Mobile broadband with HSPA continues to evolve. Leading operators including Telstra were attending when Ericsson demonstrated its latest mobile broadband technology, HSPA Evolution with 42Mbps, near Stockholm, Sweden. It was the first time in the world such speeds were achieved on commercially-available products. Until now, consumers have seen network speeds of 28Mbps at best. The increased speed enables true “instant access”.
Seth Lemons one of the developers of the popular “Wifi Tether for Root Users” app for the Android platform was kind enough to accept an interview with us.
WebNetta: As a contributor to the “WiFi Tether for Root Users” app, what is the reaction the group had to the app being pulled by Google?
Seth: We were surprised, because we had hoped Google would work to keep the Market free from the control of cell carriers. This was one way that Google could have differentiated itself from Apple, but chose not to.
WebNetta: Did Google give you any warning before the app was taken down?
Seth: The first contact they gave us was a notice that it had already been removed from the Market in all countries. We were later given a notice that we had been restored in non-U.S. markets because T-Mobile and other carriers do not have a policy against tethering in other countries. Those are the only communications we’ve had with the managers of the Market.
WebNetta: What plans does the group have for future apps?
Seth: We have recently added Bluetooth tethering to our application, to allow for better battery use. In addition, we’ve included more information about data usage and other user interface improvements. This new release can be downloaded from our Google Code website. We each also have some individual projects, such as the Target game now available on the Market and a program in progress based on the jFlubber podcast helper.
WebNetta: Have you gotten any reaction from Google over the Tether Petition app in the Marketplace?
Seth: No direct contact has been made from Google to us after they reinstated us in non-U.S. markets. I believe this was due to community responses to our banning, but I don’t know if the petition was up on the Market at the time. We certainly thank them and others for the publicity and support.
WebNetta: What kind of response from the users have you gotten regarding the Tether Petition app?
Seth: We have read some of the comments on the petition’s Market page and appreciated the support. I don’t know of any direct communication from users because of it, but it definitely raised awareness of our work and the banning. User support after the banning has been quite uplifting and encouraged us to continue providing and improving the program.
WebNetta: How do you feel about your wifi app being pulled and yet the bluetooth tether “tether Blu – Free Edition” app remains?
Seth: According to that application’s description, it only allows users to tether a wifi internet connection and not the cell connection. While the new Bluetooth-enabled version of our program allows for this particular use, we aren’t willing to restrict our users in that way and, thus, we also allow them to tether their cell connection over Bluetooth. I appreciate that the author of tether Blu wants to provide this functionality to Market users, but wish that Google would leave Terms of Service enforcement to carriers and allow developers to provide as much functionality as possible to users.
Thanks again Seth for the interview. You can download and install the coveted Tether app from right here.
Engadget’sJoshua Topolskyreported back on September 23rd of last year that T-Mobile’s CTO Cole Broadman said the following during an interview with Ryan Block:
When asked about what T-Mobile’s reaction would be to users creating tethering or unlocking apps for the phone, he was surprisingly even-keeled, noting that while the company didn’t encourage the practice, they wouldn’t lock down the OS or update the software to break those applications. Our impression was that as long as their use was relegated to a small percentage of owners, T-Mobile likely wouldn’t take action, though he did voice concerns over tethering apps and their effect on the network, with a clearly guarded eye to letting users have free reign.
So T-Mobile won’t lock down or break the OS to stop Tethering apps but strong-arming Google in to removing apps isn’t the same thing. Nice logic there T-Mobile.
Tethering apps and the network? First, T-Mobile now sells a USB 3G adapter you can use on laptops, so if they were so concerned about data usage they wouldn’t be selling the USB 3G adapters. Second, when I had Total Internet with my Dash I was able to login to WiFi at any Starbucks with my laptop, it was wonderful. I was also able to thether my Dash to my laptop via USB and surf around using Edge.
When I got my G1 they made me switch to the G1 Data Plan and only the G1 can connect to the WiFi (I found this out after being on T-Mobile support for an hour), no laptops allowed unless I pay extra for the Hotspot plan. To me data is data it shouldn’t make a differience if my G1 or my Laptop is sending data over my 3g plan I pay for.
It is like an ISP saying that you can only use desktops on your broadband connection, no laptops allowed. To me T-Mobile is just another data pipe to the Internet, I pay for service and I should be able to use it how I see fit ,on whatever device I see fit to use it on. This is one of the reasons I have and use the Tether App on my own G1.
Haykuro, a 17 year old Android Hacker who got his home work done early, managed to release Rodgers Android build a day before Rodgers themselves. This build has (as Haykuro puts it) :
Exchange support, Every language enabled, Other fun features..
*Requires SPL 1.33.2005
You don’t need to do anything other than rename to update.zip and flash. (a wipe is most likely needed)
Things missing from this build are Root and Paid Market apps, however you can snag it from Here or Here.
Update:
Rodgers R2 build Get it Here
Root working, ion-dalvik, Rogers apps ripped, HTC Sync removed, and paid apps working.
This raises some interesting questions about this “open” platform. Android phones are supposed to be released for other carriers in the future, right? Does this mean that apps in the Market have to adhere to the ToS for only T-Mobile, even when other carriers sign on? Will all apps have to adhere to the ToS for every carrier that supports Android phones? Why is all of this enforcement Google’s job, in the first place? If T-Mobile wants to force people to pay for broadband plans in addition to their phone data, it’s their job to either make that attractive to users or strongarm them into it by, say, instituting data caps. Playing cop for cell carriers doesn’t really seem like the ideal way to establish credibility as a promoter of free software and a strong development community.
Aside from the issue of “authorized carriers,” there are some otherwise valid uses of tethering software which users are now being denied. One of the apps banned was for tethering Internet over Bluetooth. With wifi tethering, the Internet has to come in from the cell carrier, but Bluetooth tethering allows a user to connect their phone to a wireless router and then share it with a device that has Bluetooth but no wireless card. This use, by definition, can’t violate the T-Mobile ToS, since it doesn’t require their data plan at all. And that’s not even to mention phones which have been set up to use other carriers who allow for tethering.
To add to the irony, one of the folks who helped develop the initial tethering scripts works for Google, I’m told. Another Google employee has forked Wifi Tether, added Bluetooth support to it, says he and his office-mates use it on their commute, and has even given us a patch we can merge in when we get the time. I know they’re not any more responsible for this policy than I am, but it just makes me giggle to know that there’s an underground presence inside the machine. Hopefully they (and you) can help us push for a really open Android instead of the same greedy corporate power plays we see from other mobile platforms.
We hope Google gets the message that Android Market isn’t T-Mobile Market.
Eric Chu sent out an email to all the Android developers letting us know apps are for sale:
I'm writing to let you know about a couple of updates to Android Market.
I'm pleased to announce that Android Market is now accepting priced
applications from US and UK developers. Developers from these countries
can go to the publisher website at http://market.android.com/publish to
upload their application(s) along with end user pricing for the apps.
Initially, priced applications will be available to end users in the US
starting mid next week. We will add end user support for additional
countries in the coming months.
We will also enable developers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, France,
and Spain to offer priced applications later this quarter. By the end of
Q1 2009, we will announce support for developers in additional countries.
You can find more information about priced applications in Android Market
at http://market.android.com/support/
Google Checkout will serve as the payment and billing mechanism for
Android Market. Developers who do not already have a Google Checkout
merchant account can easily sign up for one via the publisher website.
Furthermore, I would like to let you know that Android Market for free
applications will become available to users in Australia starting February
15th Pacific Time and in Singapore in the coming weeks. You can now make
your applications available in these countries via the publisher website
at http://market.android.com/publish.
Finally, if you would like to receive development and marketing
information, please go to your profile page at
http://market.android.com/publish/editProfile and select the "Contact me
occasionally about development and Market opportunities" checkbox.
We look forward to seeing your applications on Android Market.
Eric Chu,
Android Market
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Eric Chu emailed the registered Android developers yesterday giving them an update to the future plans Google has for fixing / enhancing the Android Market.
New features include:
Additional country support, some initial countries are Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Application localization
Pay for applications starting early Q1 2009
Hello,
Thank you for your participation in Android Market!
Since we launched a couple months ago, the team has been working on
several significant updates to Android Market. I'd like to let you know
about these upcoming changes and what they will mean to you and other
members of our developer community.
Many of you have asked about international expansion plans. I'm happy to
inform you that Android Market will become available to users to download
apps in additional European countries starting early Q1 2009. Some of the
countries we will initially support are Germany, Austria, Czech Republic
and the Netherlands. As we add support for additional countries in Europe
and Asia, we will send out subsequent notifications to you. In
mid-January, we will update the Android Market publisher website to enable
country targeting. Please start thinking about which countries you want to
target and begin preparing your products accordingly (e.g.,
localization). Note that your apps will not become available in these new
countries unless you specifically select them in the publisher website,
after we update it.
Additionally, I would like to confirm that Android Market will support
priced applications starting early Q1 2009, as we'd originally stated last
fall. Given the country-by-country work required to set up payment support
for developers in different countries, we will enable priced app support
in Q1 for developers operating in these countries in the following order:
(1) United States and UK; (2) Germany, Austria and Netherlands; (3)
France, Italy and Spain. By the end of Q1 2009, we will announce support
for developers operating in additional countries. Developers operating in
the above listed countries should begin finalizing their priced
applications, including determining the appropriate pricing strategy.
Finally, please note that our team may need to occasionally contact you
via email or the publisher website to collect necessary product
information (such as screenshots and descriptions). This information would
be used for the Android Market website, found at
http://market.android.com, which gives applications a second channel of
exposure via the web in addition to the normal on-device access.
We will send out additional details on all these items in the coming
weeks. Thanks for your support, and we look forward to continue working
with you on Android Market.
Eric Chu,
Android Market
A group of guys on the G1-Hackers list successfully dumped the full nand flash from the T-Mobile G1.
This means that we are one large step closer to getting past the RC30 wall.
<Eddie C. Dost>
now it is clear why we do not see the full nand device. If the
msm_nand driver registers partitions, it will not register the
device itself, so we cannot access this as char device.
Could you compile a kernel where you remove the two lines containing
the word “else” in drivers/mtd/devices/msm_nand.c, lines 1237 and 1263?
With this the msm_nand.c driver will register the whole device as
7th device after the 6 partions. A dump of the partitions is not really
interesting, as we know what is on there. Maybe you can also change
line 72 in drivers/mtd/mtdcore.c from DEBUG(0, “mtd:…”) to
printk(”mtd:…”);
Once you have this, and the kernel is booted you should see seven
nand devices registered in the kernel boot log you get with “dmesg”.
Now, please create the device nodes for the 7ths nand:
mknod /dev/mtd/mtd6 c 90 12
mknod /dev/mtd/mtd6ro c 90 13
Then you should be able to dump the nand image before the partitions
used by linux:
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd6ro of=<path to dump> bs=2048 count=18944
which should produce around 38797312 bytes of data. This data is the
start of the nand interesting to analyze and the “misc” partition, to
verify we have it dumped correctly.
<Jay Freeman>
That got exactly the expected amount of data: 38797312 bytes. More
importantly:
This is followed by a bunch of ARM code. Congratulations, you won! ;P
(By the way, I find this sort of thing both really fun and really important,
so don’t think you’re taking up my time: I’m thankful you are also working
on G1 hacks. I only didn’t respond to the e-mail asking me to try out the
other nand dumper because today was too busy, still recovering from
Thanksgiving break.)
For people who have root’d G1’s, get this boot.img (which is compatible with
my previous ones, but has a slightly updated Bluetooth driver Google
committed and Eddie’s MTD hack):
http://test.saurik.com/g1-hackers/boot-mtd.img. I’ll have this hack in my
next update image as well (as it seems completely harmless: it just
activates more devices).
You can install this with “flash_image boot boot-mtd.img”, after which you
should reboot. (It also has all my other standard modifications to mount and
init, so you can use this and keep using whatever cool stuff you have setup,
although note I removed “include” from init and corrected it to using
“import”, although I doubt many are using that.)
Past that, you should use Eddie’s dd command (you don’t need to make the
device nodes, as init does this for us: it has a udev-alike in it).
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd6ro of=<path to dump> bs=2048 count=18944
UPDATE:
Nand Dump file here http://www.2shared.com/file/4394944/b791a62e/nand.html
