How would you make android better? - Vibrant General

I would like to see improvements to the stock browser. smoother zooming for one thing, get rid of the magnify glass in the bottom right corner (gets in the way when trying to click links), and passing the acid 3 test .
What changes would you like to see?

If it could make waffles, preferably Belgian style, and be more like iOS.

bacon flavoring

Android is still in its infancy compared to its rivals in the same market. This year should be big for our beloved OS so I want to see what changes are made before answering that question lol.
Web browser fixes is on the list though
Sexy Vibrant featuring Nero V3 w/Voodoo, and FFC installed

masterotaku said:
bacon flavoring
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLEASE! Lol
Sexy Vibrant featuring Nero V3 w/Voodoo, and FFC installed

- decent calendar
- syncing with Outlook
- email that is reliable
- more efficient OS

More fluid UI, smoother animations ie: pinch to zoom browsing, maps etc could be smoother. Basically make it so good that I don't need to root in the first place.

A usable Google Talk Client (think BBM). The current one is worse than using SMS/MMS, IMO.
Hardware accellerated UI.
Better Exchange support and stock (non-Gmail) mail/Calendar client.
Make an exit option for most stock apps (i.e. Browser, music player, etc.).
Memory optimizations to reduce the footprint of stock applications in RAM.
Better third party developers. Most of them are amatuers and put out utter crap.
Decent market policing. Tired of sifting through so much junk just to try to find useful apps.
The rest doesn't matter since I'm sure the OEMs will rip it out to put their skins in.

N8ter said:
Make an exit option for most stock apps (i.e. Browser, music player, etc.).
Memory optimizations to reduce the footprint of stock applications in RAM.
Better third party developers. Most of them are amatuers and put out utter crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An exit option is the thing google DOES NOT want in their UI. It is pointless. It is NOT how Android runs and it does NOT help. The OS does this for the user. Why not just ask for a task killer that kills everything every 5 minutes, lol.
what stock apps are killing ram? Do you mean when they are in the BACKground?
dude, don't knock on developers... I think if the "fragmentation problem" was not a "problem" then we would have a tremendous load of great apps. Some are just afraid to take the plunge into developing for android, and some probably are afraid to break ties with apple. That said, there are a LOT of really good developers for Android, and some ONLY for android (levelup studios)
to answer the OP question, I would say a more common sense UI. Which I believe is on the way with the new hires. I had to teach several people how to use their new apple/android products, and regretfully, the ones with apple picked it up a lot faster.

s15274n said:
An exit option is the thing google DOES NOT want in their UI. It is pointless. It is NOT how Android runs and it does NOT help. The OS does this for the user. Why not just ask for a task killer that kills everything every 5 minutes, lol.
what stock apps are killing ram? Do you mean when they are in the BACKground?
dude, don't knock on developers... I think if the "fragmentation problem" was not a "problem" then we would have a tremendous load of great apps. Some are just afraid to take the plunge into developing for android, and some probably are afraid to break ties with apple. That said, there are a LOT of really good developers for Android, and some ONLY for android (levelup studios)
to answer the OP question, I would say a more common sense UI. Which I believe is on the way with the new hires. I had to teach several people how to use their new apple/android products, and regretfully, the ones with apple picked it up a lot faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people just fail to understand that memory management on the linux based OS's is completely different from the counterparts from different OS's.
What would I change about the OS? My needs are more than satisfied with the current affairs, smoother scrolling and zooming in the browser will def make the UI even more pleasant to use.
EDIT: Oh yeah, and make every currently releasing phones true google phones, allow the carrier put bloatware on it, but make it easy to remove it - that is wishful thinking btw, otherwise how the carriers are supposed to make money off the subsidized hardware; at least make it an option for off the contract purchases.

I would like if the notification bar pop-up ("toast"?) for a new Gmail displayed the sender/subject line and first few words of the msg, rather than just say "New Gmail" (in other words, for it to behave like the notification for new SMS, etc.)

I really think that the 3rd party UIs should be available as a paid market download only. That way you have a choice as to whether you want to use it or not. All Google Android phones should come as just a Google Android phone. Make it easier to receive updates and cut down on this fragmentation. You can even let the user decide to download the enhanced UIs during the initial setup.

I'd personally like to see more polish - smoother web scrolling, etc. - and codec support for stock Android. I think we'll see this in Honeycomb. For game makers, i'd like to see less device specific coding in C. We are lucky that virtually every game works on the Vibrant, but other high end phones don't get the same love. Finally, it would be nice to see Google get on oems to release updates in a timely manner. Don't think it'll happen but you can always dream.
Sent from my frozen yogurt powered Vibrant

atoz350 said:
I really think that the 3rd party UIs should be available as a paid market download only. That was the you have a choice as to whether you want to use it or not. All Google Android phones should come as just a Google Android phone. Make it easier to receive updates and cut down on this fragmentation. You can even let the user decide to download the enhanced UIs during the initial setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the idea. Also, if companies want "value added" widgets, launchers, etc. they could make them drm protected and not able to be installed on competitors phones without having to bog down their devices with a crappy UI
Sent from my frozen yogurt powered Vibrant

Related

Annoying Android Flaws!! Post your opinion.

Let me start by saying I really like android and think it is the best mobile OS around. That doesn't mean it cannot improve. Since getting my N1 I've found some features are unbelievably missing:
No folders for browser bookmarks. Seriously? I have almost 500 bookmarks, it's impossible to scroll though all that.
No bookmarks syncing.
No google docs app. And I though google really wanted us in the cloud.
Music player cannot sort by genre. How do they expect to rival ipods? Also, gestures control would be nice.
Calendar in Month view doesn't show all day events. If an event lasts all day it sure must be important, I want to see it! In fact, i think the calendar needs a major overhaul.
Awful task (to do list) management. Why can't I set repeating tasks? How embarrassing is it that windows mobile could do it over 5 years ago and android still cant?
Too few built-in widgets. Third party developers somewhat make up for it, but in the end I have a bunch of widget with very different aesthetics, makes android seem not very polished. No wow factor. That's why HTC, Samsung, etc, feel they have to create their own shells which slow down updates. No one wins.
Market needs some sort of moderation. We all hate Apple's closed model and it is definitely not what I want, but there are way too many spammers in the market, making it hard to find what you are actually looking for, that's why there are market alternatives cropping up. Either block spammers or let me forever hide some publishers. Also, the market application as a whole needs improvement, it is slow and the search is really bad (Yes, I said it! Google somehow screwed up on a search feature!)
Some of these problems are in one way or another solved by 3rd party app developers, but it is never as seamless as if it was part of the OS. Please post your opinion and you own personal gripes. This could help give good ideas to app developers, or even better, maybe Eric or Sergey stumble upon this thread and decide to solve all of our problems!
Numbers would help
The workarounds:
MusicMod takes care of music.
Astrid for tasks.
Dolphin HD for bookmarks etc.
Generally - I agree, these are indeed some good points. Most are visual, application-related points, and somehow I have a feeling Gingerbread is going to concentrate on that, which might address those points.
I agree with the calendar specifically, it's pretty poor.
As far as widgets go, I wish there were built-in options for changing the color schemes of some widgets.
-Stock music player and all music player sucks...
-Market sucks no way to find good apps
-Nexus one multitouch
-Some choppyness
I'm using the music mod but it doesn't do enough. I'm used to cowon's good music players so android in my eyes is really lacking.
It has bookmark syncing to a degree. Mine always reappear after a wipe.
In month view, the calendar does show all day events, just not very well. If you have a bold date with no coloured time block, its an all dayer.
I agree with most points here. I'm having issues with my phone freezing more often and having to do a battery pull for it to respond to me pressing the power button.
1. Copy and paste in email
2. Downloading ALL attachments/internet downloads
3. Sending ALL attachments
4. To-do list sync with exchange
5. Google Docs? (Hello? A smartphone that doesn't have any doc, excel, ppt view/editor?)
oh and:
0. Fix reception issues on the N1
Froyo brings copy and paste to email
Rellikzephyr
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
QUICK! Bury this thread so the ifans cant use these things against us!!!
Blueman101 said:
QUICK! Bury this thread so the ifans cant use these things against us!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
worse thread ever.
This probably represents the most reasonable set of criticisms I have seen to date.
- 500 bookmarks is excessive to me but I think even users with far fewer bookmarks could use organization so valid complaint
- I want to say bookmark syncing was announced at Google I/O 2010 but I am not certain.
- Repeating tasks is missing from google tasks. Until it gets added there it won't be available on android. (Pocket Informant is coming for Android though, I really liked his stuff on WM so maybe they will work some magic.)
- IRT too few built in widgets. HTC, Motorola, and others would do their own thing regardless of what Google provides. It is part of their branding and value add for the platform do distinguish themselves from the competition.
- Agreed on getting the market some moderation, the question is how and how much. My vote is for letting me blacklist developers from my account. I think that would be sufficient to clear out a lot of the chaff.
Blueman101 said:
QUICK! Bury this thread so the ifans cant use these things against us!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it needs to at least be cloked!
Gdocs is free and it works very well for viewing and editing google documents. Or do you mean it should have a native app? I think all smart phones should have native office suites, its almost offensive that they don't. And there aren't many third party options although I do like docs 2 go fairly well and its supposed to have a major update coming...sorry I veered a bit there
stock music app SUCKS. seriously, i can't view all songs??
contact management is really difficult. can't edit/manage contact groups. can't even set a default group...
My bookmarks sync back when I wipe my phone. They always have I believe, or it could be a froyo addition.
I'd love for Google to fix up and optimize some code of the UI elements that are choppy. Most are smooth as butter, but a few certain things are choppy.
And don't we get word and excel viewer out of the box? Those files work on my phone, just not listed in the app drawer.
blablum said:
Let me start by saying I really like android and think it is the best mobile OS around. That doesn't mean it cannot improve. Since getting my N1 I've found some features are unbelievably missing:
No folders for browser bookmarks. Seriously? I have almost 500 bookmarks, it's impossible to scroll though all that.
No bookmarks syncing.
No google docs app. And I though google really wanted us in the cloud.
Music player cannot sort by genre. How do they expect to rival ipods? Also, gestures control would be nice.
Calendar in Month view doesn't show all day events. If an event lasts all day it sure must be important, I want to see it! In fact, i think the calendar needs a major overhaul.
Awful task (to do list) management. Why can't I set repeating tasks? How embarrassing is it that windows mobile could do it over 5 years ago and android still cant?
Too few built-in widgets. Third party developers somewhat make up for it, but in the end I have a bunch of widget with very different aesthetics, makes android seem not very polished. No wow factor. That's why HTC, Samsung, etc, feel they have to create their own shells which slow down updates. No one wins.
Market needs some sort of moderation. We all hate Apple's closed model and it is definitely not what I want, but there are way too many spammers in the market, making it hard to find what you are actually looking for, that's why there are market alternatives cropping up. Either block spammers or let me forever hide some publishers. Also, the market application as a whole needs improvement, it is slow and the search is really bad (Yes, I said it! Google somehow screwed up on a search feature!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything you've listed there are app issues, and have nothing to do with Android OS itself.
Pro tip: Vanilla android is garbage.
It's a starting point for other companies to build on.
Pointing out the problems of android wont make it better anytime soon. How about we have a thread with all the good things about it. I am sure it would far out rival the problems
hansmrtn said:
Pointing out the problems of android wont make it better anytime soon. How about we have a thread with all the good things about it. I am sure it would far out rival the problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. A circle-jerk won't accomplish anything. If you need an example just look at Apple forums that are full of rabid iZombies praising everything Steve. Pointing out actual defects, flaws and shortcomings in form of constructive criticism on the other hand, will help the open source community plug the holes left open by Google.

Gingerbread... What Is In Store For Us?

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.

[Q] GingerBread predictions ? ((just for fun))

What do you guys think will be some features of Ginger bread ?
Take 3 guesses...be specific not something like "UI tweak" and lets avoid the known ones (tv like shutdown,web2phone app install,market enhancement).
btw not a wish list..but things you actually think may happen.
1. Google Talk. Along with video calling I think theyll be making this a more prominent app and possibly allowing MMS style media sharing or integration with other com services (yahoo/skype).Perhaps using it as a portal to there GoogleMe service coming soon.
2. Browser. I think copy/paste will be refined skipping the menu buttons and having it initiated by long presses.
3. Browser. I also think theyll be 3Ding it up a bit. Giving tabs very Gallery like look.
i think there will be a very large focus on auto synchronization of music, videos, and images through the cloud (as hinted, goes along with the redesigned media player).
also im pretty sure they will add a competing "find my phone" feature since apple has gone ahead and integrated that into iOS 4.2.
bascially i think the new market web site will let your control every aspect of your phone from the web: images, music, contacts, wipe, applications, and phone finder.
also the browser will probably have a nicer tabbed browsing experience(managing multiple tabs right now sucks).
EErez said:
i think there will be a very large focus on auto synchronization of music, videos, and images through the cloud (as hinted, goes along with the redesigned media player).
also im pretty sure they will add a competing "find my phone" feature since apple has gone ahead and integrated that into iOS 4.2.
bascially i think the new market web site will let your control every aspect of your phone from the web: images, music, contacts, wipe, applications, and phone finder.
also the browser will probably have a nicer tabbed browsing experience(managing multiple tabs right now sucks).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats two for tabs.
That actually would be fantastic. Does that integrate current functions or do you think it will be new methods.
((i.e for pictures will it just incorporate my current Picasa or will it be a seperate image section))
1. I believe that a lot of the core apps (phone, music, message, browser) will have a very 3D gallery like look. Most of the UI revamp rumors probably stem from this.
2. Most of the UI revamp will come from core app redesigns but as we've seen already, Android 2.3 now has a darker look. Expect a Google TV, Voice Command/Actions, Youtube App-like look. Lots of black/grey with bright, light-ish highlights. Also add in a lot of new transition and visual cue effects (Orientation flipping, end of lists, that CRT screen off effect, etc.).
3. Better multi-tasking / app switching, maybe WebOS good but differnet.
I'm sure Andy Rubin said something about Gingerbread having a focus on social communication and gaming. So expect there to be much better social integration in Gingerbread.
Didn't Schmidt say that Google Me won't be a standalone product but more of a social layer on existing Google products.
Award Tour said:
1. I believe that a lot of the core apps (phone, music, message, browser) will have a very 3D gallery like look. Most of the UI revamp rumors probably stem from this.
2. Most of the UI revamp will come from core app redesigns but as we've seen already, Android 2.3 now has a darker look. Expect a Google TV, Voice Command/Actions, Youtube App-like look. Lots of black/grey with bright, light-ish highlights. Also add in a lot of new transition and visual cue effects (Orientation flipping, end of lists, that CRT screen off effect, etc.).
3. Better multi-tasking / app switching, maybe WebOS good but differnet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldnt be surprised at #2. But 1/3 really seem like Honeycomb options to me. I dont think there was enough time IMO. That 3 second clip of 2.3 left me thinking there really wouldnt be anything truly new or cool until 3.0.
btw what do you mean "end of lists" ?
Sarg92 said:
I'm sure Andy Rubin said something about Gingerbread having a focus on social communication and gaming. So expect there to be much better social integration in Gingerbread.
Didn't Schmidt say that Google Me won't be a standalone product but more of a social layer on existing Google products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rarely ever play mobile games so maybe it already exists. But does any Game dev, or Apple have an XBLive aspect to it ?
As in you can log in see your "Friends" and see there scores,games played , message each other etc ??
I thought that would be a great thing for Google to add that would integrate with the other things but perhaps its been done.
xManMythLegend said:
I wouldnt be surprised at #2. But 1/3 really seem like Honeycomb options to me. I dont think there was enough time IMO. That 3 second clip of 2.3 left me thinking there really wouldnt be anything truly new or cool until 3.0.
btw what do you mean "end of lists" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't be so surprised at #1. Remember the IO developer conference? They already had a new 3D gallery like music app up and running on 2.2. You don't think they could have finished a couple of more between now and then? And that's if they hadn't already been partially done back then. I'm almost certain that #1 is a done deal for 2.3.
By end of list, I mean the bounce effect that other OS's like iOS have when you reach the end of a list. I just envision 2.3 having more superficial OS wide effects.
I thing there will be:
1. app to remove scraches
2. Hack iphone users
3. Nexus one front facing camera hack.
Award Tour said:
I wouldn't be so surprised at #1. Remember the IO developer conference? They already had a new 3D gallery like music app up and running on 2.2. You don't think they could have finished a couple of more between now and then? And that's if they hadn't already been partially done back then. I'm almost certain that #1 is a done deal for 2.3.
By end of list, I mean the bounce effect that other OS's like iOS have when you reach the end of a list. I just envision 2.3 having more superficial OS wide effects.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cant recall...I just remember it being red. But if they were that far along then you may be right.
The Palm guy coming over and the purchase of that 3d desktop company came well after no ? Thats my reasoning for thinking not enough time.
Gotcha about the bounce effect.
xManMythLegend said:
That actually would be fantastic. Does that integrate current functions or do you think it will be new methods.
((i.e for pictures will it just incorporate my current Picasa or will it be a seperate image section))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would imagine it would be more of a one way sync of photos from the gallery to the desktop (doesn't picasa autosync already?), while music and video wold mostly go to the phone, maybe from a designated folder (drop box style) or some online interface (letting you access your things from a backed up storage of your phone from google's servers) pretty much doig iTunes job without the ****ty program or cables.
either way i got the feeling that they really wanted to create a simple way to connect your computer and phone through their cloud.
EErez said:
i would imagine it would be more of a one way sync of photos from the gallery to the desktop (doesn't picasa autosync already?), while music and video wold mostly go to the phone, maybe from a designated folder (drop box style) or some online interface (letting you access your things from a backed up storage of your phone from google's servers) pretty much doig iTunes job without the ****ty program or cables.
either way i got the feeling that they really wanted to create a simple way to connect your computer and phone through their cloud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Yeah Picasa does for web albums you still have to upload your pics.
Clicking sync via web for all of it would be cool.
"gauravh1: One announcement... Get ready for next google experience phone... Gingerbread development is almost finished for market release. Excited!"
--http://twitter.com/gauravh1/status/4961718455242752
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
onesavior said:
"gauravh1: One announcement... Get ready for next google experience phone... Gingerbread development is almost finished for market release. Excited!"
--http://twitter.com/gauravh1/status/4961718455242752
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vagueness...always with the vagueness.
The developer of Dolphin Browser seems to have access to betas of Gingerbread, and he mentioned improvements to Navigation here.
I think gingerbread will have the ability to stop people creating duplicate threads of a single topic 100 times
charnsingh_online said:
I think gingerbread will have the ability to stop people creating duplicate threads of a single topic 100 times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFL
10char
charnsingh_online said:
I think gingerbread will have the ability to stop people creating duplicate threads of a single topic 100 times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Show me 99 other prediction threads ill buy you a. 99c app.
Is predicting different than discussing gingerbread
Needs native .GIF support. Ive read various threads about how to get .GIF files to work. Nothing works. Really surprised google doesnt implement this. If theres something i didnt find that gets it to work feel free to post a solution .
Native gif support is in CM, go try it

ICS - am I missing something?

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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

4 daya with the gs2 after wp7

Well, of all the android devices, I had to use Samsung. They seem to be the only ones who even attempt to make the android software user-friendly. For my little experiment, I went a full 4 days without using WP7. A full four days using only android. Overall, I enjoyed the games. Dungeon Defenders is a great game that I've poured time into, but the battery life of that thing makes it impossible to play for any fair period of time. I even picked up the Mugen battery with double the capacity, it still had horrid battery life. The hotmail simply doesn't work, regardless of settings the built-in mail just doesn't work. You have to install third party apps to check your email, it's sad. The UI leaves a lot to be desired, it takes a lot of rearranging and way too much management for my taste. I tried other launchers, themes, and folders, it just seemed really haphazardly tossed together. Even as a, "Facebook machine" as most use it, it just doesn't seem to work well. The hardware is great and it would be great if well implemented, but everything short of the gaming I could do on wp7 quicker, smoother, and hassle-free. If customization is your bit, android all the way. It won't be pulling me away from WP7 as I want something that really works and does t cause more headaches than it resolves. Anything you guys would recommend to make an android experience more... User-friendly?
Cool story bro
z33dev33l said:
Well, of all the android devices, I had to use Samsung. They seem to be the only ones who even attempt to make the android software user-friendly. For my little experiment, I went a full 4 days without using WP7. A full four days using only android. Overall, I enjoyed the games. Dungeon Defenders is a great game that I've poured time into, but the battery life of that thing makes it impossible to play for any fair period of time. I even picked up the Mugen battery with double the capacity, it still had horrid battery life. The hotmail simply doesn't work, regardless of settings the built-in mail just doesn't work. You have to install third party apps to check your email, it's sad. The UI leaves a lot to be desired, it takes a lot of rearranging and way too much management for my taste. I tried other launchers, themes, and folders, it just seemed really haphazardly tossed together. Even as a, "Facebook machine" as most use it, it just doesn't seem to work well. The hardware is great and it would be great if well implemented, but everything short of the gaming I could do on wp7 quicker, smoother, and hassle-free. If customization is your bit, android all the way. It won't be pulling me away from WP7 as I want something that really works and does t cause more headaches than it resolves. Anything you guys would recommend to make an android experience more... User-friendly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rooting and flashing an AOSP ROM?
I personally hate TW like hell especially on ICS.....its makes everything look crap.
As for facebook, the official app is always slow IMO. I recommend using Friendcaster.
And for hotmail, there is an official hotmail app from MS i believe.
edit: I personally just auto forward my hotmail to my gmail so therefore no need for third party email apps
I wouldn't use gmail if it was the only email service there was, can't stand it. See, I, disagree though. I got the phone used and it had aosp on it and I went back to stock because I hated it. touchwiz is the only considerable hone replacement I've stumbled upon. I'll check out friend caster though. I want to like this phone, but it feels like someone wrapped a ton of capability in something...
Android is good, unless 2 problems: short battery - high degree
OP: I totally agree with you. Its something iOS and WP7 beat Android in.
Sent from my R800x using XDA
Never got on with TW/ASOP which was one of the reasons I stuck with HTC and got the Sensation, the built in Apps seem more polished, take the email client and Polaris office on the phone, if someone sends me a .xlsm file, I can open it, something IOS and other Android devices I've tried cannot do. The Blackberry playbook can, but that's poo.
Do people still use Hotmail as a daily address rather than just a spamtrap? I haven't logged into mine for about 4 years now, I only have a live acount these days for accessing MS services like their licences page.
Hate gmail but use Android? Makes absolutely no sense.
Thats like me using a Windows Phone and hating Bing.
keep on trying to promote WP7, you may actually stop the losing market share.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
Im confused...you had an SGSII, got rid of it months ago and then bought another one to "try out"? That doesn't make much sense at all...
U sir don't know what android is about.When u start messing with rooms and customization u will know.Give it some time.And flash aokp or cm9 loads of features
Sent from my SGS2 powered by cm9 love
I REALLY don't get you. Android is common sence. Download a easy launcher if you don't know what your doing. Android was never intended for people without common sence if you read they're story.
Also, you saw samsung has the most user friendly interface however all android phones have the same basic stock ui. The layout is the same just different styles.
Remember you have widgets
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Had a gs2, didn't like, heard ICS fixed all that I've hated, gave it a shot as I'm an equal opportune type when it comes to an OS,.still the same issues. The OS just isn't very intuitive.
Anyone got a ROM that will give me more than my hour and a half battery life? Something with Swype as the stock keyboard won't keep up.
Matty, don't mock someone common sense until you can distinguish the difference between, "your" and "you're" or, "there," "their" and, "they're."
z33dev33l said:
Had a gs2, didn't like, heard ICS fixed all that I've hated, gave it a shot as I'm an equal opportune type when it comes to an OS,.still the same issues. The OS just isn't very intuitive.
Anyone got a ROM that will give me more than my hour and a half battery life? Something with Swype as the stock keyboard won't keep up.
Matty, don't mock someone common sense until you can distinguish the difference between, "your" and "you're" or, "there," "their" and, "they're."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use AOSP not that bloat filled ugly thing called TW ontop of ICS
Just sign up for Swype beta and you can get swype on any device
Last I signed up for Swype beta, there was a waiting list. AOSP isn't really appealing to me. It's pretty unpleasing aesthetically.
No more waiting on swype beta. Just sign up.
Or you can use WP7 keyboard.
Hour and a half battery life is a over exaggerated, dont you think?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
z33dev33l said:
Last I signed up for Swype beta, there was a waiting list. AOSP isn't really appealing to me. It's pretty unpleasing aesthetically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
each to their own.
If you dislike android so much; go back to WP7
Won't is my main OS, I use it as my daily driver.
I tried the imitation wp7 keyboard, it's still a bit slow. I'll sign up for Swype beta and look for more battery friendly roms. I wish I was exaggerating, my phone dies faster than it charges while plaiting dungeon defenders.
How can you use something as gimmicky and non-user friendly as WP7 and say Android is not intuitive? Basically WP7 is similar to the beta Windows 8and can be considered a step backwards for MS going by the new UI so I wouldn't exactly call WP7 intuitive and user-friendly/
AndIKnow said:
How can you use something as gimmicky and non-user friendly as WP7 and say Android is not intuitive? Basically WP7 is similar to the beta Windows 8and can be considered a step backwards for MS going by the new UI so I wouldn't exactly call WP7 intuitive and user-friendly/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clearly an assumption without foundation.

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