Database Users

Apple OS 4 Change-Log

Apple rolls out v4.0 of their iPhone OS for dev preview and finally, multitasking will be officially available. Seems like a lot of changes in security, performance and feature updates.
1. Multitasking (apple claims that its going to be best at this, just like copy/paste). They also admit that it might make the phone's performance sluggish.
2. Phone's notification bar now shows if someone requested for its location.
3. Fast App Switching allows an app to save its session and resume from there later.
4. Drag and drop app icons in custom folders. That means you can now have any number of apps. When you run out of space, just create a folder any drag apps into them. (There is something more but i didn't make what Steve was trying to explain.
5. Unified inbox for several mail clients, including fast inbox switching to focus on a specific client. Attachments can now be opened with a third party app. Support for multiple Exchange accounts and some VPN options.
6. iBooks on iPhone.
7. More privileges to developers including interaction with calendar, photo library, quicklook etc. Over 1500 new APIs and a new framework for hardware accelerated math function (called accelerate).
8. Better gaming with social gaming network.
9. iAds, thats delivers mobile advertisements with emotions (I don't know what Steve meant by this).
10. Create playlists, 5x digital zoom, tap to focus on video, gift apps, geotagging, places in the photo app, change the homescreen wallpaper, bluetooth keyboards, spell checker etc.
There are over 100 new updates, these were the only ones revealed at the event.
Some of the features are really funny, like folders, wallpapers, playlists, geotagging, spell checker. What I don't get is that Android already supports all of these features (other than the iCraps) but new versions of Android aren't as anticipated as iPhone's OS. Seems like Google really needs some good marketing strategies.

Yeah I agree.
It annoys me how much of a cult that apple has following its every move. Even if they don't come out with the best product they have so many sheep that will buy their products at the drop of a hat it doesn't matter how inferior their products are. Dunno if I would even want Google followers to become sheep like they are with Apple.
If Google did the same thing and put together keynotes / apple style events and focused on a few particular products then I could see it but there's a big difference between the two: Apple is a hardware company, Google is a advertising company. Hard for Google to have Keynotes about its Android operating system when most of the devices aren't even on the latest version.
Perhaps FroYo will change this...

Is this coming to the current iphone or just for hte next-gen iphone?

INeedYourHelp said:
Is this coming to the current iphone or just for hte next-gen iphone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its coming out for current phones this summer...

faraz1992 said:
Its coming out for current phones this summer...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not every feature. i believe they said multitasking will only be on the new version.

I do believe that Apples announcement is very much an update full of catchup!
Certainly pretty much all features announced android can do natively!
The problem I have and i'm by no means an apple fanboy as I have an N1 and love it sinece coming from my 3GS is that the android implementation needs to be way more polished.
Exchange support for me is a biggy and needs to be much better the HTC Desire ROM is much improved over stock google one for the N1 but still room for improvement.
I would like all my email in one exchange and gmail in one app rather than have to flick between two different apps.
but hey!

ap3604 said:
Yeah I agree.
It annoys me how much of a cult that apple has following its every move. Even if they don't come out with the best product they have so many sheep that will buy their products at the drop of a hat it doesn't matter how inferior their products are. Dunno if I would even want Google followers to become sheep like they are with Apple.
If Google did the same thing and put together keynotes / apple style events and focused on a few particular products then I could see it but there's a big difference between the two: Apple is a hardware company, Google is a advertising company. Hard for Google to have Keynotes about its Android operating system when most of the devices aren't even on the latest version.
Perhaps FroYo will change this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree here, I don't know if I want Android to have slaves around it like Apple - those Apple fanboys tend to get irritating, and hearing Android ones wouldn't be too soothing either..
Google is hiring a marketing manager, OP, let's just hope they don't go overboard. Just enough to bring Android more into the eyes of the public.

Eclair~ said:
I agree here, I don't know if I want Android to have slaves around it like Apple - those Apple fanboys tend to get irritating, and hearing Android ones wouldn't be too soothing either..
Google is hiring a marketing manager, OP, let's just hope they don't go overboard. Just enough to bring Android more into the eyes of the public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, we need to always remind google that it does have flaws, and that it needs improve its core apps.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not going to buy a nexus 2 unless that phone wows me just like the n1 did.

jz9833 said:
not every feature. i believe they said multitasking will only be on the new version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
multi on 3GS and the 4th gen

zachthemaster said:
multi on 3GS and the 4th gen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No multi for 3g??? I thought it had a good processor....

@faraz1992 - Not good enough it would seem.
Looks like iPhone OS 4 is bringing the iPhone up to par with my Nokia 3330 though ;-p
Google really should advertise the Android OS. iPhones are a joke in comparison. Its taken until version 4 to be able to change the home screen?!?! UNBELIEVABLE!

Just sayin'
All of you complaining about fanboys, are acting like fanboys yourselves. So, umm, STFU you morons

bobtentpeg said:
Just sayin'
All of you complaining about fanboys, are acting like fanboys yourselves. So, umm, STFU you morons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooo "stfu", you are definitely not an immature moron. This is an Android section, obviously the people here will have more interest in Android and more hate in Apple. Even if they are acting like fanboys, their statements are quite true.
This fourth OS is nothing too spectacular - many features it contains are already preset in Android, and many other phone that have been out for a while, now just because Apple is announcing it - it is seen as something of amazement..

Why is this posted in nexus forum?

Doc
Thanks for the post. A very interesting topic indeed.
Even with all the problems I've had with my Nexus One (Touch input indexed incorrectly, Phone locking up during phone calls via Google Voice) I doubt I would ever even think about switching back to the iphone much less actually do it.
That said, I believe Google could benefit greatly by adopting 2 apple iphone platform paradigms (say that 3 times fast)
1) A more rigorous app store review process. Too much crap makes it way to the Android app store in my opinion. Google should review each app to ensure it meets certain quality measurements both in interface design and "under the hood". Apple, and thus the iphone platform, benefits greatly from being able to ensure end users that any app they use from their store will work with the phone and will meet apple's very high (almost too high) quality standards. I doubt very many of us can honestly argue that apple doesn't make a product that is great to use. Apple's stuff glistens and people want stuff that glistens...or at least I do!
2) Funnel all payments through Google and then back out to the developers. the iphone app store again benefits greatly from the fact that any purchase you make goes through your iTunes account. You never have to try and fumble around trying to key in a credit card number directly into the phone and you can be sure you information is safe (or at least is only in one database). Simply said, it simplifies the process. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of mass consumerism but the iphone app store, because of what I said in my first item and because of what I stated in the second lends itself greatly to impulse buying or, at the very least, kills having to debate whether you feel like whipping out your credit card, keying all the information in, submitting, worrying about where your data is going, etc. etc. I can buy with confidence. And when I buy I want to be confident about what I'm getting and I want the process to be fast and simple. the iphone app store is fast and simple.
anyway, again a great topic.

DaveKid said:
Doc
2) Funnel all payments through Google and then back out to the developers. the iphone app store again benefits greatly from the fact that any purchase you make goes through your iTunes account. You never have to try and fumble around trying to key in a credit card number directly into the phone and you can be sure you information is safe (or at least is only in one database). Simply said, it simplifies the process.
anyway, again a great topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you don't have to type your CC number in to buy an app all the time?
I have my card stored on my google account I just clicked 'buy' or am I misreading your post?

Amdathlonuk said:
But you don't have to type your CC number in to buy an app all the time?
I have my card stored on my google account I just clicked 'buy' or am I misreading your post?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes...my bad. It was assumed by me that we all know you don't ALWAYS have to type it in. Also, I believe there is a review process in place but again I assumed that we all know it isn't nearly as rigorous as with the iphone app store.
But I do want to add one more thing. Google should be funneling money into XDA!!!! this site and some others like it are the life blood of the android OS and it's popularization and customization. If Google were smart they would fund the development of the XDA site and get the main players involved on the payroll....(this assumes that anyone involved would actually like to be on their payroll. autonomy does have it's own set of niceties)

DocRambone said:
Why is this posted in nexus forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its posted in the nexus one forum so that we can make fun of what apple's newest update has to offer. People going crazy about this update because of features like wallpapers, folders and MULTITASKING, something that first generation android phones were capable of...

Nexus One. We're being phased out, and quickly.

NOW! I know it is possibly too early to jump to conclusions, but I have recently been reading through some posts about how our Nexus One's are slowly, sadly and surely becoming obsolete. I agree with this theory in the fact that we aren't getting any love/support anymore. Granted, i know that Froyo is on the way, but i feel as though our hardware could have been better from the get-go, and that now (starting to become the long run since launch) it will be the death of this phone on a large basis. I feel as though Google has left us behind with some major issues, and has crippled the Nexus One name, purely because they seem like they don't want to deal with it anymore. Support is limited at that, and updates are scarce (one update to be exact, and even that OTA had problems), even for non-root users. Development, even though sometimes a tedious task, is moving slowly. We have a small selections of stable roms and thats about it. Nothing super fantastic (granted CyanogenMod and Modaco's ROMS are great, but not legendary), nothing special. I feel like there was more support for the (i hate to bring it in) iPhone in terms of the community and the modding experience.
Simply, I absolutely LOVE my Nexus One, but i feel like it is not getting the support it deserves, and i DO NOT want this beautiful piece of technology to be obsolete by september. i hope you guys are with me on this, because i think we all know that this phone could easily be something BETTER than what it is now. and it SHOULD be able to compete with any phone within a year from now because it's Google's baby. GOOGLE: GIVE US MORE for our phones and for our money. Because, even though i feel like this is the best phone i've ever had, 1) i feel like it'll be obsolete in a few months and 2) im starting to feel like i wasted my money.
long live nexus

+1 .......

The Nexus one will be the standard by which all android phones are measured for at-least another year.
Keeping everything pure AOSP is a huge plus IMO.
Official updates are slow, but code is being committed to the repository regularly and makes it on to the custom ROMS very quickly.
There is no phone out there with better features and community support than the one you have
There is no other phone on google.com/phone... so we are still the only child.

Google is trying to catch up the rest of the android world to 2.1
VZ cut them off it seems from the N1 and instead VZ gets another great Android handset.
Froyo has some much needed upgrades and will help (in theory) android solidify itself by stabilizing the platform for devs.
JIT/Flash/Market /Open GL / market upgrades are on there way if you believe the rumors.
What is it you feel is being phased out ?
Only about 500k users have an N1. Thats a miniscule amount.
Even with that we have two great devs putting out some very stable ROMS. Unlike the past N1 came with so many damn features out of box that we didnt need ROMs and Apps to add the 101 missing features.
Listen I am still up in Googles rectum about alot of features that need to be fixed/enhanced on Android. We all knew N1 was the first of the snapdragons. The others are storming in blasting taking attention away from us...but theyre all on the same team....they all bleed green =-)
Sure Id love to be slapping on Sense widgets , Moto Blur social network apps , etc...but thats up to us as a community to do it (if ever technically possible).
Anyways feel good about your purchase. You still have the best available phone on the market and will until the EVO/Iphone4G drop. And even then..youd still be top 3 at worst.

There isn't much development because there isn't much to do. The Nexus has the latest firmware and top specs. Of announced phones only the Evo and Galaxy S have significantly better specs everything else is just a SLIGHTLY upgraded Nexus. No porting apps or firmwares are needed. The only thing to really do is optimize what we have (cyanogen is doing that) and port sense UI (Paul is doing that). I'm happy with my Nexus .....for now hehe

zach I can understand the complaints about some of the nagging issues the phone has had (3G, purple tint etc.) but two things we have to realize: A majority of the users don't experience these problems, and in no way is our phone going to be obsolete anytime soon.
Here is a post I made regarding the Incredible screen, I think it's relevant here:
jasrups said:
Here's my take:
Would I like to have this screen in my Nexus? Yea it would have been a nice feature. Do I need this screen? No, not in the slightest.. Not yet anyways. The only apps that would require a screen like that are games, and I don't play the type of games on my phone that would require axis-crossing multitouch. I know some people do, and I can respect that but I don't, hence why I don't care about this right now.
Frankly, if you're playing those kinds of games anyways, just get an iPhone (and I'm not saying that in a bad way). iPhone is unmatched when it comes to gameplay and plus you can get them all for free if you jailbreak. Yea The Incredible has a capable screen, but do you know long it's going to take Android to catch up to Apple when it comes to game quality?? Android just got games like Racing Thunder 2 and Homerun Battle 3D while you can play Street Fighter 4 and freaking Grand Theft Auto on the iPhone! It's no competition.. if you want to game, you don't have the right phone.
By the time Android actually starts developing games and apps that can take advantage of the axis crossing MT, The Incredible will be "obsolete" (as some of you like to put it) so no need for everyone to get their panties in a bunch
With most things I normally have a realist perspective and am usually the first to 'hate' on something when its deserved, but alot of you guys are just a bunch of downers. The Incredible is a great phone as is the Nexus, everyone should just appreciate what they have! If you keep chasing the newest technology (no matter how impractical it is) you will never be satisfied!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will always be new technology coming out faster than we can keep up with, the important thing is to not prematurely write one product off as soon as a newer one becomes available. People will be saying the same thing about the Incredible/4G Evo etc in a few months from now. That's just the ways things are. If you have that mentality you will want a new phone every few months regardless of how good it is.
Regarding the selection of ROMS.. Guys, right now we have the top of the line OS on our phones.. 2.1 is the standard, most of the G1/Magic ROMS are trying to replicate what we already have stock. Believe me, once Froyo and Android 3.0 come out the devs will be right on it and we'll get awesome ports. We have great developers who will make sure our phones have the newest software on our devices.
And if worst comes to worst and some of you decide to sell your Nexus this summer, it will have excellent resale value.

Don't worry, This is the phone Google are actively giving to developers. We'll be here for a while to come yet.

Well
I most definetely do not believe the nexus one will be phased out anytime soon, actually i will be ordering one tonight as a matter of fact. yes we may not have the best touch screens or the greatest rom develipment, but that is because we are still number one There are no other builds to even create until phones of this caliber runnng other os are on the scene. And for the touch screen issue, whe the time comes to where we truely need multitouch for games on the market out nexus's WILL be outdated, or there WILL be a fix for this, i mean geez Cyanogen has nearly finished a fully working Eclair for the g1 already, all i see is hope and excitment for the future of this device, the market also needs some serious time to catch up to apples games (please dont get upset with this, its true) The only thing i can see actually outdating our phones are dual processors capable of OVER 1.5 otherwise i dont believe they will be extinct, not even the 1.3 samsung will hurt the nexus i think considering we can be oc'ed to 1.3 anyways i do believe, or at least close

I don't think that we're being phased out, not until another year. Each phone that comes in the market gets compared to Nexus One.
As far as the development is concerned, its very satisfactory. Comparing the development scene between N1 an iPhone, iPhone sold nearly 50x the units of N1 sold. So most app developers have their focus on iPhone as it stands them a better chance of making more money..... But still development on N1 is much better.....

jasrups said:
:
There will always be new technology coming out faster than we can keep up with, the important thing is to not prematurely write one product off as soon as a newer one becomes available. People will be saying the same thing about the Incredible/4G Evo etc in a few months from now. That's just the ways things are. If you have that mentality you will want a new phone every few months regardless of how good it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I’m beginning to think some people have never bought a phone before, or a computer for that matter.
Did people expect the N1 to the absolute top spec phone forever? Seriously its still amazing compared to most, and measures up nicely in all significant ways to these new phones it keeps getting compared to. Stop trying to bury it before its even close to dead.
There is always something newer coming. No exceptions. There are phones in development now that will top the Evo and Incredible. At some point you have to buy something or you’ll wait forever.
The N1 is Google’s flag ship phone. I bought it for that reason. If Google is developing something cool (like FroYo!) its pretty much guaranteed to come to us first. Its not being phased out. I think there are exciting things to come…

You have got to be kidding. Seriously?
zachthemaster said:
NOW! I know it is possibly too early to jump to conclusions, but I have recently been reading through some posts about how our Nexus One's are slowly, sadly and surely becoming obsolete. I agree with this theory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does the best Android phone currently on the market obsolete? You must be working from a totally different definition of "obsolete".
zachthemaster said:
in the fact that we aren't getting any love/support anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THAT must be why Google is giving Nexus Ones out to so many developers! Because they don't love it anymore and want to get rid of it!
zachthemaster said:
Granted, i know that Froyo is on the way, but i feel as though our hardware could have been better from the get-go, and that now (starting to become the long run since launch) it will be the death of this phone on a large basis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As if Froyo isn't a major undertaking.
In what way could the hardware have been better, without delaying the release of the phone?
zachthemaster said:
I feel as though Google has left us behind with some major issues, and has crippled the Nexus One name, purely because they seem like they don't want to deal with it anymore. Support is limited at that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are we talking about the same phone? In what way is it crippled?
Google has upped its support, hired more support personnel, and continues to present the N1 as its flagship phone. How does that equate to "they don't want to deal with it anymore"?
zachthemaster said:
and updates are scarce (one update to be exact, and even that OTA had problems), even for non-root users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long has the N1 been out? Just how often did you expect an update? I think your expectations might be wildly unrealistic.
And "even for non-root users"!?! WTF does that mean? If anything, non-root users have far fewer updates -- rooted users are getting the updates from CM as soon as Google commits them to the source repository, whereas "even" implies that you expect non-root users to receive more updates, which is completely backwards.
zachthemaster said:
Development, even though sometimes a tedious task, is moving slowly. We have a small selections of stable roms and thats about it. Nothing super fantastic (granted CyanogenMod and Modaco's ROMS are great, but not legendary), nothing special.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't think CM is "super fantasic" then I invite you to go back to the stock N1 rom. Installing CM for the first time is like getting a whole new phone.
zachthemaster said:
I feel like there was more support for the (i hate to bring it in) iPhone in terms of the community and the modding experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somebody call the waaaaaaaaaahmbulance.

I don't buy it. I don't like the multitouch sensor they used for the phone, and I think the scrolling could be smoother, but what do you really expect from Google? Short of them sending out free hardware upgrades, what are you really looking for to not feel phased out?
The Nexus One is a great phone, at least for me. Even with the multitouch issues, I'm able to pull off running jumps when I play Super Mario World and the like. And that issue is allegedly being worked on with 2.2. If they flat out said the Nexus One wasn't getting 2.2 then you could make the claim of the Nexus One being phased out.
As far as network issues go, I have zero problems with my AT&T Nexus One and 3G. I live in the DC Metro area, for what it's worth. Most problems I've heard from people are all on T-Mobile. Who's to say the problem isn't on T-Mobile's side instead of Google's? Everyone blames AT&T's network for the iPhone's network issues, but it's pretty clear that the radio in the iPhone is garbage.
We live in a time where there are 1ghz processors in handheld devices. Technology is advancing so fast. It's always going to hurt when your $500+ dollar device isn't the best around anymore, but do you really want forward progress to slow down so you feel like you have the best phone longer?
I think you're being overly paranoid, if you ask me. So long as you love the phone, what do you care?

danguyf said:
You have got to be kidding. Seriously?
How does the best Android phone currently on the market obsolete? You must be working from a totally different definition of "obsolete".
THAT must be why Google is giving Nexus Ones out to so many developers! Because they don't love it anymore and want to get rid of it!
As if Froyo isn't a major undertaking.
In what way could the hardware have been better, without delaying the release of the phone?
Are we talking about the same phone? In what way is it crippled?
Google has upped its support, hired more support personnel, and continues to present the N1 as its flagship phone. How does that equate to "they don't want to deal with it anymore"?
How long has the N1 been out? Just how often did you expect an update? I think your expectations might be wildly unrealistic.
And "even for non-root users"!?! WTF does that mean? If anything, non-root users have far fewer updates -- rooted users are getting the updates from CM as soon as Google commits them to the source repository, whereas "even" implies that you expect non-root users to receive more updates, which is completely backwards.
If you don't think CM is "super fantasic" then I invite you to go back to the stock N1 rom. Installing CM for the first time is like getting a whole new phone.
Somebody call the waaaaaaaaaahmbulance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't wanna quote the whole thing (sorry everyone) but this is the post of the year IMO!!!! Every counter argument you made is perfect.....This thread is BOGUS!!!!!!

You can't compare the modding/dev community of the N1 to the iPhone anyways.
The iphone has FAR more units out there, and the Apple cult is still buying. The iPhone also has more that is needed as far as mods to make it a nice OS.
The iPhone also runs native binaries, so there seem to be a lot more standard systems written for it, or so I was told in my Q&A thread. The iPhone has full apt packaging system, full set of GNU tools, full OpenSSH suite, etc.
The iPhone also has a lot more core teams of dedicated modders, while Android seems to have 1-2, at least for the N1. This is, again, I think due to the fact that the iPhone needs more mods to make it a good OS.

Without boobs, this thread is a waste of time.

Not even boobs can rescue the OP's post.

martin0285 said:
I didn't wanna quote the whole thing (sorry everyone) but this is the post of the year IMO!!!! Every counter argument you made is perfect.....This thread is BOGUS!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
attn1 said:
Without boobs, this thread is a waste of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree wholeheartedly with both of you.

zachthemaster said:
NOW! I know it is possibly too early to jump to conclusions, but I have recently been reading through some posts about how our Nexus One's are slowly, sadly and surely becoming obsolete.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you link these posts?
How is the N1 becoming obsolete? What are your reasons? I have yet to see any indication of this.
updates are scarce (one update to be exact, and even that OTA had problems), even for non-root users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of crap is this? Yes, the N1 has received 1 update. Which is 1 more than MANY other Android phones in YEARS.
Development, even though sometimes a tedious task, is moving slowly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the Android source code:
http://android.git.kernel.org/
Get to work!
GOOGLE: GIVE US MORE for our phones and for our money
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give more WHAT?

Enjoy the wave for as long as it lasts... which will be a long time
Tech wise phones go obsolete much faster than a PC ever would for the simple fact that you are in a closed environment. You can't upgrade the RAM, graphics or CPU on one of these things so shelf life is in terms of months not years. But that's not to say that support will go away for the N1 any time soon. OP is just acknowledging/exhibiting the mid-life crisis that the N1 is in currently. It's still the flagship product and a benchmark for every phone slated to be released this year. Next year may be different--hell I'm sure it will be--but for now, we're good and there's enough power that it'll still be viable 2 years from now. If you need a current tangible example, just look at how many G1's there are out there and how long that phone has been out.
I came from the dismally dysfunctional land of the Epix from Samsung where between them and AT&T, they couldn't figure out who was suppose to be doing the obligatory reach-around. With the N1 there are no more worries about the carrier holding up the updates for a fix to a major problem introduced by another fix almost a year prior for an infantile notification issue., there are no more issues with contractual obilgations to corporate partnerships (Yahoo) with draconian imposed restrictions to enforce it(backflip) and mostly there's no more waiting for the mfg to finally update their license to a newer version OS if they even bother going that route to begin with. Open architecture, open software and an infinite amount of potential for old and new phones is why I'm here and I'm sure a bunch of others are too.
So to anyone else reading this and especially to Sprint customers that are waiting for the N1, catch the wave however you want(N1, Evo, etc) but enjoy it for what it is--a long great ride and loads of fun--cowabunga!

Did somebody say boobs? Er, was I supposed to get something else out of this?

so, i went to an apple store today...

so, i come from a Windows Mobile background (HTC Wizard first, Samsung Code after that). I've never owned an iPhone or played much with one.
we happened to be in the mall around the apple store and it was unbelievably packed (seriously). so we went in while we waited for our friends. and i started to play with an iPhone 4...and i'm not changing my phone...obviously. i pulled out the evo and I had my newly converted Avatar playing and got many looks from customers there....
anyways, point is while trying out the iphone I got to play guitar hero on it and it was great...so i got out of that store wanting to keep my phone and get a new game for it. when I go search on the market the only guitar hero on there has horrible reviews???
has anyone played a guitar hero / band hero type of game for the evo that works well? i dont want the iphone but just that game has had me thinking about it all day!
on another note...when do you guys think we'll start to have the amount of big companies developing for android like for the iphone? i would like to get some premium games!

I know what you mean about big companies developing for the Android Platform. With the fact that Android Devices are now over taking the Iphone.. I would say that it won't be long before we start seeing apps flying out from those same companies that have been dedicating there apps for just the Iphone. They can't ignore the market and the shares that Android phones have now taken. IMOP it's going to happen real soon that we start seeing them. I've noticed a lot more apps being developed across both platforms. Not to mention when you have phones with the speed like the EVO; they know more Iphone users are starting to jump over to the Android platform.

I have seen a few GH games for Android and they are pretty decent IMHO.

well i tried Guitar Hero World Tour and couldn't get past the login screen. after awkwardly putting in my username....what? no ok, next, arrow, nothing to move past that screen. nothing on the menu button...just nothing! and then it force closed...so uninstall and refund.
now i'm trying Guitar Hero 5...it's not perfect but at least it works. i have the idea that the one for iPhone was still better, but from what i'm seeing this is a 3rd party app whereas the iPhone one was official Guitar Hero (from their site).
i got another 23 hours to decide if i want to keep this $10 game
any other recommendations? i know there's a lot of apps that wont show up in the market, maybe you guys know of some killer game like this that's out there?

Big companies wont get involved in Android no matter how much it surpasses Apple. Heres why:
There are simply too many ****ing Android phones. HTC pulls a phone out of its ass every month - they are literally all the same except different screen sizes, pixel counts, and processors - like its something revolutionary. Its a REALLY stupid marketing design for the long run. Apple, on the other hand, releases something completely new every iPhone while keeping the hardware the same. By this, I mean there aren't 500000 iPhone 4's - just one. With this, developers, especially for games, can focus on 1 platform whereas with Android you have to worry about a mess of hardware issues.
Really, its stupid HTC's fault. They REALLY need to stop releasing a ****ing phone every 2 weeks and focus on keeping the quality of their phones top notch. The Hero was promised so many updates but still lacks all of them.
So yeah developers really giving a **** about Android? Unlikely. If you want games get an iPod/iPhone.

werxen said:
Big companies wont get involved in Android no matter how much it surpasses Apple. Heres why:
There are simply too many ****ing Android phones. HTC pulls a phone out of its ass every month - they are literally all the same except different screen sizes, pixel counts, and processors - like its something revolutionary. Its a REALLY stupid marketing design for the long run. Apple, on the other hand, releases something completely new every iPhone while keeping the hardware the same. By this, I mean there aren't 500000 iPhone 4's - just one. With this, developers, especially for games, can focus on 1 platform whereas with Android you have to worry about a mess of hardware issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but that's the the dumbest argument I have seen all day. So why is Windows SO successful with app developers? With literally thousands of models of laptops and COUNTLESS configurations of desktops with different screen sizes, resolution, graphics cards, ram, the list goes on.
In fact, Android does it even BETTER than windows. Phone Hardware is tightly tied to Android APIs which means your LED flashlight app should work on all phones with LEDs, and so on.
Resolution is also not an issue with Android, as apps are written like webpages: resolution-independent, unlike iOS. . Example: Most android market apps run great on the newly announced Galaxy Tab whereas Apple had to throw a frickin' iPhone emulator on the iPad.
It ultimately comes down to adoption. Android is a monster now, and developers ARE taking notice. In fact, ALL of my iPhone app favorites are on android, or currently in development.
Also, releasing different phones is NOT stupid marketing. Turns out there are SIX BILLION people in the world, and different people have different needs. One size does NOT fit all. And guess what? Android is projected to become the #1 mobile platform very, very soon.
It's Mac vs. Windows all over again. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's going to win.

Off-topic. A few days ago we were at the galleria shopping for a present, and we passed the Apple store like 8 times. Every single time we passed it I would take out my Evo and point it at the store and we would start yelling IPHONE SUCKS ANDROID EVO 4G. And then walk off casually as if nothing had happened. Was awesome.

Zori said:
Off-topic. A few days ago we were at the galleria shopping for a present, and we passed the Apple store like 8 times. Every single time we passed it I would take out my Evo and point it at the store and we would start yelling IPHONE SUCKS ANDROID EVO 4G. And then walk off casually as if nothing had happened. Was awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This made me LOL.
In any case, to think that developers are going to ignore Android because there are to many handsets is ridiculous. Developers are going to go where the money is, period. Even with the extra headache, having a potential market that is 20x larger is a pretty significant reason to put up with the fragmentation issues (that I don't believe are nearly as bad as the Henny Pennys make it out to be).

bnrbranding said:
This made me LOL.
In any case, to think that developers are going to ignore Android because there are to many handsets is ridiculous. Developers are going to go where the money is, period. Even with the extra headache, having a potential market that is 20x larger is a pretty significant reason to put up with the fragmentation issues (that I don't believe are nearly as bad as the Henny Pennys make it out to be).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that goes on the books as one of the dumbest arguments i have read. i mean it would never be possible to make an app that let you choose your resolution or make it default to the resolution of the device it is being used on such as with almost every full screen computer game/program :O thats impossible. oh wait no it isnt.
The android platform will pass up iOS (if it hasnt already thought i read it already did but will give benefit of the doubt to apple). The fact that they bring out so many phones is exactly WHY it is going to. you have 1 phone (ok 2 if you count last gen) for sale normally with iOS. you have how many android devices? A LOT. the longer it is out and the more people actually get to use it the fewer iphone drones there will be and the more android will flourish and with that comes more development.
Many developers have already started (though some of them seem not to have done there homework) EA for example has already started...though they said they wished android had an app delivery system such as the istore .... (they apparently haven't heard of the app market in android)..but they are starting to develop.

zeuzinn said:
Sorry, but that's the the dumbest argument I have seen all day. So why is Windows SO successful with app developers? With literally thousands of models of laptops and COUNTLESS configurations of desktops with different screen sizes, resolution, graphics cards, ram, the list goes on.
In fact, Android does it even BETTER than windows. Phone Hardware is tightly tied to Android APIs which means your LED flashlight app should work on all phones with LEDs, and so on.
Resolution is also not an issue with Android, as apps are written like webpages: resolution-independent, unlike iOS. . Example: Most android market apps run great on the newly announced Galaxy Tab whereas Apple had to throw a frickin' iPhone emulator on the iPad.
It ultimately comes down to adoption. Android is a monster now, and developers ARE taking notice. In fact, ALL of my iPhone app favorites are on android, or currently in development.
Also, releasing different phones is NOT stupid marketing. Turns out there are SIX BILLION people in the world, and different people have different needs. One size does NOT fit all. And guess what? Android is projected to become the #1 mobile platform very, very soon.
It's Mac vs. Windows all over again. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's going to win.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a decent argument. They aren't selling these games for $50 like they would on Windows. When you are selling a game for $2-5, margins are slim. Look at the high end games right now, they usually have to make several versions of the game to work for PowerVR GPUs, Adreno, etc.
As for resolution independence, not completely. Android uses raster images for a lot of UI elements. If you look in a APK, you'll see a resource folder that holds image data for various resolutions, usually just two (320x480 and ~800x480). There is no folder for higher resolution tablets so either they'll a) be blurry from scaling up or b) have a lot of empty space in the app. Option A would be the same as how the iOS does it for the iPad. Anyway, this a non issue to me (and hopefully everyone else too). Why use a tablet for phone size apps? I want tablet apps, I already have a damn 4.3" Android phone.
One last point about resolution problems, since Apps have to include weighty graphic files for all resolutions it also has to carry the added file size. So the more resolutions it has to support, the bigger the file. Because Apple was in control of the hardware they were able to do something that works: just double the resolution (320x480 to 640x960). Apps made for both resolutions look the same regardless of which resolution it was originally made for since they can scale 1:1.
Here is why developers don't like the Android Marketplace:
1) Fragmentation, yes it's real. No matter how much you argue, developing for Android requires more work than iOS. That is a fact.
2) Payment method. It sucks on Android and doesn't on iOS. A lower ratio of user buy paid apps on Android and that's a fact.
3) Not as many countries even support paid apps at all. This hurts it a lot.
4) User base is still much larger on iOS.

award no one said their wouldnt be more difficulities in dealing with the diffrent resolutions. What we said is that no smart developing firm is going to ignore the android platform because of it which is what the arguement said they would do.
does dealing with multiple resolutions increase cost for the developer and present more difficulties then developing for just 1 phone. Sure. are developers going to turn there nose at the android platform which is currently close to if not bigger then the iOS platform as far as usage and growing quickly? I cant see the future but i would wager no they arent.
so the arguement that big developers will never touch the android platform because of resolution issues IS a stupid arguement. if he would have said the developers are slow to get involved because of how fractured the phones are for the android platform i would tend to agree it was a decent arguement, but thats not what the arguement was.

omegasun18 said:
award no one said their wouldnt be more difficulities in dealing with the diffrent resolutions. What we said is that no smart developing firm is going to ignore the android platform because of it which is what the arguement said they would do.
does dealing with multiple resolutions increase cost for the developer and present more difficulties then developing for just 1 phone. Sure. are developers going to turn there nose at the android platform which is currently close to if not bigger then the iOS platform as far as usage and growing quickly? I cant see the future but i would wager no they arent.
so the arguement that big developers will never touch the android platform because of resolution issues IS a stupid arguement. if he would have said the developers are slow to get involved because of how fractured the phones are for the android platform i would tend to agree it was a decent arguement, but thats not what the arguement was.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By itself I agree. But Android's Marketplace problems (which I noted) add up. I work as a developer/designer (not mobile apps though) and time is money. The money just isn't there to justify building both iOS and Android apps.

Award Tour said:
By itself I agree. But Android's Marketplace problems (which I noted) add up. I work as a developer/designer (not mobile apps though) and time is money. The money just isn't there to justify building both iOS and Android apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. My boss used to work for 3
Ea games and he said there is an entire section of the Ea building that is sealed off like the pentagon. This section is the iPhone developers area. With ios booming so much its not economically feasible to develop for Android. Besides that the android line has far too many hardware differences. There is a lot of bad information in this thread. Believe me when I say everything I have said to be the truth. If android wants games like iPhone it needs to start producing similar hardware which is not going to happen.

werxen said:
Exactly. My boss used to work for 3
Ea games and he said there is an entire section of the Ea building that is sealed off like the pentagon. This section is the iPhone developers area. With ios booming so much its not economically feasible to develop for Android. Besides that the android line has far too many hardware differences. There is a lot of bad information in this thread. Believe me when I say everything I have said to be the truth. If android wants games like iPhone it needs to start producing similar hardware which is not going to happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the other poster, if the buyers are there, developers will invest into the platform. Android Hardware fragmentation will never be solved and will always be a pain to developers. That said, it'll be a pain they'll tolerate but not until they fix the broken Marketplace that is preventing/pushing people from buying apps.

I feel in time, android phones will be more alike, after they find one good setup... But also more people are coming to the adroid phone which will drive the demand for devs, so I feel they will start producing in the near future.
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!

werxen said:
Big companies wont get involved in Android no matter how much it surpasses Apple. Heres why:
There are simply too many ****ing Android phones. HTC pulls a phone out of its ass every month - they are literally all the same except different screen sizes, pixel counts, and processors - like its something revolutionary. Its a REALLY stupid marketing design for the long run. Apple, on the other hand, releases something completely new every iPhone while keeping the hardware the same. By this, I mean there aren't 500000 iPhone 4's - just one. With this, developers, especially for games, can focus on 1 platform whereas with Android you have to worry about a mess of hardware issues.
Really, its stupid HTC's fault. They REALLY need to stop releasing a ****ing phone every 2 weeks and focus on keeping the quality of their phones top notch. The Hero was promised so many updates but still lacks all of them.
So yeah developers really giving a **** about Android? Unlikely. If you want games get an iPod/iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have several friends who design apps as a living for the iphone. I've asked them why they don't do Android apps, and they basically said this exact same thing. With low profit margins and the need to constantly release new apps, it's easier for them to just focus on the iphone because it only has 1 phone, they don't need to change anything for each different phone. Even if android ends up being 60% of the market, that 60% is split over 10 touchscreen phones, while apple has the remaining 40% with just the one phone

dag16 said:
I have several friends who design apps as a living for the iphone. I've asked them why they don't do Android apps, and they basically said this exact same thing. With low profit margins and the need to constantly release new apps, it's easier for them to just focus on the iphone because it only has 1 phone, they don't need to change anything for each different phone. Even if android ends up being 60% of the market, that 60% is split over 10 touchscreen phones, while apple has the remaining 40% with just the one phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I don't know why some people in here are doubting my argument like I am making frivolous claims. This is my job - to work in programming and simulations. My boss used to work for EA. He still helps dev teams out with the iPhone. Lots of people on these forums just talk talk talk talk like they know what they are talking about. Sad.

Big companies wont get involved in Android no matter how much it surpasses Apple. Heres why:
That's idiotic. Game development by big players is happening right now. Remember that Android didn't have powerful hardware in a mass market seller until the Droid, which was released only a year ago. Now that the hardware base is full of Evo, Droid X/2 and Galaxy S phones, there's a huge opportunity. Not to mention that Android will likely be the #2 smartphone OS in another year, and probably dominant in the US.
Couple that with the fact that Android is easier to develop for than iOS, and a company would have to have some retarded management to disregard Android.

The person who said they wont get involved because of hardware differences is absolutely correct and its been said its the reason why android has been somewhat held back. When the iphone4 and evo first came out u read that's in an article. The development tools are harder to use also probably due toso many different hardware specs. But it also said that developers think android is the future and will be better than iOS. Eventually we'll see better games but its really does make sense about thee difficulties of turing to develop something on devices with completely different hardware specs. And its not the same as computers because most computers can be upgrades on the hardware front or they come barely good enough to work with a particular software.

Relative Smartphone O/S Market Shares
I can't speak to the relative speed of game development on the respective phone platforms, but I can say that Android's market share gains are pretty formidable. According to the latest reports, Android is closing in on RIM and Apple for smartphone operating system market share in the U.S..
On a worldwide basis, Android appears to be in third place behind Symbian (by a large margin) and closely on the heels of RIM.
I wanted to provide a link to the source of that information, but was not allowed to do so. Thus, I'll simply say that you can find an article called "An Analysis and Valuation of The Success Story Formally Known as Android" on the Zero Hedge website.
I'd be shocked if the top mobile gaming titles weren't available on Android in the foreseeable future.

Nexus, W7 Phones, and Irony

Does anyone find it ironic that nearly all HTC phones that are launching as part of the W7 campaign are essentially N1's loaded with w7.
All first gen snapdragons, they all share the N1 styling/materials.
Hopefully we can dual boot w7 due to the similarities. =D

I don't think they are but, I need to see a side by side. I thought most of the new w7 phones had better specs then the n1. But, of we have the best community of any phone out. That is why Google needs to make another dev phone it don't need to be called nexus two......

Check out engadget's front page, mozart,shobert,surround, trophy

Not terribly impressed with the W7 OS. From a UI standpoint, I could see the home screen getting very cluttered and I'm not sure if they have any sort of folder management system either to alleviate that. The multitouch zoom and kinetic scrolling in IE looked fluid but not having text reflow hurts. The Bing app was nice, as was the XBOX Live integration which is cool if you're into that but everything else was very meh. Didn't look awful like previous versions of WinMo but nothing that blew me away either. Still well behind Android and iOS even.

WP7 seems very solid in terms of how it is being handled. I love this quote:
http://twitter.com/edbott/statuses/27039322558
All Windows 7 phones will get updates at same time. Carriers don't get to block. (IOW, this ain't Android)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish Google had the balls to do that.

Paul22000 said:
I wish Google had the balls to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of reminds me of my favorite writer online: MG Seigler of TechCrunch
He really is the voice of the people and calls out Google for folding to the carrier demands like a guy with no confidence that gets walked all over by the hot girl (the carriers) that dont care about anyone else but herself
Here is a great article by MG Seigler on Andy Rubin making excuses for Google folding to whatever the carriers demand so that they can stay in bed with the enemy carriers: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/08/android-carriers/
Google really needs to grow a pair and take control of Android. A carrier holding out an OS update just so they can force up to purchase a new phone might be the norm but that doesn't mean its right or should be tolerated by Google

Google, by definition, can't control android, do you poeple not understand that?

JCopernicus said:
Google, by definition, can't control android, do you poeple not understand that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn straight.

JCopernicus said:
Google, by definition, can't control android, do you poeple not understand that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird I wonder why I even got heated in my post above
I mean hell... thats the whole reason why I got the Nexus One! to not have to deal with carrier games anymore

You meant to say that they cant control android but wield a mighty big stick with gapps didnt you? I tried cm without gapps, pretty much cuts the nuts right off the little android leaving it ineffectual.
in-ef-fec-tu-al adjective 1 Weak. 2 Without satisfactory or decisive effect. 3 Powerless, impotent. 4 Insufficent to produce the desired result.

MS does something right for once in the smartphone arena. Can't we just give credit when it's due?
Text reflow? As far as I know even in CM I have to double tap the browser page to get it to reflow.
The UI looks sweet as hell and not having to worry about carrier tied updates?
Priceless.

I really didn't like the W7 UI, no place for wallpapers and that it's a very negative thing for me

It had a very nice style IMO. I doubt I'll move from my N1, but it's definitely gonna be an interesting game here on out.

ap3604 said:
Kind of reminds me of my favorite writer online: MG Seigler of TechCrunch
He really is the voice of the people and calls out Google for folding to the carrier demands like a guy with no confidence that gets walked all over by the hot girl (the carriers) that dont care about anyone else but herself
Here is a great article by MG Seigler on Andy Rubin making excuses for Google folding to whatever the carriers demand so that they can stay in bed with the enemy carriers: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/08/android-carriers/
Google really needs to grow a pair and take control of Android. A carrier holding out an OS update just so they can force up to purchase a new phone might be the norm but that doesn't mean its right or should be tolerated by Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do you think you can just build AOSP and dump the result on any phone? No, it has to be tailored per-phone.. What changes there are between phones I wouldn't know, not a rom cook, but I suspect the complexity/time needed ranges from trivial to impossible (HW limitations).
So therefore, Google is not going to build, test, and deploy a build for every Android phone ever made. The carriers have NO INCENTIVE to support older phones.. They have gotten better about this, but they still have no reason to do it honestly, it's not like other industries where hardware sales lose money (printers, game systems, many others) and therefore they need to stretch the users experience with the hardware to the max. Phone sales net the carriers extended contracts and money.

JCopernicus said:
Google, by definition, can't control android, do you poeple not understand that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually they can, very easily:
Carrier/Manufacturer: Hey Google, we're going to release a phone with Android 1.5, replace your search with Bing, add some crap-ware, and remove a bunch of useful Android features!
Google: Oh really? Too bad your Android phone won't have Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Syncing, OR the Android Market!
Carrier/Manufacturer: Hmm...​

Paul22000 said:
Actually they can, very easily:
Carrier/Manufacturer: Hey Google, we're going to release a phone with Android 1.5, replace your search with Bing, add some crap-ware, and remove a bunch of useful Android features!
Google: Oh really? Too bad your Android phone won't have Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Syncing, OR the Android Market!
Carrier/Manufacturer: Hmm...​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon doesn't seem to care. This does work though it's how android took off. However, not having gapps is more detremental to Google than carriers. At this point in the game android can survive without native Google applications.

khaytsus said:
So do you think you can just build AOSP and dump the result on any phone? No, it has to be tailored per-phone.. What changes there are between phones I wouldn't know, not a rom cook, but I suspect the complexity/time needed ranges from trivial to impossible (HW limitations).
So therefore, Google is not going to build, test, and deploy a build for every Android phone ever made. The carriers have NO INCENTIVE to support older phones.. They have gotten better about this, but they still have no reason to do it honestly, it's not like other industries where hardware sales lose money (printers, game systems, many others) and therefore they need to stretch the users experience with the hardware to the max. Phone sales net the carriers extended contracts and money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So basically you're justifying carriers holding off hardware updates so that people can dump their 6 month old phone for a new one just to get from 2.1 to 2.2?
That's BS and you know it.
Android gets a new version every other month, and if they do this and leave older users in the dark with carriers blocking updates, Android is NEVER going to be real competition to iOS.
Hardware is just another BS excuse. 2.2 runs fine on even the HTC Dream.

mynameisjon said:
Android gets a new version every other month, and if they do this and leave older users in the dark with carriers blocking updates, Android is NEVER going to be real competition to iOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android sold more units in Q2 2010 than iOS, so surely its already real competition?

Is just me or is one of the biggest faults with android the various phone form factors that make it impossible to standardize any accessories? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to be locked into a single phone running android but it seems the phone manufacturers could maybe design their phones so they have common ports for accessories. I guess we are lucky we at least got a desktop and car dock. Even cars are coming with iphone, ipad docks, you'll never see an android dock.

JCopernicus said:
Google, by definition, can't control android, do you poeple not understand that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google, from a business perspective, doesn't need to control android.
its not its number one priority. yes it could try to twist the carrier's arms, and yes most would fold, but even if only 1 of the big 4 refuses to fold and stops carrying android devices google losses.
google doesnt make money off of android. it makes money off of ads. it just wants you to watch the ads through its portals. you might say they lose that when carriers choose bing over google, but really most of the ads (in apps, around the web) are controlled by google because google owns the online ad market. in fact, they will make money off of the spread of windows 7 phones as well. they entered the mobile business just to make sure neither apple nor microsoft could cut them out of the mobile internet user base and therefore limit the number of users viewing their ads.
btw we are in the nexus one section of xda, which by definition means you cant complain about waiting for updates and carrier and manufacturer crippling. (ha! see what i did there?)

Anyone else sad that RIM bought TAT?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/02/rim-buys-tat-blackberry-ui-in-danger-of-becoming-awesome/
So, is anyone else sad that RIM bought TAT? Those of you that don't know, TAT helped with and polished the original Android interface for the G1 and helped us get to what we all know and love today in Android. Not to mention they have 3 awesome live wallpapers on the market, plus they have that awesome TAT Home homescreen replacement that never got to see the light of day... yes, it was supposed to be an OEM homescreen replacement, but it would have been nice to see it released sometime. *sigh* I'm actually surprised Google didn't purchase them first, given what they've put into Android in the past and what they can obviously do with it now.

I am very surprised that a buttoned up, un innovative company like RIM snatched them up. They must be terrified of iOS and Android (rightly so) to step so far out of their comfort zone.

Mactagonist said:
I am very surprised that a buttoned up, un innovative company like RIM snatched them up. They must be terrified of iOS and Android (rightly so) to step so far out of their comfort zone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think after their current os overhaul sort of fell flat they are desperate for something to keep people interested. Something more than color and icon changes.

I'm not really sad, I really want RIM to get back in the game, since it's a Canadian company and I'm proud of having technology companies in here...I wouldn't like if it RIM died out just like Nortel did, would suck badly to get overhauled by American companies only...
Although, RIM really has to work its ass off to make better stuff...I mean, the torch has a suckier cpu and same camera as the Nexus which came out almost a year ago...they really need to get some exclusive things...now, they even lost what was pretty much the only "exclusive" feature, being the BlackBerry Messenger...they are now in court with Kik just for that matter

It'd pretty easy to make some sparkly beautiful UI . Its another to make it work properly with available hardware.
G1 won my heart but the ui is the reason sense and others came about.
Unless there's something I'm missing ...big whoop. BB needs a big overhaul lets see what they can do with that OS.

xManMythLegend said:
It'd pretty easy to make some sparkly beautiful UI . Its another to make it work properly with available hardware.
G1 won my heart but the ui is the reason sense and others came about.
Unless there's something I'm missing ...big whoop. BB needs a big overhaul lets see what they can do with that OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out tat home, the 2d-3d list and map Apps as well as their XML based interfaces. Tat is good at what they do when they are given free reign. IMO they could have done great things for android, I think Google restricts to keep things simple rather than flashy as android is supposed to be able to operate on devices of different power.

You know to tell you the truth: competition is always good for us the customer. Apple vs. Android isn't enough and even Google can get lazy. Hopefully RIM will FINALLY help push the industry forward.
Also, I'm looking at getting a Playbook to connect to my Nexus One via free wifi hotspot. Maybe this will make the Playbook a better product in the future, which again, helps all of us at the end of the day.
Apple and Google don't need TAT...RIM certainly does. They finally have shown some life with this acquisition.

as a former RIM developer I'm couldn't sign the statement "RIM is innovative".
The hardware is very powerfull, but the OS is way behind, OS6 is nothing but a polished GUI on top of OS5. BES the core strength of RIM is losing ground, just as RIM did within 1 year dropping stocks approx. 50%.
If a little theme with a few SVG lines can bend down a 1ghz device, there's nothing to feel sad, but for the customer wasting a lot of money. Not intended to get into a flame, but since the question popped up, here's my 2 cents.

RunTimeWorld said:
as a former RIM developer I'm couldn't sign the statement "RIM is innovative".
The hardware is very powerfull, but the OS is way behind, OS6 is nothing but a polished GUI on top of OS5. BES the core strength of RIM is losing ground, just as RIM did within 1 year dropping stocks approx. 50%.
If a little theme with a few SVG lines can bend down a 1ghz device, there's nothing to feel sad, but for the customer wasting a lot of money. Not intended to get into a flame, but since the question popped up, here's my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardware itself is indeed very "solid' and extremely reliable, thus the incredible business use of BlackBerry. The specs, though, fall short in today's standards!
Hopefully, they will come up with something nice soon, before they get forgotten in oblivion

lostinbeta said:
Check out tat home, the 2d-3d list and map Apps as well as their XML based interfaces. Tat is good at what they do when they are given free reign. IMO they could have done great things for android, I think Google restricts to keep things simple rather than flashy as android is supposed to be able to operate on devices of different power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have. Theyre beautiful. But so was Xperias Android UI.
Concept designs for Android have been gorgeous and "futuristic" but they all flop if they even bother seeing light of day.
If you want to say its Google restricting I wont argue. Im sure they refuse to add anything that hampers there backbone. But seeing how cooliris got free reign and we ended up with a slow , low res Gallery app im more prone to thinking HW simply is not up to the point to handle these interfaces.
At the end of the day its another case of a looming update with no sign of UI overhaul. I dont have "major" issues with current UI. But its clear that these big leaps being shown just arent happening. I cant fathom why Google would simply say no. There has to be another reason. Maybe the Sidekick/Palm guy wasnt to keen on them ?
WebOS UI > Android/Ios/BB anyways.

Haha, good point about the gallery. Cooliris really did fail on that one. I hope it either gets better or gets replaced in future versions of android.

All of their products are so surperfulous and gaudy.
At least rim products won't be called boring anymore.

Its sad that all that android code is going to waste without it being released.
Since they did not give anything to the community, and decided to abandon android, I wish them all the best with RIM...good riddance.