Hasta La Gadget!

The HTC Evo’s 1-GHz processor is one of the fastest in smartphones today, but there’s always room for improvement.

An Android developer at the xda-developers forum has overclocked his Evo 4G phone to run at 1.267 GHz, nearly 30 percent faster than the standard issue. The developer Michael Huang, who posted the hack under the nickname ‘coolbho3000′, says he’ll try and push the processor to do even more.

“Right now, it’s a proof of concept,” Huang told Wired.com. “I built a version of the kernel that’s running on the phone to overclock it and found it worked fine.”

The hack is pretty technical but the idea is to let advanced Android users and programmers see the potential of the device.

HTC introduced the Evo earlier this month as the first 4G Android phone. The Evo, available exclusively on Sprint, has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract.

The phone has become the bestselling device on the Sprint network and at Best Buy Mobile.

Overclocking the HTC Evo is not the first such attempt developers have made with an Android device. Earlier, Huang says he has tried to overclock the Google Nexus One, which has the same 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the HTC. But that hack pushed the speed of the processor to only about 1.1 GHz.

The HTC Evo overclocking has resulted in speeds of a little more than 1.2 GHz for most users on the forum who have tried it.

But, a few words of warning for those who might attempt this at home: It isn’t a DIY project for just anyone. The files necessary to overclock the HTC Evo are posted online but you need to know what you are doing with it.

“If you have a rooted phone, you can get an update.zip file to apply to that phone,” explains Huang. “What I have done is packaged the special overclocked kernel into the file.” Huang used an Android app called SetCPU available in the Android Market to adjust the overclock.

Huang says he doesn’t have access to the full source code of the HTC Evo OS, which has limited some functions in the phone.

That means the sensors and camera on the phone do not currently work with the hack.

The overclocking also affects the phone’s battery life — despite Huang’s attempt to tweak the voltage piped to the processor.

“If you put less voltage on the processor, then the phone will use less battery, so my Evo kernel is running at a lower voltage than normal,” he says. “But because the processor is at a higher speed, the battery life is lower than usual.”

Once the overclocked device gets running, it also heats up a fair bit, say commenters on the forum. So, try this one at your own peril.

If you don’t want to go through all that, just enjoy the video of the overclocked HTC Evo.

See Also:

• Oops! Sprint Says it Overstated HTC Evo Phone Sales
• HTC EVO 4G $200, on Sale June 4
• Wired Video: HTC Evo 4G Dissected
• Storage Bug Hits HTC Evo 4G Phone Just Before Launch

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

[via Android Guys]

Sometimes, hackers hack without any constructive purpose — they do it just because they can. This, however, decidedly isn’t such a case; in fact, it’s one of the more enviable hackjobs we’ve seen in recent weeks. Basically, a dude split open his 3G iPad, removed the AT&T modem, and installed the circuit board out of a Verizon MiFi, providing power from the iPad’s battery and hooking in the borrowed AT&T antenna for hotspot range. The hack wasn’t without its trials and tribulations — the MiFi’s green LED initially shone through the back of the iPad’s display, for instance — but ultimately, the proud owner ended up with a fully functional iPad that doubles as a Verizon WiFi hotspot. It’s not exactly turnkey enough to recommend to lay folk, but at least Verizon customers can take heart knowing this kind of craziness is possible if you’ve got the stones for it.

[Thanks, Peter]

Verizon MiFi surgically implanted in iPad to create world’s first bionic tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Yep, the iPhone runs Android 2.2, too

Yep, the iPhone runs Android 2.2, too originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Adobe said Flash gives you the full web experience, it meant it. Part and parcel of the web, as we all know, is the good old hacking community, which has been “actively exploiting” a vulnerability in Flash Player 10.0.45.2 (and earlier versions) and Adobe Acrobat and Reader 9.x to overtake people’s machines and do hacky stuff with them. This so-called flaw also causes crashes, but that’s probably not what’s worrying you right now. Adobe says the 10.1 Release Candidate for Flash Player looks to be unaffected, while versions 8.x of Acrobat and Reader are confirmed safe. To remedy the trouble, the company advises moving to the RC for Flash, and deleting authplay.dll to keep your Acrobat from performing undesirable gymnastics. Oh boy, Steve‘s gonna have a field day with this one.

Adobe’s Flash and Acrobat have ‘critical’ vulnerability, may allow remote hijacking originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you haven’t noticed, all the cool kids are using Micro SIMs nowadays. But help is at hand if you’re stuck with an old and busted Module, thanks to this stainless steel SIM trimmer. Painfully simple to use, it accepts old school chips, smashes down on them with the full force of modernity, and spits out an appropriately streamlined Micro SIM. But wait, you can reverse the modification too — just use the included “back to normal” kit to turn back time and restore compatibility with your dated gear. The first batch of 500 has already sold out, but the next is expected to ship by the end of this month at a price of $25 or just under €20, depending on where you reside. What else do you need, a written invitation?

Cut My SIM does as its name commands originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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