G1 Hacked For Tethering And Google Navigation

A couple of weeks ago, I hacked my G1 to gain tethering capability. For the technically inclined, it was probably like a walk in the park. For me, I bricked it, brought it back to life, then bricked it again, and then finally go it to work.

Well, I woke up this morning, and guess what? The intrepid folks in the Android community found a way to load up Google Navigation on the G1. I first heard this on Android Community. I had woke up early this morning to go on a run but decided this was more important than to keep my girly figure, somewhere between the baby fat and, well, nevermind.

The initial set of instructions were difficult to follow. Over at xda-developers, the provided all the information you need to get your G1 up and running with Google Navigation. Here's the thing, I've pretty much done a lot of the work needed. The most important being rooting my G1 which I needed to do in order to install the tethering app on the G1.

So, I searched around and followed the instructions of instructions from one of the commenters at Gizmodo. It was a piece of cake. Again, I had rooted my G1 first. Gizmodo also provided you with an overview of what you need and what has to happen but you still need to do some research to gather together what you need. I used the instuctions from the second commenter.

And now that I got it work, how was it? In a word, excellent! I took it for a spin after work. Drove around town while I ran a few errands. I'm still getting a feel for Google Nav but this totally makes it my first GPS navigation device. I have seen a few in Lexus vehicles but I don't know how Google Nav compares with the standalone devices or the ones on the iPhone. From the stock price drops of the GPS companies, I think it's pretty good.

A little editorial here. This along with tethering and the improvements from Android 1.5 and 1.6 should have been what Android 1.0 ought to be from the beginning. Google should have waited. Really, I mean that.

Folks these days have to go up against the iPhone and it's important to bring their A-games. Well, Googlers have done a great job and I can't wait until Android 2.0 becomes available for the Android devices currently on the market.

But some you might might be asking why are people through all this trouble? Well, because there are a lot of smart Android fans. Plus, this is specifically important to G1ers because there is a chance (a good chance) that G1's limited onboard memory will not be able to take on the added features of Android 2.0.

And I want it now. So, I'll be driving around a bit this weekend doing family stuff and I'll be sure to give Google Navigation a very thorough trial. I'll get back to everyone with a more in-depth experience.

Note: Over at Onxo, I noted to readers that I've got a few Google Wave invitations. Click through if you're interested.