T-Mobile G1 - The Engadget Review

It's hard to believe, but rumors of a "Googlephone" have been floating around since 2006. To put it in perspective, the first Gphone post on Engadget was written by Peter Rojas. Needless to say, it's been a long, slow ride to get to Android, the Open Handset Alliance, and ultimately the T-Mobile G1. If we said expectations were high for the introduction of this device, it would be an understatement. It's not every day that a company with the stature of Google announces it's getting into the phone game, and it's certainly not every day that an honest-to-goodness innovator comes along. That last time the team at Engadget got this stoked for a device, it was a little something called the iPhone -- and you know how that turned out. Will Android and the G1 live up to the hype? Is this the first coming of a serious new contender in the mobile space, or has the triple threat of Google, HTC, and T-Mobile not delivered on their promises? We've put both the device and the software through its paces to bring you the definitive review of the T-Mobile G1 and Android, so read on to get your answers.

Hardware Review
Software Review

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Firefox Mobile to be Released in a Few Weeks

In an interview that started with Mozilla CEO John Lilly explaining how he runs the company to San Jose Mercury News reporter Pete Carey, it was revealed that the first Firefox Mobile alphas could be released in “a few weeks.”

We know that it’s definitely coming, despite debunked rumors of it being released in 2010, but with the imminent release of the first alpha we’ll all finally be able to see it “for real.”

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New Paper that Self Erases???

Recycling's better than sending good paper to the landfill. Even better is not printing in the first place. But there's still a lot of stuff that comes out of printers and some studies show that more than 40% gets discarded on the day it was produced (and a lot of the rest gets discarded not much later, or gets stuffed in a box and is never looked at again).

The researchers at XEROX looked at that problem and came up with a paper that self-erases within 24 hours and can then be re-used. Read on for more details.

Firefox 3: 8 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do

The latest version of Mozilla's popular open-source browser enjoyed one of the most successful launches in software history, with a record-setting 8.2 million downloads the first day it was available. With the ability to drastically expand the browser's functions using plug-in extensions and Greasemonkey scripts, many of Firefox 3's built-in features are overlooked. Here are eight handy things you can do with Firefox, ranging from tiny tweaks to hugely powerful capabilities, all with nary an extension to install.

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First Android Phone Available September 23rd?

How many days are you willing to wait in front of a T-Mobile store to be the first to own a gPhone? You might have to decide soon. According to the Reuters news agency, T-Mobile is set to announce availability of its mobile phone based on Google's Android operating system as soon as September 23.

According to sources the T-Mobile phone, called "Dream," will be available "within weeks." Those same sources say T-Mobile plans to hold a press event in New York City on September 23. Reuters, however, is not clear in its report as to whether the actual T-Mobile Dream phones will go on sale that date. If the sources are correct in estimating actual phones being available in "a couple weeks," then September 23 could be the date the Dream becomes a reality.

Amazon + IMDB = 6,000 Free Films

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) has finally done what many have been asking it since the time the company bought IMDB: it has enabled video on the film and TV database/info site. The company says users can now watch 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes for free on IMDb.com’s video section. IMDb is now showing full-length movies and a great selection of full-length TV episodes directly on their site -- for free! Their fantastic selection of films and TV shows, both current and classic, is paired with all of the in-depth film and TV information that you expect from IMDb. Take a look at episodes from TV shows such as "Survivor", or full-length movies like Fever Pitch. They even have clips from the most recent "Saturday Night Live" -- you can watch Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin right there! You can browse their great featured content to familiarize yourself with some of their offerings, or search for your favorite films and TV shows to find the videos and movies you want to see.

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VLC media player 0.9.2 IS OUT!

After more than two years of development and 100,000,000 VLC media player 0.8.6 downloads, the VideoLAN team is proud to announce the release of VLC media player 0.9.2, codename "Grishenko".. It's awesome!

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Touchscreen BlackBerry Storm Will Be $199

Boy Genius has a fairly juicy bit of backstory on the delays plaguing the BlackBerry Bold, and the serious, stab-you-in-the-throat infighting between AT&T and RIM that drove RIM to deliver their touchscreen baby, the Storm, exclusively to Verizon in the US (probably in Nov.), where it will apparently be going for just $199 with a two-year contract and rebates.

To read more, click here.

Comcast's Usage Cap: What Does It Mean?

Comcast has posted a change to its broadband user policy today. It’s now limiting subscribers to 250 Gigabytes of monthly usage, which can include e-mailing friends or uploading photos.

Near term, the limit may not do much to curtain the average consumer’s Web usage. After all, 250 Gigabytes is a lot: You could download 100 HD movies over the Web, and still have some of that capacity left. Chances are, 99% of consumers will not even notice the change — for now.

But the decision carries weighty implications for the future. As Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett pointed out in his Aug. 29 note, “While the usage level specified is high, it is now finite…. A line has been crossed.” This is the end of unlimited broadband use as we know it. The end of an era.

Official Google Blog says Google Chrome to Launch Tomorrow

As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit "send" a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries. On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn't the browser that matters. It's only a tool to run the important stuff -- the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.

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