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Just found this, looks new, thought I'd share,.....
Looks interesting but it said "build entirely for tablet". Apparently, we won't see this version on our phones. Maybe they have a mobile version.. well of course they will but I hope it's not striped down too much. Gingerbread was a ui disaster... ugly as sin, imo
Only for tablets? Don't care.
Even with gods like TeamDouche on the case?
Fingers crossed. I'll be looking at purchasing a tablet in the next 6 - 9 months anyway I reckon.
wileykat said:
Even with gods like TeamDouche on the case?
Fingers crossed. I'll be looking at purchasing a tablet in the next 6 - 9 months anyway I reckon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the UI would be horribad on a tiny phone screen, so it really has no purpose to me. I wish Google would just branch the OS completely into Android for phones and Android for tablets instead of making 3.0 "exclusive."
If those videos are genuine renders, then it looks like they've fixed surface flinger to use OGL rather than FB.
Note that this video looks a lot more like ChromeOS than Android. Android 3.0 itself will NOT be restricted to tablets, but possibly some UI elements will be available (i.e. optional) to improve the utility on tablets. Android 2.x would NOT be suitable for a tablet.
What I see is a more conventional taskbar for multiple open programs... and a windowing manager. These are definitely things that can be added *on top* of the existing android.... i.e., on phones, use the long-click-home, on tablets, stick them in the bar up top (since you have the space for it and it is more intuitive). Combined with a more suitable launcher and a windowing manager, and you have a winner.
I suspect that their "exclusively for tablets" line relates to the preview itself, which is to highlight the tablet-specific features.
Dig deeper and you will find Honeycomb will be adjusted to fit phones also...
TheBiles said:
Well the UI would be horribad on a tiny phone screen, so it really has no purpose to me. I wish Google would just branch the OS completely into Android for phones and Android for tablets instead of making 3.0 "exclusive."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe 4.0 r exclusive for android phones.. LoL
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
jeffokada81 said:
Dig deeper and you will find Honeycomb will be adjusted to fit phones also...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had a quick search earlier whilst having my breakfast,.... only thing I could find was AbodeAir benchmarks off a N1 running 3.0. Fingers crossed still.
I suspect the "Build entirely for tablets" thing is just a bit badly worded/misleading.
The video is clearly aimed to show all the cool stuff they've done for tablet support (they really should have waited for 3.0 before releasing some of the rubbish Android tablets that are out there), and I'm sure there will be some specific 3.0 stuff for phones too, as others have said.
Since honeycomb is now tablet only, I really hope they have a windowing system to deal with applications made for smaller display. That way we can have multiple apps running side-by-side.. rather than being enlarged and pixelated?
Could be possible because when they show-cased the atrix it seemed they were running window'd android applications on that custom linux (after the device was plugged in)... But this all depends on how honeycomb was designed.
I doubt this would be in the current version but maybe in later versions but this seems like its a must.. I can just see how you could drag each application seperately, two finger resize, change its orientation within a windows style environment.
There are already 120,000 android apps. and from my experience with the iPad, I couldn't handle any non-iPad apps they were simply too ugly.
Can't wait to get my hands on that sexy xoom.
Thread moved to General.
The way iOS manage apps is different than Android.
iOS streches iPhone apps on the iPad, Android can scale them.
Look at the Galaxy Tab, most of the apps at first developed for phones (if well coded) just worked on this large screen so I imagine it isn't going to be a problem, maybe just some minor bug fixes.
well being that i personally played with the xoom prototype 2dayi can esure u that the apps just scale up to fit the screen it does a great job at it too
If you watch Engadget's interview with Google's Mathias Duarte (http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/exclusive-interview-googles-matias-duarte-talks-honeycomb-tab/), you'll see that Honeycomb is not for tablets only (or at least the new UI could be ported to phones, according to Duarte, though maybe not under the Honeycomb's moniker).
As for apps scaling from phone-sized screens to tablets, it is simply a matter of layout sizing used by developers. Good practice would be to use "fill_parent", which would scale to fit the screen, though some developers use fixed sizes (which are not scaled by Android, obviously).
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/layout-resource.html
Expect the Launcher3 to support view within view api allowing phone apps to run inside the launcher homescreens.
This is not a thread bashing the Xoom or Android. I love them both.
I have moved my company to Droid (1's) and Incredible, and fought the IPAD in the enterprise at every turn.
I have also worked hard to install Linux on every desktop I can, where ever I can.
My question is, where are we going?
Android is perfect for a small pocket device. Small screen, limited resources, touch, and hopefully extended battery life. Tweaking and Developing Android allows us to squeeze even more functionality out of our powerful pocket computers. Adroid makes our phones cool. It is the hackers switchblade.
However, with the tablet form factor, we are all attempting to take an embedded device, with a purposefully designed lean Linux installation, and patch it back to a full fledge desktop operating system. We are slowing undoing Android on Xoom and turning it into a Linux Desktop without a keyboard.
Some very skilled devs have placed Ubuntu on the Xoom. I was thrilled when I heard the news. My very next thought was... Wait. Full Chrome, Full Codec Support, full everything! Its all ready to use, in a small Xoom shape and size. However, Ubuntu has poorly designed touch interfaces for most apps, and most things require a keyboard. (or right click mouse)
So. My question is. Why not continue to develop Linux, any flavor, ( I like debs) and create great user interface, that runs on X, and a great GTK with big touch buttons, et, so that we can run already developed software?
Why are recreating the wheel? Isn't Android going to simply develop into a full Linux Distro fork, that diverts talent away from the whole?
….And Discuss....
Plain and simply.. Linux is not Android. Android is not Linux. One does this and the other does that. One is Google owned one is not. One is made for handheld devices while one is not. Comparing apples and bananas never works no matter what the situation may be.
Each has its own purposes.
I somewhat agree. I think its more like a comparison between Red Delicious Apples and Granny Smith. They are both apples.
Comparing a Windows 7 Phone and Android is Apples and Oranges because have a different underpinning.
Both run the Linux Kernel. Both run several GNU packages. It is true that they have different interface layers, and Android relies alot of Java (Although Linux (GNU) can and does run Java as well.
I guess that is my point. Most of what needs to be written to run on a Linux kernel (Like Android's) to make a great terminal device (Which really is what Android is) has already been written, and vetted, some software since the 1970's. Why rewrite it in Java, using the Android framework, making it incompatible with the larger Linux Ecosystem? Or, if Java is key to app portability between architectures, why change the java engine so that it isn't compatible with the Java we already run on our desktops?
Again, I'm thinking out loud, not argue, but because I think something is missing from the community plan? What if all of the time put into the different Phone ROMS on XDA (based on Android) was used to make a more compatible, and universal Linux for Tablets?
remote sessions
I use pocketcloud and splashtopHd all the time on my xoom, barely worth it on a phone form factor, but this way I have full desktop support with touch ui integrated and at the same time I have all the great things android offers over desktop systems as well if I'm off the grid.
From what I've read android is a base of Linux but from the point of programs and interaction its all google design. Which is why we can Ubuntu nativley but will have the issues the op mentioned for drivers an ui interface, but I imagine as touch becomes defacto we'll see drivers and ui 's designed with more touch orientation integrated...win8 already looks to be shapping up that way from the looks of it. So possibly we'll be able to run future versions of Linux distros on the xoom, so long as the specs still meet the requirements
I totally agree with your point of view, I hear ya. But, the idea of having Linux on the tablets rather than Android... isn't that a battle between the big companies as to what OS they want to support on their own devices? Motorola and HTC are two big companies and they choose to support Android on their devices all the way. I guess if there would be a company out there that would prefer Linux OS on their devices we could very well see this as an ultimate possibility. One never knows.
>But where are we going?
The only people who can answer that are Google. They've yet to articulate a comprehensive roadmap for Android. The only strategy thus far has been to throw out a freebie to vendors and let them adopt it as they will.
The problem is that what vendors want (differentiation through proprietary enhancements) isn't what the public want (uniform UI, cross-product interoperability). Add to that are gaping holes in basic functionality in Android, like peripheral support--printers, scanners, 3G modems, etc.
I suspect that Goog themselves don't really know. If they did, there wouldn't be overlapping efforts like the Chrome OS (which is apparently DOA for now). Rubin bud needs to figure it out soon.
Win8 beta in Sept will determine the extent of Windows' viability for the mobile space. From simple extrapolation of Win7's capabilities + touch GUI + ARM support, it's a relative safe bet that Win8 will have a big presence in tablets next year.
The picture for Android-on-tabs is more vague. ICS should clarify things a bit, one way or another.
e.mote said:
>But where are we going?
The only people who can answer that are Google. They've yet to articulate a comprehensive roadmap for Android. The only strategy thus far has been to throw out a freebie to vendors and let them adopt it as they will.
The problem is that what vendors want (differentiation through proprietary enhancements) isn't what the public want (uniform UI, cross-product interoperability). Add to that are gaping holes in basic functionality in Android, like peripheral support--printers, scanners, 3G modems, etc.
I suspect that Goog themselves don't really know. If they did, there wouldn't be overlapping efforts like the Chrome OS (which is apparently DOA for now). Rubin bud needs to figure it out soon.
Win8 beta in Sept will determine the extent of Windows' viability for the mobile space. From simple extrapolation of Win7's capabilities + touch GUI + ARM support, it's a relative safe bet that Win8 will have a big presence in tablets next year.
The picture for Android-on-tabs is more vague. ICS should clarify things a bit, one way or another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICE CREAM SANDWICH?
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I think it is not so much recreating the wheel so much as trimming down and adapting.
X with gnome/kde is not currently a good fit for a touch screen only device. Even if the window manager could be adapted to work well for touch screen only, interaction with most applications would still be problematic. Getting application developers to go in a common direction is hard enough as is.... and you want to ask all of them to rewrite the apps to work in a touch screen environment? Still if you want to try this route you could get a meego or work in KDE embedded. The effort (as Nokia discovered, and Open Moko before them) is non trivial however.
Android, and by extension Android applications, are designed to work with a touch screen interface from the beginning. It is less work to extend the structure to support larger screens than the adaptation X based applications would have to go through.
Android is not a general purpose computing platform though. It was originally written to work in a cell phone environment, with the attendant limitations and advantages. I think this core concept has not changed with the introduction of the tablet. We are still dealing with a connected device whose primary purpose is the consumption of information. What I mean by this is that android is not meant for creation (such as creation of MS office documents, programming, photoshop, etc...) but consumption (playing games, reading mail, browsing the web, reading MS office documents, etc...)
Where I think Android should be going for the near future is refining and improving the ability to consume information:
- Make web browsing more robust, including html5
- Improve video decoding with better codec and container support.
- Make it easier to read documents on the device.
- improve resolution independence at the API level.
- Improve round trips from desktop to cloud to device and back. Make the device used neutral to the information being consumed. e.g. bookmark and open tab syncing in the browser. better dropbox like functionality for availability of files that have been worked on.
Where I want to see it going in the long run can be seen in a nascent form with the Atrix and the Lenovo U1:
- Based upon available resources (keyboard, mouse, monitor) shift from a touch screen interface to a conventional desktop interface. (extend what the Atrix does)
- Make it easy to extend the functionality of the core device by connecting it to resources. (extending the idea behind the Asus Transformer)
- In a perfect world I would like to see a full desktop OS run when requested and be able to use external CPUs (think Lenovo U1). In essence I would like the device to be able to be a boot disk for the user, connect it do a desktop for raw power, connect it to a laptop base for on the go functionality, and use just the phone/tablet for ubiquitous computing. This dream is still a few years from being practical though.
- Make the android OS an installable and user upgradeable OS just as desktop OSes are now. This is even further out but I can see a future where mobile device hardware and OS are separate. This might never come to fruition though due to the way carriers control the phone experience.
And tangentially we could see the Android platform espouse device centric ideals as seen in Japan currently.
- Use the phone as a payment system.
- Augment magazines and stores with tags to feed the phone contextual information.
To be honest I have not given it much thought. I am interested to see where Google is going with the platform however.
youngproguru said:
So. My question is. Why not continue to develop Linux, any flavor, ( I like debs) and create great user interface, that runs on X, and a great GTK with big touch buttons, et, so that we can run already developed software?
Why are recreating the wheel? Isn't Android going to simply develop into a full Linux Distro fork, that diverts talent away from the whole?
….And Discuss....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main differentiator between Linux or other free 'nix-likes these days, and Android, is that Android enforces, encourages, and _guarantees_ a standardized uniform development platform, a single UI standard, standardized set of software in the platform, and a standardized user experience.
Linux et al guarantees none of this.
If you want those specific freedoms Linux offers you, then it is there, by all means. The beauty of having open devices like the Xoom and other devices with open bootloaders is you are free to make your choice.
I have a feeling that three to six months from now the whole picture will come to bare. We will have the "cloud" and chrome PC, Android phones, Android tablets, TVs, Google+, Google music all wrapped into one. Google is renaming blogger to Google blogs, picassa into Google photo.
It is scary a little but it seems like it is all coming together. It is almost there, each boundary has bumps but me thinks Google is trying to make it seamless.
JanetPanic said:
I think it is not so much recreating the wheel so much as trimming down and adapting.
X with gnome/kde is not currently a good fit for a touch screen only device. Even if the window manager could be adapted to work well for touch screen only, interaction with most applications would still be problematic. Getting application developers to go in a common direction is hard enough as is.... and you want to ask all of them to rewrite the apps to work in a touch screen environment? Still if you want to try this route you could get a meego or work in KDE embedded. The effort (as Nokia discovered, and Open Moko before them) is non trivial however.
Android, and by extension Android applications, are designed to work with a touch screen interface from the beginning. It is less work to extend the structure to support larger screens than the adaptation X based applications would have to go through.
Android is not a general purpose computing platform though. It was originally written to work in a cell phone environment, with the attendant limitations and advantages. I think this core concept has not changed with the introduction of the tablet. We are still dealing with a connected device whose primary purpose is the consumption of information. What I mean by this is that android is not meant for creation (such as creation of MS office documents, programming, photoshop, etc...) but consumption (playing games, reading mail, browsing the web, reading MS office documents, etc...)
Where I think Android should be going for the near future is refining and improving the ability to consume information:
- Make web browsing more robust, including html5
- Improve video decoding with better codec and container support.
- Make it easier to read documents on the device.
- improve resolution independence at the API level.
- Improve round trips from desktop to cloud to device and back. Make the device used neutral to the information being consumed. e.g. bookmark and open tab syncing in the browser. better dropbox like functionality for availability of files that have been worked on.
Where I want to see it going in the long run can be seen in a nascent form with the Atrix and the Lenovo U1:
- Based upon available resources (keyboard, mouse, monitor) shift from a touch screen interface to a conventional desktop interface. (extend what the Atrix does)
- Make it easy to extend the functionality of the core device by connecting it to resources. (extending the idea behind the Asus Transformer)
- In a perfect world I would like to see a full desktop OS run when requested and be able to use external CPUs (think Lenovo U1). In essence I would like the device to be able to be a boot disk for the user, connect it do a desktop for raw power, connect it to a laptop base for on the go functionality, and use just the phone/tablet for ubiquitous computing. This dream is still a few years from being practical though.
- Make the android OS an installable and user upgradeable OS just as desktop OSes are now. This is even further out but I can see a future where mobile device hardware and OS are separate. This might never come to fruition though due to the way carriers control the phone experience.
And tangentially we could see the Android platform espouse device centric ideals as seen in Japan currently.
- Use the phone as a payment system.
- Augment magazines and stores with tags to feed the phone contextual information.
To be honest I have not given it much thought. I am interested to see where Google is going with the platform however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your vision for the future of android/tab computing is fantastic. I already have replaced my laptop for the type of on-the-road computing work I need to do...with my bt keyboard and mouse and the cloud, I am creating MS Word documents and printing when back in the office. It's a good start. I use my charging docks when I'm stationary so additional functionality from docking stations and connected peripherals would be welcome. I think the current size of the Xoom is optimal. It needs to stay small enough to haul around easily but big enough to be more than a toy or large phone.
It is already my favored way to consume information...I'm pretty happy with my browsing experience and have no real issues streaming music, video, reading news/books. I think that this will only get better.
>X with gnome/kde is not currently a good fit for a touch screen only device. Even if the window manager could be adapted to work well for touch screen only, interaction with most applications would still be problematic. Getting application developers to go in a common direction is hard enough as is.
It's the same with Win7. That Win8 will (reportedly) rectify this while Linux fiddles is the main weakness of open-source--getting everybody to agree on a direction. I expect that, as mobile computing diversifies, that Linux will, as before, follow Windows' lead.
>Android is not a general purpose computing platform though. It was originally written to work in a cell phone environment, with the attendant limitations and advantages. I think this core concept has not changed with the introduction of the tablet.
I agree with this.
>Where I think Android should be going for the near future is refining and improving the ability to consume information:
I disagree with this. Whereas the physical size of a smartphone is the main impediment, lack of an integral physical input device is the tablet's sole limitation in being a productivity device. This limitation is very surmountable.
On the demand side, looking at the app mix on the iPad should indicate that content creation on tablets have high demand. The clamor for Office-type apps is strong. The tablet may not yet be able to do heavy productivity, but it should be able to do light ones.
The impetus to productivity is, as I've mentioned elsewhere, the upcoming Win8. Ignoring its immense userbase for the moment, when a user has a choice between a tablet for consumption-only, and one that does both consumption and (light) creation, it's an easy choice. The smartphone killed the PDA/MP3 player/digicam/etc because it can do more than any one of these erstwhile devices.
More succinctly, Android doesn't have the luxury of a slow ramp.
>[various improvements for consumption]
I agree that these are probably what we'll see in ICS. They're incremental. I see them as insufficient in light of the upcoming competition.
>Where I want to see it going in the long run can be seen in a nascent form with the Atrix and the Lenovo U1:
This is where fragmentation rears its ugly head (as if it hasn't already). What you're referring to requires brand interoperability, which vendors are loath to do without a strong hand from the OS supplier. Google have yet to be that strong hand. To wit, both of the above examples only work within the respective vendor's product lines, and both are marketplace failures.
Fragmentation is the other issue Android needs to deal with. Other than the 18-month upgrade "pledge," I don't see much inclination from Goog to deal with this.
>- In a perfect world I would like to see a full desktop OS run when requested and be able to use external CPUs (think Lenovo U1).
>- Make the android OS an installable and user upgradeable OS just as desktop OSes are now.
Both of these are realizable with Win7 (on tablets) now, and I expect them to extend to Win8. The ideal desktop-tablet synergy I think will require better short-range connectivity, probably some flavor of UWB in the pipe.
ICS is now official. I'd like to get first impressions from people here. Aside from the poll above, let's hear what you like (or don't like) about 4.0, and whether you like it enough to buy a new tablet for it.
For me, the biggest draw of ICS is that it'll be open-sourced, and ROM'ers will have a free hand to do some cool stuff. Second, with a unified UI, fragmentation should be less. Those who've tried Gameloft stuff know what I'm talking about. My takeaway here is that 4.0 should be better supported, and we'll see more ICS-specific stuff in the coming year.
Aside from these, 4.0's improvements were incremental, which was what I expected. None of the gee-whiz features grabbed me, but I'm a meat-n-taters guy. I'd like to hear more of the plumbing changes, which are understandably left out in a boo-yah representation as this.
Edit: Meat-n-taters info below
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-4.0-highlights.html
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/10/android-40-platform-and-updated-sdk.html
For video, MKV is now supported, but only for VP8 & Vorbis codecs. Presumably, no other MKV features (eg embedded subs) are included. Video performance should still be better, given OMAP4's better media capability and improving 3rd-party players. Am curious to see the (1.2GHz) 4430 playing 1080p high-profile w/ unrestricted bitrates.
http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html
I noticed that a majority of the UI elements in ics are geared towards the phone. I was hoping for more tablet orientated elements like a full featured chrome browser as well as tweaks to honeycomb.
I've had my xoom 7 months and I would sell it and upgrade to the xoom 2 most likely out in Nov sometime. I want a full hd screen and rumors of a 2048 x 1536 screen, and I'd buy it in a minute for $600 wifi only.
is there any reason you dont think the Xoom will get ICS as the google reference device? I would expect it shortly after the release of the Galaxy Nexus
Android 4.0 updates due 'weeks' after Galaxy Nexus launch http://goo.gl/80i7b Shared with APPY Geek (http://www.appy-geek.com)
if theyre giving it to any gb phone, im sure theyll support the tablets. after all, we did beta test most of its features
no plans to buy a new tablet until a quad core running ICS comes out. And it wont be a motorola product. Hopefully something like the Galaxy with hdmi, full usb, micro sd, etc.
im happy with the xoom but will get a new upgrade when software starts asking for a more power device. Right now all the 2011 phones and tablets are over powered so theres no need to upgrade. The apps are the ones that need that upgrade so they can evolve into something more funtional that can replace a laptop. we are seen such evolve in the adobe apps , autodesk. where you can have almost the full pc version on the go. Will i get an new tablet for ics? no, i will probably get the new desert later because xoom will have ics in the next months.
@double1 & bradgog
The suspicion all along was that HC was a public beta of ICS, and the Android design dude, Matias Duarte, confirmed it in the interview below,
http://thisismynext.com/2011/10/18/exclusive-matias-duarte-ice-cream-sandwich-galaxy-nexus/
“On Honeycomb we cheated, we cut the corner of all that smaller device support. That’s the sole reason we haven’t open sourced it.”
“Honeycomb was like: we need to get tablet support out there. We need to build not just the product, but even more than the product, the building blocks so that people stop doing silly things like taking a phone UI and stretching it out to a 10-inch tablet.”
Given that, it's not surprising that HC already has most of the features in ICS, and the remaining new features were for the phone side.
It's the other reason--aside from differentiation for marketing purposes--why I don't think Tegra 2 HC tabs will be immediately upgraded to ICS: there are no must-have improvements from HC to ICS. Some may be upgraded to ICS eventually (next year), but if you want it fast, it'll be custom ROMs.
BTW, missing from all the "heart & soul" New-Age gobbledygook in the interview was the productivity angle. It's the elephant in the room, and I'm surprised it's been given the AWOL treatment. Hopefully, it'll be the next improvement project for Android, as Win8 will certainly be waiting to pounce from that perch.
@brianmoriarty
>Android 4.0 updates due 'weeks' after Galaxy Nexus launch
Marketing-wise, it makes sense not to upgrade Tegra 2 tabs. One lesson eminently learned is that Android tabs can't be sold at iPad pricing ($450-500). Vendors need a wider price range, which has to have a low-end ($300-400) to go along with their high-end. Current Teg2 tabs are repositioned for this low-end (eg Xoom Family). Since hardware differences are nominal, differentiation needs to be the software, ie ICS. Sales of the high-end will tank if the low-end also get ICS.
@timrock
>Hopefully something like the Galaxy with hdmi, full usb, micro sd, etc.
Samsung has bought into the Apple's "closed" philosophy. None of its tabs have micro-SD, let alone full USB. Given the thin & light trend for tablets (and smartphones), I doubt full-size USB will make the cut from any of the major vendors. One exception would be hybrids like the Asus TF, with a separate docking station.
That said, ICS' open-sourcing should allow 2nd- and 3rd-tier vendors--who've been absent from the HC crowd--to join the tablet fray. These guys will be where you find full-sized ports, in exchange for heavier weight. Screen and build quality will be the primary concerns here.
There's already a tablet UI in ICS found in the SDK. It shouldn't be long before the xoom gets it or a port when the code is released.
http://androidapproved.com/item/ice-cream-sandwich-confirmed-to-have-a-tablet-interface/
I'm in the market for an eInk device to be used exclusively for non-ebook purposes. I need something with the battery life of an ereader as opposed to that of an LCD based tablet. My application does not require the flashy color, or the fast redraw of an LCD, it's simply going to be an interface for a control system of sorts. The UI will not require scrolling but be primarily page based, and no high frame rate video. The most advanced thing that might be displayed is the occasional slow update grayscale "video" (maybe a frame or two a second at the most but even that's not terribly likely). Touch is required and a lit screen would be a big plus (hence the list of devices I mentioned). I also require wifi connectivity, cellular is not important and would never be used.
I do like the idea of using a device that runs Android as it would give me a greater number of options for development. While I may stick with HTML5 and JS I also like the possibility of writing a true Android application. I'm not interested in Android Play or any of the other Gapps, though I suppose I could sideload them if I feel the need. I will most likely be running a very simple custom launcher so that the device operates more like a purpose built embedded platform rather than a general purpose Android tablet.
My question is what device would the experts here at XDA recommend I use? The Kindle has the benefit of the 800 pound gorilla that is Amazon but it doesn't run Android natively. Nook has the benefit of a decent sized company behind it, the fact that it runs Android, the downside is I'm not entirely clear on how long B&N will stand behind their eInk devices. Kobo is the little guy in the corner, I know next to nothing about the company, the build quality of the device, or the future of the eInk devices, but like the Nook it appears to run some version of Android.
In truth, it's not really all that important that the device I choose be offered forever. This is a personal project, nothing that's going to market. What's more important is hackability, Android, and at least the possibility for newer custom Android ROMs to be installed.
Thank you for your help.
--adam
P.S. If this is the incorrect forum for this I apologize.
I think a Nook and a native Android app will be fine for control purposes.
I'd avoid the whole HTML5 stuff.
It's easier to get lean, mean, responsive if you stay away from browsers.
There is already enough interchangeability among Android devices.
E-Ink options
True grayscale video of any quality would be a stretch as you'd likely be dealing with refresh flashing between frames at even 1fps. Every hack I've seen for improving refresh behavior involves switching to 1-bit color depth. Some solutions preserve the appearance of grayscale through halftoning like a newspaper photo at the expense of image resolution.
One thing's for certain about the Nook Touch series, you'll never get anything newer than android 2.1 on it. A number of closed binary drivers need to be replaced for truly custom firmwares and you'd be limited on RAM anyhow. You will not be able to expect B&N to stand behind the product line in the future. Note that the most recent 4gb NSTglowlight lacks an SD slot and is thus more difficult to root. That said, I'm very pleased with my Glowlight as a bare-bones Android device.
The Kobo Aura HD tablet would at least get you Android 2.3 and is rootable. I'm not certain how strong its developer community might be. One advantage over the Nook seems to be more even distribution of light across the display surface but I can't confirm from hands-on experience.
If you're comfortable with Linux, you might want to consider the Onyx Boox. There's at least a few scraps of information on the manufacturer's site about developing custom Qt apps for the Boox platform. Onyx has announced new tablets using Android but they don't seem to be available in the wild yet.
PocketBook out of Europe supposedly makes all sorts of e-ink Linux tablets, little, big, and waterproof; I'll be damned if I could tell you how to buy them though. Any evidence of purchasable shipped product I can find in English regards old models and dates from a couple of years ago.
Personally, I'm hoping the Earl GPS/walkie talkie Android tablet makes it out of vaporware.
dayofthedaleks said:
Note that the most recent 4gb NSTglowlight lacks an SD slot and is thus more difficult to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so. Now that the development on USB booting has been done, it's trivial.
See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51742352&postcount=373
Renate NST said:
Not so. Now that the development on USB booting has been done, it's trivial.
See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51742352&postcount=373
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Click to collapse
I stand corrected!
dayofthedaleks said:
I stand corrected!
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Click to collapse
Consider the Onyx Boox T68. Similar specs to Kobo Aura HD, and it runs Android 4.04. A bit more expensive, but maybe what you're looking for.
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I echo the t68 comment. I got mine from Amazon a few weeks ago and it even shipped with prime shipping and was only $200. Totally worth it as an EReader. IDK of it would work for your purposes. But it comes with the play store and I haven't had any issues with it installing any app I've thrown at it.
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