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Another month has come and gone, which means a ton of app posts on Android Police to sift through. In point of fact, there were fewer notable apps released in March than in the last few months - that's why our primary picks are down to just six. But most of these should be useful to most users, with Per-App Modes and Pixl Preview applying only to root users and Photoshop owners, respectively.
JRummy, the developer behind Root Browser, Ultimate Backup, BusyBox Installer, and a handful of other awesome apps, has put ROM Toolbox on sale in the Play Store for just $2.99 (a cool 50% off its usual price) and plans to donate half of all the sale's revenue to the Testicular Cancer Society.
To any hardcore modder, overclocking (or underclocking) your CPU is one of the best ways to get the most from your device. While some popular ROMs now have the ability to control your CPU baked in, many don't - and in the earlier days, virtually none did. Enter SetCPU - the de facto standard.
Just two short days after Sammy released the kernel source code for the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 10.1, developer pershoot released the first overclocked kernel for the device, clocking a smoking 1.4GHz. The VZW variant of the Tab 10.1 will now be able to receive the same treatment, as the kernel source just hit Sammy's Open Source Release Center.
It's hard not to love SetCPU developer Michael Huang. He's been on the overclocking frontline for many devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S II and Motorola XOOM, and now he strikes again with an custom tweaked kernel (update: to clarify, the kernel source isn't available, so this isn't a rewritten kernel - he used a hex editor to modify it) for the HTC EVO 3D that allows for a stable 1.8GHz. With a few minor tweaks the kernel should work for the Sensation as well, although he hasn't had time to get it working without a device in hand.
Galaxy Tab 10.1 Overclocked To A Stable 1.4GHz 2 Days After Kernel Source Release (Thanks, Samsung!)
Every once in a while, we announce kernel source releases that manufacturers are obligated to post up when their new devices hit the market, and in case you've been wondering what the significance of such releases is, here's one for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners.
XDA member and SetCPU developer coolbho3000 has managed to take an already great (and quick) device, and made it a little better by overclocking it to 1.5GHz. It may not be the fastest overclock we've seen in raw hertz, but it is the fastest we've seen in terms of actual computing power. Remember when the XOOM was overclocked to 1.5GHz? It snagged a 2854 in Quadrant. The SGSII: 4062.
In an awe-inspiring display of the ThunderBolt's raw horsepower, Derek Rodriguez (@drod2169) has thrown together a kernel which enables CPU speeds of up to 1.8GHz - a figure to which even the mighty Motorola XOOM can't lay claim. What's more, when @TheRealBeesley ran the kernel through Quadrant, he was met with (nearly) unprecedented results - have a look:
You thought 1.2GHz was fast? That was just the beginning. The developer of the extremely popular SetCPU app has managed to get a 50% clock speed increase out of the XOOM's dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2, bumping it up to a screaming 1.5GHz. Now, this is sort of like attaching a very large turbo to your four-cylinder hot hatch - that is, your device life may be shortened a little if you're constantly pushing it to the limits. Oh, and it might burn a hole in your pants. But 1.5GHz is an impressive figure regardless, and shows just how powerful the Tegra 2 driving the XOOM really is. It's the fastest Android tablet ... in the world.
It's amazing how quickly the developer community gets to work after a new flagship device is released, and the XOOM is clearly no exception. First, ClockworkMod developer Koush managed to get CWM up and running on the tablet 2 hours after he picked it up, and shortly after, he released root instructions.
Who says the G2's processor is slow, eh? While its stock 800 MHz clockspeed didn't break any benchmark records, it's showing itself to be nicely capable of overclocking. Unlike the QSD8250 in the original Snapdragon, which gets rather unstable anywhere past the 1.13GHz (+15%) mark, the MSM7230 in the Scorpion of the G2 sails right on past +100% with apparent stability. The kernel was posted on XDA-Developers by member Flippy125, with the usual "NOT MY FAULT IF-" disclaimers, but also noting that the kernel runs stably for him.
The G2 may have a next-gen MSM7X30 processor, but unfortunately, HTC and T-Mobile have decided to clock it at a paltry 800MHz. That's not to say it's unbearably slow; judging by the early reviews, quite the contrary. But still, just imagine what could be done if some wise guy out there overclocked it to something more along the lines of... oh, 1.42GHz.