” added Dan Rosenthal, a media contact for Wikipedia. “Rather than two unrelated people getting together, Scientologists were getting together, saying, ‘Let’s work together to make this a more pro-scientology article.’”
‘PlayStation Home’ downloaded over 6.5 million times
PlayStation Home Director Peter Edward has made comments this week that the application has hit a “tipping point” of momentum recently, hitting 6.5 million downloads.
“We do have a profit and loss on Home, and obviously revenue is an important part of it, just like with anything else. But our belief is that if you make the community happy, and get good content on to the platform - if you get a platform that people want to keep coming back to - then the monetisation aspect of it will almost take care of itself,” says Edwards.
“It’s certainly not something that should be the driving force - not something that’s the driving priority at this stage of development.”
“That’s not to say that we don’t want to monetise the platform and that we don’t have plans to do so,” Edward continued. “But it’s definitely a kind of consequence of getting all the other factors right, rather than being a driving force. We’re not in it to make a quick buck from Home, and then move onto the next thing - Home is a strategic platform for PlayStation, and as such we’re developing it.”
Edwards also noted that profitability “is not the driving force” behind PS Home, but instead, user interaction.
“We went to open beta in December and since then we’ve had something like 6.5 million downloads. We’ve got a very healthy active user base, and we’re finding as well that people aren’t just churning, they’re returning - which is obviously key for something like this,” he continued.
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‘Sims 3′ piracy rates higher than ‘Spore’
Two weeks ago we reported that the game The Sims 3 by EA had been leaked two weeks early to P2P, and according to new data figures compiled by research firm BigChampagne, the pirated version had been downloaded over 180,000 times in just four days.
2008’s most pirated game, EA’s blockbuster Spore, saw 500,000 downloads in its first 10 days, so Sims 3 is on pace to beat that.
EA is saying however that the pirated version is not the final release.
“The pirated version is a buggy, pre-final build of the game,” EA’s Holly Rockwood said. “It’s not the full game. Half the world - an entire city - is missing from the pirated copy.”
Android 1.5 update now official
The hotly anticipated release of the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) firmware update is now official, says T-Mobile, and G1 users should begin to see this update soon if they have not already.
The official update list:
* System-wide:
o Refinement of all core UI elements
o Animated window transitions (off by default)
o Accelerometer-based application rotations
* UI polish for:
o In-call experience
o Contacts, Call log, and Favorites
o SMS & MMS
o Browser
o Gmail
[More]>>
Circuit City online store now re-opened
Last month we reported that the PC retailer Systemax, which has recently purchased Tiger Direct and CompUSA, was planning to buy the Circuit City name, brand and website, for $14 million USD.
The company has now completed the aquisition and has already revised and relaunched the Circuit City website. You can read more about the site, from the Systemax CEO here: Circuit City relaunch.
The new site has 24/7 customer service, more advanced search functions and more importantly photo and video galleries for every product in the store.
Along with the purchase of the website domain and all branding, Systemax was given “customer lists and information” and a “share of revenue generated over the next 30 months.”
‘Resident Evil 5′ sales remain strong
In early March, the much anticipated horror sequel Resident Evil 5 was leaked to torrent sites and P2P, a full ten days before its official release date. Capcom was understandably upset, but launch month sales were spectacular and it appears those sales remain strong despite the leak.
Capcom CFO Kazuhiko Abe adds that sales of the sequel are currently at 4.97 million and rising, on “very strong demand”.
Abe notes that the company sold 4.4 million units in March alone, and that the title will top 5 million within days.
The publisher, like all other major publishers, has complained of piracy woes in the past, even citing piracy as the main reason Devil May Cry 4 had stagnant sales. The publisher said the PC version of the game had been “pirated to hell” and that Capcom Japan refused to release it digitally as a result.
Nokia Ovi Store goes live
The much hyped Nokia Ovi Store is now live everywhere, and is available from your mobile phone as well as from desktop PCs and Macs.
So far there are only about 700 apps, games, and audio/video pieces of content, but Nokia promises 20,000 at least.
Check it here: Nokia Ovi Store
Be warned however, the site is running extremely slow as of publishing, from the PC and from the mobile browser.
