CyanogenMod 9 To Offer Customizable Levels of Root Access

 

Android users, maybe more so than any other group of smartphone owners, are used to making plenty of security-related decisions regarding their phones. While you've got the jailbreak crowd with iOS, and both the legit unlockers and full-on custom ROM guys with Windows Phone, neither platform puts so many security decisions in the hands of its end-users as Android does. When we're talking about custom ROMs, there can be even more security-critical options directly under the user's control. Probably the most common question faced by Android users, starting to stretch their wings out into the world of more powerful apps, is whether or not they should root their devices. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue, but not all users get a choice; some custom ROMs make the assumption that users will want root access and don't make it easy to give it up. The CyanogenMod team would like to try doing things a little differently, and is planing on offering new customizable root options to give you even more control over how you secure your phone. 

Previously, CyanogenMod releases gave you full superuser access. If you don't really find yourself using apps that need it, it might be nice to be able to turn it off. That's why CyanogenMod 9 will let you choose from four levels of root. 

Besides disabled everywhere and enabled everywhere, CM9 will include two custom options. You'll be able to grant root to apps without the Android Debug Bridge getting it, or you can give ADB root while keeping apps locked-down. Sounds like a pretty graceful solution to us.  

Sony MT27i 'Pepper' Press Render Leaked

In a rather strange chain of events we first got the chance to see some live shots of the Sony MT27i dubbed Pepper after which, thanks to benchmark databases, we could guess the specs of this upcoming Android phone. 

Expected to be the successor to the Xperia Neo (Neo V), the Pepper had its first press render leaked, as seen above. As far as specs go, we can expect a 1GHz and dual-core processor, 3.7-inche FWVGA screen (480 x 854 pixels), as well as a five-megapixel main shooter. As seen in the picture above, also expect NFC capability as the Pepper seems to come with Smart Tags, just like the Xperia S we are currently reviewing. Design-wise, note the "Sony"-only branding, an aspect similar to the current Xperia line-up as well as three capacitive buttons on the front.

HTC One X Gets SuperBoot Root Before Release, Sort Of

Ok, rule number one about rooting a product: If you cracked the code, keep it to yourself until the product gets launched or you'll probably see an OEM gaining their lead on you. The HTC One X is probably a month away from getting released to the public and already it seems that MoDaCo has figured out a way to get SuperBoot to do some rooting fun. It's sadly not the one-click solution that every mortal like you and me love, but hey, it's still there. 

Probably my only concern about this success is talking about it so early in the game. They just gave HTC a full month to go back to their code, review it again and make sure that they don't release it unless it's root-proof. That's the only reason why we consider that even if SuperBoot support exists, it sort of doesn't guarantee that it'll work on the finally released product. 

Anyway, join me in crossing our fingers for things to continue working once you and I hit the "Buy Now" button. The HTC One X is probably one of our favorite devices launched at MWC and you can bet we'll do our best to not only get it, but to root it for your viewing pleasure. 

Samsung Spills The Beans On Tomorrow's Announcement

Earlier this week, we heard about Samsung planning a "special announcement" to be made at the South by Southwest festival tomorrow. We threw around a couple theories on what the news might be, but were largely in the dark. Now, with still a day left to go before the announcement,Samsung's let the details slip out, and it's not quite the news we were hoping for. 

The press release where Samsung mentioned the event was chock-full of discussion of the Galaxy Note, which the company intends to heavily market at SXSW. There are plenty of Note-related pieces of hardware Samsung could have been discussing, from new color variants to the Note 10.1 tablet, so we guessed the news might be Note-related somehow. Instead of having any interesting hardware to show-off, Samsung will be announcing the coming launch of the new Angry Birds Space on the Note. 

We suppose that technically still is an announcement, though we were kind of hoping for an announcement of news that hadn't already been made by another company. Samsung will have Notes running Angry Birds Space available for attendees of the festival to play with, and the public release of the game should be coming in two weeks on March 22. 

Windows Mobile Marketplace Dies On May 9th; Nostalgia Anyone?

It's been a long and good ride for Windows Mobile. Some of us still love it and keep at least one of these true power houses just for old times sake. Sad news for all of us 14 people that still own one since Microsoft has just begun to distribute emails regarding the final closure of the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace as of May 9th. 

Things actually got quite rocky since June of last year because even if the Marketplace still worked, it was pretty much useless. You could still install apps the old-fashioned way, but it just proved how Microsoft wasn't willing to put any more effort to it after barely two years after the Marketplace launched. 

For those of you who just jumped into the Smartphone train, this is most probably pointless, but for those of us who started with Pocket PC 2000, it's sad news. Many of you probably don't even know or remember that the term "Smartphone" came from the non-touch version of Windows Mobile that was later dubbed Standard. If any of you still keep any of these beauties around as a paper weight, just like you see my oldHTC Rhodium in the picture, it would be cool if you uploaded a picture of it to any photo-sharing service and shared a link with us in a comment. 

RIP Marketplace.