Kernels

The another best advantage of android is that you can install a custom kernel onto it. Kernel is main component of any os. It basically an interface between application and the actual data processing done at hardware level, it manages system resources. Like custom roms there are custom kernels too. Os tasks are handled differently by different kernels depending upon their design and implementation. Custom roms do come with custom kernels which are better than stock kernels and give a better performance with the rom. However if you at any time aren't happy with the performance of custom kernel, included in your custom rom you can always go ahead and flash a custom kernel but only if you need to.
I use franco kernel instead of MIUI rom kernel. Francisco Franco has developed this kernel and is a very popular kernel. Although it lowers my quadrant score but it definitely increases the smoothness and performance of my device (i get a a great antutu score though). I'm also able to achieve a maximum overclock of 1.8 ghz which when tried in miui kernel restarts the phone. There are other kernels available for you to explore too but if you wanna give franco.kernel a try then you can download it here.




Steps to install a custom kernel:

1. Download the kernel and place it in your sd card, preferably in a new folder so that it is easily accessible.
2. Boot into clockworkmod. (Volume up + Power).
3. Select and Wipe Cache Partition and wait for the process to finish.
4. Select Wipe Dalvik Cache in advanced option and wait it to be done (you should NOT wipe data or restore factory settings for insstalling a kernel).
5. Choose Install zip from sd card and then choose zip from sd card.
6. Browse cwm to the location on your sd card where you have placed the downloaded kernel zip and allow it to install.
7. Once installed return to the mail menu and choose Reboot System Now.
8. The first boot should fairly take a bit longer than usual boot.
9. You have yourself a custom kernel installed. If you have done this correctly then Settings<  About should show the kernel name you opted for. 

Feel Free to post any suggestions or queries :)

Re-Partitioning Ideos X5

As the title suggests this post will let you know how to re-partition the ideos x5. Thanks to Geno.Kolar to making this happen and allowing us to have extra space for our apps. After re-partitioning the split up will be, 1.2 gb data + 1.46 gb internal sd. You don't need to follow the process again once you have flashed a new rom, its permanent even with the official rom. After the partition there is no data loss and all is same as before with just the re-partition so its very easy and safe.


How to re-partition Ideos x5:

1. Download the partition upgrade package here.
2. Place it in your sd card and make sure your it has around 600 mb of free space.
3. Backup your internal 2G data as this will erase it.
4. Disable all the partitioning apps if you are using
5. Boot into recovery (volume up + power button).
6. You should not wipe/erase anything in this process unlike installing a custom rom, directly head to install zip from sd files.
7. Locate the downloaded partition.zip file on the sd card and install it.
8. Once installed, Choose reboot to recovery (Reboot system now is different to reboot to recovery, it reboots you to recovery again rather than to your phone).
9. Again don't wipe/erase anything and install the partition.zip file again like you did the last time.
10. Once installed the second time, choose reboot system now.
11. That's it you'll see all the data is there, just the partition has changed

If at any point of time you feel like returning to your original partition then repeat the same process with this file instead of the earlier mentioned file.

Feel free to post suggestions or queries.

Tweaking Build.prop

My previous two posts have been were how to edit build.prop and this post of mine will let you know about the tweaks to be done to the build.prop file. Most custom roms already have tweaked the most part of the  build.prop file but none tweak it to project your phone as another phone to android market or any other app (like i mentioned of projecting my Ideos x5 as Desire HD to be able to play most of the games). 






The values which need to changed in the build.prop file are:


ro.product.model=Desire HD
ro.product.brand=htc_wwe
ro.product.name=htc_ace
ro.product.board=ace
ro.product.manufacturer=HTC

once done with saving and adb reboot, you need to check whether it is actually working.
Settings < System < About Phone
Here you should see the Model tab saying Desire HD, if that is the case then the above tweak was successful.

Feel free to post any suggestions or queries.

How to Edit Build.prop for free

Rooted your phone, done with installing custom recovery and rom, so now its time to do some tweaking to it. 

I'v mentioned about build.prop in my previous posts and this particular post is for editing the file for free.

ADB will be used to carry out this procedure which also has been mentioned in  previous posts. Turn on USB Debugging mode from Settings< Applications< Development

Procedure:

1. Connect your phone to your computer via usb cable.
2. Open command prompt and type "cd c://" (without quotes, use the initials of the local disk where you have installed ADB).
3. Once the directory is set, paste "adb devices" and press enter and you should see a message like this. If you dont get this message then it means that something has gone wrong with your ADB installation.The message also confirms that your phone is connected to your computer via ADB.          
4. Next step is to paste, "adb pull /system/build.prop d:\" and hit enter. This statement copies the file "build.prop" to your desired location, here it'll be copied to local disc d:/ as i'v mentioned it at the end. You can use the path which you desire to get "Build.prop" copied.                                                                      Here is the catch, use the initial of any local disk in My Computer except c:\, like mine has a d:\ and e:\ so i can use any of them or any path in these discs but not c:\. Similarly yours might be having f:/ or g:/ so use those at the end of the command instead of d:/.
5. You'll now see the file Build.prop has been copied to your mentioned location.
6. Open the file in notepad and make the changes you want to make in it, click save and then close it.
7. Once editing is done, paste "adb remount".
8. Paste "" adb push d:\build.prop /system/". This replaces the file which is present in your phone. Here, mention the path you have mentioned instead of d:/build.prop, like if you used say e:\ then it should be e:\build.prop at the beginning of the statement . In short it should be the same path at it was in point 4. I used d:\ there so itd d:\ here too.
9. Build.prop file in the phone has now been replaced by your changed build.prop file.
10. Paste, "adb reboot". this will reboot your phone.
11. That is it the reboot has made the changes you tweaked in build.prop file that too for free.

Feel Free to ask if facing any problem or queries.

ADB /SDK

When it comes to Android modding, root in particular there is nothing better than ADB. ADB stands for android debug bridge and is a part of standard android SDK (starter development kit). As the name suggests it provides a bridge between your android device and your computer. It provides a terminal based interface for interacting with your phone's file system.

Installing ADB:

                       As ADB is a part of Android SDK you need to install SDK first. Before installing SDK you need to assure that your system need to have the following already installed

1. Java Runtime Environment (JRE), can be downloaded here
2. Java Development Kit (JDK), can be downloaded here (32 bit users download windows x84 version).

Once you are assured that these two components are installed, you may head to the SDK installer file, which can be downloaded here.

After installing launch Android SDK Manager, download 

1. Android tools.
2. Android Sdk tools.
3. Android Platform tools. (select your vesrion of android from the list).
4. Google usb driver package (listed under extras, if not listed check Pacakged<Show Obsolete Packages).

Setting Path Variable:

                                        After being done with the installation its time to edit path variable. Follow the given steps to get it done:

1. Right click "My Computer", goto "Properties: and then click on" Advanced System Settings" from the left pane to bring up "System Properties" windows (Windows 7). OR
2. Get this window by right clicking "My Computer" ans selecting "Properties". (Windows XP).
3. In the "System Properties" window click "Environment Variables" button on the "Advanced" tab.
4. Find "Path" in the "System Variables" section (lower half of the window), and double click on it to edit it.
5. You are NOT are not supposed to delete the existing string or it will mess up your computer. Instead just ADD the following string to it when it ends                                                                                    ;c:\program files\android\android-sdk\tools;c:\ program files\android\android-sdk\platform-tools
6. I again repeat to just add the following line and not edit anything in the previously present string and apply. I will advise you to create a Restore Point before doing it to be on a safer side 

You are now done with the installation of ADB

Feel Free to post comments or queries. 

Build.prop

Build.prop is a file which is located in /system of your android. Its quite amazing that how much importance this single file holds. You can do many things with this file to enhance the useabiltiy of your device as per your need. I edit this file to change my phone model no. (Huawei Ideos X5) to (HTC Desire HD). By doing this i can download those stuff from android market (mostly games) which is meant for HTC Desire HD but can be now be used with Ideos X5 as we have enhanced its performance but rooting and customizing it. 

So the questions gets to "How do we edit it". You can search this all over the internet an you may find a common technique of using Root Explorer, an app for 200 odd bucks to edit the build.prop file. However I am not in the favor of paying for an app for just a few second job, so i started searching other methods to edit it. In my search I came across the use of ADB (android debug bridge) which is a part of part of the standard Android sdk (starter development kit). The process of getting installing ADB installed and using it to edit Build.prop isn't as easy as using root explorer but that what you then pay for. I learnt this technique by using all  the permutations combinations from different posts and applying them, it took a while to get it correct but was totally worth it.

Installing Custom Roms

Custom rom means an os which is specially customized for your phone to give you the maximum performance.
Installing a custom rom means replacing your stock rom with the customized one which is obviously better. Custom rom gives you a better interface and you can also overclock your processor. Ther roms whicch work bets with Ideos X5 are Miui, Cyanogenmod, Oxygen. I perfer Miui and also using it right now because of its better interface. It get a benchmark score of 2800 with overclock of 1.6ghz 
The updated roms can be easily acquired from xda forum huawei idoes x5 (even i get if rom from here).
Download your desired rom from here and copy it to your sd card. Try making a separate folder for the rom so that its handy while installing.




Installing custom rom will erase all the phone data so backup your data to sd card or anywhere you like. Download Titanium Backup from marketplace to backup your apps so that you can restore them in your custom rom too. Read all the steps, understand them amd only then proceed if you are new to this.




Installing Custom Rom:

1. Copy the zip file of your custom on your sd card.
2. Turn on your phone in recovery (Volume up + power)
3. Run "wipe data", "resotre factory settings" and "wipe delvik cache" (wipe delvik cache is in advanced option)
4. Once this is done select "install zip from sd card" and browse it to the zip file of your custom rom.
5. Once the installation is done, slelect "reboot system now"
6. Your phone will now boot in your custom rom.

Feel free to post queries.  

Install Clock Work Mod Recovery

After successfully rooting your phone its time to install clock work mod recovery to your phone. The cwm as it is called gives flexibility in the customization of your phone. It makes installing third party roms to your phone really easy and also enables you backup your stock rom which makes the whole process really safe.


Installation process is somewhat similar to that of rooting. Instead of replacing boot.img file you replace this file with recovery.img in the same folder. And like rooting don't forget to save the original recovery.img file to your computer as it will be required to unroot your phone. 


Note: Pleas don't root and install cmw at the same instance. Repeat the procedure two times once too root and second time to install cmw.




Operating CMW:  

1. To launch CMW you need to power on your phone while holding the volume up button.
2. Use volume controls to navigate through the menu (volume up to scroll up and volume down to scroll down).
3. To select a particular option press power on button.
4. Soft touch back button acts as the back button for CMW as well.  

Backing up your stock rom:

1. Launch CMW by holding Volume up and power on.
2. If u have done this correctly you should see a black screen with orange text.
3. Navigate to Backup and Restore option by using volume down key and select it by pressing power button.
4. Select the backup option.
5. You'll see the process has started at the lower half of the screen  and wait till its finished
6. Now select reboot system now and you are done.

This will make a backup of your current rom in your sd card. the path to which will be "clockworkmod/backup". You can copy the backup to your computer to save space on your sd card but do copy back the backup to the same directory when you want to restore the backed up rom. 

Rooting your Ideos X5

There are many ways out there to root your device. I'v checkout out most of them and concluded the stated process to be the best one, to which i came across through androidadvices.com. This method is said to update the phone from EXT3 to EXT4 which makes the device faster and yields a better  benchmarks score. To root a phone is to be its superuser. You need to Root your phone i.e. have a superuser grant in order to install a custom rom or a custom recovery. Check this link to know more about rooting.




Before we start I should inform you that Rooting voids warranty. Even though i'll be giving you a method of unrooting your device, the process should be done on your own risk. Improper steps can lead to bricking your phone so please read and understand the process well before actually carrying it out. 



First and for most you need to ensure that your phone drivers have been installed to your computer. Check this post to know how to do it.
Now that your drivers are installed, download here file and save it to your desktop.


Follow these steps :

1. Switch off your phone
2. Once Switched off, hold Volume up and Volume down button and press power button until the screen lights up.
3. You will see a pink screen once the above step is done correctly.
4. Connect your phone to the computer while the screen is still pink.
5. Once connected, you will see a storege device in My computer
6. Open it and you'll see ut has just one folder named image.
7. Folder will contain a file name boot.img, copy this file to your computer (this is the original boot file and will be required in case you want to unroot your device)
8. Copy the file downloaded file (boot.img) to this folder replacing the existing file (which you have already copied to your computer).
9. Once replaced eject your phone and remove the usb cable.
10. Pull out the battery and power on your phone by placing it again.
11. Your phone has now been rooted.

To unroot your phone just follow the same procedure and replace the downloaded boot.img with the original boot.img which you would have saved while rooting.

This video will give you a clearer idea about the process:

Feel free to post any queries.

Installing The Drivers for Ideos X5

This particular post of mine will guide you through installing the drivers for the Ideos X5. Now many of you would have done this by yourself and would feel there is no need to post it but this post is for those few who are finding it difficult to get this done. Installing the driver is the first basic step to be done before you head toward rooting  your phone or even installing a custom recovery.


In some cases the drivers get automatically get installed once you plug in the usb into your compuer and sometimes you get an error like "Drivers for this device cannot be installed" (was the case with me).
So if yours is the case like mine was then the steps below will guide you in fixing the driver issue.

Find the drivers software: 

                                             The driver software is already present   in your phone. When you plug in your phone to your pc, windows would detect your device and display it in My Computer (You may have ti turn on the debug mode in your phone by going into settings< usb connectivity ). Right Click on the device and select "Open in new window" (if using windows 7) or "Explore" (if using windows xp). Navigate through the folders to find a folder named "drivers". Thats it this folder contains the driver software of Ideos x5. Copy this onto your desktop. If you couldn't find the driver software, you may use here link provided below to download them.  These are the drivers from my phone which i have uploaded.

Installing the Drivers:  

                                      Now that you have located the drivers its time to install them.

1. Open device Manager
2. Find your device on the list.
3. Double Click on it and select update driver in the opened window.
4. Select "Browse My Computer for driver software".
5. Browser the window to the saved driver software folder
6. Hit next and you will see the driver has been installed.

Note: there will be an exclamation over your driver in device manager which states that the driver is not installed yet. Absence of the yellow exclamatory mark means your driver has been installed.

Feel free to ask any queries or if you are facing is difficulty.

The Ideos X5 or U8800

Coming over to the Phone itself, all the specification an stuff is provided below. The only thing which I miss in the device is a physical camera shutter button, lacks a secondary camera but i don't need it anyway. The box mrp of this device in India is 14,999/- INR and i got it for around 12,500/- INR. The phone came to my notice through a site (igyaan.in) and since then I have wished to get my hands on this one. In India the phone is only available in selected cities and even i had to order it online as all my efforts to find it in the local market were invain.


Here are the specifications and reviews of the  Ideos X5

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	Announced	2010, December
	Status	Available. Released 2011, April

BODY	Dimensions	120 x 62 x 11.6 mm
	Weight	130 g
		- Touch-sensitive controls

DISPLAY	Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 3.8 inches (~246 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes
		- Dolby Mobile sound enhancement

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD (TransFlash) up to 32GB
	Internal	2/4 GB storage, 512 MB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps (U8800H) / 7.2 Mbps (U8800); HSUPA, 5.76 / 2 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	No

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo), upgradable to v2.3
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM7230
	CPU	800 MHz Scorpion
	GPU	Adreno 205
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS integration - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, Talk - MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/WMV/H.263/H.264 player - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 380 h (2G) / Up to 440 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 8 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 6 h 40 min (3G)

source: gsmarena.com

Reviews:

sources: igyaan.in and phonearena.com respectively.