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Getting to the ROOT Of Your Android HTC Dream/G1

Graeme — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:40:30 +0000

**DISCLAIMER** If you choose to ROOT your Android phone, YOU are taking full responsibility for anything that happens to your phone and you can only blame yourself if something goes wrong. If you root your phone, it ‘voids’ the warranty and T-Mobile (and other carriers) customer support will not be able to offer any help. Please make sure to read all instructions multiple times before you decide to root, take your time, and DO NOT skip any steps when rooting/flashing. The ROM developers have spent countless hours to bring you various versions of the Android OS, and they all deserve credit for their hard work. Also, the developers are not responsible for anything that happens if you choose to root.

Rooting your G1:
In order to root, you will need to downgrade your phone before you can upgrade/flash to a new ROM build.

How-to-Root, Hack, and Flashing your G1/Dream – found on xda-developers.com.
Easiest How To for: Root, Hero, Recovery, Partition (no computer), etc – found on xda-developers.
GetYourDroidOn – How to root WIKI… includes list of Hardware, builds, guides, developers, and more.
GUIDE: In the beginning… There was ROOT – Explains all things (and terms) ROOT! – found on xda-developers.

Partitioning your SD Card:
Most ROM builds after Cupcake, or enhanced Cupcake builds, need you to partition your SD/SDHC card. This will allow your phone to place your applications on your SD card rather than taking up space/memory on your phone. HOWEVER, some people do experience a lag when using this feature, and you can also shorten the SD card’s life span (and your Android phone, too).

[HowTo] Partition SDcard w/parted,goto ext3/4 & Install ROM from adb. no liveCD req’d – A kick ass guide to partitioning your SD card w/o using a computer all from your Recovery Image’s terminal screen. Please Read carefully!!! Best Recovery Image to use: Cyanogen 1.4 (Instructions on xda-developers.com)

How to Partition SD Card With Ubuntu For Dummies - Found on xda-developers.com
If you don’t feel comfortable using the Recovery Image, such as 1.4, use this guide. The only thing you will need to do “extra” is download and burn a copy of Ubuntu to a CD/DVD. By using the CD/DVD your just burned, you can run the Ubuntu OS on your Mac/PC without having to install Ubuntu to your computer directly. Just follow the instructions and it’s a piece of cake!

Roms & Theme Sites/Information

AndroidSpin – In my opinion, this is the best “go to” site for updated all things ROOT. It’s home of the original “Android ROM Information Database.” This links you to any and all ROMs listed on xda-developers. The ROM database gives you detailed information on the ROM capabilities and more. It also includes what versions of Radio/SPL files needed to run the ROMs on your Android phone. AndroidSpin also lists all known developers and where/how to contact & follow their ROM progress.
XDA-Developers -Dream/G1 Android Development – The go to forum site for all things ROM news and questions/answers. Before you ask a question, please search the forums first. Your question has probably been answered over and over, so check just to make sure.

If you think I am missing anything that should be included, please let me know!

A huge thank you (and keep up the great work) to all the ROM developers, and the people who provided the instructions/codes on how to update your Android phone. If you use any of their work to create your own ROM builds, please give them the credit they deserve!

Qik for the Andorid is here! (video demo included)

Graeme — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:30:10 +0000

Android phones have been given the gift of Qik today! Qik is a mobile phone/smartphone app that lets you stream live video for people sitting at their computer to see. IT’s super easy to set up, too. Just download it from the Android App Store, set up a new account, which can be done on your phone, and you’re ready to broadcast. Also, don’t forget to check your e-mail to confirm your Qik account!

This is an alpha release for Qik, so I’m sure the sound and video quality will improve. I’m not sure how many frames per second there are, but if you have decent lighting, it should look pretty clear, even though it will blur while you’re moving the camera around, but I’m not complaining! Live streaming on my way home from work (fueled with road rage), here I come!

*Yes, I know the sound cuts out at the start of the video and I’m not sure why. Also, because the sound is lower than normal, you will need to turn up your headphones, AND I promise future videos will not be pointed at my computer screen for 75% of the video.

Cupcake Is Here and I Am Eating IT!

Graeme — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:09:36 +0000

.After four months of possible release dates for the new Android OS build, code named “Cupcake,” Google has released Android OS 1.5 last week to developers. When I started looking at new phones, I thought of doing the following: switch mobile carriers and get an iPhone (this would include sign-up fees), pay for an unlocked iPhone (expensive, but no contract) or go for the G1 and stay with T-Mobile. The possibilities of what Cupcake could bring to Android phones sounded awesome. One of the features I wanted was video recording from the G1 and I was willing to wait. I didn’t expect it to take this long, but the wait was worth it. However, T-Mobile has yet to release the update to the public, but there is an Android user, JesusFreke, who has created versions of the Cupcake OS that users who ‘rooted’ their phones could use to update.

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I happened to be up, due to my insomnia, early Saturday morning and checked my RSS feeds one last time and saw that JesusFreke had updated his blog. The new post contained the new JF Cupcake build. I downloaded the new OS and loaded it up on my G1. That kept me up even longer… oh well. Also, I’ll admit, due to my error, I did “brick” my phone a few times attempting to move my apps to be run and stored on my SD card. That in itself was a nightmare. I did enjoy banging my head on my desk more than enough times trying to learn Terminal, but I have yet to figure it out and stopped for right now.

I recorded my first video this afternoon while my youngest cat, Lucy, drank water out of my hand in the bathroom (spoiled much?). The video app a.k.a Camcorder runs great for what I expected and uploads straight to YouTube. The camera itself does not do that well in dull lighting, so I didn’t expect the video camera to be any better. As long as I have decent light, I don’t think I’ll have any major issues using it.

I’m not promising a great or halfway decent review, but I may do something next week discussing about what I enjoy from Cupcake so far and tricks I’ve learned while messing around. In the mean time, please check out a few of the reviews sites that are out there!

Android And Me – 50 Screenshots of Cupcake
Android And Me – Interview with JesusFreke
Android and Me – Beginners Guide For Rooting Your Android G1 To Install Cupcake
JesusFreke’s AndBlog – Download JF’s new Cupcake build!
Know Your Mobile – HTC Magic Review (The next Android phone to be released with Cupcake)

**More links will be added once the reviews start rolling out. Feel free to send a comment if you have a review that you want included.

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