HTC has reason to believe that the cupcake update (or at least most of it) will likely be making it to the T-Mobile G1 as a legitimate over-the-air update. Needless to say HTC is not a part of this update so they are not in charge of deciding what makes it in the update and what does not.
HTC however believes that it is only a matter of time before T-Mobile makes this update a reality for everyone. As of right now HTC is still out of the loop on when and how things will proceed. It’s all up to Google and T-Mobile. Google has been quick to send out patches and updates to fix bugs, but we have yes to see any major changes since Android released.
Right now it appears that T-Mobile, Google and HTC are not making comments on any rumors or speculation just yet. With the on-screen keyboard is such high demand, Google would be wise to deliver this update asap.
[Via Engadget]
Fortunately, Dianne (those in the know know who that is) responded to that stupid thread saying:
So at some point “cupcake” will become a final release candidate (RC) after going through alpha and beta testing/fixing, at which point it becomes the most recent stable android platform that people can build production phones off of. That will actually be our first RC quality code in the open-source tree, since what is there from before them is based on the 1.0 RC that was the basis of the G1 software but required a number of changes (which are not tested) to be able to make it publicly available.
Fortunately, Dianne (those in the know know who that is) responded to that stupid thread saying:
Notice how she uses the pronoun "we" in there, and speaks with authority? Dianne Hackborn. Rings Extended. She's a major Google Android employee, and she knows her stuff. She can be a little gruff. Probably too much testosterone.
Also, their own dev team has already stated that cupcake probably will not be added to the G1 version of the OS. Came from Dianne's own team in the same Google forums.
Also, Engadget and others are using an "assumption" from HTC as a counter-punch to Android dev team saying it probably will not be part of the G1 OS update. I venture that Jean-Baptiste knows just a little bit more of what is going on than HTC does in regards to the Android dev plans.
Cupcake is not coming to the G1. The main framework update will, since it is the core of the OS and common for any device using Android. The fact that cupcake has video recording acceleration now is evidence that cupcake is a general enhancement and not for G1. The 7201a has video recording acceleration disabled, as per the copyright suit against Qualcomm, which makes the 7201a. Europe may get it, but not North America will not, assuming it is possible. If the function was disabled on die, firmware or software will not fix it.
Also, their own dev team has already stated that cupcake probably will not be added to the G1 version of the OS. Came from Dianne's own team in the same Google forums.
My point was most of us assumed we would see all this goodness through an actual Tmo rom release for the G1. Not happening.