Installing and Using Google Android on the HTC Vogue

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Installing and Using Google Android

on the HTC Vogue

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Warning!

1. Removing the battery while Android is booting may corrupt data saved to Android.

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1: Introduction

Congratulations on making the decision to use a superior mobile operating system. Google Android was recently released as open-source and has been ported to the HTC Touch

handset. It is an in-progress community-driven project that is now a stable beta. It is not fully functional, but can be used to accomplish most tasks.

Currently Android is booted from and can be ran along side Windows Mobile. While

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2: Requirements

Hardware:

HTC Touch CDMA, aka HTC Vogue Micro SD card, at least 512MB

Software:

Upgraded ROM, with the most recent radio stack1

Windows Mobile 6.1

Suggestions:

Unlimited cellular data package

A strong understanding of Windows Mobile

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3: Layout of the Handset

The physical layout of the handset.

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4: Installation

4.1: Getting the Latest Version

The following steps will detail how to download the latest version of Google Android for the HTC Vogue to your device. This is only one of many possible ways to get it onto the device, feel free use whatever method you are most comfortable with.

1.Open your browser of choice and navigate to http://it029000.massey.ac.nz/vogue/. 2.Near the bottom of the page you will find the heading “Files:” followed by a list of files for download (Figure 1).

3.Tap “Latest Version” to download the latest version of Google Android for the HTC Touch. 4.When the Download window appears make sure the “Open file after download” box is checked and tap “Save as...” (Figure 2).

5.In the Download To... window set “Location” to “Storage Card” and “Folder” to “None” (Figure 3).

6.Tap “Save”.

Figure 1: Website showing the "Latest Version"

hypertext link.

Figure 3: Download dialog with "Open file after

download" checked.

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4.2: Extracting the Archive

Installing Google Android consists of extracting the .zip archive file downloaded from the website to the root of your Micros SD card and configuring Android. The following steps explain extracting the archive in detail.

1.Open the File Explorer and navigate to “Storage Card” (Figure 4).

2.Tap on the android .zip file downloaded previously. This will open the ZIP program. 3.In the ZIP program tap Menu → Action → Extract... (Figure 5).

4.In the Extract to window select Storage Card, verify that “Extract files: All files” is selected and “Apply Path” is checked, then tap Extract (Figure 6).

5.Verify that the files extracted correctly by re-opening the File Explorer and verifying that the Storage Card now has the following files: android~.zip, data.gz, default.txt, haret.exe,

initrd.gz, system.gz, and zImage. (Figure 7).

Figure 4: File Explorer showing the Storage Card with android~.zip.

Figure 5: Extract to window of ZIP showing Storage Card and All files

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Figure 6: android~.zip opened in ZIP, showing the menu steps to extract.

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4.3: Configuring Android

Android is configured by editing the file default.txt in Storage Card. The following steps cover configuring Android.

4.3.1: Getting the Network Information

Collect data network connection information for configuring Android. 1.Open the Settings window by tapping Start → Settings (Figure 8). 2.Select the Connections tab and tap Connections (Figure 9). 3.Under CDMA tap “Manage existing connections” (Figure 10). 4.Select Data Network and tap “Edit...” (Figure 11).

5.Tap next twice to bypass the name of the network and the number dialed.

6.Write down the User name and Password listed on this screen for later use. Don't be concerned if the User name and Password fields are empty (Figure 12).

Figure 8: Opening

Settings. Figure 9: Selecting the Connections tab and tapping Connections.

Figure 10: Tapping "Manage existing

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Figure 11: Selecting Data Network and tapping "Edit...".

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4.3.2: Editing default.txt

Edit default.txt so the cellular data network will work.

1.Open default.txt in Word Mobile by tapping it in File Explorer. 2.Scroll to the bottom of default.txt and find the line: set cmdline

"ppp.username=mobile@jamamobile ppp.password=telecom" (Figure 13).

3.If the User name and Password fields were not empty modify the line to: set cmdline "ppp.username=<user name> ppp.password=<password>".

4.If the User name and Password fields were empty modify the line to: set cmdline "ppp.username=mobile@jamamobile ppp.password=".

5.When finished modifying default.txt tap the “OK” button in the top right corner and select “No” to saving as Word (Figure 14).

Figure 13: Editing default.txt.

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5: Working With Android

You will now boot into Android and begin using it.

5.1: Booting Android

Booting into Android can be accomplished with three simple steps. 1.Navigate the “Storage Card” in File Explorer (Figure 15).

2.Tap haret.exe.

3.Tap “Run” inside haret (Figure 16). 4.Wait for Android to boot (Figure 17).

While waiting for Android to boot you will see a Linux boot screen which may at some point seem to freeze. Do not be concerned as the initial boot takes substantially longer than normal as it has to extract the data and system images from the archives you downloaded.

Figure 15: Navigate to "Storage Card" and tap

haret.exe. Figure 17: Screen shot

of the Android boot screen, taken using the Android emulator.

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5.2: Layout of Android

Android is different from Windows Mobile in many ways. The most prominent difference will be covered here.

5.2.1: Android UI

A brief overview of the layout of the Google Android User Interface. Notification Bar:

Along the top is a white bar with your data connection status, cellular signal signal strength, remaining battery, and current time; this bar is called the Notification Bar. The Notification Bar is present on most screens in Android.

Today Screen (Figure 18):

The first screen that you will see once Android has booted is the Today Screen, and is the screen shows after unlocking the phone. The today screen has three segments to it that can be navigated by swiping a finger from one side of the screen to the other; to get to the left segment you swipe your finger from the left side of the screen to the right, as if you're dragging the screen over. On the bottom of the Today Screen is a box with an upwards arrow, this box opens the Application Menu. You can add shortcuts, application, and widgets to the Today Screen by tapping an empty area of the screen and holding the tap until the dialog appears.

Applications Menu (Figure 19):

All application installed on Android are accessible in the Applications Menu. To open an application simply tap its icon.

Figure 19: The Google Android Applications Menu.

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5.2.2: Android Key Mappings

Google Android uses the keys of the device quite differently from Windows Mobile. The following is a list of the key mapping changes from Windows Mobile to Google Android.

Windows Mobile Google Android

Talk Button 1 press: Load dialer 2 press: End call

End Button Toggle screen on and off

Power Button Return to Home screen or turn on screen

Volume Up Go back

Volume Down Open the menu

Camera Button 1 press: Open the keyboard

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6: Basic Usage

6.1: Enabling the Internet

In Android the cellular data network, aka the internet, is not enabled by default. Enabling and disabling the internet connection is made simple by an application called Togga. The

following steps explain toggling the internet connection using Togga.

(There are no graphics for this section as it is not currently possible to take a screen shot of Google Android running on the HTC Touch.)

When Togga opens it will have a text area at the top that will say the version number on the top line, followed by the status of the connection. Along the bottom it will have the tappable icons "Check Status" and "Connect" with the status of the connection shown graphically in between the icons.

1. Run Togga by tapping its icon on the bottom of the main view of the Today Screen. 2. Tap "Connect" to toggle the internet connection on.

3. The "Connect" button will then change to "Dis-connect" and the connection information and status will be displayed in the text area.

4. If the connection is not working tap "Dis-connect" to disable the connection then tap "Connect" again to re-connect.2

5. Repeat as necessary.

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6.2: Making Calls

Making a call is very simple in Android. Follow these simple steps to make a call. 1. Open the dialer by pressing the Talk button or by tapping the "Dialer" icon in the

Applications Menu.

2. Dial the number using the key pad (Figure 20).

3. To initiate the call press the Talk button or tap the green phone icon to the left of the displayed number (Figure 21).

4. When the call is complete, press the End button or open the phone menu by tapping the box with a 5 in it at the bottom of the in-call screen and tapping "End Call" a to end the call (Figure 22).

Figure 20: The Google Android Dialer Screen.

Figure 21: Dialing and initiating the call.

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6.3: Browsing the Internet

One of the biggest advantages of Android is the ability to easily browse the internet. The Android browser works very well using fingers to navigate, where the Windows Mobile default browser is best used with the stylus and the scroll bar.

Scrolling:

To scroll simply drag your finger across the screen. Dragging your finger will drag the page across your view. Alternatively you can flick the page, this will cause it to scroll farther than possible while dragging.

Navigating Links:

To open links and download files simply tap on the link. Entering a URL:

To enter a link do the following.

1. Open the menu by pushing down on the Volume Slider. 2. Tap "Go top URL".

3. Press the Camera button to open the keyboard. 4. Enter the URL you wish to visit.

5. Hit the enter key on the keyboard or tap the "go" button to load the URL. Zooming:

When viewing a page that is wider than the browser window you can easily zoom in and out. 1. Drag the page to make the zoom buttons display.

2. Tap the + zoom in or – to zoom out.

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6.4: Toggling the Screen

The following describes turning the screen on and off, as well as the Screen Lock. Turning the screen off:

Turn the screen off by pressing the End button at any screen but the in-call screen. Turning the screen on:

When the screen is turned off you can turn it on by pressing the End button or the Power button. The screen turns on to the Screen Lock.

The Screen Lock:

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6.5: Rebooting to Windows Mobile

Currently the only way to reboot is to do a soft reset of the device.

To reboot to Windows Mobile you must do a soft reset. Simply use the stylus to depress the Reset button on the bottom of the device and it will reset.

Warning!

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7: Troubleshooting

As it is a stable beta Google Android for the HTC Vogue can be prone to bugs. The following are known bugs and their solutions.

Issue Solution

"Web page not available" in the Browser.

See section 6.1 on using Togga to enable the internet connection.

Togga cannot establish an

internet connection. See section 4.3 and verify the User name and Password. The screen will not turn on

after being turned off. You are using an old Radio. You have two options to deal with this: update your ROM following the instructions at

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=17473 . or

Repeat section 4.3.2 editing the line to: set cmdline

"ppp.username=<user name> ppp.password=<password> pm.sleep_mode=3".

Flashing the ROM is the suggested fix. Setting sleep mode to 3 will cause the phone to use more power while the screen is off, wasting battery life.

For any issues not found here please see the following websites: 1. The main developer's site: http://it029000.massey.ac.nz/vogue/

2. The community forum that started this project:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=382265

3. An additional community forum for Google Android on the HTC Vogue:

Installing and Using Google Android on the HTC Vogue