I really don't see any real improvement to the ui . Didn't they said it'd be better looking and more useability and fun? Still ugly to me. Give me launcherpro with 2.2 and I'm happy. Gingerbread 2.3=fail
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I think the UI rehaul is for 3.0 Honeycomb.
Google has not even said anything about Android 2.3 other then its going to be called Gingerbread. Never said it was going to be a major update or completely change the UI. All the rumors speculated about a UI change but only subtle changes.
Yep, there's nothing official about gingerbread. We will know more once the xda gang get it on our devices!
generalamerica said:
I think the UI rehaul is for 3.0 Honeycomb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honeycomb is geared towards better tablet compatibility.
I think the major UI overhaul that was planned for Gbread was pushed back to Honeycomb. I'm not sure if this is because of the timing of the hire of Duarte (as in, maybe the UI was halfway there, they hired Duarte, and he scrapped it), or because they just didn't think they had time to implement it.
Either way, I think the major changes to Gingerbread will be under its skin... everyone's just focusing on the UI because that was probably the biggest touted change. My prediction is that we'll see better utilization of hardware, and thus improved efficiency... plus a number of new (but minor) features.
joshnichols189 said:
Honeycomb is geared towards better tablet compatibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've heard Honeycomb is geared for tablets and superphones and it will start a split of higher end phones getting 3.0 and lower end phones get 2.X. I've seen a guy's phone that said he had 3.0 and it doesn't look like standard Android, the UI was much different. So unless he just had an awesome rom I'm sticking with there will be a UI change in 3.0.
this post is silly. if you think android is an ugly system and UI just use something else.
Launcher Pro looks exactly the same as the standard launcher besides the dock area.
It's a pretty widespread opinion that the Android UI is ugly, and that's the reason why Google is supposed to be overhauling it.
If it was beautiful I doubt manufacturers would spend so much money overhauling it as if it was Symbian 5th edition.
N8ter said:
It's a pretty widespread opinion that the Android UI is ugly, and that's the reason why Google is supposed to be overhauling it.
If it was beautiful I doubt manufacturers would spend so much money overhauling it as if it was Symbian 5th edition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that Android's UI needs some help. I'm liking the flat sharp look they're going for. Also, good to see they're sticking with black and green to try to keep consistency. Only little was shown on Gingerbread, but I'm liking it.
Also, even after Google does an overhaul, they will still skin it. It's not about whether it looks good or not, its about setting themselves apart from the competition.
EggoEspada said:
Also, even after Google does an overhaul, they will still skin it. It's not about whether it looks good or not, its about setting themselves apart from the competition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I could not agree more with that statement.
Everyone has a personal preference. Some people love the ios ui; some people like me hate it. Yes I prefer Android and personally I prefer my android mostly unskinned (other than maybe a simple black bar theme -- ala Desire). It sounds like I'm in the minority -- but I also dislike 99% of the OEM skinned options like Sense, Motoblur, etc. The most important factor in those being what people in the company designing the UI want THEIR phone to feel like. Then this causes outrage from the users that don't like it. You can't please everyone. /rant
I believe there will be MINOR changes, most likely at a kernel and java level.
Well, I hope that there will be some significant improvement under the hood. From what I've seen so far, I'm not going to be impressed with the revised stock UI at all. In fact, I like the old UI much more (it might of course change over time as I get used to the new look). On the other hand, I'm using HTC Sense right now, which makes the revised UI redundant for me anyway, and I expect HTC to stick with Sense for the time being. Other manufacturers have their own UI too...
I'd be happy if 2.3 were just the same as 2.2 on feature level, but more efficient. Because even though I am impressed with what 2.2 stock phones are capable of doing right now, better battery life is always a good thing.
/rant/ said:
Well, I hope that there will be some significant improvement under the hood. From what I've seen so far, I'm not going to be impressed with the revised stock UI at all. In fact, I like the old UI much more (it might of course change over time as I get used to the new look). On the other hand, I'm using HTC Sense right now, which makes the revised UI redundant for me anyway, and I expect HTC to stick with Sense for the time being. Other manufacturers have their own UI too...
I'd be happy if 2.3 were just the same as 2.2 on feature level, but more efficient. Because even though I am impressed with what 2.2 stock phones are capable of doing right now, better battery life is always a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google should dedicate one release per version chiefly to combatting issues with efficiency, speed, battery life, removing deprecated components, and other optimizations - with adding features being on the backburner.
That will at least allow manufacturers to deliver one update to fix known issues on handsets and make them work *better* in a timely fashion without spending 4-6 months reinventing the wheel and reintegrating everything into yet another release.
Also, I don't really blame the manufacturers. Android has some deep-rooted issues when it comes to the user interface and the only way to make it attractive to a majority of people is to make some deeprooted changes.
I personally think that android 2.2 (froyo) actually has a pretty good UI. Coming from an iPhone, I find the squared-off corners and minimalistic (moreso than the iphone, amazingly) UI elements a LOT more aesthetically appealing. I do dislike the non-support for full hardware acceleration and the non-skinned dock, but I suppose that that's a non-issue. Hopefully 2.3 or 4.0 will update the UI, but as it stands I'm not THAT bored of it (granted I've only had my Epic for a month, but still) so if google doesn't it's fine. I really, really, really want hardware acceleration though.
Android 2.3 is really a fail!
I just downloaded a android 2.3 SDK and tested my app, I disappointed very much about it. It's UI is so ugly than 2.2 and before, especially TabWidget style and black notification bar.
I think Google is going towards a wrong road just like Microsoft, and android is not as hopeful as before. Maybe when a company grow great enough, they must be going down...
The problem is, android is not windows yet, if they continue to wrong, they would be dying.
I do not really know what sets 2.3 apart from 2.2, except colour icons for call, programs, and web. My notification bar is a dark grey, so a black one really wouldn't affect me. I never heard of TabWidget.
For me, when I got Stock 2.2, I added on a fake HTC clock, a nice calendar that I'll never use, and have been looking for some other nice apps to throw on my home screens. It looks beautiful. I thought the point of Android was to be customizational? And so far, my Android phone is very much what I wanted it to be. So how could 2.3 radically change that?
I do think we should have more customization options, but it's amazingly more open and freeing than my old Windows Mobile phone with the earliest of Sense on it (HTC Touch Pro)
angingrich said:
I think the major UI overhaul that was planned for Gbread was pushed back to Honeycomb. I'm not sure if this is because of the timing of the hire of Duarte (as in, maybe the UI was halfway there, they hired Duarte, and he scrapped it), or because they just didn't think they had time to implement it.
Either way, I think the major changes to Gingerbread will be under its skin... everyone's just focusing on the UI because that was probably the biggest touted change. My prediction is that we'll see better utilization of hardware, and thus improved efficiency... plus a number of new (but minor) features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this thought. The UI is a little better, but nothing major. Most of the hype I think was just that...hype with no real information from anyone except what they HOPED would be.
I assume...ASSUME...that before 3.0 comes out, we may see a 2.3.x that will include a more substantial UI update. Or it may jump up to 2.4 or 2.5 for the UI. Not sure how major or Minor Google considers a UI upgrade.
2.3, as we know now, was mainly meant to improve the underlying stuff and to implement the NFC. 3.0 is SUPPOSE to be an update to make android better support tablets (is that official? I'm honestly not sure if Google has officially said that yet), so if that's true then I suspect we'll see one more iteration of the 2.x before 3.0 to give us the UI upgrade that MANY was hoping for.
All that is just a theory though, we may move straight from 2.3 to 3.0 and Google may separate android then with 2 version. 3.0P and 3.0T (That's Phone and Tablet). Who knows, most we can do is wait and see. Though I do imagine at some point they will have a division of the OS for the Tablet and one for the Phone. Same features and all, just optimized for one or the other.
3.0 is nothing like what we've seen before. Its amazing.
I still havent got an update yet.
Related
htc have said they are developing the Sense UI for eclair, but in my opinion, there is nothing seriuosly wrong with the standard Android UI as it is,
why dont they release the Sense UI afterwards as as optional upgrade?
i think they are wasting their time, i buy HTC phones for the good hardware design and components, not for the UI, even on WM i used to turn off their enhancements to the WM UI.
does anyone else feel they are wasting their time?
edit: sorry about the slightly vague poll options
totally not on your side. sense ui is great, i like it much better than stock android. also not on your side concerning htc's improvments in general, sorry...
Love the Sense UI.
Gives it a polished feel. Onlt concern I have is over long term support for it as the device becomes last year's model. But by then, standard Android should be much more polished as well...
Zuber
Love the sense UI. Will not go back to Android UI.
Had a G1 running "vanilla" Android prior to my Hero, and I wouldn't want to go back to the standard interface. Sense UI all the way for me!
Regards,
Dave
I dont see a lot of people agreeing with you. SenseUI is fantastic. Can't wait to see what they do with Android 2.0
Sense is perhaps redundant in some ways, but also very much valuable in many places. The 7 home screens are way more spacious than the default 3. The unified contacts view allows me to get all I need to know about a contact from one place. The skinned apps are more finger-friendly and provide a more consistent user experience.
Overall, I think Sense adds great value to the Android platform, and sets the Hero apart from other Android phones. That's not to say vanilla Android is bad, but it's what it is: vanilla.
I think of Android as more of a bare minimum enabler as opposed to a full mobile OS. Yes indeed, it can be run as a full mobile OS, but the experience is minimal. However, it lays the framework for vendors to differentiate their products from the competition, while maintaining application cross-compatibility.
another problem i see in future is the android os fracturing in the same way linux has, ironically.
yes there is a vanilla feel to the standard android theme, but it runs fast and stable, unlike the sense ui which has already crashed at least once (yes, latest updates have been applied), this sort of thing was common with the WM skins that HTC developed.
for me, the main factor is stability not looks, as im not going to be spending my day looking at the screen. if its not stable enough to not go a day without crashing, then theres problems. moving to htc android from htc wm, i was hoping there would be more stability but not yet.
I kinda like good old vanilla, but sense does look really nice. Things I really like about sense is: contacts, browser, camera, album and calendar. These features are hard to let go of. The special widgets are not a real big deal.
warsng said:
another problem i see in future is the android os fracturing in the same way linux has, ironically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is always going to be an issue given that Android uses a non-copyleft open source licence. It is simultaneously both a good and bad thing!
yes there is a vanilla feel to the standard android theme, but it runs fast and stable, unlike the sense ui which has already crashed at least once (yes, latest updates have been applied), this sort of thing was common with the WM skins that HTC developed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not discounting your experience at all, but I came from a G1 running vanilla Android, and I've found that Hero/Sense is at least as stable as that.
for me, the main factor is stability not looks, as im not going to be spending my day looking at the screen. if its not stable enough to not go a day without crashing, then theres problems. moving to htc android from htc wm, i was hoping there would be more stability but not yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have problems with your Hero crashing daily, you definitely have problems. I seldom feel the need to reboot my Hero. Then again, whilst I use a Modaco ROM, I don't use Apps2SD, Swapper, or regularly kill tasks, and many of the problems I see on this site are likely related to those.
Regards,
Dave
Sense UI only means every nice thing Google does for Android has to go through HTC, which takes time. Also after 2.0 Android we will not get anything new to Hero from HTC, I can guarantee that. You will have to buy "Hero II".
Sense is a way for HTC to stamp their own branding on the phone. Its a differentiator amongst the coming wave of Android devices.
People have done this for years with WiMo and Symbian.
Its called marketing
I think HTC have done an amazing job with their GUI, as said above, it adds polish to an excellent OS.
Nothing worse IMHO than having a new handset that may look different hardware wise but just like everything else when you look at the screen. Which you do whenever you use it
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
warsng said:
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in my opinion, it's more functional and at least as stable. So, I don't see your problem!
Regards,
Dave
warsng said:
htc have said they are developing the Sense UI for eclair, but in my opinion, there is nothing seriuosly wrong with the standard Android UI as it is,
why dont they release the Sense UI afterwards as as optional upgrade?
i think they are wasting their time, i buy HTC phones for the good hardware design and components, not for the UI, even on WM i used to turn off their enhancements to the WM UI.
does anyone else feel they are wasting their time?
edit: sorry about the slightly vague poll options
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
definetly: NO. Sense UI is the best thing which happened to Android.
Pure Android just doesn't look professional UI wise. HTC was the first company who provided a great skin to android AND made it more functional also (HTC SENSE Contacts app is nearly perfect).
Yes pure Android might be faster, and HTc Touch FLO on Windows Mobile was SLOW. BUT HTC Sense on Android is really fast enough for me. especially after the update. And i can't live without all the great Sense Apps and widgets.
Sorry for my self promotion, but i wrote exactly about this issue on my blog. I'm a longterm Windows Mobile user switching to android, thanks to HTC and HTC Sense. I think HTC Sense brought Android to the next level Usability and UI wise:
http://smartphoneblogging.com/2009/09/a-longterm-windows-mobile-user-switching-to-android-part-4-htc-sense-review/
jpalo said:
Sense UI only means every nice thing Google does for Android has to go through HTC, which takes time. Also after 2.0 Android we will not get anything new to Hero from HTC, I can guarantee that. You will have to buy "Hero II".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that maybe true. in this case you can always root your phone and get the further updates via xda devs...
still "not getting updates" for 3 years is not enough to let HTC Sense go. It provides just so much better usability. The folks at google can't provide such an experience up to now, and they never will because the whole concept of Android is: take the OS framework, and customize it to your liking, thats when companies like HTC come into play.
warsng said:
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not about looks, it's about USABILITY and FUNCTIONALITY, not only one of them. And overall HTC Sense has both.
HTC adds even more to the mix like multitouch and the whole facebook, twitter, flickr integration. Yeah Android 2.0 provides this too now, but HTC will keep adding stuff which is missing in vanilla android.
i accept the point that this is about marketing, but its not like i would forget that this is a HTC phone if the interface did not remind me 24 hrs a day.
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
warsng said:
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each to their own of course, but to resent Sense being the default UI is probably a bit harsh when Sense is one of the key features that Hero is marketed with!
If you really want to use the default home screen, the easiest method would be to download "Home Switcher" from the Market (yes, I know it can be done manually, but this is easier!).
Regards,
Dave
warsng said:
i accept the point that this is about marketing, but its not like i would forget that this is a HTC phone if the interface did not remind me 24 hrs a day.
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can switch to default Android home quite easily. Go to settings, mnage apps, findd touchFLO, reset it's default category. And press home button - you will be able to choose betwen 2 homes and set a default one again.
Hopefuly you will see how much worse the original home is - even sliding through homescreeens feels unpolished and not smooth. I use 1.6 on the Magic too and trust me, HTC is a savior for Android. Would not use Android at all without SenseUI.
Also, there is a myth that SenseUI stuff sit on top on original Android, like TouchFLO sits on top of WinMo. But that is not true. Since Android is open source, HTC just modify and manipulate it. HTC home is separate though, but it is based on Androids home and runs in the same level.
I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions on this.
1. Do you think Gingerbread will bring a complete interface overhaul? I'm talking animations, images, layouts, multi tasking, notifications, launcher & more
2. Do you think it'll be like sense, improving social network integration, tidying up a lot of images images and adding a bit more functionality to widgets etc?
3. Do you think it'll be like a skin, simply taking image files that exist throughout Android and making them look more modern?
If they do infact do (1), do you think we'll lose functionality of some applications? Will apps have to be designed or positioned differently on Gingerbread?
I'm very excited for this, especially after seeing a video of MeeGo OS running on a smart phone, it looked so fly. In my opinion Google is going to need big changes to compete with MeeGo's interface (Not saying MeeGo is gonna take out Android, just saying it looked really nice & polished compared to Android's current state).
Google did good work in 2.1 with the launcher, app draw, animated backgrounds etc. but the stock images, buttons etc look so old. I think it needs an overhaul!
Well apparently 3.0 is gonna give the whole UI and device a revamp of looks so i cant wait to see what they do, I hope they make android become as polished as ios and bring smoother scrolling in.
LevitateJay said:
I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions on this.
1. Do you think Gingerbread will bring a complete interface overhaul? I'm talking animations, images, layouts, multi tasking, notifications, launcher & more
2. Do you think it'll be like sense, improving social network integration, tidying up a lot of images images and adding a bit more functionality to widgets etc?
3. Do you think it'll be like a skin, simply taking image files that exist throughout Android and making them look more modern?
If they do infact do (1), do you think we'll lose functionality of some applications? Will apps have to be designed or positioned differently on Gingerbread?
I'm very excited for this, especially after seeing a video of MeeGo OS running on a smart phone, it looked so fly. In my opinion Google is going to need big changes to compete with MeeGo's interface (Not saying MeeGo is gonna take out Android, just saying it looked really nice & polished compared to Android's current state).
Google did good work in 2.1 with the launcher, app draw, animated backgrounds etc. but the stock images, buttons etc look so old. I think it needs an overhaul!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
msavic6 said:
...and bring smoother scrolling in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This... very much, this.
It's amazing to me that third-party launcher replacements offer perfectly smooth scrolling and the stock OS doesn't. I don't get it.
I also want a whole new camera interface with more control, and a built in note pad,to-do list, the basic functionality of a regular cell phone, better market support like the ability to block certain developers apps from appearing and higher quality apps as well as maybe a ui revamp in the market app. Also make more use of the gpu for graphcs. One last thing add a stock widget that displays time and weather and make it AMAZING.
Thats all i really want
OH and a better stock keyboard.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
My predictions.
- Hopefully a new Multitasking UI
- Improved or customizable notification bar( hasn't changed since 1.0)
- General graphic UI revamp.
A Google employee said of you look at the Nexus One gallery app,expect a similar vibe for the whole UI in Gingerbread.
Oh god, we're just two days into august, the speculation can't start now. Gingerbread was mentioned to be released at the end of the year, which probably means Q1 of 2011. That's quite a ways away!
Once you get this gingerbread speculation rolling, we'll never see the end of it, considering it's only august!
Forge94 said:
A Google employee said of you look at the Nexus One gallery app,expect a similar vibe for the whole UI in Gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like the sound of this although I can't think of how they would do this? I really wanna see a web os like multi tasking too
erikikaz said:
Oh god, we're just two days into august, the speculation can't start now. Gingerbread was mentioned to be released at the end of the year, which probably means Q1 of 2011. That's quite a ways away!
Once you get this gingerbread speculation rolling, we'll never see the end of it, considering it's only august!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speculation can never begin too early!
If anything, we're late.
I think they are gonna allow us to customize the UI as we see fit. All those Themes and UI's in the Nexus Forum will be able to be added to stock Android's without rooting.
Blueman101 said:
I think they are gonna allow us to customize the UI as we see fit. All those Themes and UI's in the Nexus Forum will be able to be added to stock Android's without rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neat idea, although I think they'll still need a very nice & tidy stock version/overhaul to go with this as a lot of people will review the stock interface, rather than how you can customise it & many will never bother changing it too I imagine! (I don't understand those sort of people )
I think most of this UI overhaul is pure speculation based on the fact that google hired Palm webOS Designer Matias Duarte. He cannot possibly bring so much change in the few months he has been at google. But I will keep my hopes high that they can give a more smoother UI experience (where android phones/netbooks with additional graphics chip can take advantage of its hardware).
A strong and capable google official Theme Maker app (like metamorph) can bring alot of enthusiasm behind it. Would be tough though with so many unique android devices out there, how can they accommodate them all? :S
mythamp said:
I think most of this UI overhaul is pure speculation based on the fact that google hired Palm webOS Designer Matias Duarte. He cannot possibly bring so much change in the few months he has been at google. But I will keep my hopes high that they can give a more smoother UI experience (where android phones/netbooks with additional graphics chip can take advantage of its hardware).
A strong and capable google official Theme Maker app (like metamorph) can bring alot of enthusiasm behind it. Would be tough though with so many unique android devices out there, how can they accommodate them all? :S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree. i also believe that many people speculate that Duarte will bring in many UI changes, but as you said we are talking about 3 months which isn't enough time for a person manage to change the whole look of an OS.
i would be happy if google could at least get their act together with the homescreen which is still laggy as hell and the app drawer which has laggy zoom animations on froyo.
Having all those great benchmarks is cool and sometimes froyo is really fast, but especially the homescreen is a huge letdown.
And the homescreen is the place which you will see most of the time...
Shahpur.Azizpour said:
i agree. i also believe that many people speculate that Duarte will bring in many UI changes, but as you said we are talking about 3 months which isn't enough time for a person manage to change the whole look of an OS.
i would be happy if google could at least get their act together with the homescreen which is still laggy as hell and the app drawer which has laggy zoom animations on froyo.
Having all those great benchmarks is cool and sometimes froyo is really fast, but especially the homescreen is a huge letdown.
And the homescreen is the place which you will see most of the time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's laggy with you i suggest you return your device and get a new one... because this problem doesn't exist on the 3 nexus ones i've used.
I didn't realise he only had 3 months to work with it... :/
Although I imagine he has quite a team working with him to get a lot done in whatever time they have!
I'm running stock Froyo and I don't notice any lag in the homescreen and the app drawer. I installed Launcherpro before and I didn't notice any difference in scrolling. Both stock homescreen and Launcherpro homescreen have smooth scrolling.
Maybe someone can direct me with a video that can show me what a laggy scrolling is like.
yeah i dont get the laggy scrolling either, but then again i use launcher pro for so long now. i'm getting really sick of people comparing choppy scrolling, i want to make a video showing otherwise!! i'll admit certain UI lists do get choppy. but most are not so.
oh and doesnt anybody listen to android podcasts? last week android guys podcast leaked a little rumor that gingerbread was all about tablets, heard from someone directly involved. make of that what you will.
im personally against making the UI look more like iOS... i like the direction that windows 7 mobile is headed with the simplistic 2 tone menus and choice of text over icons.. things like pretty scrolling and fancy animated icons add more bloat
nobody said anything about making the UI look like an iphone, it was said to make the UI be AS POLISHED as the ios is.
norazi said:
im personally against making the UI look more like iOS... i like the direction that windows 7 mobile is headed with the simplistic 2 tone menus and choice of text over icons.. things like pretty scrolling and fancy animated icons add more bloat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gingerbread will make Android look like the Gallery app. If you watch the Google I/O videos on YouTube you see that a new music app is being used which has the UI of the current Gallery app.
So when they were showing off FroYo back at the conference, they already had some work done for Gingerbread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dugI-robCuQ
Make that Gingerbread....that's what i get for rushing a thread before lunch.
Nice find. Am I alone in preferring the current look?
Sent from my CM6.1 powered HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk
niiiiice!!!!!!!!!
I hoped in new and more transitions effects...
but the major thing i don't understand is why some google widgets are white, and others are black...why don't keep it coherent, it would result much better
Even though green is my favorite color, it didn't look to good in the low quality pics that had been leaked so far. They were all blurry and I think over-saturated as well. But seeing it clearly now it looks much better then I had previously thought.
Also, I like that it's being demonstrated on an N1 still. Take that NS
Here's a screenshot of it, for everyones convenience.
More thumbs from the video at Engadget.
The new launcher graphic looks awful; and what's up with the boxy look of everything? Basic UI stuff like radio buttons look AWFUL now. I'd rather they look completely flat (black/white only) then the cartoon-like gray-ish flat graphics they decided to use in Gingerbread - in fact, I much prefer the Froyo look. Popups are now boring looking, even more so than before which is quite a accomplishment. The status bar is a mixed bag, in the blurry pics I hated it, now I only kind of hate it. I think I can get into a black bar but the icons looks worse - not that the olds were perfect but they were overall better than what I'm seeing here.
Overall I'd rather have the old Froyo look with 3D-gallery-app-like UI overhauls of other central apps, more core OS animations and maybe HW acceleration.
-Just an opinion from somebody who works professionally as a designer and who had high expectations for 2.3/Gingerbread.
Award Tour said:
had high expectations for 2.3/Gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? Google has never said what changes are coming in Gingerbread, and EVERY bit of factual evidence thus far has pointed to no major UI changes.
Hopefully you are able to choose between a white or black status bar and the froyo or gingerbread dock.
GldRush98 said:
Why? Google has never said what changes are coming in Gingerbread, and EVERY bit of factual evidence thus far has pointed to no major UI changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that my friend...i believe is actually true.
it seems as though gingerbread is going to be a somewhat minor update. changes to the market, maybe changes to music and one or two more things.
if it does turn out to be a relatively minor update (compared to froyo) i would expect that honeycomb will be released a lot sooner than expected...maybe February/march
adam18488 said:
that my friend...i believe is actually true.
it seems as though gingerbread is going to be a somewhat minor update. changes to the market, maybe changes to music and one or two more things.
if it does turn out to be a relatively minor update (compared to froyo) i would expect that honeycomb will be released a lot sooner than expected...maybe February/march
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough; but who wouldn't consider this to be the most significant visual change since Android's initial release? I would, and like I said, the visual changes in my opinion have so far been bad.
moelester518 said:
Hopefully you are able to choose between a white or black status bar and the froyo or gingerbread dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't count on it.
Looks like someone made a boo-boo, the video has been taken down now.
yea, the video has been removed by user.
ahahah i saw it but you can't
The people over at Google HQ obviously need to consult with the MIUI graphic designers (consult with someone, please..). No, I don't want Android looking like an iPhone, but the other various changes they made simply just kill the default Vanilla design. Especially the music application. Honestly stock Android looks pathetic at this point compared to other User Interfaces.. very disappointing.
Eclair~ said:
The people over at Google HQ obviously need to consult with the MIUI graphic designers (consult with someone, please..). No, I don't want Android looking like an iPhone, but the other various changes they made simply just kill the default Vanilla design. Especially the music application. Honestly stock Android looks pathetic at this point compared to other User Interfaces.. very disappointing.
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I'm a dual iPhone/Android user, and while iOS is still ahead in terms of looks (stock vs stock), stock Android wasn't bad. I actually kind of like it to be honest, just needs a little bit more work. This though is a step back.
Sent from my CM6.1 powered HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk
http://mashable.com/2010/12/02/android-gingerbread-demo-video/
Just about the most unimpressive home UI tweaks Ive ever seen.
They just made a few things green.
Maybe theres more but Im certainly not expecting it.
Someone needs to explain how some random guy makes Launcher Pro and thus Android home UI inifintely more usable and uniform. Yet google cant even get the dock portion right.
Googles reputation of making things not pretty continues. Im expecting 2.3 to be a very very big letdown.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/br...gle-or-the-oems/17840?tag=mantle_skin;content
if they leave it vanilla they need to fix a lot of bugs
Ill use whatever works best and right now the touchwiz leak is the most stable for me
khanable said:
if they leave it vanilla they need to fix a lot of bugs
Ill use whatever works best and right now the touchwiz leak is the most stable for me
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Click to collapse
Bugs created because Samsung put their hands on major Android Elements.
Everything that Samsung touches in the software department its taking the curse of not working or being buggy.
They are making superior hardware, really the BEST hardware around and yet they killing it by touching the software. Not only that but yet they never support it or issue updates.
Samsung (and many other OEMS) just need to let their stupid customization let GO.
I could not agree more. This is exactly why I have a nexus one and why will be getting the nexus 3/nexus prime/whatever it's called. I can't really complain about the galaxy tab since I got mine for free(google i/o) but.. still. I don't know why they think that they know better than google. it's just ridiculous.
nMIK-3 said:
Bugs created because Samsung put their hands on major Android Elements.
Everything that Samsung touches in the software department its taking the curse of not working or being buggy.
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Click to collapse
So how long have you been trying out Touchwiz on the tablet? What sort of bugs have you seen with it?
doctor3d said:
So how long have you been trying out Touchwiz on the tablet? What sort of bugs have you seen with it?
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Exactly
Touchwiz is far less buggy than stock right now
khanable said:
Touchwiz is far less buggy than stock right now
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Click to collapse
I agree. It's a little laggy here and there, but it's faster for me than stock or Bonsai for some reason. And to be honest, it looks way nicer. I love the skinning and different notification panel.
I just ordered mine off eBay from the US to replace my Xoom, which I found heavy and the screen sucked. I hope the TouchWiz update is released soon, I really like some of the elements they've added. As much as I enjoy stock, I really do like that Samsung adds things like expanded format support to get hardware acceleration without my having to re-encode.
smaskell said:
I don't know why they think that they know better than google. it's just ridiculous.
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Yeah, thats exactly the same with some developer of some roms. . .they also act as they know more than both google and samsung. . .LOL
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Maintain certain basic standard
I've had my share of nightmare with Samsung's T Mobile Vibrant with it's broken GPS and slow to lack of updates and bug fixes. As much as Touchwiz may work well on the 10.1 for now,the solution to the bugs found in Honeycomb rest squarely on the shoulders of Google. Google owns the platform and no OEM should be allowed to change the core underlying code for any reason.
While the platform should remain open, the core OS functions should be locked from OEM.
Take a page from Apple's playbook in this regard Google.
As the happy owner of the G1,My touch 3G, Nexus 1, T Mobile Vibrant, Nexus S, 7 inch Galaxy Tab and now the 10.1 Galaxy Tab, the most update and bug fixes were pushed to the vanilla devices (Nexus 1 and Nexus S)
While Samsung makes great hardware, their bad repution for pushing out updates and bordeline performance with their overlay are all the more reason why they should leave the 10.1 vanilla or at the very least make the Touchwiz update optional.
Vanilla android is lacking in so many departments. The manufacturer customizations add useful features that make the devices more enjoyable (except for blur). The touchwiz ux for the tab is amazing. It looks much more polished, and it has much more useful features than stock honeycomb. Same with phones, all though i personally do not like touchwiz for phones, there are many that do. I prefer sense for phones, it has the best UI and a ton of useful features that make HTC phones a joy to use, especially with the latest sense 3.0 devices.
If it werent for the custom UI's, there would be no differentiation among competition. All the handsets/tablets would be running the same exact thing with pretty much the same specs, which was what was happening with all the honeycomb tablets.
And to be honest, touchwiz is running much more smoother and much less buggy than the vanilla 3.1 did.
Although I see where you're coming from, I disagree. While its true that leaving the OS open to manufacturer modification can have it's problems, closing the system would defeat the purpose of utilizing a linux based operating system in the first place...kinda goes against the philosophy of open source. Might as well just pull an apple and lock down the entire thing (it works for them...in a manner of speaking)
One could argue that google is at fault for witholding the SC, but at the same time, that's to prevent the fragmentation issues seen in gingerbread. Googles doing the best they can with what they have. If the Samsung wants to fart around with code that they "shouldnt", and make the experience of their device worse, it will show in their sales. If pure vanilla HC is truly the best course of action (a decision based off OVERALL customer opinion), it will be the course of they will eventually take (at least that's the idea anyway...I'm definitely not saying manufacturers tend to make stupid decisions).
Just goes to show there's problems on both sides of the spectrum. sometimes, you just cant have your cake and and eat it too.
I can agree that TW is working a lot better then stock HC. And it's more appealing to the eye.
I've patiently been waiting and flashing the alpha/beta ICS ROMs onto my phone as and when they come (thanks devs!).
What I am wondering is, why am I distinctly unimpressed with ICS?
Sure it looks pretty, but when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, it seems to be form over function. The launcher now takes several swipes to access an app which I could previously have got to in one flick. The task switcher which used to be just long-press on home button then bam, touch your desired app, is now a case of long-press then swiping through a long list of pretty windows to find the one you need. Don't get me wrong, the changes to the built-in apps are good (and necessary - having to press menu to get to the draft new email button was ridiculously bad UI) - but I'm just left unimpressed overall.
And still we have the poor choppy scrolling performance that iOS and WP users laugh at instead of the ultra-smooth buttery goodness they enjoy (although it is better than it used to be I admit).
I know the ICS ROMs are a work in progress still, and I've not spent any time using a Galaxy Nexus - perhaps it all makes sense on a superphone with dual-cores and a massive screen, and these are non-issues for those people. But I am in no position to get a new phone (need a hardware keyboard and there aren't any better ones around) and hence I don't see much compelling reason to get ICS over GB - except for the apps maybe.
Am I the only person feeling this way?
Take into consideration these are ALPHA and BETA stages..cameras still don't even work. Just be patient
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Hm, I'd have to agree with you about the Task Switcher. There is little to no functionality to it. May I add widget grouping in the Drawer would also be a great addition. Otherwise, I liked most of the changes.
Although, I have two questions. What ICS ROM did/are you test(ing)? And did you try Overclocking? I'm currently running Virtuous Quattro (Beta 8) and have an overclock of up to 1,6GHz, and I can tell everything is running smooth as silk. Of course you don't have to OC to upto 1,6, but 1,2-1,3 would definitely suffice.
Edit: As spastic909 said, there will be a LOT of changes in the upcoming updates, this is only a preview of what we're soon going to get.
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
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Click to collapse
So the addition of hardware acceleration for moving UI elements doesn't function in CPU realtime like the iPhone or Windows Phones? I'm still running Virtuous G-Lite here, haven't flashed any ICS roms yet as they are all in beta.
setspeed said:
Am I the only person feeling this way?
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I feel exactly the same way especially in regards to the app list and recently used apps. I think those are steps backward which is keeping me on GB. However ICS does have some improvements in other areas of the OS which I wish I could enjoy.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fast real-time UI scrolling has very little to do with actual performance. From what I loosely understand, Android is fundamentally more ambitious. Rather than being flawed compared to her competitors. iOS and WP7(Not 100% sure about this.) has the UI on some kind of urgent priority line to render scrolling at 60fps. Android on the other hand, won't forsake any other tasks for the UI scrolling. In essence, Android is closer to a true computer.
That said, I'm guessing the only way to stamp out Android's inherent lagginess is to brute force it with increasingly advanced hardware. Or in my case, using MIUI bulletproof w/ that Charger V6 script thingie gives it a comparable homescreen scrolling speed to the iPhone 3GS.
setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a very good explanation to why you would be seeing this that I unfortunately don't remember where I found it, but it was a google employee explaining why android will never LOOK as smooth as iOs (despite both being almost the same) what it is, is that with iOS it prioritizes interaction above everything else, including rendering, in that, if you were to load a page on safari or whatever and while its loading start moving the page around, all rendering will stop, whereas with android it will try to do both simultaneous thereby resulting in what appears to be a choppier experience. As for google fixing this, they cannot (or rather will not) because it would literally require an overhaul of everything that is android to fix, yes it's do-able, but it would result in everything that we know to be android restarting practically from scratch (with some trial and error already done for us IE we know what works so we can implement it from the beginning) Hope this answers your concerns!
noneabove said:
iOS it prioritizes interaction above everything else, including rendering, in that, if you were to load a page on safari or whatever and while its loading start moving the page around, all rendering will stop, whereas with android it will try to do both simultaneous thereby resulting in what appears to be a choppier experience.
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Hmm.. I'd read about it somewhere. And I'd also read elsewhere that the google devs wanted to find a decent middle ground to reduce this "choppiness" as well.
This the article others are referring to - https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s
Also, another one from the same source (a senior Google/Android engineer) - https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/XAZ4CeVP6DC
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.
Yeah I was already aware of those posts by Dianne Hackborn and others. It also seems that NO-ONE including Hackborn herself can give a definitive answer (which doesn't then get refuted by someone) as to why iOS can achieve 60fps animation pretty much everywhere, and Android just fails spectacularly at it.
The technical issues are way above my head, and I have no real interest in changing that - I'm just a normal end-user (albeit one who likes to meddle, hence why I have an XDA account). What I would like to hear is that Google has a plan for fixing Android, whether that be through a rewrite or whatever, to nail this final issue of stuttery, laggy performance compared to the competition.
I think the original point of my post was that ICS doesn't seem to offer me much in the way of actual advantages over GB (except for apps). The launcher appears smoother (at the cost of now having to make mutliple swipes - a choice made to get around the abysmal list-scrolling performance). The task manager is prettier but less functional. It just seems like it's been tarted up, with none of the actual underlying issues fixed. That's how it is from my perspective.
I wish there was a viable alternative, as I am truly starting to get itchy feet. I know that I won't go anywhere at the moment, but one phone that really interested me was the Nokia N9. I never got the chance to actually use it, but all the reviews said that the Meego interface was a joy (despite a couple of minor performance issues and the fact Nokia killed it before it was born).
I think I'm starting to question whether in fact I need the advantages that Android offers at all. On a daily basis there is only one root app that I use and that is Adfree Android. Could I live without it - probably.
And although I love flashing new ROMs on my phone, and the choice that brings, ultimately I'm only trying to fix deficiencies with the software my phone came with. This DZ was dead slow when I first got it - overclocking and a new ROM fixed that. But when the competition is fast and smooth, would I feel the need for any of that? I suspect the answer is probably "Yes, I would miss it like anything". But the fact I'm asking myself these questions tells me I'm not perfectly happy with Android the way it is. iPhone users don't have that feeling. I know they expect less of a computer and more of an appliance, but when they have an amazing experience day after day, and I'm being frustrated day after day, I ask myself who really is the smarter one?
setspeed said:
I'm being frustrated day after day, I ask myself who really is the smarter one?
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No one is smarter than anyone for choosing one particular brand over another. Its just a preference in the end.
While it's short sighted of you to equate UI scrolling to actual performance, you're quite entitled to love smooth scrolling.
And if 60 fps scrolling is your thing and if the lag bothers you that much. Then it would be wise to move to the iPhone or Windows. Especially if you believe it to be the smarter choice.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Smarter as in "not spending a lot of time babying my phone". Is it possible to make the transition from phone tweaker to just phone user, and enjoy those benefits (scrolling performance, better quality of apps) instead of enjoying total control and customisation?? Who knows, but when my contract's up and if there isn't a decent qwerty Android on the market (highly likely) then maybe I should try a change!
The scrolling lag of Android is a software design "flaw" if you can call it that. Someone wrote a nice article on G+ about it. Essentially, Android spawns a thread for the UI and lets it do its thing. That's why when you scroll down, not only does the existing content move, but new content is also added on the fly. And this happens across the OS - when you are updating an app, the phone also is trying to address your latest command of swiping homescreens. The author went on to show how in iOS this is not the case, that when a webpage is loading and the user begins to scroll, the page stops loading and full processor power is dedicated to the scrolling, thus resulting in a smoother performance. Apparently, it is baked too deep into the kernel and changing that is not a trivial issue. thus, the only solution now is to throw more HP at it, which is why the latest crop of phones don't stutter too much.
I think I'm a victim of my own anticipation. Like most people here I check Android news on a daily basis. When a major version revision like 4.0 is announced I buy into all the hype and by the time it gets to release I'm ready for the second coming of Jesus. When that doesn't happen then I've set myself up for a major fall. ICS brings some welcome (and some not so welcome) changes, but there's nothing earth shattering here, it feels like an incremental improvement.
I'm setting myself up for some major flaming here, but I would like Google to pull out the big guns and wow us with something. Something like Siri.
Before you all lambast me, let me state my position - I don't think Siri will set the world on fire like Apple hopes it will, we're just not ready for it yet. And I know all us jaded tech types can sneer and say "I could do all this ages ago with Tasker and Voice Search and Vlingo etc etc". But what Apple has done is wrap it all up into a nice useable package that anyone can easily access, without having to think about it, or search the Market for apps. There is nothing wrong in spotting something that you think is great and adding it to your OS. And if you try and deny that this will how we will interact with our phones in 20yrs time (or perhaps via mind control!) then you are kidding yourself.
I know Apple bought it from an iOS dev, but equally they've polished it into something that is talked about by everyone - everyone has an opinion on it when they become aware of it. What does Android do (for the average user, who doesn't root/flash custom ROMs) that's anywhere near the same level of impressive? Widgets and nice Maps? I admit voice nav is a great selling point, but seriously, I think Google needs to step up it's game and start bringing out the big guns to compete with iOS which, although limiting in lots of ways, clearly has the most polished apps, the best user interaction in the mobile world when it comes to scrolling and smoothness, and they bring futuristic stuff like Siri to the party as a part of their standard OS. It's not about bragging rights, or showing off or anything like that - it's about being the best OS around, and at the moment, aside from the fact Android is very customisable even without root, I can't say it's 100% the best OS. It is for me, at the moment, and probably for you too if you're on this site, but for the rest of the general population I can see why Android doesn't really hold a candle to iOS in the layman's eyes.
Rant over!
The one major thing you're missing is that ICS was designed mainly to integrate functionality between both tablets and phones. Google made a decision and then decided they weren't to keep on developing Honeycomb nor likely wanted current tablets running cropped versions of GB when it was solely made as a phone OS.
So there was a notion to make a unification with devices running Gingerbread/Froyo along with tablets running GB/HC, thus ICS was formed.
ashwinmudigonda said:
The scrolling lag of Android is a software design "flaw" if you can call it that. Someone wrote a nice article on G+ about it. Essentially, Android spawns a thread for the UI and lets it do its thing.
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Click to collapse
If you're referring to the post from a guy who used to be an intern at Google, then that second article link I posted (from Dianne Hackborn) is basically pointing out how that guy posted some incorrect stuff.
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.
steviewevie said:
If you're referring to the post from a guy who used to be an intern at Google, then that second article link I posted (from Dianne Hackborn) is basically pointing out how that guy posted some incorrect stuff.
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Doesn't matter if the guy posted incorrect stuff.
The empirical evidence and summary is that Android does not prioritize UI and UI animations (nor sound threads), and never will this point forward, so far.
Dianne also pointed out a deficiency in the kernel for high-priority/foreground threads which they gave up on fixing since Android 1.6.
I notice this every day but I'm a tech if it ain't broken i don't want it...
I'm just throwing my thoughts around here, please correct me if I'm wrong and flame me if you must, I'm kind of just interested in this topic.
I've had an ipod touch. I've played with the iphone 3gs. I've seen the iphone 4g. I've even been offered to try siri for a few weeks. The 3gs actually wasn't a huge leap from an ipod touch. They pretty much slapped a phone on it, right? There was nothing I could do on a 3gs that I couldn't do on an itouch connected to wifi. Literally nothing. The change from 3gs to 4g was just that. 3g changed to 4g. Beyond that, the user experience was identical. Nothing had changed. The addition of siri added 100 bucks of value to the 4g though? Yeah, that kinda didn't make sense to me, as there are literally free apps that did the same thing. But behind siri was the same phone. Ios hasn't changed drastically since the first time we saw it. Granted it's ALREADY such a great phone.
But look at android. Younger, and from the g1 to the nexus s, HUGE improvements, and for pennies to the dollar cheaper. Android WILL improve. There's no question of that. At this point, my phone has literally replaced my desktop; and from a phone that has already reached EOL, that's quite an accomplishment. the next gen phones have way more muscle to swing out at the graphical glitches that plague us, and the OS just keeps improving.
ICS is merely a stepping stone into something bigger. And android, being as customizable as it is, offers ui similar to ios through miui (soon miuiv4). You can't put off the changes made between cupcake, eclair, froyo and gingerbread. How you can put off the changes yet to be made, however, is quite staggering.