most common asked questions for the g1 will be updated as needed.
Battery:
* Lithium Ion batteries have no chemical "memory effect" - their life will not be permanently reduced by partial discharge cycles
* In fact, for the most part they prefer lots of little charge cycles rather than fewer larger recharge cycles, with one exception...
* Lithium Ion batteries do have a battery meter to predict battery life that does require calibration:
1. [It can't hurt to start from a fully charged state, but not required]
2. Discharge it past the point when it complains until it shuts itself off.
3. Then recharge it back to full and then leave it charging for another few hours even after it says it is full.
* Do at least one calibration cycle like the above when you first get the device to make sure the battery meter is correct.
* Do another calibration cycle when the battery meter seems to be getting low but you think it might be premature.
* You shouldn't need to do a full/calibration cycle more than about 1 out of every 30 charge cycles.
* Heat is their worst enemy in terms of reducing their life. Full recharge cycles accumulate much more heat than partial recharge cycles so plug it in whenever you can at other times when you aren't doing a calibration cycle.
Factory or hard reset:
First option
From the Home screen, press the Menu key.
Tap Settings.
Tap and slide the screen upward.
Tap SD card & phone storage.
Tap Factory data reset
Tap Reset phone.
Tap Erase Everything
Second option
The device must be powered OFF to perform this reset. If the device is on, turn it off.
• Note: If the device is not responsive and does not turn off, remove the battery and re-insert it.
Press and hold the Home button (picture of a house on it) and the Power button (the red hang-up button) at the same time.
Keep holding Home and Power together for at least 25 seconds, even if the "Startup" screen appears.
Release the keys when you see a black screen with a warning sign.
Slide the keyboard open.
As a shortcut, press ALT+W to factory reset the device. If this does not work, continue with the below steps.
Press ALT+L.
Press Alt+W for 'wipe data/factory reset'.
Press the Home + Back key.
• Note: You can also remove the battery and re-insert it
Not able to activate the g1 in the USA:
IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE SIGNING ON TO THE PHONE FOR THE FIRST TIME OR RECEIVING ERROR MESSAGES THAT ARE REPORTING -UNABLE TO CONNECT, YOU NEED TO CONTACT PDA SUPPORT.
WHEN CALLING CUSTOMER CARE, ASK TO BE TRANSFERRED TO PDA SUPPORT. THEY MAY ASK YOU TO VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT BEFORE DOING SO. IF SO DO THAT, THEN SPEAK TO PDA SUPPORT AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE.
IN ORDER TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM AS A RESULT OF THE OUTAGE, PDA SUPPORT NEEDS TO CHECK PROVISIONING ON YOUR ACCOUNT.
(IF YOUR IN THE UK YOU NEED TO CONTACT TDMS.)
All issues of ringtones and notifications:
Download Rings Extended. It gives you the ability to select your own mp3 files as notification ringtones.
Flash for the g1:
At present there is no Adobe Flash support for the Android OS. It is in development though and we will post it when it comes available.
What is an ota:
An OTA is an over the air update for the device. Instead of needing to plug your G1 into your computer to update the firmware/software, the G1
regularly "checks in" to see if there are any new updates for it. If there is a new update made available the G1 will download it and prompt you to install.
The market cache:
Everytime you go to the market place on your g1 the cache gets bigger the alternative place to go rather than on your g1 is to this site to see whats new. its updated just as fast as it is on the g1.
http://www.cyrket.com/Long presses on the g1:
* Home Key will bring up Recent Applications.
* End Key will bring up the Silent/Power Off menu.
* Green Send Key will activate voice dialing.
* A message will bring up a menu with Call #, Forward, View Message Details, Delete Message.
* An image in the browser to save it or view image alone (also works by having the image highlighted and long pressing the trackball).
* A link to open a menu with Open, Open in New Window, Bookmark Link, Save Link, Share Link, Copy Link Url (works with trackball as well).
* the desktop will allow you to add a shortcut for an Application, a folder, a bookmarker, contact, Gmail Label, Music Playlist, add a Widget (Clock, Picture Frame, Search), and modify your background. If you add AnyCut you will have even more options.
* A number in the call log for a menu to Call, Edit before calling, Send SMS, Add to Contacts, or remove from call log.
* Menu key while powering on will put the phone into Safe Mode.
G-1 features and specs in short:
- touch screen
- QWERTY keyboard
- Google search bar (available on home screen)
- Web browsing (Real Web, not mobile version)
- Google Apps: Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk
- 3G Network and Wi-Fi Access
FEATURES:
- IM/Text/E-mail (if more than one email account, they all are accessible from G1)
- 3.2 Megapixel Camera
- YouTube videos
- Music Player
- Android Market
- Customizable Home screen (use personal photos as wallpaper, remove/add apps on the home screen etc.)
G1 comes with 1GB memory card included. The card is expandable to 16GB.
explain root to me?:
Getting root on your phone is a Linux term for being in total control over the operating system (like Administrator in Windows). Root can edit, add or delete any files you want. People like root because it enables them to install custom software, like on-screen keyboards or edit existing software, like the browser, to make it auto rotate. The downside to having root is because you can really mess your phone up, which invalidates the warranty.
How to enable vibrate on text messages
Go into messaging > hit menu > Check Vibrate
How to quickly enable silent mode
Hold power button, then choose silent mode
Press and hold home key to view currently open/recent apps
How to Increase Battery Life
-Turn off GPS
-Lower screen brightness
-Turn off Wi-fi when you are not around any wifi networks
---------------------------------
If you are not in a 3g area do the following to save battery life!
Go to Settings--->Wireless Controls--->Mobile Networks and check the box that says "Use Only 2G Networks"
To copy text:
Highlight text, press MENU + C, or
Highlight text, press and hold TRACKBALL, select Copy
To Paste text:
Menu + V, or
Press and hold TRACKBALL, select Paste
Select all text in field:
Menu + A, or
Highlight text, press and hold TRACKBALL, select Select all
accessing the micro sd card when hooked up yo the computer:
Recent Android updates brought protection to the SD card but also a frustration as to access it when connecting to your computer you will notice a USB icon in your top notification bar, finger slide this and select MOUNT.
conserving battery:
You can disable many features to extend your battery such as disabling GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, Synchronization, & WiFi while also decreasing your screen brightness and timeout.
how to turn off 3g:
You can disable 3G by going to SETTINGS > WIRELESS CONTROLS > MOBILE NETWORKS > Select USE ONLY 2G NETWORKS
how to forward a text message:
Go to the actual text message thread with the text that was received, upon which place your finger and hold. You will then be presented the option to FORWARD.
how to use the g1 on other providers:
* The G1 can work on other service providers that allow SIM cards on GSM.
* The G1 does NOT work on CDMA technology networks such as used by Verizon & Sprint.
* Works on AT&T with a SIM card by going to SETTINGS > Wireless Controls > Mobile networks > Access Point Names then Press the Menu button and select NEW APN - simply mirror the settings below:
Name: [MAKES NO DIFFERENCE]
APN: wap.cingular
Username:
wap@cingulargprs.com Password: cingular1
MMSC:
http://mmsc.cingular.com MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
MMS port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
* The G1 3G can ONLY work on 1700 and 2100 MHz frequencies - Thus 3G will NOT work on AT&T as its uses 850 or 1900 MHz.
how to create an android app:
* Download the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows, Mac or Linux PC.
* It is best to also download an Eclipse or similar Integrated Development Environment (IDE) plus the Android plugin for Eclipse.
* You will need to have GUI Java programming knowledge plus understanding of Android’s own Java class library as it does not support the class libraries from Java ME or SE.
* Test your application against the Android Emulator.
* To install your application on an actual Android phone, you need to digitally sign your application with your own digital certificate.
