Archive for October, 2008
Update on the Redesign
Yes, we’re still doing the redesign. In fact, we’ve got all of the graphics back from our graphics guy, and it’s just a matter of bug testing and getting it ready to launch.
I’d like to be optimistic and say we’ll be ready to go as soon as tomorrow, but realistically things go awry sometimes - so let’s put it at Monday or Tuesday, and if it happens sooner, you’ll be pleasantly surprised =D.
Details on the redesign? The winning color scheme was black and red. The design of the new template is simple and clean, and that’s the way we like it. In fact, it’s turning out to be a significant refresh rather than a drastic redesign of AllShadow.com. The slogan of the site will change from “All Shadow, All the Time” to “The T-Mobile Smartphone Community.” We think that the latter is much more fitting, given our coverage of the G1 and future T-Mobile Smartphones. More updates will be posted, as needed.
Need a Program or Profile Scheduler?
CT Scheduler Lite 1.5 is free and gives you the ability to set certain programs to run at certain times so you don’t have to worry about them. You can also set it to switch your phone Profiles at certain times. This is especially useful for sleep times so you don’t get woken up from your happy Shadow dreams. If you use it to switch profiles read the short documentation on their site so you don’t end up deleting a profile. It’s free and if you really like it they have a full version available for a few coins. Enjoy!
Is Your G1 On The Way?
BGR is reporting that some people’s G1’s are already enroute with an expected delivery date of this Friday! If this holds true then Good Job T-Mo for doing the unheard of and getting something to people earlier rather than later.
Check your email and see if you have a G1 enroute and let us know in the comments!
Poll: Where Are You From?
Over in the forums, bobsterjhankis posted a thread asking if anyone was from the San Diego area, in the hopes of meeting up with someone from the AllShadow community who can show him the awesome capabilities of the Shadow.
And that got us thinking - if there is a high concentration of AllShadow users in one part of the country, perhaps we could arrange an AllShadow meet. So tell us - where are you from?
6 Innovative G1 Applications to Check Out
With October 22nd getting closer by the minute let’s take a look at some apps that might prove interesting. With all the hardware under the G1’s hood, app developers have many options to work with when creating innovative solutions and new functionality you never knew you wanted. The following are some apps from the Android Developer Challenge that either solve a problem or add value to the G1. Most of these are location aware. Go on, you know you want to keep reading… › Continue reading
Get Gaming on Your Shadow
Who would have thought that the Shadow is a robust gaming platform? Nintendo, SNES, GBA, Sega, Doom, Duke Nukem - find them all over on the Games section of our Wiki. In addition to ROM download links, you’ll find step by step information on how to get the games up and running.
P.S. Jsmccabe78 has been adding to and updating the Wiki on a regular basis, and it’s becoming an amazing resource for our site with thousands of hits a day. Please contribute so that we can make it even better! If you have any questions on how to use the Wiki, post them in the forum post.
Free Email Access on the G1?
Fortune is reporting that Google and T-Mobile may allow G1 users to get free Google email. The idea is that you’d be able to access email - and email only - and that you’d be subjected to ads in exchange for the free service. And of course, as with the Shadow, you don’t need a data plan to use WiFi.
How to Destroy Your Shadow
Bipinsen sparked this off with his thread on How To Disassemble Your Shadow, which is very informative, and should only be done if your warranty is void, T-Mobile won’t replace it, and no one wants to buy it from you. Which got me to thinking how many ways have the dear Members of the AllShadow.com community destroyed their Shadows? The most famous way is dropping it in the toilet.
I’ve had my own experiences with attempted Shadow destruction, but despite my best efforts it’s a resilient little bugger. One thing that had me slapping myself was a cracked battery cover that I applied super glue to fix. I put the cover on to soon and ended up super-gluing the cover on. I destroyed most of the back of the phone getting it off. More recently I took a swim across a lake with all my gear, and Shadow, in a supposedly waterproof bag. When I got to the other side the Shadow was vibrating furiously and water was just pouring out of it. I immediately removed the battery and let it dry for a few days without attempting to turn it on. Good as new.
How have you destroyed your Shadow? What beating has it taken? Should we ask BlendTec to see if the Shadow will blend? How about the G1?
When You Need an Interruption
Supertrooper brought this to our attention. Fake Call lets you set a timed call from a contact of your choice so you can conveniently step out of a meeting, bad conversation, or hairy situation.
There are a few simple to use options:
•    5 minutes – perfect for cutting short people that ambush you in the hall
•    A little longer – anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or a specific time
•    Specific Time – set a time AND a date to be interrupted
•    Right Now – for those “need…to…get…away…” moments
It’s free for download from Trinket Software’s site. Enjoy!
A Quick Hardware Tour of the G1
In this well-taken video tour of the G1 hardware, we get a few takeaways. First, the screen, which rotates in an arced pattern (this is most likely just for effect, rather than for function), has a very strong spring assist that shuts closed with a satisfying “click” sound. I envision many G1-users sliding the screen open and closed at work or school, repeatedly, just for fun =D.
Second, we notice that the G1 has an absurdly fast screen rotation from portrait to landscape - it’s almost instant, with no annoying animation. On other platforms, like Windows Mobile and even iPhone, the screen rotation takes 1-2 seconds, which can feel like an eternity if you’re trying to do something quickly.
Lastly, the narrator of the video reinforces what we know already: that the keyboard of the G1 may not be winning an award anytime soon. He comments that it’s difficult to “feel for” a key because there aren’t any pronounced dips or humps on the keys. HTC needed to make the keys flat so that the screen had enough clearance to swivel back into place. But as with most new keyboards, it’s just a matter of getting used to it.
Make Your Shadow Look Like the HTC Touch Pro
ShadowMike is almost done his Touch Pro skin for the Shadow (or, actually, all Windows Mobile Standard devices), and it’s looking really good. It’s in Beta right now, so give it a try and give Mike your feedback. Above is the standard version, and below it is the 96DPI skin. Make sure you’re running on Windows Mobile 6.1 first (remember, T-Mobile doesn’t support 6.1 for the Shadow, so upgrade at your own risk), and then click on the discussion thread that goes through the installation step by step, plus how to get onto WinMo 6.1.
If You Ordered Your G1 after…
If you ordered your G1 after Oct 3rd at 5:30pm then you can expect a delivery date of November 10, 2008 (Thanks Edward!) Supposedly T-Mobile corporate stores are going to have it in stock on the 22nd but if preorderss made after Oct. 3rd are going out Nov. 10th some people might be a little upset if their always-at-the-last-minute neighbor gets one before them. We’ll see how it pans out! Who else is excited?! I know I am.
The G1 vs. the iPhone: Fight!
The iPhone and T-Mobile G1 are similar devices in many ways - they both rely a lot on touch, use the same browser engine, and promise a future of thousands of applications to enrich the user experience. That said, there are MANY differences, and in looking at both devices side to side, we learn a lot about the G1 and what it’ll be like to own one. › Continue reading
Tiny Twitter on Windows Mobile
You might know that you can visit Twitter.com in Pocket Internet Explorer or send a text to 40404 to tweet your update status, but did you know there is a Windows Mobile application for Smartphones like the Shadow that allow you to interact quicker with the Twitter service? Tiny Twitter is an easy to use and fun app that connects to your Twitter profile and posts or pulls you and your friends Tweets. You can reply, direct, timeline, find friends or follow/unfollow people all from your Shadow. You can set the update frequency and be alerted whenever one of your friends tweets and even set an audible alert if you like. It’s free and you can get it from tinytwitter.com
Oh, if you want to follow my theatrics, you can find me as MikeBenton on the twitter service. I can’t promise anything interesting though J Enjoy!
Use the G1 Right Now
This is really cool - T-Mobile has put up an emulator of the G1 that lets you get into all of the screen of the operating system and get a feel for how the device will operate. Some of the screens aren’t functional, but most of them are.
Try messing around with the “window shade” that you pull down from any program. Also, try moving around desktop icons by doing a tap and hold, and slide them to one of the three desktop screens. Finally, use the “menu” button near the keyboard to draw up contextual menus in differerent screens.
So - what do you think? Some think Android seems unpolished so far, while others argue against that and think that it has a ton of potential, being an open operating system. What do you think?
