High Tech Computer is projecting that sales of the Google Android-powered T-Mobile G1 smartphone will exceed one million units in 2008—maybe. At least that's the word from HTC CEO Peter Chou, who just said as much in an interview with the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, according to DigiTimes.

The blogosphere has gone around on this topic before, though. Several credible reports back in October stated that the T-Mobile G1 already had 1.5 million pre-orders racked up. But the term "pre-orders" is vague and doesn't necessarily apply to end-customer sales. Chou's recent quote of one million confuses matters more, not less. (For comparison's sake, the iPhone hit its sales goal of 10 million units before the end of '08, and BlackBerry numbers tend to hover in a similar range.)

Either way, in two weeks, CES 2009 will likely bring some new Android device announcements, HTC-related or otherwise. It's an open OS, and it seems to be off to a strong start.

T-Mobile G1

T-Mobile G1

T-Mobile G1

T-Mobile G1

Battery life has been my most significant complaint about the G1. So I decided to find every instance where power was being used unnecessarily and eliminate the waste. Following these steps significantly extended the life of my battery. And I've continued to use the features that make the G1 worth owning. Of course a lot of these options apply to other devices as well. Some are specific to the G1.

Recalibrate the battery

I thought this problem was resolved years ago. I was wrong. Batteries still develop memories. And if you haven't run your battery all the way down a few times, you're not getting everything you can out of it. The process, according to T-Mo tech support, is: use the phone until it dies. Charge it up until the indicator light has been green for at least two hours. Repeat. I did that, then repeated the entire process again. Four complete drains, and my G1 battery's lifespan is at least 50% longer than it was before. At least. Of course I've changed some of my habits as well.

Power Manager

This is probably my favorite app in the Android Market. It allows you to set up profiles and automatically select them based on user-defined triggers. For instance, turn off GPS when battery power falls below 30%, or turn up the screen brightness when the phone is plugged in. You can even look at stats to see where you waste the most energy.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend doing any of these things. Leave the monitor off. Set up the most efficient profile you can live with, and then manually turn services, like GPS, on for the few minutes you need them. Power Manager provides a simple interface for toggling lots of processes, so go ahead and put in on your home screen.

Inside the app, you'll see a knob for switching between 2G and 3G. If you have Wi-Fi in your home, switch to 2G. That's two taps to get 3G before fetching data while away from home. The saved power is worth it. You're not worried about excessive finger exercise, are you? Turn off the monitor, unless you want to change profiles automatically.

Now hit the menu key and create a new profile. Enter the name and description and hit O.K. You will see a list of categorized controls.

Trigger

This is just for those who want automatic profile switching. I think it's best to always preserve energy, so I won't be covering the option. Running the monitor in the background takes juice.

Sound & Display

Ringer mode: personal preference
Brightness: can only be dropped to 30/255 in this app. I'm not sure why, but we'll fix that later. Leave this option unchecked.
Screen timeout: go for the 15 seconds. Increase it only if it becomes a hassle.

Wireless controls

Wi-Fi: personal preference
Bluetooth: personal preference

Location

Use wireless networks: Disable
GPS: Disable

Data Synchronization

Auto-sync: Disable, unless you *really* have a reason.

Now hit your back button. The profile has been changed. Toggling the options on the Power Manager home screen will not update your profile. So go ahead and switch things on as you need them, but remember to turn them off when you're done. If there comes a time when you can't remember what all you've changed and you want to get back to being efficient, just tap your profile name and you'll be running lean and mean once again.

As I said, Power Manager has a minimum screen brightness setting of 30/255. You set the profile not to mess with your screen brightness, right? Go ahead and drop it to 0. (Settings -> Sound & display -> Brightness)

One other thing that Power Manager neglects is Wi-Fi notification. (Settings -> Wireless Controls -> Wi-Fi settings) Un-check Network notification. While you're in here, let's make sure you don't get stuck with a surprise bill after your next vacation. Back key, Mobile networks, un-check Data roaming. (Settings -> Wireless Controls -> Mobile networks)

If you follow all of the steps above, you will see a significant difference in your battery life. If you are more disciplined than myself regarding Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you just might forget about your phone's battery issues all together. Conservation has worked very well for me, and I still use the G1 for everything I want to. I'm just more conscious of what I'm asking from it. 

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change the T-Mobile G1? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you have an Android phone and want quick and easy access to Noah's weekly podcasts, DoggCatcher is the app for you. Go to the Market, search for Dogg, and install it.

Hit Menu, Add Podcast, and select Enter Podcast RSS URL. Use the following address:

A month ago, I wrote a post in the forums where I summarized my daily G1 routine, pointing out the apps I found most useful. Since then, programs have been updated and new ones have been released. So, I've changed apps for some functions, and added several more.

My favorite personal task manager, Remember the Milk, now has a dedicated Android viewer. As the name suggests, RTM Viewer for Android is currently limited to read-only access. And it also downloads completed items. But it's nimble and handy, and keeps me hooked up with my task list at home. I'm running an early version, and figure quick improvements are likely. TooDo, which included RTM functionality in its robust repertoire, has been uninstalled from my phone. TooDo is a great app, but terribly bloated. I didn't use any of the Toodledo-related stuff, so the thing was a waste of my resources. It's now missing from the Market.

Milksync is available for RTM pro users ($25 a year), and runs on Winmo, iPhone, iPod touch and BlackBerry devices. The RTM website offers iCal and Atom feed features. Check it out. For the Linux users in the house, Avant Window Navigator has a killer RTM applet. I can't say enough good things about Remember the Milk. It's light, it's easy, and it's quick. It is the perfect to do list.

PhonePlus Callback runs in the background and gives you new options for dealing with an incoming call. It provides one-press action. Callback will send a customized message to the caller letting them know that you're busy and will get back to them. It uses email if you have the person's address on file, and SMS for cell numbers in your contacts. Then, after a time period that you've designated in your settings, the app reminds you to call the person back.

After enabling more advanced functions, a call will trigger several options and you can decide, on the fly, how to handle each one individually; to respond via email or SMS, etc.. In manual mode, the Callback button turns green for a mobile number in your phonebook, red for a contact's landline, and yellow for unknown numbers. It gets confused if I answer a call by hitting the button on my bluetooth device, and it is a bit buggy at times. But overall, I'm liking it. It has potential.

Calling Card rocks. This one sees that I'm dialing an international number and diverts my call to my calling card. It remembers my PIN and knows how long to pause. It won't work with cards that have prompts beyond PIN and phone number though. One of my cards requires me to select English at the first prompt, so I can't use the program with that card. But I can use it with others, and it is a relief.

SnapPhoto uses the G1's accelerometer to recognize that brief moment without movement when the shutter should be open. Just tap SnapPhoto instead of your camera icon when you want to take a shot. This one is indispensable. It resolves a good chunk of my G1 camera complaints. Now watch this smooth transition...

Picasa Uploader is an official Google app that does one simple and useful thing; it adds a Picasa entry to the share menu of your photo viewer. Tapping it sends your photos to your public or private album. I expect this one to be included in the next major Android update. (Along with stereo bluetooth!)

Astro, formerly Bender, is a file and application manager. It features copy/paste functionality, and is nice for installing non-Market apps and deleting old media. Here's the twist; two taps after entering the Application Manager, every single program I've installed on my phone is backed up to my SD card. Pair that with one called MyBackup, and you've got a pretty solid safety net. I don't think all of the GMail and other Google/G1 settings can be easily backed up at this point, so that's on my wish list. A complete restore image would be ideal.

aTrackDog brings the simple updating of most desktop Linux distributions to Android by checking for application updates and making upgrades simpler; regardless of whether you're using a market app or something more obscure. The program checks a central database for the latest available releases, tells you which version you have, which version is a available, and gives you the option to update. There's no 'one-touch to update all' option like I have in Ubuntu, but it's progress.

SpoofApp allows you to call someone and front any number you choose in their caller ID. Not only that, but it masks your voice. It gets better; the app records your calls to the SpoofCard server, and the sound files are playable from within this well-organized software. You get five free minutes for downloading the program, and can purchase minute bundles starting at $10 for an hour. They accept Paypal. Look out, Jerky Boys.

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more to say later. I haven't checked out a new game in about six weeks, and there are tons of them. Take care.

Filed under: Handsets, Software, HTC, T-Mobile, Android

Continue reading Cupcake's on-screen keyboard shown on T-Mobile G1

Cupcake's on-screen keyboard shown on T-Mobile G1 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.