T-Mobile delivers dozens of new features to G1 owners

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 7 May 2009 at 10:04

T-Mobile has begun rolling out the long-awaited Android update to the UK's 100,000 or so G1 owners.

The Android 1.5 update, which features the exciting Cupcake development branch, brings a bevy of new features to G1 phones.

Among the most significant additions is an ability to record video clips and easily upload them to YouTube, a Gmail account or send them over SMS using the new share button. Users will also be able to add meta data including a title, description and tags to the video file before uploading.

There's a similar feature for photos, which will present a small share icon in the bottom right hand corner of an image, allowing you to directly upload it to a Picasa account or album.

Messaging has also been overhauled with the addition of an onscreen keyboard, meaning users no longer need to slide out the hardware keyboard. There's predictive text built in and a dictionary, alongside new touchscreen features for Gmail which should make it easier to use the webmail service.

Beneath the bonnet, the update also brings dozen of claimed performance tweaks including faster boot times and speedier GPS and camera start times. Scrolling in the browser and other apps should also be noticeably quicker.

The Android update will be automatically rolled out to G1 users over the next few weeks. The recently released HTC Magic comes with the update installed out of the box.