Update: Apparently Devin Coldewey can read my mind. #
Original post: #
I spent a bit of time over the weekend playing with the latest version of the Cyanogen ROM for the T-Mobile G1, which aims to bring Android 2.2 to the first Android phone. It’s still a bit bleeding-edge-ish for me, so I reverted back to version 5, which has the most important bits from Android 2.1 (I don’t need ‘live wallpapers’). #
Cyanogen 4 was based on Android 1.6, and its main attraction over the stock 1.6 to me was tethering. 2.1-based Cyanogen 5 has been a big improvement over stock 1.6, and I’m impressed the dev team managed to make it work on the G1. (The big attraction to 2.2-based Cyanogen 6? The hot spot capability.) #
Phone modding certainly isn’t for everyone, but the developers working on this ROM (and there are quite a few of them) have given non-programmers like me simple tools to update – if I can do it, you probably can too. The G1 is hardly cutting-edge these days. The Droid is outstanding, but not much use outside North America; I want a hardware keyboard; and none of the other, newer keyboard phones have tempted me. #
Modding has allowed me to wait and choose my next phone without feeling, or being, left behind. #
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