Make: Online: Cellphones Archives

Archive: Cellphones

November 3, 2009

iPhone 3G and 3GS unlocked with blacksn0w

Master iPhone unlocker George Hotz aka GeoHot has done it again. Apparently the current iPhone 3G/3GS baseband has been successfully cracked and new unlock code titled blacksn0w will soon become available through the blackr1n jailbreak. [via iPhoneSchool]

November 2, 2009

Android 2.0 shoehorned onto G1/Dream

Android hacker Akia Harada has successfully ported the latest version of Android to the T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream. It's an early build that needs optimization, but it does boot and gives those brave enough to install it a glimpse of the new Android 2.0 operating system. [via AndroidGuys]

October 28, 2009

DIY virtual reality goggles

Check out this cool Android-based head mounted display. Andrew Lim of recombu.com used an HTC Magic running Google Street View, safety goggles, and some cardboard to fashion one of the coolest HMD this side of Lawnmowerman. [Thanks, Andrew!]

October 23, 2009

Extra cell phones? Start an orchestra!

This ad for Vodafone New Zeland is an impressive technical feat. They loaded up 1000 cell phones with ringtones for single instruments, and then built a system to send text messages to them in the correct order, to get them to perform a portion of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture. Considering the amount of delay that I usually notice when sending messages, I was pretty surprised that they claim to have performed this over their regular cell network. [via gizmodo]

October 9, 2009

Motorola Blur ported to G1

Motorola's new Android UI has been ported to the HTC G1. The accompanying video of the unofficial build shows off many of the user enhancements shipping with the newer Motorola Android based phones. [via Android and Me]

September 29, 2009

Video recording comes to Palm Pre

A number of folks have been working determinedly at getting video recording capabilities functioning on the Palm Pre since it's debut. Well, it would seem that the long wait is over. The recently released software is homebrew and a little rough around the edges, but apparently does record 320x480px@30fps. It doesn't take full advantage of the Pre's hardware, but it's a start.

[via IntoMobile]

September 25, 2009

Layar AR goes 3D

Layar, the augmented reality app for the Android platform will be incorporating 3D capabilities into the application in November. They've released a tech preview this week for PICNIC '09 in Amsterdam. The preview, which is available from the Android Market (and only works with-in and around the PICNIC festival) is a significant improvement over flat pins on a map and hopefully encourages people to further investigate the use of augmented reality.

[via androidworld.nl]

September 24, 2009

Recumbent mobile media stand hack

If you've ever tried to watch a movie on your phone in bed then you'll definitely appreciate this free-standing phone stand hack from Andrew over at Recombu. There's never been an easier way to get your lazy on. Enjoy.

[via recombu]

September 21, 2009

Foldable mobile device stand that fits in your wallet

If you've ever been stuck on a cross-country flight and needed something to prop up your mobile while you watched a movie, then you'll love this clever adjustable folding stand from the creator of the iPhone Paper Clip Stand. The design itself is ripe for modification. Laser-etched business cards anyone?

[via iPhone Atlas]

September 15, 2009

Hacking thrift store bric-a-brac

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you're handed a N900 and told to connect it to another object? That's what was asked of design studio Tinker.it in preparation of a promotional contest recently launched by Nokia. Tinker.it collaborated with London agency Hyper to devise and build four example objects "inspired by the 80's".

Built using the Arduino platform, they were extremely intriguing: a Speak and Spell which was used to text a message to a member of the audience, a Rolodex which identified a contact's details after being manually spun and automatically pulled it up on the phone, an FM radio hack which identified any '80's musician texted to the phone and then connected to Last.fm to pull up the relevant cover art as you tuned the radio to a station playing the selected artist's music, and finally a View-Master which used the phone to create custom 3D photos.

Hacking 80's Gadgets with the Nokia N900: PUSH N900 London Launch

[via psfk]

September 14, 2009

LEGO rotating dock for iPhone/iPod touch

Stephen "Doc" Combs of Bricks in my Pocket fame pieced together this fully functional LEGO rotating dock for an iPod/iPod touch. Besides watching video in landscape mode it's perfect for use with an alarm clock app.

As I began to create this little contraption I said to myself, "How could this be a bit cooler and more functional?" The answer was to make it a rotating dock so I could watch movies and apps in landscape mode.

[via hackaday]

September 10, 2009

DIY windshield mounted dash cam

Poking a hole in his commercial iPhone window mount with a Dremel tool was all it took for Tim Cox to be the proud owner of a brand new dash cam. Goes to show that not all good hacks need to be complicated. Sometimes all it takes is finding the right spot and poking a hole to see what's on the other side.

September 2, 2009

Palm Pre on-screen keyboard the easy way

Got a Palm Pre and would like an on-screen keyboard, but didn't want to bend over backwards to get it installed? You're in luck. The WebOS Internals and preware.org folks have packaged everything needed to install the on-screen keyboard into a patch for their Preware app installer, making it a relatively painless process.

[via Gizmodo]

September 1, 2009

The tech of Burning Man

@brady mentions some of the noteworthy tech coming to this year's Burning Man festival in this article over at O'Reilly Radar. Items of interest include local SMS and Burning Man Earth online directory, API, and beta iPhone app.

Burning Man Gets an API (and a Whole Lot More)

August 31, 2009

AR navigation system for Android

Wikitude Drive is an AR navigation system for the Android platform. Originally developed as a proof-of-concept, the app is a fully-functional navigation system that draws turn-by-turn directions over the live camera. [via AndroidGuys]

Controlling a light with your mobile via XMPP

Using a couple computers, a PhidgetInterfaceKit with RelayBoard, and a bevy of client/server software, Matthias Wagler and friends from Intuity Media Lab built a Rube Goldberg XMPP messaging system to frob a light using an Andorid-powered mobile device. Check out this behind-the-scenes video detailing set-up.

[via hackaday]

Speaking of 'Making Things Talk"...

August 27, 2009

Cheap iPhone macro lens for barcode scanning

This is an follow-up to an earlier post about yanking the lens from an old DVD player and using it with a cameraphone to take close-up photos.

It just so happens I have a need for a macro lens for something other than snapping picts of coins and PCB's. I'm working on a project that involves QR codes and thought this might help me out when dealing with fixed focus cameraphones. Alas, the focal length of DVD optics are meant for things measured in millimeters, so it isn't going to work for barcode scanning. Fortunately, after doing a little digging around, I found this handy Instructables project that uses the lens from a viewfinder of a disposable camera, a cheap rubber case, and a paper fastener, that seems like a viable solution.

[via Instructables]

August 26, 2009

Nice iPhone tripod mount

There are numerous DIY iPhone tripod mount projects out there, but this modified design by Jason Quinn is quite slick. His introduction of a silicone case to replace rubber bands in an existing design and good attention to finish pay off in overall aesthetics. It's a good riff on a great hack. [via sampletheweb]

August 25, 2009

Cameraphone DVD macro lens hack

Even if you've got a newer phone with an auto-focus lens you may still be able to take advantage of this resourceful macro lens hack. Disassemble an old DVD player for the lens, fabricate a lens holder out of cardboard, and place it before the standard lens with some poster mount, and you've got yourself a decent DIY macro lens.

[cnflikt via DIYphotography]

August 18, 2009

Root an Android phone the easy way

Using a custom APK file you can root your Android phone with relative ease. Once rooted, you're free to install one of the latest custom Android ROMs on the phone and enjoy new features still in development or scratch that itch the standard SDK won't facilitate.

Android Rooting in 1-click [via RyeBrye & Hackaday]