T-Mobile G1 Gets Android 2.1 Custom ROM [Video]

The T-Mobile G1 was the first Android device on the market, and it now looks like the ageing handset will be the next to get Android 2.1.  Despite its age – and mediocre specs – Cyanogen has managed to get a new Android 2.1 ROM running for the G1, called CyanogenMod 5.0.7, and as kmobs' video shows (after the cut) it's all working surprisingly smoothly.Video demo after the cut

It's not just the G1 that gets the love, either: the HTC Magic will also run the ROM.  Cyanogen is having to shave off some of the more common functionality in his feature-packed custom ROMs to make it fit into the space available on both handsets – the G1 is proving particularly tricky – but, as the video demonstrates, the experience is pretty much what you'd expect coming from a Nexus One.

Of course, unlike the Nexus One the G1 has a hardware QWERTY keyboard, so if you've been desperate for an HTC-made Android smartphone with a physical 'board and the latest public OS release, now's (almost) your chance.  Right now the ROM is in private beta among Cyanogen's group of Android testers, but there's talk of an initial public beta being released sometime later on today.

[Thanks "Me"!]