ANDROID HACK
Eager to take
control of your Android phone? By "rooting" your device, a process
similar to jailbreaking an iPhone, you can install custom ROMs (images),
which add stability and speed improvements to Google's mobile operating system,
as well as install new features developed by the hacker community themselves.
The procedure involves running commands that enable total access to the device.
For non-developer types, hacks like these sound scary, but by following the
instructions below, you can take control of your Android phone in only a matter
of minutes. The end result is a truly open device which you can modify to your heart's content.
Why Hack Android?
So why would you want to
hack your Android phone? For those with older handsets, rooting the device lets
you install customized ROMs which can deliver major speed improvements and
performance increases. For example, the popular CyanogenMod, created by one of Android's most notable hackers,
optimizes performance for both the G1 and MyTouch 3G handsets.
Another good reason to
root your phone? Multi-touch. One of the surprising omissions from Google's own Nexus One
handset, for example, is the ability to use more than one finger at a time to
operate the device. Although available on iPhone from the start, the Nexus One
excludes this valuable feature from its mobile operating system. Why? No one
knows for sure, but it might have something to do with some patents Apple owns. But that's
no matter to the hacker community. Thanks again to cyanogen, Nexus One owners
can enable the feature by copying some files over to their device. Other Android owners
can perform similar procedures to enable multi-touch Web browsing. But before you can get
started with any of these hacks, you first have to root the phone.
How to Root Your Android
Phone:
However, for novice
hackers, "rooting" the phone sounds like it may be easier said than
done. Although seemingly intimidating, by following a few simple steps anyone
can do this with ease.
Before getting started, remember to back up your phone, including
your contacts, SMS messages, files and photos.
1.
The first step is to
download and install Superboot, a boot image that, when flashed, will root the
device the first time you boot up. You can grab a copy of the Superboot zip
file from theModaco forums here.
2.
Once downloaded, extract
the files it contains to a directory on your computer, just like any other zip
file.
3.
Now put your Android
phone in bootloader mode.
·
To do so, turn off the
phone, remove the battery, and plug in the USB cable. When the battery icon
appears onscreen, pop the battery back in. Now tap the Power button while
holding down the Camera key.
·
For those whose Android
phones have a trackball, you have an even easier method of doing this: Turn off the
phone, press and hold the trackball, then turn the phone back on.
4.
Depending on your
computer's OS, do one of the following:
·
Windows: Double click
"install-superboot-windows.bat"
·
Mac: Open a terminal window
to the directory containing the files, and type "chmod +x
install-superboot-mac.sh" followed by
"./install-superboot-mac.sh"
·
Linux: Open a terminal window
to the directory containing the files, and type "chmod +x
install-superboot-linux.sh" followed by
"./install-superboot-linux.sh"
5.
That's it, your device
has been rooted!
1. Multi-Touch:
First of
all, Nexus One users can enable multi-touch on their devices. RedmondPie has good how-to on
this:
Meanwhile, Droid
owners can hack their phones for multi-touch Web browsing:
2. Mods for Performance Improvements:
G1 and
myTouch 3G owners can follow this tutorial to install the popular CyanogenMod on
their devices, which boosts performance and speed, among other things. Here's a
video tutorial on this via AndroidandMe.com:
Try many different upgrades....'n' HACK THE HECK
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