The Android Thread

[Death Stryke]

Samsung couldn't be more subtle in aping the iPod touch in its upcoming PMP Actually looks like a chinese ripoff

 

[KWC]

looks like the galaxy phone series

[Solitaire]

looks like the galaxy phone series

 

Yeah The Galaxy S was criticized plenty for looking like the iPhone too.

[Superfrag]

Haha, don't worry I'm not intimidated by the procedure. I love doing this sort of thing

 

Yeah I'll do it before loading anything on the phone (still will charge first to keep my "all devices must be fully charged before usage" Dad and show him how stock android looks before i put my hands on it) and then start off with installing appinstaller after upgrading the market to the new one and then proceed with the rest of the (somewhat HUGE) list of downloads I have planned .

 

I've already downloaded the SDK for 2.3 . I'll go ahead and install and add to path and get stuff ready.

 

Any no-subscription solution to wipe the device clean (I usually have some app like this on any phone even if I've never lost a phone in my life) in case it falls into the wrong hands? I'll put Lookout mobile security on it but only the premium version can wipe user data remotely using an SMS if it is lost. I found something for froyo on XDA from July-August but that xda developer hasn't updated the app or finished it. I think that was a test version of Autowipe.

 

Nice! Well, enjoy your phone then. Seems like you're quite excited to get it.

 

I've not looked into any solution for what you're mentioning, but I remember Android Police covering an excellent security app that requires root. Don't remember the name.

 

Also found the MyPhoneExplorer client for Android! OMG I just love MyPhoneExplorer from back in the days when I used to have a Sony Ericsson K750. One software that works perfect all the time unlike Nokia PC Suite which either works brilliantly or makes me tear my hair out.

 

 

Btw what should I use to move apps from one internal partition to the SD-card-like partition (I'm assuming the Nexus S still shows 2 memories and not just 1 16gb partition or something) to prevent the smaller portion from filling up??

 

And if I want to load apks is it alright if I use this --> http://www.appbrain.com/app/appinstaller(christmas)/com.IQBS.android.appInstaller after copying all the apps to the phone rather than have to stick a USB cord to it and use adb??

 

Also, the Nexus S does charge via the USB cable when connected to the PC right? Sorry if I sound stupid, but I'm asking cos my current phone doesn't and I've kinda gotten used to the fact.

 

You won't need to move apps from the internal partition to the NAND. 1 GB is already huge enough, and all the games and apps that require more content download them to the NAND anyway. And you don't need anything incase you want to move apps, the OS itself presents you with the option.

 

I've not used AppInstaller, I normally install through Market or ADB.. will give it a try though.

 

And obviously it charges via the USB cable. But it's slower than using the wall outlet..

 

 

If I decide to root later, then I'd need to erase everything on the phone and restore.. not something I want to do.

 

Inevitably I'll come across something like Titanium Backup which I'll want but will need a rooted phone, besides I went to the extent of getting my own dev certificate on a Nokia using that damned OPDA symbian website in chinese and making posts there until I was able to get the privileges to get a certificate specific to my phone

 

With that said, no way I'll let an Android phone alone without playing with it to the max

 

 

Like DS says, no custom roms, I'll only use launchers like ADW EX or LauncherPro and such to change the phone's looks, or put a live wallpaper on it.

 

Titanium Backup is a must for me, I always have it installed and backing up my stuff if possible. I like Google's cloud backup, but it doesn't backup the app settings and stuff..

 

You're going to eat your words with saying "no custom ROM's". I already have flashed a custom ROM, the MoDaCo r2.. lol. It has some nice tweaks incorporated.. which actually made no difference to the speed of the phone. xD

 

And right now CM7 is in alpha stage, I'm waiting for RC1, then will give that a try. I already miss some really nice CM6.1.1 stuff from my now sold G2.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Superfrag

[TRMNTR]

^^ switched to ADW from LauncherPro?

 

Not unless AnderWeb decides to include customs dockbars. Still though, ADW EX is awesome!

[Solitaire]

 

Titanium Backup is a must for me, I always have it installed and backing up my stuff if possible. I like Google's cloud backup, but it doesn't backup the app settings and stuff..

 

You're going to eat your words with saying "no custom ROM's". I already have flashed a custom ROM, the MoDaCo r2.. lol. It has some nice tweaks incorporated.. which actually made no difference to the speed of the phone. xD

 

And right now CM7 is in alpha stage, I'm waiting for RC1, then will give that a try. I already miss some really nice CM6.1.1 stuff from my now sold G2.

 

So what are the current custom ROM options for the Nexus S and, if there aren't any differences in speed, why put Modaco r2 (work in progress right? ) on it if I can get the utilities included by other means without the custom ROM?? Wouldn't I be better off just downloading and installing the apps I want along with a custom launcher if I wanted to change how it looked?

 

Also how badly can I mess up the device with a custom ROM flashing attempt?

Edited December 29, 2010 by Gaurav - Solitaire

[Solitaire]

Can I do this instead to gain root on the Nexus S - http://android.modaco.com/content/google-nexus-s-nexuss-modaco-com/327000/23-dec-grh78-superboot-rooting-the-nexus-s/ and which one should I download ??

[Superfrag]

Not unless AnderWeb decides to include customs dockbars. Still though, ADW EX is awesome!

 

ADW.Launcher EX does have a hidden dockbar which is like the Zeam Launcher dock, and it has presets as well. Very useful stuff.

 

 

So what are the current custom ROM options for the Nexus S and, if there aren't any differences in speed, why put Modaco r2 (work in progress right? ) on it if I can get the utilities included by other means without the custom ROM?? Wouldn't I be better off just downloading and installing the apps I want along with a custom launcher if I wanted to change how it looked?

 

Also how badly can I mess up the device with a custom ROM flashing attempt?

 

Currently, MoDaCo r2 and CM7 Alpha. I'm pretty sure CM7 Alpha has quite a lot of bugs, so didn't bother to try that out. I flashed MoDaCo for the heck of it, and looking at the changelog, seems like a useful thing to do.

 

You can get utilities by other means, yes. But if something screws up and you do a restore of the original stock ROM, most likely it won't have root..

 

You really can't mess up a custom ROM installation. It's almost impossible to mess it up. The only thing I can think of is if you don't wipe internal data when the ROM maker asks you to. I always backup using Titanium and do a wipe. Also, the option of making backups of your current build is also there..

[Superfrag]

Can I do this instead to gain root on the Nexus S - http://android.modaco.com/content/google-nexus-s-nexuss-modaco-com/327000/23-dec-grh78-superboot-rooting-the-nexus-s/ and which one should I download ??

 

When you switch on the phone, you can go to settings --> about phone and see the build info. Apply whichever file according to that. Don't forget to fastboot oem unlock first.

[Death Stryke]

Oh flashing is addictive like hell!. There was a time I flashed thrice in a day. Today u finally restore n setup v7.2 and next day u see v7.5 is out. N the changelogs look so good. A new theme or kernel or some other optimizations. You cannot avoid it . Besides the no wipe roms r what I use. Apps n data stay in place. So no hassle!

[Death Stryke]

Btw is there a way to change the background in gallery. it always shows a stretched pixelated version of some image in the gallery. I hate that. Abt way to change that?

[Titanium]

Can anyone link me to a "Dummies guide to Android" or something along those lines?? Im thinking of spending 20k within 2 or 3 months for a new phone, but I want to become a "Gaurav" in Android and get all the stuff inside my brain before I even get it

[Solitaire]

When you switch on the phone, you can go to settings --> about phone and see the build info. Apply whichever file according to that. Don't forget to fastboot oem unlock first.

 

Now I want to know which way to go about unlocking the bootloader and rooting.

 

Two options:

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882333 - Superboot (the easy way)

 

OR

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875875 (the slightly more difficult way)

 

 

 

 

1. Why am I asking instead of choosing the easy way?? Well cos I saw this on the forum thread from people who have tried out the Superboot hack on Page 5:

 

Thanks for the Superboot Paul. It worked like a charm!

 

However I'm having a problem getting back into bootloader with the volume up button. Anyone else having this? (I can adb reboot bootloader, but the point of this phone is to have on-the-go access to everything :-) )

 

I seem to have lost that ability as well. I had to use adb or cwm 3.0 to flash Paul's latest rom

 

Should I be concerned about this? If yes, why? And should I instead go for the 2nd method using ADB? What would you do and is there any real difference in the end result after the 2?

 

 

2. In the midst of this where would Nandroid fit in (to back up the stock ROM in case I need to restore the phone to Stock 2.3 at some point of time). Found this installation guide - http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/04/16/complete-guide-how-to-fully-back-up-and-restore-your-android-phone-using-nandroid-backup-and-clockworkmod-rom-manager/ - for nandroid but when should I do this? After doing one of the above 2?? And can I still do this if I use the Superboot trick from Paul??

 

 

 

3. Also, where does that OTA update that went out come into the picture here? (GRH55 to GRH78) Should I install it before starting the fastboot OEM unlock?? If not, when??

 

And where exactly do I find this update even? How should I go about it??

 

 

 

 

4. Can any individual phone have multiple ROMs on the phone itself such that you can boot into them when you want? I know, noob question

How does having ROM Manager (/premium version) help.

 

 

Please try and answer my barrage of questions. big thanks to anyone that tries to.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Gaurav - Solitaire

[Solitaire]

Can anyone link me to a "Dummies guide to Android" or something along those lines?? Im thinking of spending 20k within 2 or 3 months for a new phone, but I want to become a "Gaurav" in Android and get all the stuff inside my brain before I even get it

 

 

[Superfrag]

Now I want to know which way to go about unlocking the bootloader and rooting.

 

Two options:

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882333 - Superboot (the easy way)

 

OR

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875875 (the slightly more difficult way)

 

 

 

 

1. Why am I asking instead of choosing the easy way?? Well cos I saw this on the forum thread from people who have tried out the Superboot hack on Page 5:

 

 

 

 

 

Should I be concerned about this? If yes, why? And should I instead go for the 2nd method using ADB? What would you do and is there any real difference in the end result after the 2?

 

 

2. In the midst of this where would Nandroid fit in (to back up the stock ROM in case I need to restore the phone to Stock 2.3 at some point of time). Found this installation guide - http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/04/16/complete-guide-how-to-fully-back-up-and-restore-your-android-phone-using-nandroid-backup-and-clockworkmod-rom-manager/ - for nandroid but when should I do this? After doing one of the above 2?? And can I still do this if I use the Superboot trick from Paul??

 

 

 

3. Also, where does that OTA update that went out come into the picture here? (GRH55 to GRH78) Should I install it before starting the fastboot OEM unlock?? If not, when??

 

And where exactly do I find this update even? How should I go about it??

 

 

 

 

4. Can any individual phone have multiple ROMs on the phone itself such that you can boot into them when you want? I know, noob question

How does having ROM Manager (/premium version) help.

 

 

Please try and answer my barrage of questions. big thanks to anyone that tries to.

 

1. Do the Koush method. It has a higher success rate, so it's a no brainer. It's the same method I followed.

 

2. I would do the 2nd way anyways, more control over each step and less chance of things going wrong. Paul's VISIONary was also another one click root app, and had it's own set of problems as well. The manual, longer Rage Against the Cage method was more efficient.

Backing up the stock ROM using Nandroid is not really that friendly, since when you flash it, you won't have root. You'll have to flash the SuperUser.zip file as well. After fastboot oem unlock and rooting your stock ROM etc, do the Nandroid. Nandroid is mainly to backup your current ROM if you are flashing another ROM. A fall back option. It does not really come into the picture when you are trying to root your phone.

 

3. Don't install the OTA update.. do the root as soon as you get the phone, and flash the MoDaCo ROM which has everything. It's based on stock only, and hardly any differences. Check on XDA NS Development section, I'm pretty sure I saw some guides regarding the same.

 

4. Nope, not possible. ROM Manager premium version allows you to take multiple Nandroid backups, and download ROM's to the phone itself, instead of downloading from PC and transferring to your phone. Flashing is a fast procedure, even if you need to wipe. Titanium Backup FTW. Nandroid backups are very helpful incase you run into some weird problems.

[Solitaire]

What if I'm not interested in the Modaco ROM for now until the ROM scene gets a lot more active (seeing as how the phone is still pretty new)??

 

Can I still unlock bootloader, root and then do the OTA update?

How exactly do I do the update? Does the phone detect updates automatically when I go online via wifi?

Or should I do the *#*#2432546#*#* followed by going into Settings>About Phone>System Update ??

 

And can I update before rooting and then proceed with unlock + rooting? A rooted phone can't receive the latest updates right?

[Shantz]

What if I'm not interested in the Modaco ROM for now until the ROM scene gets a lot more active (seeing as how the phone is still pretty new)??

 

Can I still unlock bootloader, root and then do the OTA update?

How exactly do I do the update? Does the phone detect updates automatically when I go online via wifi?

Or should I do the *#*#2432546#*#* followed by going into Settings>About Phone>System Update ??

 

And can I update before rooting and then proceed with unlock + rooting? A rooted phone can't receive the latest updates right?

Unlocked bootloader and root do not prevent OTA updates, but of course, your phone will most probably become unrooted again after the update.

Phone detects updates automatically (Need not go through wi-fi. It will detect over edge also). The checking method sometimes works sometimes doesnt. Going to System Update does not correspond to actually checking for system updates on google phones (I have seen motorola phones actually doing the check though). In most phones, that place is used if you have already received the update notification but you clicked "update later" on it.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Shantz

[mayank12345]

any idea when word lens of iphone coming to android market ?

[TRMNTR]

Latest HS!

 

[theneurotoxin]

N the changelogs look so good.

 

 

are you serious?

 

 

the guy toggles between phone dialers to keep the version numbers ticking and don't get me started about how he describes his own work.

 

agree with the other part though,you are indeed addicted

 

Edited December 30, 2010 by ArtVandelay