Sony Ericsson is properly aware of the Android modding community and as opposed to other OEM&rsquos who try and squash it, they&rsquore performing their part to support support it. No matter whether it&rsquos developing a custom ROM or modifying the kernel, the Sony Ericsson Developer program is aimed at helping these devs cook up good and stable custom ROMs and they&rsquore beginning with a group of devs named &ldquoFreeXperia.&rdquo These are the guys responsible for creating custom ROMs based on CyanognenMod and porting/modifying them to various Xperia devices lke the Play and Arc.

Sony Ericsson was one of &mdash if not the first Android OEM to announce they would present the selection to unlock the bootloaders in their 2011 Xperia lineup. Karl-Johan Dahlstr&oumlm, Head of Developer Relations for Sony Ericsson and all about nice guy (whom I had the pleasure of meeting at E3 this year), has been performing a great job at keeping Sony Ericsson devices open thanks to his close perform with developers. According to Mr. Dahlstr&oumlm,

&ldquoWe firmly believe in the openness of Android and we are actually impressed by the massive activity shown in our items. By getting supportive and open, we hope to both learn from the open community, and also share expertise when that is feasible.

When it came to Sony Ericsson&rsquos involvement with the FreeXperia developers,

We were impressed by the passion shown and decided to assist out with some bits and pieces. A couple of proprietary solutions needed to be explained and we helped them with that. We also supported the group with approximately 20 devices, to make their work simpler.

Sony Ericsson would also like to remind you that unlocking the bootloader and loading a custom ROM on their devices will more than most likely void your warranty. A risk we&rsquove been willing to take given that rooting our G1&primes back in the day. For your standard, typical Joe Schmoe consumer, keeping your device is 100% stock is usually the wisest choice. Either way, it&rsquos refreshing to see the actions Sony Ericsson has taken to support the Android modding community and something other Android OEM&rsquos can definitely learn a thing or two from.

[By way of SonyEricssonBlog]

Android Telephone Fans

The Emulator ROMs Android App by coolcode.org provides thousands of Emulator ROMS for NES, SNES, GBA and Genesis. The app offers a very nice user interface which makes searching for ROMs easy. From the main menu there are 4 main icons, one for each system that the app offers ROMs for.

Once you select a system you will see the main menu divided into categories for each type of ROM that the app offers for that specific system. Once you select a category you will see a list of ROMs, their file size and what country its from. You can change the country by selecting one from the menu located on the bottom of the screen. Each ROM has it’s own page where you can see how many people have downloaded the ROM, view it’s file size, category, screen shots, add the ROM to your favorites and even download the ROM right from the app. You can access your favorites from the main menu of the app.

Overall, this is a great app that offers a clean and easy to use user interface for finding and downloading ROMs for NES, SNES, GBA and Genesis for your Android device. At the time of this review the Emulator ROMs Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

Download Emulator ROMs

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The T-Mobile myTouch 4G (MT4G) is one of the fastest Android SmartPhones available today, even over and above the T-Mobile G2 as far as the processor goes.  It’s one of the nicest phones I’ve owned, except for the T-Mobile customized version of Sense on the phone called mySense.  Don’t get me wrong, I really do like Sense, but I also love plain vanilla Android.  Each interface has its own advantages and disadvantages.

I’ve set out on a mission to find out what ROMs are available for the MT4G, present you with what I’ve found, and list the current options available to upgrade or customize your device to your way of working.  I’m not in any way testing all these ROMs.  I’m not going to see what is working and what is not as they are updated so frequently, it would be pointless.  What I am doing is making sure that each ROM is what it says it is and that it will boot and run on the MT4G.

I’m also not trying to tell you which ROM is best, as you all have your own requirements and preferences and as such will choose the ROM that best serves your needs.

I have included screen shots for all the ROMs to give you some idea as to how they look.  Many of them look the same as they are running different ports of the same base ROM.  I will attach a gallery at the bottom of the article with all the images for those of you who want to see the full resolution screen shots.

These are all the ROMs that I could find that are available today.  What I can tell you is that Enomther is working on a version of “TheOfficial” series as I’m writing this article and this is a ROM I am very much looking forward to. He does not have an ETA yet as he likes to make sure everything is working as close to 100% as possible before he makes his releases.

**As usual, we are not responsible for any damage that may be caused by testing any of these ROMs.  If you don’t know what you’re doing then don’t try this at home.

eViL D: (Follow on twitter)

One of the most active developers for the MT4G is eViL D, who has been constantly pushing out new updates to 3 ROMs that he has released.  The 3 ROMs he is actively working on are:

1. eViL’s Q&D MIUI Port
Current Version: 0.4.1 – Fluff You!
Last Update: 12/19/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

One of the most interesting ROMs he has at the moment is his port of the MIUI ROM.  For those of you who don’t know what MIUI is, it’s an amazing ROM that was put out for the Google Nexus One by a group in China with a completely custom UI.  Originally written for Chinese users only, the latest version have been completely translated to English.  This is one of the most ambitious ROMs ever created, but it works extremely well.  They took the best aspects of many other devices or OS’s and combined them into a single, very user friendly interface.  If you haven’t tried MIUI before, you should give it a try.  You may never go back to anything else.

2. eViL 4G-Z Official Port of Desire Z (1.72.466.4)
Current Version: 0.5
Last Update: 12/19/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

The HTC Desire Z is the generic version of the T-Mobile G2 available in Europe.  As with all HTC branded devices, it has HTC Sense as the interface, only this time it’s the HD version.

3. eViL 4G-HD Official Port of Desire HD (1.75.75.2)

Current Version: 0.1.2
Last Update: 12/19/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

The Desire HD is the large screen HTC device similar to the HD2.  It has HTC Sense HD as the interface.

TeamSilence (Follow on Twitter)

1. Iced glacier
Current Version: 1.1.2
Last Update: 12/9/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

Iced Glacier is the very first custom ROM released for the MT4G.  It’s pretty much the stock mySense with all the junky applications removed and heavily tweaked.  There is a themed and non-themed version for those of you who like to have a choice.  The screen shots below are from the non-themed version.

Zinx (Follow on Twitter)

1. CyanogenMod (NIGHTLY)
Current Version: beta
Last Update: 12/17/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

We all know and love CyanogenMod and it’s finally starting to appear for the MT4G.  We first had a very early pre-release from KMobs that just gave us a taster of what’s to come.  Then a couple of days ago the first real beta was released by Zinx in the XDA forums.  This build is not appearing in the nightlies folders on CyanogenMod.com so I’m guessing it’s still not officially supported.

Gr8Gorilla (Follow on Twitter)

Gr8Gorilla is known to me mainly for his excellent Kernels.  I was using his latest Kernel when I was testing CM6.1 and if fixed some issues and ran like a dream.

1. GorillaSens DHD-MT4G V2.0 FINAL
Current Version: 2.0
Last Update: 12/17/2010
Homepage:  XDA Forum

Another Desire HD ROM based of the latest Sense HD.

I hope this short guide helps you make a choice, or at least steers you in the right direction to find some of the available ROM options for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G.

Don’t forget to let us know which ROMs you’ve tried and the location of any ROMs we may have missed.

View full post on AndroidSPIN

The Gingerbread source code hasn’t even been released yet, and people are already trying to get Gingerbread on their devices. To make clear which devices are supported by certain ROMs, XDA-developers has made a list of working ROMs. Because they’re just ripped off the emulator, don’t expect even the basic stuff to work well. However, you can still play with it to see what the Gingerbread UI is like. Besides, new stuff is always cool to test, right?

Please note: These ROMs are only for playing with and testing. They’re absolutely not ready for daily use. AndroidGuys is not responsible for bricking your phone or any other property damage. If your phone suddenly blows your head off, it wasn’t us. Be warned.

Check it out after the break.

HTC HD2

IcedCube GingerHD2
Developer: IcedCube

SPGinger HD2
Developer: spbeeking

HTC Droid Eris

KaosGingerbread
Developer: punk.kaos

HTC Hero

Gingerbread
Developer:  tenfar

HTC Hero CDMA

aospGBMod
Developer:  aosp

HTC Desire

GingerNinja
Developer: AdamG

Gingerbread
Developer: TheRedDrake
_{Based on the EVO 4G Gingerbread Port by Echoside}

HTC Wildfire

HCDR.Gingerfire
Developer: HCDR.Jacob

HTC EVO 4G

Gingerbread
Developer: echoside

HTC Incredible

Incredible Gingerbread
Developer:  r2DoesInc

HTC Sapphire

Gingerbread
Developer:  seo

What are you waiting for? Go check it out, but keep the warning above in mind

Source: XDA

All Gingerbread ROMs Running On Phones originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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We’ve just gotten a tip that Motorola is asking members of their forums to post links to modded Cliq 2.1 ROMs. Motorola plans to take down the ROMs that talented developers worked ever so hard on, claiming that they want Cliq users to have only the official release. According to Motorola, some Cliq users would download a modded ROM, not knowing the difference between it and the official release. Motorola is trying to ensure that Cliq users get the correct update, but i think they’re going about it the wrong way.

This is a somewhat arrogant move on Moto’s part. First, they delayed the 2.1 release from Q2 to Q4, and now they’re trying to take down modded ROMs for the Cliq. Maybe Motorola is just jealous that people in the Android community got 2.1 on the Cliq before they did, but we’ll leave that one up to you. Just when we thought Moto was on the right track, after unexpectedly releasing 2.1 for the Cliq last week, they go and pull something like this. How sad.

Motorola looking to pull Cliq 2.1 ROMs originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

VOTE NOW!  What is your take on all the Android Market alternatives?

View full post on AndroidGuys

Do you believe in miracles? This was the question for the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team. The answer back then was yes. Thanks to Koush, miracles are still possible today. He has made a custom recovery available on the Droid X. You can download it for free on his website, or do the thing that I will do, and download it for $2 off f the Market to support Koush. The works of Koush are explained on his website, and are also explained after the break.

Read More…

Droid X Custom ROMs are possible

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

One of of the best Droid developers in the game, Stephen Bird, recently  had a chance to dig into the Droid X system dump and confirmed what many of us had feared.  Yes, that’s right, the Droid X is locked down Motorola Milestone style, locked bootloader and all.  In fact, it is the same encryption that is locking the Droid X bootloader that is locking the Motorola Milestone bootloader.

So, what exactly does this mean? Well, basically there is a good chance that developers will get root access, but custom ROMs will be damn near impossible.  Milestone developers have been hacking the encryption for over 6 months now and have come up with very little. Custom ROMs probably will not happen I am sorry to say.

As depressing news as this is, are you still going to buy the Droid X? Would you buy a phone you couldn’t root?

Source: Android Police

NOTE: Droid X Bootloader Encrypted, Custom ROMs Probably Not Happening originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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View full post on AndroidGuys

While users of other Android phones have been enjoying their custom ROMs for quite some time, Motorola Milestone users have not been as fortunate. The problem lies in the fact that Milestoners (ha, thats a funny name for them) can’t unlock the phone’s bootloader. This makes loading custom ROMs a great deal more difficult, but not yet impossible.

Word amongst the community is that they’re close to a “kexec” solution. Employing a kexec means a new kernel would be executed on top of the stock one without rebooting, and at that point a custom ROM is fairly easy to slip in.

[via engadget mobile]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

Motorola Milestone Close to Custom ROMs

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums