Posts From Ben Elliott

Ben Elliott
Ben Elliott

Hi! My name's Ben, and I'm proud to be one of the news writers at xda-developers. I live near London and have spent the last ten years wasting all the money I get my hands on on new gadgets with which to fulfil my technolust. I first got into HTC phones when I found a Lobster 700TV (the HTC Monet) at a very good price, and I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't have cared less about what operating system the phone was running as long as I could watch The Simpsons on the bus. As fellow Monet owners might know, the 'TV' part of the phone's alternate title was somewhat deceiving and was completely abandoned by the service providers in England. However, by then I had already fallen in love with the freedom Windows Mobile had given me. After the Monet came a Universal, with a Touch Pro following that. I've just bought a G1 (yeah, I know, get with the times!) because I'm really interested in Android as a budding operating system and don't think I could ever cope with a 'dumbphone' now that I know what's on offer. Although I haven't contributed much to the site in terms of programming or cooking help, I hope that I can give a bit back by letting you guys know what's new through my articles. If you have any questions, suggestions or complaints about those articles, feel free to get in touch with me via PM using the URL above.

RSSTab for HTC Sense Updated

RSSTab for HTC Sense Updated

February 1, 2011
It's been a while since meltwater's much-requested RSSTab for HTC Sense (Windows Mobile) hit the web, and it has evolved considerably in the mean time. The omission of an RSS-displaying Sense tab was always a relatively unfathomable move by HTC: one would expect that among the easy-to-access Twitter feeds and e-Books, the option to check up...
Try the Leaked Froyo Update on your Epic 4G!

Try the Leaked Froyo Update on your Epic 4G!

November 11, 2010
Samsung's flagship Galaxy S Android device family has brought some serious competition to market-leaders such as HTC and Motorola. The hardware found on these phones is among the best, including a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 512MB RAM, two cameras and 8/16GB of storage space. Sprint's exclusive variant, the Epic 4G, is arguably the best available. Packing a...
Play and Pause Music with Your Device’s ‘Search’ Key

Play and Pause Music with Your Device’s ‘Search’ Key

October 11, 2010
If you just read our interview with Geniusdog254 but weren't familiar with his work, this is a prime example of a small, useful, 'why-didn't-I-think-of-that?' tool that he created a few months ago. Owners of almost any Android device will be familiar with the 'search' key found on their handset. While it can be extremely handy when performing certain...
Shake’n’Wake Mod for HD2

Shake’n’Wake Mod for HD2

October 10, 2010
Although it was created some time ago, XDA member zzattack has created an interesting modification for the HTC HD2, which is worth bringing to the surface. The Shake'n'Wake application does exactly what it says on the tin. Rather than relying on pressing the power button to wake your HD2 from standby, the app instead lets you do...
One-Click Root for Froyo-running Captivates Emerges

One-Click Root for Froyo-running Captivates Emerges

October 10, 2010
A couple of months ago, we announced that an XDA member had managed to create a very useful utility for the AT&T Captivate - a member of the Samsung Galaxy S family. However, this rooting method would not work for newer software based on Android 2.2 - also known as Froyo. This week, a new rooting method...
HTC and T-Mobile Announce new myTouch

HTC and T-Mobile Announce new myTouch

October 5, 2010
HTC has recently announced the latest addition to their myTouch range: a line of Android-powered devices designed exclusively for customers of the popular T-Mobile carrier. The myTouch HD features a considerably higher specification than previous myTouch devices. In a refreshing twist, HTC has blessed the device with the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor found in the Desire...
REG/RGU Cleaner for Windows Mobile

REG/RGU Cleaner for Windows Mobile

October 4, 2010
XDA member OndraSter, creator of the Pinch to Zoom package for resistive screens, has recently updated REG/RGU cleaner: a small yet highly useful tool, which trims the excess off any .reg or .rgu file you might have dumped from your Windows Mobile phone's registry. The utility goes through the selected files, collecting registry nodes and overwriting duplicate...
Samba Server for Android

Samba Server for Android

October 4, 2010
An often-requested modification for Android is the ability to use an Android-powered device with a Samba server to make it easier to send and receive files to and from the phone. Doing so allows users to bypass the tedious process of establishing an FTP server and using an FTP client to access files from a...
New Features Added to Touch Tools

New Features Added to Touch Tools

October 3, 2010
XDA member lyriquidperfection's Touch Tools 2.0 Suite is a staple piece of software for HD2 owners as it contains almost everything you need to make your device as user-friendly as can be. Included in the package are: Boot Manager - a small application which provides options for switching off, resetting and powering on your HD2 Snatch Screen - a...
‘The Host’ Windows Phone 7 UI Released

‘The Host’ Windows Phone 7 UI Released

October 3, 2010
The release of much press-coverage of the imminent Windows Phone 7 operating system has spawned many look-a-like themes and applications, which allow older devices to imitate the look and feel of the new software to please their tech-hungry owners. One of the more popular of these modifications was WP7UI by XDA member ashiqiqbal. Recently, the project...
XDA Facebook App Version 3.0 Beta Released

XDA Facebook App Version 3.0 Beta Released

October 2, 2010
Many owners of Windows Mobile devices have bemoaned the official Facebook application provided by the Marketplace and hoped for an alternative other than using the basic and finger-unfriendly mobile web version. Despite being the second most-visited website in the world, Facebook applications for Windows phones have been notoriously slow and buggy, with many iterations not even...
Android 2.2.1 Update Appears for Nexus One

Android 2.2.1 Update Appears for Nexus One

October 2, 2010
Google's flagship device, the Nexus One, is always the first phone to receive the latest software updates. It was the first to obtain the initial over-the-air update to Android 2.2 (Froyo) and this update provided the basis for much development and discussion across the site. This week, Google have demonstrated that they are still interested in...