Help Android newbie questions

[Calab]

I picked up my HTC Dream yesterday and it's a bit of a shock moving from an iPhone. I've got a few questions, probably dumb ones, about the new phone.

Unfortunately, I can't play on the phone yet as the dealer messed up the activation. Fortunately, the carrier is working hard to fix it up.

- Is there a client program for the Dream, similar to iTunes for the iPhone?
- Can Android apps be downloaded on a PC or do they need to be downloaded on the phone?
- The Dream has a keyboard, but is there an onscreen keyboard that I can still use?
- I have v1.5 firmware. How would I update to 1.6?
- The iPhone is MUCH MUCH more functional when jailbroken. Is that the case for Android phones?

Any info, thread links, etc. are appreciated!

Model: HTC Dream
Firmware: 1.5
Baseband: 62.525.20.18U_3.22.20.17
Kernel: 2.6.27-9af60ed4
Build: 1.85.631.5
Carrier: Rogers, Canada

 

[justjimjpc]

I picked up my HTC Dream yesterday and it's a bit of a shock moving from an iPhone. I've got a few questions, probably dumb ones, about the new phone.

Unfortunately, I can't play on the phone yet as the dealer messed up the activation. Fortunately, the carrier is working hard to fix it up.

- Is there a client program for the Dream, similar to iTunes for the iPhone?
- Can Android apps be downloaded on a PC or do they need to be downloaded on the phone?
- The Dream has a keyboard, but is there an onscreen keyboard that I can still use?
- I have v1.5 firmware. How would I update to 1.6?
- The iPhone is MUCH MUCH more functional when jailbroken. Is that the case for Android phones?

Any info, thread links, etc. are appreciated!

Model: HTC Dream
Firmware: 1.5
Baseband: 62.525.20.18U_3.22.20.17
Kernel: 2.6.27-9af60ed4
Build: 1.85.631.5
Carrier: Rogers, Canada

I moved your post to the G1 Support forum where you are most likely to get a good answer ....

I think Rogers Canada phones have some different results than a US G1 .... so maybe a Rogers User can help you ....

I would say the dealer activities should be easily corrected by a simple Factory Reset and then the phone should be able to register properly ...

 

[trick202]

iPhones are jailbroken because Apple hold them "in jail" by having a closed app policy.

Android is open, and as such doesn't need jailbreaking. You could root it, and use a custom rom, but it doesn't offer the same benefits as Jailbreaking (because it wasn't restricted in the first case)

 

[Calab]

iPhones are jailbroken because Apple hold them "in jail" by having a closed app policy.

Android is open, and as such doesn't need jailbreaking. You could root it, and use a custom rom, but it doesn't offer the same benefits as Jailbreaking (because it wasn't restricted in the first case)

Uhm... at this point I'm not seeing any difference between having to jailbreak an iPhone and having to root an Android phone.

There are shortcomings on the Android just as much as there are on the iPhone.

I haven't used the Dream enough for a fair comparison. I do know one thing though... The battery on my iPhone lasts much longer than the one on my Dream. (An HTC issue more than an Android issue).