Related
So I bought my first non-WM smartphone. Below is documentation of my quest to replace, and surpass, the experience I was used to with my Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5. I am what you would probably call a windows mobile 'power user'. I've been averaging about one new WM phone every 6 months since 2005, most of them HTC. But I always keep up on what the other platforms are doing. This is just the first time I've taken the leap, and I quickly became aware of what new doors Android opened for me in just the first few hours of using the Nexus One. The OS is nice, but like most people, it really comes down to the apps for me.
I was initially thinking I'd do a big blog review, but I've run out of motivation. There's plenty of info on the Nexus One hardware and Android out there, so I don't need to rehash that stuff. What I haven't seen a lot of, though, is detailed accounts of people switching and what exactly they found.
There remains a couple major things missing from Android. The lack of an OCS client is probably the biggest one for me professionally, but since it's a Microsoft product, I don't see that changing any time soon. That and the lack of xvid playback will keep me carrying around my TD2 as backup for the foreseeable future. But other than that, I'm extremely happy and will definitely be sticking with the Nexus for a while. The next post will be a comprehensive list of (practically) every app I've installed, what they do for me, and how they compare to their WM counterparts (if there are any).
On to the apps...
Android Apps I've installed and believe I will continue to use.
This is a bit of a brain dump, so I apologize for not editing more thoroughly. Hopefully it will be useful to some, and feel free to suggest other apps you think I should try.
Advanced Task Killer - List of running apps that allows you to easily kill unwanted tasks. Nice to have for an OS that allows background apps, but I don't actually notice it slowing down, it seems to manage memory and close apps as needed.
Aldiko (replacing mobiReader, much better) - eReader with nice UI and quick access to several libraries of free books. Found Doctorow's books right away.
Amazon store - really just easier than using the web browser, but it also does barcode scanning and some other useful stuff.
BeamReader (replacing Adobe's wm reader) - rarely needed, but have to be able to see pdfs on the go sometimes
Beelicious - direct (cached) access to my delicious bookmarks. UI could be better and it's a bit of a pain to wade through them all, but it's useful.
BeyondPod (replacing YomoMedia, HUGE improvement) - It took me years to find a podcast downloader for WM that worked at all, but beyondpod is amazing. The UI is superb and inuitive. The customization is great. I have it setup to download only at night while charging. It remembers my place in podcasts and creates 'smart playlists' to make it easier to start listening. It also integrates with google reader, which is hugely useful because I can add new podcasts I'd like to listen to anywhere from google reader and then import then very quickly into beyondpod later. Also worth noting is the homescreen widget, which gives me access to basic controls and status from my home screen, no need to always navigate back into the app.
Browser (replacing Opera mobile) - Really there's not much difference here. Neither android nor WM have flash or silverlight support yet (although you can sort of get it on WM through skyfire, but that's not performant enough to be an everyday thing). Usability is about the same, but since multitouch zoom isn't enabled on nexus yet (though the hardware can technically support it), you have to use the zoom in/out buttons. This isn't as nice as zooming on the TD2 (zoom bar) or the HD2 (multitouch). Android does links to outside applications better though. It recognizes when you are browsing to a youtube video or RSS feed and will prompt correctly.
Cab4me - Nice little app for finding nearby cab companies making it very easy to see which is rated best, has cars available, and place the call. Not a must-have, but it's one of the little things.
Camera - very fast, 5mp (same as on hd2 and td2 wm phones), the LED flash is certainly better than nothing. Geotagging is default.
Car Home - this is Google's navigation 'car mode'. I think is this very cool, but honestly I won't end up using it much because I have navigation built into my car.
Carr Matey - dedicated app for recording car location so you can find it again. Another little nice thing I didn't have before. Android is just so much better at doing location-aware apps right now.
Documents to Go (replacing ms office mobile) - I'm using the lite version, which does not allow editing, but I have just never had the need to edit office docs on my phone. Sometimes I get one in an email and want to read it though, and this looks to do that fine. I'm happy.
Evernote (replacing Evernote) - I'm using this more and more as a dumping ground for everything that's not in email but I want to remember. This is what I use anytime I want to take a quick note (audio or text), or take a picture of a wine bottle or business card for later reference. It syncs with the cloud immediately and I can search that from anywhere.
Flashlight - not a big deal, but nice to have.
flickr droid (replacing shozu) - i like to have an easy way to upload a picture to flickr, this gives me that. I really like how android allows it to integrate with the normal gallery app. So after I take a picture I just have to view it, select 'share', and then select flickr droid (or other things like email, twitter, etc). It's more centralized than WM.
Flip2Silent and Vibrate During Meeting (replacing WM + HTC ringer management) - The ringer management on android is lacking as compared to WM. I used to be able to have my phone automatically go to vibrate during meetings, and silence the ringer after I pick up the phone (so it doesn't continue to be loud and annoying while I'm deciding whether to answer), AND there was a pocket mode to switch to vibrate and louder ring when the phone detected it was in a pocket. Vibrate During Meeting gives me back the meeting function, but it only works with the google calendar, not the exchange touchdown calendar in which all my actual meetings are stored. My work-around is to sync my exchange calendar with google via desktop outlook, but this doesn't keep it updated unless I have a desktop logged in. The good news is that the developer of this app says he'll look into touchdown. Flip2Silent gives me the option to just lay the phone screen-side-down to mute the ringer/vibrate functions. This will work while a call is coming in and I want to ignore it.
Foursquare - App for checking into various locations. It's treated like a game, you get points, but also get to see where your friends are and if they happen to be near you. Plus people leave tips for places.
g-backup and mybackup (replacing myphone on wm) - MS's myphone app on wm will automatically backup all user data (sms, mms, pictures, video, docs, etc) to the cloud every night. It can also restore these for when you get a new phone or hard-reset your current phone. I got used to having this. All my email and contacts are in exchange or the cloud anyway, but I don't want to lose these other things. MyPhone is also nice because all that data is accessible via the web. g-backup is cool because it will upload all this stuff to gmail, so you have it there, but it can't restore anything. MyBackup will backup and restore most things, but not pictures/video. So I'm using them both, but I'd like a more comprehensive solution.
Gallery (replacing HTC photo gallery) - The nexus gallery is implemented in 3d and is pretty cool, but ultimately it works about as well as the HTC version (which is also flashy). They need to add multi-touch zooming.
GCDroid (replacing gcz) - This is my geocaching app, but only until the official geocaching.com android app comes out (which is soon and it will be cool if their iphone app is any indication). Even though there isn't an official app for wm, the community created apps were pretty good. GCDroid is barely usable, but overall this category will be an upgrade over wm soon.
Glympse (replacing Glympse) - Something I'll rarely use, but it's cool when it applies. You can send a link to anyone that will allow them to track you via a webbrowser for x-minutes. So if you say you're on your way, they can actually see how far along you are.
Gmail (replacing hotmail) - both MS and Google have their email services integrated tightly with their mobile os. I used to forward all my gmail to hotmail so I could easily get it on my phone, so now I just flipped it. I like gmail well enough, and there are certainly features that are ahead of hotmail. I'm just happy to happy to have my personal email pushed to my phone.
Google maps (replacing google maps and bing) - This is definitely better than on WM, but ultimately it does the same stuff. It's smoother and a little easier to navigate (except, again, zooming is more difficult).
Meebo IM - nice to have an app that can log into ICQ, MSN, and GTalk all at once. Likely will rarely use it.
Messaging (replacing txt message HTC app) - this seems to be just what you'd expect. But at least it's very fast and predictable, unlike the HTC app which is sometimes laggy as hell.
Flixter Movies (replacing bing) - MS's bing app was good for finding local theaters and showtimes, this one does it with a bit more flash and some awesome additional features that i just found. It shows the rottentomatoes rating along with every movies. Plus, it has netflix integration, so it checks whether any movie is in my queue and lets me add it while browsing. It also has a list of recent dvd releases, which is great with the netflix thing. It also essentially serves as a mobile imdb. Very impressive.
Mother TED - dedicated app for watching TED talks. It seems ok but not great.
Music (replacing HTC media player) - Nothing special here. I don't know that I'll even use it much since i mostly listen to pandora or podcasts.
OpenTable - for the rare occasions when I make reservations (especially last minute) this will make it easy to find a place with an opening.
Pandora (NOT ON WM) - this is almost a reason to switch by itself. I hate that this isn't on wm yet. Very nicely implemented on android because it has a homescreen widget. I get all the basic controls without even having to go into the app, and I can use other apps while it plays in the background. Sound quality is great too.
Dialer - The android dialer is pretty basic, but it seems to get the job done. At least you can add a pause (with a comma) so that dialing conference numbers is somewhat doable (but still WAY harder than it should be, they don't do any smart parsing in meeting invites). This is still hard on WM though too.
PhoneFlicks (replacing official netflix wm app) - This is barely a replacement. Netflix's own app was better, this one is slower and harder to use, but at least I can do basic queue management from my phone, which is really nice sometimes.
SeattleBusBot - This is SO cool, and something I've wanted but couldn't find on wm. Seattle has the gps info of its buses available publicly, but their website is basically unusable on a phone (even on a desktop). This app will tell you exactly when a given bus is going to arrive, not just when it's scheduled.
Seesmic (replacing m.twitter.com on wm) - really good mobile twitter app. There are plenty of wm twitter apps, and HTC even builds one into the os now, but they tended to be slower. I think the HD2 is probably just as good as seesmic.
ShopSavvy - barcode scanning that tells you the closest places to get the given product and for how much. Haven't had a chance to see if this turns out to actually be useful, but I like the concept and test scans in the house have been accurate (which kinda surprises me because I had heard that phone barcode scanning doesn't work, but maybe the 5mp camera and snapdragon is making it more pratical).
TorrentFu (replacing starting torrents via Live mesh mobile) - This is a major upgrade (and rejected from itunes if I remember correctly). I finally switched to uTorrent on my server so I could use this. It uses the utorrent webui to connect, but exposes all the functionality like a local app. You can see progress, search for and start new torrents, and pause/resume. Very cool.
TripIt (replacing tripcase kinda) - I've only started experimenting with these two services, and i don't travel as much as I used to, but they are pretty good at what they do. Just forward your reservation emails and they build up a comprehensive itinerary and keep you updated. having a native app makes using these that much easier. Tripcase is on wm, tripit (which seems to be the better service) is on android.
tv.com - streaming tv from cbs, showtime, and some others. Haven't used this much, but always nice to have some free content.
Google Voice - At first I was skeptical about this because I don't have a real need to create a central phone number that rings all my phones, which was what i thought this service was for. Turns out you don't have to use that feature, and they also provide visual voicemail on android plus they send you transcriptions of the messages to your phone. so you can see who left messages and what they said (approximately) without even listening. So I'm definitely appreciating this feature.
Wapedia - native version of wikipedia. Nice and quick. why not?
y5 - Battery - This app is genius in its simplicity and value. It simply keeps track of where you are when you enable wifi, and remembers that going forward so it can automatically re-enable it when you come back to the same place. The rest of the time, it disables wifi to save battery. The end result here is that I never have to remember to turn wifi on or off when i come home or leave the house.
youtube (replacing youtube) - works well. nothing special to report except google's browser seems to be better at realizing when it should forward you to the youtube player.
yxflash (failing to replace coreplayer) - The only android app that claims to do xvid/divx decoding. I tried it on an xvid torrent that wm's coreplayer had no trouble with and it choked pretty hard. It played, but with extremely jittery video and slow sound. Not usable yet, but at least i know I might get something soon.
Touchdown (replacing exchange activesync on wm) - Saved the most important (and expensive @$22) for last. Without this app I wouldn't be able to sync my exchange data (contacts, email, calendar, tasks) with my phone because Android doesn't support all the required security features by default. (our company, like many these days, will not sync data with a platform that doesn't allow them to force the use of encryption, pin lock, and remote wipe) Beyond that, without the recently added feature of allowing me to flag emails for followup, I would not be able to switch to android because this workflow is too important to my everyday life.
Explanation: I check email on my phone often, and if I can respond then and there, I do, but if I can’t and need to follow up for any reason, I flag it. This creates a task in outlook which I will see the next time at my desk, so i KNOW i won't forget about it.
But there is an additional, more subtle, benefit at play here. And honestly, it's a little unfair to count it, but it makes such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my phone that I can't ignore it. I'm speaking about how the previously mentioned pin lock for exchange only applies (on android) to the touchdown app. I am not required to set a pin to unlock the phone itself. Ever since they turned on that requirement I've been punching in a 4 digit pin every damn time I wanted to glance at my phone, check the time, or even change the stupid volume! Now I'm finally free of that because google didn't bother to properly build in exchange support at the OS level. NICE! seriously though, this saves me so much annoyance it was almost worth the $530 by itself.
For a true windows power-user, it's worth shelling out the <$10 for Remote RDP. It works incredibly well, even when connecting to my Windows 7 PC from 3G across town (or presumably, the world).
The ability to USE MY HOME PC from ANYWHERE WITH NET ACCESS...
Absolutely incredible for a phone..
EDIT: my home net speed is pretty quick, which owes to fast remote access. Wifi will always be fast, though, and that's what this app is really designed for.
Good recommendation. Just downloaded the Remote RDP demo. Seems to work well.
Thank you for the run down... I just made the switch myself and a number of the apps you mentioned helped me fill some of my void from WM. I'm still a little pissed about the exchange issues but the real truth is any company I work for issues me a blackberry and doesn't allow other devices to connect to thier servers. I worked for one midsized company once that let me and that was the only time I was completely in love with my WM device. Since my personal email is through gmail the nexus one is really amazing as my personal phone.
Good Stuff! I'm in the same boat WM to Android and no turning back I'll check out some of the apps u listed...
One thing I'm looking for is a widget with power/memory/storage/sd gauges.
Always had this on the wm home for reference & cool stats!
If you geocache then GeoBeagle is the other main geocaching app. I don't cache much any more, but I have tried GeoBeagle and liked it, though I can't compare it to GCDroid...
Wanted to say thanks for the excellent app list. Touchdown is awesome. A way for me to connect to work without merging my exchange contacts with the rest of my phone. Now thats a win!
@Seraph321 - want to add my thanks for your app info. i'll be getting an N1 soon and knowing there are options to some of my "must haves" apps/features/functionality (e.g., Exchange) will help shorten my learning curve. i'm not going to abandon WM because it will continue to serve as my work phone. the N1 will be my after work/personal phone until i'm comfortable tweaking Android. that's my plan, but once i have the N1 my plan may change!
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Browser
Dolphin Browser is hands down the best browser on Android right now. Multi-touch zooming, delicious integration, tabs, themes, and much more.
Flashlight
Do a market search for Nexus One Torch. It utilizes the LED from the camera flash to use as a flashlight. Very bright.
Ringer Management
Locale manages your phone based off time and location. Never used it myself, but heard good things, and I believe it was and Android Developers Challenge winner or something.
Backup
I'm simple and only need to backup text messages (most everything else is stored via SD card or synced with Google anyway). I use SMS Backup to backup my texts to Gmail, and it works fantastic. Uploads directly to my mail account, archives the texts, puts them in threads according to contact, tags them, and marks them as read. I can then easily search my text conversations from my phone or desktop browser via Gmail, and don't have to worry about deleting conversations from my phone and losing something. I've never used g-backup, so it may have this function already.
Twitter
I've tried a couple Twitter apps (not Seismic, though I'll be trying that next) and have landed on Swift, which currently is the fastest, and the best looking Twitter app I've used. I'm not a giant twitter user, so I don't know if it supports all the features any other apps might, but it works great for me, and would recommend it.
That's all for now. I don't have my phone next to me or I'd give it a quick run through and suggest something you might be missing, but I'll have to do that another time.
As for getting multi-touch support in google maps, the browser, and gallery... just wait, it's been hacked in for the G1/MT3G, it will certainly be hacked in for the Nexus One.
I'm still up in the air between ASTRO File Manager and Linda File Manager, but a file manager is an important addition to your tools, if you plan on keeping a lot of documents/files on board. Additionally, I know at least Linda has the DownloadCrutch functionality, associating itself with every filetype so that the browser will allow you to download such. To me, this last bit is essential.
Great stuff, I think a lot of people will be going from WM to Nexus because MS have failed to deliver for so long & there is now a great alternative with an OS that can be modded and a really cool handset.
So far I am happy to leave the N1 standard (not rooted) and play with apps - it is a real joy to have so many available & a single source for them.
Never going back !
+1 for Dolphin Browser... definitely a big step up over the default browser IMHO
SpyderMS said:
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
bofslime said:
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
The Jones said:
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMS Count
ok, at work with nothing to do, so I browsed through my phone, and here's a couple Apps you may be interested in. Some of these are useful, some are just kind of cool
AudioManager Widget
Nice little app that lets you adjust all your volume levels easily and quickly.
AppControl - Full Version
Best app manager I've used. Really fast, nice interface, and lots of options.
Barcode Scanner
Barcode scanning from the phone is fantastic. It's very pronounced in the Android community as well. You'll see barcodes not only on these forums, but on App websites like AndroLib.com, which let you scan the barcode, and instantly be linked to a website or Android Market page. It's not only useful on the Nexus One's 5mp camera and 1GHz processor either. Worked great on my G1.
Google Goggles
Take a picture of just about anything, and Google will search for relevant results.
Google Sky Map
Virtual Planetarium on your phone.
Layar Reality Browser 3.0
Augmented Reality browser. Displays information about objects in front of you overlayed on the camera display.
Pkt Auctions for eBay
If you use eBay at all, this is a great companion tool.
Shazam
Lets you identify music being played around you by letting your phone listen to and analyze it.
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
handcent settings -> conversation style.
handcent has a ton of settings options, including different settings for individual contacts (conversation style, font, notification tone, etc)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've already spent too much work time today finding and installing the ones I like.
I don't actually do THAT much texting, so I'm sticking with the stock sms app for now, but I did install sms popup and set my girlfriend to popup. That's convenient.
Someone mentioned SMS backup, and yes, g-backup does the same thing only for more data, but they both need a scheduling option.
I see the nexus one torch app requires rooted access. I'm no stranger to hacking my gadgets, but this app (plus tethering, and maybe installing to the sd card) are the only things I've seen so far that have me interested in doing it. Can anyone provide some examples of why they consider rooting a must?
You mentioned Wi-Fi tethering already, but that reason alone is a pretty big reason. You may also want to theme your phone. Any kind of advancements that developers like Cyanogen come out with will require root as well. Cyanogen is known for pushing the envelope, helping to increase speed, and overall functionality of the G1, and other devices; not to mention you will get features from new versions of Android faster than those without root. I'm sure there are other reasons to, these are just off the top of my head. A lot of people are waiting until someone finds out how to reverse the bootloader unlocking process before they root, in order to preserve their warranty, and that's certainly a good idea if you don't have a lot of use for root at the moment. I did it, like most people that did, just because I can.
I'll make sure to watch the Cyanogen stuff closely. I never followed the G1 enhancements, so I guess I don't know what to expect. Sounds like it's likely I'll do it at some point though.
Is it easy to get all your apps, especially the ones that you paid for, back on your phone after rooting? Does the marketplace just remember it all and let you re-download?
I should just search for these answers.
- No WiFi Tether
- No USB Tether
Is the first thing I noticed. Seriously? so I switched back to Android.
FirefighterDown said:
- No WiFi Tether
- No USB Tether
Is the first thing I noticed. Seriously? so I switched back to Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft have said from the beginning that WM7 would not support tethering.
So its no great surprise, well to some it is.
FirefighterDown said:
- No WiFi Tether
- No USB Tether
Is the first thing I noticed. Seriously? so I switched back to Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are MUCH MORE features that WP7 has missed out
but it's the 1st version of OS, what did you expect?
the 1st version of iOS and Android are even suckier than WP7
I gonna list out some features WP7 missed out...
MMS support other than pictures (Audio/Contacts) (Only 1 MMS at a time)
Contacts Sharing
Custom Fields in Contacts
IE Homepage
Text Reflow (Mail/IE)
WiFi static IP
HomeScreen Wallpaper
Customize Dictionary
Turn Off Auto-Rotate
Mail ability to add attachments other than Pictures
Voice Recorder
Chinese/Unicode Input
Local Search (The Local in Bing Search means places around you, not in-phone)
SkyDrive support
Flash
Pictures Editing
Audio Trimming
Grid View for Apps (HTC Android can toggle Grid/List)
Backup? (For apps data I mean, games data will be saved in xbox live)
External Storage
Touch Focus for Camera (Auto focus while video is already impressive, but I need some manual focus)
Silent mode/Voicemail mode (I don't always want vibrate, I want to COMPLETELY IGNORE sometimes)
Integration of Facebook User's Birthday to Calander
Battery Percentage/Usage Statistics
And Most IMPORTANT... Homebrew apps!! (.xap files w/o DRM can be installed w/o a developer's account)
That's all for now... or maybe that's all I need for a ultimate phone for now...
I think I have played around WP7 enough for now... It's not enough for everyday use YET.... going back to Android and wait for a few WP7 updates before returning
It's going to drive all the corporate users away too... I spend 3 1/2 hours trying to get an intermediate certificate installed so that it can sync with my Exchange server. The cert needs to be in the Root store but WP7 puts it in the Intermediate store. I have no control over the stores themselves. I don't want or need to pay for a Root cert from Verisign or whatever - I only use the cert for encryption. Without it being in the Root store synchronization errors out with a certificate error. I can't "go through the cloud" because my business is regulated in a way that would preclude that.
Android simply ignores the fact that it isn't a "valid" Root cert and simply uses it for encryption and WM 6.5 etc. accepts the cert "as is". Since I'm replacing a user's broken HD2 and it will have to last 18 months I'm going with an Android. I'd stick with the HD2 but they are going to start becoming scarce and the user is our COO who is "technology aware" so I'm going in a direction that I believe she will be happiest with.
Sorry MS but you really screwed the pooch with WP7...
- skype
- batery info
...
bountygiver said:
I gonna list out some features WP7 missed out...
MMS support other than pictures (Audio/Contacts) (Only 1 MMS at a time)
Contacts Sharing
Custom Fields in Contacts
IE Homepage
Text Reflow (Mail/IE)
WiFi static IP
HomeScreen Wallpaper
Customize Dictionary
Turn Off Auto-Rotate
Mail ability to add attachments other than Pictures
Voice Recorder
Chinese/Unicode Input
Local Search (The Local in Bing Search means places around you, not in-phone)
SkyDrive support
Flash
Pictures Editing
Audio Trimming
Grid View for Apps (HTC Android can toggle Grid/List)
Backup? (For apps data I mean, games data will be saved in xbox live)
External Storage
Touch Focus for Camera (Auto focus while video is already impressive, but I need some manual focus)
Silent mode/Voicemail mode (I don't always want vibrate, I want to COMPLETELY IGNORE sometimes)
Integration of Facebook User's Birthday to Calander
Battery Percentage/Usage Statistics
And Most IMPORTANT... Homebrew apps!! (.xap files w/o DRM can be installed w/o a developer's account)
That's all for now... or maybe that's all I need for a ultimate phone for now...
I think I have played around WP7 enough for now... It's not enough for everyday use YET.... going back to Android and wait for a few WP7 updates before returning
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd have to agree totally, after having it on for 24 hours and messing around with it I'm finding it extremely basic as to what it offers. It looks good don't get me wrong, but I'm going joining you in going back to Android until there's a few updates applied
Airborne Aircrew said:
It's going to drive all the corporate users away too... I spend 3 1/2 hours trying to get an intermediate certificate installed so that it can sync with my Exchange server. The cert needs to be in the Root store but WP7 puts it in the Intermediate store. I have no control over the stores themselves. I don't want or need to pay for a Root cert from Verisign or whatever - I only use the cert for encryption. Without it being in the Root store synchronization errors out with a certificate error. I can't "go through the cloud" because my business is regulated in a way that would preclude that.
Android simply ignores the fact that it isn't a "valid" Root cert and simply uses it for encryption and WM 6.5 etc. accepts the cert "as is". Since I'm replacing a user's broken HD2 and it will have to last 18 months I'm going with an Android. I'd stick with the HD2 but they are going to start becoming scarce and the user is our COO who is "technology aware" so I'm going in a direction that I believe she will be happiest with.
Sorry MS but you really screwed the pooch with WP7...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well tbh WP7 isnt really supposed to be a business phone, If you want it for business go for the legacy OS as that was designed specifically for business needs.
Camera flash led
Did you realise that only one led is really working or it is only with me? If not, is there any solution??
Hey Nexus 7 peeps!
Santa Claus brought my kids (7 & 8yrs old) N7 tablets for Christmas. I've been researching alternatives for locking them down, and haven't found anything (yet) that really meets the needs. For reference, I've setup the kids Windows 7 PC with Microsoft Family Safety & Security & about a thousand group policies. Given all that I have no worries right now leaving them with the PC with minimal supervision. They use chrome and I have it setup to use the Microsoft FSS site to do any websearches they do.
So.. I'd like to do something similar with their tablets. I have about 3 days before they come back from their grandparents house to get these things configured. I'm currently setup as the "owner" and my kids have their own users setup. For the moment, they are hooked up to my google account. I'm not adverse to changing that, but want to figure out what the options are first.
Heres my thoughts on what they should have:
Chrome, only if I can put some kind of filtering on. Not opposed to OpenDNS (router is setup with DD-WRT already). I'm not obsessed with allowing chrome (or web browser access) right now.
Play store hidden or disabled. I've required a pin for purchase & in-game purchase, which is fine for now but not ideal.
Google now/etc fine if some parental controls can be added.
Email available only to/from people on parent managed contact list, or disabled completely.
Prefer to have a launcher that has a subset of all available apps, and perhaps drawer restrictions/etc
I'm totally not opposed to rooting or whatever would help with this, or even installing CM10 or something if it would help.
I feel like I must be missing something. All of this seems so very basic to me, yet I've not yet found what I'm looking for. There must be other people who got N7s for kids, and want to have a little bit of parental control over whats going on here. I'm looking for recommendations on how to proceed.
Thanks in advance, appreciate any advice offered.
-Blu
http://www.wikihow.com/Block-Porn-on-Android
This is to get you started, I haven't done much other research.
check out this post of mine: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=35197028&postcount=2
OP was asking whether create a separate account for her daughter or not.
And answers to your specific questions:
- Chrome doesn't support any plugins, there are system-wide apps that filter content (probably root required)
- disable it with link2sd or any app that handles apps, nova launcher (and many others) can hide apps from app drawer, its still there, just not in the drawer. (though with filtering, i dont know why you would disable play store, with no credit card its harmless)
- I don't really understand what you mean, but google search does have filtering.
- either remove gmail/email completely, or filter emails in gmail filter settings (sth like anything not from dad, mom, relatives, directly remove. Can be done with no problems, the same way you would handle labels in gmail)
- any aftermarket launcher pretty much. check nova, apex (those are built on stock ics/jb launchers) both enable to hide apps from drawer, but everything can be reset with some tinkering. Google for some kid launchers or sth, I'm sure there is stuff.
I think you're panicking too much to be honest. Its not a gsm device, it doesnt send txts, so you will not get a 100$ bill at the end of the month, apps in play store are safe with filtering (I'm pretty sure you can lock that too), and if they're not tech savvy they shouldn't find their way around your little tricks, but don't underestimate them, kids are very smart, and just may surpass you sooner then you know.
If you have to set so many restrictions on devices, you shouldn't have gotten them in the first place, rather get nintendo DS or PSP.
Awesome, thanks for the advice. I'm looking through your recommendations now. This is my first experience with "Real" jellybean.... I've been using a seriously hacked CM10 for my Droid X2. So this is the first time I've had the opportunity do deal with mutliple users. The cool thing I've found is that apps can be disabled per-user, which makes things a lot easier. Many of the apps that I dont really want them to have, I've just disabled and all seems to be well. I signed them both up with their own Gmail accounts, and I'll monitor that on my own.
My kids are definitely tech savvy, I'm an application developer & generally a white-hat hacker; some of that has rubbed off on them. I think everything is cool now, your point about the google store w/o credit card is totally valid, and I hadn't even considered that. Given that, I've setup restrictions on content from store, content in chrome, and content in youtube. I still want to do a little research on content control in Chrome (plus it will give me a valid excuse to root it, everydamnthing in my house needs to be hacked in some way :good
It may well be that I've panicked too much. Its just that the windows setup is so completely perfect, that I'd like it to be on par. I trust my kids, but only so far. My elder has a form of autism that complicates discussions about what to/not to do.
Appreciate your recommendations!
-Blu
Quite sure the play store got an update recently that requires the account password when attempting to buy any pay apps. It does on mine here anyway. just checked my sons stock tablet and it looks like Google have finally got their act together and are using server side authentication for purchases.
Oh and if you do get the tablets rooted this little program is a must
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fivehellions.android.muappshare
Allows you to share and control apps between user accounts on same tablet. I use it to let my son play my paid games whilst restricting him from using my account.
Cheers Danny
I know that go launcher allows you to hide apps, and you can use a password program to restrict access to the go launcher settings. Just my 2¢.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Thanks for the appshare. That is brilliant. Haven't used it yet, but I'm certain I will. Both are now rooted w/ CWM installed. For now I'm going to leave them with stock browser.... at 7 & 8 they're not yet actively searching for things they shouldnt be. I'll address that as it comes, but I'm way glad I rooted them now, as unlocking kills user data.
My wife is an Apple junkie (yes, yes, you can save the comments) but even she was impressed with the 4.2 ability to switch users, a feature starkly missing from iThings. I explained that it was a decision brought down by the Ghost Of Steve Jobs, and not an oversight.
End of the day... getting very close to having them configured properly, and none too soon. The kidlets return tomorrow afternoon from grandparents....
-Blu
toidimaet said:
Quite sure the play store got an update recently that requires the account password when attempting to buy any pay apps. It does on mine here anyway. just checked my sons stock tablet and it looks like Google have finally got their act together and are using server side authentication for purchases.
Oh and if you do get the tablets rooted this little program is a must
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fivehellions.android.muappshare
Allows you to share and control apps between user accounts on same tablet. I use it to let my son play my paid games whilst restricting him from using my account.
Cheers Danny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It only does that when I try to use my play credit. If I use a credit card, it doesn't prompt me
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
XxSHaDoWxSLaYeRxX said:
It only does that when I try to use my play credit. If I use a credit card, it doesn't prompt me
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I am using a debit card in the UK. It could be a card type thing or even a country thing.
Sorry it took me so long to post and you have set up the tablet, but here's what i did for my daughter's N7:
I set her up with her own Gmail account. Rooted and unlocked the N7 and set it up as hers.
I added her account to my N7 so i can see activity etc. Case, screen protector and stylus.
APPS:
Adfree of course
Avast! In case it is ever lost, & some nice anti virus etc
Smart App Protector - password protect any app....so although I got her her own email address, she can't read, or send email without password...you can lock down the browser too, which I did, because she has games with links that will open a browser. THIS app is awesome.
Parent Dashboard, because it has some fun videos and apps -
I toyed with this being her desktop for a bit but too restrictive - I do like the ability to send her video messages (shared custody).
Skype so we can video chat (only for contacts, natch).
I don't have a credit card attached to her account, but if she wants to buy, I can do a couple things...add it on my N7, buy add to her wishlist them she can d/l on her. Our i can add cc and buy on hers and remove cc.
I think that's about everything and let her go to town.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Presenting.. the Next Best Thing to Root for the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S7 T-mobile edition (model SM-G930T that is)
As of 6/7/16, no root is publicly available. I purchased my S7 on 5/26/16 and decided to keep it despite the lack of root. This is my story.
INTRO
So the ol' Galaxy Note II up and died on me a couple weekends back, and I blew 40 bucks on a new battery before I realized it was gone gone gone. Queue new phone shopping, the hip glasses-toting dudes at T-mobile swayed me to an S7. I didn't want something as big as my last phone and forget using a bumper case with that curved-screen edge (an acquaintance of mine quotes: "The only thing that ****ing screen is good for is when I'm high as hell and want to read the clock without lifting my head". He dropped his and shattered it.), so I went with the plain ol' S7. Well, now I know why the salesguy got real quiet when the first thing I told him I would do was 'root the phone'. Being a programmer, I was pretty bummed and unhappy about owning a device that I am purposely locked out of Administrating.. but the return fee was $50, and I really liked what the S7 brought to the table.
Goes without saying, I was ready to pay for the rootable HTC-10 (my local store didn't even carry it, the salesman said they were 'test-marketing it' at a couple other stores across town) or the LG monstrosity (I haven't liked this company since the spying TV debacle, tho once upon a time they made good and cheap TVs), but I hated how much bigger the devices were and that svelte S7 really impressed me otherwise. Samsung really does make the 'iPhone of Androids'.
So, I decided to stick with the S7, and un-screw it pretty much as best as I could. And, because all I read was mostly a lot of 'is the root out yets', I thought it would be cool to share.
ABOUT THE S7
Not too terribly much has changed in the android linux filesystem since the last time I seriously delved into it. Got a vague idea where most of what is what, but I also recognize that the Path to Rooting is two: Utilizing a bootloader to actually flash the chip, or Piggybacking on some existing Administrative-privileged software in the otherwise 'closed' environment. Samsung shipped the U.S. T-mobile S7's (mine is SM-G930T) with a locked bootloader to make it nigh-impossible to root via flashing. Get to it, ya chip-hackers.
However, it is a universal law of the internet that someone out there will find an operable software workaround, and this is usually some 13-year-old kid from Finland, or at least it was in the case where I found drivers for a Voodoo 3 card during the advent of Windows XP. God bless the internet will provide, and in this case that gentle soul is none other than a man by the appropriate name of OSPolice.
PACKAGE DISABLER PRO - THE 99 CENT APP
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en
This little gem of an app I purchased for $0.99 off the play store. This is the key to enjoying the disabling features of Root access and the key to un-screwing the T-mobile Galaxy S7. What this app does is essentially co-opt the Administrative access that Samsung Knox (the 'security' software) uses and allows you to disable any and all packages on the phone. When you first activate it you will have to accept an agreement tied to Samsung Knox (don't worry, this in no way causes anything to 'phone home' as far as I can tell).
I would recommend the very first thing you do is go to the settings and add a password to the app, that way nobody else can get in, because this can seriously **** with your phone's software, if you disable the wrong package the phone will not boot up properly and you will need to reinstall. There is an option to Disable All Bloatware based on automatic picks from the application but this can screw up some phones and you will miss a lot of crap, so DO NOT AUTO-DISABLE.
There is also another important reason you should manually disable these. Clicking on a package from the main app brings up a screen where you have several options (the auto-google feature is quite helpful to researching various processes). There is also an important little button that says 'Clear Data', erasing the temporary package data. Due to info I found on another forum, which I am too lazy to dig up here and now, there is an important process to disabling with Package Disabler Pro:
THE DISABLING PROCESS
1. If the package is not enabled, enable it.
2. While the package IS ENABLED, click Clear Data.
3. DISABLE the package with the Disable button.
4. Click CLEAR DATA a second time.
5. On to the next one...
It appears there may be some data that is not erased when the package is disabled. In any case, this fixed all of the problems I had disabling earlier without using the Clear Data button. This is important to stop certain packages from utilizing an outside process to re-enable themselves.
Below I am listing all of the processes that I disabled. Your list might be different; before I did this I updated the phone's system software from T-mobile's servers (as of 5/25), and I don't plan to auto-update again until I root or have to reload everything.
Also, please keep in mind I turned off a few features with this method, you will have to ADJUST YOUR PACKAGES ACCORDINGLY or know what to re-enable from the below list. I turned off all wi-fi calling (don't like 'weird' internet connections), all NFC and payment such as the Samsung pay chip (nothing I want/need enabled right now). I kept Bluetooth connectivity on since I pair the phone with my car for and it's more or less an 'established' form of protocol, neverless if I didn't use it I would deactivate it as well. Security Over All is my philosophy.
THE SINGLE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD is being unable to 'browse' for a background when choosing a new one for the lock screen. I kept the lock screen with a stock dark blue and had already set my live wallpaper (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dkeesto.holographlw&hl=en if you are curious, Digital Hive by the unsurpassed Cypher Cove). So set your backgrounds before disabling all these, or try and figure out which disabled package screws this up, though I tried re-enabling anything with 'wallpaper' in it to no avail.
I also disabled a lot of the Google services, I check my gmail online, phone apps seem so hideously insecure to my mind, and I don't want to use any drive or cloud backup services AT ALL. Go with an all-encrypted service or backup your data yourself, and I don't trust any non-rooted backup apps. If you use the Gmail app or etc, simply don't disable it.
A LIST OF PACKAGES I DISABLED (remember to Clear Data, then Disable, then Clear Data a second time!):
AASAservice
Access cloud
AllShare FileShare Service
Amazon
ANT + DUT
ANT HAL Service
ANT Radio Service
ANT+ Plugins Service
AutoPreconfig
Basic Daydreams
BBCAgent
BeaconManager
Beaming Service
Briefing (**** you)
Calculator
Calendar
Camera test
Carmode Stub
ChocoEUKor
Color Adjustment
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
com.android.sharedstoragebackup
com.android.wallpapercropper
com.facebook.appmanager
com.facebook.system
com.samsung.android.app.watchmanagerstub
com.samsung.android.sm.devicesecurity
com.samsung.dcmservice
com.samsung.enhanceservice
com.samsung.faceservice
com.samsung.hs20provider
com.samsung.ipservice
com.samsung.storyservice
com.sec.android.app.minimode.res
com.sec.android.app.wfdbroker
com.sec.bcservice
com.tmobile.pr.adapt
Context Service
Control TV
CoolEUKor
Device Unlock
DeviceTest
Dictionary
EasyOneHand
EasySetup
Email
Enhanced features
eSE UCS Plugin
Facebook
Favorite Contacts
Filter Installer
Filter Manager
Filter Provider
Foundation
Galaxy Apps
Galaxy Essentials Widget
Gallery (I use an app called QuickPic, don't disable if you use the regular Gallery)
Game Launcher
Game Tools
GamepadService
GameService
Gear VR Service
Gear VR SetupWizardStub
Gear VR Shelf
Gmail (You might not want to disable, but for security's sake you should and use your browser)
Google App
Google Backup Transport
Google Calendar Sync
Google Contacts Sync
Google One Time Init
Google Partner Setup
Google Play Movies & TV
Good Play Music
Hancom Office Editor
Hangouts
Health Service (this auto-health reading stuff is kind of scary)
Help
Highlight video player
IMS Settings
ImsLogger+
IntelligenceService2
Interaction control
Internet (have a secondary browser in place, I initially used Chrome)
IPsec Service
Kies Application BnR
KNOX
KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
Live wallpaper picker
Lookout
Magnifier
Market Feedback Agent
MDMApp
Memo
Message service
Messages (I use an app called Textra, it is pleasant, don't disable if you use this for text messages)
MmsService (I have had no trouble sending/receiving MMS text with this disabled)
Mobile tracker
My Files
My interests
My Places
Nearby Service
Nfc Service
NSDSWebApp
Personal Data Management
Photo Editor
Photo Screensavers
Photos
Print Spooler (might be necessary for phone-to-printer if you're into that)
Private Mode Service
Quick connect
Remote Controls
RoseEUKor
S Finder
S Health
S Voice App
Safety assistance
Safety information
Samsung account
Samsung ApexService
Samsung Billing
Samsung Content Agent
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Gear
Samsung keyboard (HAVE ANOTHER KEYBOARD INSTALLED [I use Hacker's Keyboard] OR DO NOT DISABLE THIS)
Samsung Location DSK
Samsung Milk Music
Samsung MirrorLink 1.1
Samsung Pay Stub
Samsung Payment Framework
Samsung Push Service
Samsung setup wizard
Samsung text-to-speech engine
Samsung+
SamsungDLPService
SapaMonitor
Screen Mirroring
Security policy updates
SecurityLogAgent
Settings Receiver
ShootingModeProvider
Simple Sharing
SLLibrary
Slow and fast-motion video player and editor
Smart Manager
Smart Manager Provider
SmartCallProvider
SmartcardManager
SmartcardService
SmartFaceService
SmartManager Clean DSK
SnsImageCache
Software update
Software Update
Sound detectors
Sound picker
T-Mobile
T-Mobil Name ID
T-Mobile TV
Theme store
Themes
TouchWiz easy home
TouchWiz home
Trim
Universal switch
UrgentFWUpdateNfc
UrgentFWUpdateTSP
Video collage
Video Editor Lite
Video Player (Stock, don't disable if you use, I use an app called VLC that plays damn near anything)
Virtual tour
Visual Voicemail
Visual Voicemail
Voice Assistant
Voice service
Voice wake-up
WallpaperCompression
Weather
Weather
Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct share
Wi-Fi Calling Settings
withTV
And that's it! Boy, wasn't that a lot of clicking clear data and all that junk! But it is worth it!
A FEW OTHER FEATURES I DON'T USE
Fingerprints.. never tested with this. I fail to see the usefulness of a fingerprint compared to a password in your head, and it's a whole lot easier to duplicate the former and scan someone's phone (call it the 'law gets in' password). So some of these might have disabled fingerprint functionality.
Voice-assistance.. again, the possibility of my phone recording me without me knowing is kind of scary. There's a lot of Samsung S-voice crap built in, I had this sort of thing on my last phone and never had the need for it.
Always-On Screen - It displays the time, had it on for a couple days and it worked just fine, but ultimately a battery eater, and the config options are real limited. I ended up turning this off.
The Samsung TouchWiz Launcher - As soon as I got all my packages disabled, I ditched this one. You can use anything you like, but personally I found a new home with NovaLauncher.
The Camera I tried to keep as whole as possible, I set it as the 'double-home-button-click-to-open', which was default behavior, and I really like it this way - double-click and you have a camera, and it works regardless of locked screen. They've really improved the camera software, I can double-click and start recording and that's just the way I like to use a phone. Now if there were only a way to compress, encrypt, and auto-transmit those movies immediately after recording...
DEVELOPER OPTIONS
Settings -> About device -> Click on 'Build Version' a bunch of times. If you're reading these forums you should probably know how to activate this.
Some cool settings, the only one I toggle is USB debugging.. for ease of file transfer on a PC thru USB cable, something which ALL modern phones suck ass at. It almost makes me want to program a simple universal file transfer software suite.
WHAT I WISH I STILL HAD
Encrypted Backup Solutions/State Backups: TitaniumBackup & Nandroid are the ****. Man do I miss having root access.
Customized Pull-down Notification Screen: I hate that first row of settings buttons. I will probably have to pony up the 5 bucks to NovaLauncher to see if they can make those go away.
One-touch Reboot app - Not getting this one until root Administrative access. I'll have to live without until then.
Otherwise, I have been pretty conveniently able to live without Root on this phone, and I hope this guide can make you happy, too!
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - USEFUL
I've peppered the above with some apps I really like, here are some more:
Firefox - My favorite browser. I keep a copy of chrome for emergencies. 'Noscript' and 'Phony' are must-have extensions. Still looking for a good page-to-pdf extractor.
Orbot/Orfox - Best TOR/browser combo.
Rocket Player - FANTASTIC music app that I ponied up the money to unlock (mostly to play FLACs). Near-perfect, and a relief because Winamp **** the bed when it came to Android.
DuckDuckGo - I use this to replace the Google search bar widget. Doesn't work the same (click to open) but works quickly.
ZDBox - I use this exclusively for the 5x2 'control' widget on my home page. One-touch turnon/offs (or some options send you to the settings screen) for the following: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile Network, Airplane Mode, TaskKiller, disable Screen Rotate, Brightness, Applock (you specify) and Flashlight (my default light, big screwy button but I'm used to it now).
ZDCal - From the makers of ZDBox, a free calendar that displays as a strip in the notification bar and also places a date at the top of the screen. Be careful, the first time I set it up I blindly clicked a couple pages and set up a period calendar that promptly notified me when I was beginning ovulation (I am a man).
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - GAMES
Stellar Solitaire - The best Solitaire app ever. Tons of games, demos, beautiful for a phone screen.
Cliffy Run - A rager game my awesome friend made that is totally and amazingly simple and has some great graphics.
Neko Atsume - A stupid japanese cat simulator that I can't stop checking.
Source - A free 'pipes' puzzle game. I'm at 1 hr 2 mins on insane level. Great for killing time in the DMV.
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - PROGRAMMER/NERD
OS Monitor - Process/Connection task-manager
JuiceSSH - My terminal app of choice.
Blowtorch Beta - My MUD app of choice. Told ya I nerd.
AndFTP - My FTP/SSHFTP app of choice.
AndroZip - My compression app, and, surprisingly, file manager of choice.
Fing - 1st of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Wifi Analyzer - 2nd of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Usemon - Resource Analyzer. Has a cool option for the notification screen, and measures both frequency and % use graphs when many progs do one or the other.
Cargo Decoder - If you want to read what exactly is in the tanker truck you are driving behind and how badly a spill will **** up your day.
Maverick - For all your GPS/compass/accelerometer needs.
FINALE
Please feel free to add anything to the above! I am pleased that I got my phone to do most of the things I wanted without a root. That being said, as soon as it is possible I will be jumping on that train. If you have any suggestions, please contribute! And thanks for reading!
Solid post man. I will be looking to clear data on my disabled apps. That is great advice. Thank you for this!
I can say i agree, mostly. I too miss root, but can manage without it. I really wish I still had full functionality of tasker. I had some kickass gps profiles and such that I can't use anymore. Do you know a workaround for that?
Sent from my SM-G935T using XDA-Developers mobile app
looking to get an s7, waiting on more info from this thread, can anyone else confirm
rkohliny said:
looking to get an s7, waiting on more info from this thread, can anyone else confirm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What more info? How much more detail do you need?
Just completed this entire process...thank you so much! Have you been noticing faster speeds and better battery life as a result?
thank you!
Thank you. My phone is running better and faster and cooler. Thanks again
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers mobile app
great post. im bummed as well regarding the locked bootloader that TMO has implemented. It's still a new enough phone that I'm trying to get the 'samsung experience' so personally disabled lookout and the TMO crapware. I will be saving this post for when I'm ready to go barebones (like I always eventually do) does anyone know of a good rootless ad block? Every time I launch a game and stare at a 30 second video for a different game it makes me miss adblocker terribly
I used this list as a base for safe to remove applications. Ridiculous that Samsung thinks it's this necessary to have this many applications installed.
I use the Theme Engine and a few Samsung apps (their browser with Crystal Adblock, works great and I also use Screen Mirroring/Quick Connect.) So I skipped disabling those, but got everything else. Thanks for the list. Looks like you spent a lot of time compiling it all together.
Seems to have definitely made the phone a lot snappier so thanks for this! However I can't seem to figure out which is affecting my wifi calling. It'll turn on on reboot but if it drops it won't come back on. Any ideas? Also I didn't turn off the lasy three ok his list.
Could you please share the XML file of PACKAGE DISABLER PRO? ....
PS Thank you for the great Post!
dantes5823 said:
Seems to have definitely made the phone a lot snappier so thanks for this! However I can't seem to figure out which is affecting my wifi calling. It'll turn on on reboot but if it drops it won't come back on. Any ideas? Also I didn't turn off the lasy three ok his list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever find out why WIFI calling isn't working properly? Mine won't even start on a reboot!
Looks like Debloater will do the same thing as well.
Thanks for the list of apps that i can safely disable
Very nice write up..
1st: Excellent post, lots and LOTS of detail!
2nd: OMG, I hope I don't mess anything up!
Yikes!
Bambi
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using XDA Labs
If I recall correctly, the Priv's OS has some application that checks the integrity of the OS, thus prevents rooting.
And can't we simply flash a new ROM which would be just a clean Android? Maybe unlocking the bootloader would be easier than cat-and-mouse play with the real BB Android.
no it does not exist and the drivers for some hw on the device to work like izat and keyboard won't work, also the priv kernel is also secure along with bootloader so if i see a custom or AOSP rom for this device i will be like on twilight zone
There have been lost opportunities here and there but BlackBerry has been active on patching all security holes and that is why is important to the company that a root has to be impossible or this effort has been all for nothing and they became the newest "Blackphone" (now that rooting was unfortunate for a device sold as a "secure" phone).
I know that there are audience in Android just for root capacity but not everybody are in a "real" need for it.
I like that the BlackBerry Launcher leave most of AOSP element, except for icons and notifications sounds.
Personally I only ever use root for CPU control and ability to delete ANY app I deem fit, and on my previous SGS5 that meant all those heart rate and other nonsense apps that ran in background and chunked the battery to no end.
Gonna assume the Priv then has no CPU management ability due to the lack of root, correct?
Skv012a said:
Personally I only ever use root for CPU control and ability to delete ANY app I deem fit, and on my previous SGS5 that meant all those heart rate and other nonsense apps that ran in background and chunked the battery to no end.
Gonna assume the Priv then has no CPU management ability due to the lack of root, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. Though, they do use the interactive governor, and while I would kind of like to underclock the CPU a bit to deal with overheating, the default CPU management isn't too shabby. And since the Priv is almost completely stock, removal of unwanted apps is minimal, and all the carrier apps I had weren't system apps, so I was able to actually uninstall them, and what BB apps I didn't care for, I simply disabled. Learning that life without root isn't so bad on the Priv.
I just want root for Adblock for both YouTube and Chrome. I don't care if it's just a temp, as long as it lets me update the Filters for AdAway I am alright with it, I'll deal with the youtube ads.
KOAO said:
I just want root for Adblock for both YouTube and Chrome. I don't care if it's just a temp, as long as it lets me update the Filters for AdAway I am alright with it, I'll deal with the youtube ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you could use Firefox. It supports extensions on Android, and ublock works nicely to kill ads, though I find functionally that Chrome runs infinitely better on Android than Firefox does, so your kilometerage may vary.
Artemis-kun said:
And since the Priv is almost completely stock, removal of unwanted apps is minimal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true! The Priv is full of bloatware that you can only deactivate but not uninstall (Yahoo Finances, for example). And some of those apps will stay active and make the phone unusable despite being 'deactivated'. Like BB Hub. I deactivated it from the start and just recently saw that it still had several permissions (location, contacts, messages, calendar etc). So I revoked those permissions. Now it constantly pops up and wants permissions. I can't even add a contact without granting these permissions. Annoying as hell. It's ridiculous that BB regard themselves as a secure company with secure smartphones (which was rebutted several years ago) that emphasize on privacy but when it comes to their own apps, it can't get any more privacy invading. I so hate BB!
So I'm waiting for
a) another producer to make an Android phone with a hardware keyboard or
b) someone to make root for the Priv happen so that I can install a ROM of my choice.
Shani Ace said:
Not true! The Priv is full of bloatware that you can only deactivate but not uninstall (Yahoo Finances, for example). And some of those apps will stay active and make the phone unusable despite being 'deactivated'. Like BB Hub. I deactivated it from the start and just recently saw that it still had several permissions (location, contacts, messages, calendar etc). So I revoked those permissions. Now it constantly pops up and wants permissions. I can't even add a contact without granting these permissions. Annoying as hell. It's ridiculous that BB regard themselves as a secure company with secure smartphones (which was rebutted several years ago) that emphasize on privacy but when it comes to their own apps, it can't get any more privacy invading. I so hate BB!
So I'm waiting for
a) another producer to make an Android phone with a hardware keyboard or
b) someone to make root for the Priv happen so that I can install a ROM of my choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't call it full of bloat. Full of bloat is what Samsung has on offer. Yes, there are some bloatware apps that you can't uninstall, but they disable just fine. Sounds to me like your hub got re-enabled, mine has been disabled since day one, and still has no permissions, and doesn't harass me about anything.
Artemis-kun said:
Sounds to me like your hub got re-enabled, mine has been disabled since day one, and still has no permissions, and doesn't harass me about anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Did you do any of the BB OTA updates (mine's running the most recent version, 6.0.1, security patch from August 5th)?
The Hub is still deactivated, but it doesn't seem to 'care' about that. I activated and deactivated it again to no effect.
So you're telling me when you go into Settings -> Apps -> BB Hub -> Permissions, all six permissions (calendar, camera, contacts, storage, phone and BB Productivity Suite) are turned-off?
I'm pretty sure I had these turned off when I got the phone in May. So maybe some of the OTA updates changed something about it. Unless you're running the same version that I am.
Oh and the fullscreen pop-up says Blackberry Hub+, maybe this is a new thing then?
And yes, other manufacturers may have more Bloatware. But at least there you can uninstall them or flash a different ROM. And all the BB services like BB Hub count as Bloatware for me, too.
Maybe I should sell my Priv and get a S6 Edge Plus (again). I still got the keyboard cover for that model and it's flashable, although Samsung also makes it hard for the users. But the keyboard cover is not back-lit and the phone is even bigger than the Priv (already too big for my taste).
EDIT: Ah wait! I just saw that the 'Blackberry Services' were activate, so I deactivated it and revoked all its permissions and now the pop up is gone. I definitely had this deactivated before the update, but as with the other BB apps, you have to deactivate them again after each update. Guess I just overlooked this one. Yay!
Shani Ace said:
Interesting. Did you do any of the BB OTA updates (mine's running the most recent version, 6.0.1, security patch from August 5th)?
The Hub is still deactivated, but it doesn't seem to 'care' about that. I activated and deactivated it again to no effect.
So you're telling me when you go into Settings -> Apps -> BB Hub -> Permissions, all six permissions (calendar, camera, contacts, storage, phone and BB Productivity Suite) are turned-off?
I'm pretty sure I had these turned off when I got the phone in May. So maybe some of the OTA updates changed something about it. Unless you're running the same version that I am.
Oh and the fullscreen pop-up says Blackberry Hub+, maybe this is a new thing then?
And yes, other manufacturers may have more Bloatware. But at least there you can uninstall them or flash a different ROM. And all the BB services like BB Hub count as Bloatware for me, too.
Maybe I should sell my Priv and get a S6 Edge Plus (again). I still got the keyboard cover for that model and it's flashable, although Samsung also makes it hard for the users. But the keyboard cover is not back-lit and the phone is even bigger than the Priv (already too big for my taste).
EDIT: Ah wait! I just saw that the 'Blackberry Services' were activate, so I deactivated it and revoked all its permissions and now the pop up is gone. I definitely had this deactivated before the update, but as with the other BB apps, you have to deactivate them again after each update. Guess I just overlooked this one. Yay!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://puu.sh/qYFcI/bca42bb0e9.png here is a screenshot I just took. I should also point out that I have everything else BB disabled as well, and I've never had to re-disable any of them. I'm on the MM beta program, so that might also make some kind of diffeerence, but I stay up to date with patches, and haven't had to disable anything again. Not sure how it happened in your case, but glad that you got it sorted.
Another thing I do feel I need to bring up, this is also a BB phone made for BB people, so it does make sense that they include the software suite that their fans have grown to love. Sure, those of us who couldn't care less about BB's software, and just wanted in on their amazing hardware prowess, will find these apps bothersome, but if nothing else, visually they left Android alone, and for that, I can't not happily thank them. They could have given us something like a BB10 inspired touchwiz, could you imagine? Lol.
Yeah that's true and I'm also happy that they didn't over-customize their ROM. It's just hard to accept any deviation when you've been used to having full freedom on all kinds of custom ROMs for the last ten years.
Strange though that you didn't have to re-deactivate the apps after the updates. Then I guess I'll look into the beta program (had seen it before but didn't mind).
and I do not have 'Secure Start-up' turned-on.
There's enough bloatware that I'd like to remove, such as "Hang-Outs" & BBM is eating data with stupid pics of available 'stickies' & other crap I don't want to see/read about & my ONLY choice for disable is "Do you want to restore this app to Factory Default?". No, I don't I want to Restore it to Factory Default - I want to DISABLE it. I do understand that the PRIV's supposed to be secure & yes that's a Good Thing. I also understand that most users LIKE to be kept informed. I am NOT 'social' - Let ME decide what I want to be informed about & when. I didn't even get a choice of what subscription (?) I wanted (which is NONE). There's a bunch of apps that I can only Restore to Factory default. That, too me, means I CANNOT Remove or Disable them. I call that bloatware. Un-wanted bloatware. If I could remove them without Rooting, then I would not be looking to do so! I have an 'Essential Tremour' & I NEED a physical keyboard or I'd look elsewhere.
OK: I managed to get BBM to stop shouting at me (as noted: I make mistakes, but I do learn from them); it's just down to wanting to get rid of apps I don't want taking-up space. Rooting a PRIV appears to be dicey, with no firm info from Oct/2016, onwards, regarding 'safe' rooting of my device. I'm running 6.0.1 & Bell is my provider. If it makes any difference, I do not have 'Secure Start-Up' turned-on. As noted, if I didn't need a physical keyboard, I probably would not have chosen this make/model. Guess I'll live with it & keep looking for ways to put my phone on diet (& the battery barely lasts a day, unfortunately). I basically use it as a PDA - no games, few calls, occasional checking notes & calendar - it should last longer.
Bootstrap69 said:
There's enough bloatware that I'd like to remove, such as "Hang-Outs" & BBM is eating data with stupid pics of available 'stickies' & other crap I don't want to see/read about & my ONLY choice for disable is "Do you want to restore this app to Factory Default?". No, I don't I want to Restore it to Factory Default - I want to DISABLE it. I do understand that the PRIV's supposed to be secure & yes that's a Good Thing. I also understand that most users LIKE to be kept informed. I am NOT 'social' - Let ME decide what I want to be informed about & when. I didn't even get a choice of what subscription (?) I wanted (which is NONE). There's a bunch of apps that I can only Restore to Factory default. That, too me, means I CANNOT Remove or Disable them. I call that bloatware. Un-wanted bloatware. If I could remove them without Rooting, then I would not be looking to do so! I have an 'Essential Tremour' & I NEED a physical keyboard or I'd look elsewhere.
OK: I managed to get BBM to stop shouting at me (as noted: I make mistakes, but I do learn from them); it's just down to wanting to get rid of apps I don't want taking-up space. Rooting a PRIV appears to be dicey, with no firm info from Oct/2016, onwards, regarding 'safe' rooting of my device. I'm running 6.0.1 & Bell is my provider. If it makes any difference, I do not have 'Secure Start-Up' turned-on. As noted, if I didn't need a physical keyboard, I probably would not have chosen this make/model. Guess I'll live with it & keep looking for ways to put my phone on diet (& the battery barely lasts a day, unfortunately). I basically use it as a PDA - no games, few calls, occasional checking notes & calendar - it should last longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to disable some of the apps on this device they must be restored to factory default. I have hangouts and BBM disabled. My battery life is pretty good. You have to figure out what's killing yours. Do you use a case that has the preview window on the front?
On non rootable devices I use AdGuard to have a firewall and adblocker. It works by routing everything through a local vpn server. Great concept and working fine for me.