getting a g1 for $40?

[benster123]

hey so my friend is selling his pretty good condition htc g1 for $40 but i still dun trust him 100% so im jus wondering any issues to look out for when i test it out (i gotta by a new battery since his current one lasts 10mins) also im just wondering wuts the best way to get it into froyo because his is a rogers 1.5 locked so help to a newbie would be appreciated cheers and thanks! also will it support the wind 1700/2100 network? or just fido/rogers

 

[sal2103]

hi...altho its old, i love my G1 and still think its awesome....can do pretty much wat other fones can and has never let me down. Apart from the lack of internal memory its great. Im not really sure what you can look out for but as long as it works fine then there isnt a problem as you can wipe the fone to it original state.

cant help with rooting as im runnin official 1.6

 

[kejlyCZ]

G1 is still very good phone (of course not with Android 1.6, the only disadvantage is lack of RAM (from Android 2.0 it needs swap partition on SD card) and ROM (but on Android 2.2 apps can be installed to SD card), I use swap and apps on SD with no problems.

According to Wikipedia it supports both frequencies:
HTC Dream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can read this guides for rooting and flashing custom ROM here :
HTC Dream - CyanogenMod Wiki

I don't know how to unlock the phone (in Europe locking is illegal now, so unlocking is not needed), but maybe Rogers provides the unlocking code for free after some period (T-Mobile did it), ask your fried. Unlocking code can be also ordered online:
How to Unlock a T-Mobile G1 | Android Central
Unlock T-Mobile G1 - Activate