Monday, July 9, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Hack allows installing apps on Nexus Q, should have been doing so out-of-the-box

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT

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The Nexus Q announcement was a major bummer. $300, for a round box that was described by Google itself as a “social music and video streaming device”. Or a cloud-based jukebox. <sarcastic>Hurrah!</sarcastic>

Let’s face it, what the Nexus Q should have been is a Google TV box, and I’m most certainly not the only person to have thought that, as you can see in the comments on this post. The Q could still have that social jukebox thingy as an app on it. Based on the feature set of the device, the price and the (lack of) success of Google TV boxes itself, I can’t help but wonder if they’d actually manage to sell a single piece.

Fortunately, it is a Nexus device. Which means the community’s hackery could actually make it worthwhile (and I believe that’s the reason they put out the device, so as to see what developers do with it). Case in point: over at XDA, the Q has already been unlocked, rooted and a developer even managed to put together a small guide to install a few apps on it. The process isn’t straightforward due to the lack of an interface on the Q, but hopefully in the future someone’s able to make the Nexus Q into a device that can actually do something.

If you were at I/O, and got a Nexus Q you want to mess with, you can find links to the various threads (for root and unlock, or installing apps) from this page on their Portal.

HTC One X for AT&T and Rogers, EVO 4G LTE overclocked to 1.8 GHz

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 11:14 AM PDT

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From yesterday’s poll Edgar conducted, it’s quite clear that a significant number of Phandroids still love to overclock their devices. And those of you using an HTC One X on either AT&T or Rogers, or the EVO 4G LTE on Sprint might be interested to know that the phone’s have now been taken past 1.8 GHz. If you want to put your own One X on steroids, follow the instructions on this XDA thread.

[XDA Developers via Pocketnow]

ESPN Radio updated to finally look like an Android app

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 10:40 AM PDT

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I hate apps that look like iOS clones. If they’re built by smaller, indie developers, it’s kind of acceptable. However, if a larger organization that has no shortage of resources builds one, I tend to shave off at least a couple of stars from my review. I hate the fact that they can’t even take the platform seriously enough to follow the guidelines.

is now

Fortunately, following Android’s success of the past year or two we’re seeing a bit of a turnaround. The latest app to have undergone the transformation is ESPN Radio. Hopefully we see the changes brought to the other apps in ESPN’s stable, too.

[via Android Police]

 

Nexus 7 gets root, ROMs and overclocking before release

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 07:23 PM PDT


The Nexus 7 is about to shake the entire Android tablet market, as it could be shipping as early as next week. Its specs are simply unbeatable at a $200 price-point. We know this tablet will be selling like hot pancakes, and with such popularity there is usually an equal amount of developer support attached.

Lo and behold, the 7-inch Nexus tablet is now ready for all hacking glory. It can now be rooted, overclocked, custom ROMs are ready and the UI can even be modified to look like a full tablet UI (as opposed to its current phone-like UI).

As usual, we will warn you about the dangers of going this route. Rooting, flashing ROMs and any form of tampering is not supported by Google or ASUS. Dangers include a high chance of harming your device and/or voiding your warranty. Be sure to read all you can and follow instructions carefully, as all responsibility will fall on your hands, shall something bad happen to your device.

If you are feeling positive about what you are doing, though, all the goodies will be ready for you as soon as the Nexus 7 reaches your doorstep.

Of course, we expected to see these earlier than usual. Not only will this be a very popular tablet, but a fair share of developers already have it on their possession as it was given away to Google IO attendees. We have to give it to the guys at XDA Developers for always working hard to make Android as awesome as it is!

Now that we are all set for the Nexus 7′s glorious release, let’s just sit tight and wait for the mailman. Are any of you rooting your tablets soon?


Posted by at 8:04 AM

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