Droid Incredible gets rooted at long last
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 10th 2010 6:32AM
posted June 10th 2010 6:32AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted June 10th 2010 6:32AM
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Awesome!
@Jean Marc
The reason I stick with Android is because of the awesome development community!
@Paul Elmy As opposed to the awesome development community behind the iPhone?
@Jean Marc
Wifi Tether, and Overclocking here we come>>
Now if I could only get this thing to do my damn laundry........
@Vdek
I've seen both sides, and the Android community does what I consider greater things with the device, but the iPhone devs happen to do a little more (because they're bigger).
For instance, SetCPU allows me to dynamically adjust my clock speed on my Nexus One (or any other Android device). When it's asleep, it throttles down from 1ghz to 245mhz, saving me tons of battery life. When its got the screen on, but is idle from my input, I have it jump down to 768mhz (for watching/listening to media, reading web pages). There's also background apps to shut down Bluetooth and Wifi (or the APN itself) when I'm in certain locations. I don't ever have to remember to turn off Wifi/BT at work, and I don't have to ever remember to turn them back on when I leave work.
It's these low-level things that allow the Android community to do what it does. Remember, you may void your warranty by doing these things, but on the whole, Google encourages this kind of development (even for root apps!). With Apple, you're unfortunately swimming upstream all the time. They don't want developers having this low-level access to the device and OS, to guarantee the user experience. That's fine and good, but it leaves the dev community at a very clear disadvantage for writing the kind of stuff that Android devs have free reign over.
That said, I'm an Android guy at heart, but I can't help but love the iPhone as well. Apple really has created something that for 99% of users, fits all of their needs, and has an awesome user experience. These users don't want something that they run the risk of messing up by installing this or rooting that. For those of us tinkerers, Android works much better. It's only pref, the dev communities for both OSes deserve mad, mad ups.
@Level 5 : I just found out about SetCPU from your post, and as soon as I pick up an Android phone, I'm checking this out first. P.S. YAY Incredible ROOT! Even though I don't have one. And don't plan on getting one. Because I plan on getting an Evo.
@Vdek Yeah the development community that has to do Apples job for them.
@boomer7638 the snapdragon can only be OC'd to 1.113 ghz or something like that.
@angermeans
That's 11%!
@Level 5
Google should build SetCPU like functionality into Gingerbread.
@hfm Nevar, nevar!
@Jean Marc
yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!
Now that Android phones are getting posts when they're rooted, no whining please when iOS4 gets jailbroken! ;)
@Almo
As long as there aren't follow up posts like:
>What are you gonna do with your jailbroken iPhone 4?
>Now that iOS is jailbroken does that make you want an iPhone 4?
and
>iOS 4 now jailbroken, is this the end of Android?
I really like all the Apple stories that are actual stories, but all the posts that sound like these that are rife with fanboyism are the ones that make me hate Apple.
@Almo
The fact of the matter is that jailbreaking allows you to make an incredibly boring OS a bit more fun, rooting, which isn't discouraged by google like jailbreaking is from apple, make a fun OS a bit more customizable and fun. The best part is that rooting isn't even really needed on an android phone, it's just a perk. But even Joshua himself stated that an iphone without jailbreaking is kind of useless(not exact wording, but go and watch the last engadget show, he says something similar to this). The fact that you need to jailbreak your iphone/ipod to get a awesome experience on it is pretty sad.
@TickLe MY eLMo rooting still voids your warranty, and it is far harder to root than to jailbreak. Companies like HTC go to unnecessary lengths to prevent rooting, so it doesn't matter if Google don't discourage it, because the manufacturers do.
@Sam7 It depends. How difficult it is is random based on serveral factors. Rooting an Evo is very easy, using the unrevoked method. You just go to http://unrevoked.com/ and download the apk and run it.
@Sam7
I made no mention of warranty voiding on either phone, merely the views of the creators of the OS...
@TickLe MY eLMo
Funny how you refer to the iPhone OS as boring, while Android is a similar block of app buttons. Minor additions to each OS. Jailbreaking isn't a requirement to enjoy an iDevice, unless you consider Installous a must. But each to their own, something you don't seem to understand from your apparent trolling on here. I prefer iPhone OS yet do not trash Android, you seem overly aggressive about iOS, very weird...
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!! THANK GOD ANDROID FANS ARE A BIT MORE NERDY!!!
@purecussion grow up. Why are there so many childish people on both sides of the fence...
@Luffy How stupid is the average person? Now realise that 50% of the population are more stupid than that.
@RincewindWiz
A little error in the math there. You said that 50% of the population is stupider than the average person. Filling in the blanks would go like this Stupid (50%), Average (__%), Smart (__%), Brilliant (__%). If the average person is less than 50% than that group fails to be the average. Meaning that instead your analysis should go more along the lines of Stupid/Average (50%), Moderate Intelligence (30%), Intelligent (19%), Brilliant (1%).
No... I have no clue why I felt the need to point that out. Just something I do. I agree with you though, the general population is filled with moronic individuals.
@WilliamNighthawk I believe this is what the OP ment by nerdy :-P
(though I agree and your math is sound)
hooooooray! Now I can do other things that it can already do!
I download an apps call "easy tether" and it work with Evo so no need to root.
oII stick with it because of all the phone OS it is the greatest to me. I like doing what ever I want with my phone
@Jean Marc
If you can do whatever you want, then why do you have to root it?
@pika2000 Why don't I root it?
Well, if you want to do EVERYTHING without some hacking/modding/rooting, buy a N900 (which I intend to)
Shamefully, even though Google support rooting, tethering, custom rom and all, the hardware makers and mobile providers hate that.
So that's what necessitates rooting, unlike the reason of iPhone's jailbreaking.
@inawarminister .. If Google supports root access then why do they not ship the Nexus One with it enabled ?
The reason I root is because HTC which I love tends to be slow releasing the newest version android, if it wasn't for that I wouldn't root
@taligent
I have a Nexus One and dont want to root it right now, but I have installed the Froyo 2.2 manually, and I love it it is relly FAST and my battery lasts at least 30h instead of 24h.
Maybe rooting is not enabled by default for system security (against attacks?) or fearing people do something that makes unstable the system?
CyanogenMod on Incredible please....but damn I'm starting to love these HTC widgets.
@Drizzle
IF I ever get an Incredible, I honestly do not think I would root it. Sense is just so nice looking - it might be worth the wait till HTC comes out with an official update.
@Hazdaz
I'm kind of the same way. I like alot of the widgets sense has and it's hard to part with them.
On the other hand there are alot of cool root only apps I'd like to download as well.
@Kerensky97 well there will more than likely be a sense root keeping your HTC widgets but enabling you to download root apps. I just like all the additional options in cyanogenmod.
@Drizzle Cyanogen does not go near HTC stuff. Someone else is will have to port his roms to the IC
Here's the future waiting page:
http://unrevoked.com/incredible/
Now if only HTC would fix whatever problems they are having with manufacturing the Incredible and start shipping more units out!
I think they are held back for another 3 weeks! People won't get their Incredible tills AFTER the new iPhone is released.
:(
@Hazdaz
Right now, the average shipping time from order is about 2 weeks. And right now, HTC is making them as fast as Samsung is giving them the screens, which is where the holdup is. I also think it is fair to say that pre-orders were higher than expected, which depleted the stock they expected to have after launch...
@Madcat
I figured it was the screen issue.
Anyone have any idea if the screen in the Incredible is anything like that Gorilla Screen that the Motorola Droid has?? I saw a video of it a few days ago and I was really blown away by the abuse it could take.
I know it's not the same display/pixel technology, but not sure if the construction of the Incredible's display is anywhere near as tough.
@Hazdaz
It is absolutely NOT tough like Gorilla Glass. I don't even think it's actually glass -- or if it is, it has a coating on it. I dropped mine while I was talking, and got a tiny little divot between the home and menu softkeys. Not enough that anyone else would notice it -- but of course, I do. Get one of the TPU cases for it -- not one of the plastic clip-on plates. Mine happened while my TPU was in the mail :-( And a screen protector might not be a bad idea.
@Reisa
That sucks and it was one of the things I was worried about. It's also one of the things holding me back from getting one... well and the fact that there is no keyboard.
I'll probably still end up getting one, but that Gorilla Glass tech was amazing - something that all phone makers should be copying.
@Hazdaz
I totally agree with the market shifting towards Gorilla Glass or some other similar tech. I wouldn't worry that much about the keyboard. When I had my Voyager, I thought I'd never want a phone without a keyboard -- then I got the HTC Eris, and found the on-screen keyboard was way better than I thought. The Incredible's keyboard is the same ... but better :-/ I find I can type faster on it than on the physical keyboard on my company-issued Moto Droid -- and I type faster with the on-screen Droid keyboard, too.
Yes.
What? This is the second "hack" for Android I've seen in two days. All the fandroids preach how open it is compared to the iPhone, and you still have to hack it? hmmm.
@robogobo
Android is open...this is an implementation of Android by a commercial company called HTC who's code is NOT open. You can, right now, go to Google and download the source code for Android and do as you wish with it. You cannot do this with HTCs IMPLEMENTATION of their code.
Keep up.
@Tes
Open(ish) is closer to the mark. Open enough that you can really have some fun, but they do keep some things under wraps.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/25/google_android_take_down_demand/
@Tes
Though you must agree its pretty hard to keep up with android (ha!). And yes you can do what you want with it until you get sued by apple for implementing it :)
On a side note, my incredible is on backorder. So please lord let them not patch it before they send it to me. k thx lar.
@Tes Yes, I've kept up, which is why I raise the question, "why do you have to hack it?" You fandroids think google is so open and wonderful and bash Apple for being closed. And you just don't get that they're doing the same thing, taking your money in two different ways.