CASUAL Seeks To Make Android Hacking OS Agnostic

February 4, 2013 by Mike Szczys 7 Comments

CASUAL-android-hacking-scripts

[Adam Outler] tipped us off about a cross-platform Android hacking suite he’s been working on. The project, which is called CASUAL, brings several things to the table. First and foremost it breaks down the OS requirements seen on some hacks. It can perform pretty much any Android hack out there and it doesn’t care if you’re using Linux, OS X, or Windows.

We’ve embedded two videos after the break. The screenshot seen above is from the first clip where [Adam] demonstrates the package rooting the Oppo Find5 Android phone. He then goes on to show off the scripting language CASUAL uses. This layer of abstraction should make it easier to deploy hacking packages, as CASUAL handles all of the underlying tools like the Android Debug Bridge, fastboot, and Heimdall (an open source Odin replacement which brings the low level tool to all OS platforms) . The second video demonstrates a Galaxy Note II being rooted, and having a new recovery image flashed.

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The Universal Geospatial Light Switch

February 3, 2013 by Jeremy Cook 14 Comments

Home automation has existed in one form or another for quite some time, but we thought this take on controlling lights was quite interesting. Instead of having a menu of lights that you can turn on and off, this Android app lets you point your phone at the device and turn it on or of. Undoubtedly similar to how [Darth Vader] controls his lights at home.

Although the really technical details of this project aren’t listed, this setup reads the compass and GPS output of the Android device to figure out where it’s pointed in space. Combined with a script that understands the layout of the room, and an [X10] automation controller, it’s able to control lights accurately.

Be sure to check out the video of this device in action, or check out [Mike]’s [Project Rita] blog to see the other interesting projects that he’s working on!

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Adapting The Nexus 7 For A Double DIN Car Dashboard Opening

January 29, 2013 by Mike Szczys 33 Comments

It turns out that the Nexus 7 Android tablet is the perfect size to fit in a double DIN opening. DIN is the form factor of a single CD head unit for an automobile. Many models have room for a double DIN, which is defined as 4″ high by 7″ wide. Once [Meta James] figured out that the dashboard bezel for his Subaru framed the Nexus 7 perfectly he set out to fabricate the mounting system for an in-dash tablet installation.

Unlike a lot of these dashboard tablet installs, [James] didn’t need any Bondo, sanding, or painting to get things to look right. Like we mentioned, the bezel is a perfect fit so his alterations are hidden behind the tablet itself. He removed the stock head unit and ordered a DIN adapter kit to get the black bracket plate seen above. He built an acrylic box the same size as a double DIN head unit, then mounted the plates to the sides and a Nexus 7 case to the front. This holds the tablet in firmly, lets him mount the entire assembly using the factory mounting points, and leaves plenty of room for the cabling that connects the device to the car. Since he already had a hands-free phone system he just uses that to amplify the audio fed to it via Bluetooth.

[via Reddit]

New IOIO Is Faster, Cheaper

January 25, 2013 by Brian Benchoff 29 Comments

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For the last few years, [Ytai] has been working on the IOIO, a device that connects your Android devices to the other homebrew peripherals. There’s a new version of this really cool board out now that includes a few much-needed features like USB-OTG and a lower component cost that is passed on in savings to you.

A few months ago, our own [Mike Szczys] caught a glimpse of this new IOIO board. It’s the same size as the previous revision, but with USB-OTG, the new IOIO can be a master when connected to a phone, or a slave when connected to a PC.

In addition to USB-OTG, [Ytai] improved the power regulation circuit, and even went so far as to refuse royalties to the board to get the costs down. It’s currently available at Sparkfun for $40.

[Ytai] says he’s working on a few software upgrades to the IOIO, including making capacitive sensing a possibility and including support for stepper motors and controllers. There’s also support for the Raspberry Pi coming up, but we’re just glad [Ytai] managed to put a yo-yo graphic on the bottom silkscreen. Finally, and hopefully, everyone will know how to pronounce IOIO.

XBMC Workaround For Android Hardware Video Acceleration

January 22, 2013 by Mike Szczys 33 Comments

An unofficial, but fully functional release of XBMC should make the uber-popular media center software work with almost all Android devices. About six months ago the developers of XBMC announced that it had been ported for Android. That was true, but there was one caveat. The port was made functional on one specific Android device. The hardware company Pivos paid for the devs to add support for their Xios DS device. Although that build could be run on other Android devices, the hardware video acceleration could only be use if it was the same as the Xios. When not using the hardware acceleration many common video formats would only play at a few frames per second, if at all.

This build is a workaround and is not officially supported. What it brings to the table is the ability to use an external media player with XBMC. This way any video format which your Android device is capable of playing (with hardware acceleration) can be launched from XBMC but will be played by the native video application. We haven’t tried it for ourselves. If you have we’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.

[via Ars Technica]

Turning A Game Boy Into An Android Gamepad

January 9, 2013 by Brian Benchoff 20 Comments

gameboy

[Chad] has been messing around with emulators on his phone, but as anyone with a smart phone knows, even the most advanced touchscreen controls are terrible. Wanting something that pays tribute to the classic systems he was emulating, he decided to turn a classic old school brick Game Boy into an Android gamepad.

After gutting an old DMG-01, [Chad] set to work turning the D-pad and buttons in the Game Boy into something his Galaxy Nexus could understand. He chose a Bluetooth connection to provide input for his emulators, with the hardware generously donated from a Nintendo Wiimote.

The Game Boy PCB was cut up and a few leads attached to the Wiimote PCB. After modifying the case to include space for the Wiimote and a cell phone mount, [Chad] had a functional game pad, perfect for his adventures in emulation.

You can see [Chad]’s demo of his game pad after the break,

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Bubble Wrap Cure For Nexus 7 Speaker Distortion

January 7, 2013 by Mike Szczys 40 Comments

nexus-7-bubble-wrap-fix

[Home Brand Cola] is quite happy with his Nexus 7 with the exception of the built-in speaker. It produces fairly good audio quality until he reaches about 50% volume level. Anything above that produces distortion. He figured out how to fix it using a small piece of bubble wrap.

The eureka moment came when he was using his Nexus 7 and discovered he could fix the distortion by gripping the top and bottom parts of the case strongly between his finger and thumb. This led him to realize that the speaker unit is a bit loose and the unwanted noise is produced when it vibrates against the case. The video after the break shows the fix, which places a strip of bubble wrap (looks to be about 1″ by 3″) on top of that speaker unit. When the case is snapped back together the packing material helps hold everything in place and now he can use his tablet at full volume without any problems. One of the comments on the Reddit thread asks about heat problems with the addition of this plastic. He’s been using it for a few weeks and so far no issues there.

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