Archive for: root
- November 16, 2011 7:09 am
Good morning, aspiring Kindle Fire developers. The most important news you should know this morning: The Kindle Fire has been rooted, already, and its source code released!
The source code will allow for the future creation of custom ROMs and other goodies. Codemonkey/Gods aside, us mere mortals will find more use out of the fact that the Fire is how rootabl compliments of SuperOneClick v2.2
Questions/concerns? Hit up thisAndroid Central forum post on the ins and outs of SuperOnceClick to help ease you along. Gotta start somewhere.
See what you miss when you’re asleep?
We’ve been rather critical of Motorola in recent months over their insistance on using locked bootloaders and other root-unfriendly tactics but tonight that changes. While testing a pre-release version of Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread for the Atrix 4G the folks over at BriefMobile found that the bootloader is now unlocked, allowing custom kernels and ROMs!
We’ve heard Motorola claim many times that they were working on bringing unlocked bootloaders to future handsets as well as several currently available devices via update, and that it was ultimately carriers who gave the yay or nay for root-friendly provisions.
Let the fun begin starting this July…
The anti-consumer tactics tied to free tethering by carriers got another shot in the arm today compliments of Verizon Wireless. Reddit community member Pooper_Cooper highlighted the new development on the popular online community. Specifically, the new Android 2.3 Gingerbread update that recently rolled out to the DROID X has a new, nasty feature — when using an unauthorized tethering app, all data is cut off and redirected to Verizon’s upsell page advertising the $20 tethering package. A reboot of the device or toggle of the airplane mode switch is the only way to “reset” whatever setting VZW changes and get data flowing once again.
While people content with allowing VZW and other carriers in general to further rip off consumers will say the solution is simple — “stop unauthorized tethering” — we here at GS take a more pro-consumer approach. As such, give the active Android developer community a few days to a couple weeks to find a way to block Verizon’s ability to monitor “flagged” tethering data and restore free tethering to the masses.
Of course, the whole situation wouldn’t be so bad if VZW and other carriers actually gave consumers viable options. The current tethering packages we’ve seen from all carriers are both far too expensive and offer up very little data. In Verizon’s case, $20/month for 2GB of data is ridiculous. If users already have to pay a set fee for additional bandwidth, having a “tethering surcharge” is nothing but double dipping on top of added charges for additional bandwidth, and as such not needed. But alas, consumers’ wants are rarely in the forefront of such decisions. It appears VZW envys Apple’s current situation in the never ending cat and mouse game the iOS maker faces with jailbreakers.
In the meantime, let us know if you find a way to circumnavigate VZW’s system of checks.
Tired of the heaping piles of despair and frustration that bloatware is bringing to your LG Revolution experience? You’re probably not alone. Just like retailers and manufacturers load up Windows PCs with countless apps and trial software that few people ever use, Android too is plagued with the same fate.
With that said, 24 hours after release the talented Android community has hacked into the LG Revolution. While custom recovery images (and in turn custom ROMs) still aren’t quite ready for prime time, at least having the option to remove numerous built-in apps and services that would otherwise go unused is a plus. Before you start, be sure to get ADB (Android Debug Bridge) installed on your main PC or else the root won’t work.
Who’s cracking into their LG Revolution’s tonight…?
After last night’s announcement by HTC that they will once again begin using unlocked bootloaders on devices, Android enthusiasts who live and die by the root jumped for joy. Today, however, Verizon PR responded to a tweet asking about phones with unlocked bootloaders, to which Verizon responded:
No, a device with an unlocked bootloader cannot be activated on the Verizon Wireless network. *RB
This statement doesn’t exactly make all that much sense considering several handsets throughout Android’s lifespan thus far have shipped with unocked bootloaders — HTC Incredible and Motorola DROID to name two.
More importantly, we need to clarify exactly what Verizon is getting at. Do they mean they won’t allow unlocked phones or phones with unlocked bootloaders on their network. Furthermore, when they talk “locked” devices, are they confusing locked phones, locked bootloaders, and locked bootloaders with encrypted keys? All are different in their own respect.
With that said, we’ve reached out to a couple of our VZW reps for clarification. Though we must say, if Verizon is moving towards a new policy that forces all phones to be released with locked bootloaders, we will not be fans, nor will Android enthusiasts.
While it may seem like you as an individual have little to no chance of persuading a global company to change their ways, we’ll only provide you with this example — HTC has listend to “overwhelming” consumer feedback and just announced that they will return to unlocked bootloaders. Per CEO Peter Chou:
“There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we’ve listened. Today, I’m confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience.”
We know quite a few Android enthusiasts, developers, and people who just love to tinker with their phones who are going to be very happy. See, you can make a difference!
(Motorola and Samsung: Care to join in?)
By now, the WP7 readers out there looking to get their NoDo update sooner rather than later have probably heard a thing or two about the ChevronWP7.Updater package. The gist of this little app is simple: it allows you to install the impending NoDo update on your phone regardless if your carrier has started the update process or not. The only problem is that said app is now unavailable. At the request of Microsoft, developer Chris Walsh pulled the download.
Chris has gone on the record telling people “not to believe everything they read” as the current rumor with the most weight states that the ChevronWP7.Updater renders your phone un-upgradeable for future updates — a scary and rather worrisome claim no doubt. But the real scenario could really be Microsoft wanting to fully test the hack to make sure it doesn’t break anything for future updates, especially considering M doesn’t make stock ROMs publicly available for download. Essentially, if you mess up your phone you could have to return it to your carrier to re-flash.
Nonetheless, we’d advise you to hold off on jumping on the Chevron bandwagon if you haven’t already. A couple days of waiting is far better than a week or more to get back a borked phone.
Since late 2008, Android has been the anti-Apple to the smartphone world. Where Apple restricts, Android creates opportunities. But that may not always be the case if cellular carriers, hardware manufacturers, and now Google have their way…
In our review of the HTC Thunderbolt, we noted that battery life was decent on 3G and not so hot when running over LTE — and this was at the stock 1GHz speeds. But one adventurous Android user, @Droid2169 (Derek Rodriquez), has taken things to a whole new level. We’re pretty sure that while 1.8GHz is blazing fast (as noted by the quadrant scores) runtime away from the wall is probably abysmal. Still, you have to appreciate Derek’s enthusiasm. The particular unboLTEd 0.2 kernel that Derek is using isn’t in the public domain yet. But rest assured, an official release isn’t too far off.
Would you run your Thunderbolt at 1.8GHz?
