Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already seen it go down unofficially, but we’ve received word from HTC today that Android’s coveted “Cupcake” branch of updates and fixes — or at least a majority of it — will likely be making it to the G1 in the future as a legitimate over-the-air push. HTC isn’t involved in deciding what updates get pushed to the G1 or when, but given the update cadence so far and the G1’s support for Cupcake’s capabilities, the company believes that it’s just a matter of time before T-Mobile makes it happen. The timing is still a big question — HTC’s more or less out of the loop on the schedule, and it’s up to Google and T-Mobile to figure out how it’s going to play out. We’ll keep you updated as we find out more!

Update: We pressed HTC spokespeople to give us a little more to go on, but got the standard “we can’t comment on rumors or speculation” line. T-Mobile, Google, your move — you’ve got plenty of folks waiting. A belated Festivus gift, perhaps?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC believes Cupcake will come to the T-Mobile G1 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apples for the masses
So the news of Apple selling the iPhone at Wal-Mart is being hyped as unbelievable. I mean, really, Wal-Mart? Apple? What is this, the Beverly Hillbillies? You know, I don’t think I would have ever guessed that any schmoe on the street could walk into their local Wal-Mart and buy a 12-pack of Old Milwaukee and an iPhone in the same visit. Really, the huge display of iPods in my local Wal-Mart never made the thought cross my mind. Completely blind-sided I tell you. Contrary to rumor, “everyday low prices” does not apply here. Apple would never stoop THAT low.

Androids will rule…maybe, someday
Google’s method of market-testing beta releases seems to be carrying over into the physical world with news coming out from HTC saying that they expect over 1 million phones to be sold by the end of the 2008. While these numbers pale in comparison to the iPhone (especially since you can now get one at Wal-Mart), the groundswell is growing and it won’t be too long before the market sees an influx of Android-powered devices. Other devices are on the way from other manufacturers and HTC is rumored to be releasing the G2 phone sometime, so we’ll see what happens.

Gas-free zone
Everyone likes lists, so here’s Gizmodo’s take on the best Android apps of 2008. I don’t care how cool those apps are, they still don’t have iFart. Move along, Android.

Photo credit: MShades via Flickr

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Anticipating a selection of QWERTY-less handsets to run the platform in the near future, the next version of Android will have an onscreen keyboard, among other things. Here’s what it’ll look like.

The two most notable aspects of the keyboard are its style and its method of feedback, which are both slightly derivative. You may recognize the keyboard styling from HTC’s TouchFlo 3D handsets, which are skinned very similarly, albeit with an inverted color scheme. It diverges, however, in its visual feedback; instead of simply magnifying the key around your finger, Cupcake displays a disembodied duplicate at a fixed distance above the original key, for an effect not unlike the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard.

Not shown in the video are some of Cupcake’s meatier features, namely the video recording and browser find functions. The robust, if unrefined, preview of this keyboard serves to show that developers are taking Android dev seriously, and that the platform could well turn out to be the evolving OS that we originally hoped for. [MomentaryLapseofReason via ModMyGphone—Thanks, Neerhaj]