30
Apr
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Cracking Glass – Saurik Posts Account Of Google Glass Root, Controversy, Exploits, And How To Crack Your Own Glass

Posted by in Development, Glass, Google, News

Several days ago, something happened that sent a not insignificant ripple through coverage of Google Glass: someone "jailbroke" the device.

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Saurik, who posted the above photo to Twitter, had modified Glass' software "while in the Bay Area after picking it up from Google's headquarters in Mountain View."

Understandably, this idea was a bit bedeviling to the press – ostensibly, Glass is a relatively limited platform for developers, who can only write apps using a web-based API, allowing software to be integrated with the device over the internet. Eric Schmidt's words regarding the relative closed-ness (or at least, less-than-total openness) of Glass' platform to start were still wet on the page.

15
Oct
2012-10-15_14h10_02

[Rumor] Amazon Is In Talks To Acquire TI's Mobile Processor Business, Puts On Its Big Boy Business Suit

Posted by in Amazon, News

Before we get too far into this, let's point out that this rumor is coming from an Israeli newspaper, so it is easy enough for a company to disavow stories like these. With that disclaimer out of the way: Amazon may be looking into buying Texas Instrument's OMAP business. As we already know, TI has expressed interest in getting out of the mobile game. Not to say they'll stop making processors, but that the focus would be less on tablets and phones, and more on embedded SoCs for a variety of applications (such as automotive, vision, and robotics).

Of course, Amazon uses TI's mobile processors for its Kindle Fire line, which runs a very heavily modified version of Android.

15
Aug
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HTC Bootloader Unlock Portal Open - European Sensation Now Unlockable

Posted by in HTC, News

It seems HTC has made good on its commitment to begin unlocking the bootloaders of its recently released handsets, starting with the European version of the HTC Sensation. You can find the instructions at HTC's developer portal, here. (You may need to log in). Also, here are the scary things you'll have to disclaim before beginning:

warr terms

So, as long as you realize that your warranty will/might be voided all or in part, get cracking. HTC's instructions are several pages long, and pretty in-depth. You'll have to get the Android Device Bridge (ADB) up and running, as well as HTC Sync (for Windows users) and the latest version of Java.

07
May
android-tweak-20110201162950

[Weekend Poll] How Important Will Customization Be In Determining Your Next Android Purchase?

Posted by in Android OS, Polls
Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

It's that time of the week again folks - time to hit the polls. This week's question is one that'll allow you to express what you think an Android handset should let you do in terms of customization, modification, and other various tinkering (think rooting, custom ROMs, kernels, etc). Basically, we want to know how important it is for you, as a consumer, that your next phone be easy to customize. Or if that really isn't important at all.

Let us know in the comments what ROMs, rooted apps, and other goodies only available to the rooted/unlocked users among us that you just can't live without.

19
Mar
o3Rmp2

HTC Thunderbolt Bootloader Unlocked, ClockworkMod Recovery Loaded, ROM Floodgates Opened

Posted by in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

That didn't take long. A collaborative effort between numerous Android hackers just managed to crack the Thunderbolt's bootloader wide open, successfully booting a custom recovery image. They also incidentally discovered a new root method in the process. Credit goes to jcase, jamezelle, and scotty2 (and all of andirc) for working out the details, and ProTekk and Trident for putting their shiny new Thunderbolts on the line. Here's the visual proof:

o3Rmp2 s-off22

Image credit: Trident, ProTekk

We'll keep you apprised on the situation with instructions on how to go about unlocking your own Thunderbolt as we get more information.