14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most popular sides of Google's Android operating system is the openness to hacks and modifications it enables. We've already had the chance to take a look at a wide range of custom made Android ROMs for handsets that would not taste the platform otherwise, but today's news bring something new into the equation. An Android 2.2 Froyo port available for users of a HTC Hero on Sprint's airwaves in the US has just emerged accompanied by a video of Nexus One running under Ubuntu, complemented by detailed instructions on how this can be done.
HTC's Hero has made it to the headlines quite a few times since the beginning of the ongoing year, especially since its maker promised an Android 2.1 update for it. The solution has been already pushed out to end users, but HTC took its time before releasing it, and a newer version of Android is available, namely Android 2.2 Froyo, which won't be delivered to the Hero, at least not officially.
But enthusiasts cannot stay away from Froyo on their HTC Hero, and the CDMA Hero in Sprint’s portfolio has recently just seen a custom ROM being released for it. We're referring here to an Alpha release of CyanogenMod 6, which does not include applications that Google would usually put inside the OS, as Android Police notes in a post. However, it is not an official solution, and it would be wise to stay away from it in case you are not familiar with what hacking the device is all about.
In case that Android Froyo does not offer what one is looking for, there are always other options, it seems, including installing Ubuntu on a Nexus One. The two videos below should offer all the necessary info on the matter (via phandroid). The first one shows how the two get along, while the second is a tutorial explaining how this can be done. Recently, another high-end mobile phone has seen Ubuntu loaded on it, along with Android 2.1, namely the Windows Mobile 6.5-based HTC HD2.