We’re not going to travel too far back in time for this week’s installation of Throwback Thursday, but we think our selection is very appropriate. With this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in full gear, we’re seeing an unfathomable number of Android phones and tablets announced by dozens of electronics manufacturers. So here at BGR, we thought it would be appropriate to take a short moment to pay homage to the little handset that started it all. We’re talking about T-Mobile̵...

A few weeks ago, Rogers decided not to upgrade the aging HTC Dream to Android 2.0 but offered existing owners the opportunity to switch to the HTC Magic for free in a limited time promotion. We thought this would end all controversy surrounding the Dream but, alas, the saga of the Rogers’ Dream is not over yet. Rogers is now apparently halting all sales of the Dream due to a GPS and software issue which hinders 911 calls. An internal memo circulating on Friday instructs employees to halt all activations...

HTC Magic owners disappointed by Rogers’ announcement that the Dream was going to stay at Android 1.5 may have cause to rejoice. A post from a Rogers rep over at Android forums claims that Rogers is putting together a promotion that will provide current Dream owners a limited time opportunity to upgrade to the HTC Magic. Rogers is reportedly still working on the details of the promotion but if it pans out, Dream owners may have a shiny, new Android handset in their future. (more…)

HTC Magic and Dream owners in Canada take note as Rogers has reconsidered its “No Donut or Eclair policy” for at least one of its two Android handsets. Rogers has confirmed that, in the next few weeks, it will issue a minor update for the Android 1.5 OS on both the Dream and the Magic, bringing the HTC Sense UI to the Magic while keeping the platform steady at Android 1.5. By mid-2010, the HTC Magic will be updated to Android 2.1 complete with HTC’s updated Sense UI. While Magic owners are j...

If you have either a HTC Dream or Magic (or perhaps both) from Rogers Wireless, you might want to brush up on your rooting and porting skills because it appears that both devices will not receive an official OS update past Android 1.5. Said HTC’s website (and confirmed by Rogers):HTC is not currently planning any Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers Dream or Magic. Android 1.6 was only made available for “Google”-branded devices such as the G1. It is not available for HTC-branded products such as the Dre...

Remember that Android 2.1 ROM for the Hero that was leaked over at xda-developers ? Deeply embedded within the code of the ROM is supposedly a list of codenames for current and future HTC Android handsets. The list includes the Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Several of the names, like the Dream and Hero, are very recognizable while others, like the Huangshan and ...

A mere two days after its release, Android 2.0 SDK has already been ripped from the womb and ported over to a T-Mobile G1. Currently in the most crude state possible, the cooked ROM runs as quickly as Babe Ruth did at his heaviest (and drunkest).The mere fact it’s able to run without melting the G1 and its 192MB of RAM, though, should give hope that the fine folks over at XDA-Developers will be able iron out enough wrinkles to make it usable as a daily driver. The only question is will G1/Dream and myTo...

Sure it looks a bit odd in the image above, but don’t be fooled — Layar’s preview of its updated AR interface is as cool as the other side of the pillow. What’s better than augmented reality? 3D augmented reality, of course. We told you about Layar’s AR browser for Android back in August and since then, it looks like the Layar team has really kicked things up a notch. This morning, Layar released three new videos that preview its new 3D augmented reality browser that is currently...

Augmented Reality is quickly becoming a hot ticket item in the mobile world and we’ve seen various nifty applications of the technology previewed recently. The key of course, is finding useful and valuable ways to apply AR concepts to mobile devices. Today, a preview of another infinitely useful AR app is making the rounds and we’re digging it big time. While the app name isn’t overly creative — Augmented Traffic Views — the application itself is fantastic. Built for the Android ...

Ok, seriously… Layar kicks ass. Big time. Sure you look ridiculous swinging your phone around to see which new icons jump onto the screen, but it’s totally worth it. For those who haven’t yet heard of Layar, here’s how it works: Using the camera on your Android handset, Layar displays the world around you with an added layer of location-based content on top. So if you search Google or Yelp for a restaurant, the Layar browser will plot results in a 3D layer above the live video displaye...

This is pretty interesting even if it doesn’t apply to you (you’re not a T-Mobile G1 owner): apparently since the T-Mobile’s G1 internal flash memory is so puny, any OS updates after Cupcake (1.5) simply won’t fit. That means besides for some possible security updates, little fixes here and there, the T-Mobile G1 is a wrap as far as new software from an operating system perspective is concerned.What’s even more interesting is how Google-branded HTC devices differ in memory compar...

Apparently the only way to stop people from continuously sending this tip in is to run it, so here we go: Eric Schmidt was caught rocking a BlackBerry. Oooooooo. Sure Google’s CEO can have his pick from the current stock of Android-powered handsets and likely from amongst a handful of unannounced devices as well. It would appear as though Schmidt knows what everyone else in the free world knows, however — if you want to get stuff done, use a BlackBerry. We imagine Schmidt has a handful of Android ...

Though they have only been on sale in Canada for one month, Rogers Wireless has just lowered the 3-year contract price of both the HTC Dream and Magic by $50. This means anyone who wants to pick up either device will be able to do so for $99.99, a very good price for such capable and feature-rich smartphones. As for the reasoning behind the quick price drop, we’re hearing it’s twofold: 1) Rogers wants to make it easier for people to pick up smartphones along with the required (and highly profitabl...

Sure, current Android handset owners, it’s understandable that you’re looking at HTC’s new Hero handset with a bit of jealousy. The new Sense UI alone is reason enough to be envious of course, as HTC has seemingly done for Android what it has done previously for Windows Mobile — added a UI layer that boosts sex appeal by about a million times. Don’t fret though… It looks like at least some of you will be getting some Sense UI love in the near future. HTC CEO Peter Chou is r...