When the HTC G1 was first released, I really wanted to throw down some money for one. Unfortunately for me, I was still with AT&T at the time. So I snagged an iPhone 3G instead. The iPhone turned out to be a damn fine phone, but I was still bitching to myself about going Android.

But I didn’t get a G1, did I? I’ve spent a year with my iPhone and eventually found the iPhone 3G to be too slow for me. Sometimes I spent too long waiting for an app to load or a picture to attach to an email. I was promised speed! Speed! The iPhone also didn’t provide all the functionality and apps I wanted, so I went ahead to jailbreak my phone. I hooked it up with cool things like SBSettings, GV Mobile, ultrasn0w, and cut/paste (before that feature was included in 3.0).

Jailbreaking the phone and downloading the best apps didn’t really do it for me. Syncing up the iPhone with gtkpod is not exactly easy.

After numerous Android handsets have been released since the G1, rumors spreading about the Nexus One arrived in 2009. Google finally made the announcement two days ago. Since my AT&T contract ends in a week, I decided it was time to make a decision. I furiously ordered my Nexus One soon after their announcement. They etched my name on it at no additional cost. It was estimated to ship in 72 hours because of that customization. Nonetheless, I received the phone the next day. The FedEx overnight was free. The $50 California tax was painful.

I’ve had the phone for 24 hours and I’ve already grown to love it. Here’s the breakdown of the things that rock:

• It’s really fast.
• It integrates very well with my Google account.
• There’s a feature to establish all calls through Google Voice, so no need for a GV Mobile app to handle the dialing process.
• The phone, like other Android handsets, can multitask. Apps can run in the background and fetch updates. twidoid rocks.
• Live wallpaper. Not a necessity, but adds a nice touch to an already beautiful interface. I hope they put out more of these in the marketplace.
• When you connect the data cable to your computer, the phone will ask if you want to mount it or not. Once it mounts, drag and drop those MP3s!
• I can “like” articles in Google Reader using the browser. That’s something I couldn’t do on my iPhone’s browser.
• Speech to text. Most, if not all, text fields have voice integration so you can say “US Mobile Industry” without having to type it in. It’s accurate. When I googled “Final Column”, Matthew whispered “boogers”. It interpreted it with amazing accuracy, “final column boogers.”
• Bluetooth integration with headphones is great. I haven’t tried it with any headsets, but my three BT headphones connected without issue. They work with music and calls. I was blasting Ronald Jenkees on my Nexus One while slaying fools in Dragon Age on my Xbox 360!
• 5MP camera. The camera app loads hella quick. It’s got a flash too. Macro shots are great.
• Facebook integration with your contact list.

There are some issues with the Nexus One:

• The battery runs very hot when charging with the wall adapter.
• USB charging is extremely slow and I don’t know why.
• The YouTube app isn’t as organized as the iPhone’s. Sometimes I just want to see all my latest subscriptions. I don’t want to pick through each channel.
• Dim that screen! According to the Battery Use section (Settings>About Phone>Battery Use), my screen takes up 56% of the battery usage.
• Ugly analog clock widget. This is just my opinion. I also have no idea if there’s a way to change its look or size. Settings anyone?
• Again, it looks like the widgets don’t seem to have a way to adjust settings. The picture frame widget is too narrow.
• I miss the Stanza app on the iPhone.

As much as I’ve read about Android, this new phone is actually my first thorough hands-on Android experience. If anything I mentioned in the pros and cons is incorrect, or if you have a solution for any of my issues, please post a comment below.

Oh, and the fate of my iPhone? I’ve left it at home on my Bose Sounddock as my clock radio.

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In this webisode we take a look at some of the best new gadgets, including most from our June Tsunami list. We show and discuss the HTC Magic, Samsung i8910, Nokia N97, Palm Pre. We also discuss the future with awesome video phones, MOBILETRON tees and Nokia in Iran.

twtg11 was a bust, because we already showed the Palm Pre unboxing video, and there wasn’t much left after that. The audio is for twtg11 and 12 are available from tnkgrl’s site, tnkgrl Mobile

This video was filmed on a Nokia N95 with an external Mic, and edited in iMovie 09.

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Note:  If your iPhone is not jailbroken and this is your first time, jump ahead to Step 3.  Jailbreak at your own risk.  If you brick it, it ain’t my fault.

1. Backup content if applicable (via SSH)
   • Custom ringtones
   • Custom themes (if you made your own)
   • Photos, videos, etc.
2. Familiarize
   • Create a list of all your downloaded apps from Cydia (i.e. SBSettings, Categories, Winterboard, etc.)
   • Unhide any hidden apps, and remove apps from thier folders.  It may not be necessary, but I always do it as a precaution.  This one time, I updated to FW 2.2 and forgot to remove my Settings.app from a Categories folder.  That shit disappeared.
3. Update
   • Update iTunes to version 8.2.  Just launch iTunes and it’ll prompt you about the update.
   • Update your iPhone to 3.0 through iTunes.  It’s safe to do this.  You’ll also be able to backup your contacts, calendars, App Store downloads, media, etc.
4. Jailbreak
   • Download either PwnageTool (OS X) or redsn0w (Windows) and follow the instructions to jailbreak your device.  You’ll also need a copy of the .ipsw file (use Google).
   • Install your previous Cydia apps.  Note that not all are required/compatible with FW 3.0.
5. Software Unlock (applies to iPhone 3G at the moment)
   • Open Cydia or Icy and add the source repo666.ultrasn0w.com.
   • Allow it to refresh and install ultrasn0w.

I hope this brief guide was helpful.  If you have an iPhone 3GS, the Dev-Team indicated today that:

Apple is surely coming out with a 3.0.1 firmware release shortly. They need to fix ultrasn0w.  They need to fix some UI issues.  3.0 is buggy and 3.0.1 is coming.  We’re going to wait and see what 3.0.1 brings before figuring out the release date for our version of the jailbreak.

More iPhone articles to come.

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The June Tusnami has begun.

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The first person in line was tnkgrl of tnkgrl Mobile.  After tnkgrl purchased and activated the Pre, we had a nice breakfast with some Nokia friends visiting from Finland, who were packing N97s.  We ran into Joshua Topolsky of a site called Engadget.  San Francisco is Blogger Hollywood, lemme tell you.

tnkgrl and I headed over to Emma’s Coffeehouse to film Talking with tnkgrl EP#11, featuring a Pre unboxing and more.  I’ve included the unboxing in this video.

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Advanced mobile users have always had a tough time finding the perfect device.  Historically many devices have needed to make great sacrifices to remain pocketable in size.  Gadget lovers have long been forced to choose between a mixture of 3G, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, A2DP, Removable Storage, a great camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, QWERTY keyboard and/or large touch screens.

In their search for the Perfect Mobile Device, many advances users were forced to import unlocked devices not sold by their carrier of choice.  This meant the devices were expensive without carrier subsidies.  The worse downside was that often the 3G frequencies of imported devices weren’t the same as the carrier, so Expensive Imported Devices were trapped in modem-like network speeds with EDGE.

The Nokia N95 was one of the first devices that didn’t make compromises.  Sporting most of the above listed features, save the touch screen and qwerty, The N95 was the singlular choice among most bloggers and media creators prior to the iPhone.  Remember that Nokia has sold over 10 Million N95′s in less than one year.

The iPhone has kick-started the revolution of well-equipped devices with full carrier support.  While many Nokia users would scoff at the iPhone (and many also switched!), many iPhone users were upgrading from a crap-phone like the RAZR.  To these users, the iPhone experience out-of-the-box is mind-blowing.

Two Thousand Nine is the year that all US carriers will (Finally) offer wide choices of very powerful pocketable computers, many US exclusives. The Palm Pre, iPhone 3.0, Sidekick LX, Nokia N97, Nokia E71x, Samsung i8910 are all new devices delivering on this promise starting in June. at&t recently launched six qwerty “messaging phones”, and Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all have Tsunami-compatible devices in their near-future lineup.

The next infobit to consider is the mainstreaming of Social Media.  Oprah’s on Twitter, your Boss is on Facebook, and your little brother is a star on YouTube.  In the very near future a device *will not sell* if it does not support Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter out of the box.  Many of these devices will support widgets, which will deliver updates without requiring launching a dedicated app.  Some of these devices will pull the phone directory from these online services, as well as profile pictures.  Sporting full QWERTY keyboards, typing a quick status update, instant message or email is no longer an annoyance, it’s downright easy.

Most of these new devices not only record decent quality video, you can upload the videos to YouTube with just a few clicks.  The user becomes the media creator overnight.  After an initial period of shyness, the wave of video publishers will be big.  Having a camcorder in your pocket will also bring social justice.  The people are watching the watching men.  The camera is the new gun.

Yes, the June Tusnami is the effective end of CrapPhones as we know it.  It is the beginning of much higher expectations from most users.  From taking great pictures and video, to instant communication, the next round of devices are evolutionary, and will start a Media Revolution.

Communication barriers are shattering all at once.  In your pocket. Right Now!

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Pros:

• Fast.  Icy loads up really fast and installs packages really fast…see the video below.
• Simple UI.  A “Recent Packages” link was just added.
• Borrows sources from Cydia.
• Cool install animation.
• Landscape mode!  Perfect for late night app-surfing in bed.
• Free

Cons:

• Not all repositories from Cydia sync with Icy.
• Missing packages during installation, which is related to the issue above.  When I tried to install a Dr. House theme it claimed Winterboard was missing.
• No queue feature.  I really like queues…and the Q.

Icy isn’t quite there yet, but I’m very excited about it.  I’m looking forward to future updates.

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I was having a conversation with Serko from MobileDivide over the weekend, and he pointed me to this MacDaily News posting.  They’re claiming that Apple has told retailers to clear out all existing inventory of AV cables for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The exsisting cables are $50 each, one for SD and one for HD playback.  The existing iPhone’s HD playback is also limited to 480P.

In the announcement, Apple says “supports multiple AV connections, just like the Xbox 360.”  I’m assuming this is not going to be a simple HDMI cable, as SD tv’s wouldn’t support HDMI.  I’d guess there will be a cable which can connect to the iPhone, and a separate dock sold as another component.

So what’s the big deal about a fricking cable?  I mean, sure it’s exciting to be able to go to a friends house, pull out your iPhone, and queue up your choice of 20 movies.  Heck, all your friends also have iPhones, so let’s just see who’s got what movies and pick the best one to watch.

Nope, the big deal is the iPhone app store, specifically games.  Sure the Xbox 360 has downloadable games, ranging from free demos to $5 – $20 for downloadable games.  The Wii also has downloadable games, going for FREE – $4 – $20.  The Sony Playstation 3 can also download games, I think.  Leave a comment. : )

Even at $4, there’s a bigger barrier to purchasing vs 99c games on the iPhone.  Seriously, if a 99c game sucks, no big deal, just give it a bad review, and download another one.  If you’re spending $10 on a game, that’s Lunch, but a $1 game is more like a tip for a cup of coffee.  An Easy Decision.

Don’t forget that the iPhone also has an accelerometer, just like the Wii.  And WiFi and Bluetooth, like the Wii.  If there’s an AV dock that supports these wireless standards, we wouldn’t even be wired to the TV while playing.

I’m also thinking about how much fun the “offline” aspect of such games could be.  Just because you’re not sitting at home connected to the TV, the gaming could go on.  The iPhone can connect to the Internet just fine, even while you’re out and about.  Besides, at&t is upgrading the whole network to HSPA+ just for the next iPhone launch, so we needn’t worry about data speed issues.

So what would you buy?  A $400 console with $60 games that *might* be fun?  Or just pull the device out of your pocket, and play the same games you know are fun anytime, or *also* in HD resolution on your nice flat panel TV?

This is also overlooking the Media playback expected in the new iPhone.  With WiFi, there’s no reason you couldn’t just stream from your computer to the iPhone, so it wouldn’t even need giant build in storage.  Whether or not this will support MY movies, or just purchased iTunes movies is unknown.

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What does it take to get me interested?  The next Sidekick, the LX will include Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter right out of the box.  I’m really excited that T-Mobile is embracing webservices, services outside of their own company.

One of the things that annoys me the most about branded phones is how badly the carriers ruin the firmware.  They often remove the built-in software form the manufacturer, and install branded services so they can charge you a monthly rate.  The branded firmwares also often make it difficult for 3rd party apps to access the internet or stay running in the background.  This causes apps like IM or Social apps to be a giant FAIL because they just can’t stay connected.

I think inclusion of Social Networks, specifically the four big-boys included on the Sidekick LX, will be a HUGE tipping point for device consummers.  The carriers are viewing SMS and MMS as the big drivers for the next five years, in terms of network usage.  I think we’re going to see consummers, starting with younger folks, DEMANDING these four services on devices. As the networks all migrate towards 3G and beyond, and smartphone features are pushed down into “dumber” devices, it’s the ease of use and the services that will determine the winners.

Oh yeah!  Besides these Social Networks, the LX looks like a nice device!  It’s got 3G, 3.2MP autofocus camera, video recording with uploading to Social Services, A2DP, 3.2″ screen at 854 x 480, MicroSDHC storage, IM support for the popular networks, and Exchange support in the near future.

Teens are so lucky now-a-days! Here’s a link to the press release.

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I won’t write any instructions.  It’s very straight forward to use.  Screenies:

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