"Verizon's Motorola Droid is a brand-new phone today. Like many smartphones before it, the Droid has been rooted so that owners of the Android 2.0-based smartphone can install multitouch support (including pinch-to-zoom gestures), enhanced themes and other previously forbidden goodies."
Post a Comment
Member since:
2007-07-25
Member since:
2005-07-08
That's great that another Android device has been rooted, though a few haven't been yet... I probably will get modded down for this, but the Palm Pre or Pixi, simply by putting it in developer mode and using the SDK (novaterm/novacom) to access a Linux root prompt, is *already* rooted from day one, and very easy to mod because all of the applications, including the built-in ones, are made of Javascript - i.e. text files that can be easily patched.
See http://webos-internals.org/wiki/Main_Page and see how much can be done with WebOS devices to hack them, everything from themes to installing native Linux programs - with no need to do anything to the device that Palm doesn't allow. (Well, if you start tethering Sprint won't like it, but Palm has built a device open enough to do that anyway, among other things.) In fact, much of this stuff doesn't even need you to "root" the device to do, but if you need root access, it's there.
Palm has arguably built the most open mainstream handset on the market, and they've promised they aren't going to close it up later. It even includes source code for all of the OSS software and a license PDF file on the device, including the muPDF PDF software that's being sued about. (The issue is being aggregated with non-GPL software as a library, not that their source has been stolen.)
Member since:2005-07-06
The N900 is highly open too, from a developer standpoint but I guess it's not really as mainstream as the Palm devices. I hope to see them both successful. I like that Android is reasonable open and reasonably powerful but I'm disappointing that it's so far off normal Linux standards (such as they are).
Member since:2005-07-08
The Nokia Internet tablets are very open too, I have an N810, though I'm thinking of getting rid of it now that I have a Pre. It is like really like a Linux computer, and now with the N900, it's really a phone rather than a UMPC.
Of course, the Pre's software is more easy to modify because of it being all text files, but the fact that it's all Javascript as far as official SDK apps go is double-edged, it means there's less official games available. (Not that you'd run a lot of games on an N900 either.)
Member since:2006-07-14
Yeah, but I've always though of the Internet tablets as more of a computer, rather than a phone. I expect computers to be open, phones are usually not. I must admit, I am pretty amazed at the n900. I didn't think Nokia would release a phone that open and easy to program. I just wish it was half its current price.
Member since:2005-07-06
Too bad the device itself isn't all that great (in my opinion, of course). I found it to be dog slow compared to both the iPhone 3Gs and the Droid, the latter of which I have.
Also, they're not very reliable, in the experience of my friends at least. One of them is already on their 5th(!) Pre.
He's now moving to the Droid.
A co-worker has the N900. Really, really nice, and I'd say I like it better than the Droid. But the $600 on the phone is a tough pill to swallow. Subsidizing it makes it more manageable.
Member since:2005-07-08
Also, they're not very reliable, in the experience of my friends at least. One of them is already on their 5th(!) Pre.
Well, I'm on my first Pre, thank G-d. The build quality isn't what it should be though, that's one thing Blackberry, Samsung, HTC, and Motorolla definitely have over it. I always take good care and am gentle with my hardware, and it's insured, so I'm not worried about it.
I'm not very disappointed at the speed, however, it's much faster than my N810, and it's faster than my 1st generation iPod touch was (well, except OpenGL games, but that's not on the Pre yet and I never was much into making a phone into a Gameboy instead of a communications device, PIM, and internet device). It has a very fast web browsing experience and all of the apps I run, run well. Maybe the 3GS is faster, and possibly the Droid, but we're already talking about something that benchmarks faster than a regular iPhone 3G here, that's quite good enough for me.
Member since:
2006-01-10
pinch-to-zoom gestures work on the German version of the Droid. Pinch-to-zoom gestures also work just fine on the HTC Droid Eris. No one knows why there is no pinch zoom on the Droid, AndroidAndMe ran an article trying to point out who to blame (Verizon, Motorola, or Google) but they couldn't come up with a logical answer.
http://androidandme.com/2009/11/phones/idont-do-pinch-zoom-but-eris...
BTW, the double tap is just fine, but then again the Droid is my first "smart" phone.
Member since:
2006-01-02
Well, now people get to play. It's hardly surprising that Verizon would have features disabled. Given that the platform as a whole is so open, of course they can only keep it locked down to a small degree.
The question is, do you lose anything by making your phone hackable (the good kind of hackable)? If not, then let's just see what users do, and hope Verizon does not go shooting themselves in the foot.
Member since:2006-07-26
The question is, do you lose anything by making your phone hackable (the good kind of hackable)? If not, then let's just see what users do, and hope Verizon does not go shooting themselves in the foot.
Rooting your Droid won't get around some of the things that Verizon has disabled. I think Exchange support for one will still be blocked because they're doing it at the network level based on protocol or something.
Stupid Verizon. Pay us $45 a month for unlimited (limited to 5GB) access to the internet (well, most of the internet, exchange servers cost you more to connect to).
Member since:2009-12-12
Member since:
2007-05-01
It think this is great. This totally is what the linux, and android community is all about. I hope that both Motorola and Verizon look at this with the idea that this sort of interaction with a device is what the higher end consumer wants. Iphone does not do custom like this.
Member since:
2007-01-22
