There's been a lot of hype about the new Motorola Droid X coming to Verizon. According to a blog post on MotoDev - just like the Motorola Milestone, it appears the upcoming Droid X and Droid 2 will have a digitally signed bootloader that will prevent users from flashing custom ROMs.
Motorola explained their position during the Milestone controversy:
The encrypted bootloader will be a major hurdle to overcome for the modders and hackers. In the mean time if you want to hack your Android phone and mod it ’til it won’t boot anymore, you might be better off going with other HTC models or even Samsung at this point which have all been rooted already.
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As we slowly approach the end of the Windows Mobile handset legacy, some of the Windows handsets have been spotted running open sourced operating systems shortly after their release. With Windows Phone 7 around the corner, the HD2 will surely be one of the last phone spotted running Windows Mobile, but you can extend the life of the phone by installing an OS of your choice between Ubuntu Karmic Koala or Android 2.1 The builds have been made for general consumption thanks to the folks over at XDA developers and installing them is something you should attempt to do at your own risk. Luckily, neither of them touch the phone's internal flash, so you can always just reset the phone to the comfort of Windows Mobile. If you are feeling adventurous then try them out and drop us a comment with your experience.
Note:
* None of the current releases will touch your internal flash. All changes made in Linux are stored inside files on the Storage Card. After a soft reset (press little red button under battery cover) you get back to your WM 6.5 ! * All running windows mobile programs are closed without notice when you boot Linux. Save your documents before running HaRET * Make sure you have at least a 2.08 radio rom version. If you have an older version you might not be able to boot Linux * Note that all of this is work in progress. Don't expect a perfectly smooth operating system yet
Ubuntu:
Ubuntu 'Karmic Koala' for HD2 version 0.1
Needs Storage Card with at least 2GB free space. Recommended is a fast Storage Card (Class 4 is ok)
This is intended to be used as a netbook/desktop type setup with keyboard and mouse connected via USB. Check this site for information on how to do this.
Be sure to read included README.txt for install instructions, features and developer information.
Quick instructions: Put the ubuntu directory into the main/root directory of your Storage Card and tap HaRET executable.
password: ubuntu
use shutdown button to stop the system cleanly
Global instructions: Just extract to Storage Card root directory and run HaRET executable.
Note this is not specifically designed for the hd2. It is just the hd2 kernel with random android rootfilesystems - It makes no sense to discuss usability of those builds
Let us know how it goes in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more news and info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.
Last Sunday (the day before E3 2010's keynote) a leaked italian commercial gave us a first peak of what was supposed to be the new Xbox 360. Then on Monday, Microsoft announced that there was a new Xbox 360 and in fact it was supposed to be released the very same day, giving the members at the conference a new 360 of their own. Solomods didn't hesitate at all and quickly did a tear down of the parts, the pros and the cons, and even modded their very own 360. Check out a video demonstration of their modded xbox below:
At this point everyone knows that heavy use of the HTC Evo 4G's WiMAX connectivity just calls for seeing the battery gauge to drop quickly. Anything that might help this situation has to be a good thing that everyone would want to fix, which is exactly why a YouTuber named infinitemods' made a DIY (do it yourself) hack to get the Sprint Evo 4G working with a Palm Touchstone inductive charger. It's quite impressive and it allows for easy drop-and-charge powering of the smartphone just like what you would get with the Pre Plus or Pixi Plus.
The inductive coil needs to be removed from a spare battery cover plate for the Pre which will run you about $46. The inductive coil needs to then be attached to the correct points on the Evo 4G's mainboard, more specifically near the battery connections but NOT directly on them, with four magnets around the coil to hold the phone in place on the Touchstone itself.
Although the mod does allow for quick and easy charging on the go, there are drawbacks. The magnets used to keep the inductive coil in place to hold the phone in place on the Touchstone mess up the Evo 4G's digital compass and the cover doesn't close exactly without reshaping a part of the case. Infinitemods has mentioned that he is currently in the process of making a tutorial as to how to hook up the inductive coil to the Evo 4G and to keep a look out for it. You can see a video of the mod in action below:
So what do you guys think of the mod? Will you be trying it once the tutorial is released? Share your thoughts and comments below!
