Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Gets Root and CWM Recovery Before Official Launch

Unveiled to the world only a bit more than a week ago, one doesn’t know whether to be surprised or not to find out that the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact has already been rooted and can run CWM recovery. This was achieved by none other than XDA Recognized Developer DooMLoRD, who has contributed much to the Xperia development community in the past.

The process does require an unlocked bootloader, and the unlocking process is the same as the one for the Xperia Z1. And unlike what initially happened to the Xperia Z1, unlocking the bootloader on the Z1 Compact will not break the camera. Once the bootloader has been unlocked, you must flash the custom kernel provided via fastboot, and once this is done, CWM recovery can be entered by pressing down the volume up button during start up. Rooting the device is even more simple, requiring one to only to download and flash the latest superSU update.zip through custom recovery and rebooting the device.

Kudos must also be given to XDA Recognized Developer Koush, CyanogenMod and Free Xperia Team, and XDA Forum Member swedan, as this would not have been possible without their help.

To find out more, visit the original thread for more details.

Get Information about System Resources with NotiSysInfo

Android, like every other operating system, consumes lots of storage space and Random Access Memory. The validity of third party task killers is for another, very long discussion. But even without killing apps in the background, accessing some information regarding resource consumption is often quite problematic and requires a lot of tapping through settings.

The notification shade seems to be a perfect place to find such information, and XDA Forum Member zsoltz made an application to show RAM usage and free space on your SD Card. You may ask: Why not a widget? The answer is quite simple, as not every launcher supports them. Notifications are fully customizable, so colors can be changed for the selected bars. The service can start at boot, so users don’t need to restart it every time the device starts.

By default, the application refreshes every 10 seconds. You can set up a shorter interval, but keep in mind that more frequent refreshes lead to more battery consumption. NotiSysInfo doesn’t require root or any special prerequisites, so it can be used on every running Jelly Bean or KitKat.

If you want to have information about resources of your device visible, make your way to the application thread to give it a shot.

Smartwatch Showdown: Pebble vs Galaxy Gear vs Omate TrueSmart – XDA Developer TV

During CES 2014, XDA Developer TV Producer TK got a chance to get his hands on the Omate TrueSmart smartwatch 2.0 and interview the founder of Omate about the watch. Be sure to check out that video. Also, TK got a chance to do a full review of the Omate device as well. There is a lot of interest in this device, and a lot of new smartwatches are in a the works. Some have even already been released.

In this episode of XDA Developer TV, TK compares three different smartwatches. He compares the original Pebble smartwatch, perhaps one of the first and more popular options; the Samsung Galaxy Gear, which is being promoted heavily by juggernaut Samsung; and the Omate Truesmart, perhaps one of the most promising standalone smartwatch device. Check out this video to see the pros and cons of each device.

Important Links:

• Device Review: Omate TrueSmart


• Omate TrueSmart Hands On and Interview with Laurent Le Pen at CES 2014 – XDA Developer TV


• Galaxy Gear Forum


• Omate Forum


• Pebble Forum

Be sure to check out other great XDA Developer TV Videos

EvolveSMS Beautifies SMS Messaging

Since Android 4.4′s release, the SMS application was officially removed from Nexus devices and replaced with Hangouts. This does not mean that SMS applications are dead and no longer supported—nothing could be more wrong. They are doing just fine, with more and more applications available in the Play Store.

One of the newest and most interesting SMS clients was recently presented by XDA Senior Member klinkdawg. What makes EvolveSMS so special? It has a very nice UI, with various swipe gestures. Contacts are visible on the slide-in menu, and messages in the main window of the application. This application supports group conversations, popups, and lockscreen widgets. The developer also took care of security, so messages can be archived and password protected. EvolveSMS also has full support of Emoji, Android Smileys, and those found in iOS7. The application is free, but if you want to support the developer, there are plugins that unlock unique features. Some elements of this application are open source, so if you are a developer and would like to give some code insight, please visit Github repositories.

If you are interested in good looking and functional SMS client, you should definitely visit the application thread and give EvolveSMS a shot.

Cell Phones : [ Galaxy Note™ II Protective Cover +, WHITE ] Galaxy Note™ II Protective Cover +, WHITE

“Free 5 pack of TecTiles with purchase (a $14.99 value) will be added to your order automatically”





The Galaxy Note II Protective Cover Plus case is a precision designed cell phone case that protects the device without sacrificing style. Galaxy cases also feature one of the sleekest android phone case designs, allowing for both function and fashion.

Also available in: Black , Pink

Cell Phones : [ Galaxy S® III Protective Cover +, Pink ] Galaxy S® III Protective Cover +, Pink

“Free 5 pack of TecTiles with purchase (a $14.99 value) will be added to your order automatically”





The Galaxy S III Protective Cover Plus case is a precision designed cell phone case that protects the device without sacrificing style. Galaxy cases also feature one of the sleekest android phone case designs, allowing for both function and fashion.

Cell Phones : [ Galaxy S 4 Protective Cover +, White ] Galaxy S 4 Protective Cover +, White

“Free 5 pack of TecTiles with purchase (a $14.99 value) will be added to your order automatically”





The Galaxy S 4 Protective Cover Plus case is a precision designed cell phone case that protects the device without sacrificing style. Galaxy cases also feature one of the sleekest android phone case designs, allowing for both function and fashion.





Also available in: Light Blue, Green, Navy, Pink