Archive for the ‘customization’ Category

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Sony Ericsson made camera libraries (drivers) available!

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

SE is giving quite a bit these days! From announcement of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update, to supporting FreeXperia group, Sony Ericsson is making a big step in development, and what’s more important, making a step ahead of the others. We just might see SE going up the ranks.

Making camera libraries, (essentially camera drivers) public, means that modders around the world can modify those libraries, make adjustments of their liking, and ultimately have better experience with Xperia smartphones and their cameras. Similar situation already happened with Sony Ericsson cellphones, now you got whole array of camera drivers that are better than original ones, even that they are model-dependent.

This libraries come with special EULA licence (in archive), it’s not that long, it’s not strict, but do read it carefully before doing anything.

SE says that they decided to do this because, at first, drivers made some trouble to FreeXperia group, as libraries they used heavily relied on Xperia’s default ROM, while FreeXperia group used custom ROMs, which didn’t totally support the camera. Next move was by Sony Ericsson. They rebuilt the drivers, essentially keeping same files, but made it less reliable on default Xperia ROM. And then they decided to make them public, as they realized that this could help people using custom ROMs, and even users with default ROM, that wanted to get out every bit of their cameras.
On the other side, we expect fixing of Xperia Mini Pro’s electromagnetic noise problem, as some believe that faulty drivers are causing trouble.

You can download the libraries here (remember to read that short license inside archive)
At the moment, it’s not very clear on how to edit libraries, but they should hopefully explain it soon at FreeXperia XDA thread

From: Aleksandar, via SE Dev World

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…vers-available/

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Xperia Arc, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Neo, Xperia Pro, Xperia active, Xperia ray, android, camera, customization, developer, x-series, xperia | 7 Comments »

Sony Ericsson supporting FreeXperia – CyanogenMod for 2011 devices

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

On 28. September, Sony Ericsson Developer Blog declared that they now support FreeXperia group.

Sony Ericsson seems to accept independent developers more every day, they started unlocking bootloaders, showed how to make your own Linux kernel, and now, they’re supporting FreeXperia devs. Not that they support whole spectrum of modding activities (like rooting) but they recognize independent ROM developing (and such) as indispensable part of Android.

This are pretty good news, meaning that CyanogenMod 7 is now available on :

Arc
Neo
Mini
Mini pro
PLAY
Ray

Active and Pro will be supported soon after they get out.

The only lack is that currently now, FM radio isn’t working, but that shouldn’t be a big hassle to fix, nor that much of a major feature.

What is CyanogenMod?


Well, in case you’ve been living on Mars, or never had a Android smartphone, CM is:

Aftermarket ROM that offers many features over default manufacturer ROM’s like  Open VPN and DSP equalizer. And theming. With one APK you can repaint your whole system, where before, you could only change background and maybe some colours. And they claim that their ROM is better on performance and reliability sides than default manufacturer ROM’s.

By: Theonewithideas

Source: Both Sony Ericsson Developer Blog and CyanogenMod Blog

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…r-2011-devices/

Posted in Xperia Arc, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Neo, Xperia Play, Xperia Pro, Xperia active, Xperia ray, android, announcement, customization, developer, x-series, xperia | 1 Comment »

XPERIA PLAY – Minecraft edition in Germany

Sunday, September 25th, 2011
After the exclusive release of Minecraft pocket for XPERIA PLAY the Minecraft and Sony Ericsson fans can be happy again: Sony-Ericsson-Shop.de sells special designed XPERIA PLAY’s with Minecraft covers.
Xperia Play Minecraft


Furthermore it includes another fan-toy: Steve’s Minecraft head – popular from gamescom 2011.
MOJANG Steve's Head


But there is something that is special, too: Its price. While the cheapest price for a SIM- and branding-free PLAY is around 277€ (in Germany) the Minecraft version costs 299€.

If you want to buy it, follow this link: Sony-Ericsson-Shop.de

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…n-in-germany-2/

Posted in Xperia Play, accessories, android, article, customization, exclusive, new-colour, news, useb, x-series, xperia | 4 Comments »

X10 Gingerbread Now Pre-Rooted

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Today Sony Ericsson released its expected Xperia X10 Gingerbread update. When I broke the news, I said it wouldnt take long for the XDA to get root. Well, I was half right, and half wrong. The XDA devs have tried every known root method, and it did not work. Finally though thay have worked together, and managed to get root. But its not all sweet roses, as this method of getting root requires recovery, which of course isnt yet available for people that have already got the update. Unfortunately I havent come across a root method for those already on the updated firmware.

You can find the method of how to get and use the pre-rooted update here.

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…now-pre-rooted/

Posted in X10, android, customization, firmware, x-series, xperia | No Comments »

X10 Gingerbread: The Leaks

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
For the past few days I have been monitoring a certain thread over at XDA regarding the Gingerbread update, mainly to find out when SE have released it, and where has it. We know that it is delayed slightly (maybe until tomorrow?), and of course with a post dedicated to the Gingerbread update, they certainly have a few facts, and even a couple of rumours.


For a start, the above image is the latest picture taken of a X10 running Gingerbread. Now what is confusing with this image is that appears to be using the same kernel as the current Android 2.1 update, which would mean that the new range of Xperia phones (like Xperia Arc etc)  would still be quicker than having a new kernel for the phone. In fact one user claims that cos of the lack of a new kernel, that it is basically SE trying to release a custom ROM.

Then there is a youtube video of a X10 with Gingerbread:

It appears to be using the old UI for the Timescape widget, but then again since the video is so short it is very hard to form an opinion of the video. All we do know is that the person that posted up the video has said that that this will be out in a few weeks. Hmm. Ok, until we see the video below:

Now this looks a lot more official. Pity it is in chinese hebrew, but Im sure that this is pretty much what the X10 will look like once Gingerbread starts rolling out.

In any case, needless to say that for the update you will need to be running official stock SE software. And my tip to you is to run the generic kit for your region (or location, as thats what they are normally based on).  Thankfully, another user at XDA has decided to post most (if not, all) the kits available. Now Ive just had a look at the topic, and I suspect that this is old firmware, so it might just be worth using PC Companion or Sony Ericsson Update Service to make sure you are on the latest firmware, this way not making you too disappointed if you see a “new update”, and then find out it’s not the Gingerbread update that most people want.

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…read-the-leaks/

Posted in X10, android, customization, firmware, flashing, rumour, update, videos, x-series, xperia | 3 Comments »

Update on Custom ROMs part 2

Saturday, June 18th, 2011
About a week ago, I decided to have a look around, and see what the XDA devs are doing (or done) for the Xperia Arc and Play. After something grabbing my attention again, I decided to take another look around, and pleased to report there is a bit more of better news for the Xperia Play.

Xperia Play:

We have someone taking donations, for which appears to be for getting a phone to a dev. Afterwards, some development will take place from that dev.

It seems that Sony Ericsson still hasn’t sorted out the problem with unlocked bootloaders but running stock firmware yet, but yet again Bin4ry comes to the rescue with a fix for people that have bricked their devices by using OTA.

Also, as semi expected if we are honest, CM7.1.0 is now being created for the Play, but they are concentrating on the Arc ROM version first. Lucky them eh? ;)

There is also a custom kernel available for the Play, though it isnt exactly clear what it does.

Xperia Arc:

Again, we have a fix for OTA updates from Sony Ericsson.

The only ROM that seems to be custom is the  CM 7.1.0 (which is currently on BETA 006), but the biggest news from that thread is CWM recovery being installed on Bin4ry’s Arc. Unfortunately it appears we are not allowed to show the picture, but heres a link to the pic: http://imageshack.us…rcrecovery.jpg/

Heres hoping the new custom ROMs will be fully released versions soon

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…om-roms-part-2/

Posted in Xperia Arc, Xperia Play, android, customization, developer, firmware, flashing, modification, x-series, xperia | No Comments »

Update On Custom ROMs

Friday, June 10th, 2011
It has been a little while since Sony Ericsson unlocked the bootloader for their new Xperia devices, so what has been happening since we last looked?

Xperia Play:

Since getting root, there hasnt been any major dev activity, which Im really surprised about. Perhaps there is ROM development going on, but it’s all in secret until it is all stable enough for users to use

Xperia Arc:

Well, the devs have gained root as well, but now it appears like the first ROM is on its way thanks to the dev group known as “FreeXperia”, who was responsible for a lot happening to the Xperia X10:

They aim to bring CM7.0.3 to the Arc. The latest news is that the new prelink map is ready to match 2/2 memory, which basically means that you can now use the same kernel as stock, rather than using their custom kernel for this ROM. A big improvement of yesterdays news of custom kernels not working with the SE ROM.

If you want to change your kernel, read this topic before starting. It will show you how to back up and restore the original kernel should you not want to use the custom kernel again.

A ROM preview is available (you might need the custom kernel?), but be advised: it is very buggy and remains untested (at time of writing). The ROM dev thread is here: http://forum.xda-dev…d.php?t=1102523

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…on-custom-roms/

Posted in Xperia Arc, Xperia Play, android, customization, flashing, x-series, xperia | No Comments »

XDA Devs crack sound in X10 Mini Pro

Monday, June 6th, 2011
As most previous Sony Ericsson phone owners on this forum know, there is usually more loudness we can get out of the speakers and headphones.

Despite using Android as the platform, the X10 Mini Pro is not fully excempt from this either, as one XDA member has discovered.

They have modded the *.csv files that are located in the /system/etc  directory. Apparently the headphones havent improved much, but the rear speaker should be loads better. Whether the files will work on the X10 Mini, X10, X8 or indeed the new Xperia’s remains to be seen (or heard!).

CSV files were used in the DB3xxx seires of phones, and the modders for those couldnt get much better with them, so I wonder if theres a load more other files we havent discovered.

Anyway, if you want to try the new CSV files, you can get them from here: http://forum.xda-dev…d.php?t=1111354

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…n-x10-mini-pro/

Posted in android, customization, developer, x-series, xperia | No Comments »

X10 Mini Pro gets Dualtouch from XDA devs!

Friday, May 6th, 2011
slade87 and doixanh from XDA managed to get Dualtouch working on X10 Mini Pro devices! The module they created unloads the kernel driver and loads a new modified Dualtouch driver. After that you can use two fingers!

You only need a X10 Mini Pro which is:

  • rooted

and has

  • latest Kernel and Baseband M76XX-TSNCJOLYM-53404015

If you want to get it visit X10 Mini Pro Dualtouch

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…-from-xda-devs/

Posted in X10, customization, modification, x-series, xperia | 6 Comments »

Xperia Play and Neo rooted!

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Earlier on today I brought you news of the Arc getting rooted. Just as I thought, the Play has also been rooted, along with the Neo!

Granted, root is currently available for certain firmware, and I would advise you to keep an eye on our Android Tuts and Guides section for exact details for the rooting process.

If your generic firmware isnt yet rooted, it seems that all that is required is your system.img, which you will get as part of the firmware from SEUS. Im certain that if you ask Bin4ry rather nicely, he will also root your generic firmware (sorry, he wont root branded firmware. I have just asked him)

From Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog: http://blog.se-nse.n…and-neo-rooted/

Posted in Xperia Neo, Xperia Play, android, customization, developer, firmware, flashing, xperia | 3 Comments »

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