Spotify Mobile App Now Available for All (Still Not in the US, Though)

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If you have been a Spotify Free user jealous of premium users and their access to the Spotify app on mobile devices, today is your lucky day. The music streaming and download service has made their Android app open to all users, bringing the ability to sync your Spotify playlists wirelessly with your smartphone.
Unfortunately, Spotify is still unavailable for those living in the United States. That may change soon, sort of. Recent rumors suggest Spotify is in talks with Google over a new-format Google Music service. When and if that happens, it may be the only taste of the wildly popular music player the US gets. For everyone else, feel free to download it now.
 

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How To Install Android on Your iPhone

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With this step-by-step guide you can now convert your iPhone into a functional Android device and upload your favourite apps and widgets that you wanted to try out for a long time. However, few bugs and performance issues remain, making your phone work a little slow, but if that’s okay with you, then read on.
Requirements:

• First-generation iPhone/ iPhone 3G with firmware versions between 2.0 and 3.1.2, jailbroken with Redsn0w, Blacksn0w, or PwnageTool. If the software is already updated to 3.1.3/ 4.0 beta, use PwnageTool to create a jailbroken 3.1.2 .ipsw file to restore.
• A 32-bit Linux system (Unbuntu) or virtual machine depending on the type of handset you own.
• The iPhone OS 3.1.2 .ipsw file for your device, namely either iPhone1,1_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw or iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw.
• The firmware for the Marvell WLAN chip inside the iPhone- Visit URL > Choose your platform > Select Linux 2.6 – Fedora>Click the Search button underneath> Download file SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL. You’ll obtain a file called SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip.

Instructions:
Before starting the process, extract .ipsw file from the Marvell’s Website for multitouch and WLAN firmware for the iPhone.
Step 1: On the Linux machine, create a folder “Firmware” in home directory.
Step 2: Extract SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar from SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip to a temporary folder.
Step 3: Extract FwImage/helper_sd.bin and FwImage/sd8686.bin from SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar and move them to ‘firmware’ folder.
Step 4: Rename helper_sd.bin to sd8686_helper.bin. Now, you obtain WLAN firmware. Next we work over the multitouch firmware.
Step 5: On the Linux machine, create a folder “idroid” in home directory. Extract utils/dripwn from the prebuilt tarball (downloaded .tar archive).
Step 6: Copy 3.1.2 .ipsw file obtained from Apple’s Website into the ‘idroid’ folder as dripwn.
Step 7: Begin a command-line shell (Terminal under Ubuntu) and navigate to the ‘idroid’ folder. Type cd ~/idroid.
Step 8: Visit the page and copy the VFDecrypt key.
Step 9: For 1^st generation iPhone, type the following in the shell
./dripwn iPhone1,1_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw [the VFDecrypt key you copied]
For iPhone 3G:
./dripwn iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw [the VFDecrypt key you copied]
Step 10: Upon execution of the command, zephyr_main.bin, zephyr_aspeed.bin, and zephyr2.bin is obtained in ‘idroid’ folder. Move these files into the ‘firmware’ folder.
You now have all the files needed for Android, and you can begin installing it.
Step 11: If you haven’t already, install the OpenSSH tool on iPhone via Cydia.
Step 12: If you just installed OpenSSH, connect to your iPhone via SSH, log in as root with the password alpine, and change the password for root by typing passwd root. Then, enter passwd mobile to change the password for the mobile user.
Step 13: Extract prebuilt/android.img.gz, prebuilt/cache.img, prebuilt/ramdisk.img, prebuilt/system.img, prebuilt/userdata.img, and zImage from the prebuilt tarball.
Step 14: Use the ‘scp’ command or an SFTP client to upload all of these files into the /private/var folder on the iPhone.
You can use these commands on Linux, if you wish to use scp. Assuming you’re in the same folder as the files, enter:
scp android.img.gz root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp cache.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp ramdisk.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp system.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp userdata.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp zImage root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
Step 15: Using the SFTP client or scp, create a folder called firmware in the /private/var folder on the iPhone. Now, upload all the files from the ‘firmware’ folder.
If the ‘firmware’ folder is inside the home directory, use the following command:
scp -r ~/firmware/ root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/firmware
Step 16: Reboot iPhone. Check to ensure the files are still present after the reboot and that they all have the right sizes. An incorrect file size will not exactly match the source file size.
Step 17: Extract utils/oibc, utils/loadibec, and prebuilt/openiboot.img3 from the prebuilt tarball into ‘idroid’ folder.
Step 18: Shut down the iPhone and place it into Recovery Mode: With the iPhone powered off and plugged into the computer via USB, push Hold and Home simultaneously, and then let go of Hold after the backlight turns on. Continue holding Home until the ‘Connect to iTunes’ image appears on the screen.
Step 19: Run the following commands in Terminal
cd ~/idroid
sudo ./loadibec openiboot.img3
The ‘openiboot’ boot menu should now appear!
Step 20: Use either the volume-control buttons or the Hold button to select the second menu option, Console. Tap the Home button to launch it. A text-mode console should start running on the screen, ending with a ‘Welcome to openiboot’ message.
Step 21: Type sudo ./oibc in Terminal.
The same messages that appeared on the iPhone screen should now appear in Terminal. Create a backup of the NOR, if something goes wrong, your iPhone is safe.
Step 22: Type nor_read 0×09000000 0×0 1048576 in Terminal/oibc. This will read the entire NOR into main memory.
Step 23: Type ~norbackup.bin@0×09000000:1048576 in Terminal/oibc. A file will appear in the ‘idroid’ folder> norbackup.bin. Save it. The command uploads the NOR to the computer. After you make this backup, you are now free to modify the NOR. The next step installs OpeniBoot onto the NOR, supplanting the existing Apple iBoot bootloader.
Step 24: Type install in Terminal/oibc. This process may take a few minutes. Wait until the installation-complete message appears.
Step 25: Type reboot in Terminal/oibc and then exit by pressing Ctrl-C. The OpeniBoot menu should now pop whenever you boot your iPhone. You can uninstall OpeniBoot from oibc with the ‘uninstall’ command. Type help for a list of all OpeniBoot commands.
You can still get into the iPhone OS’s recovery mode by holding down Home on the iPhone OS option in the menu until the ‘Connect to iTunes’ image appears.
Use the OpeniBoot menu to boot Android by selecting that OS from the menu whenever you wish.
 

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The 7 Most Hackable Android Smartphones

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There are two types of people who want to buy an Android smartphone: those who simply don't want an Apple product, and those who want to trick out their phones fancier than a Honda Civic from the set of The Fast and the Furious.
If you belong in the latter crowd, you may be familiar with at least some aspects of the hardware-modding community. But what of the layman who wants to pimp his phone and hasn't a clue where to begin?
We've gathered a handful of the most mod-worthy Android phones, complete with straightforward instructions on how to fully go "Vin Diesel" on your smartphone. That is to say, we show you how to gain root access — or superuser, full-permissions status — to each phone. That allows for customization far beyond what you can accomplish with a stock device. After root is achieved, the sky's the limit.
Warning: More often than not, rooting or unlocking your phone voids your warranty, which means you'll get no love from your carrier's tech-support line if you accidentally screw it up. You also run the risk of "bricking" your phone — essentially rendering it useless — when performing some of these procedures.
So, proceed at your own risk!

HTC Nexus One

Available now only through Google as a "developer phone," the HTC-manufactured Nexus One was Google's first "pure Android" experience phone. That means there are no clunky user interfaces slapped on by the phone manufacturers. More importantly, the phone comes with an unlockable bootloader, which allows you to load a custom ROM and overclock the phone's CPU.
If you want to root your Nexus One, head on over to Lifehacker for a streamlined, step-by-step guide.

HTC Incredible and HTC Evo 4G

Not more than a few months after the Incredible's debut, the modding team over at Unrevoked released version 3.0 of its eponymous rooting tool. After downloading the Unrevoked3 software, all you have to do is connect your phone to your desktop PC and let the program run. You'll be given root permissions, and the ClockworkMod program will be installed, which lets you load custom ROMs and apps otherwise blocked by HTC.
The Unrevoked site hosts its rooting program for Mac, Windows and Linux users who want to root their Incredible, Evo 4G or one of a slew of other HTC phones.

Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung's Galaxy S line has been massively popular with the general public. More than 10 million Galaxy S handsets were sold as of the end of 2010. Each of the big four U.S. carriers has its own branded version of the Galaxy S phone, which makes for lots of developing across a family of similar devices. That means lots of custom ROMs to be had.
If you want to root your Verizon-carried Samsung Fascinate DroidForums provides a comprehensive guide on how to do it. If you're a T-Mobile Vibrant user, IntoMobile's rooting tutorial is a breeze. The Epic 4G rooting instructions on the XDA-Developers forum for the Sprint users out there. Finally, AT&T Captivate users can find comprehensive instructions on using a program for an easy one-click root.

Motorola Droid

Unlike most of its pesky Motorola brethren, the Droid One comes with an unlocked bootloader, which gives you the ability to flash custom kernels as well as ROMs. Essentially, custom-kernel flashing allows for more control over the device's hardware than would otherwise be possible with a locked bootloader (which Motorola is notorious for including).
For those of you with the first Motorola Droid phone, Lifehacker provides a nicely detailed rooting guide.

Samsung Nexus S

We couldn't forget the successor to the Nexus One. Like its little brother, the Samsung-made Nexus S offers a "pure Android experience," debuting with stock version 2.3 (Gingerbread). And just like the One, the S is easily unlocked and rootable. The recently released version 7.0.2 of the highly popular CyanogenMod ROM — a custom interface that improves hardware performance and offers a nifty set of subtle enhancements — is supported on the Nexus S (among 20-plus other devices).
As the site NexusSHacks.com shows in its instructional video and guide, rooting the S is about as simple as rooting its predecessor.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Phones

While these phones aren't yet released, Sony Ericsson has made headway into making its Xperia line very mod-friendly. Earlier this year, the company released instructions on how to unlock the bootloader on its forthcoming Xperia Arc, Neo, Play and Pro handsets. After launching mod-unfriendly, locked-bootloader phones like the X10, this seems like Sony Ericsson extending an olive branch to the developer community.
While we know the phones aren't out yet, Sony Ericsson's unlocking instructions are available for eager developers' eyes to see on the company's site.

 

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