Devices By Manufacturer - 492/530 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

Review: XDAndroid Allows You To Run Android Froyo On Your WinMo HTC Phone

Posted by Rick Morayniss in App Reviews, Devices By Manufacturer, News, Reviews, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Still holding onto that HTC Windows Mobile phone? Love the hardware, but hate the OS? Well, you’re in luck, because the enterprising hackers over at XDAndroid.com have developed a version of Android 2.2 (Froyo) that you run from your SD card.

Currently, this version runs on the following HTC phones:

Raphael (Touch Pro)
Fuze
Diamond
Blackstone
Topaz
Rhodium.

Getting Started With XDAndroid

To run XDANDROID, simply download the appropriate version of Android 2.2 (Froyo) for your phone to your computer, extract the files, and copy them to your phone’s sd card.

Begin by starting Haret.exe from your file manager. Your phone will do a soft reset, and boot the XDANDROID operating system.

Jul

Easily Root Your Motorola Droid X With 1-Click Root

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Droid X (Shadow), News, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 28th, 2010

A few enterprising hackers over at AllDroid have come up with a simpler method for rooting the Droid. Similar to SimpleRoot, it’s a small program that provides a GUI with 2 buttons – “Root Me :)” and “Unroot Me :(,” and bundles in all necessary drivers and bits of code – thus removing the need to download and install the Android SDK.

Once the zip file has been downloaded (you can get it from MediaFire here, or if you’re an AllDroid forum member, you can hit up the read link and login and download it), the instructions are pretty short and sweet:

Update: here is a mirror hosted by our friends at DroidXForums.

Jul

T-Mobile G1 Rides Off Into The Sunset

Posted by David Ruddock in G1 (Dream), News

The world’s first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 (based on the HTC Dream platform), has officially been discontinued today. It is no longer available via T-Mobile’s website.

More than anything, this marks the beginning of the end for the first-generation flagship Android devices, as phones running Android 1.5 and 1.6 are slowly phased out of the Android ecosystem—reducing version fragmentation, and allowing developers and users alike to move away from obsolete software.

Of course, some homage is owed; the G1 originated the ever-expanding family of Android smartphones we have today . The G1 helped Android move from its status as an obscure, Google-acquired experiment, to that of a first-class mobile operating system.

Jul

Android 2.2 FroYo Ported To Motorola Milestone (Build FRF91) By dext3r

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Froyo 2.2, Milestone

ModMyMobile forum member dext3r has released a Milestone update image containing Android 2.2 FRF91, known as MotoFrenzy. Because of the Milestone’s still-locked status, it has been notoriously difficult to port updated versions of Android to. This should help to assuage fears that the Milestone was forever doomed to run Android 2.1.

Download Links:

MotoFrenzy v0.1a (Full image, needs to be flashed with OpenRecovery (ADB Recovery)
MotoFrenzy v0.1b (Incremental, link goes to post, download is at bottom of first post; you must register to download)

The only major issue with this image is a non-functional camera, which shouldn’t be too much for Milestone users to give up for a little FroYo.

Jul

HTC-Branded Android Devices Wildfire, Desire, and The New Tianyi Headed To China On China Mobile, No Mention Of Google Or Android

Posted by David Ruddock in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), HTC, Tianyi, Wildfire (Buzz)

HTC issued a press release today announcing four HTC-branded phones (HTC phones were previously branded Dopod in China) are to be released in China in a deal with China Mobile and electronics retailer GOME Electrical Appliances (the largest electronics reseller in China). Three of those phones run Android. One, the Tianxi, looks to be a rebranded HD2 running Windows Mobile, which as we all know, can run Android.

Unfortunately, it appears removal of Google branding from Android devices (including the Market) in China will continue with these new phones. This is a requirement for Android phones running on China Mobile, which is the dominant (and state owned) carrier in China.

Jul

Interpad Android Tablet Details Emerge: Android Tablets Getting Serious

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Interpad

German company Interpad has released details on their website about their up-and-coming Android tablet, slated (get it?) to be released later this year… in Germany. The devices are more costly than the other Android tablets we’ve seen by this point, but you’re getting one hell of a nice device for your money:

Dual-Core nVidia Tegra @ 1 GHz
10.1” 1024x600 px screen
512 MB to 1 GB RAM (depending on model)
512 MB to 1 GB ROM, mSD support from 2 to 32 GB (depending on model)
Mini USB, mini HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack
802.11 b/g
Bluetooth (depending on model)
Android 2.1 (Eclair) – FroYo reportedly to come later
Bewegungssensor (Google translate failed on that one – I’d guess it’s an accelerometer)

If this doesn’t turn out to be vaporware and it makes it to the US, we will be some seriously happy campers.

Jul

Samsung Brings High-End To The Small Screen - Galaxy Q Specs Leaked

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Galaxy Q, News, Samsung

Last Updated: May 3rd, 2011

Samsung is certainly on a roll with their Android devices – their Galaxy S and all of its variants have launched successfully all over the world, with more launches still to come. But that hasn’t stopped them from planning their next Android device, one that may attempt to sway Blackberry users to Android.

According to a spec sheet leaked by MobileCrunch, the Samsung Galaxy Q is a very high-end phone, with the small screen size of only 3.0” being the odd spec out. Combined with the listed “QWERTY Keypad,” it makes sense that this phone will take the same style as the Motorola Charm, which also emulates the Blackberry phone style.

Jul

[Deals] T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Now FREE ($0.00) With Upgrade Or New 2-Year Contract

Posted by David Ruddock in myTouch 3G (Magic), T-Mobile, Tips & Tutorials

This doesn’t need much explaining. If you start a new T-Mobile 2 year contract or upgrade and extend your current service contract, you can get the MyTouch 3G for nothing, nada, zilch. Got a frugal friend or family member looking for a cheap smartphone? Look no further. Just check out T-Mobile’s online store page.

Jul

Acer Stream Coming To eXpansys In The UK On August 2nd; Packing Android 2.1, 1GHz Processor, 3.7” AMOLED, HDMI And More For £400

Posted by David Ruddock in Liquid Stream

The Acer Stream is coming to the UK, and it’s coming soon. Acer’s newest and most powerful Android device to date will initially be available exclusively through eXpansys.com in the UK starting on August 2nd. £400 will get you the device, unlocked. This is your only purchase option, as no carrier subsidies have yet been announced. I will say it’s pretty robust on the spec-sheet. The Stream features:

A 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor
3.7” WVGA AMOLED Display
512MB ROM / 512MB RAM
2GB Internal (Flash) Memory
MicroSD Card Slot
WiFi (presumably B/G/N), Bluetooth, and GPS
Mini HDMI-out
3.5mm Headphone Jack
720P (24FPS) Video Recording
5MP Camera
Android 2.1 with Acer Touch 3D UI 4.0

And here is the Stream, in all its glory:

The first thing I notice about the Stream is its lack of a trackball, d-pad, or optical trackpad.

Jul

HTC Confirms It Will No Longer Use AMOLED Displays For Desire, Nexus One—Switching to Sony SLCD's

Posted by David Ruddock in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), News, Nexus One (Passion)

HTC confirmed in a press release today that the Nexus One (which is still manufactured for and sold across Europe and Korea) and Desire will no longer be sporting AMOLED displays. Instead, HTC has opted to use Sony SLCDs. Their reasoning? The press release gives it to us from a nice, sugar-coated PR perspective:

HTC Introduces SLCD Display Technology To Its Portfolio
New Displays to be integrated into HTC Desire and Nexus One
Taoyuan, TAIWAN – July 26, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced Super LCD display (SLCD) technology into a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer.