Almost every Android phone has been rooted so far except the HTC Tattoo (or may be it has?). I have previously shown how you can get to the bootloader (recovery mode) in HTC Hero, now it’s Nexus One’s turn.
Nexus One users who are trying to get to the bootloader mode in the phone can try the two methods I’ve given below.
How to Get Bootloader Mode in Nexus One
Follow the steps below to put your Nexus One in Bootloader Mode.
Method 1
1. Turn the phone off.
2. Remove battery.
3. Plug in USB cable and wait for the battery icon.
4. When the icon appears, replace the battery.
5. Now tap the Power button while holding the Camera key
There’s even a simpler way than the method mentioned above.
Method 2
1. Turn off the phone.
2. Now press (and hold) the Trackball and turn on the phone.
These two methods should get you to the bootloader mode in Nexus One.
GOogle Nexus One is rumoured to be released on January 5, in a special Android press event which is going to be held at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View.
Just a week before its release, Paul over at Modaco Forums has already managed to root the Nexus One and release a custom boot image called as Superboot.
This boot image is reported to work perfectly fine and gives the user full root access to the Android 2.1 running on your Nexus One.
According to Paul, this boot image needs no messing up with adb commands or anything else.
Superboot is a boot.img that when flashed, will root your device the first time you boot (installing su and the superuser APK). No need to flash the system partition, no need to use ADB, no messing with the contents of your data partition, no overwriting the shipped ROM on your device, just flash the boot image.
Surprised? We all are! Google Nexus One root is now available for download. The rooted ROM for Google Nexus One is already available for download a week before its official release.
Android 2.1 has already been out on the web, but Paul (MoDaCo) has managed to root Google Nexus One that he had and has released Superboot ROM for the phone.
Root Google Nexus One (Android 2.1) with Superboot ROM
Paul has given out instructions on how you can root your Nexus One with his Superboot ROM. I repeat like in all rooting tutorials, please apply that on your own risk.
Google is expected to release Nexus One on a special Android press event at the Google Headquarters on January 5.
looks like the ‘confirmed‘ release date of the Google Phone aka Nexus One is really January 5. The news just got in that T-Mobile has confirmed of a Google Phone next month.
A T-Mobile spokesperson was heard reporting about an Android phone which they are planning to release, but they won’t provide any support for it, other than
billing, coverage, features and rate plans, as we have previously stated. All troubleshooting and exchanges will be managed by Google and HTC. Launch is ‘early January.’
Again, the date is not really confirmed of the Nexus One release but all we could see is that the rumours are adding up to the previous release date.
The highly anticipated phone by Google is expected to release next month and looks like a Nexus One dump is already leaked in the wild.
Nexus one will be released for $199 on January 5th. These are just the rumoured prices, but somehow Retuers confirms it.
Someone has extracted the Genie widget and app and posted online. All users on Android 1.6, or higher could install and try it out.This is the news and weather application included in the Nexus One.
This is basically from the Android 2.1 on Nexus One, though I haven’t tried it on my HTC Hero (Android 1.5) yet, but hopefully it should work.
In my ongoing ROM exploration, yesterday I found another ROM for the HTC Hero. So far, MoDaCo 3.0 is the only ROM that I have found stable and worth using. Infact, I’m using it as my primary ROM.
A developer at XDA Developers, AychTeeSee, has modified the MoDaCo 3.0 ROM and released a Vanilla version of it. This ROM is a modified version of Paul’s (mostly) without HTC features/bloat.
The developer has made sure to let the HTC features stay on the ROM without which the firmware would become unstable. As the developer has mentioned:
What Works: -Everything in the MoDaCo custom rom. After installation, everything is shockingly stable. -Unlike AOSP roms, all the hardware works properly and you get to experience vanilla Android.
What DOESN’T Work: -Occasionally, you will get a force close issue for acore. Usually you can continue your work. But, it’s quite rare and for most people only occurs once.
Parts of Sense UI that haven’t been removed: -Messaging: Although the Android SMS app works, you get force closes when you first start Android, and checking for messages doesn’t work. -Toolbar and some sense menus: I’m in the process of fixing this now. -Call dialogs still are in HTC Sense.
I’m going to give it a try now and hope it is functional as the developer as said. AychTeeSee’s Vanilla MoDaCo 3.0 ROM is said to run lightning fast, and saves a lot of memory.
Download AychTeeSee’s Vanilla MoDaCo 3.0 ROM
You can download the latest version of the ROM from the official post: Download AychTeeSee’s Vanilla MoDaCo 3.0 ROM
Not many services offer free backup solutions, and that too for mobile phones. Here’s one service that looks promising and worth trying.
BackupandShare Mobile Solution is a backup and restore service that safeguards all data of your mobile phone including Contacts, Documents, Photos, Videos and Music.
This application copies your mobile phone’s data in a secure manner to BackupandShare secure data servers, and also lets you to restore the saved data on your phone later on when needed. Their free account gives your 1GB of space to backup your data.
If you lose your phone, suffer hardware failure, or upgrade your device, how much of that data would you be able to get back? This is where Backup an Share comes in handy!
BackupandShare Mobile Solution currently supports iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile phones. BlackBerry support will soon be added.
Yesterday I wrote a tutorial about how you can install Android 2.1 on your HTC Hero. I used Lox’s HERO21 ROM in that tutorial that ROM was slow and quite buggy, so here’s another ROM I tried by Hik@Ri.
This ROM looks much more stable and faster than the previous one I shared. Here’s the tutorial so you can also give it a try.
If you remember my previous tutorial on how to install a custom ROM on your HTC Hero, I’ll be following the same steps and guide lines in this tutorial too.
How to Install Hik@Ri 2.0.1.4 ROM on HTC Hero
Things You Should Know:
I’m using an unlocked HTC Hero running on MoDaCo 2.9 ROM and I rooted and installed a new recovery image using this tutorial.
Create a Nandroid backup of your phone before proceeding. This is will help you revert back to your old ROM when you want or if anything goes wrong.
A wipe has to be done while loading a new ROM, so again, backup your phone i.e contacts, apps, settings, messages etc. [How to Backup SMS on Android]
This tutorial is ONLY for GSM HTC Hero.
The Tutorial
Before you proceed, I hope you read the above lines that I wrote carefully and have rooted (and flashed a new recovery image on) your phone using this tutorial: How to Root HTC Hero and Install RA Recovery Image.
2. Rename the ROM you just downloaded as update.zip
3. Now plug in your Hero to the computer and from the notifications, mount the SD card.
4. Copy the ROM file (update.zip) to your SD card. DON’T copy it into any folder.
5. Unplug the phone and turn it off.
6. Now turn on the phone into Recovery Mode by holding down Home and Power buttons to turn it on. Keep holding them until you see some text written in green.
7. In the Recovery Mode, select “Wipe” and then select Wipe data partition.
8. Once the wipe is completed, go to “Flash update image” and select Apply sdcard:update.zip
9. Confirm the installation and then sit back and watch while the ROM is being installed/loaded.
10. When completed, reboot the phone. Your new ROM should be up and running now!
NOTE: The first reboot may take time, so wait with patience. Even the first startup and the phone will be a bit slow, but should get normal in a few minutes.
Disclaimer: I’m not responsible for any damage you do to your phone. Please modify it on your own risk.
HTC Expresso is the next update to the HTC’s Sense UI which will make its way to HTC phones like Hero and Droid Eris somewhere around the first half of 2010.
A system dump of HTC Expresso for HTC Hero with Android 2.1 has been leaked out in the wild and is available for download for developers.
This is not a phone ROM or firmware so please don’t try flashing it on your phone. We’ll have to wait for developers to come out with a HTC Expresso ROM for Hero. And like always, before doing anything, always have a Nandroid backup.
Download HTC Expresso for HTC Hero Android 2.1
This system dump is only for GSM-based HTC Hero. Developers can grab it from here: Download HTC Expresso
Yesterday, I shared a web app that could help you fix dead pixels in your iPhone and iPod Touch screen. The good news is, you can use the same app on your Android phone i.e HTC Hero, Morotola Droid etc as well.
But we also have an application for Android phones to do the job and won’t require any web app. The app is available for free in the Android Market.
JScreenFix is a software solution that can fix most stuck pixels and improve the quality of images displayed on a screen.
If you have any annoying, brightly colored dots on your screen, run this application for 10 minutes and, in most cases, they will disappear! This application has got many positive reviews fixing most of the dead pixels people have.
Download JScreenFix
You can download this free application from the Android Market.
One issue that all Android users are facing is that once you set up your Google account on an Android phone, there is no option to clear/remove the account.
You can’t change the Google Account in case you want to use another account on your phone. Yes, it’s kinda annoying and surprisingly, no one has added that option till now.
I faced a similar issue and after Googling for some tricks and playing with the options myself, I have come up with the following methods to clear your Google account from your phone.
How to Clear Google Account from Android Phone
One easy way that I have tested on my HTC Hero is to clear the data of the Google Apps app on your phone. It works, but remember, your contacts also gets removed. So make sure you create a backup somewhere.
Note: This is not a factory reset because this method does NOT clear your call log.
Open Menu, and go to Settings.
Select Applications and then go to Manage Applications.
Look for the app “Google Apps” and tap it.
Now tap the “Clear data” button.
Now, in the Notifications (top of the screen) you will see a new notification.
Tap “Your account must be updated”.
Now enter your new Google account info.
Reboot your phone and you’re all done!
Your new Google account should be up and running now. Now you just need to get your contacts back and your phone will be just like it was before.
Method 2
Another way to clear/change your Google Account is by changing your password from a computer and then reboot the phone. When the phone starts again, you will be prompted for the correct Google Accounts info. Change the info there.
A2SD2 aka Apps2SD2 is an addon/tool for Android phones that allow you to install apps in your SD card. Unfortunately, by default there is no option in HTC Hero and (probably) other Android phones to install apps in your SD card.
The apps you install are stored in your phone memory and once it gets full, you can’t install any more applications.
MoDaCo ROM and some other custom ROMs available already have A2SD2 and all you have to do is enable and get it working. You can get the MoDaCo ROM on your HTC Hero by first rooting and then installing it.
How to Get A2SD2 Working in HTC Hero
Just follow the simple steps to get A2SD2 working on your phone.
Backup your SD card on your PC.
Boot your phone into recovery mode.
Now depending on whatever recovery image you’re using, choose Partition SD (ext2)
Reboot the phone now and transfer all your SD card files back to it.
Pretty easy, eh? This is one of the main advantages I found after installing a custom ROM on my phone.
The PC Suite software that comes for Nokia, Sony Ericsson etc phones, they all have the option to let you send SMS from your desktop, but unfortunately, there haven’t been any such proper app to let you SMS from desktop for Android phones.
DesktopSMS is an application for Android that allows you sending text messages (SMS) from your computer through your Android phone.
Basically, this app is composed of applications. One is the client for the computer and a server app for your Android phone. You can easily access all your phone contacts on your computer and send SMS quickly and easily as it’s always easier to type with a computer keyboard.
Since this is a Java application, you can use it on any platform i.e Windows, Mac and Linux.
Related: Another application you can use for sending SMS through computer is Droid Explorer.
Download DesktopSMS
The server file should have been available in the market, but due to some reasons, it is not.
The UI modifications done by HTC for their Android phones is by far the best one available till now.
Motorola Droid users who have been drooling over the powerful HTC Sense UI and wished to have it on their phones can now have it on their Droid.
This is not really the exact port of the Sense UI, but basically a theme that will skin your interface and as well as your widgets to match with that of the HTC Hero’s Sense UI.
Get HTC Sense UI Theme on Motorola Droid
Note: This method to get Sense UI on your Droid only works on ROOTED phones. tested with Android 2.0 and 2.01.
1. Download and install MetaMorph from the Android Market. It’s a free app!
2. Download HTC Sense UI like theme.
3. Copy the downloaded files to ‘AndroidThemes’ folder on your SD card.
4. Launch MetaMorph and select the HTC Sense UI theme.
Motorola Droid, the phone to grab 25% of Android US Internet traffic, is currently only available to Verizon for $199. And all those around the world waiting for the phone are still left out.
But not for too long now. Today, through an internal (reliable) source at Motorola, I came to know that Motorola would be launching the unlocked version of Droid worldwide in the next couple of months.
Motorola would launch the Motorola Droid (unlocked) in February and as well as announce the Droid 2 aka Sholes. No news if it will have the final release of Android 2.0 because the current Verizon Droid runs on the pre-release Android 2.0.
Droid runs on the powerful ARM-based 550MHz processor and boasts of a 3.7-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen with 480×854 pixel resolution display. It also includes a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, 4x digital zoom, LED flash, video recording at 24 FPS, image stabilization and night shot support, 1GB internal memory etc.
Now the question is, will the Droid stand against all the other Android phones releasing by February which boasts the 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Google Nexus One, HTC Bravo, XPERIA X10 etc are all in the Android phone war!
Syncing your contacts between the HTC Hero and Google Contacts is a piece of work in Android.
I never realized how useful it was until now when I have started using Google Contacts as my only contacts manager. It’s now way easier for me to sync my contacts in whatever cell phones I try and use.
Users who have their phone contacts in Google Contacts separated in a group called as My Contacts have some syncing issues with the HTC Hero and HTC Droid Eris. When you try to sync, instead of just syncing with My Contacts group, it also downloads all your Gmail contacts and all the other your account has.
Instead of a few hundred, I had more than two thousand contacts in my phone – which was quite annoying. After a couple of hours of messing up with the OS settings and Google Contacts, I was finally able to find a solution to this problem.
How to Sync Only My Contacts in HTC Hero
To sync only My Contacts group from your Google Contacts, follow the simple steps below:
Open the People app in your HTC Hero.
Go to the Groups section.
Now press the Menu button and select Sync Contacts from the menu.
Uncheck “Sync all contacts” and press the save button.
You should now only have your My Contacts group’s contacts in your phone.
There are still around two weeks before the Google Nexus One makes its way to the public. It has been announced for 5th January 2010 and will be available for $199.
The original bootscreen of Nexus One has been extracted from it’s ROM and is now available to be used on the HTC Hero.
This bootscreen can be installed on the HTC Hero using the following method. You see a preview of the bootscreen here.
How to Install Nexus One Bootscreen on HTC Hero
Download the bootscreen file from the links below.
Extract the files in a folder on your SD card.
Now use a file manager such as Root Manager or SUFBS to copy all the files (except the one called “by-shenshang”) to /system/media/bootscreen/.
Download Nexus One Bootscreen
You can download the Nexus One bootscreen in two versions, with sound and without sound.
TAking screenshots using an app is always easier than connecting the phone to a computer and then capturing a screenshot.
In the past, I have posted about the Screenshot app for Android which allowed you to capture screenshots, but it hs been reported that the app is out-dated and doesn’t work on new Android phones.
ShootMe is a free Android app that allows you to take screenshots of your phone. Just fire up ShootMe and give a good sustained shake or shout to take a screenshot.
It is a screen grabber for Android phones, basically only for rooted devices for now. It has been tested on HTC Hero, Dream, Magic and Samsung Galaxy.
I use this app to take screesnhots of apps that I review. Or it’s useful in taking quick screenshots when you want to upload it online.
Download ShootMe
There is no direct APK link to download from, but you can grab it for free from the Android Market.
HTC has launched four of its widgets in the Android Market and you can download them for free.
These free widgets are available for the HTC Hero and HTC Eris and might run on all Android phones with Sense UI.
HTC Widgets in Android Market
Today in History: In this widget, learn about significant events and famous people who were born or who died on this day in history. Tap a link to view the corresponding article on Wikipedia.
Tip Calculator: You can adjust the tip percentage and the number of people in the group before calculating.
Dice: Tap the dice first, and then simply shake (do not throw!) your phone to “throw” the dice. This widget is only for HTC Hero & Droid Eris
Battery: Tap the widget to see more battery information.
These widgets don’t work on my HTC Hero for some reason, Let me know if they work fine you all.
After T-Mobile and Verizon, it’s AT&T turn to get on the Android bandwagon.
AT&T’s first Android phone has been spotted in the wild and it’s rumoured to be Motorola Backflip. The phone has been codenamed as Motorola Enzo for now.
Motorola Backflip Specifications
The expected specifications of this Motorola phone are as follows:
We just got the announcement of Google Nexus One confirmed release date and pricing. Nexus One is releasing on January 5, 2010 for just $199.
Sony Ericsson is yet to make an official announcement on when the XPERIA X10 will be out in the stores, but some unconfirmed sources suggest it will be out on January 18.
We all knew XPERIA X10 was scheduled for a Q1 2010 (February) release, but Play.com has the phone available for pre-order and says it is due release on January 18?
There is a possibility of XPERIA X10 releasing because Google Nexus One is coming out 5th January 2010.
The Facebook app for Android got an update today which brings new functionalities and better photos browsing.
This is the same Facebook app that came with the Motorola Droid and, the same one which was leaked and ported for other Android devices.
Facebook 1.1.2 for Android is now a lot more like you’d expect it to be. The first version was nothing more than the basic app that allowed you to see news feed and status updates.
You can now easily navigate though your and your friends’ photos, share them and even comment on them. The interface is still nothing like the iPhone Facebook app, but as time goes on and Android matures, so are the apps also.
After all the Google Nexus One hype going on around, one questions that was in everyone’s mind was when will this phone actually be released and how much will it cost when compared to the iPhone.
The wait is finally over! Nexus One will be coming to the public in just three weeks from now on. For pictures, click here.
Google Nexus One Android Conference Live Coverage
You can catch the coverage there: Google Nexus One Event Live Coverage
Google Nexus One Release Date
According to Reuters, Nexus One aka Google Phone will be released on Januaray 5, 2010 for a reduced price for T-mobile customers!
Google Nexus One Pricing
Pricing is something that really got me amazed. Nexus One will be priced at just $199 unlocked in stores. And about the pricing, Android Guys have to say:
Here’s the price: $199 unlocked in stores. $100 rebate online if you have an active and old Google account. That $100 rebate is either to buy it $99 online from Google’s online phone store, for using on Android Marketplace or for using on any Google Checkout stores. Can also be used for T-Mobile or AT&T pre-paid Data SIM card service at $29 per month, no contracts required.
Google will push full VOIP usage on these, meaning no voice/sms plans needed at any carrier. Voice calls will go through Google Voice on Data SIM cards and will provide unlimited free voice calling. And SMS is replaced by unlimited free Gtalk.
Finally, Google will provide easy roaming data services in other countries. For example, if you go to Europe, you can roam on HSDPA data networks for the same price of 20€ per month, and if you only stay in Europe for a few days you won’t need to pay for the whole month. You may not even need to change the SIM card.
Ever seen a mobile OS running on a gaming console? Well, Android can do it!
Odroid is the first gaming device that runs on Android, specially for games that are available in the Android Market for Android phones.
It is based on a Samsung-manufactured application processor called S5PC100 833MHz. The system-on-chip(SoC) uses the latest ARM’s Cortex-A8 with NEON multimedia accelerator. The chip’s 3D OpenGl ES capability enables high speed 3D games such as Speed Forge 3D.
Odroid Specifications
The Odroid specifications are as follows:
a 3.5-inch 320×480 capacitive touch screen
Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth
a microSD slot
HDMI output
The developer edition of Odroid will cost around $349 (£210).
I would go for this device only if Android offers some decent games. I don’t want to get this console just for playing Snakes.
A few weeks ago, a rumour broke out of HTC working on a flagship product which will be powered by Android. Later it was confirmed that, yes indeed, HTC is working on something with 1GHz SnapDragon processor.
HTC Bravo will have a 1GHz CPU and will be powered by Android. The same phone will go in the UK by the name of HTC Passion.
As we all have seen the leaked photo of Google Nexus One, if you check out the leaked photo of HTC Bravo/Passion, you will notice they’are exactly the same! Ofcourse, the Nexus One won’t have the HTC branding while the Bravo/Passion has it. Compare the two photos below.
For God knows, how many years this rumour has been going on of Google working on its own phone. Even when the rumours were high at peak last year, Google announced G1.
Today they confirmed, that Google is indeed working on a new Google Phone and well, according to the specifications known so far, is a very cool phone!
The phone hasn’t been labeled as Google Phone, but it is for us since the phone runs on Android and have far more higher capabilities and features than G1. Other details gathered by various sources online are as follows.
Google Phone Specifications
Some specifications revealed so far are:
Snapdragon Processor
Capacitive multi-touch OLED screen
GSM network
On-screen keyboard only
Runs on Android 2.1
This phone is manufactured by HTC and resembles a lot like the HTC Hero. It even has a scroll ball like the Hero. And similar to the T-mobile G1, it will be Google branded.
Some people who have got their hands on the phone have to say that it literally looks like an iPhone on a double dose of steroids.
Google Phone Photos
[Photos via The Unlockr]
This new Google Phone is expected to launch in February 2010 with the other powered-by-Snapdragon phones will be coming out i.e Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, HTC Dragon etc.
First I shared you the entire step-by-step tutorial on how you can root HTC Hero and install custom ROM on it.
Now I’m sharing this tutorial on how you can root Motorola Droid Android 2.0 (and also works with Android 2.0.1).
If you’re still unsure what rooting does, it’s just like jaibreaking your iPhone or iPod Touch, or hacking your Nokia S60 hone to get access to the firmware files and modify them as you like.
Android 2.0.1 OTA software update was recently released for the Droid, so that’s the firmware used in this tutorial by AllDroid.
How to Root Motorola Droid (Android 2.0.1)
Just follow the steps below to root your Droid running on Android 2.0. It is recommended though to update to the latest Android 2.0.1 software update.
1. Download the Android 2.0.1 ROM OTA update for Droid from the discussion thread here.
2. Now rename this ROM file to update.zip (recommended) or choose.zip depending on the recovery image you are using.
3. Transfer the file to the root of your SD card. Remember, NOT in any folders.
4. Power off the phone and then turn back on while holding the X key.
5. When you see a “/!” symbol, press both the Vol+ and Camera keys together.
6. Rest is simple. Just follow the onscreen instructions.
7. Reboot the Droid and you’re done!
I think rooting the Droid is way simpler than doing it on HTC Hero. You can now run “su” commands from the adb shell.
We’ve seen many themes for Ubuntu but the only OS theme left for Ubuntu was, Android.
This Android theme, Genoid, brings Android-styled interface to you Lunux with matching icons, background and wallpapers. Now you can easily change GNOME desktop to Android.
This theme comes in many Android flavours that I’m sure you’d love to try out.
I’m sure all those who own a HTC Windows Mobile phone like the Diamond, Touch Pro etc would definitely want to give Android a try.
Now thanks to a very simple tutorial posted by Kong Technology, HTC Windows Mobile users can try out Android on their devices without actually replacing WinMo.
How to Run Android on Windows Mobile Phone
To get Android running on your phone, just follow the simple steps below:
1. First step is to visit this website and locate the latest Android package for your phone. These Android packages have been modified for HTC WinMo phones.
2. Now download the latest version of HaRET which is the Windows Mobile application that allows you to boot into Android.
3. Unzip everything from the Android package & HaRET into the root of your external storage. For the Diamond, you need to unzip into its internal storage root.
4. Next step is to get the correct startup.txt file. Visit here to get it.
5. Once all the above steps are completed, start HaRET from inside Windows Mobile. Your phone should reboot directly into Android!
Data connection might not work on this version of Android on HTC WinMo phones, but if you still wan tto give it a try, follow this guide.
Want to earn money online for FREE? I am here to show you how!!
I have made $1,000's online simply by clicking ads for money! Refer others and you can earn even more! Below are the best, most stable sites that you can join to make some easy money!
NeoBux: Over 3 million members!! Online over 2 years, More than$20 Million USDPaid Out! INSTANT Payout, $2.00 Minimum; Up to 100% Referral Earnings. I have already been paid over $6,000 byNeoBux, Instantly every time!! NeoBux pays to PayPal, AlertPay, and NETELLER!!
Here are a few payment proofs of $$ paid INSTANTLY byNeoBux to my PayPal Account!!
Join NeoBux right now and start making your own money!
It’s been almost a month since Motorola Droid was released by Verizon and now we’re already hearing news of Motorola Droid 2.0 aka Sholes Tablet.
Mobile Android, a Chinese website has posted the first live photos of Sholes Tablet (codename), which looks like an upgrade to Droid.
Motorola Droid 2.0 features the same 550MHz OMAP TI 3430 CPU as of Droid. It is expected that Droid 2.0 aka Sholes Tablet will run on Android 2.0 or most probably at Android 2.1 like we saw it on the leaked photos of HTC Hero.
Other features include:
3.7? touch screen (800 x 480 resolutio)
8 megapixel camera
HDMI port
3.5mm headset jack
UMTS/HSPA
Xenon flash
Sholes Tablet won’t have a physical keyboard like that in Droid. It is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2010, when at the same time we’ll be seeing XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson.
Just today I did a tutorial on how you can root your HTC Hero and install the latest Amon Ra Recovery Image.
Now if you’re looking for installing and loading a new custom ROM i.e MoDaCO 2.9 or later, on your HTC Hero, I’d recommend you carefully follow the tutorial below.
How to Install a Custom ROM on HTC Hero
Things You Should Know:
I’m using an unlocked HTC Hero running on stock firmware 2.73.x.x and I rooted and installed a new recovery image using this tutorial.
Create a Nandroid backup of your phone before proceeding. This is just a precaution you should take in case anything goes wrong.
A wipe has to be done while loading a new ROM, so again, backup your phone i.e contacts, apps, settings, messages etc. [How to Backup SMS on Android]
This method also works with Sprint Hero.
The Tutorial
Before you proceed, I hope you read the above lines I wrote and have rooted your phone using this tutorial: How to Root HTC Hero and Install RA Recovery Image.
1. Download any custom ROM that you want to install/load on your HTC Hero. Download MoDaCo 2.9 from here – My favourtite ROM!
**In case of Sprint Hero, make sure the ROM you’re downloading is compatible with your phone.
2. Rename the ROM you just downloaded as update.zip
3. Now plug in your Hero to the computer and from the notifications, mount the SD card.
4. Copy the ROM file (update.zip) to your SD card. DON’T copy it into any folder.
5. Unplug the phone and turn it off.
6. Turn off the phone and turn it on into Recovery Mode by holding down Home and Power buttons to turn it on. Keep holding them until you see some text written in green.
7. In the Recovery Mode, select “Wipe” and then select Wipe data partition.
8. Once the wipe is completed, go to “Flash update image” and select Apply sdcard:update.zip
9. Confirm the installation and then sit back and watch while the ROM is being installed/loaded.
10. When completed, reboot the phone. Your new ROM should be up and running now!
always wanted to root my HTC Hero and install custom MoDaCo ROM on it as I had heard a lot about that ROM because it’s very fast, highly optimized and offers much more than the stock ROM on HTC Hero.
I followed various tutorials and articles on the Internet about rooting HTC Hero which is on stock firmware 2.73.x.x and decided to write my own step-by-step tutorial.
How to Root HTC Hero and Install RA Recovery Image
Please follow the steps very carefully and remember, I’m NOT responsible for any damage you do to your phone.
Things You Should Know:
I’m using an unlocked HTC Hero running on stock firmware 2.73.x.x and has never been rooted before, nor installed any other modifications on it.
You MUST have Android 1.5 Cupcake installed on your Hero or simply close this page and don’t proceed – Google is your friend then!
This procedure also works with Sprint Hero, though I haven’t confirmed it myself.
Make sure you have already created a backup of your microSD card on your computer.
The Tutorial
1.On your phone, go to Settings > Applications > check Unknown sources.
2. Go back (into Settings menu) >SD card & phone storage > press Unmount SD card.
3. Once your card is unmounted, now press Format SD card.
4. Now mount your phone on to the computer by plugging the phone into the compuer via USB, pull down the notification bar and click USB Conencted. Then click Mount.
5.Then, download the two files given below. That’s the Recovery Flasher app and the latest Amon Ra Recovery Image.
6. Now copy both these files to the root of your SD card. Means, don’t put them in any folder. Then unplug your phone from the computer.
7. Now use a file manager on your phone like ASTRO File Manager (get one from the Android Market) to go to your SD card.
8. Now open the file FlashRec.apk and install the application.
9. From the applications list, open Recovery Flasher, click on Backup Recovery Image and wait for it to finish.
10. Once done, click on the empty box above Download Recovery Image button and type the following WITHOUT mistakes: /sdcard/recovery-RA-hero-v1.3.2.img
11. Then click on the Flash Custom RecoveryImage button and wait for it to finish.
12. Turn off the phone and turn it on into Recovery Mode by holding down Home and Power buttons to turn it on. Keep holding them until you see some text written in green.
13. That’s it! If you see the screen (like shown below), it means you did everything fine!
Now if you want to install/load a new ROM in your Hero, follow this tutorial: How to Install a Custom ROM on HTC Hero
The image you see above is of RA-herov1.2.3. You should have a slightly different interface options with the new RA-herov1.3.2
You can also watch the video by Unlockr attached below. But remember, when the red box appears telling not to type what the video says, then you should follow STEP 10.
Alot has been going on at HTC for the HTC Hero. They promised us with an Android 2.0 update soon, but still we haven’t heard anything from them since then.
And then, recently came up the leaked screenshots of someone running Android 2.1 on HTC Hero with Sense UI.
A developer at the xda-developers forums has ported Android 2.0 Eclair to HTC Hero which is an AOSP release. AOSP means no proprietary apps like HTC’s or Google’s in the OS.
I built this rom from sources.
AOSP-Eclair-2.0 (Beta1)
This is just the first beta version by the developer and claims no responsibility of any damage you do to your phone. The OS is fine and almost everything works.
Some known issues in AOSP-Eclair-2.0 are buggy camera, calendar app not funtional and bluetooth audio is also not working.
RSS Feed
Twitter
10:56 AM
SHAZIA MALIK
After all the Google Nexus One hype going on around, one questions that was in everyone’s mind was when will this phone actually be released and how much will it cost when compared to the iPhone. 
I’m sure all those who own a HTC Windows Mobile phone like the Diamond, Touch Pro etc would definitely want to give Android a try.
