Hi all.

As everyone can see, there are no longer any ads on the site. The reason that is is because Google saw too many “invalid” clicks on my site and decided to axe my Google Adsense account. Bummer! That was actually a pretty decent amount of additional income every month. Darn.

Anyways, I am working on finding different adsense providers.

However, if anyone ever finds any of my stuff useful, I encourage you to send a few dollars my way. Even if it is only a dollar or two. A few dollars everyday is plenty to buy lunch, or to pay for gas.

-Kevin a.k.a. D.O.

The Importance of Donations and Supporting Developer

Developing ROM’s and any other freeware is not a “Get Rich” ploy. It is more like a “Get Poor” ploy. Anyone that has ever developed any free software or apps can tell you that. They spend countless hours developing and tweaking software for other people to enjoy. I know everyone hates those “please donate” messages. And I know you guys often ignore them. I did. But let me try to convince you why you should donate.

Developers have day jobs. That means, they go to work, they come home, and they often develop in their free time, instead of relaxing in front of the tv, spending time with the significant other/girlfriend/wife/slave driver, or doing other things. They sacrifice their free time in order to better the software for the benefit of others. They spend countless hours helping users troubleshoot software, problems, and glitches. Often answering emails, supporting users by instant messenger or IRC, or going beyond the call and spending countless hours creating updates and fixes.

And how much do you think they make for their work. Honestly, they would be lucky to average a few dollars an hour. Way below minimum wage and way less than they deserve. The software is free, so they aren’t making anything from sales. Ad in apps don’t really generate that much revenue. And if you are running an ad blocker, it isn’t generating any income.

So donate! Or support their apps by not blocking them and visiting their sponsors. Especially visiting their sponsors. You don’t have to donate a huge sum of money. A few dollars here or there is enough to brighten up their day. Remember that $1 buys you two tacos from Jack in the Box. $2 or $3 buys you coffee from Starbuck’s. $5 is burger, fries, and a soda. Even if it is only a dollar here and a dollar there, the combined effort of many people can make an huge impact. That is, more time for developers to develop instead of working to pay bills. More money to buy gifts to keep the girlfriend happy. And money to buy test devices to develop software for different platforms.

Moral of the story, donate $2 or $3. It is an investment that will benefit you!!

DarkOnion’s Handbook to the Droid 2 and Droid X

Table of Contents

Part 1: Importing your Contacts
Part 2: Rooting
Part 3: Creating a Backup Image – Nandroid Backup
Part 4: SBF Recovery – Factory Reset/Recovery
Part 5: Wireless Tethering
Part 6: ROM’s
Part 6-1: Themes
Part 7: Overclocking

Part 1: Importing your Contacts

Welcome to the Android world. I hope that you are enjoying your phone over that Apple junk. First thing you want to do is import all your contacts from Verizon’s BackUp Assistant to your Google Account. What’s nice about the Android platform is that your contacts and most of your settings are automatically sync’ed between your Google account and your Android phone. So… let’s say hypothetically you dropped your phone into the toilet and it is now dead, cough, sister, cough. When you get a replacement Android phone, you simply sign in to your Google account and your contacts, settings, and applications will be restored.

However, this isn’t always the case. What you need to do is move the contacts from Verizon Back-Up Assistant into your Google account.

To do this, you need several things.

a. Verizon Back-Up Assistant account
https://login.verizonwireless.com/amserver/UI/Login?realm=vzw&goto=https%3A%2F%2Fwbillpay.verizonwireless.com%3A443%2Fba%2Fsecure%2Fbackupassistant.action

b. Google Account
You probably already have this if you have a Droid 2/X phone.

Instructions:

1. Login to your BackUp Assistant account. You’ll see all your contacts. Under the “Welcome,” then “change view,” then “sort by,” you will see “select all.” Click that. All your contacts are highlighted. It will become “select none.”

2. To the right of select none, there is an “action” pull down menu. Click it and choose “export contacts.”

3. A window will pop-up, choose CSV (Outlook). A download dialog box will appear. Save the contact.csv file.

4. Once you do that, login to your Google Mail account, and go to your contacts.

5. Immediately above your contacts, the button on the farthest on the right is “more actions.” Click that and choose import.

6. You will be prompted. Select the contact.csv file you just downloaded in step 3, and click import. Voila! Your contacts are now stored with Google and will sync with your phone.

Part 2: Rooting

What is rooting?

Rooting is the process where you obtain administrative (or superuser, “su,” or root) privileges that will allow you to make modifications to your phone that the normal user doesn’t have access to. Rooting itself does not provide any additional advantages. It simply allows you, or applications, to make modifications to your phone.

Rooting will allow you to install applications that require root (Wireless Tether, AdFree, Koush Bootstrapper), install ROM’s, or make changes to system files that the regular user can’t do.

Can I brick my phone by rooting?

Not really. I’ve only seen it happen 3 or 4 times total out of thousands and thousands of attempts. Can it happen? Yes, but very unlikely?

How easy is this?

It is incredibly difficult if you choose to not follow the directions. Both methods are very simple. Follow the directions and don’t skip steps.

Can I unroot my phone?

Yes. DORoot has an unroot option. It is as simple as double-clicking dounroot.bat. If you system update your phone, your phone will also unroot itself.

How do I root my phone?

Here are two options. Make sure you follow the directions.

1. DORoot (works on Droid 2 only, no D2G or DX)
http://www.kimete.com/dorootwin.html

2. Z4Root (works on all three)
http://www.kimete.com/z4root.html

Part 3: Creating a BackUp Image (Nandroid BackUp)

One of the essential tools for the Droid 2 and Droid X is Koush Bootstrapper which “installs” Clockwork Recovery on your phone. One of the nice feature of Clockwork Recovery is the ability to create a back-up image that will be stored on your SD Card. In the event that your phone’s software becomes unhappy, you can restore your phone to the exact moment you created your image. That is, restore all your apps, contacts, settings, etc.

Koush Bootstrap requires your phone to be rooted and of course have Koush Bootstrap installed.

To create a backup image:

1. Open Koush Bootstrapper, tap bootstrap recovery.
2. Then tap reboot recovery. Your phone will reboot.
3. You will come up to a menu with green text and black background. Welcome to Clockwork Recovery.
4. Go down to Back up and Restore and select. (Volume keys, and camera trigger to select.)
5. Select backup and let your phone work its magic. Congratulations. You’ve created a backup.

To restore a backup image:

1. Load up into Clockwork. Like creating an image. If you can’t get into Clockwork like that, pull the battery and place it back in and power on.
2. You will come up to a menu with green text and black background.
3. Go down to Back up and Restore and select. (Volume keys, and camera trigger to select.)
4. Select restore and and choose an image to restore. Files are named by the time and date that you created the image.  Let it run its magic, and voila! Restored!

Part 4: SBF Recovery (Setting your phone back to factory default as if it just came out of the box)

SBF Recovery is the method you would use if you fubared your phone. That is… you attempted to root, or install ROM’s, or what not and failed. And now your phone is unhappy and won’t run, or is causing you a lot of trouble. This method will reset your phone back to just-out-of-the-box stock. The method requires you to download the flash image, approximately 400MB (file extension .sbf), a flashing program (RSD Lite for Windows, sbf_flash for Linux), and flashing your phone. This method allows you to flash to stock of your current system version and/or update. Backdating to an older version will permanently brick your phone.

Windows users, use this method
http://www.kimete.com/sbfrsd.html

Linux users, use this method
http://www.kimete.com/dosbf.html

Part 5: Wireless Tether

Wireless Tether is the ability to create your phone into a wireless hotspot and allow WiFi devices to contact to the internet via your Droid phone. This method does require root. You can enable wireless tether in two ways. Root then download the “Wireless Tether” app from Marketplace, or use the 3G Mobile Hotspot app that comes with your phone, and install the TBH Patch/hack for that. If you decide to use the latter method, you will also need to have root and have Koush Bootstrapper installed. Either of which, you do NOT need to purchase the additional data plan from Verizon! Your standard data plan is fine.

TBH Patch/3G Mobile Hotspot method instructions can be found here:
http://kimete.com/3gtutorial.html

Wireless Tether Application info and QR codes can be found here:
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/

Part 6: ROM’s

Forget whatever you learned from installing ROM’s on your OG Droid or Droid Incredible or any other Android phone. Installing ROM’s on the Droid 2 and Droid X is NOT the same procedure as other phones. You CAN NOT flash ROM’s using RSD Lite or ROM Manager to your Droid 2/X.

ROM’s are essentially software operating systems and packages that alter the feel of your phone. They are still Android, but incorporate different software and apps, different visual themes, and various features. Each ROM has something unique to offer. Which ROM is the best, is up to you. Choose the one you think is best suited for you. But the end result of all these ROM’s will make your phone run much more smoothly, more reliably, more efficiently, as well as return much better battery performance.

For the Droid 2/X, you need to be 1) rooted and 2) have Koush Bootstrapper installed and bootstrapped. The Droid 2 and Droid X does NOT support the traditional ROM Manager. Don’t even bother. Lastly, you can not install ROM’s using the stock recovery. Locked bootloader. It won’t work! Root your phone. Bootstrap your phone. Reboot into CLOCKWORK Recovery, and install ROM’s through that.

Check out these ROM’s. All are stable, and each offer their own unique twist. When you install ROM’s, be sure to READ THE DIRECTIONS. This can not be stressed enough. READ THE DIRECTIONS. 90% of the errors are due to people not carefully reading the directions.

ROM’s to Consider

Fission: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=851623
ApeX: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=879796
GummyJAR: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=874525
Liberty: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=910269
Cobalt: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=874220

More in depth information on choosing ROM’s can be found here:
http://kimete.com/blog/2010/12/30/everything-about-roms/

Sample ROM installation video can be found here. This video should be used as a very general guide to installing ROM’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQByUmKCCc4

Part 6-1: Themes

Themes are visual/graphical interface packages that change your stock looking Android theme into a different color/graphical scheme. This can include the changing of menu styles, icons, status bars, widgets, and/or indicators. You need to remember that themes are not universal. Each theme needs to be specifically designed for each system system version and ROM. In other words, a theme for stock Droid 2 will not work for Fission and vice-versa. Even inside the same ROM, a theme for one version may or may not work for a different version.

Themes usually require root and are usually applied through Koush Bootstrap/Clockwork Recovery.

Part 7: Overclocking

Overclocking your phone is like overclocking your computer. You are asking your phone to run at a higher speed. Do you really need this? Yes and no. For day to day purposes, no, you don’t. Running at 1ghz is plenty fine, but if you need a little more kick out of your phone, consider overclocking it. There are risks though. Going to far and lessen the lifespan of your phone and/or cause your phone to bootloop (or not allow you to completely boot), if not destroy your phone hardware, so beware! The trade-off to overclocking your phone is lessen battery life in exchange for more processing power, or underclocking your phone (less processing power, but more battery life).

How-to Overclock your phone can be found here. (One of many methods to OC your phone.)
http://www.kimete.com/dooverclock.html

Droid X/2 Overclocking App
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/10/22/jrummy-releases-droid-x2-overclock-app/

My friend StupidChicken, his real name is Thomas, recently asked me which Android phone on Verizon he should get… and my answer was, “I don’t know… whatever you want.” Not trying to be a bad friend, lazy, or anything, but that’s the truth. Choosing a phone can be difficult, not because it is, but because you want to make a wise investment. So… here it is, my short little how-to on how to choose an Android phone.

First of all, stay name brand. Don’t go out and buy some knock-off product from one of those Taiwanese knock-off sites… Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and a few other are big name players in the Android market. Whoa… there are that many manufacturers?! Yup… and you know what that means?? You have OPTIONS!! And a lot of options at that!

Here are some things to consider.

Service Providers. Take your pick. If you are happy with your current mobile phone service, you certainly should stay. Certain phones are exclusive to certain networks. So, also keep that in mind. The other thing you might want to take look at is 3G and 4G coverage area. Don’t be fooled by services that gloat about their 4G service coverage. At the moment, 1/2/2011, 4G coverage is only available in small patches around the country. There are plans to be more comprehensive coverage down the line. Ask your service provider for more info about 4G.

Data speed. Pretty much all the service have 3G. As for 4G, that is still being deployed. The next question is whether you want to purchase a new phone that supports 4G. 3G phones can not achieve 4G speed. 4G phones are backwards compatible with 3G network though. I personally believe that 4G coverage, is still awhile away. The question is if you want to fork over the extra money for a phone that supports 4G. There are only a handful of 4G compatible phones on the market at the moment, and there are more on the way. Me personally… think about how long your phone is going to last. I personally think that a phone’s life, on average, is no greater than 1.5 years. And I imagine the phone you buy today will be somewhat obsolete and old in 18 months, anyways. Play with your numbers. If 4G enabled phone is worth the additional cost, go for it.

Phone and screen sizes. Choose a phone that best meet your needs. If you are looking for something compact, get a compact phone. If you want to use your phone as a GPS, or as something to watch movies on at work, go with a bigger phone. Think about what you would use your phone for. I choose the Droid 2 over the Droid X because I like the compact size. I already have my phone, wallet, keys, pocket knife, and spare change in my pockets… Might as well get something that doesn’t take up a huge amount of space.

Reasons to consider a larger screen: playing games, multimedia, GPS use in the car, poor vision, or big hands/fingers (easier to navigate on a larger screen).
Reasons to consider a smaller screen: more compact. Don’t be fooled though, just because the screen is smaller, doesn’t necessarily mean the resolution is worse, and vice versa.

Hardware. Which phone is the fastest? or the best? They are all great phones. Though… I do recommend getting a phone from the current generation. Take it from someone who has messed with most Android phones from this generation. They all have 1Ghz processors, and can all call, email, text, facebook, twitter, etc. My Droid 2 can pretty much do anything that my friends Droid Pro can. His Droid Pro can pretty much anything that an Evo4G can do, minus the 4G speeds. For the average user, for regular, everyday use, they are all pretty much, the SAME! Say it with me… the S-A-M-E. They can do all the same tasks, and can run all the same software.

User interface. Some phones come with stock Android. The HTC phone utilize Sense UI. Motorola has Blur. Samsung uses their own thing. Take your pick which one you like. They are pretty much cosmetic. Underlying each, is a running Android system. Though… I’d try to get a phone with an up-to-date Android version (2.2 Froyo, or 2.3 Gingerbread). Choose something YOU like! Another thing that I’d recommend is the ability to “root,” or hack your phone. The average user probably won’t root their phone, so I won’t talk about it, but that’s something to consider if you are a techie.

Keyboards. Do you want a physical keyboard or no? To be clarify, you can still use an onscreen keyboard if you have a physical keyboard. There are many phones with physical slide out keyboards. Some mimic the crackberry with the screen and keyboard immediately accessible. And for those who don’t have a physical keyboard, you always have an option to get a Bluetooth physical keyboard. I find that if you plan to text, email, or surf the internet a lot, a physical keyboard is very helpful, though… there are people who prefer the onscreen keyboard over the physical one. Choose the one that you think will best benefit you!

Durability. How much can you abuse it? The only thing I have to say about this is… if you want to throw, drop, submerse, or abuse your phone, IT WILL BREAK! It’s a phone, not a tank. Don’t be careless about your phone. It is a $600 device. Treat it like one. Accidents do happen though… invest in some screen protectors (you can get cheap ones on Amazon), maybe a rubber case of some sort, and protect your phone. Lastly, create good habits. Don’t text while bathing or on the “throne” (how my sister bricked her iPhone, whoops, dropped it in the toilet). If it is raining hard, or you are doing something (like in the splash zone at Seaworld) where you can get wet… well… don’t get it wet. Doesn’t take much for you to ruin your phone. Common sense, really.

Accessories. Also take into consideration some of the accessories. Though, I don’t think this places as much as some of the previous criteria, you certain should consider it. Things like camera resolution, memory card size, HDMI ports, accessories, etc. Camera and memory card is a must. The question really is if more resolution, or more memory is a requirement for you.

Last but not least, Price. Let’s be honest… the world revolves around money. How much do you want to spend? What type of deals you have access to? How much less is getting a slightly older phone than one that recently was released?

Of all the phones I’ve played with the 1ghz processor, I’ve been very pleased. They all do the task well, and for average users, one does not stand apart more than the other. What will set a phone apart from another is the additional options that it provides to you, the end user. Choose a phone which you think you could fully utilize. That is, get the phone with the options you like, and would probably use.

For example:

Here is how I chose my current Droid 2.

At the time, three phones were available. The Motorola Droid 2, Droid X, and HTC Incredible. I am on a Verizon family plan. All three are solid phones. The Droid (1) is a last generation phone that had the 55o mhz processor, so I didn’t consider that. I felt the Droid X was too large. The Incredible was perfect in size, but lacked a physical keyboard. The Droid 2 had a physical keyboard, but was slightly thicker than the Incredible. I weighed my options… I like having a physical keyboard with the slightly bigger phone. And I like how the Droid 2 came with Froyo (2.2). And these things outweighed the Droid X larger screen size, and Incredible’s compact size, and that’s how I chose the Droid 2.

Hope that this little article helps you all!

Hi all.

A lot of you guys come to know me as the go-to person for tutorials and videos about Android phones and tools for the Motorola Droid 2 and Droid X. What many of you guys don’t know is that I have another hobby that I am equally passionate about, and my name is equally as notorious in that world.

Not too go too much into me. You can do that by visiting my other website:

www.darkonion.com

But what I wanted to share with you guys is my love for cars and motorsports. The Underdogs Documentary is a five episode documentary about a small local shop trying to make a name for themselves in the motorsports world. You’ll get a look at what really goes down on race day and the days leading up to it. And you’ll be surprised to see how much is often over looked.

All videos can be found here:

http://theunderdogsdoc.com/

I always get asked about ROM’s. More often than one would think.

For those who don’t know what a ROM is, it is essentially a software package for your phone. There are very basic ROM’s that change the visuals on your phone to full blown ROM’s that essentially changes everything and allows you to have better performance, better battery life, different interface, and more reliable software.

What are the benefits of having a ROM? Well… there are a lot. Generally speaking, you will have a smoother running phone, better performance, more efficient battery life, and better reliability than what the stock software provides. And in many cases where you have a well supported ROM, you will encounter fewer bugs and problems than stock. Phones are often plagued with problems out of the factory, and many times, manufacturers will take their leisurely time in addressing the issues… if they ever do it all. With ROM projects, there is always an active effort to fix problems right away.  On many ROM’s, there will be added functions, such as tethering and overclocking. What makes ROM’s unique is that developers spend a great deal of time putting together a functional and practical package. That is… taking out junk that no one uses and adding applications and functions that enhances the functionality of your phone!

Sounds good! How do I get a ROM onto my phone? Well, every ROM differs. And every phone differs as well. Though, installing ROM’s is much simpler than it seems. The secret to success… Read the directions! Say it with me… READ THE DIRECTIONS!

What is the best ROM? There is no right answer to this. There are a lot of great projects out there. And at the end of the day, the best ROM is the ROM that best suits you. YOU!

A ROM, as a bare minimum needs to be mostly functional and complete. ROM’s that are unable to meet the needs of daily everyday use can’t really be considered as practical ROM’s, let alone good ROM’s. ROM’s needs to be generally bug and error free.

Additionally, here are my important criteria for choosing ROM’s.

Functionality. Does the ROM have all the components I need? Does it have a working text messaging, camera, phone, email, etc. package? It’s hard to utilize your phone if you can’t use the camera, or make calls. It’s better to have a working phone with lots of visual bugs than to have a nice interface, yet nothing works.

Reliability. The ROM needs to be, for the most part, reliable. Random restarts, freezing, and application force closing, aren’t good. One can only tolerate so much… this also plays into functionality. If your phone is failing all the time, how can your phone be functional.

Performance. A phone should perform smoothly. No one likes a slow phone.  No one likes waiting for their phone. It is not practical. You don’t need a blistering fast ROM. The difference between a fast ROM and a blistering fast ROM is insignificant. Fast and stupid fast, is still fast. Slow is slow, and fast is fast. Fast is much faster than slow.

Visual and cosmetic stuff. That’s all up to you, the end user. Everyone likes something different. ROM’s will support different themes as well, so you can always change that. What works for me, maybe be too dull or too flashy for you. If you like it, you should run it.

What ROM’s do you recommend? Well… any ROM with the criteria I provided above. Of the three ROM’s I’ve tried on the Droid 2, (Fission, ApeX, and GummyJar), I’ve been really happy with all of them. They are all solid ROM’s. The average users with the basic day to day use, will be unable to notice the difference in performance between the three ROM’s. What I will say though, is that you will notice a huge difference from stock to these three ROM’s. These ROM’s are significantly better than stock in EVERY way. The biggest thing you will notice will visuals. And at that point, it is whatever floats your boat! All three are reliable. All three are fast. One might be faster than the other, but the difference is not noticeable. And all three have great software package with it. There may be different variations and versions of software, but for the most part, they still do the same task.

How do you review ROM’s? I review ROM’s based on functionality and reliability. A small part is also the performance. Performance does not need to be exceptional. It just needs to be able to perform well. If anything, the thing I am looking for is that the ROM is not severely slow. As for cosmetics, such as interface, that’s really up to the user and his or her preferences. I certainly can’t comment or review on themes and interfaces, but I certainly can tell you if a theme/interface is a disaster. The biggest factor is functionality and reliability. Functionality more than reliability. A ROM does not need to be bulletproof. Occasional failures are okay, but it still needs to be generally reliable, but occurrences should be rare, if not at all.  As for functionality, that is the biggest thing. Phone needs to be functional and practical. Major tasks need to be generally error free. You need to use the phone. The phone needs to work.

Hope that helps you guys on choosing ROM’s!!!

DOSBF can be found at http://kimete.com/download.html

SBF Files can be found here at iamthewalcs.com.

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

How to Install Fission ROM Manager and Koush Bootstrapper for Droid 2/Droid X