If you're anything like us, you've been mad flashing your CDMA Touch Pro 2 left and right with every new custom ROM released. But do you ever wish you could just change that one thing? Maybe add a program or remove one from ROM that you'll never use?  

Fear not, as Scott Crosler of SSK (Scott's Simple Kitchen) has released his combo of Kitchen and starter ROM package for you Verizon and Sprint peeps.  Don't really know what you're doing (and you're not alone here)? He also has a swanky PDF guide to show you how it all work (see release thread).

In short, you can now make your own ROMs off of his starter builds.

And simple it is. It's commonly referred to as a "visual" kitchen, meaning it's actually easy to navigate and operate with just picking and choosing what you want and what you don't. Want the Sprint version of TouchFLO? Done. Don't like that and want the HTC Sense version instead? Just as easy.

The kitchen comes with two starter ROMs: WM6.5 (21854) and WM6.5.1 (23037), the former is rock-solid while the latter is an older, early beta of WM6.5.1, so fun to work with but quirky. From there Scott has included a bunch of commonly used programs, e.g. latest versions of Bing, Google Maps, CHome Editor, etc. which you can add or remove from your custom ROM.

Of course, nothing is risk-free. But if you're ready to move beyond flashing other folks' custom ROMs, then SSK is a great place to start.  (We had our ROM customized and flashed within 15 minutes--didn't even read the guide!  Huzzah.)

Go here for the goods.  See further discussion at PPCGeeks.

Like always, remember to support these developers if you want these projects to continue.

Well, many frayed nerves and hours hunched over one of the most popular Windows phones has finally paid off: The "unlocker" which we mentioned a few days ago has been completed, meaning users can now install custom ROMs to their beloved Touch Pro 2s, specifically Verizon, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and all other CDMA versions.

At least for Sprint, it sure beats waiting till "early 2010", eh?

Having this tool now, all the custom ROMs which are literally waiting in the wings (e.g. Energy, Mighty, CFay, Juicy, etc.) can be installed -- this includes WM6.5 and WM6.5.1 builds with all that custom goodness from your favorite 'Chefs'.

A big congrats to everyone for this achievement (donations are in order) and now if you pardon us, we're off for some ROM flashing ourselves! ...

Go HERE to grab the HardSPL!  Here for the SIM Unlock and here for support.

Not to stir up too much attention, but the unlocker (Hard SPL) for the CDMA Touch Pro 2 is expected to drop sometime this coming week.

Like the GSM version, this will allow users to flash the much coveted custom ROMs onto their phones.  The 'CDMA Rhodium Elite Team' has been hard at work cracking this latest HTC device and evidently it hasn't been an easy job, so give them some thanks when it drops.

What is even better news is the expectation that a separate SIM unlocker will be released at or near the same time as the Hard SPL.  The will allow the CDMA Touch Pro 2 to reportedly work on any U.S. GSM network (e.g. AT&T and T-Mobile) as well as for flashing of different radio firmwares.

The Sprint Touch Pro 2 is already SIM unlocked for oversea GSM carriers (unlike the Verizon and Telus versions), but all CDMA devices are barred from U.S. GSM networks, making this accomplishment, if accurate, truly astonishing.

The Hard SPL (for custom ROMs) will of course be free but the SIM unlocker is reportedly going to cost a license of €14 (~$21), which we suppose is fair for such a bonus feature.

We'll keep you posted as soon as either are released!

Ever wonder what the inside of the Verizon/Sprint Touch Pro 2 looks like?  Want to see how to disassemble your $600 phone and void the warranty?  Then check out these posts

• Santod, shows us the FCC internal shots of the Verizon Touch Pro 2, obviously taken in dirty garage (.pdf file)
• JinxCA who goes one step further and strips his own Sprint Touch Pro 2 down, including directions & tools to do it yourself

As noted in my review, they are definitely using Broadcomm WiFi/BT chipset instead of Texas Instruments, which I found to be a great decision.  Other than that, these are pretty standard--tell us in comments if you see anything cool or uniqe!

A pretty big landmark for lovers of CDMA and LTE networks (that'd be Verizon, for sure) occurred recently. LG and Nortel completed the first data handoff between LTE and CDMA networks, and they did so in a way that is standards-compliant. That's kinda important for the obvious reasons.

In geek speak:

The test by LG and Nortel successfully demonstrated the feasibility of idle mode handover between CDMA and LTE and active mode handover from LTE to CDMA leveraging device assisted, network controlled functionality. The demonstration was conducted over 700MHz spectrum using Nortel CDMA Evolved High-Rate Packet Data (eHRPD) 1xEV-DO and Nortel LTE solution with LG’s dual-mode CDMA-LTE M13 terminal. The M13 terminal is a test device created with commercial grade components that will form the basis for a consumer device which is expected to be available in 2010.

Newswire via Engadget Mobile

Here's an interesting development. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) just announced its "CDMA2000 1x Advanced Specifications", which appears to be a significant optional upgrade for EV-DO networks (Sprint and Verizon here in the U.S.).

One of these advances allows networks to increase voice capacity on their existing systems by taking advantage of  "...several interference cancellation and radio link enhancements. Among these improvements are base transceiver station (BTS) interference cancellation, improved power control, early frame termination, and smart blanking".  Whatever that means.

Perhaps even more impressive for customers is the creation of SVDO which is simultaneous 1X Voice and EV-DO Data. Unlike GSM, EV-DO cannot do both right now, so our 3G data connection becomes interrupted during calls. We also can't take advantage of "live" services like caller-ID look-up programs (like 'True Caller').

Unfortunately, no word from Sprint or Verizon on whether they would take advantage of this new advancement.  From the details, it looks like they can do this piecemeal or all-at-once, offering networks options for updating their existing technology. 

Perhaps if we shout loud enough, they'll hear us?

There's been a bit of gnashing of teeth over the Toshiba TG1. Sure, it's got that crazy user interface that we're not totally sold on, but it also has that giant (albeit resistive) touchscreen and is the first device to launch with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Oh, and it wasn't planning on coming anywhere near North America.

That may well change. Engadget spied the TG01 gaining FCC approval — in a CDMA flavor. Of course, the only CDMA carriers in the United States are Sprint and Verizon, so that narrows the choices down a little bit. The FCC listing also notes that it was testing a "production" device, and not a prototype, so things may be farther along than anyone knew. It's also entirely possible that neither carrier could pick up the TG01, leaving us right where we are today: importing a pretty cool phone at a hefty price.

We're about to really get into the ones and zeros here, and we're going to do so after the break, so bear with us. But the skinny is that it looks like legendary ROM chef Conflipper has found evidence that the HTC Touch Diamond 2 will be coming to Sprint. (That's just us slapping a Sprint logo on a TD2 up there, so nobody freak out just yet.)

Sure, that might not be a surprise, given that Sprint carries the original Touch Diamond and we've seen a Sprint-branded Touch Pro 2. But how Conflipper came to this conclusion is pretty cool, and he's shared it at ppcgeeks. Click on through to the other side as we break down all the dirty details. (And thanks, Brandon, for the tip!)

Read the rest of this entry »

We've talked about the differences between aGPS and GPS before, but we can now add another form of aGPS to the bunch: QuickGPS. 

QuickGPS is from Qualcomm (technically called gpsOneXTRA Assistance) and is an Internet-based form of aGPS or offline aGPS whereby your device, once a week, downloads a data file that has all the ephemeris data contained (file = packedephemeris.ee).  This data is good for 7 days and helps calculate your position faster without the need for an Internet connection at the moment of initiation (ala network-based aGPS).  "Cold starts" go from a minute or more to just seconds. Very cool.

HTC has been incorporating this into some of its devices lately (e.g. Touch Pro) and Palm has it on the GSM Treo Pro.  HTC calls it QuickGPS as it made a nice app to initiate the system (see above photo). 

But as usual, some of us were not invited to the party (e.g. Sprint Mogul, Touch, etc.) and the community has effectively taken matters into their own hands, hacking this onto various devices.  The latest is the Sprint/Alltel Treo Pro and we have to admit, it works like a charm. 

So if you want to join in and speed up your GPS system, feel free to browse those threads!  And remember: back up before you do so!  This also may not work on all devices--if you get "QuickGPS.exe' cannot be opened. Either it is not signed with a trusted certificate, or one of its components cannot be found. If the problem persists, try reinstalling or restoring this file." that would be you, sorry.

We'd seen rumors that two of HTC's soon-to-be-released phones, the Touch Pro 2 and Snap, could well be sporting CDMA and GSM radios for some worldwide fun, and now we've got some official evidence to go with it.

Engadget spied a document in FCC testing of the Touch Pro 2 (aka Rhodium) that states there are in fact two radios on board, and that the GSM side "has been disabled by firmware and is SIM locked for all US operators."

So what's that mean? It's a world phone all right, but don't expect to be rocking dual CDMA/GSM in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Another item of note here is that there are two FCC IDs, the Rhodium 400 and the Rhodium 500, which very likely means versions for Sprint (which we just saw) and Verizon (which we don't expect to see anytime soon - see VZW Touch Diamond). Stay tuned.