Unlock the Bootloader on Your Sony Droid Phone

MobileMaiden — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:38:48 +0000

photo credit: Unlock Your Sony Cell Phone

Sony Ericsson now gives you directions on how to unlock the bootloader on their Android phones. In the past, Sony has been known to unfriendly to developers and modifiers. However, now the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog has announced that the Xperia Arc, Neo, Play, and Pro will have a feature that enables an easy bootloader unlock method. Of course along with the directions, they warn you that you could majorly screw up your phone and not be able to recover from the screw-up.

Unlock the Bootloader on Your Sony Droid Phone

Bootloader? What’s that? A bootloader is part of the Android operating system that enables users to get into recovery mode. This is required in order to load custom ROM’s on Android phones. According to Andrew Kameka, Androinica, “Motorola originally had an anti-hack policy that the company has since begun to backtrack on, and HTC, which has traditionally been hands-off with hacking community, has begun shipping some phones with locked bootloaders. Android developers eventually discover workarounds for these roadblocks, but Sony Ericsson is surprisingly reversing its course on appealing to advanced consumers.”

Sony’s blogger site gives dire warnings about unlocking the bootloader. On the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog they state, “If you unlock the boot loader and then flash a custom unsigned ROM to your phone, the custom unsigned ROM will not have gone through the thorough tests that we run for each phone and software version that we release. Because of that, the custom unsigned ROM might not work properly on your phone. Certain functions may cease to work, and the performance of the device might not be ideal. You might damage your phone permanently. In worst case, it will cause physical injuries or material damage, for example, due to the phone overheating. Therefore, you should only unlock the boot loader of your phone if you are an advanced developer with good knowledge of the technology and risks involved. We strongly recommend that standard users NOT unlock the boot loader, as it is not needed. We are proud to deliver great phone experiences through our rigorously tested and official software releases.”

The bottom line? Just don’t do it unless you are a very experienced developer. This is not something you should experiment with unless you really know what you are doing.

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GoodGuide Lists Top “Virtuous” Cell Phones

MobileMaiden — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:43:49 +0000

photo credit: Top Virtuous Cell Phones

Wonder what impact your cell phone has on the environment? GoodGuide has just published a report rating the top 5 “virtuous” cell phones. The ratings are based upon not only environmentally safe practices, but also takes into consideration the social attributes as well? “Social attributes?” you may ask. This rating has to do with the safety and labor policies of the company manufacturing the cell phones. GoodGuide ranks individual models and manufacturers on 3 levels: health, environment, and social attributes. 576 phone models were rated.

GoodGuide Lists Top “Virtuous” Cell Phones

Which phones were rated highest by GoodGuide? According to an article posted by Martin LaMonica, GreenTech, “Nokia phones hold the top spot with a model that contributes to a score of 7.7 out of 10. That’s followed by phones from Samsung, Motorola, Palm, and Sony Ericsson. BlackBerry and its phones are at the bottom, with the lowest score a 3.3 out of 10. Phones from LG, Garmin-Asus, Casio, and Sharp contribute to scores that are largely between 4 and 5.” Apple’s iPhone came in just about middle of the ratings.

How are the ratings derived? Rating the environmental attributes, GoodGuide took into consideration the cell phone’s standby power consumption, as well as the use of recyclable materials used in the packaging and the phone itself. Those products not using bromide flame retardants and PVC are rated higher. Cell phone radiation emissions are not factored in, as there is no consensus about the amount of radiation allowable.

The social attributes rating is based on several factors. Compliance with labor laws is only one aspect. Another consideration is how a manufacturer rates on policies and practices related to conflict minerals, according to the Enough Project. Employee safety is another big concern affecting the ratings. The ratings even include the ethics of the manufacturer.

Are consumers concerned with how their cell phone rates by GoodGuide? I’m not sure too many people are even aware there is a rating like GoodGuide’s. However, as more awareness grows, consumers may make their cell phone purchases based not only on the features the cell phone offers, but also may take into consideration some of the issues rated by GoodGuide. What’s your take on the cell phone ratings? Do you see yourself consulting the ratings by GoodGuide before purchasing another cell phone?

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Unlock the Bootloader on Your Sony Droid Phone