Hello everyone, I just recently bought my first android phone, which turns out to be the G1.  Sadly, it is seen as outdated (as said by the android team themselves); however hope is not lost because thanks to people over at cyanogen, you can bring new life into your "old" phone.  Rooting an android phone is nothing new that only highly skilled computer techs know how to do, and can be done fairly quickly but there is always confusion on how to start.  Here I want to provide you with links and information that I know works.
          First off, I will give you some worthwhile reasons to root your phone.  One being that you are able to save your applications to your SD card, and I'm not just talking about backing up the .apk file (which you can also do).  You can store and use all of your apps from your SD card itself with the Apps2SD program.  With it (which is part of the cyanogen rom itself) you are able to download all of the apps you want, and keep your phone's memory free.  This feature is optional and requires more work, which I will explain later in this article.  Also, Apps2SD only stores the application itself onto your SD card, so the cache that the app uses is still mostly stored on the phone memory. The good thing is that it is a very small amount of data on your phone's memory, and is useful because your cache is quickly accessible on the phone, more so then if it were on the SD card.  Another new addition you can get by rooting is the android 2.1 eclair rom, which is faster than the 1.6 (in my opinion).  It adds two more screens (making a total of 5), new applications icons, a refreshed system look, tethering and more.
          If your mouth isn't watering  by now then I suggest you get some serious help.  For those that are interested, here are links to the latest cyanogen update guide for the T-Mobile G1:

Cyanogen Update Guide

          Now there is cyanogen 4.2, which is an updated version of android 1.6. Then there is cyanogen 5.0, and that is the 2.1 eclair rom (possibly will be updated to 2.2 in the future).  It is up to you which one you choose.  With 5.0 you have to install the "DangerSPL" which sounds pretty bad and that is because it WILL brick your phone if it is not installed correctly.  Sorry, I am not trying to scare you away from it, but I just wanted to point out that you should make sure to follow the directions carefully and correctly.  The reason you need this is because the 2.1 rom is bigger than the 64mb rom space that is originally set for the G1.  Luckily the instructions are very simple and short (I did it with no hiccups).
          Now for those of you who want to have all the apps your heart desires (like me), here are some requirements that you must fit.

• You must have a SD card
• The SD card must be at least class 4, but class 6 is recommended. (There should be a number on the card it self, that is how you know.)
• Your phone must be rooted.

          Once you fit those requirements you are good to go!  Well you are at least ready to set your SD card up, for Apps2SD.  Here I will point out the link to the step-by-step guide for it:

Apps2SD
          Note: For cyanogen 5.0 (android 2.1) you need to enable Apps2SD in the settings, then restart for it to work.

          I will warn you that by doing this, you are wearing out your SD card faster than with normal use.  In other words it will die faster, so I would suggest that you backup everything constantly so that you don't lose anything.  Once you are done, all of your previously installed apps will be moved "automagically" to your SD card.
          If you follow each step carefully, you should have no problems.  Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment box below.

          If you are a mac user this site is something you need to know about.  There are tips that are updated constantly throughout every day and some you may have already known, but others you will be surprised to learn.  One of the most useful tips that surprised me was the ability to use your Facebook chat with iChat.  All you have to do is setup a few quick things with the iChat server, and you are done. Each post is put into a category such as, web browsers, 10.6, iPhone and much more. This allows for easy access to what concerns you.  Additionally, there are help forums for any problems you have with your mac computer or apple product.  Everything from applications to X11 can be discuss there, and there is a section for any feedback you'd like to give out about the site.
          Also, the tips aren't always given by the writers themselves, but you can submit your own.  The writers will check it out and post it if it works.  I visit this site everyday, because they always have something new for me to learn.  I have subscribed to it in "My Blog List" so you can see the latest tip there or you can subscribe to it yourself.  Obviously if you use Windows the site wont be of much use, but you can still find out new things about your competitor.
          Thanks for reading and as always, if you have any comments or questions please leave them.

Here is the link to the website : Mac Hints
Also, this is the link to the Facebook chat with iChat: Mac Hint Facebook

                                 

Both are great pieces of software that work on Mac os x and Windows, they allow you to access files from one computer to another.  Simplify Media's applications allow you to share your music collection and photo collection to another computer and Orb allows you to share the same, plus any other file or document on your computer.  I like Orb especially because of the ability to share music, photos, and videos to a PS3 or Xbox 360,  but the application doesn't seem as secure as Simplify Music or Simplify Photo do.  Also both of them are available in the Apple App Store, but they are not free. I have had experience with Orb and I will most likely never pay for the software.  I like the idea of sharing any file you want over the internet, but the application and Orb's server just isn't stable.  I would recommend that you keep an eye on it though.  I mean problems can be fixed and who knows, maybe soon they will get better and downloaded onto everyones computers.  But right now I would stick with Simplify Media.  I can't fully back it up because I have not bought the iPhone app, but from the many reviews I've read it seems better off than Orb.  The interface looks more stable, but from personal reviews it has a problem with large libraries.  Why would you pay for something that wont work for everybody.  I know I wont be getting it anytime soon because I have many gigabytes of music I'd love to stream.  Also Simplify has three iPhone apps (but only 2 different types).  Two are Simplify Music (Original) and Simplify Music 2.  What really gets me mad is that users have to pay eight dollars for the updated version, when they could have given it as an update to the original.  So six dollars (Simplify Music Original) plus the updated version (eight dollars), and that doesn't even include the third app that cost four dollars to stream your photos.  So all that for some application that may not work well with large libraries.  I would definitely be mad at the company if I had paid for the original and then pay even more for the update.
          But just because things are bad now doesn't mean that won't get better.  I think that these apps are worth checking into, and I am surely going to keep my eye on them.  I would love if Simplify Media had a free or lite version of their app so it could be tested, like Orb does.  I tried Orb on my friends iPhone and it was slow loading media and skipped a few songs, giving me different errors.  Now what is interesting is that Orb is suppose to work via your Orb server (www.mycast.orb.com) with any computer, phone or internet device for free.  But they are making you pay to use it on the iPhone, one to access files (music, photos, documents) from your computer and the other Orb Live allows you to stream video feeds to your iPhone.  If you do go to the website (without using the app), you get a horrible interface that is very slow to load.  It doesn't separate multiple songs, so if you chose an album to play it would put all of the songs together.  Making one 32 minute or however long song.  If they just simply updated their mobile interface, it would be more enticing to users.
          Offering a nice clean interface for free would get them more attention then making people pay for it.  But again I would continue to see how they grow and watch out for other competing apps (maybe even free) that will try to get noticed.  Thanks for reading and here are links to the websites and iPhone apps.

Orb: Computer Application 
iPhone app: Orb Live, Orb Live Free, Orb Media

Simplify Media: Computer Application
iPhone App: Simplify Music, Simplify Music 2, Simplify Photo

It's been talked about a little hear and there, but in most cases it can be pretty expensive.  $60 per month for Verizons 3G Mifi router.  Which is pretty nice, knowing that you will mostly have a good connection and speed wherever you may go.  There is also Clear Internet's Clear Spot WiMax Router.  If you are lucky to live in a city with Clear internet available I would choose that.  Because unless you are going to be going out of the state a lot Clear's Home Internet and Mobile Internet plan is actually less than $60.  All you need is to buy or lease the 3"x5" WiMax router and the Clear USB Modem.  Its perfect for using it with an Ipod touch or any other portable device that uses wifi.  Use Skype or any other Voip service and you have a phone.

Check out Gizmodo's review on the device: Clear Spot
I am going to try this out hopefully someday, and if I do I will definitely tell you how it is.

          FeedMyInbox is one of the simplest websites to use.  All you need is a website that has an RSS feed (look for the blue or orange icon in your url address bar) and an email address.  You type in the website and your email address and hit submit.  You should get a confirmation email, and you will receive an email about your site within 24 hours of confirmation.  It is useful because there are some news sites that I will forward to my phone so I can read it when I want.  This is free and requires little work to setup.  Check it out for yourself with the provided link above and get daily news delivered right to your email.
          And with my post on how to Receive Email on Any Phone, this is available to everyone.  If you have any comments please leave them below and thanks for reading.

          Thinking about going on an international trip or changing GSM carriers?  Well you'll need to unlock your phone to use it with compatible carriers.  Now there are many shady sites that will supposedly give you a subsidy unlock code for your phone.  Most of them have a small fee from five to ten dollars, but I don't understand why you would trust such a site.  For all you know the company may give you a fake code, and I wouldn't want to take that chance.  What most people don't know is that their wireless carrier will give you the code for no cost.  Just as long as you have had an active line for at least 90 days and you have your phone's IMEI number.  The IMEI number is normally found on the back of your phone under the battery.  If not found there you can obtain it by typing *#06# in your phone.

          Next if you are a T-Mobile user you just call the customer service number (1-800-937-8997) and request for the subsidy unlock code.  They will normally ask if you will be using the phone internationally and you just agree (even if you aren't hehe).  And that is it, they will ask for an email address so they can send you the unlock code and you should receive it within 24 hours.  Once you have your code, the quickest way to unlock your phone is to put in a sim card from a different carrier and when it starts up it will ask for the subsidy code then.

          Now if you have an AT&T phone that you want unlocked the process is very similar.  But one thing is that they suggest you have an international roaming feature on your account, to obtain the code.  But other than that you just call their customer service (1-800-331-0500) and ask for the subsidy unlock code.  I am not experienced with their process, but here is a site where one person explains it in detail: Unlock AT&T Phone.  Now if for some reason you are not able to obtain an unlock code for your AT&T phone, I've heard that T-Mobile sometimes unlocks AT&T phones as well, I'm not sure if it is free, but it's worth a try.  

          I am a T-Mobile customer and just recently unlocked my Razr 2, and the process took around 12 minutes on the phone.  I really like this process much better than entrusting a site i've never heard of with my money and maybe even my phone number.  I suggest that you try this process before any other one.  Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them.

Ever gaze at a person who is checking their email on their blackberry and think how nice that must be? If I had that I would be more efficient with my work, or would be able to communicate to more people. The only thing that is stopping you from getting email for your phone is that it's is not worth the money (that is my reason) or maybe your phone doesn't support it. Now, there is a free solution for it. The only requirements you'll need is a phone with a text messaging plan (preferably unlimited Texting plan) and an email account with email forwarding. There are many email services with free forwarding such as Gmail. As of recent Yahoo does not allow you to use email forwarding for free, so unless you want to pay $20 a year for it, I suggest you use a free email forwarding provider. Now after you have an email account with email forwarding, you need to set it to forward your emails to your phone. Your address depends on your wireless service provider, here is a list:

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

Where it says "phonenumber" you put your 10 digit phone number (including area code). And after you set your email to forward to your phone's email address your are done! The great part about this is that you can even reply to emails as well. So with an unlimited texting plan, feel free to email as much as you want, right from your phone.
Have any more questions about setting your phone up? Feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed this post.