It’s basically a ritual now: Fresh feature debuts on new Android phone; hack-happy HTC Dream owners see new feature, develop seething jealousy; said owners work tirelessly to steal new feature. Last week, Google Maps Navigation hit the Droid. Today, the G1.

AU: The G1 is called HTC Dream in Australia, but I wouldn’t bother trying this as Google Maps Navigation is only available in the US at the moment. _-EH

Google Maps Navigation will be part of Android 2.0, and Android 2.0 is expected to come to most — if not all — Android handsets on the market eventually, so given how complicated this hack is (fairly!), and that it requires a rooted phone, it’d be prudent for most folks to just wait this out. That said, there’s no saying on how long it’ll be until Eclair seeds out to older handsets, and there’s no guarantee that the G1 — an old fart in its little corner of the universe — will ever get it. Anyhow, here’s what you need to do, from XDA:

Download here

Make sure you have CyanogenMod 4.2.3.1, by the way.

1) Unzip zip to desktop
2) Run Part 1.bat
3) When prompted to press any key, do so; the phone will reboot
4) When your phone is running again, run Part 2.bat
5) When prompted to press any key, the installation process is done.
6) Make sure GPS is enabled
7) Open Maps and press OK
8) Press Menu
9) Press Directions
10) Enter an end point
11) Click Go
12) Just under “Show on map”, click Navigate.
13) When prompted to install the voice codec, do so.

And there you have it: Free, not terrible turn-by-turn navigation for your G1 without Android 2.0. [XDA via Engadget Mobile via IntoMobile]

The HUD replaces technical manuals on a bulky laptop with floating instructions, labels and oh yes, 3D models of tools right in front of the mechanic. The wrist-mounted interface is run off an Android-powered G1 (which looks much cooler as gauntlet). Apparently Android’s seeing a lot of use as a tool of war. You can check out a video of it here. [Technology Review via PopSci]

So you bought the Android-debuting G1, but the experience has grown a bit stale? One guy ported Motorola’s Blur UI from the Cliq, complete with all the social networking widgets. Hopefully he’ll share the love soon. [AndroidandMe via MAKE]

It’s going to be more limited, for one, according to TechCrunch’s source. But it’s apparently going to revolve more tightly around the stream and status updates, using Facebook’s newest Stream API that shows you how many new stream updates are waiting for you. Better Stream integration doesn’t really make up for not having an inbox though, personally. And all the crazy stuff the next iPhone app will have makes it look even more sadly barebones. But hey, it’s happening at least, right??

Facebook apparently reversed course for the same reason Pandora did after calling it saying it “doesn’t matter” last October: Android’s just about ready for primetime. (Though it helped Google deemed the project important enough to let Facebook borrow an Android engineer.) It also adds credence to the idea we’re in a third wave of Android apps—past the initial run, and the arrival of quality apps that really fit the OS—the big name apps.

[TechCrunch]

Also intriguing is CDMA support—as in the kind of network that Sprint runs—adding on to Sprint’s Dan Hesse remark that Android is coming to Sprint this year and rumours that it’ll be Hero. You can see a lot of the new Donut features in action here, like universal search, in this video from the Google I/O conference.

Folks at XDA are working on a build that’ll run on the Dream (G1), though it works in the emulator right now. [XDA Developers, Images via XDA's cyanogen, Thanks Will!]

A couple interesting things gleaned about the Hero as I barely refrained from cramming it down my pants: There’s a ton of HTC software on there, not just the Sense UI—they’ve built their own mail client with Exchange support, and even a slick, iPhone-worthy Twitter app. Also, the grey Hero has a rubber back—only the white one is rocking out the Teflon (but it’s the only one that needs it).

Oh yeah, dear god please give me one. Right now. Thanks.

The Autonomobile, or ATNMBL, is a giant vehicle with panoramic windows that throws speed out the window. Instead, it focuses on the journey, driving to your destination automatically while you sit on the wrap-around sofa passenger seat and take in the view or interact with the entertainment system. It’s powered by solar panels on the roof and has no way of the user controlling it.

It’s a mere concept for now, obviously, but an interesting one. I can’t imagine our car-crazy culture going for such a big change in how we get around, but this seems just right for urban environments where traffic prevents us from moving at any type of real speed anyways. [mikeandmaaike via Dezeen via Fast Company]

Chances are (about 99.9999%) that you don’t have access to the HTC Hero just yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t run its famed HTC Sense Android skin.

According to some Italian software enthusiasts, it is possible to flash your G1 with their SuperHERO ROM, a port of the HTC Hero’s firmware. Aside from the OS skin’s beautiful graphics and animations, SuperHERO will activate G1 multitouch that allows you to zoom into webpages a la iPhone.

Of course, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi aren’t all that functional with this firmware, and the OS can get a bit laggy and light on memory. So you’ll need take the good with the bad should you decide to hack your G1. [HD Blog via androidguys]

Zagat nru: You know that compass thing the iPhone 3GS does? Yeah, whatever. Imagine it repurposed to show you nearby restaurants or bars with Zagat power. Zagat nru is flashy, and neat, though a bit limited, since the places are plotted according to proximity on a radar-type interface rather than an actual map. When you click one, it takes you to Zagat’s mobile site, so it’s not a completely in-app experience. Also, to get to the full reviews, you’ve got be a paying Zagat customer. Still worth a download—a hunch on where to eat is better than starving while you figure out where the hell you are. Free.

Brightkite: Another semi-famous social thinger making its way to Android. After sitting in beta for a bit, Brightkite’s finally released its Android app for everybody. For the uninitiated, Brightkite is another location-based social network dealio—you see friends and people around you, post notes and photos to wherever you’re at, that kind of thing. Stalking will only get easier and prettier from here on out people, might as well get used to it. Free.

Qik alpha: It’s the live video streaming app Qik! On Android! That pretty much sums it up, actually—but if you’re not familiar with Qik, it’s a live video streaming app/service that’s basically on every major smartphone platform (with one major exception). You can share via Twitter, Facebook or GooTube. It does require Cupcake, as well as an SD card for storing video. Pretty awesome that it’s finally here. Free.

Places: Not to be outdone, Google’s got their Places directory app—guess what it does? It’s rather standard directory-style fare, though it covers pretty much the whole gamut of stuff you’d wanna find close by—restaurants, bars, parking, shopping, hotels, theatres, “attractions,” and more. Where it really loses to Yelp is the reviews of places—there are so pitifully few of them you won’t have any idea where a place is worth a crap or not. Where is that Android Yelp app, anyway? Free.

Flickr Photos Nearsby Not technically an app, but mobile Flickr will now show Android users photos taken nearby with some new location hotness using the regular ol’ browser.

Android App News on Giz:

• HTC CEO Says the Sexy “Sense” Android Interface Coming to Existing Phones…. Or Maybe They Won’t

• Flash on Android and WebOS Landing in October

• Google Offers Updated Maps Features Through Android Market

• Layar: First Mobile Augmented Reality Browser Is Your Real-Life HUD

• Dildroid: Runs on Android You Know Exactly What It Does

This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our past app coverage here. Also, why isn’t it easier to take a screenshot in Android dammit? Have a good week everybody.

This is unconfirmed for now, but Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC, reportedly noted that “HTC Sense will be available on some other existing devices,” after his announcement of the Hero. HTC’s existing Android devices are, using the American names for the sake of ease, the G1 and myTouch 3G, which share similar enough hardware that if one received the upgrade, the other likely would as well. Again, this is unconfirmed, but we were pleased enough with Sense that we’d be pretty excited if the rumour was true. [Pocket Lint]