People are already accustomed to the “chin” of the HTC Android phones Hero and G1, although the Sprint version of the former lacks this trait. HTC wanted to make it clear that the chin was an Android-only feat and that you won’t see such a design on HTC Windows Mobile phones.

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An update t the G1 was pushed out over the weekend that fixed a number of bugs. Those who hoped that the update would be the rumored Donut update are sad to see no new features were added with the update.

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Google has released a special unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1 to help developers develop their applications. This version is going to run you $399 and is both SIM unlocked as well as hardware unlocked. You must first be registered as a developer to be eligible to purchase this handset; registrations fees will run you $25.

Now developers don’t have to purchase this phone from T-Mobile and wait for ages after requesting an unlock code. This development version also has a bootloader that does not restrict the device to officially signed firmware builds. It looks like this may be a way for countries to legally get their hands on one as well.

This version is currently available to Japan, Germany, India, France, Taiwan, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Hungry, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, the US and the UK. Google plans to expand the regions in the future. Although this handset is meant specifically for developers, consumers can register and have these devices shipped right to their door. Is this what it takes to get one in a country that does not currently have the G1?

Just the other day we reported that one user was charged over $100 for taking his T-Mobile G1 out of the country even though customer service said it would be fine and turning all data on their phone off. Apparently this is only an issue with US versions of the T-mobile G1.

To ensure that customers to not rack up unexpected costs, roaming is by default disabled in all new UK models. If a user so wishes to enable it a warning message will pop informing users that there will be additional costs. You may be asking yourself, why in the world is it disabled for them and now us?

Just to note, when roaming is turned off it includes not just data roaming but all roaming. If you do not wish to incur data roaming charges you will not be able to use your phone. For those of you who travel overseas often, the T-Mobile G1 is about the worst phone for you to own. Unless you have money to burn we don’t suggest even taking the G1 with you.

G1 owners here in the US have been envious of UK residents since the launch of the T-Mobile G1 in the UK. They were offered the white G1 along with a 2GB memory card and if that was not bad enough they got it for free with a £40 ($60 USD) per month plan.  Well prepare to be disappointed yet again.

With the holidays quickly approaching T-Mobile UK has decided to knock off %25 of the monthly fees for the G1 to compete with other offers.  Now starting at only £30 ($45 USD) per month you can get your hands on the G1 and have a little extra for holiday spending this season. A T-Mobile representative said, “We have chosen to offer the device free with a £30 contract to make the pricing more competitive in light of recent device launches. We are well on track to achieve our sales forecasts”.

The good news here is that anyone who already picked up this Android-powered handset can cash in on the savings as well. Though T-Mobile will not be making house calls to promote spending less money, they are more than happy to adjust your account if you give them a call.

Users are finding out the hard way why T-Mobile says you need to have a data play in order to have the T-Mobile G1. One user traveled abroad and ended up racking up a $102.85 bill while data roaming. The big twist here is the fact that he had turned off roaming data sync and 3G completely.

Apparently after getting back from a trip to the UK, he gave T-Mobile a call and spoke with several customer service representatives until a supervisor explained the situation. The G1 always accesses the Internet, even when the Internet services are turned off; the G1 will reach out for sending text messages or even placing calls. In the end the customer service supervisor said, “the phone should have been left in the USA to avoid these charges.”

It comes as no surprise that at no time this was mentioned during the phone call placed to enable international calling on his plan. The representatives only stated that he would be charged $10 for every MB of data used and that if he simply stayed off the Internet than he would have no problem. He was being charged about $.15 every 3-7 minutes on average whether on a call or not. It looks like our G1 is not going overseas with us.

With the holiday season coming up and the recent crunch in the economy we are all looking for the best deals on gifts this holiday season. Today millions of people are logging on to the Internet and trying to snatch up whatever deals they can find.

For those who are dying to get a T-Mobile G1 for a loved one or even for yourself and have an American Express card, have we got a deal for you. For a very limited time you can order a G1 for $125 from My Wishlist. We just stumbled upon it this morning and there are only 200 units available so act fast!

Paying $125 rather than $179 sure makes us wish we had an American Express card. At any rate this is a very good deal for 200 lucky customers this year. During this My Wishlist promotion American Express also offers many other gift ideas for everyone on your list. So go by and check it out before the deals are all gone.

Colorware has done it again, you guessed it this time they have gone and colorized the G1. Now those of you who can’t decide on a color won’t have to. This company has been bringing color to handsets and devices with great quality for some time now.

Though their services are a bit on the steep side, we can personally testify to the superb quality of their work. Its going to cost you anywhere from $15 for the keyboard or bottom of the device to $220 for the entire thing. If you still haven’t purchased your T-Mobile G1 yet well you’re in luck. They also offer the units as well starting at $770 without a contract. The price breakdown goes as follows, Main Display $175, Keyboard $15, Bottom $15 and back for $15. We would love to see pictures of the colors out members have chosen.

As expected following Friday’s news, T-Mobile USA have confirmed that the white G1 is now available in the US. Up until now only on sale in the UK, the white handset brings the line-up in the US to the full three devices: black, white and bronze.

Although shots of the white G1 were seen in promotional material up until the handset’s launch, the device itself was conspicuous by its absence when US sales actually began. There had been speculation that problems with flaking white paint had forced HTC to re-examine the production process, but this has not been confirmed and neither the carrier nor the manufacturer have publicly commented on the issue.

As with the other G1 color variants, the white handset is priced at $179.99 with a new two-year contract. T-Mobile did not suggest what stock levels could be expected, so if you’ve been holding out for a white G1 our advice would be to call your local store before making the trip.

PhoneFusion has officially released their Fusion Voicemail Plus service for Android. Now G1 owners won’t go without the luxury of being able to see whom your voicemail is from and listen to them in the order in which you wish.

As promised the guys over at PhoneFusion have reworked the Android version so that it looks a lot better than previous version of other phones. Go ahead and download this application for free in the Android Market and let us know what you think. Will you use it, and how can this application be application be improved?

Louis Libin, chief executive officer for PhoneFusion said, “With the launch of T-Mobile’s G1, the first Android-powered smartphone, people have been looking for an innovative visual voicemail app that runs on this breakthrough device. We believe Fusion Voicemail Plus fills this gap, giving the Android community a better way to stay connected when it matters most. We expect this application will quickly become one of the favorites on Android Market.”