Hacking Android: EVO gets rooted, Froyo does Hulu, more
May 24, 2010: 12:07 PM ETAndroid developers are already knee deep into the latest Google technology released at I/O last week and have made some significant breakthroughs.
Sprint EVO 4G rooted:
What happens when you give away 5000 of your smartphones to the some pretty clever developers at the Google I/O (GOOG) conference? Sprint (S) found out yesterday when its yet-to-be-released HTC EVO (the most amazing smartphone I've ever touched btw) was rooted.
That means that developers will soon be able to install upgrades to the OS and major modifications without Sprint's approval. Sprint hasn't even officially released the superphone yet, but it is scheduled to be available on June 4th.
The good news for Sprint is that the phone is now that more appealing to a certain hacker sect and should see some added functionality. The bad news is that Sprint might find it hard to get the $30 extra for the hotspot feature when hackers can add it to their phones without Sprint's blessing.
Hulu on Android:
For users of the Nexus One and Froyo, Google's just-announced Android OS 2.2 update with Adobe Flash 10.1, there is a simple hack that tricks Hulu into thinking you are accessing the service on a desktop computer. I can confirm that this works and was even able to re-view the horrific finale to Lost on this morning's commute. Look for Hulu to make attempts to block the service to Android devices in the very near future.
Droid to get Froyo Soon
The most popular Android smartphone, the Verizon Droid from Motorola will soon be getting the 2.2 Froyo update. A spokesperson told Slashgear:
"While I can't comment on specifics, we do expect DROID by Motorola users will receive Android 2.2 as a software upgrade in the near future."
ChromeToPhone:
If you loved Google's demonstration of the Chrome to Phone extension, it is now fairly simple to implement on your Froyo device. You need to install a Chrome extension (here) and install an Android app (here). Impressively, a Firefox extension has already been released. Video demonstration below.
