If you go back a few years, back to when Android first came on the scenes, there was a lot of hype about one particular device.
The HTC G1 was a device that caused a change in the way we look at mobile devices, and despite being several years old now, the device is still going strong with an army of faithful users.
When I say going strong, it is not the most noticeable of devices anymore and it is quite outdated now, but some people haven’t given up on the device yet.
A developer over at XDA has been able to get Google’s latest OS, Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich running on the device.
The build is obviously an Alpha build, and therefore there are a lot of things that need working on, but the fact that the first Android device is able to run this OS is an amazing feat.
What’s working on the port?
- Touchscreen
- Possibly Data
- All apps
- All the ICS goodness, eg; Folders, Widgets
What’s not working?
- Everything not listed above
There is no hardware acceleration and there are definitely some things to work on.
For most users the G1 is not a daily use phone, but there is still a development community for the phone.
You can see in the video below what’s working in the port, the touchscreen as you can see is very slow, and not brilliantly responsive. Despite its flaws, we have to give the developer a massive pat on the back for getting this far. Who knows, maybe they can get the OS working completely!
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