Two ICS ROMS for the LG Vortex (and other Optimus One phones)

I came across the Quattrimus site which has both CM9 and AOKP Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs for the LG Vortex and other LG Optimus One phones. The ROMs are in the beta stage so there are a few issues. Most notably, the sensors don't work (e.g. screen does not auto rotate) and there is a low mic/speakerphone issue. Also, international data roaming must be enabled for data to work. These seem to be the same issues that affected the CM7 ROM. More information can be found in this thread.

I loaded both ROMs on my Vortex and used them for a couple of days. While I only tested for a short time, the performance and functionality of both ROMs was very good. If the sensor and mic issues get resolved, I will definitely keep one of these installed.

The developer is also working on a Jelly Bean ROM. I'm keeping my fingers crossed,

The Fabulous Arduino

If you like to tinker with electronics, you should definitely check out the Arduino website. It is an open source electronic prototyping system that is very easy to use. It is based on the Atmel ATmega microcontrollers.

I have been looking for something like this for a long time. I chose the Arduino Uno because of its low price and ease of programming (and favorable reviews). I picked up an Arduino Uno starter kit from Amazon for about the same price as just the Uno board at Radioshack. The starter kit includes the Arduino Uno R3 board, a USB cable, a small breadboard for prototyping, a tray for holding the Uno and the breadboard, and some hookup wires.

You can also get Arduino "shields", which are purpose-specific boards that plug into the Arduino. Some shield examples are for ethernet, wireless, and motor control. I haven't tried any of the shields yet.

The Arduino software is java-based and therefore cross-platform. It works well on my Linux machine. Just load up your program and click the Upload button. The program will automatically compile and upload to the Arduino, which will then run it.

Finally, here is my Arduino driving an LCD module. It only took a few minutes to modify an example program to get it to display what I wanted.

I encourage anyone looking for this sort of thing to give the Arduino a try. Happy tinkering!

Finally! CyanogenMod on the LG Vortex!

After waiting patiently for many months, I finally came across a CyanogenMod port for my LG Vortex. Over at Android Forums, bobZhome has released a CyanogenMod 7 ROM for the Vortex. There are some issues with the 12/2 release (the latest at the time I wrote this) so I recommend following the instructions in this post and installing the 11/9 release along with the listed fixes. There are a couple of things to note about the 11/9 release. First, the screen animations must be disabled in the CyanogenMod settings. Otherwise the unlock screen will be black. Also, you must enable international roaming to get data to work. So far it hasn't caused any extra charges to show up on my bill.

I have been running it for several weeks now and I am very happy with it. I am using the smartass governor, bfq scheduler, and have it overclocked to 768MHz. The kernel can be overclocked to 864MHz but my phone can't handle it. Note that using the GINM kernel requires a 3rd party app to set the governor, scheduler, and clock speed, such as Voltage Control or SetCPU.

Everything is smooth and fast and battery life is great. I have seen a couple of seemingly random reboots, but I suspect overclocking is partly responsible.

So head on over to Android Forums and grab this fantastic ROM. Of course, do a nandroid backup first and don't blame me if you brick your phone.