Hasta La Gadget!

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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In the world of smart mobile device hacking, there is one that stands out as a cult classic of sorts: the HTC HD2. This device originally ran a version of Windows Mobile that has at this point been long outdated – and since then it’s been pushed in so many directions that it’s astounding. This week’s addition to the collection of mobile operating systems this smartphone is able to run is Mozilla’s own Firefox OS.

The HTC HD2 smartphone is one that remains newsworthy due to its favoritism in the developer community due to its surprisingly open ability to be hacked. For over three and a half years, this device has been a go-to smartphone for the most intrepid developers looking to prove their might in hacking, pushing everything from Windows Phone 7 to Android to this machine where it’d otherwise only be running a relatively ancient operating system.

Here in the spring of 2013, the HTC HD2 has received a port of the internet-based Firefox OS. This operating system is otherwise known as Boot2Gecko and has been on its way to the public for over a year. Earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, a global convention for mobile devices and services, we saw the first wave of Firefox OS smartphones – now it’s time for the operating system to spread.

Of course here on the HTC HD2 with a first port of the system, not every feature of the system works right out of the box. In its first reveal, the HTC HD2 Firefox OS port had camera issues, SIM card detection breaks, and issues with the resolution of the device’s display being detected. That said, the deed remains done: the HTC HD2 now has another notch in its sword hilt, growing in versatility as it remains the developer community’s most hackable device.

SlashGear readers hoping to run this port on their own treasured HTC HD2 should follow the XDA Forum Post which details the information shared above. There a download awaits for the brave. It’s important to remember that this, like all hacks of this nature, is not a situation you’ll be wanting to present to your local mobile carrier if you’re in need of repairs in the future. In other words: hack at your own risk.

The HTC HD2 has also run Windows RT, a full version of Windows 8, and Windows Phone 7 in the past several years. It’s also run MeeGo, Android 2.2 Froyo and a few more – the list continues to grow!

HTC HD2 hacked to run Firefox OS: the collection expands is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We reported back in March that a successor of HTC Butterfly, better known in the U.S. as Droid DNA, will be released this year. HTC Butterfly is the international variant of Droid DNA, it touts a 5″ 1920×1080 full HD […]

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

As cringeworthy as it sometimes is to see beautiful gadgets get senselessly destroyed, there’s a certain amount of calmness and awe in seeing the HTC One shatter into possible hundreds of pieces after being shot with a rifle. The folks over at RatedRR, who have shot other gadgets to smithereens in the past, have put together a new video in which they show the HTC One getting torn apart from a bullet fired out of a Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber sniper rifle. The results are astounding and we guess if you’re bored of seeing drop tests and water dunking tests and what not, this might do the trick! If you’re not a fan of watching gadgets get blown up, blended, run over by cars, then we guess this isn’t for you, but if you have a couple of minutes to spare, you might want to check it out in the video above.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Flipboard Android 2.0 Brings Magazine Curation Feature, Huawei W1 Windows Phone 8 Smartphone Announced,

The HTC First is the Facebook phone that social networking addicts have been craving for, but it seems AT&T is desperately trying move inventory of the new device because they just dropped the subsidy price of the First down to a mere $0.99 for a limited time. Previously, the phone sold for $99 after signing a two-year contract.

Be aware that this isn’t a permanent price drop, but basically just a limited-time sale that will most likely only last a few days or possibly a couple of weeks. Frankly, we’re surprised to see such a new and popular phone be put on the price-chopping block so soon, but it hints to the possibility that AT&T isn’t selling them like hotcakes, and the price drop could be a strategy to get more of these devices out the door.

The phone is your typical mid-range device that comes packing with the latest chipset. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor leads the show, clocked at 1.4MHz, with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The 5MP camera on the back certainly works, but we wouldn’t use as our dedicated mobile snapper by any means.

However, the First does sports 4G LTE and has a smaller 4.3-inch display that has a 720p resolution. Some users may not like the smaller screen compared to the larger displays of today’s phones (and could be one of the reasons behind potential poor sales), but it’s certainly nice to see a smaller device make its way into the limelight for those who want a more compact phone.

HTC First struggling as AT&T ramps Facebook phone subsidy is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.