[Rumor] T-Mo G1 goes Android 2.0 this month, myTouch in March

Robert Hallock 20 Jan, 2010 at 12:06pm ET Article published in Tech

Rumors have begun to swirl today about a screenshot allegedly taken from an internal or “members only” T-Mobile forum which implies that the T-Mobile G1 will be updated to Android 2.0 in January, followed by updates for the myTouch and Pulse in March.

The HTC Dream (G1) and HTC Magic (myTouch/G2) currently run Android 1.6. This means that any update to the OS must at least come in the form of Android 2.0. For the Huawei U8220 (Pulse), it could easily mean an update to Android 1.6, as the device currently runs version 1.5.

While all of this is certainly speculative, it is an interesting development in the ongoing debate surrounding Android 2.0’s compatibility with the lesser hardware in early devices like the G1. Many have noted that the system partition in the G1’s 256MB flash is only 69120KB, a size that leaves little room for the 68800KB Android 1.6 firmware, much less the 70964KB size of an Android 2.0 image. What’s more, the size of that image does not include T-Mobile apps, Google apps, ringtones, or notifications, all of which make the size of an Android 2.0 ROM more suited to devices like the Motorola Droid, which features 512MB flash.

For the myTouch, meanwhile, Android 2.0 has never been particularly out of the question. With a 512MB ROM, the system partition should easily be large enough to accept a newer revision of Android.

Comments

20 Jan 2010 ~ 12:27pm BobbyDigi First!

W00t! Here's hopin it's more then a rumor!

-Bobby
20 Jan 2010 ~ 12:40pm Garg Hope they make it happen. I feel like 1.6 runs the slowest out of all the versions I've had so far. Even though 2.0 will have more features, I'm hoping it will address some issues.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 2:56pm UPSLynx I agree, Garg. I would LOVE to have 2.0 on my G1. 1.6 is good, but not the update I had hoped it would be.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 3:13pm BobbyDigi Is it possible for the update to repartition the flash to make the system partition bigger?

-Bobby
20 Jan 2010 ~ 3:49pm Thrax Not without formatting the entire ROM. Methinks users won't be pleased to lose all of their applications, or shrinking the user mode space any smaller than the 70-80MB it already is.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 4:03pm QCH WHY DOES Motorola HATE ME? My car is due to have Android 2.0 (or even 2.1) before my Cliq!!!

DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!!
20 Jan 2010 ~ 4:30pm BobbyDigi ...See you guys there!

-Bobby
20 Jan 2010 ~ 9:06pm Tony They need to make a G1-optimized version of Android 2.0. I agree that Android 1.6 is too slow. Allowing apps to run off the SD card would be a huge improvement.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 9:21pm ardichoke I won't be surprised to find out the G1 rumor is false. Most of the reporting I've seen has suggested that the G1 simply won't be able to handle Android 2.0. Just not enough memory to go around there.

As for running apps from the SD card, Tony, it's nice from a storage space standpoint but doesn't speed execution up at all. I currently run CyanogenMod on my G1 and have all my apps installed to SD, it hasn't helped speed my device up in the least. I'm planning on grabbing an N1 soon as my G1 is really starting to bog down.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 9:33pm Thrax Moving the applications to the SD card, as Cyanogen has done, is an easy fix for the G1 size concerns. It was never intended to speed up the phone, however, as that is a CPU matter, and another area the G1 lacks in.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 9:35pm ardichoke Doesn't the G1 have the same processor as the myTouch/Magic? The latter performs admirably in comparison to the G1/Dream. I had always been under the impression that the G1s performance issues were due to lack of RAM
20 Jan 2010 ~ 9:44pm Thrax The US version has 192MB RAM, just like the G1 does. There's a 288MB version, but it's HTC-branded.
20 Jan 2010 ~ 11:15pm GnomeQueen More importantly than this, when does the Droid get Android 2.1?
20 Jan 2010 ~ 11:40pm Thrax Rumor has it that Android 2.1 will be coming to the Droid on January 22. It's an older rumor, but I guess we'll see in a few days, neh? It should be an OTA update.
21 Jan 2010 ~ 7:52am john I am just mad that Google hasn't made it easy for G1 users to upgrade to Nexus One.

If G1 users are suppose to be "Champions" of the product, we should have to ability to upgrade with having to pay $500+.
21 Jan 2010 ~ 9:03am GnomeQueen

John wrote:

I am just mad that Google hasn't made it easy for G1 users to upgrade to Nexus One.

If G1 users are suppose to be "Champions" of the product, we should have to ability to upgrade with having to pay $500+.

If you already have a plan with T-Mobile, I believe the cost to upgrade now is $259 or $359.
21 Jan 2010 ~ 11:13am QCH T-Mobile... call and ask for the "Customer Retention Department". I had a BB Curve for 17 months into a 24 month contract and REALLY wanted a Motorola Cliq. I would had to have paid full price for the phone or pay the cancel my plan, pay the $200 fee, and then get a new number and still pay the $150 for the Cliq.

Customer Retention waived everything and gave me the Cliq for $150. 10 minutes on the phone and it saved me at least $300. Seriously, use the fact that every carrier has an Android phone, or soon will, and you have no problem switching to them.
21 Jan 2010 ~ 12:55pm ardichoke The problem is that T-Mobile isn't selling the Nexus One, so calling the TMo Customer Retention people won't do you any good.
25 Apr 2010 ~ 10:59am Lana G. So, its April 25, 2010 when this is being posted, and still no Eclair for the MyTouch 3G. Are we goint to get in Q2 or...what?
5 Jun 2010 ~ 8:40am Lana G. June 5th, nooo updateee. Wow, this is getting silly.
5 Jun 2010 ~ 5:39pm ardichoke Notice the [Rumor] bit on the title? Yeah... that means it's not confirmed. If you really want to run the latest Android you're probably going to have to root your phone and install a non-official ROM.