T-Mobile pushes G1 update, adds voice search

T-Mobile USA announced it was pushing a new firmware update for G1 users, adding voice search capabilities for the first phone based on Google's Android platform.

The update, 1.1 RC33, is being pushed to G1 users this week, and all G1 users are supposed to have it within the next two weeks, according to a T-Mobile spokeswoman. The update is not related to Cupcake, which is an independent Android development effort. Once firmware is updated, users will see a microphone icon in the Google search bar widget on the home screen. When users hit the button a prompt will tell them to begin using voice search, and then they can say their query. It will then be formatted for the Android browser. G1 users will also be able to save attachments sent via MMS. 

"Note that you can use the 'Voice Dialer' app, which you can find on the main app menu, to search for your contacts with your voice to make a call," said Jeff Hamilton, an Android software engineer, on Google's official mobile blog. "Or, simply long-press the green call button and follow the prompts on the splash screen."

The over-the-air update also includes a new opt-in feature of Google Maps called Google Latitude, which allows users to see their friends' locations and status messages on a map or in a list and share their location and status with friends and Google. However, Google only stores a user's last recorded location.

For more:
- see this article [1]
- see this Google blog post [2]
- see this post [3]

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