[Q] Galaxy Express Devs? Where are you? - Samsung Galaxy Express GT-I8730 Questions & Answer

My Gnex recently broke, and i have been trying to decide if i want the Express...Are there any legit devs working on this phone yet... it seems like a solid device, but there is no hacking community for it. I would love to have this phone, but just cant live without all luxuries of having a custom recovery... it seems that there is no way to root the JB update, it just seems as if there are to many sacrifices to make until this phone gets some good devs working on it. Anyone out there willing to help out...?

Related

Roms, Kernal Patches, etc.

Alright lets get the record straight. Has anyone tried the kernal patch that puts your mem on a partition on the sd card. Supposidly this boosts performance out of this world. Please post here if you have tried this.
Secondly, we need to attract some developers. I'm willing to donate if anyone wants to code for us. We got a great user base and a really good product. Im conviced the captivate is by far one of the better phones from the galaxy s lineup. If any one knows some developers, introduce them tot his godly beast and let them know there are people out here willing to pay for good quality fixes and roms.
I was thinkin about asking for help from the guys running international s. We could post and ask in the xda area and also modaco and androidforums which have big communities as well.
Any other ideas on how to attract developers? Post here.
systoxity said:
Alright lets get the record straight. Has anyone tried the kernal patch that puts your mem on a partition on the sd card. Supposidly this boosts performance out of this world. Please post here if you have tried this.
Secondly, we need to attract some developers. I'm willing to donate if anyone wants to code for us. We got a great user base and a really good product. Im conviced the captivate is by far one of the better phones from the galaxy s lineup. If any one knows some developers, introduce them tot his godly beast and let them know there are people out here willing to pay for good quality fixes and roms.
I was thinkin about asking for help from the guys running international s. We could post and ask in the xda area and also modaco and androidforums which have big communities as well.
Any other ideas on how to attract developers? Post here.
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I'm down to donate as well and do anything I can to add to the cause. I really hope this phone takes off cause it is great. I think we have a good chance that a lot of the N1 devs might just come over to this phone and if not they should be getting the Vibrant and I doubt that it will be much trouble to port over to Captivate.
Err why is it better lol? all the samsung galaxy S phones are exacly the same internaly...none its better than the other, the only difrence is the lack of flash/camera and keyboard from the other variants.
rafyvitto said:
Err why is it better lol? all the samsung galaxy S phones are exacly the same internaly...none its better than the other, the only difrence is the lack of flash/camera and keyboard from the other variants.
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Image, Image, Image. If the galaxy lineup were real life siblings, the captivate would be the only one going to the prom. It also sports fewer gps issues than the vibrant and galaxy s. Ive also seen way less people complain about lag in these forums than the ones for the vibrant and galaxy s (and we have more viewers here than on the vibrant page).
When devs see this device they should be seeing potential.
systoxity said:
Image, Image, Image. If the galaxy lineup were real life siblings, the captivate would be the only one going to the prom. It also sports fewer gps issues than the vibrant and galaxy s. Ive also seen way less people complain about lag in these forums than the ones for the vibrant and galaxy s (and we have more viewers here than on the vibrant page).
When devs see this device they should be seeing potential.
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All of these so called "issues' are software based, its samsung ****ty touchwiz UI that lags like ****ing hell, not the device hardware, and yes i do agree that the captivate is the sexiest of them all.
Im pretty sure it would be painless to port over Vibrant or Galaxy S fixes to the Captivate. Internally they are the same except for a few minor differences like rafyvitto said which wouldn't be that hard to fix. I'm brushing up on my Java skills and learning about the internals of Android right now. Ive been a iPhone person for a while. Hopefully soon I can be of some help and get hacking on Captivate. From what I've seen and read we have a good phone to develop for because its easily rooted and has an unlocked bootloader. I've also heard that the drivers for the Galaxy S lineup are encrypted, but I haven't seen any confirmation of that. What we need is a dump of the current ROM and also we need a better recovery system like Amon_RA's recovery. The source for his recovery system is on GitHub so we could try and port it over to the Galaxy S lineup.
shouldnt samsung be releasing source for drivers any day now? I thought the word around town was that they were being open with the community on this jazz.
systoxity said:
shouldnt samsung be releasing source for drivers any day now? I thought the word around town was that they were being open with the community on this jazz.
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They have already released the source code for the Galaxy S here. They don't have to release the source for the drivers because they are proprietary, but from what ive read the binaries for the drivers are in that download so all someone would have to do in link them in. I just don't know if the drivers are encrypted meaning that it has to be an official samsung ROM for them to work. Hopefully not because that would make cooking new ROMs a hell of alot easier.
we should ask the modaco guys for help and info. I dont think we can use the source or drivers from the galaxy s international. I think someone tried doing stuff that way and bricked.
i could be wrong tho
Would also be willing to donate to the cause. The only reason I didn't buy an iPhone 4 is the developers for this phone.
@wesgarner is on the CyanogenMod team / TeamDouche and has ordered a Vibrant.
We might be able to encourage him to port the latest CyanogenMod build once he has the Vibrant's build completed.
He purchased a Vibrant and I think a laptop to do the work. I've already sent him an email about being a beta tester for the Captivate.
Just remember the devs have a life outside of working on phones! Don't ask for timelines - whether you donate or not!
Wes is working on a port for the slide and then he'll be working on the Vibrant.
While the hardware is similar - the software isn't exactly the same. I was messing around with the MMS.apk today and tried to replace my corrupted one with the one from the Vibrant - did NOT work.
Also, the device is capable of having a REAL FMRadio. The Euro versions have an FMradio.apk. I pushed it to the Captivate - but, the Captivate will need the drivers (to build into a kernal) for the FMRadio to work. But, this is entirely possible.
So, yes the hardware is basically the same or similar - it won't necessarily easy. If any of you remember, LOL - this will be akin to porting the N1 build over to the Desire - I think.
The first thing to go should be that awful samsung UI lol. I think the challenge will be porting ROMs for all these different Galaxy S models. I saw this coming when I read the device would make it to all four major carriers in the US plus.
thanks shane, i also heard another dev recently purchased a captivate, do you know anything about this? i'd like to support his endeavors.
Yea I read over in the Vibrant forums that a dev just got a captivate and is working on a recovery. They also have wes working on the Vibrant so hopefully they get cookin on some ROMs. It won't be that much of a hassle to port them over to the captivate. I would advise not fooling around too much with your phone because someone has already messed up his/her phone. They will either have to take it into ATT store and replace it or wait for a dump of the original ROM to come out.
I have tired the MoDaCo rom and it does (kinda - not brick) work with the SGH-I897 (captivate model), I was able to use it to remove the ATT crapware and nearly everything seems to be working. Phone reports its self as Model Number: GT-I9000 in the about phone tab.
One very IMPORTANT problem - I am having difficulty making outgoing phone calls.
Things that I can confirm work:
Bluetooth file transfer
3g data
GSM phone calls (incoming calls work)
Camera
Audible app, pandora ect.
SMS outgoing and incoming messages
Pretty much everything I have tested on the phone except making outgoing phone calls (important as it is a phone after all). So DON'T use this ROM yet, and if you do make a backup.
Hope this helps.

[OFFTOPIC][DISCUSSION] Your first hacking experience!

XDA Developers is a great place for people who want to put their phone to the max a.k.a HACKING!
I'm pretty sure a lot of people have hacked their phone before; rooting, download scripts, kernels, roms etc. So the purpose of this thread made is to share your hacking experience; how you started it, how did it go, what was the first thing you hacked inside your phone, did it work,did you screw up your phone etc. You should also state why you hacked and was it worth the hack. Also, another purpose of this thread is to encourage people to not be scared of hacking and try hacking their phones. (although is really up to you!)
So I shall start mine, right now!
So, after getting good results in my exam, my parents gifted me a Samsung Galaxy S Plus I9001 last year. It was one of the best smartphones I ever had(only had one....). So, the place where I bought the phone, the salesman said the phone had 1+3 years warranty. So, at that point I said to myself; I'm not going to modify,hack or install unnecessary stuff in my phone (to preserve my warranty).
Boy, was I WRONG! After I had 6 months with the phone, had a lot of apps installed and my phone began to slow down. I deleted apps by apps and still my phone was super slow. I realised, 4 years is too damn long to preserve. So, the first hack I did was rooting my phone. The reason I did that because there's this app called Screencast required me to root the phone in order to use my phone.
Of course, I was scared to hack my phone. So, I did a thorough research and go on with rooting. With enough balls and courage, I tried it. After following all the correct procedure. So, all goes down to my phone. Will it reboot or not? That's the question. So, I waited. And wait. And wait. THEN SUDDENLY, BAM! PHONE WORKS! I was so happy, there are a lot of apps that required root.
A few months later, I was a bit daring and tried to install a ROM this time (cause my friend using ICS on his S2, felt totally jealous . Also GB sucks, no offense). Opened Galaxy S Plus I9001 Android Dev page. BAM! Roms, and roms and a hell load of roms! I tried the most safest ICS ROM, Acro86's ICS CM9 ROM. Again, was scared to tried, but then again my warranty is a done deal. So I went for it. BOY IT WAS FREAKING WORTH IT. Didn't really know my phone could run ICS/JB. Phone really smooth, lots of apps I used before now is smooth. It was really worth the shot.
Long story short, You SHOULD try hacking, because you can get all the awesome stuff in your phone. I say you should try hacking because it is a load of fun!
Now, I'm currently using hypnos17's BioHazard V5 with TWRP recovery. Really nice and smooth.
So, now. What is your first hacking experience? Please share it to everyone! This thread may help a lot of people people out there! :victory: :fingers-crossed:
Acro86 CM9 ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650615
Hypnos17 Biohazard ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1917906
TWRP Recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1694617
Credits to the guys who made these roms! :highfive:
Nice story! Mine-
When I first got the SGS it was already a bit old, the SIII was already on the market. I heard about people upgrading their Android to something better than what the cellular company gives you, and I knew I wanted to do it. I knew nothing about it, so I went to my brother in law who also has an SGS.
He rooted my phone and installed the latest nightly version of CM9 at the time. After a while my friend also learned how to do it, so I tried CM10, CM9 again (a stable version), switched to Slim Bean, etc. One time my phone didn't boot after a flash and I thought it died, but in the end I managed to get back into CWM.
I don't think I'm going to try anymore roms (just update my Slim), because it's way too much work every time and I don't have the energy for that... So unless I find what I'm looking for in a rom (a good and fast rom, that looks like Samsung's, and one that syncs the Facebook friends with the contacts without having to use a third-party app)., I'm not going to change it again.

Kernel development pledging for Simplkernel for s6 edge users

hi i have seen this done quite a few times on xda i have been a member for along time now some times this works out great and its gives a bit of push to the development
its been quite quiet on the dev front for roms and kernels i know its only been a couple of weeks but the normal s6 seems to be on its way a lot more. i really wanted to get a custom kernel so i asked @mythos234 from simple kernel whos kernel i used on my note 4 to try make on for us for the edge link to the thread for the edge > http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6-edge/orig-development/tw-simplkernel-t3091094 and he has been doing an amazing job to implement some stuff in to the kernel i am not a dev but an android fan and i know there is only really so much you can do with out having the device in front of you as worrying that a wrong over clock or a wrong under vault could cause some one to loose the use of there phone so i am taking this on my own back to see if any one would be willing to pledge any thing to help get a handset and so we can get a great kernel for a great device for the dev this has nothing to do with @mythos234 its all down to me i am not asking for money now i am just asking if any one would be interested and if we hit the mark we need to get the device then i will start the ball rolling to sort a device out please no flaming its just an idea which i thought i would give it a go
i have set up a indiegogo page all help is appreciated Link >> https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/samsung-s6-edge-simplkernel-development-device/x/10630313
So finally someone tagged my name and didn't complain because I created lag
Nice change, lol.
First of all, huge thanks for launching this support campaign, really appreciate the support that you like my work :angel:
I know that the S6 Edge isn't a cheap device to begin with, so I probably should say something here first.. No matter the result, I will still keep supporting and developing for the phone. Having one to play with would ease the work a lot though, I'm not going to hide that. Currently everytime I add a little detail I need to contact my testers, wait until they have time and then either be happy and launch or try to solve problems which I can't properly see for myself. This isn't a huge problem with changes like performance boosts, but when coming to the serious stuff like Overclocking or Undervoltig, I just won't risk anyone elses phone for that, because a simple typo whith a voltage can burn your phone. I would be a fool if I started to promise to bring any of this to the S6 Edge, in software development you have to watch out when making promises, they tend to fire backwards But should I have an S6 or Edge, I would definately start working on those things, since bringing them from the Exy 5433 shouldn't be impossible at all. What else would change? For one, you'd get fixes and updates faster and more reliably. There are some things which I'm going to notice when I spend days scrutinizing stuff that no tester will find, simply because many issues are very subtle.
Probably my testers would be the happiest though, since I wouldn't annoy them all day with not working things
Thanks for the support again, it really means a lot (I'm almost getting red )!
I for one would be willing to help a in the way of a donation, but unfortunately this is all hinged on AT&T getting root/BL-unlocked. Fingers crossed here!
Globalrebel said:
I for one would be willing to help a in the way of a donation, but unfortunately this is all hinged on AT&T getting root/BL-unlocked. Fingers crossed here!
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Thanks Locked down phones are really a pain, I'm always happy that this is so rare in Europe :angel:

Any hope in development?

In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
RileyIssKing said:
In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
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I purchased this phone coming from an Iphone 6Plus, thinking I could definitely obtain root on the most sold android phone still in use. Nope. Pretty disappointing as I think it may be the best phone ever made.
RileyIssKing said:
In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
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Click to collapse
I didn't do enough research before buying S7. Coming from Nexus 6p this is really foreign to me. I saw s7 had root but didn't look into the 2 different processors, all the different carriers (it doesn't matter on Nexus devices.)
Far as Development goes...its probably not going to happen unless someone finds a way to unlock the bootloader. Next best thing might be Safe Strap but afaik there's nothing in the works.
For now I'm making the best of it. I'm having a decent experience with the Eng kernel. Currently looking into the nonrooted Rom. My hope is I'll be able to make some changes (like installing viper) then switching to the stock boot.img and trying to make those changes stick. Supposedly it's possible but I'm still trying to get some guidance. Experimenting with this phone sucks because the process for root is pretty long then setting everything up THEN it might not work so back to square one.
Especially once done with purchase plan or contract (should you have one) and out of warranty. After that point, it's mine to do with as I please! (I know, should be able to do it whenever, but I'm playing by their rules for a minute.) So it's already BS for those who bought first few months and have paid off.
Personally, what is driving me crazy is battery drain. I'm running about 144k on AnTuTu, so no major complaints with performance, but plugging it in more than once a day sucks. Power drain when I'm not doing anything: sucks. I know it's all this useless crapware running in the background, even tho I killed some with Package Disabler Pro. Just addressing that would improve my mood. If AT&T is trying to ensure we'll all look very carefully at unlocked phones next time, they are doing a bang-up job.

Will this device get any new development, support, or love? And anyone need testers?

I have a G550T T-Mobile US unlocked, and I am trying to find stuff like custom ROMs, tools and packs for this phone. Problem is, since this device wasn't launched properly by Samsung or did it ever get any attention, no one seems to own this so there just is not anything I can find on XDA.
My question is, will this device be able to get any attention? The best I can do right now is be a tester for it as I'm not a huge phone user so if I break my phone, I'm perfectly fine as I don't need it, but would love to make this my every day phone soon. I have no carrier. I am trying to learn Java and Android Development and Hacking so I can contribute to this device.
Thanks c:

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