Android Magazine UK - Issue No. 49

Hacker Zøne

Power-boosting apps

How to overclock

your phone

Use SetCPU for Root Users to push your device’s

processor power even further

SetCPU is a paid app that lets you take control of the

processor on your rooted device. As well as being able to

push it to output more power, you can also set profi les to

change the CPU state depending on what apps you’ve got

running, whether you’re charging your device or want to

know how much batter y life you’ve got left. It also monitors

the temperature of your device to make sure that you’re not

putting it in danger. The app supports most dev ices and

once you’ve downloaded it, you are good to go.

You can find the speed that your

processor is running at, as well as the

maximum and minimum speeds that it is

currently set to run at on the main page of

the app. There are two sliders that enable

you to alter these numbers and boost the

performance of your device.

The main page

1

At the bottom-right of the screen

you will see a drop-down menu. Here you

can set which governor is managing your

CPU. These are different settings that make

your CPU react in different ways depending

on conditions. There’s more information on

the current Governor in the Governor tab.

The governors

2

It’s possible that the ROM you’re

running won’t support overclocking, so

make sure it does before you commit to

buyingtheapp.Ifitdoes,youneedtoset

upaSafeModeback-upforwhenyou’re

tweaking the power settings. You can do

this from the main page.

The right kernel

3

From the main page, tap the menu

button and go to Safe Mode Instructions.

This lets you download a fl ashable ZIP that

you can run in recovery mode. If you’re

running an overclocked CPU and have set

the app to run on boot, your device might

not like it.

Be safe

4

This is where the flashable ZIP

comesin.Ifyoudogetstuckinaboot

loop after changing the settings, run the

ZIP in recovery mode and SetCPU will

open in Safe mode, which puts your CPU

settings back to normal and effectively

bypasses the loop.

ZIPbackup

5

You can set different CPU profi les

in the profi les tab. The order that they are

listed in is the order of preference, so ones

that are higher up the list will take

precedence over lower ones. Tap the ‘+’

icon to create one, then add your states

from the list.

Go over the clock

6

Easy Battery Saver

A neat-looking, fully featured

battery saver that lets you

make sure you’ve always

got enough juice to keep

your phone or tablet running

and it gives a breakdown of

your usage too.

» Price Free

» Android 2.2 and up

Power Tune-Up

A handy all-in-one app that

enables you to keep an eye

on your regular power

usage, shows you how you

can save your power and

also tells you how much

data you have used.

» Price Free

» Android 2.2 and up

Memory Booster

An app that lets you quickly

tweak the settings of the

RAM on your device, killing

processes to make sure

that everything runs as

smoothly and swiftly as

it possibly can.

» Price Free

» Android 2.2 and up

Bluetooth Power

An app that turns your

Bluetooth on when you plug

your phone in and off when

you unplug it. It also

switches your Bluetooth off

if you haven’t paired for two

minutes, which is handy.

» Price £0.63 / $0.99

» Android 2.1 and up

Overclock for

Android

Another overclocking tool

that also offers a set of

widgets so you can keep an

eye on your CPU from your

homescreen. Also lets you

to set user profi les.

» Price £1.50 / $1.99

» Android 2.1 and up