Chris Dehghanpoor - 3/8 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Chris is an Android devotee based out of Houston, TX. He enjoys indie rock, general geekery and long walks on the beach. If you can't find him online, he's probably playing Plants VS Zombies.

Jun

"UnrEVOked" - A Painless EVO 4G Rooting Method, Coming Tomorrow. Creator Says EVO Vulnerable To Hackers Unless Rooted

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, News, Sprint

Well, this is fun. Minutes after I completed and published my post further detailing how to root your EVO, I catch a teaser for ‘unrevoked’ - a ‘painless’ EVO rooting method that’s to be released tomorrow. Unrevoked is the work of Matt Mastracci, who gave us our first sneak peak at a rooted EVO, and one of the developers who contributed to the hack.

As Matt details here, there are several critical security flaws present in the custom Sprint software included on the EVO, and these flaws were the driving force behind releasing an easy ‘anyone can do it’ rooting method for the EVO.

Jun

Got Root? EVO 4G Rooting Instructions Released

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Development, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Sprint, Tips & Tutorials

This article mentions rooting and the flashing of non-stock roms. If you’re unfamiliar with either term, hit up our primers here and here for additional information

Good news for those of you that were hoping to root your EVO the minute you tear it free from the box: the instructions and files needed in order to root the device have been officially released online.

User ‘toastcfh’ over at XDA-Developers, who’s been providing us with teaser images and video of his rooted EVO for the last couple of weeks, has come clean with detailed instructions on how you can get sweet, sweet root access on your EVO.

Jun

Motorola Flips Out With A Funky Square Form Factor – Includes Flash On Android 2.1?

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Devices By Manufacturer, Flipout / Twist, Motorola

Last Updated: December 30th, 2011

I wasn’t too kind to the Flipout when we first covered it here, and I can’t say that the official announcement has done much to change my mind.

If it weren’t for the strange form factor (why can’t Motorola just stick to what we know works?), the phone would be another mid to low-range Android handset. For those of you in the States that think it’s hip to be square (see what I did there?), you’re going to have to wait a bit before you can get your hands on this perplexing device as it’s slated to hit Europe first – apparently by the end of Q2 2010 (seeing as how it’s June already, the launch should be imminent).

Jun

Sprint Kicks Off EVO 4G’s TV Marketing Campaign With A Massive Rube Goldberg Machine

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, Sprint, Videos

Not a ton to say on this, but I think it’s cool none the less. Google’s pretty much left it up to the carriers and device manufacturers to really promote Android so I’m excited every time it’s done right.

So far Verizon has done an exceptional job with their Droid campaign, and while this Sprint commercial isn’t exactly of that caliber, it’s definitely one of the better that we’ve seen (hit ‘Read On’ to see the video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdLtWVy1DQI

Unfortunately the commercial plays more towards the merits of Sprint’s 4G network and not Android itself, but I’m sure we’ll see both features share the spotlight as Sprint ramps up the campaign in the coming months.

Jun

The Droid Shadow Loves The Limelight

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, Droid X (Shadow), Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: June 12th, 2010

Another week another leak – we’re visited once again by our old friend the Droid Shadow (AKA: Droid Xtreme/Droid X), this time with two new pictures and few tidbits about the phone’s software.

In case you’re out of the loop, the Droid Shadow is said to be Motorola’s latest addition to Verizon’s Droid brand, which we’ve covered here and here (note that I incorrectly referred to the Shadow as the Droid 2 – from what I’ve read since, this is not the case). This time, Droid Life was sent a few pics from a tipster that claimed to have a bit more information on the phone’s software:

Android 2.2
9 home screens
No Motoblur
Dedicated camera button
“Very metal”
HDMI out

The ‘No Motoblur’ part is a bit strange, especially since Motoblur was pretty prominently shown on the ‘Getting Started’ manual.

Jun

Android Updates Will Slow To Once A Year, According To Andy Rubin

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, Cupcake 1.5, Donut 1.6, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, News

We’re all aware that Android has been taking some flack for ‘fragmentation’ problems, and one of the more prominent contributing factors has been the breakneck pace of the update release cycle.

According to Android chief Andy Rubin, we can expect this cycle to slow down a bit to an Apple style release schedule of one update per year. I’m sure this comes as a huge relief to device manufacturers, especially those who have custom skinned versions of Android, as they’ll now have more time to prep updates before the next one hits. For example, HTC and Sprint just released the official 2.1 update for the Sprint Hero as Android 2.2 is very much around the corner.

Jun

Google Update Platform Versions Chart, Call Fragmentation A ‘Bogeyman’

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, Devices By Manufacturer, News

Yesterday, Google Open Source & Compatibility Program Manager Dan Morrill (his business cards have to be 10 feet long to fit that title) wrote a pretty interesting blog post over at the Android Developers blog, where he called the idea of fragmentation a ‘bogeyman’.

He tries to diffuse a lot of the controversy that the idea of Android fragmentation has stirred up – indeed, it’s probably the biggest argument used against Android by its detractors.

He doesn’t directly address the fact that there are still a lot of devices in the wild that are running legacy versions of the operating system, and are unable to take advantage of some of the new APIs the newer versions have introduced, but instead implies that it doesn’t necessarily matter anyways.

May

PSA: How To Push Links To Your Froyo Phone With Chrome Or Firefox

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Devices By Manufacturer, Google, HTC, News, Nexus One (Passion), Tips & Tutorials

Our friends over at Engadget have published a kick ass guide on how to take advantage of Froyo’s cloud to device messenger capability. You may recall the demonstration during the Android keynote at Google I/O, where they pushed directions to their phone from Google Maps with the click of a button. Well, someone hacked together a quick app and accompanying Chrome and Firefox extensions that will allow you to do the same.

You’re not just limited to pushing directions though – as of right now you can also push URL’s and YouTube links. Every item you push will automatically open in its corresponding application – so directions open in Maps, URL’s in the browser, etc.

May

Froyo Ported To The EVO 4G!

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Sprint, Videos

This article mentions rooting and the flashing of non-stock roms. If you’re unfamiliar with either term, hit up our primers here and here for additional information

I’m not sure what Google was expecting, but when you give a phone out to a room of hackers, chances are the phones going to be hacked. First, we saw the EVO get rooted shortly after I/O and now it seems Froyo has been ported over as well. All this before the phone’s even hit the store shelves.

The details haven’t been publicly released yet as hacker ‘toastcfh’ over at the XDA-Developers forums continues to refine the process to ensure it’s easy enough for most people to perform.

May

Pick Up The MyTouch Slide For $130 At Walmart

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, myTouch Slide (Espresso), News, T-Mobile

Looking to ditch your Behold II for something a bit more upgradable(hopefully)? Well, it seems Walmart has you covered then.

Apparently, tasty Android phones aren’t exempt from Walmart’s infamous roll backs, and they’re now offering the T-Mobile MyTouch Slide for $129.99 with a new 2 year contract – that’s $70 off the price that T-Mobile is offering.

For a mid-range Android handset that’s not a bad price, especially if you’re dying to having a QWERTY keyboard, but, for me at least, the decision becomes a bit more difficult when you consider the EVO 4G is a mere $70 more.

While the phone’s specs are definitely mid-range, the custom skin it’s running over top of the Android OS really sets the phone apart.