Thanks Rezzenonne for the tip!

T-Mobile has started their OTA rollout of the Android 1.6 Donut update. We’ve all been anxiously waiting, but if you don’t feel like waiting anymore, here’s how to do the update manually:

1. Download the update file here for the G1. And here for the myTouch 3G.
2. Rename the file update.zip and copy it to the root directory of your SD card. If you are on Windows and have file extensions hidden, then just name it update.
3. After the file is copied, unmount the SD card and turn off you phone. Turn it back on by holding HOME+END.
4. It will boot into a special update screen, then press Alt+S to apply the update from your SD card.
5. Wait till it finishes, then hit HOME+BACK to reboot
6. The bootup will take longer than normal, just let it finish.
7. Enjoy some tasty Donuts!

A quick note, you do not have to have your phone rooted to update, but if you are rooted, this update will lose your root access. Questions, comments, issues? Let us know in the comments.

UPDATE: A reader wrote in with the process for myTouch owners:

There is no need to root or flash from a computer and upgrading is just as easy as with the G1. Put the update.zip file on the SD card, hold home+power until you get to the screen with the exclamation mark in a triangle. Once at that screen just press home+power again. It will take you to the recovery screen where you can use the trackball to to select “update from sd card”.

All cheesy post titles aside, TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile US is starting to deliver OTA Donut (Android 1.6) updates to select G1 handsets as of midnight last night, and select myTouch handsets later on tonight. As with the previous Cupcake update, it’s very slow at first, presumably to catch and issues before everyone can be affected. And if all goes well, everyone (excluding rooted, custom ROM phones) will get a delicious box of Donuts in their inbox. It comes as no surprise since they updated the My Account application just last night to be Donut-compatible.

Drop us a comment if you have gotten an update yet, or if you haven’t and just want to share your excitement. And we’ll keep you posted once we dig up a link to the official firmware for those wishing to do manual updates.

And in case you’ve been under a rock, here’s what the update brings:

• An improved Android Market experience that makes it easier to discover great applications.
• An integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery interface.
• Updated Voice Search, with faster response and deeper integration with native applications, including the ability to dial contacts.
• Updated search experience that make it easier to search various sources, such as browser bookmarks & history, contacts, music, and the web, directly from the home screen.

[TmoNews]

*UPDATE* There’s now an official announcement on the T-Mobile forums.

The Android 1.6 (aka Donut) SDK was announced today on the Android Developers Blog.

I know the question you have all been asking is: When will I see Donut on my phone? Well here’s the answer, straight from Google: “You can expect to see devices running Android 1.6 as early as October.”

As far as the features of Android 1.6 itself, we have QVGA and WVGA screen resolutions, new telephony APIs to support CDMA (Like the upcoming Sprint Hero), gesture APIs, a text-to-speech engine, and the ability to integrate with Quick Search Box. A more in depth list of updates is outlined here on the Android Developer’s site. Or you can watch the video below:

While there’s already portions of the Android Donut code in various ROMs floating around, such as the Cyanogen Experimental ROM, it has yet to trickle down to carrier releases and general public consumption. But just to give you a *taste* of what’s right around the corner, a giant donut joins the Cupcake and the Android Robot outside the GooglePlex in California.

[via Phandroid]