Day: December 6, 2008

“Developers at Linux consulting firm NthCode have ported Android 1.0 to Nokia’s N810 Internet tablet — and they explain how they did it in a detailed LinuxDevices whitepaper. The paper details the changes Google made to the Linux kernel, and offers step-by-step porting tips. As detailed in the whitepaper by NthCode CEO Peter McDermott, his full Android port follows up on this July’s announcement from hackers PenguinBait, B-man, and QWERTY-12, who hacked a pre-release version of Android onto the N810. With the release of the final Android 1.0 in late October, McDermott and his team, including NthCode developer Tang Yongjun, decided it would be fun to take the next step. NthCode is a Beijing-based consulting firm specializing in Linux device development, in markets that include mobile phones, set-top boxes, and “converged” multimedia devices.In the whitepaper, McDermott provides an overview of Android and its underlying foundation of Linux, Eclipse, and Android’s Java-like Dalvik Virtual Machine (VM). Dalvik, he suggests, was created by Google “to escape from needing to cede control or pay a license fee to Sun.” He also describes the Android emulator, which he dubs “as complete an emulator as we have ever seen.”The NthCode team ran a painstaking comparison between Android’s Linux kernel and the mainline kernel and found the differences to be “significant.” Google had changed 75 files and added an additional 88, making substantial changes in emulation, power management, Netfilter, debugging, memory handling, and other areas.After summarizing the changes, the author takes the reader step by step through porting the kernel changes to the 2.6.25 Linux kernel, adding the Android patches, and bringing up Android on the N810. ” Read more here:

“The first thing that I said about the Incite was that it reminded me of the Palm Zire 71. You have to understand, the Zire 71 spent a long time in my pocket, and it had a form factor that I liked a whole lot.Taking the Incite out of the box it was almost as if I were looking at the Zire 71 again. The top and bottom of the Incite taper into this blocky-teardrop shape that is way too similar. The sides are less tapered though, and contain the bulk of the buttons on the Incite.Turning it on revealed how much like the Zire 71 this new model is not. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the Incite has a 3-inch, 240-by-400-pixel touchscreen. And unlike some other Windows Mobile touchscreen devices, the display doesn’t seem too separated from the glass covering it.” Read more here:

The Android Dev Phone 1 is a SIM-unlocked and hardware-unlocked device that is designed for advanced developers. The device ships with a system image that is fully compatible with Android 1.0, so you can rely on it when developing your applications. You can use any SIM in the device and can flash custom Android builds that will work with the unlocked bootloader. Unlike the bootloader on retail devices, the bootloader on the Android Dev Phone 1 does not enforce signed system images. The Android Dev Phone 1 should also appeal to developers who live outside of T-Mobile geographies. To purchase an Android Dev Phone 1 device, you must first register as an Android developer on the Android Market site, if you haven’t done so already. Once you’ve logged into your developer account on Android Market, you can purchase the device by clicking the “Purchase” link. To accommodate demand, there is a limit of 1 device per developer account, for now.The device currently costs $399 (USD) (including free shipping in the US), and will be available for purchase in 18 international markets, including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Hungary. We will continue to expand this program into new geographies over time. Check this page for updated information.Note that Android Dev Phone 1 devices are not intended for non-developer end users. Since the devices can be configured with system software not provided by or supported by Google or any other company, end users operate these devices at their own risk. For more information about obtaining an Android Dev Phone 1 device, see the Android Market site.