Hasta La Gadget!

Want the latest version of Android on your device? Sure, we all do, and despite HP having put the TouchPad out to pasture long ago, the modder community isn’t giving up hope. One brave soul over at Xda Developers who goes by the handle Jscullins can (and should) be thanked for bringing bargain tablet lovers a dose of CyanogenMod 10. It’s still a preview build lacking, among other things, sound and video acceleration, but if you absolutely have to get a buttery smooth UI on your tablet right now hit up the source link for the download. Or, you could just check out the video of it in action after the break courtesy of Liliputing. It’s probably safer.

Continue reading TouchPad gets an early taste of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean courtesy of CyanogenMod 10 (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

TouchPad gets an early taste of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean courtesy of CyanogenMod 10 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re the sort to get a little too adventurous with CyanogenMod 10 or other custom ROMs, Google just gave you a crutch. Android 4.1.1 factory images are now available for every Nexus device that can currently get a taste of Jelly Bean: the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and the expected Nexus 7. While it’s not a complete safety net, the gesture will let dedicated modders flash their phones and tablets knowing that they can almost always jump back to the pure OS if someone’s definition of “alpha build” is a little too rough. CDMA users are unfortunately left out of the loop; let’s just hope they’re brought up to speed before too long.

[Thanks, Vince]

Filed under: Cellphones

Google posts Android 4.1 Jelly Bean images for Nexus devices, modders rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s initial promise to allow unlocked bootloaders came across to many enthusiasts as somewhat hollow: as long as there was an escape clause, carriers like AT&T and Verizon could clamp down and maintain the tough-to-modify status quo. RAZR-philes will be happy to know that there’s a plan to cut their own chains loose, after all. Starting with the Photon Q 4G LTE’s August launch, owners will have the option to unlock the bootloader of at least some devices in an official way that reportedly keeps carriers satisfied. Details of how the process works will come later; we don’t know if Motorola will take a cue from HTC’s identifier tokens or try something more exotic, even if it’s likely in either case to offer a big, fat disclaimer regarding the warranty. The option won’t be the same as buying a phone that’s unlocked from the start, but we don’t think too many custom ROM lovers will mind after knowing that one more Android manufacturer is on their side.

[Thanks, RTbar]

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola to allow bootloader unlocking from Photon Q 4G LTE onwards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a golden rule for the HTC HD2: if there’s a new mobile OS, the HD2 must get a port. It’s practically a law of nature, then, that Evervolv at the XDA-Developers forums has produced a pre-alpha port of Android 4.1 for the originally Windows Mobile-based legend. More components are working than not despite the extremely early state, with the camera, Google Now and web browser being the remaining bugaboos. We’re still warned that the experimental firmware isn’t meant for day-to-day use, but there’s every intention of making the release stable — good news for anyone who’s eager to avoid a flash-in-the-pan ROM. If that happens, the HD2 will have had nearly as many lives as a cat.

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC HD2 gets unofficial Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port, becomes the Phone That Would Not Die originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jelly Bean(s) for everyone — essentially, that’s just what Google’s done for the tech savvy underground with 4.1.1’s release in AOSP. Not two days after that source code was made available, has a developer by the name of Hashcode worked to get an early build up and running on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. If you’ll remember, that Bezos-backed slate runs a heavily customized UX with Gingerbread buried deep at its core and official plans for a software update beyond its 2.3 underpinnings have not been announced. So, for adventurous owners that are sick of living in the software-past, but aren’t quite ready to part ways with 200 bills for that very now Nexus 7, a beta ROM is at the ready. Naturally, you’ll need to have your device rooted and loaded with a custom recovery to get things going but, take note, this work-in-progress is far from complete: hardware video acceleration isn’t yet supported and WiFi is somewhat unstable. Fixes are assuredly on the way, so the less carefree might want to abstain from flashing at the moment. For everyone else, you can find the necessary downloads at the source below and, while you’re at it, check out the video tour after the break.

Update: Looks like the crew got Google’s apps (Play Store, Gmail, etc.) working as well as WiFi. Check out the updated tour video here.

Continue reading Jelly Bean spreads the butter to Amazon’s Kindle Fire in unofficial beta build (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

Jelly Bean spreads the butter to Amazon’s Kindle Fire in unofficial beta build (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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