7 ms·

Since I know that many Googlers follow HN, I just want to say: Thank you. Thank you for ensuring that a clean, root-able, modern phone is available for develo

by tc 16y ago

Since I know that many Googlers follow HN, I just want to say: Thank you. Thank you for ensuring that a clean, root-able, modern phone is available for developers and all those who like to fully own the devices they purchase.

StavrosK 16y ago
Do Australians get a kick out of hearing that a phone is rootable? I am led to believe that the word means something entirely different there...
- T-zex 16y ago
  This just means that you can do with your phone anything... anything.
  - JonnieCache 16y ago
    To root essentially means to fuck down in australia.
    - T-zex 16y ago
      Same as "anything... anything".
- anarchitect 16y ago
  Rootable like a beaut sheila!
  - nailer 16y ago
    This isn't Reddit, and nobody outside television shows marketed to Americans actually talks like that.
    - jussij 16y ago
      You obviously have never been to the Western suburbs of Sydney.
      - nailer 16y ago
        I have (most of Sydney is West) but 'beaut' and 'shiela', really? Even bogans don't use those terms much nowadays.
    - anarchitect 16y ago
      Relax! I'm actually Australian, and it was actually just a joke.
- hugh3 16y ago
  No, but we do get a kick out of Americans who talk about rooting for their favourite team. That's the trouble with America; many of my favourite pickup lines are unusable there. For instance: "Have you ever tripped over a log?" "No" "How about a root?"
gcb 16y ago
Why do you think this will be rootable? Also, The nexus one barely was (in the sense that you couldn't replicate a os Build as done by google with the provided source code)
- sandGorgon 16y ago
  cyanogenmod any ? http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/33-google-nexus-one/ http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/33-google-nexus-one/ (Forums currently down because everyone must be flocking there)
  - gcb 16y ago
    my point is not that the hardware allows you to access the bootloader. i said "to do a custom build with the same qualities as the google provided one" that is still impossible and show how little google is willing to give. (and that's even after i gave them $500 for the phone and $50 for a desktop dock that they will not even let me pair it with non-nexus one bluetooth devices)
    - spearo77 16y ago
      Is there any plans to release a dock for it? One that can pass-through the USB connection for charging and development? I sorely miss the simple dock that the iPhone (3/3GS/4) has for development.
      - gcb 16y ago
        http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37086 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37086 $16. even charges a second battery. way better than the crappy official cradle i got. the usb audio feature of the official cradle is cool at first, until you remove the phone and audio stops! mind blowing that something wireless got turned off when you remove the device. then the fanboys here will downvote me because you can enable it in a way that it does not turn off. but then you have to manually turn on, loosing all the appeal of just putting in the cradle to turn it on.
    - 16y ago
dotBen 16y ago
Um, almost all Android phones are rootable and can run custom firmware builds (certainly all HTC's and most Samsungs). Find instructions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Pa... (Just making the point, you don't HAVE to buy a Nexus line of phone for this)
- barake 16y ago
  Basically any Android device can be rooted and flashed but how difficult it can be is the problem. The HTC Vision (T-Mobile G2) has a complete copy of it's ROM on board to "restore" if you flash the phone. Motorola has also done a good job of locking bootloaders. It won't be surprising if these "security" measures keep escalating as carriers try to find new ways to extract revenue, such as charging extra for tethering.
  - frio 16y ago
    To be fair, I don't believe that was done to stop people from rooting their phones. One of the most common ways for phones to become damaged/bricked is for OTA updates to fail; the HTC Vision/G2/Desire Z method means that if that happens, the phone still works. Which is obviously better for the average user. That said, it's not much of a stretch to believe it was a nefarious attempt to block rooters from rooting either.
  - maqr 16y ago
    Not true. It just has write-protection. It only looks like it's "restoring" because linux is caching FS writes, but never gets to flush them. See here for details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vis...
  - commandar 16y ago
    > The HTC Vision (T-Mobile G2) has a complete copy of it's ROM on board to "restore" if you flash the phone. Not true. The Vision was NAND locked like previous HTC phones. What was actually happening was that if you tried to write to internal storage, the Linux kernel would tell you it was making the changes, but never actually committed the writes to storage. That's why the changes 'disappeared' after a reboot.
old-gregg 16y ago
You also have to thank T-Mobile. That's the only sane carrier in the US who lets you buy plans without bundled phone loans, i.e. if you don't need to borrow $500 for a phone you just get a plan without loan payments rolled in.
- chc 16y ago
  The only reason I switched from T-Mobile is for the iPhone. If Android is in a good enough place when this phone dies, I might switch back, because T-Mobile knows how to treat customers and the other carriers just don't.
- Calamitous 16y ago
  Ugh. Before you thank T-Mobile, try actually signing up for their contract-less service. I literally spent two hours on the phone, and they still managed to screw up almost every aspect of my plan. Many other aspects of the service become more expensive, nullifying the (minimal) cost savings, and the activation fees are outrageous. Additionally, they will never allow you to sign up for T-Mobile contract again. In short, they try to neuter the no-contract option in any way they can. I am actively regretting it right now, and the only upside is that I'm looking for a different carrier, and I don't have to worry about early-cancellation fees.
  - durin42 16y ago
    Wow. I've had nothing but great experiences with the no-contract option on T-Mobile. Signup was completely trivial, have had no complaints about the service. It's been a very real savings. What do you mean, you can't sign up for a contract? They're actively turning down more money for the same service?
    - Calamitous 16y ago
      > What do you mean, you can't sign up for a contract? They're actively turning down more money for the same service? shrug That's what they told me-- my account would be flagged and I wouldn't be allowed to sign up for a contract with them ever again once I went the no-contract route. It didn't make any sense to me at the time, and still doesn't, except for cynically suspecting that it was a scare-tactic to chase me back to a contract option. I'm curious if anybody knows of any legitimate reasons why this would be their policy.
jfb 16y ago
I'm on the record as an iPhone partisan, but I am very happy that Google is doing this. The world needs more phones designed for people and not for carriers.
Calamitous 16y ago
I'd also like to render my thanks for an awesome OS and phones. I feel bad that my T-Mobile experience is squatting at the top of the comments, and I don't want people to get the wrong idea-- I still love my Android phone, and my next phone will also be an Android-- probably a Nexus S. :)
seanalltogether 16y ago
As well as a swappable sim card that works across multiple carriers. I bought the original nexus because I travel a lot and i didn't wanted to play the hacking game with a phone to get it to "just work" across multiple countries.
rsuttongee 16y ago
The phone looks great and is everything I want in a smart phone - especially the up-to-date OS that is unencumbered by a custom UI. However, the timing of this announcement is terrible. If google really wanted to win over people who feel trapped in the walled garden of iOS, they should have made some sort of announcement about this phone back in June/July when millions of people were exiting their 2 year iphone 3g contracts. I know I certainly would have waited for it if I had known, but as it is now I'm stuck with AT&T for another cycle.
- adambyrtek 16y ago
  The phone was released when there was something to release, complaining that it didn't happen half a year ago doesn't make much sense. Not to mention that December is usually considered a perfect time for releasing new gadgets.
lawfulfalafel 16y ago
What a nice thing to say.

by tc 16y ago

StavrosK 16y ago

Do Australians get a kick out of hearing that a phone is rootable? I am led to believe that the word means something entirely different there...

T-zex 16y ago
This just means that you can do with your phone anything... anything.
- JonnieCache 16y ago
  To root essentially means to fuck down in australia.
  - T-zex 16y ago
    Same as "anything... anything".
anarchitect 16y ago
Rootable like a beaut sheila!
- nailer 16y ago
  This isn't Reddit, and nobody outside television shows marketed to Americans actually talks like that.
  - jussij 16y ago
    You obviously have never been to the Western suburbs of Sydney.
    - nailer 16y ago
      I have (most of Sydney is West) but 'beaut' and 'shiela', really? Even bogans don't use those terms much nowadays.
  - anarchitect 16y ago
    Relax! I'm actually Australian, and it was actually just a joke.
hugh3 16y ago
No, but we do get a kick out of Americans who talk about rooting for their favourite team. That's the trouble with America; many of my favourite pickup lines are unusable there. For instance: "Have you ever tripped over a log?" "No" "How about a root?"

gcb 16y ago

Why do you think this will be rootable? Also, The nexus one barely was (in the sense that you couldn't replicate a os Build as done by google with the provided source code)

sandGorgon 16y ago
cyanogenmod any ? http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/33-google-nexus-one/ http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/forum/33-google-nexus-one/ (Forums currently down because everyone must be flocking there)
- gcb 16y ago
  my point is not that the hardware allows you to access the bootloader. i said "to do a custom build with the same qualities as the google provided one" that is still impossible and show how little google is willing to give. (and that's even after i gave them $500 for the phone and $50 for a desktop dock that they will not even let me pair it with non-nexus one bluetooth devices)
  - spearo77 16y ago
    Is there any plans to release a dock for it? One that can pass-through the USB connection for charging and development? I sorely miss the simple dock that the iPhone (3/3GS/4) has for development.
    - gcb 16y ago
      http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37086 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37086 $16. even charges a second battery. way better than the crappy official cradle i got. the usb audio feature of the official cradle is cool at first, until you remove the phone and audio stops! mind blowing that something wireless got turned off when you remove the device. then the fanboys here will downvote me because you can enable it in a way that it does not turn off. but then you have to manually turn on, loosing all the appeal of just putting in the cradle to turn it on.
  - 16y ago

dotBen 16y ago

Um, almost all Android phones are rootable and can run custom firmware builds (certainly all HTC's and most Samsungs). Find instructions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Pa... (Just making the point, you don't HAVE to buy a Nexus line of phone for this)

barake 16y ago
Basically any Android device can be rooted and flashed but how difficult it can be is the problem. The HTC Vision (T-Mobile G2) has a complete copy of it's ROM on board to "restore" if you flash the phone. Motorola has also done a good job of locking bootloaders. It won't be surprising if these "security" measures keep escalating as carriers try to find new ways to extract revenue, such as charging extra for tethering.
- frio 16y ago
  To be fair, I don't believe that was done to stop people from rooting their phones. One of the most common ways for phones to become damaged/bricked is for OTA updates to fail; the HTC Vision/G2/Desire Z method means that if that happens, the phone still works. Which is obviously better for the average user. That said, it's not much of a stretch to believe it was a nefarious attempt to block rooters from rooting either.
- maqr 16y ago
  Not true. It just has write-protection. It only looks like it's "restoring" because linux is caching FS writes, but never gets to flush them. See here for details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vis...
- commandar 16y ago
  > The HTC Vision (T-Mobile G2) has a complete copy of it's ROM on board to "restore" if you flash the phone. Not true. The Vision was NAND locked like previous HTC phones. What was actually happening was that if you tried to write to internal storage, the Linux kernel would tell you it was making the changes, but never actually committed the writes to storage. That's why the changes 'disappeared' after a reboot.

old-gregg 16y ago

You also have to thank T-Mobile. That's the only sane carrier in the US who lets you buy plans without bundled phone loans, i.e. if you don't need to borrow $500 for a phone you just get a plan without loan payments rolled in.

chc 16y ago
The only reason I switched from T-Mobile is for the iPhone. If Android is in a good enough place when this phone dies, I might switch back, because T-Mobile knows how to treat customers and the other carriers just don't.
Calamitous 16y ago
Ugh. Before you thank T-Mobile, try actually signing up for their contract-less service. I literally spent two hours on the phone, and they still managed to screw up almost every aspect of my plan. Many other aspects of the service become more expensive, nullifying the (minimal) cost savings, and the activation fees are outrageous. Additionally, they will never allow you to sign up for T-Mobile contract again. In short, they try to neuter the no-contract option in any way they can. I am actively regretting it right now, and the only upside is that I'm looking for a different carrier, and I don't have to worry about early-cancellation fees.
- durin42 16y ago
  Wow. I've had nothing but great experiences with the no-contract option on T-Mobile. Signup was completely trivial, have had no complaints about the service. It's been a very real savings. What do you mean, you can't sign up for a contract? They're actively turning down more money for the same service?
  - Calamitous 16y ago
    > What do you mean, you can't sign up for a contract? They're actively turning down more money for the same service? shrug That's what they told me-- my account would be flagged and I wouldn't be allowed to sign up for a contract with them ever again once I went the no-contract route. It didn't make any sense to me at the time, and still doesn't, except for cynically suspecting that it was a scare-tactic to chase me back to a contract option. I'm curious if anybody knows of any legitimate reasons why this would be their policy.

jfb 16y ago

I'm on the record as an iPhone partisan, but I am very happy that Google is doing this. The world needs more phones designed for people and not for carriers.

Calamitous 16y ago

I'd also like to render my thanks for an awesome OS and phones. I feel bad that my T-Mobile experience is squatting at the top of the comments, and I don't want people to get the wrong idea-- I still love my Android phone, and my next phone will also be an Android-- probably a Nexus S. :)

seanalltogether 16y ago

As well as a swappable sim card that works across multiple carriers. I bought the original nexus because I travel a lot and i didn't wanted to play the hacking game with a phone to get it to "just work" across multiple countries.

rsuttongee 16y ago

The phone looks great and is everything I want in a smart phone - especially the up-to-date OS that is unencumbered by a custom UI. However, the timing of this announcement is terrible. If google really wanted to win over people who feel trapped in the walled garden of iOS, they should have made some sort of announcement about this phone back in June/July when millions of people were exiting their 2 year iphone 3g contracts. I know I certainly would have waited for it if I had known, but as it is now I'm stuck with AT&T for another cycle.

adambyrtek 16y ago
The phone was released when there was something to release, complaining that it didn't happen half a year ago doesn't make much sense. Not to mention that December is usually considered a perfect time for releasing new gadgets.

lawfulfalafel 16y ago

What a nice thing to say.