Sony Mobile releases comments following ICS v Gingerbread Debate - Xperia Play General

The Sony Mobile developer team has updated its recent blog post where it discussed the pros and cons of updating the 2011 Xperia range to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It said that the challenges posed by ICS with older hardware has been “addressed by our SW engineering teams”. This includes RAM management optimisation as well as a ‘Performance assistant’ that will launch when the phone starts. This will enable you to enable/disable certain apps to optimise the performance of your Xperia. The developer team reiterated that it is their “aim to deliver an as good ICS update as ever possible”. Sounds good to us. See the full statement below.
Updated – comment from the Developer World team:
We would like to clarify that above mentioned “challenges” have already been addressed by our SW engineering teams. For instance, we have not only optimised the RAM management by making the RAM usage for internal apps as good as possible, but we will also introduce a Performance assistant at start up when running ICS. In this Performance assistant, you can enable and disable certain services that you might not want to run on your phone, in order to optimise the performance of your phone.
We have also worked with quite a few partners in regards to architecture optimisations for SQL handling. In addition, we have also optimised the hardware usage. And as a result of this article, a number of app developers have notified us that they are evaluating if HW optimisation will be needed or not for their apps.
The aim of this article was to share our knowledge regarding the different characteristics for ICS and Gingerbread in an open way, as we strive to have an open communication with the developer community. All in all, we would like to point out that it’s our clear aim to deliver an as good ICS update as ever possible. As you might have seen on the Sony Xperia Product Blog, we’re not far from releasing it now. Thanks for all the feedback!
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http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/04/0...debate/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
originial link

That is awesome news !
They are actually working on a fix for 512mb ram phones !
Way to go Sony !

It actually sounds like they'll lets us freeze all the crapware that will probably be installed

CloudShepherd said:
It actually sounds like they'll lets us freeze all the crapware that will probably be installed
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This can be done in ICS already, without root

CloudShepherd said:
It actually sounds like they'll lets us freeze all the crapware that will probably be installed
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if Sony allows us to disable all the stupid crapwares then hopefully we will have a good amount of RAM to play with.

nim92akaSean said:
if Sony allows us to disable all the stupid crapwares then hopefully we will have a good amount of RAM to play with.
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Yeah I know. Cant wait to try the Official Ice Cream Sandwich from SONY on the Xperia Play

When Sony posted that the ram might be a little small for ICS on their blog, almost everyone pointed the finger at them for saying they would give us ICS and then telling us it might not be so good.
I on the other hand, understand. When I bought the device, I was aware of its ram. Its not Sony's fault, they aren't the ones that made ICS a ram hog.
Just be grateful you get ICS, one way or another.
Sent from my R800i using Darkforest ICS

I'm more concerned with the user space being limited. With GB, we can integrate apps and updates into the system rom, which gives us more room on the user partition. I'm hoping something like this is still possible on ICS.

dassub said:
I'm more concerned with the user space being limited. With GB, we can integrate apps and updates into the system rom, which gives us more room on the user partition. I'm hoping something like this is still possible on ICS.
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As long as you have root access, integrating updates shouldn't be an issue

Related

Honeycomb?

http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/01/android-30-platform-preview-and-updated.html
v0kal said:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/01/android-30-platform-preview-and-updated.html
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As of now this is all I would be interested in from 3.0 . Hope cyanogen can pull this into CM7
New types of connectivity: New APIs for Bluetooth A2DP and HSP let applications offer audio streaming and headset control. Support for Bluetooth insecure socket connection lets applications connect to simple devices that may not have a user interface.
Yep seems to be a preview SDK for 3.0 with a final SDK in coming weeks. Simply prep for Honeycomb tablets.
"A built-in GL renderer lets developers request hardware-acceleration of common 2D rendering operations in their apps, across the entire app or only in specific activities or views."
So it seems that 2.3 isn't hardware accelerated...now I want 3.0 on my desire . But here's another quote:
"Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is a new version of the Android platform that is designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets."
So Honycomb isn't for phones? I really hope Google can clear things up a bit because I remember Andy rubben saying the Honycomb can adapt to phones & tablets.
Any thoughts or theories?
Weren't there enough thoughts and theories about it?
Jack_R1 said:
Weren't there enough thoughts and theories about it?
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Yes there was a lot of theories, but now we have something official to discuss rather than hearsay. Anyway, don't discuss if you don't feel like it.
How about the 2.4? really don't know what Goolge is thinking about. Just want a stable version and improve it by other works. Not so much version and make people confuse. It seems that N1 may not flash it~~
mr.r9 said:
Yes there was a lot of theories, but now we have something official to discuss rather than hearsay. Anyway, don't discuss if you don't feel like it.
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Looking at the new preview SDK, it only big screens by default. And reading through the platform highlights really only mentions tablets. However, a couple Android devs have already stated its for all platforms. Seems to me that they don't want to reveal that its for phones yet, so that they can advertise that it is made for tablets.
The main criticism the iPad got was being a giant iPhone. I think they want to avoid that by having people believe that it isn't the same Android that is on phones.
I guess when they release the full SDK we'll know for sure.
Interesting...the beat goes on!
Honeycomb is also for phones, but we all knew that right?
From the documentation:
Publishing your app for tablet-type devices only
Additionally, you should decide whether your application is for only tablet devices (specifically, xlarge devices) or for devices of all sizes that may run Android 3.0.
If your application is only for tablets (xlarge screens; not for mobile devices/phones), then you should include the <supports-screens> element in your manifest with all sizes except for xlarge declared false.
With this declaration, you indicate that your application does not support any screen size except extra large. External services such as Android Market may use this to filter your application from devices that do not have an extra large screen.
Otherwise, if you want your application to be available to both small devices (phones) and large devices (tablets), do not include the <supports-screens> element.
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Well, all clear then! The future of Android looks neat!
Nice find
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
spamlucal said:
Honeycomb is also for phones, but we all knew that right?
From the documentation:
Well, all clear then! The future of Android looks neat!
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Hmmmm...good find! Android is getting really interesting visually, which is IMO a milestone it needed to reach a while ago
Anyway, can't wait for an alpha sdk image on my phone to play with if that's possible currently
Forget Ginga and Honeycomb. Havent you all hear of whats ahead of honeycomb? Its called " Chicken Soup". Yup, ik... Weird name. But its only for dual core over 2ghz. So phones arent ready. Its suppose to be completely holographic 3d without glasses. Pretty neat. And requires horsepower of xbox 360 or more. Anything less and its a no go. Its suppose to be the next gen OS and quantum leap from even honeycomb. Remember the name "chicken soup". Its comming next year by christman. Cant wait!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
SINNN said:
Forget Ginga and Honeycomb. Havent you all hear of whats ahead of honeycomb? Its called " Chicken Soup". Yup, ik... Weird name. But its only for dual core over 2ghz. So phones arent ready. Its suppose to be completely holographic 3d without glasses. Pretty neat. And requires horsepower of xbox 360 or more. Anything less and its a no go. Its suppose to be the next gen OS and quantum leap from even honeycomb. Remember the name "chicken soup". Its comming next year by christman. Cant wait!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
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This was a horrible and incredibly illogical troll/joke attempt
spamlucal said:
Honeycomb is also for phones, but we all knew that right?
From the documentation:
Well, all clear then! The future of Android looks neat!
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It actually does not mean much.
Android application could always define different layouts for different resolutions, orientations, themes or screen sizes. So, it is just one additional form factor, one of many. And the way to say to the market which layouts are supported and which are not.
It also does not mean, that "honeycomb for phones" would be the same as honeycomb for tablets "just smaller".
They only said, that phone version will move in similar direction. Which can mean pretty much anything.
In fact I expect, that honeycomb for phones will be seriously different, since a lot of new honeycomb for tablets features on smaller screens do not make any sense.
My theory:
Honeycomb is currently, Tablets only.
We are going to see a division in Android for Phones and Android for Tablets.
Tablets will be at 3.0 starting off.
Phones are currently at 2.3, and will continue 2.4 being Gingerbread as well with updates that should have happened with 2.3. (Like 2.0 and 2.1 being Eclair)
Once phones have the ability to run such a resource hungry operating system(3.0) the Phone and Tablet versions of Android will merge into one.
Wisefire said:
My theory:
Honeycomb is currently, Tablets only.
We are going to see a division in Android for Phones and Android for Tablets.
Tablets will be at 3.0 starting off.
Phones are currently at 2.3, and will continue 2.4 being Gingerbread as well with updates that should have happened with 2.3. (Like 2.0 and 2.1 being Eclair)
Once phones have the ability to run such a resource hungry operating system(3.0) the Phone and Tablet versions of Android will merge into one.
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But the hardware of the new tablets is the same Tegra 2 of the new phones, so I think the problem is the adaptability of the OS to smaller screens in a way it is usable for our fingers.
Anyone here used the leaked "honeycomb music player"? It has all the new characteristics we saw on the xoom tablet but worked very nice on my Nexus One with 2.2.1.
I think when honeycomb's source code come out we will get working builds.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I heard Ice cream is going to be only for refrigerators. You know cause of the thermostat API that very few phones support.
marlonbr said:
But the hardware of the new tablets is the same Tegra 2 of the new phones, so I think the problem is the adaptability of the OS to smaller screens in a way it is usable for our fingers.
Anyone here used the leaked "honeycomb music player"? It has all the new characteristics we saw on the xoom tablet but worked very nice on my Nexus One with 2.2.1.
I think when honeycomb's source code come out we will get working builds.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
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I believe you are absolutely right. I tried making an AVD for Honeycomb with the screen resolution of my Nexus One. The launcher force closed continuously but you could see that the standard pull down notification bar was there. So I take that to mean that Honeycomb is for all devices and just changes its layout based on screen size.
draugaz said:
It actually does not mean much.
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A little bit of context: The text I copy-pasted is in a section called "Upgrade or Develop a New App for Tablets and Similar Devices"
In it, is says:
If you want to develop something truly for tablet-type devices running Android 3.0, then you need to use new APIs available in Android 3.0. This section introduces some of the new features that you should use.
The first thing to do when you create a project with the Android 3.0 preview is set the <uses-sdk> element to use "Honeycomb" for the android:minSdkVersion.
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What does this mean? it means this app won't work on anything other lower than honeycomb. So, the "choose your screen size" text I pasted yesterday applies to honeycomb-only apps.
The documentation in the SDK is a nice read actually

Hmmm...no Touchwiz afterall?

Seems LG knows something Samsung doesn't? They say Google not allowing ui over lay on honeycomb at this time... Maybe vanilla 3.0 after all?
http://phandroid.com/2011/03/24/lg-says-google-wont-allow-custom-uis-on-honeycomb-samsung-says-huh/
Sent from my Tab using XDA Premium App
This is very interesting. Because Samsung was verrrryyyy careful to note that TouchWiz4.0 would be coming to "some devices" in "some markets". and wouldn't even hint at which those were.
Also it should be noted that they're calling TouchWiz4.0 a "UX" or User Experience, rather than a UI (User Interface). Although this is kinda stupid because they're re-skinning basic Honeycomb UI elements like the back/home/multitasking buttons and the entire settings menu, etc. Sounds like a UI more than a UX to me.
Sounds like they're going to try and develop TouchWiz4.0 and then fight Google on it. If anything, Google will push it back until they just include a few widgets and call it a day. I'm perfectly okay with this.
This sounds awesome btw, and I hope Google follows through with it. Its good for them to try and protect Android as a brand and keep it from getting bastardized by all the manufacturers and carriers.
You guys should remember that Samsung has previously squeezed through Google's rules. Google tried to stop Android from being put on tablets too early by not allowing GAPS (Google Apps, e.g. the Market) to be shipped on those devices, however there was an exception to this rule and surprisingly enough it was the original Galaxy Tab. I also believe the Notion Ink Adam had the market installed, but I don't know how they managed that one.
If what LG states is true, Samsung and maybe even other major manufactures like HTC do not have to follow this rule. I assure you, TouchWiz will somehow make it to these tabs somehow, Samsung seems to be special.
martonikaj said:
This sounds awesome btw, and I hope Google follows through with it. Its good for them to try and protect Android as a brand and keep it from getting bastardized by all the manufacturers and carriers.
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I totally agree. I think it would be great for Google to be firm footed about this. It's mainly the UI customisation that has caused so many manufacturers to cancel or postpone Android OS updates. I don't care if a manufacturer can produce a better UI than stock, I'd still rather have stock so that OS updates can be more timely.
Manufacturers can still customise the UI/UX somewhat via the application layer and their own widgets. Look at Launcher Pro for example.
I think Google need to create a supported mechanism for manufacturers to customise/skin/theme Android via official API calls. This gives manufacturers the differentiation they want and keeps everyone working ontop of official API calls.
Google should simply require that any modifications to the stock Android Experience be made "optional" by the manufacturers. Everybody wins.
RickBaller said:
Google should simply require that any modifications to the stock Android Experience by made "optional" by the manufacturers. Everybody wins.
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This. That way Samsung can advertise it all they want in promotional material etc., but there is a switch in the settings menu to turn it all back to stock. Maybe this will be Samsung's compromise, who knows. It sounds like Google would prefer if it was stock and no questions asked. Manufacturers can customize all they want with widgets and apps, just leave the OS stock!
What people don't realize is that as long as carriers have any part of the update process, you will always get updates late. Why do you think the iPhone has no carrier logo, no carrier apps, and all updates are through iTunes? Apple knows that carriers are slow as **** and mess up everything they touch.
ryude said:
What people don't realize is that as long as carriers have any part of the update process, you will always get updates late. Why do you think the iPhone has no carrier logo, no carrier apps, and all updates are through iTunes? Apple knows that carriers are slow as **** and mess up everything they touch.
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Yeah I totally agree. Having firmware that toggles between stock and custom sounds like it will take even longer to release that the custom firmwares of today. The only way it could work is. If Samsung release them separately. Stock would be released first. They can then take as much time as they need to release their custom variant. That would be best of both worlds. Having said that I still think i'll be using home brew roms from xda as it will be tonnes better than what samsung produce.
Android should have a central repository like Ubuntu so it's always up to date on every device. Google made a mistake not doing something like that in the beginning. Now it's probably too late.
"An LG spokesperson." Yeah, dunno if I would actually believe this person. It's like asking a retail salesman at the store when the release date is for the new phone.
Also, do you guys really want to loose Touchwiz? Besides the rfs file system which is still yet unknown, I wouldn't mind Touchwiz if it includes all the codecs. The Vibrant was a beast of a media player right off the bat and if I get a tablet, I would want it to play anything from the get go. Although, the other topic posted a video saying the Touchwiz update would be optional so who knows.
DKYang said:
"An LG spokesperson." Yeah, dunno if I would actually believe this person. It's like asking a retail salesman at the store when the release date is for the new phone.
Also, do you guys really want to loose Touchwiz? Besides the rfs file system which is still yet unknown, I wouldn't mind Touchwiz if it includes all the codecs. The Vibrant was a beast of a media player right off the bat and if I get a tablet, I would want it to play anything from the get go. Although, the other topic posted a video saying the Touchwiz update would be optional so who knows.
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That's a good point about the codec support. What's involved with Samsung adding codec support? Is it a case of just having the codec files added to the Android OS or does it require native modules to be installed within the Android OS? I guess it's the UI elements I have the most issues with TouchWiz. Non-UI elements that enhance the phone such as additional codecs are a welcome benefit. They probably add hardly any extra time to incorporate into a stock Android OS release.
Techno79 said:
That's a good point about the codec support. What's involved with Samsung adding codec support? Is it a case of just having the codec files added to the Android OS or does it require native modules to be installed within the Android OS? I guess it's the UI elements I have the most issues with TouchWiz. Non-UI elements that enhance the phone such as additional codecs are a welcome benefit. They probably add hardly any extra time to incorporate into a stock Android OS release.
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I think he's just saying that Samsung has more incentive to add in the codec support if they're going to customize with TouchWiz4.0.
Although I'd like to see them add the codec support either way considering they could use it as a huge selling point.

Honeycomb update

Does anyone know whether the update the SD card will be similar to the flash update, that is fix only one bug/feature or is it supposed to be more comprehensive kinda of like a service pack for windows ( address stability, add some moderate features, etc).
Given the wait I am hoping for the latter.
Also is the reason that there aren't more apps optomized for honeycomb is that source code has not been released? If that is the case why have some apps like quickoffice HD been able to be optimized for homeycomb?
Pardon my ignorance I just became an android convert (phone-samsung epic 4g and tablet)
tumbes20000 said:
Does anyone know whether the update the SD card will be similar to the flash update, that is fix only one bug/feature or is it supposed to be more comprehensive kinda of like a service pack for windows ( address stability, add some moderate features, etc).
Given the wait I am hoping for the latter.
Also is the reason that there aren't more apps optomized for honeycomb is that source code has not been released? If that is the case why have some apps like quickoffice HD been able to be optimized for homeycomb?
Pardon my ignorance I just became an android convert (phone-samsung epic 4g and tablet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one knows how the update is going to be. The honeycomb SDK is what they use to build apps, and it has been out for a while now.
although some devs seem to be waiting for the source code still
I expect it will be a fairly big update, but not like 'a service pack' with LOADS of new features, probably just more a lot more bug fixes than just one SD fix...
I also imagine that some devs may be waiting a bit to see if tablet-specific apps catch on - and/or some may develop a new 'tablet edition' app rather than just tweaking old ones to run on Honeycomb... ?
Personally I am more disappointed with the bigger companies like BBC that haven't got iPlayer running on honeycomb!
What's weird is when I talk to some of the devs of paid apps they usually say want to do a honeycomb optimized version but need the source code. As was mentioned above the sdk was released in january so I don't really understand what they mean waiting for the source code.
Cnn does a fully optimized version, its pretty good. I know its not the bbc, but the cnn international isn't bad [that's what I watch when I visit my family in peru]. More similar to bbc style of reporting.
Well here's hoping for a honeycomb update so and more apps!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Lothaen said:
although some devs seem to be waiting for the source code still
I
Personally I am more disappointed with the bigger companies like BBC that haven't got iPlayer running on honeycomb!
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I know its off topic, but you don't need an app for bbc/Iplayer. Just watch it in the browser, isn't that the great thing about a xooom, you don't need lots of apps.....
bloke said:
I know its off topic, but you don't need an app for bbc/Iplayer. Just watch it in the browser, isn't that the great thing about a xooom, you don't need lots of apps.....
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This is true - but it is nice to have optimised HC apps like YouTube - looks great in the app

I'm done with all Android phones and tablets not released from Google.

FYI: This is a venting post, written spur of the moment. Probably rambling from point to point without proofreading or organizing thoughts. Don't even know if it will make sense to anyone.
In my haste to, you know, have the newest version of Android running on my Transformer, I totally destroyed it and cannot get it to be recognized in any USB form on my computer. There are tons of great ROMs built by the awesome development community, but I'm just sick of having to try out multiple ROMs just to find one that works without issues. IMO, the fault is split between Google and the hardware manufacturers. Google should force manufacturers to ship phones and tablets with stock Android. It is Google's system and they should have the control to do that. The manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves for not being able to release an update to the latest OS within a few weeks of the release, jellybean, and on a tablet that was only launched in the US in April 2011. Google should be ashamed for letting these manufacturers get away with running an outdated version on a device that is completely cabable of running the newest iteration. Had an official means of updating to Jellybean been available I would not have spent so much of my time rooting and testing ROMs to make sure I have a consistent user experience.
I look at Apple; the structure and consistency they have in regards to software updates. The first gen iPad received updates until iOS 5 for two years. Then you devices that are put out by Android manufacturers, new models are frequent and in the furry to try and saturate the market with tablets, they forget about the one that came out the day before. Too many screen sizes, different processors, causes developers to shy away. For example, there has yet to be a legitimate Spotify (which I use daily), twitter, Facebook tablet app. Even the official apps they do have for "tablets" are weak in the user interface compared to iPad apps.
I know the general public will probably never care that their phone/tablet doesn't receive the newest Android update, they call their phones "droids". That's because they don't know what they are missing since the manufacturers do not care about updating the firmware and they are running terrible skinned versions of the OS. I enjoy using my Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, but even that does not get updated from Google. Google needs to reassess how they distribute the OS and to who. Maybe it needs to be a little closed and vertical. It could help.
You have a very good point on it, I couldn't agree more with it.
But regarding the distribution of Android, I think that if the OS had to be the same on every phone/tablet, there wouldn't have a reason to exist so many different devices, it would be like Apple's iOS and its devices.
What makes the platform interesting is the fact that anyone can use it and alter some elements of it, a thing that you don't have in the strict control that Apple has on iOS.
Sent from my MB525 using xda app-developers app
I agree with you in certain points - as for update procedures in general.
I am still very annoyed by the update politics of the Transformer, since the officially offered upgrades caused so
many troubles for me, as random reboots and freezing ,......
On top of it, skilled people in this forum then manage to get nice kernels and ROMs done which are just
much better in performance and stability compared to stock, that you really do wonder who the heck ASUS is hiring
I found finally a stable combo for me based on ICS but failed so far for JB.
I am at the moment testing different JB EOS and kernel combos but experience still issues.
This can become indeed kind of boring....
Your view comparing the great support of Apple on the other hand I don't share completely. It is basically the same as for their Desktop/Laptops.
It is really so much easier to only support a handfulll of devices than thousands of different combinations. Sure, you have a point that
you benefit when you choose one of their devices. But bluntly I become afraid of the growing power of Apple, since I really embrace choice.
Their are always people who prefer a certain different device because it helps their needs ( look at all the different screen sizes for Android and
then check Apple), me I prefer e.g. HW keyboard for a mobile phone.
But then I prefer as well Linux and the choice to put together your preferred OS over a non-customizable MacOSX ...
BTW: I own as well Apple devices and this is not supposed to become a flame thread, please
At the end of the day its down to us as individuals what we buy.
The reviews are not always impartial but certainly a good starting point, but i find researching any product i buy before hand a must now a days.
Great example was when i had bought my gtab - if i had read about it properly i would have know Samsung are one of the worst for updates.....but then again none of the manufacturers promise any future upgrades - maybe again we are just expecting something that we were never told we were going to get??
Never had an issue with my TF but i agree you should not have to rely on a developers site to get "improved" versions of the software - but if i had an Ipad i would have no doubt jailbroken it to improve my ipad experience aswel, just like ive done in the past with ipod touches etc. Would i get another TF - yes - im looking to get the Infinity as i still feel that the Asus TF fits my needs and is still one of the best supported tablets out there.
So the moral of the story is nothings perfect, the infos out there......we just need to be a little more astute as individuals and put the time into looking at the pros and cons before we buy. We spend the money and make the choice - not Google, Asus or Apple.:good:
ultmontra08 said:
I totally destroyed it and cannot get it to be recognized in any USB form on my computer.
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That's more or less impossible unless you managed to corrupt the first few EMMC blocks that contain the apx mode code. Which you have to know what you're doing to wipe.
Boot into apx mode, install the naked apx driver, then use Easyflasher to flash back to stock
ultmontra08 said:
In my haste to, you know, have the newest version of Android running on my Transformer, I totally destroyed it and cannot get it to be recognized in any USB form on my computer. There are tons of great ROMs built by the awesome development community, but I'm just sick of having to try out multiple ROMs just to find one that works without issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ultmontra08 said:
I would not have spent so much of my time rooting and testing ROMs to make sure I have a consistent user experience.
Click to expand...
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ultmontra08 said:
I know the general public will probably never care that their phone/tablet doesn't receive the newest Android update, they call their phones "droids". That's because they don't know what they are missing
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You don't need to update Android unless it's a big jump like going from Honeycomb to Ice Cream Sandwich going to all that trouble to Root, Install a custom Recovery, Install a custom ROM for a minor update like Jelly Bean is silly what could you possibly need from Jelly Bean that Ice Cream Sandwich can't already do I bet the only reason is "It's the latest" and Asus are officially going to release Jelly Bean for the Transformer.
ultmontra08 said:
There are tons of great ROMs built by the awesome development community, but I'm just sick of having to try out multiple ROMs just to find one that works without issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately if you want to use something other then the stock ROM it's a process of trial and error I tried Android Revolution HD ROM for example (popular ROM) and had problems with my Transformer not responding in sleep mode and random reboots I found that Cyanogenmod was stable for my device every device is different so the trial and error process is unavoidable.
ultmontra08 said:
IMO, the fault is split between Google and the hardware manufacturers. Google should force manufacturers to ship phones and tablets with stock Android. It is Google's system and they should have the control to do that.
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ultmontra08 said:
I enjoy using my Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, but even that does not get updated from Google. Google needs to reassess how they distribute the OS and to who. Maybe it needs to be a little closed and vertical. It could help.
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Google Android is licensed as an open source operating system so Google doesn't have any power to tell manufactures they can't make their own version of Android to sell with their hardware or when you receive updates that's all the manufacturer.
ultmontra08 said:
since the manufacturers do not care about updating the firmware.
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Asus have actually been great with Android updates for the Transformer just a bit slow.
ultmontra08 said:
The manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves for not being able to release an update to the latest OS within a few weeks of the release, jellybean, and on a tablet that was only launched in the US in April 2011.
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You don't understand that it takes time to develop and test a new operating system on a device the process isn't as simple as you think it is you wouldn't want to suddenly get an update from Asus and then be complaining that it's unstable would you?.
ultmontra08 said:
there has yet to be a legitimate twitter, Facebook tablet app
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If you are using a Tablet the screen is wide enough to be able to acceptably use a web browser for these tasks so you don't really need a specific App developed, it's really only necessary for Mobile due to small screens.
ultmontra08 said:
I look at Apple; the structure and consistency they have in regards to software updates. The first gen iPad received updates until iOS 5 for two years. Then you devices that are put out by Android manufacturers, new models are frequent and in the furry to try and saturate the market with tablets, they forget about the one that came out the day before. Too many screen sizes, different processors, causes developers to shy away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you prefer Apple feel free to switch but while having a range of hardware options does have it's down falls it gives you and developers more freedom and choice where as Apple will always have a small limited choice range.
Just get a Windows Phone or Windows 8 tablet. I am too, one of those who are totally sick about Android.
You know, I bought Asus Transformer TF101 right on launch and YOU HAVE NO idea how excited I am. But things started to change after using it for a day, lags, crashes, limited apps.
I've been waiting and waiting for months before ICS came, but a lot of issues are still left unresolved. Asus firmware is very prone to crashes.
I've been flashing ROM after ROM and wasted so many days on this... No way I will ever get an Android again.
LastBattle said:
Just get a Windows Phone ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talk about limited apps...
Eh, the way I look at it, ill have this tablet forever and by the time its so scratched and old I can give it to my kids and I can get the latest and greatest NEXUS having learned my lesson buying non NEXUS.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using xda app-developers app
im on jb rom from team EOS, this is the only jb rom i use until now. using nova launcher makes it almost perfect buttery smooth (perfect without Widgets on the screen) .
it's easy to find good rom without having to try all of them. just read people's comment. go to last page and see how many complaints user's has.
Using the EOS build 74 with KAT 1.4 and nothing else yields a Transformer that works perfectly for me minus the GPS. I know that people with the dock have a different set of issues but honest, my TF with EOS and KAT runs better than any stock ROM. The difference is amazing. Web browsing is very very fast, I can play all my 720P videos via SMB streaming with BSplayer.
So after more than a year my TF works as I expected it to out of the box.
ultmontra08 said:
I totally destroyed it and cannot get it to be recognized in any USB form on my computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Wheelie?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1676845
Android Revolution HD and be done with it. Why the need for the latest and greatest when you can use what works? I used to be an HTC fanboy, until I got the mytouch 4g slide. I hated that phone so much. I love Sense, but just the phone was.... eh. I'm very happy with my Galaxy S3. I feel like I should have opted for the Nexus, but I'm happy with my purchase.
I still have a G1 sitting on my dresser with a charged battery just in case I feel like rockin it oldschool. I'm an OG Android user. Been using android ever since the release of the G1. I do love vanilla android, but what Samsung did with TouchWiz is just short of amazing. I used to run MIUI on my HTC Vision, I ran it for a few hours on my S3, and had to go back to TouchWiz!!
And what was posted earlier, why are you using apps on a tablet when the browser works perfectly for all those websites? Apps are more of a phone thing, screen sizes sub-5"
The update from Honeycomb to ICS was a huge one and we got it, it was not bug free but good enough to get developers working. JB is not that big update unless you need Google Now.
wow i dont know where to start. i really dont want to turn this into an ios vs android flame war. but youre completly out of your mind. first of all you have to look at it from the carriers, hardware manf, and googles point of veiw.
now hardware manuf. , and carriers have it in their best interest to not release updates for all the previous gen devices from a year or two ago, even if they are capable of running the new versions. this way the new devices look more attractive to current and potential customers.
another thing is that you cant really compare the updates from iphone-iphone3g-iphone3gs-iphone4-iphone4s-iphone5-and probably in a couple months the iphone5s that wont do anything more exciting than the last model did. same thing with the ipads. before you know it you have a drawer full of iphones that look the same and dont really do anything different.
then you have android. approx 800,000 new android devices are activated every day. EVERY EFFIN DAY. now thats insane.
how many devices that didnt originally come with ios can now run ios better than they ran their org stock os? for example there are tons of devices that came stock with windows mobile/symbian/webos etc etc and they can now run many different versions of android.
my htc HD, my htc HD2, my hp touchpad, and those are just the ones ive owned. theres tons of others that were given new life because of android and the dev community.
another thing that doesnt make sense is how you can blame google, and the hardware manufacturers and the carriers for 3rd party apps that they have no involvement in. there are millions of developers making millions of apps for millions of devices. its not googles job to make sure they run perfectly on every device. thats the deveolpers fault if facebook app works better on one device than it does on another.
you see iphone and ipad apps dont really have that problem because all the devices are exactly the same. screen size/resolution doesnt change very much at all, and new features are a bore. "oh yay the new iphone can make face time calls over a cell connection and isnt limited to wifi anymore" so what they should have been able to do that years ago.
its also not googles or the hardware manuf. fault if you knowingly go against their waranty terms and screw up your device. thats the risk you knew was there. and its part of the learning process. things like unlocking bootloaders, building custom roms, modifying hardware, cross compiling drivers and kernels, overclocking, and overall getting he most out of your device, is not for kids.
yes the typical ios fanboy just wants to get his facebook updates and be able to locate the nearest starbucks, or genius bar, just by asking siri.
but the android dev comunity and the devices they work on are doing it right. why should you be told what you can and cant do with your device? why should you pay more for a device that only does less. why should you sleep on the sidewalk for 7 days to be first in line to get the new lame updated iphone that costs double and doesnt do double.
the hp touchpad is a great example of an awesome device that was on sale for 99-150 dollars from hp. it currently runs ICS like a champ, and will be getting JB roms that rock. i also have a tf101 asus that runs JB eos like WHOA! overclocked on both cores, awesome tegra2 chip. expandable memory, AND A NORMAL HEADPHONE PORT AND USB PORT. even a nice little hdmi port. its an old device already and it still blows he doors off any current gen ipad.
then theres the newer mk802 devices and hackberry A10 boards that will do anything a high end smartphone will do for 50 bucks and hooks right up to your tv. LETS see apple tv or roku do that.
bottom line is that you dont understand how this really works, and youre getting frustrated and giving up instead of learning and becoming better and the tech.
YOU EITHER MASTER TECHNOLOGY OR TECHNOLOGY WILL MASTER YOU!! thats all for now.
---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
redrol said:
Using the EOS build 74 with KAT 1.4 and nothing else yields a Transformer that works perfectly for me minus the GPS. I know that people with the dock have a different set of issues but honest, my TF with EOS and KAT runs better than any stock ROM. The difference is amazing. Web browsing is very very fast, I can play all my 720P videos via SMB streaming with BSplayer.
So after more than a year my TF works as I expected it to out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i just updated with eos jb rom today and its so much faster than the stock asus ics rom. i was really surprise, because its still got a ways to go.
---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 PM ----------
Then you devices that are put out by Android manufacturers, new models are frequent and in the furry to try and saturate the market with tablets, they forget about the one that came out the day before. Too many screen sizes, different processors, causes developers to shy away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just to clarify a couple of things. There's no such thing as Android Manufacturers. well i guess with the exception of googles devices that they release is as close as you could come to calling them and android manufacturer, but the rest are not Android manufacturers. and when you think about it the screen sizes are usually pretty consistent even across different hardware manuf. you had 2.8"/3.5"/3.8"/ 4.2's were common for a while. now youre seeing mini tablet/phones in the 4.7-5+ range. but there arent that many sizes to worry about development wise. same with tablets. 7"-8"-9.7"-10.1" etc etc. same with the cpu and gpu arcitecture. you got your arms, your tegras, your mali 400's, etc etc theres an android device for everyone for anything.
i also love how my buddies iphone 5 wont display netflix properly or pandora correctly on the new screen size/dimension. maybe the iphone5s ver. 2.1 will have fixed that. in a couple years.
I know the general public will probably never care that their phone/tablet doesn't receive the newest Android update, they call their phones "droids". That's because they don't know what they are missing since the manufacturers do not care about updating the firmware and they are running terrible skinned versions of the OS. I enjoy using my Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, but even that does not get updated from Google. Google needs to reassess how they distribute the OS and to who. Maybe it needs to be a little closed and vertical. It could help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the general public doesnt care that their phones arent getting the newest rom/kernel versions although alot of them do. android seems to realease new versions as the hardware advances. they grow with the advancing power and abilities of devices. you wouldnt really expect a first generation tmobile g1 to run the latest jellybean version would you? its almost as if the hardware cannot really come out faster than the os to support it. everytime you hear of a new android version theres a whole new generation of way better spec'd devices that shortly follow. sorta opposite of apple, they release devices that are barely on par with devices that were released over 6 months ago or longer. if carriers dont want o update devices in order to entice customers to upgrade then i understand that. theyre in business to make a profit. i really dont see how restricting and limiting android would help in any way at all. thats the great thing about android. its just linux with a few things on top. and that is the nail in the coffin right there. unlimited customization and hackability.
haxin said:
YOU EITHER MASTER TECHNOLOGY OR TECHNOLOGY WILL MASTER YOU!! thats all for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMEN!

Android M Discussion thread

A place for all of us Nexus 6 users to talk about Android M and the Developer Preview any bugs or anything we find. Download links are at the bottom of this post
Android M features new features like:
Android Pay
Snooze
App permissions
USB-Type C support
Native fingerprint scanning
More to come later!
Not working:
waze
amazon music
uber
mlb at bat
evernote
flesky
directv
Cinemark
Download M System Image: http://storage.googleapis.com/androiddevelopers/shareables/preview/shamu-MPZ44Q-preview-c1d6506a.tgz
Download Page for other devices: http://developer.android.com/preview/download.html
@vomer made a thread for images and flashables! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3120851
M Screenshots
How to root Android M! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3123285
Version 2 is out! Find the system image here: http://developer.android.com/preview/download.html
Direct Version 2 link: http://storage.googleapis.com/androiddevelopers/shareables/preview/shamu-MPZ79M-preview-e1024040.tgz
Snooze has me intruiged , seems like its Project Volta but forced at a system level instead of waiting for developers to implement into apps
Is it possible to do fingerprint scanning via the screen, with software? Or does it have o be a separate piece of hardware?
I assume hardware
Do we have to wait for I/O to end before Google throws the switch to the M preview? I for see several servers crashing for about 2 days or at least 6-10 hours before a stead fast DL.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
longshot21771 said:
Is it possible to do fingerprint scanning via the screen, with software? Or does it have o be a separate piece of hardware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hardware such as Qualcomm's Sense ID
Sent from my GS6
Is Android M really going to look the same as L? There has to be at least a little bit of UI changes.
I've never flashed a developer preview before. Is it possible to flash with a nexus toolkit or does it need to be done in adb?
stevew84 said:
Is Android M really going to look the same as L? There has to be at least a little bit of UI changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I thought it looked like the UI wasn't going to be a major change.
italia0101 said:
Snooze has me intruiged , seems like its Project Volta but forced at a system level instead of waiting for developers to implement into apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Doze"? But yes I to am asking the same question, my N6 never was plagued with all the bugs many are having except the battery, but for sure can't wait to load M up and see!
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
italia0101 said:
Snooze has me intruiged , seems like its Project Volta but forced at a system level instead of waiting for developers to implement into apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already get 95% deep sleep with screen off...I fail to see the point of Doze. I suppose if you're always getting FB and G+ pings all day it might help sleep more.
adam29617 said:
Do we have to wait for I/O to end before Google throws the switch to the M preview? I for see several servers crashing for about 2 days or at least 6-10 hours before a stead fast DL.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rumor has it the preview is coming out today. Least that is what people on reddit are reporting
stevew84 said:
Is Android M really going to look the same as L? There has to be at least a little bit of UI changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is really pretty underwhelming for a version uptick. It seriously looks like you could use M and never notice you didn't have Lollipop. Seems like Google is going all Mozilla in terms of versioning.
They already mentioned that there were minor tweaks to the core experience, but they probably don't feel they were worth highlighting.
L was a huge visual revolution. Why did people expect M was going to have a big graphical overhaul or update?
inkdrink said:
They already mentioned that there were minor tweaks to the core experience, but they probably don't feel they were worth highlighting.
L was a huge visual revolution. Why do people expect M is going to have a graphical overhaul or update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably because most people expect a major name-branded update to have something they'd visually notice....not a collection of under-the-hood bug fixes and side improvements that you could easily never notice. Because all the stuff they highlighted are things that even power users might never touch or notice were there.
I suppose that's fair, but on their yearly update schedule I'm betting just about every update in the future will be name-branded, and I doubt they'll all be UI-heavy. Either way, I still see a lot I'm excited for. Android Pay will be nice as someone who uses but has grown tired of Wallet, and contextual Google Now in apps is pretty cool as well.
Skripka said:
Probably because most people expect a major name-branded update to have something they'd visually notice....not a collection of under-the-hood bug fixes and side improvements that you could easily never notice. Because all the stuff they highlighted are things that even power users might never touch or notice were there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup just like the crazy differences between Froyo and Gingerbread. Or the transformation of Jelly Bean into Kit Kat.
In reality we have no idea what visual changes will be made because the software is not finalized. The M preview is just a dev preview so that apps can be updated with the latest APIs from day 1. They barely showed anything as it relates to M that would show any real visual differences.
People act surprised that M looks the same as L. Look at Google history most updates don't change too much (if at all) from updates. ICS to JB etc. Yes GB did have a green theme but that was already having several updates with minimal ui changes except maybe a launcher. Hell even KK was very similar to JB. Take away google now launcher and visually they look the same
Greg Tolan said:
Yup just like the crazy differences between Froyo and Gingerbread. Or the transformation of Jelly Bean into Kit Kat.
In reality we have no idea what visual changes will be made because the software is not finalized. The M preview is just a dev preview so that apps can be updated with the latest APIs from day 1. They barely showed anything as it relates to M that would show any real visual differences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most frustrating thing is there are allegedly "1000s" of bug fixes from reports. They claim they're in the M preview, and they claim said preview will be available later today....I know this is a revolutionary thought, so hold on to your hat, but why not push those fixes to Lollipop and publish 5.1.2 next week? Rather than force users to have to wait possibly 5-12 months for an update they may never get (depending on their device OEM)?
The alleged number of fixes in M are an order of magnitude greater than the number of fixes in all the Lollipop updates for the Nexus 6, combined, thus far. And Lollipop is still pretty buggy, especially if you're not on a Nexus.
md1008 said:
People act surprised that M looks the same as L. Look at Google history most updates don't change too much (if at all) from updates. ICS to JB etc. Yes GB did have a green theme but that was already having several updates with minimal ui changes except maybe a launcher. Hell even KK was very similar to JB. Take away google now launcher and visually they look the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IIRC KK brought a bunch of notification tray improvements in ICS and JB. But that was ages ago, and I'm going off memory. Also KK ran a ton better than ICS or JB.
http://developer.android.com/preview/index.html
Live.
I find android L right now to be beautiful, and I personally don't want them to change a thing.
is it possible to flash this onto a secondary rom with multirom?

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