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Thanks to our resident Android dev, Steve Albright, I came across this awesome post on Google+ from Google employee, Jean Baptiste Queru. It definitely got me reminiscing on my first time with Android and I figured this would make as great a post as any here on the site. I’ve always been one for reader interaction so lets take this idea and run with it. Here’s the post:
The official US release date of the T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone, was October 22 2008, i.e. 1000 days ago. We’ve come a long way in 1000 days.
The initial release of Android source code into the Android Open-Source Project was made one day before, on October 21 2008, i.e. 1001 days ago.
What’s your AOSP tale?
I’ll start (and I’ll try to keep it brief). I first got into Android thanks to the G1. I was T-Mobile for over 7 years and owned just about every Sidekick device under the sun. I wanted to experience the world’s first “Google phone” but I wanted to wait and see how their app Market would mature. So on the G1’s first birthday, I traded my Sidekick LX ’09 for the Gphone and got my first real taste of Android. It was amazing. Upon seeing a video on YouTube of a leaked Hero ROM running on the G1 (thanks, Haykuro) and I was drawn into the Android modding scene. From there I was flashing ROMs and hacking up my device when I noticed nobody was making videos on YouTube showing off ROMs or “how-to” videos. So I picked up my camera and shot my 1st Android ROM review. (I’ll consider posting later).
How about you? What’s your AOSP tale? Post your first Android device in the comments with a brief description of how you got here. This is going to be fun.
saw lots of mentions of “Android” on sites like gizmodo and engadget. ended up getting a used G1 at the first chance with zero research. Don’t ask. There is no logic behind my buying decisions (except with computer parts), but they never really turn out to be too bad. :)
What phone did you have before? =)
Nokia N70. I wouldn’t dare trash that phone though. It handled web browsing and emails back in its day like a boss.
Same with my Sidekick! I still have a soft spot for it =p
i remember having to order to g1 to my cousins and having it shipped to canada because i wanted the google experience so bad and now im hooked going to be flying down to new york to the the mytouch 4g slide
Haha! And here I am wishing I could get some awesome Canadian phones. You guys get all the good stuff before we do! =p
I read android blogs for a year before I picked up the epic 4g and to be honest i was disappointed with the poor battery life and the constant over heating but luckily I dropped it about about 4 months later and it broke. I have best buy’s warranty plan and I had the choice to either get a new epic or switch to the evo and after seeing your youtube video comparing them i switched and have loved my evo ever since.
Woot! Corny YouTube videos FTW! xD
You know those water containers that people sometimes fill with change? I thought I would regret spending it but I bought the G1 with it right after launch. Best. Decision. Ever. :D
Hahahahaha! A G1 for some change =p
My first Android phone was an HTC Hero. I traded my 32GB iPhone 3GS for it. Although, it was probably a huge mistake at the time, I loved that phone to death, despite how it was kind of slow. I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S i9000, then moved to a Desire Z, and now I’m back on a Captivate.
I was going to say… I think you got the short end of the stick back then but look at you now! =)
I was working at a Microcenter for a temp job and saw someone with a white G1, he was scanning games and random shit with the barcode app, I asked him what he was doing, he showed me the phone and almost instantly I needed one. Picked up a G1 a few days later and never looked back. G1 > Vibrant > Archos 7 HT > EVO 3D NOW :)
Nice! :D
My first android was the Hero. I loved that phone and never did anything to it. Then I got the Evo and once I did my research and got brave enough, I started hacking around and feel like I basically have a brand new phone. I did want the 3D, but the ROM I have has some of the original Sense mixed with the 3.0, so the gimmick of that phone is unnecessary I learned a lot through forums like Phandroid and XDA and I gotta say…I’ve shown off my skills a little. :)
That’s awesome. I’m still thinking of finding a cheap Hero on Craigslist and using it as a backup phone in case I ever lose or break my Evo 3D =p
Chris Chavez, you should write more during the day for this site. Your material is usually the best out of all.
My brother found the droid x in a droid landing contest and ended up giving me his og droid…that started n obsession which then I bought a droid x nd then thunderbolt…took that back nd now waiting for the bionic…oh yea and I got a xoom don’t know what to at android is my drug of choice along with a fat blunt with some skunky skunk
HAHA! Sticky-icky xD
My first android device was the Motorola Droid, when i first picked it up i messed with everything spent the first few weeks learning things about it, then when i first rooted it i turned into a rom whore. When i brought it into school and everybody loved it, and more and more people ditched there I*hones for android devices and i was so proud. =)
I remember the day the Droid 1 came out. I was the first in line (with my friend who was getting it). Rocked my socks =p
My first android experience was the Samsung Moment. I sort of fell into a job at a third party Sprint store. When learning the phones I looked at the moment as impossible to learn and did whatever I could to talk people into blackberries. Finally I decided to sit down learn it and never looked back. Since then I’ve had the moment, hero, EVO and now the 3D. This site has been with me all the way. Thanks for all you do guys!
Woot! Glad you’re with us :D
Didn’t like the look of the Moto Droid so went with the Droid Eris in Dec. ’09. Loved it from day 1. Rooted in June ’10.
Upgraded to Droid Incredible in July ’10. Rooted the day I got it.
Love hTC but never cared for Sense. CM all the way!
My oldest son is a smart phone phanatic. He kind of sparked my interest in smart phones. a good friend of mine was in town and he pulled out his G1. I had heard of it but, had never seen one. I was impressed a little. When the OG Droid came on the scene, I bought one on day 1. After the 2.1 OTA debacle, I vowed that I would never ever wait for another update from a carrier. My oldest son got the Evo, giving my youngest his HTC Hero (after I convinced him that Android was the best thing since sliced bread). My youngest and I rooted on the same day. It was on and poppin’ from that day forward. So, as I types this, I have a rooted Tbolt, my oldest is rocking a Nexus S 4G, my youngest has a rooted Evo shift 4G, my nephew has a Droid Eris, and my ex wife is rocking a stock EVO 4G. My boss is rocking a rooted Samsung Vibrant, co worker a rooted OG Droid. I have spread the word of Android and rooting as far as I possibly could. My work is done here.
I came very late to the android scene. I was using Samsung omnia pro ( yes that old f**** up Windows 6.5 phone) before when i saw that galaxy s had the fastest gpu and a gorgeous screen. i rooted it on the second day itself.
then my phone became a flashing whore in a couple of days. have been flashing / screwing since then.
After having my BB Curve stolen from me, I was hunting for something different. I had read about the WebOS multitasking and was about to throw down my $ when the sales guy at the Sprint store showed me something different. What’s this? A Google phone? Never heard of HTC… “I’ll be back” I said. Had to do some research ;-) A few days later on Nov. 9th, 2009 I got the 1st Android phone w/ HTC Sense, the Hero. It didn’t take long for me to dig in & start rooting it & flashing ROMs like a mad man. When the Droid campaign got under way I was like n00bs! I picked up the HTC EVO when it was apparent it was receiving a ton of dev support thanks to the IO giveaway & have since picked up the Motorola Xoom. I’ve been loving every minute of the ride along the Android Speedway since my 1st taste & love bringing new people aboard. Oh and I hate fruit buckets. It’s unAmerican as far as I’m concerned :-P
Lets see…My history with cell phones goes way back (I say that only being 27 years of age). Back when I was 16, my FIRST cell phone was a Motorola clam shell. This thing barley fit in your pocket…it was like an upgrade to the “Zach Morris” phone :)
Over the years I was always a sucker to buy the latest to only be disappointed when a new device came out a few weeks later. Data plans were kind of non existent and I depended on desktop syncing. Oh..that seems so painful to remember. I have had Motorola’s, LG’s, Nokia’s, Blackberry’s, Sony’s and I’m sure lots more. I remember when Sony Ericson’s cost like 800 bucks on eBay and I could never afford to buy one. …but during the desktop sync days…I think that was the phone to have.
As the years past we were all blessed to be introduced the iPhone. Now, I have had touch screen devices prior to the iPhone…but damn, Apple is good at marketing. I am a Mac user but I also own two iPhones that I do not use anymore. Yep, it took me two iPhones to finally realize I needed a Android device. Since the G1 came out I have always had Android in my radar. I bet I would have bought the G1 if it wasn’t limited to only T-Mobile… because around my area..T-Mobile sucks. I think I can honestly say that I can thank AT&T for sucking as much as they did which gave me the strength to switch to Verizon. Since I have made the switch a few years back I have owned …well, all HTC devices..odd. HTC Eris, HTC Incredible and now HTC Thunderbolt. I love HTC but I hate sense!
Over those years I have created tons of little apps for all kinds of different phone platforms but I can honestly say that developing for the Android OS has to be the best so far. I am pretty sure its the community behind Android and the whole openness of the platform. Google seems to lissen when the users/devs talk and I look forward to my next Android device. The Thunderbolt should hold me over…at least a half year?… but I think I need to get a different manufacture next time. hmmm…Maybe I should checkout the local Verizon store today?
too long post…..basically, I really wanted a nexus1, and through importing my wish came true, I am now waiting for the Nexus3
Before I even knew about the OG Droid I wanted an iPhone *so* badly, but I was on Verizon. I began to see these “Droid” commercials and immediately knew I wanted some of that action. I bought a used Droid on eBay and fell in love. I stumbled upon a site called Droid-Life that taught me how to root my device and flash ROMS. I’m so thankful I was on Verizon or else I would have ended up with an iPhone and might have never tasted the awesomeness that is Android.
me and my friends spend hours on the weekends modding and testing custom roms on each others phones
When my Treo 600 died, I needed to get a new smartphone. I was not impressed with the iPhone’s cost and lack of insurance, and my only other alternative was Windows Mobile phone. Frustrated by the OS, I went searching for modifications to improve the phone. That is when I can across Android. The Interface seemed OK but what sold me on the system was the inherent customization (All Apps are Equal) and fact that the apps were not tied to a particular processor or screen size. Developers at at XDA-Devs had made a version of Android 1.1 that ran on my phone (poorly). Since the bad port worked better than Windows Mobile on my Mogul, I was hooked. I jumped on the Hero when it came to Sprint and have been using it ever since.
I was supposed to get my G1 on Christmas 2008, then UPS lost it so I had to reorder a new one, turns out T-Mobile was charging us for 2 G1’s and we had to pay.
After that little heat I finally got it on January 2009, it was beautiful!
My previous phone was a BB Pearl and my first phone.
I remember looking for hacks or tips on Google and found myself on Koush’s Root thread for G1 on XDA. I didn’t own a PC at the time so I did it at my friend’s house. A month later after cupcake I started reading about some Hero ROM, I quickly tried to install it and as soon as I flashed the Danger SPL, I bricked my phone. Dang it, the good thing is that my warranty covered it. I just lied to T-Mobile.
Got a nother one and kept the thing for 1 more year and installed Hero successfully and CM4.1/4.3 and to CM 6.1
I was getting tired of it and so I got a Samsung Vibrant last October. I really like it but I’m saving up for a new one later this christmas
My first Android service was the Motorola Cliq, which was a total piece of crap.
My android story. I was flooded out June of 08. I lost EVERYTHING. I had no computer, no email, nothing. I was trying to deal with the gov’t and with FEMA. Everyone was talking about the iPhone at the time, being a Mac user, i was intrigued. Then i seen it; The ad with the G1. The one where they show the street view and you could turn the phone and the screen would go with the way you were turning. I was sold. I am on a local carrier here which is an affliate of T-Mobile. I waited two days after the 22nd, and picked up two full priced unlocked G1’s for myself and my wife off of Ebay. Before October was out I was rocking Android.
When I took the phone into my carrier to get it set up, their jaws dropped. They’ve never seen such a piece of equipment before. They couldn’t wait to get one.
Android is the only reason I was able to deal with the gov’t. It kept everything organized and at the palm of my hand. I was able to write out detailed emails using the best keyboard with the quickness.
I then upgraded to the G2 a week after it came out. Stock Android FTW! I have recently got tired of getting crap speeds for internet (never over 300kb/s), and no gingerbread. I broke up with my carrier for Verizon. I wanted to be Gfather’d in. I picked up a Thunderbolt because i knew i could root it and get sense off of it.
I am rocking a CM7 TB. my average speeds here are 1.3 mb/s. I went up to WI dells and was getting 21 mb/s! I purchased a Xoom day one. I wanted to be in on the next round of tablets from the beginning. I still have all of my devices as my lady tests her websites on them.
I love Android. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.