Many people were surprised that root was disabled on the production T-mobile G1's, and everyone knew that we would eventually get root access, but who knew it'd be this easy?!? Some users at XDA-Developers and android-dls.com have discovered a simple hack to enable root access.

Here are the steps you can take:

1. Download and install a terminal emulator on your phone. (Click here for Term.apk)
2. Make sure your phone is not connected to your PC and open up the Terminal Emulator and run 'telnetd'
3. Now telnet into your phone from your PC (run 'netstat' in the terminal emulator to get the phone's IP)
4. In the telnet terminal you are now root!

5. (optional) To permanently enable root access you can create an "su" command in /system/bin (Warning: creating su on your system could make you vulnerable to malicious software. You could name it something besides su, but you would still be vulnerable):

It's likely that the next system update will fix this hole, but until then enjoy having full access to everything on your phone!

Update: Term.apk updated to include launcher icon

Update #2: Some people were having issues installing the Term app, so I published it onto the Market as "Terminal Emulator" to make it a bit easier

If you'd like to publish your application to the Android Market, simply go to http://market.android.com/ and click the "Learn more" link!

Enjoy!

This is the day we've all been waiting for! The full source for the Android platform is now available at http://source.android.com/.

Google's Dave Bort talks about Android, the open source project:

Android is not a single piece of hardware; it's a complete, end-to-end software platform that can be adapted to work on any number of hardware configurations. Everything is there, from the bootloader all the way up to the applications. And with an Android device already on the market, it has proven that it has what it takes to truly compete in the mobile arena.

Even if you're not planning to ship a mobile device any time soon, Android has a lot to offer. Interested in working on a speech-recognition library? Looking to do some research on virtual machines? Need an out-of-the-box embedded Linux solution? All of these pieces are available, right now, as part of the Android Open Source Project, along with graphics libraries, media codecs, and some of the best development tools I've ever worked with.

Have a great idea for a new feature? Add it! As an open source project, the best part is that anyone can contribute to Android and influence its direction. And if the platform becomes as ubiquitous as I hope it will, you may end up influencing the future of mobile devices as a whole.

This is an exciting time for Android, and we're just getting started. It takes a lot of work to keep up with the changes in the mobile industry. But we want to do more than just keep up; we want to lead the way, to try things out, to add the new features that everyone else is scrambling to keep up with. But we can't do it without your help.

What will you do with Android?

Great news! Everyone grab the code, start hacking and porting!

Shortly after today's announcement Google has released version 1.0 of the Android SDK. The API's won't be changing now, so you can code in confidence.

Google's Dan Morrill writes:

Yes, that means we're officially at 1.0. Of course the SDK won't remain static—we'll keep improving the tools by adding features and fixing bugs. But now developers can rely on the APIs in the SDK, and can update their applications to run on Android 1.0-compatible devices. The Android Market beta will also launch with the T-Mobile G1, providing developers an easy and open way to distribute their applications on that and later devices. I've already seen a lot of applications that have me stoked, and I can't wait to see things really come together as developers cross that final mile to prepare their applications for Android 1.0.

Go download! I'll be porting the tutorials ASAP, sorry for the delay! Hopefully I'll find some time to get some new ones out as well.

I've avoided rumor after rumor, but it's now official! The T-mobile G1 will be launching in the US October 22nd, and will be priced at $179 with a contract and data plan. It will then be available in the UK in November, and available throughout Europe in early 2009. They did mention that the source will be coming out when the devices launch, so that will be great!

Specifications highlights:

• Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201A™, 528 MHz
• Memory ROM: 256 MB, RAM: 192 MB
• Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
• Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11b/g
• Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• Special Features Digital Compass, Motion Sensor
• Dimensions (LxWxT) 117.7 mm x 55.7 mm x 17.1 mm (4.60 in x 2.16 in x 0.62 in)
• Weight 158 grams (5.57 ounces) with battery
• Display 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution
• Keyboard Slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard
• GPS GPS navigation capability with built-in GPS receiver and map software

Useful links:

• Blog coverege 1 2 3 4
• HTC Site with full specifications
• Official T-mobile G1 Website

Get those apps ready!! Remember, to type you have to pull out the keyboard which switches you to landscape mode, so make sure to test landscape thoroughly in your apps!

Android Community has gotten their hands on a non-touchscreen Qualcomm handset at the CTIA Wireless 2008 Convention. The handset is showing version as "Firmware: 1.0" in the settings.

The device used couldn’t access a 3G signal and was not designed with Android in mind. But even in that worse case scenario with a D-pad and EDGE speeds, Android performed like a champ. It looked great on the VGA resolution screen and all the menus loaded super fast. And even though we couldn’t load up the IM client, the browser flew.

Very interesting to see Android on a lower end non-touchscreen type of device like that. Android could be a common choice in low end phones as a cost savings for the OEM.

Videos after the break.

Google has planted some funny Easter Eggs in the most recent Android SDK. It's a good way to blow off the steam as I'm sure they are under a lot of pressure for a solid 1.0 release in the next few months.

Gravitational Constants

The top 50 finalists in the Android Developers Challenge have been working away for the past few months for the chance to win $275,000 or $100,000. The judging is now complete and the results have been announced!

Click here for the full list of all the finalists and winners.

Congrats to all the Top 50 finalists!! And for the top 20, don't spend it all in one place!

Google has officially announced the much anticipated Android Marketplace. Initially the marketplace will only be for free applications, and then a post launch update will turn on the ability to charge for the applications "and more features such as versioning, multiple device profile support, analytics, etc.". The Android Marketplace, unlike Apple's App Store, will allow any developer to post any application. There is no approval process or certification required. That's what we like to hear!

Here is more from Google's Eric Chu:

Similar to YouTube, content can debut in the marketplace after only three simple steps: register as a merchant, upload and describe your content and publish it. We also intend to provide developers with a useful dashboard and analytics to help drive their business and ultimately improve their offerings.

Google has FINALLY released a new public SDK. Google's Dan Morrill writes:

I'm pretty happy today, for two reasons. First, I'm happy because I get to let everyone know that we're releasing a beta SDK. You can read about the new Android 0.9 SDK beta at the Android Developers' Site, or if you want to get straight to the bits, you can visit the download page. Once you've got it, be sure to visit our Developer Forum if you have any questions.

[...]

you're probably wondering what's actually new in the SDK. Well, you should read the Release Notes, the Change Overview and the API Delta Report for all the details, but here are a few highlights:

• First and most obviously, the new Home screen is included, along with a ton of UI changes for 1.0.
• Some new applications are included: an Alarm Clock, Calculator, Camera, Music player, Picture viewer, and Messaging (for SMS/MMS conversations.)
• Several new development tools were added, such as a graphical preview for XML layouts for users of Eclipse, and a tool for constructing 9-patch images.
• Since we've got a new Home screen application now, we thought the now-obsolete version from the M5 early-look SDK might be helpful to developers, so its source is included as a sample.
• A number of new APIs are fleshed out and improved, and others are now close to their final forms for 1.0.
• Tons of bugs were fixed, of course. (If you had problems with the MediaPlayer, try it now!)

Android developers have been (not so) patiently awaiting for this release! Get porting!

Update: I have added some screenshots after the break...it's looking very nice!