December 4, 2011

Custom IceCreamSandwich Emulator Build

A few times a week you can catch me scouring the Android related threads on Google Groups. I find it to be a great way to learn a few tips and tricks. Throughout the past weeks I have seen the same questions arise time after time. How do I create a custom emulator image? How do I put the Market on the emulator? Since these questions were asked so much, and I had never used the emulator before, I decided to give it a shot. As you can see in the screen shot, the end result left me with an emulator that was rooted and had all the G-Apps (including Market). 

To build this emulator you will need to sync my source and choose "pete_emulator-eng" in the lunch menu. More information on how to get my source and what changes I made to create this emulator can be found on my GitHub. I should also mention that this emulator image has the same developer apps that come with the sdk image. I decided to leave these apps because they can be useful tools for developers creating their own apps.

Since we are on the subject of emulators, check out the amazing skins by Heiko Behrens!

November 21, 2011

Download: Motorola Droid Update (Official) FRK76

When the community heard news that Motorola would be pushing yet another update to the OG Motorola Droid, minds began to race, would they really officially update to Gingerbread!? About a week and a half later, we we disappointed to hear that this update would only bring a few "security patches" to the device. After diffing the previous official build to the new FRK76 build, no proprietaries had been modified. So what does this mean to you, as a rooted user running the latest version of Bugless Beast? Absolutely nothing, Gingerbread is most likely more secure than Froyo will ever be so there is no reason to downgrade. This news is just as disappointing to developers because it means nothing new can be pulled from this update to be used in a source build. In my opinion, this small 761 KB patch of an update is simply a way of Motorola saying "Hey you OG Droid user, please don't use your upgrade on a Galaxy Nexus". Interestingly enough, Motorola even decided to call this update "Android 2.2.3", which I do not believe even officially exist at AOSP.

None the less, thanks to a few naughty Motorola Feedback Network testers, you can find the OTA update as well as a full stock, rooted ROM of FRK76 at my download page before it is officially available to all.

Official support thread can be found at RootzWiki to discuss.

UPDATE: Android 2.2.3 does exist, it was just pushed to AOSP. More info here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/android-building/MuwZk1iY_Sk

November 20, 2011

Download: Stock Fastboot Images For Galaxy Nexus


When hacking a device, one of the first things to consider is how it can be flashed back to stock in case something bad may happen, such as a brick. This consideration is just as important to users as it is to developers. Unfortunately, official stock images are rarely ever released due to licensing and other various reasons. Sometimes the community is lucky enough to get a "leak" of these images which is even more rare. Because of this I have taken it upon myself to make my own factory images from source. These images can be flashed via fastboot either by the "update" command or by flashing each .img individually.

I put in quite a bit of work to make these images match exactly what shipped on the retail Galaxy Nexus (Maguro). The build.prop is identical, the boot.img is secure, no applications or files are missing, etc. This is as close to the real deal as it gets. Once again I will mention, so I do not get a C&D from Samsung, I made these myself, they are not a leak of official files. When the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus (Toro) becomes available, and its associated source is released, I will make images for it as well. 

As stated earlier, quite a bit of work went into making these. If you would like to post these on other websites or forums please link to this post, and only use my bit.ly download links so I can keep track of the statistics. If these ever save you from the nightmare of sending your device back to Samsung for flashing or replacement; a donation, thank you comment, or a Like, would be a sure way of showing your appreciation.

Official support for these images can be found at RootzWiki where I have created a thread to discuss.

The download link for these images as well as other files such as stock ROMs can be found at: download.peteralfonso.com/maguro (you can +1 this page to share with friends!)

November 18, 2011

November 14, 2011

"Stable" Bugless Beast (V. GPA19) Available For Incredible & Nexus One



Thanks to those running my nightly builds, HTC Droid Incredible and Nexus One builds are ready for prime time. Users feedback and cooperation has allowed me to resolve all bugs, deeming these builds worthy of the name "Bugless Beast". For those on these devices waiting for a stable build, here it is!


Note:
  • This ROM can be found in ROM Manager (please comment on and rate the ROM!)
  • This ROM can be found in ROM Toolbox
  • This ROM includes the latest core Google apps
  • Best way to show that you enjoy my work is to donate :)

Download:
  • Inc (HTC Droid Incredible)
  • Passion (HTC Nexus One)