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Oct

GSM Version Of The DROID RAZR Spotted At FCC - Headed To AT&T Or US Regional Carriers

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Carriers, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX

The clever folks over at WirelessGoodness located an FCC filing today that indicates with a fair degree of certainty that a GSM version of the upcoming DROID RAZR is headed to either AT&T or US regional carriers, as the phone does not support T-Mobile frequencies. The filing doesn't say anything about the RAZR itself, but it does contain a part number matching the RAZR's unique non-removable battery, the first on a Motorola smartphone.

While the phone will likely be renamed for regional carriers or an AT&T release, there's every reason to think it'll otherwise be pretty much the same phone. In fact, with the LTE radio removed, the GSM version of the RAZR could be even thinner than it's already svelte 7.1mm Verizon sibling, due to come out early next month (November).

Sep

[Deal Alert] Unlocked Samsung Galaxy SII At Mobile Daily Steals For $499 (That's About $100 Off)

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, Galaxy S II

The release of Sprint's Galaxy S II variant before that of other U.S. carriers has left many customers itching for their chance to get one of the hottest Android phones on the market. Daily Steal's Mobile site is holding a sale for the next 22 hours (until midnight September 22), offering an unlocked GSM version of Samsung's latest phone for $499, about $100 less than Amazon's price.

The unlocked SII supports a wide array of networks (a full list is viewable on Daily Steals' website). For those still out of the loop, here are some of the specs the Galaxy SII boasts:

Android 2.3 Gingerbread
4.3" WVGA Super AMOLED Plus Display
8MP rear shooter and 2MP front shooter
1GB RAM
1.2GHz Dual-Core ARM Cortex A9 Processor
Expandable Storage via MicroSD, up to 32GB

If you've been hoping for a widely compatible GSM version of Samsung's hottest, slimmest phone to date, head over to Daily Steals to grab the discount while it lasts.

Aug

How-To: Manually Update Your Verizon 3G XOOM To Android 3.2 HTJ85B (Rooted Or Unrooted, With Locked Or Unlocked Bootloaders)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Tablets, XOOM

The Android 3.2 update for the Verizon 3G (soon-to-be 4G) XOOM can be flashed right now, before it hits your device over-the-air.

Custom Recovery

If you've flashed a custom recovery (and gave up the warranty), you can find update instructions over at MDW - in this case, you don't need our instructions below. This option is good for those with unlocked bootloaders (though if you're rooted, it seems the only update option right now is to install a pre-rooted update which will wipe your device).

Stock Recovery - Unrooted, Locked Bootloader

However, if you decided that unlocking the bootloader is not worth voiding your warranty or simply don't feel comfortable unlocking, you can still install the update before Verizon decides to push it to you, using the stock recovery.

Aug

[Deal Alert] Unlocked Samsung Nexus S i9020T For $350 From Daily Steals

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

In a world of dual-core superphones, there is still one single-core device that manages to stand its ground: the Samsung Nexus S. Thanks to its stock Android nature, the Nexus S is still one of the best Android phones on the market, and if you're looking to pick one up off-contract, then here's the deal for you. You can grab an unlocked version of the NS for a mere $350 -- that's fifty-percent off the retail price.

Here's what $350 worth of pure Google device gets you:

4 Inch 480*800 Super AMOLED display
1GHz Hummingbird processor
512 RAM
16GB on-board storage
5MP rear camera, VGA 'round front
Stock Android 2.3.5

To avoid any confusion, it's worth mentioning that this is an unlocked GSM version of the phone that runs on T-Mobile's network, not Sprint's 4G version.

Jun

LG Revolution Gets ClockworkMod Recovery, But It's Not Ready - Yet

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, LG, News, Revolution

If you've been following the saga of attempts to get a custom recovery running on the LG Revolution, you might be aware things hadn't been going so well up until last night. Particularly because most attempts to load custom recoveries onto the Revo previously ended in bricked phones and nerdrage. Well, no more (sorry for the craptastic picture):

You'll have to take my word about that being an LG Revolution. It is. I pinky swear.

There's just one small, little problem left: getting out of recovery. The LG Revolution, while pretty much wide-open unlocked and ripe for customization (there's no signature checks or encryption at all), the way LG has coded its recovery has made it particularly difficult to load a custom recovery image without bricking or erasing the phone every time it's booted.

Jun

[Updated x2: False Alarm, It's Not True] Motorola Photon 4G To Ship With An Unlocked Bootloader

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Photon 4G

Update 2: Apparently, there were Moto reps spewing false information at the Sprint event today, because both Android Central and Droid-Life have received word that the Photon 4G will not ship with an unlocked bootloader. The statement that Motorola released was still rather cryptic, however:

Motorola has recognized the passion around this topic in our communities. As we’ve previously communicated, it is our intention to include the unlockable/relockable bootloader in software releases starting in late 2011, where operator and channel partners will allow it. However, this feature is not included in the software found on PHOTON 4G.

Droid-Life went on to get a second statement:

It will not contain the unlockable/relockable feature; additional details beyond that will be available when the product comes to market. As you mention, our intent is to enable this feature on devices later this year and we will share updates on that as they become available as well.

Jun

HTC: Sensation Bootloader Will Be Unlocked, We Just Don't Know How Or When

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid)

A few weeks ago, the Android community notched another victory: HTC formally announced it would no longer be locking its bootloaders, though they hadn't really worked out all the details yet. Add another device to the "it won't be locked, we just don't know how or when" list: the HTC Sensation.

^{Ah, yes, the infamous alot. ಠ_ಠ}

The important bit of that wall of text:

We are currently developing new bootloader unlocked software for [the Sensation]. HTC is still committed to allowing our customers to unlock the bootloaders if they wish, however we are still implementing the policy and many updates were already finalized prior to our change in policy.

May

[Updated: Yes There Will Be] Verizon: There Won't Be Any Unlocked Devices On Our Network

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, HTC, News, Verizon Wireless

Update: Verizon has reneged on their previous tweet - unlocked HTC devices will be able to be activated on Verizon's network. Huzzah.

HTC may have switched to the good side, but that doesn't mean the Legion of Doom is finished. Far from it, in fact, as Verizon has taken ~~the wrong~~ a stance on the issue of locked bootloaders.

Admittedly, this may be a huge misunderstanding; perhaps the Verizon rep hasn't heard the big news about HTC yet, or the carrier simply hasn't had time to properly respond.

But if it is accurate... well, HTC and Verizon have a highly successful partnership with each other - so where does this leave things?

May

HTC CEO Confirms EVO 3D Will Have An Unlocked Bootloader One Way Or Another

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, EVO 3D (Shooter), HTC, News

Last night HTC announced that future devices would come with unlocked bootloaders via its Facebook page. Naturally, one of the first questions to arise from the community was "what about the EVO 3D?" To get an answer to that question, many users went straight to the source: HTC CEO Peter Chou. Here are a couple of the responses that we've seen:

So there you have it, directly from the horses' mouth - the EVO 3D will have an unlocked bootloader, although we're not entirely sure if it will ship that way or come via an OTA update later.

UPDATE: We've contacted Peter Chou about the status of the Sensation bootloader and will update if we hear something back.

Apr

Motorola Says 2011 Devices To Have "Unlockable/Relockable Bootloader"

Posted by Zak Stinson in Development, Motorola, News, Rumors

Last Updated: April 27th, 2011

Motorola has had a dark past when it comes to bootloaders. Apart from a couple exceptions (most notably, the XOOM), all of the major Motorola devices have had locked bootloaders, and thus, Android customization enthusiasts have been shut out from such tweaks as custom kernels.

Recently, there has been quite an outcry directed at Motorola and their bootloader policy, in the form of petitions and hijacked polls, and it looks like they have heard users' requests. In response to questions from Irwin Proud, the man behind the petition, Motorola has indicated that they plan on changing their tune.

“In terms of your question – we completely understand the operator requirement for security to the end user, and as well, want to support the developer communities desire to use these products as a development platform. It is our intention to enable the unlockable/relockable bootloader currently found on Motorola XOOM across our portfolio of devices starting in late 2011, where carriers and operators will allow it.”

*Hold for applause* Yes, it looks like the company notorious for their developer-unfriendly attitude has heard the requests of the Android community and is ready to embrace handset freedom.