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1. Tweaked UI
It doesn’t sound like the Android UI is getting a complete overhaul till Honeycomb, but Gingerbread will include some small tweaks. The notification bar at the top of the screen has gone from white to black, the launcher buttons are now green instead of translucent, and many of the native app icons have received a makeover.
Most of the existing native apps will also look slightly updated thanks to tweaks with the styling of menus, check boxes, and radio buttons as leaked in the last Google Maps update. Other small tweaks include new animations when you swipe across the desktop and when you power off the display (as reported by Phandroid).
2. Near Field Communications (NFC)
We first reported back in October that Samsung’s Google experience phone would support MasterCard PayPass, and then last week Eric Schmidt confirmed that Gingerbread would support Near Field Communication (NFC).
NFC is a short-range, high frequency wireless communication technology that only operates when two devices are about 4 inches apart. It is basically just another form of electronic identification except the ID is tied to a bank or credit card company. All the user needs to do is just setup their account then tap their phone to a wireless payment pad and complete the transaction.
Eric Schmidt said that in the future your phone could replace your credit card, so you can see how important this is to Google and their partners.
Opponents of NFC say it might fail because it is too complex and big companies will fight over who owns the point of control for the transaction, but if Google is going to make this a standard feature on all future Gingerbread phones then we think that ensures it will at least move the mobile payment standard forward.
MasterCard has not been confirmed as a NFC partner, but I think there is a good chance they are on board in addition to some other payment companies like PayPal.
3. New Motion Control APIs
True 1:1 motion processing is coming to Gingerbread thanks to InvenSense, the company behind the MEMS gyroscope sensor found in the Nintendo Wii MotionPlus controller.
Gyroscope sensors have already appeared in some phones like the Samsung Galaxy S, but Android 2.3 will add new sensor fusion APIs including quaternion, rotation matrix, linear acceleration and gravity. These new tools will open the door to all kinds of motion controls for augmented reality apps, games, navigation systems, and camera improvements like image stabilization.
See our previous post for a video with several real-world demos.
4. Native Video Chat
In his last interview, Andy Rubin hinted that native video chat was coming to the next version of Android. “We support video chat today, with Google Talk Video. It works on the desktop. Whether that can be repurposed and made appropriate for sipping bandwidth for mobile, it’s an exercise that’s underway.”
If Mr. Rubin is willing to admit that it’s underway, that tells me the project could be nearing completion and already in the testing phases.
It looks like all the high-end phones coming in the next few months will include front-facing cameras so this is another sign that Android is ready for a native video sharing app to connect all these devices.
5. New Android Market
Google has been telling us for awhile that a new Android Market was coming and recently said new features could appear in the next few weeks. The Android Market can be updated separately from the operating system, but the timing tells us the new Market could be tied to the release of Gingerbread.
Confirmed features for the new Android Market include YouTube video previews, parental controls, PayPal payments, and new high-res promotion graphics that sound like they will be used on the desktop browser version of the Market.
At the Google I/O Developer Conference we attended back in May, Vic Gundotra demonstrated the browser version of the Market that was being tested. See the video below for an idea of what to expect.
6. Google Music
As you can see from the video above, Google is also working on a music streaming service for Android. They launched a music search service earlier this year and hoped to get their music store opened before Christmas, but the latest reports say it might be delayed till 2011. Apparently the music labels are still negotiating with Google on how their “digital locker” will store purchased music, but maybe they come to an agreement this year.
This is coming sooner or later so if it doesn’t make it into Gingerbread then I expect we will see it early next year when Honeycomb tablets are revealed.
7. Support For More Large Screen Devices
On the Android Device Dashboard there is a report where Google displays the different screen sizes and densities of devices that access the Android Market. The Large category is currently blank, but look for more big screen devices like tablets to be officially supported in Android 2.3. This means we could see more 7-inch tablets like the Galaxy Tab (1024 x 600) get certified and maybe a few other resolutions for the new smartphone displays that are rumored to be coming.
We have also heard that Google might relax the rules of their Compatibility Definition Document and allow non-3G devices to be certified. No WiFi-only devices have been certified to use the Android Market yet, but Android 2.3 should hopefully change that.
In a somewhat related note, I believe this is the reason the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab was delayed till next year so that Samsung could make sure that Google allowed them to ship it with the Android Market.
8. Virtual Keyboard Enhancements
Google recently acquired hot startup BlindType to improve their virtual keyboard and we are hearing the enhancements might be coming as soon as Gingerbread. The old company website is now down, but you can still see a demo of their technology on YouTube.
What is BlindType? It is a revolutionary system that:
Eliminates touch typing frustrations
Allows for super sloppy typing
Helps you type easier and faster
Constantly adjusts to the user’s “perceived” keyboard and typing style
Just type the way you are used to – no gestures, nothing new to learn!
9. Support for WebM and VP8
We know that support for WebM and the VP8 video format are coming to Gingerbread because Google and the WebM team have told us this.
WebM is defined on the official project page as, “An open media file format designed for the web. WebM files consist of video streams compressed with the VP8 video codec and audio streams compressed with the Vorbis audio codec. The WebM file structure is based on the Matroska media container. Though video is also now core to the web experience, there is unfortunately no open and free video format that is on par with the leading commercial choices. To that end, we started the WebM project, a broadly-backed community effort to develop an open web media format.”
YouTube now offers WebM videos as part of its HTML5 player experiment. Logitech and Skype are also working with the format for future video calling services.
10. New YouTube With Broadcasting
As we get near the end of the list some of these possible features might be a stretch, but there are still hints that new YouTube features are coming. Phandroid reported that Gingerbread will have a new YouTube app and we know that they are also testing their new live broadcasting platform.
If you look at how important video will be to the upcoming Gingerbread experience, then it is not too hard to imagine that YouTube will allow live broadcasting from your phone similar to Qik or Ustream.
The next generation of superphones will include dual-core processors that support 1080p video streaming and also have speedy 4G connections, so the hardware is definitely going to be there to make it happen.
11. Google Me or Social Gaming Network
Google recently denied the reports they were working on a Facebook competitor called Google Me, but all the signs are there that Google is working on a way to bring together all their social services. TechCrunch reported that Google’s master pitchman Vic Gundotra was being placed in charge of the project, so we expect big things from him.
Andy Rubin hinted that Gingerbread would include improvements for gaming in a previous interview. “I think gaming is an area that I think is underserved right now. If we were to carefully look at what new features and functionalities in the platform that we would need to support all forms of gaming across the entire spectrum, I think that would probably be an interesting thing to pay attention to.”
A number of recent acquisitions and partner agreements might also play a role in this social gaming platform. In the last year Google acquired LabPixies for $25 million (an Israeli startup that made web games), Jambool for $70 million (makers of a virtual currenty platform), Slide for $182 million (Facebook games developer), and invested $100-200 million in Zynga (makers of Farmville).
Apple’s Game Center and platforms like Open Feint have really raised the bar for social gaming, so Google will have to release something soon if they want to catch up.
12. Flagship Phone – Nexus S
Finally, what good is a brand new operating system unless you have a flagship product that can show off all the new features. That device is the Samsung Nexus S which is widely expected to be released alongside Android 2.3. Google’s CEO recently demoed the phone to show off its NFC capabilities, so hopefully we see the device soon.
The Nexus S was originally planned to launch at Best Buy on November 11th, but then TechCrunch reported a serious hardware issue had caused a delay. One of our tipsters said the original Samsung Nexus S was scrapped for a newer dual-core version, which shocked many people because they did not expect Samsung to have a dual-core phone this year, but another trusted source also confirmed that Samsung had such a device in testing.
Conclusion
In the next few weeks we should hopefully get an official list of new Android 2.3 features from Google, but don’t be surprised if Andy Rubin doesn’t announce anything on December 6th.
Google and Samsung already missed the rumored launch date, so they could delay this project till next year in order to iron out all the launch details. Some would say that Samsung has rushed their recent Android products to market without properly testing them (aka GPS issues), so I have no problem with them taking as long as they need.
I would love a taste of Gingerbread for Christmas, but if waiting till next year gets me a fully functional dual-core Nexus S then I’m all for waiting.
How do you think Android 2.3 is shaping up so far? Does this sound like a worthy update, or do you hope that Google is packing in even more exciting features? What other types of improvements would you like to see included with Android 2.3?
If you think I’m leaving off any confirmed features, please leave a comment and I’ll gladly add them to the list.
ANDROID AND ME
You should quote the source:
http://androidandme.com/2010/11/new...at-andy-rubin-might-announce-on-december-6th/
1) Has nothing to do with the X10, since a bunch of those new features are unsupported hardware wise by the phone.
2) NFC for payments is already around, and nearly every new Android phone in Japan includes it, plus Infrared and a TV Tuner.
3) Stock UI is absolute garbage, and from the leaked Nexus S shots, looks to have gotten worse.
iead1 said:
1) Has nothing to do with the X10, since a bunch of those new features are unsupported hardware wise by the phone.
2) NFC for payments is already around, and nearly every new Android phone in Japan includes it, plus Infrared and a TV Tuner.
3) Stock UI is absolute garbage, and from the leaked Nexus S shots, looks to have gotten worse.
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Actually, Japan has had NFC for many years. NTT's FOMA been promoting it LONG LONG LONG time ago. People in Japan r using it like its something normal for their lives now. Unlike us, where we all are still reluctant whether to use it or not when it comes...
Yeah, I was really sad when I changed to the X10 and lost my abilty to pay for McDonalds and the train via cellphone. At least smartphones are catching up, finally.
Android 5.0 release date
Google has announced that its next developer conference - Google IO - will take place from May 15 to May 17 2013, a month earlier than 2012's June dates. Given that Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at 2012's IO conference, it's not unreasonable to expect to see Android 5.0 at this year's event On 31 January, a Google IO showing of Android 5.0 looked more likely when screengrabs of a Qualcomm roadmap were leaked, showing Android 5.0 as breaking cover between April and June 2013.
Android 5.0 phones
Rumours of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was speculation that this phone would be sporting Key Lime Pie, but sources who spoke to AndroidAndMe correctly claimed that the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4 would be running Android Jelly Bean.
While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with a helping of Key Lime Pie, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggests that the Motorola X Phone is the Android 5.0-toting handset that will be revealed at Google IO. According to a post on the DroidForums website, the phone will also feature a virtually bezel-free, edge-to-edge, 5-inch display.
The same leaked Qualcomm documents cited above also made mention of a two new Snapdragon devices, one of which will be, unsurprisingly, a new Nexus phone.
Android 5.0 features
For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company's support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.
As it happened, the following day, on 13 February 2013, the Google Now widget rolled out to Jelly Bean.
So while we wait on Key Lime Pie features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things...
Performance Profiles
It's bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.
We've been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung's Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we'd like to see the functionality expanded.
Something like a Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.
Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola's RAZR interface, but it'd be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.
Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.
Better multiple device support
Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.
Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you're limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switch from phone to tablet mid-film.
You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?
Enhanced social network support
Android doesn't really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features coming from the hardware makers through their own custom skins.
Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter - so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?
Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better "baked in" to Android.
Line-drawing keyboard options
Another area where the manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.
A video chat app
How odd is it that Google's put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?
You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn't there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we're too ugly? Is that what you're saying, Google?
Multi-select in the contacts
The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that's currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.
Cross-device SMS sync
If you're a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you've lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it'd be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.
A "Never Update" option
This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it'd be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we'd rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.
Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it'd be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.
App preview/freebie codes
Something Apple's been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why's there no similar scheme for Android?
It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they could charge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.
Final whinges and requests...
It's be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android's so packed with a huge list of options these days it's a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.
Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.
(Source)
Okay I wanted to drop this in about video chat. You say that Google doesn't have one right? Of I remember correctly Google talk has video.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app
jlmancuso said:
Okay I wanted to drop this in about video chat. You say that Google doesn't have one right? Of I remember correctly Google talk has video.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app
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This one is built in,you dont have to look for it and install it from 3rd party.
Diablo67 said:
This one is built in,you dont have to look for it and install it from 3rd party.
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Google talk has built in video chat, you don't have to install anything its preloaded on every android phone for as long as I can remember.
I like to break stuff!
-EViL-KoNCEPTz- said:
Google talk has built in video chat, you don't have to install anything its preloaded on every android phone for as long as I can remember.
I like to break stuff!
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Most of the gapps i ever installed didnt,but yes on a sense rom you can find it and maybe an official ICS or JB that is meant for a certain phone.So i should have reworded that.You are correct though.
I have MOJO for several months now, when i initially bought it, i showed it to all my friends, and bragged about the potential of this product.
After all this months, its just sad, the lack of support or competence of the manufacters to actually stand by their product.
Beeing a developer and an android enthusiast, it's just sad to see how poorly this hole process has been developed.
The console itself has several issues, the play store, for me is a huge deal breaker. You can't have a main selling point of the product (the full access to play store and tegra zone) when most of the products there, altought i can see them, are not compatible either with the console itself, or worse, the gamepad isn't recognized. Titles like Portal 2 and Half Life 2, made precisely for MOJO's hardware, and i cant play it.
You can't also ask regular users to Root their device after every update. Either support the non rooted version, or it has to be rooted by default.
I could be a regular user who just wants to play some vice city on my TV, don't know or care how to root. This isn't a developer edition!!
The OS itself has several issues, from the basic ones ( I CANT RESTART OR SHUTDOWN THE CONSOLE w/ unplugging it), no resolution settings. I have several audio lag issues when the console is left on for days. So even for media, i can't have XBMC running 100% there.I do have a Samsung Beam (very slow 1.0 dual core) with buggy OS and i have hours and hours of projecting XBMC media without ANY issues.
The support is next to nothing. I've installed the latest update from MadCatz, i was so happy with more google play support etc.. Turns out when i didn't want to create a OUYA account, now i have OUYA Framework crashing every 5 minutes. Just perfect.
The other main selling point was the gamepad, a solid, well construct Controller, with amazing gaming tecnology from madcatz.
Well, beside the construction, there's nothing else good about the gamepad. I have a bunch of tablets and phones, i have a really hard time connecting and staying connected with my Android 4.4.2 devices. I'm constantly losing my Connection with the gamepad, and the REconnection is just painfull, i have to restart the gameopad a few times before i can get it to work again.
Also most of the games with gamepad support doesn't recognize the CTRLR.. WTF, MadCatz team, even the simple part of getting in touch with game developers, didn't do their homework.
Mad Catz could however, try to compensate somehow, and make a decent Gamepad Mapper. Nothing on this been release, has been months.
If this was a review of the product i would give it 2/10. And the 2 is for the choice of using Nvidia's tegra 4, and thats the only good thing about this.
The lack of support of XDA's developers, given the potential of the device shown by nvidia's shield portable, is insane.
I no longer brag about this with my friends, i'm just ashamed and deceived to have spent 250 bucks on this. I'm buying Nvidia's shield tablet and try to forget Madcatz and my 250$
Thanks MadCatz.
Wish I could have disagreed with at least one of the points you raised but I can't. 2 out of 10/that's quite generous mad cats well an truely ****ed this one up and don't appear to give a flying %uck. As you pointed out endless potential totally wasted. If anyone from madcatz ever reads these kinda posts get in touch with cyanogenmod or any of the renound teams who know what their doing and give them the contract to build the software rather than wherever cowboys currently produce ur shabby android builds cause their update supports abismal what ever u payed em its way to much
I completely agree with the OP, I purchased two Madcatz Mojos when the only other box was an Ouya. I was drooling over the potential of the Tegra 4 processor. The biggest issue with this box is its software, even though it was promised we still don’t have 4.4 and for such powerful chip it doesn’t support DTS or Dolby Digital bypass. Like most of you I got sick of waiting and have purchased an Amazon Fire TV instead, I sold one of my madcatz mojo for $160 on craigslist and used that money in addition with the money from selling my nexus 7 to purchase an nvidia shield tablet. Now that’s a company that did it right. I am going to selling my last Madcatz Mojo by the end of this month once I finish some testing with my 4k TV.
Well guys you beat me to it, I thought it was about time to join & post my feelings on the MOJO I purchased in December upon UK release but OP has written an almost identical post to what I drafted. Mad Catz could have done so much with the console which offered so much potential but lack of support has killed it before its even got started.
I feel it wouldn't be so bad if we were all kept in the loop on progress to bring us a new OS, further Play Store compatibility, gamepad mapping etc, but not a word!
I have tried to convince myself the £220 purchase was worth it, but its very hard to justify it when you look at the Shield & the Shield tablet, my Ouya is used everyday & the MOJO sits gathering dust without the power cord connected!
I beg the Mad Catz team to read these posts & at least come back to us with something, I know they do come on here so use your voice guys & throw us something.
At present I'm sure they are sat laughing that they have our money so why should they care? Well this forum ranks high on Google & must be hurting potential sales & I certainly won't buy or recommend another Mad Catz product & thats from a household which owns every major console released & has a competition PC gamer living it.
Thanks Mad Catz
I'll add my voice to the chorus, since it looks like this thread has the potential to become one of the longest ones in the Mad Catz forum.
I was new to Android but after having a great experience customizing a Nexus phone (thanks to the XDA community!) I fell for the hype and bought a M.O.J.O once root became available. Was ok with the limited number of games because Mad Catz said they were working with developers blah, blah, blah The games that work, are interesting and don't require key mapping are very few. I think I have 3 installed and don't remember the last time I played one.
It's still attached to the tv, for Netflix, but with a different input device. For those of you outside the US, after installing Set DNS and using some of its default settings I can access US Netflix so that's a plus. It's good for roms too.
This device had so much potential but the company looks like it doesn't have a clue. What's worse is that they flat out lied to customers about the Kit Kat update. From day one they said that "they were working on it, it was coming soon. it was with Google waiting for approval, etc. etc." and those were all total lies. I can't give any more of my money to a company that treats its customers like that. The sad part is that they could have easily found someone to outsource the Kit Kat work to right here on XDA, but even their employees joined this community after the product was launched.
I encourage others to add their thoughts to this thread.
FBRkr1s said:
Well guys you beat me to it, I thought it was about time to join & post my feelings on the MOJO I purchased in December upon UK release but OP has written an almost identical post to what I drafted. Mad Catz could have done so much with the console which offered so much potential but lack of support has killed it before its even got started.
I feel it wouldn't be so bad if we were all kept in the loop on progress to bring us a new OS, further Play Store compatibility, gamepad mapping etc, but not a word!
I have tried to convince myself the £220 purchase was worth it, but its very hard to justify it when you look at the Shield & the Shield tablet, my Ouya is used everyday & the MOJO sits gathering dust without the power cord connected!
I beg the Mad Catz team to read these posts & at least come back to us with something, I know they do come on here so use your voice guys & throw us something.
At present I'm sure they are sat laughing that they have our money so why should they care? Well this forum ranks high on Google & must be hurting potential sales & I certainly won't buy or recommend another Mad Catz product & thats from a household which owns every major console released & has a competition PC gamer living it.
Thanks Mad Catz
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The reason they don't answer this kind of posts, and the reason you don't get any feedback on the work being done by Madcatz on MOJO, it's because you wont like those answers. The few units sold probably just made them stop working on this.
Again, as a developer, i think i'de get fired if i delivered such a final product or software. Just amateur.
Anyone thinking about buying this, just dont, anyone who already bought it just say Thank's madcatz and cry a tear for their hard work.
joaommsousa said:
The reason they don't answer this kind of posts, and the reason you don't get any feedback on the work being done by Madcatz on MOJO, it's because you wont like those answers. The few units sold probably just made them stop working on this.
Again, as a developer, i think i'de get fired if i delivered such a final product or software. Just amateur.
Anyone thinking about buying this, just dont, anyone who already bought it just say Thank's madcatz and cry a tear for their hard work.
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You beat me to it again OP, however I would like to hear from MC themselves & have just invited Alex Verrey from MadCatz to join this thread with the following:
Dear Mr. Verry,
I do hope I find you in good health & apologise for this unconventional communication regarding a MadCatz product.
I am a supporter of MadCatz products & purchased the M.O.J.O in late 2013, a product which you handled the P.R for to great effect.
However myself & others have become disillusioned with Madcatz by the serious omissions in support & features this product needs & as such would like to invite yourself or any other MadCatz employee to join the recent topic on the XDA Developers Forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mad-catz-mojo/general/im-t2852370
I think if you find the time to read through the aforementioned thread I need say little more & thank you in advance for any assistance you may offer to myself & the M.O.J.O community.
I agree the software support side of the mojo is disappointing, that's not to say it's not there at all.
It's hasn't even been a month since the last update! ie 4K TV, better google play & BT support.
Yes, it's two steps forward, one step back (now root doesn't fix google play), but Madcatz is a hardware company and still new to android and SW.. so I guess its to be expected... hmm.. but a year on and it's still the same :/
And going by the reactions here, to their detriment.. SW does need more support then HW and a OS needs a bit more..
The kernel code suggests that they don't have a dedicated Android person internally, which I think is a really huge mistake!
Android can be a great computer appliance when finished 100% and never changed, in MOJO's case, knowing it wasn't going to be finished 100% from the start, more attention should have been made.
One extra internal salary/contract and all this could have been avoided and our forums would have been like the shield's.. definitely underestimated Android! and in hindsight maybe a learning opportunity for them?
Yip, It's frustrating, to still have the dongle on USB3, not to mention no kitkat.
But, the mojo is still one the better android TV box HW wise out there and still relevant... I'm optimistic kitkat will come, hopefully sooner then later.
I think the potential is still there and it's the center piece of their gamesmart range which is still increasing, the StrikeM only released last week.
So they're not going to abandon it and I think there's still more support/improvements coming for it!
I'm guessing it's a balancing act with limited resources and growing the company in a competitive industry, so we'll see where it goes :/
I don't expect a reply here from Alex, @Mad Catz Rich etc, but I know they do read this.
I have received a reply from Alex Verrey & although it does not address our needs as such I am most appreciative of having got a response & now await for other Mad Catz employees to jump on here, the email reads as follows:
Thanks for the email. No need to apologise for reaching out, it’s good to hear from you, and if any forum members are feeling let down by Mad Catz, we certainly want to hear about it.
We have several Mad Catz staff members who already actively participate on the forums. All of these guys are probably better positioned than I to provide the answers you are looking for. I know M.O.J.O. well, but the guys in question are the lead product managers and marketers of M.O.J.O. and will be able to go into great detail for you and any others looking for assistance.
Apologies if I sound patronising, but were you aware that we have recently launched a new and free Firmware update for M.O.J.O.? The new update introduces nearly full Google Play accessibility without the need to root. In addition, the update introduces 4K (UHD) output compatibility and brings the entire catalogue of OUYA games to M.O.J.O. We have also been working with our friends at OnLive to introduce perfect compatibility with their cloud based gaming network.
We continue to work with developers and publishers to ensure full compatibility for major titles as well. Sadly, it is true that not every Android title available today is fully compatible with M.O.J.O. and our C.T.R.L.R but we’re sure working on it!
I’ll leave it to the other guys to jump on the thread and assist where possible. In the meantime, thanks for reaching out, we sincerely do care to hear your feedback and will strive to communicate more regularly in the future.
Regards
ALEX VERREY
I might be being really dumb, but is this referring to the MO0205-TS Firmware. Because for me this update did increase the controller support granted, however I don't really care to much about that a ps3 and Xbox controller has worked fine for me since 2009 and the Wii classic controller before that on android devices. The ctrlr controller support is a bonus but could live with out at this point as the OS needs to be much higher on the priority's list.
It did the total opposite of increasing compatibility to my google play account, I had quite a large selection of games and apps before, but after updating basically all the games and apps I played/used where no longer compatible. And even on apps I don't use or want, when looking through the play store I never used to see incompatible that much now, now its plastered all over it.
My main main issues are :
1: It freezes and crashes a lot, which creates other issues.
2: one of these my micro SD must have been formatted at least 30 times now and I can't be arsed using it n e more board of transferring data to it. (A 32 or 64gb mmc this can be time consuming) seems to occurs when the mojo crashes or is unplugged from the wall on my mojo.
3: Has not happened any where near as much maybe only a hand full of times but I've had multiple hard drives wiped (luckily i have back ups of everything,) and again when were talking close to full 1tb drives its frustrating and time consuming to transfer the data back.
4: seems a kick in the balls that their are the nvidia only games such as half life and portal. Which are not available on the mojo which ticks all the boxes for compatibility.
5: NO RECOVERY MENU ACCESS: seriously we can't back up our systems In case something goes drasiticly wrong, which with android is a serious possibility.
6: The mojo went to market mid December 2013 and I could be wrong has had only 3 maybe 4 updates which have only addressed minor issues. And don't say itl shortly receive a kitkat 4.4 update before you release to market then 9 MONTHS later still not out, doesn't fill me with confidence at all.
I Don't get why dev teams like cyanogen, kindroid, crash, omni, jackyaway and countless other on XDA I am not going to list are able to produce nightly updates for multiple android builds across multiple devices and tablets, including multiple custom tweeks and optimisations.
I assume you have employed a professional development team. The teams I listed above will have provided its users with more updates in 3/5 days than your professional team has provided us in 9 months of suffering through a devise which by no way feels like the competed article that's the gripe and what's grinding your current owners patience out.
7: Compatibility issues talked about above
8: Because of the issues with the SD card and HDD formatting its impossible to fit all the games u wish to use on the console. With some games and apps now in the couple of gig region even if full compatibility is unlocked i could not set up the console exactly how I would like with a lot missing.
Alot of the issues listed above should have been addressed along time ago
Hello All,
M.O.J.O. is a new and innovative product but for the most part the issues aren’t related to the hardware. C.T.R.L.R support in Android apps is new and it’s taken some time for developers to update their manifests to get device support for M.O.J.O. Anybody that’s using M.O.J.O. and doing regular firmware updates will attest that, while it’s not perfect, the universe of apps and games available today is pretty cool and getting better all the time. Of course, there are many other micro-consoles that are now available and may be simpler to use, but we’re not aware of one that has the depth of assortment and quality of games and apps that M.O.J.O. has today and we’re committed to continuing to expand the selection and improve the experience.
The evolving nature of the Android app universe means that compatibility has been a moving target but we are fully committed to universal app compatibility and developers want their apps on as many supporting devices as possible. We are continuously working with developers to implement Google’s directive to support game controllers in games (http://developer.android.com/training/game-controllers/controller-input.html ). Please let us know when you come across an app that has a problem and we'll get in touch with the developer. Please feel free to contact the developer directly as well.
The "not compatible" message is a result of the hardware support filtering in the Google Play Store and can be impacted by options selected by the developer when posting the app manifest to the store. Typically, it’s not because M.O.J.O. can’t run the app. For example, we recently had an issue with one game that was rendered incompatible for a few days due to an update that had removed M.O.J.O. from their “white list” of supported devices by mistake. Fortunately, that was a quick and easy fix. The latest firmware update for M.O.J.O. gets access to a lot more content than previous unrooted releases, although we still find some apps with options selected in their manifest that prevent them from being accessible even though it would play fine on M.O.J.O. otherwise. Again, as with controller support, let us and the developer know and we’ll chase it up for you. Positively, there’s little doubt that the vast majority of popular apps and games are now available.
In addition, we have a lot of content for gamers not widely supported on other devices. OUYA is now available on M.O.J.O. giving access to hundreds of games configured specifically for compatibility with our C.T.R.L.R. More and more games are being added as OUYA works through their library of now over 900 games. We've also partnered with OnLive and their game-streaming service giving access to their PlayPack library and CloudLift-enabled titles from your Steam account with over 250 PC games from triple-A publishers playable on M.O.J.O. and with our C.T.R.L.R. These apps are not supported on many other devices today.
For resolution settings, we offer 720p, 1080p, and 4K support, as mandated by Google for GMS-certified TV devices.
DTS pass-through is unfortunately not supported but M.O.J.O. has full support for Dolby Digital pass-through. Some of the issues people are facing are app issues. For example, pass-through functionality is broken in the Android version of XBMC but other media players such as MX Player support it just fine.
Mad Catz Nate said:
Hello All,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Nate, there running theme of the thread seems to be Android.. in particular kitkat and lack of a dev community for modding.
Personally, I'm not pushing for kitkat it will come when it comes... but any chance you can get someone that knows android to answer @shabbypenguin questions , repack problem? and ADB over USB/ETH0.
Running out of ideas and steam... help would be greatly appreciated.
From http://madcatz.com/mojo/en-ca/
Ready to Root
As any Android power-user knows, the best way to get the most out of your device is to root it. Root access opens up all sorts of options including adding custom keymapping capabilities and installing custom ROMs. Mad Catz provides a short step-by-step guide to rooting, and our tech support team is ready to help.
The best part – rooting won’t void your warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gwaldo said:
Running out of ideas and steam... help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would take 2 minutes to post a little update, even something like: "Sorry, I don't have that answer and the guy that does is out on holiday or on the road, blah, blah, blah" and you (we) don't get even that. I suppose that's an answer right there.
You're responsible for probably 25% of the user generated M.O.J.O. content that's on the Internet, and this is how they value your questions. :crying: Me, I'm just a customer.
P901 said:
It would take 2 minutes to post a little update, even something like: "Sorry, I don't have that answer and the guy that does is out on holiday or on the road, blah, blah, blah" and you (we) don't get even that. I suppose that's an answer right there.
You're responsible for probably 25% of the user generated M.O.J.O. content that's on the Internet, and this is how they value your questions. :crying: Me, I'm just a customer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say i'm 25%, i have a blog and a few videos...
Maybe the questions have to go through management's approval then to china and back... I don't know
Anyway, I got a few more ideas while waiting.
gwaldo said:
I wouldn't say i'm 25%, i have a blog and a few videos...
Maybe the questions have to go through management's approval then to china and back... I don't know
Anyway, I got a few more ideas while waiting.
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Click to collapse
Gwaldo, I think you are the kindest guy on the internet, or at least in the top 10 :fingers-crossed:
p.s. have a look, your content accounts for about 30% of what is out there!
gwaldo said:
Maybe the questions have to go through management's approval then to china and back...
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Click to collapse
They must have a lot of layers of management to go through...
joaommsousa said:
I have MOJO for several months now, when i initially bought it, i showed it to all my friends, and bragged about the potential of this product.
After all this months, its just sad, the lack of support or competence of the manufacters to actually stand by their product.
Beeing a developer and an android enthusiast, it's just sad to see how poorly this hole process has been developed.
The console itself has several issues, the play store, for me is a huge deal breaker. You can't have a main selling point of the product (the full access to play store and tegra zone) when most of the products there, altought i can see them, are not compatible either with the console itself, or worse, the gamepad isn't recognized. Titles like Portal 2 and Half Life 2, made precisely for MOJO's hardware, and i cant play it.
You can't also ask regular users to Root their device after every update. Either support the non rooted version, or it has to be rooted by default.
I could be a regular user who just wants to play some vice city on my TV, don't know or care how to root. This isn't a developer edition!!
The OS itself has several issues, from the basic ones ( I CANT RESTART OR SHUTDOWN THE CONSOLE w/ unplugging it), no resolution settings. I have several audio lag issues when the console is left on for days. So even for media, i can't have XBMC running 100% there.I do have a Samsung Beam (very slow 1.0 dual core) with buggy OS and i have hours and hours of projecting XBMC media without ANY issues.
The support is next to nothing. I've installed the latest update from MadCatz, i was so happy with more google play support etc.. Turns out when i didn't want to create a OUYA account, now i have OUYA Framework crashing every 5 minutes. Just perfect.
The other main selling point was the gamepad, a solid, well construct Controller, with amazing gaming tecnology from madcatz.
Well, beside the construction, there's nothing else good about the gamepad. I have a bunch of tablets and phones, i have a really hard time connecting and staying connected with my Android 4.4.2 devices. I'm constantly losing my Connection with the gamepad, and the REconnection is just painfull, i have to restart the gameopad a few times before i can get it to work again.
Also most of the games with gamepad support doesn't recognize the CTRLR.. WTF, MadCatz team, even the simple part of getting in touch with game developers, didn't do their homework.
Mad Catz could however, try to compensate somehow, and make a decent Gamepad Mapper. Nothing on this been release, has been months.
If this was a review of the product i would give it 2/10. And the 2 is for the choice of using Nvidia's tegra 4, and thats the only good thing about this.
The lack of support of XDA's developers, given the potential of the device shown by nvidia's shield portable, is insane.
I no longer brag about this with my friends, i'm just ashamed and deceived to have spent 250 bucks on this. I'm buying Nvidia's shield tablet and try to forget Madcatz and my 250$
Thanks MadCatz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Mojo for some months now and I'm very pleased with it.
Half-Life 2 and Portal works great on my device with some adjustments.
Yes, you can power the device off with a keyboard with shutdown button or install a widget that maps the powerbutton
and brings up the power menu. This is a proper shutdown, not like pulling the plug!
I honestly think right now the nexus player is a better deal. 10 gameloft games are being optimized for the system. Mad Catz must seriously hate their system because they don't update the product. Plus it's still $199 and the amount of problems you're having, makes no sense.
disorder78 said:
I honestly think right now the nexus player is a better deal. 10 gameloft games are being optimized for the system. Mad Catz must seriously hate their system because they don't update the product. Plus it's still $199 and the amount of problems you're having, makes no sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone who bought this crap and wants the real stuff ou is crazy enought to be considering buying it, i seriously recommend Nvidia's Shield Tablet. More expensive than nexus player, but gets the job well done on every end ( Entertainment, gaming, PC gaming, Console / Tablet mode )
Nvidia actually supports their products, just announced Lollipop for the tablet by the end of november.
kaiserclaw said:
I have Mojo for some months now and I'm very pleased with it.
Half-Life 2 and Portal works great on my device with some adjustments.
Yes, you can power the device off with a keyboard with shutdown button or install a widget that maps the powerbutton
and brings up the power menu. This is a proper shutdown, not like pulling the plug!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Half-Life 2 and Portal wow!
Does it play well with the CTRLR?
I would buy both for my mojo if I knew how to get it working... could you please give us a clue how you got it work?
BREAKING NEWS
Get the preview as an OTA update now.
See this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/general/android-5-onboard-t3181226
Go get some.
https://developer.amazon.com/public...10/Announcing-the-Fire-OS-5-Developer-Preview
Any info if it can be rooted after the update?
Only for 2014 Fire HD tablets, unless you happen to have a 5.0 Fire TV image that isn't available on the Amazon developer preview page.
Claude Koch said:
Go get some.
https://developer.amazon.com/public...10/Announcing-the-Fire-OS-5-Developer-Preview
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an extremely long way off for the Fire TV. Look at it like this, the Fire Tabets have been running KitKat for 8 months while the Fire TV is running Jellybean, so if it has been this long and the Fire TV still has not been upgraded to KitKat, how long do you think it will take to upgrade the Fire TV to Lollipop after the Fire Tablets gets upgraded to it? I'll answer for you, around a year after the Fire Tablet gets Fire OS 5 the Fire TV will get it. Now there is probably gonna be people that hate that I say that, but they are still runnning Jellybean while the Fire Tabet is running Kitkat so that should tell em that Fire OS 5 is a long tme away for the Fire TV.
To be honest, right now I would settle for Android 4.4 on my Fire TV, cause I would love to use all my apps again. Several apps that I use now require Android 4.4 so it woud be nice for Amazon to upgrade the Fire TV to Android 4.4. Whats the holdup Amazon, we need Android 4..4. Don't treat the Fire TV like a hobby.
porkenhimer said:
This is an extremely long way off for the Fire TV. Look at it like this, the Fire Tabets have been running KitKat for 8 months while the Fire TV is running Jellybean, so if it has been this long and the Fire TV still has not been upgraded to KitKat, how long do you think it will take to upgrade the Fire TV to Lollipop after the Fire Tablets gets upgraded to it? I'll answer for you, around a year after the Fire Tablet gets Fire OS 5 the Fire TV will get it. Now there is probably gonna be people that hate that I say that, but they are still runnning Jellybean while the Fire Tabet is running Kitkat so that should tell em that Fire OS 5 is a long tme away for the Fire TV.
To be honest, right now I would settle for Android 4.4 on my Fire TV, cause I would love to use all my apps again. Several apps that I use now require Android 4.4 so it woud be nice for Amazon to upgrade the Fire TV to Android 4.4. Whats the holdup Amazon, we need Android 4..4. Don't treat the Fire TV like a hobby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't know that,
Very possible that the FireTV will get FireOS 5 this year....as Android5 makes a lot of sense for a media center device.
freezer2k said:
You don't know that,
Very possible that the FireTV will get FireOS 5 this year....as Android5 makes a lot of sense for a media center device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree its a good possibility and choices companies made in the past is not always a clear indication they'll stay consistent. When the kindle fire hd came out for most consumers (not necessarily xda members) you had fewer choices for tablets--pay a lot for a high end iPad or galaxy OR get a nice midranges device like kfhd for considerably cheaper (or buy a really crappy generic running android). Not real competition.
For settop boxes it was even worse. But of course all of that's changed and now the bar has been raised forcing apple, and maybe soon roku, to come up with something better. I also wouldn't think it logical that we'll get kk before lollipop. I have a macbook from 2010 that didn't get the mountain lion update but since then has gotten mavericks and then Yosemite. I realize it might not be exactly the same but just a thought that its not unprecedented for a company to do that.
freezer2k said:
You don't know that,
Very possible that the FireTV will get FireOS 5 this year....as Android5 makes a lot of sense for a media center device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it could get it this year, but using the past as an indicator its not likely. Android in general makes a lot of sense to use as a media center, but the Fire TV is not a media center in Amazons eyes. Not one time has Amazon described it as a media center or even used the words media center anywhere when describimg the Fire TV. We can use it as a media center, but the Fire TV has many uses. Just because you see Android 5.0 as a better version to use as a media center does not mean Amazon is going to rush it to us. Android 4.4 would aslo be better for the Fire TV, but Amazon has not even gave us that yet. Don't get mad just because you can't face facts. It is extremy clear that Amazon sets a pecking order for their devices and the Fire TV is at the bottom of the pecking order in terms of upgrades. Fire Tablet, running KitKat for 8 months, Fire Phone, running KitKat for 2 months, Fire TV, still stuck with Jellybean. That should tell you something. Look at how many updates we have gotten for the Fire TV and not one time has Amazon mentioned upgrading to KitKat, but they did release statemnts saying when KitKat was coming to the Fire Tablet and Fire Phone, which was vague, but they still released statements saying KitKat was coming to those devices. Amazon has been beyond great at giving us firmware updates for the Fire TV, but not so great when it comes to Android verson upgrades.
Based on the fire TV still running Android 4.2.2 it is not likely that it will be running Android 5.0 by the end of this year. Do you not realize that the Fire Tablet has been running KitKat for 8 months and Amazon still has not even upgraded the Fire TV to KitKat? Not only that, but Amazon released a statement saying in September of last year saying the Fire Phone would be getting KitKat early 2015 and it did not come for another 7 months. Like a wise man once said, if you wanna know whats going to happen in the future look at the past. Companies are creatures of habit just like peeople are, and you should always look at hhow they done things in th past to predict the future. I would love to be wrong about this, but based on the Fire TV not even being upgraded to Android 4.4 yet I do not see them giving us Android 5.0 anytime soon.
KLit75 said:
I agree its a good possibility and choices companies made in the past is not always a clear indication they'll stay consistent. When the kindle fire hd came out for most consumers (not necessarily xda members) you had fewer choices for tablets--pay a lot for a high end iPad or galaxy OR get a nice midranges device like kfhd for considerably cheaper (or buy a really crappy generic running android). Not real competition.
For settop boxes it was even worse. But of course all of that's changed and now the bar has been raised forcing apple, and maybe soon roku, to come up with something better. I also wouldn't think it logical that we'll get kk before lollipop. I have a macbook from 2010 that didn't get the mountain lion update but since then has gotten mavericks and then Yosemite. I realize it might not be exactly the same but just a thought that its not unprecedented for a company to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a nice response. Thanks KLit75!!
porkenhimer said:
Look at it like this, the Fire Tabets have been running KitKat for 8 months while the Fire TV is running Jellybean, so if it has been this long and the Fire TV still has not been upgraded to KitKat, how long do you think it will take to upgrade the Fire TV to Lollipop after the Fire Tablets gets upgraded to it? I'll answer for you, around a year after the Fire Tablet gets Fire OS 5 the Fire TV will get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points. The Fire TV is overdue an update., and they were smart to go straight to L rather than waste time on K. I also agree now that M is starting to doing the rounds, and given that L seems to be more like Lemon than Lollipop, it would be even smarter to skip it as well.
Amazon knows what it's doing.
Claude Koch;61479374
Amazon knows what it's doing.[/QUOTE said:
That quote is open to all sorts of interpretation. For over a year i thought they were fully aware of what kodi was and how a decent population of the users were buying aftv because of the fact that it could run kodi. But given recent events, I think I was dead wrong about that.
Companies like this, it appears, will combat piracy (blindly at times) but not necessarily armed with the best intel. With that in mind, whats the argument for not upgrading the os?
I think you need to find who is their main competition...and i see at least 2 of those competitors running lollipop.
That being said, amazon might not look at that as a selling point since fire os is quite a bit different than what google, nvidia, and razor uses. However, i think that argument is weak because they are in fact actively looking to upgrade. ***One more point-apple tv i think is running its own version of ios8 so theres an example of a competitor updating the os and really not changing much in the grand scheme.
In terms of history, i could state many cases occurring daily that show repetitive patterns. But corporations are a little different. Its true amazon and other large companies dont usually lose money in the long run. But how they keep profits soaring sometimes defies common sense to the average person because we arent privy to everything that happens there. I always tell people (outside of xda) that if you truly seek honesty in the media, you should read the business press. Sometimes it feels like they have their own secret club and its funny. The vast majority of americans dont look there even when they have a personal interest in the subject. My point is you might do well to study history as a means to predict whats coming. But a lot of history is well hidden. Its a very open society in terms of information available but finding that info really is a discipline that needs to be practiced.
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Click to collapse
KLit75 said:
For over a year i thought they were fully aware of what kodi was and how a decent population of the users were buying aftv because of the fact that it could run kodi. But given recent events, I think I was dead wrong about that.
Companies like this, it appears, will combat piracy (blindly at times) but not necessarily armed with the best intel. With that in mind, whats the argument for not upgrading the os?
I think you need to find who is their main competition...and i see at least 2 of those competitors running lollipop.
That being said, amazon might not look at that as a selling point since fire os is quite a bit different than what google, nvidia, and razor uses. However, i think that argument is weak because they are in fact actively looking to upgrade. ***One more point-apple tv i think is running its own version of ios8 so theres an example of a competitor updating the os and really not changing much in the grand scheme.
In terms of history, i could state many cases occurring daily that show repetitive patterns. But corporations are a little different. Its true amazon and other large companies dont usually lose money in the long run. But how they keep profits soaring sometimes defies common sense to the average person because we arent privy to everything that happens there. I always tell people (outside of xda) that if you truly seek honesty in the media, you should read the business press. Sometimes it feels like they have their own secret club and its funny. The vast majority of americans dont look there even when they have a personal interest in the subject. My point is you might do well to study history as a means to predict whats coming. But a lot of history is well hidden. Its a very open society in terms of information available but finding that info really is a discipline that needs to be practiced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we keep this thread about Fire OS 5, please.
How did Kodi and piracy get brought into this?
Going to Android 5 makes a lot of sense for the Fire TV. For that matter, going to an Amazon'd version of Android TV makes a lot of sense. Let FTV take advantage of all the AndroidTV updates, lean-back compatible apps, live tv features...
Don't forget hopefully adding the latest Qualcomm drivers for fixing a large number of issues seen in the current ancient [email protected] ones on FireTV.
Applying the latest drivers ([email protected] or [email protected]/95) would cause a massive performance boost,killing all of the lag an many instances.
I am curious how Goat Simulator would run on the latest drivers.
It runs surprisingly well already considering how old the drivers are.
Claude Koch said:
Can we keep this thread about Fire OS 5, please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Making an argument/speculating as to how a company decides whether to upgrade the os is what i was attempting. If we dont do that (or something along those lines) Im not really sure where this thread goes, other than "well i hope we get lollipop." And "yeah me too."
The kodi/piracy thing was just a little insight on the thought pattern, or lack there of, of a large business. As many of you know, these meetings are done privately and so are the decisions. To me it fits, but i really have no desire to turn this into yet another war of a ridiculous amount of words so i respect your request. And will stop.
Sorry for the admittedly long post. I dont think it was as off topic as some people believe but it could've been more concise. Also, maybe not appropriate post for a tech website.
Thanks Obama.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
captainjapan said:
Thanks Obama.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Yes. Because if youre "informed" you know hes such an enemy of large companies, such as amazon, that his political rivals agree (probably for the 1st time) he should be given fast track authority for reasons i vaguely referenced in my prior posts.
I wont preach or resort to name calling (which if you really knew me youd know id consider your last comment to be just that.)
Lets just keep it light. I hope aftv gets lollipop and when they do it wont matter to me
who's president. Not that it really mattered to me before.
One of the reasons i liked xda was because it was almost completely non-political. But for the past year ive listened to users complain about amazon's "controlled ecosystem". I guess i didnt think it was inappropriate to examine the root causes just a tiny bit. I was wrong. And to be honest Im happy to be wrong.
Wow.... I'll be honest I was just throwing a random "thanks obama" out there....
captainjapan said:
Wow.... I'll be honest I was just throwing a random "thanks obama" out there....
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Click to collapse
Yeah. Sorry man. It was a knee jerk reaction and once again off topic. And i actually thought about it afterwards that you didnt even quote me so...yeah. What can i say but i need to lighten up and lay off the caffeine. My apologies to @captainjapan.
Since we are already waaay of topic, let me bring it semi-sorta-kinda back on topic. Any good comparisons to the other AndroidTV L based players? Things that Nexus/Razer/nVidia boxes do that FireTV has issues with but would be helped by going to Android 5? App compatibility for sure, but what else? Any clue if going to L really means going to AndroidTV under the covers?
My fire TV is rooted on an ancient firmware but bootloader locked and I'm very pleased with performance and stuff with what I do with it. I use apps for USB support, I use kodi which works wonderfully well and I use live TV apps that are excellent.
What are advantages of android TV over the current amazonified jellybean? To you people?
Sent from my unknown using Tapatalk
There's a new updated rolling out right now. This is the second update this month. Amazon's software page says the update contains “minor bug fixes and performance improvement.”
Fire TV version 51.1.6.1_user_516010220 - Download Link
Fire TV Stick version 54.1.2.1_user_121065320 - Download Link Unknown
Attention @rbox
Like I said on your site, any update that is running Android 4.2.2 is a major fail. Regardless of how many features are added to the updates they will all be worthless til they upgrade the OS to 4.4+. The features they have added are not good anyway.
Just my opinion though. If I want to shop on Amazon I will go to the actual site and shop, so all of the Amazon features that pertain to shopping Amazon are 100% worthless to me. Also, not one time have I ever used voice search on the Fire TV, so all of the voice search features are also worthless to me. I honestly think th ebest feature that has ben added to an update has been the clock menu, but I rarely even use that feature. I could honestly care less about more superficial features, I just want a more compatible Fire TV and that will only be possible when Amazon upgrades the Android version to at least 4.4. I do not care how many voice search features they add or how many more fire launcher catogories they add, I just want to be able to use the same apps I was using six months ago on the Fire TV that i can no longer use because they now require Android 4.4. I love the Fire TV, but there is absolutely no excuse for why I lost compatibility with over twenty apps in the past four months. Step it up Amazon, cause I am tired of losing compatibility with apps that worked perfectly before. I had my Fire TV's setup the way I wanted with apps that I have used for years on all of my devicess, but Amazon's unwillingness to keep the Fire TV up to date has ruined that.
wth are you even complaining about? my AFTV works fine.
mine works fine
mine works fine. If kodi works. the value is great. the only reason I would replace the firetv would be for 4k. but then again I'd have to buy a 4k TV and a 4k bose lifestyle 535 which does not support 4k yet.
porkenhimer said:
Like I said on your site, any update that is running Android 4.2.2 is a major fail. Regardless of how many features are added to the updates they will all be worthless til they upgrade the OS to 4.4+. The features they have added are not good anyway. [...] I could honestly care less about more superficial features, I just want a more compatible Fire TV and that will only be possible when Amazon upgrades the Android version to at least 4.4. I do not care how many voice search features they add or how many more fire launcher catogories they add, I just want to be able to use the same apps I was using six months ago on the Fire TV that i can no longer use because they now require Android 4.4.
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Well it's fair that you might not care for new features. I don't use many of them, I don't even use voice search, but it makes sense that other people care about them and they could even be selling points.
However, I'm really curious what apps you're using that have cut off compatibility with 4.2? As of last month 4.2 was the second most used API version, at 17.5% of the market share. I have to say, if apps that used to support 4.2 no longer do, it's the developer's decision, and it seems like a bad one in my opinion. At any rate, while it'd be nice to get an update to KitKat or Lollipop, it's safer to assume that especially highly modified forks of Android such as Fire OS will take longer to update and to reach first gen hardware. I can't really fault Amazon for what I still consider to be the best Android-based streaming media device at its price point.
Android 4.2.2 being populr has nothing to do with anything. Toyota overtook Chevrolet as having the most popular car in the US, but people soon found out that Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles were death traps. Beings popular mens nothing. Also I was not complining, I was stating facts. 4.2.2 is on its last legs. Not everyone uses their Fire TV simply for Kodi, I use my Fire TV for a lot of things, so its important for the OS to stay up to date because of compatibility issues. This happens on all devices, but with the Fire TV we have no choice but to be stuck with Jellybean. If it wwere Windows, Linux, IOS etc we cold jusst update but with the Fire TV we are stuck with whatever Amazon gives us, which is fine, but they need to realize that the Fire TV needs to be up to date.
porkenhimer said:
Android 4.2.2 being populr has nothing to do with anything. Toyota overtook Chevrolet as having the most popular car in the US, but people soon found out that Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles were death traps. Beings popular mens nothing. Also I was not complining, I was stating facts. 4.2.2 is on its last legs. Not everyone uses their Fire TV simply for Kodi, I use my Fire TV for a lot of things, so its important for the OS to stay up to date because of compatibility issues. This happens on all devices, but with the Fire TV we have no choice but to be stuck with Jellybean. If it wwere Windows, Linux, IOS etc we cold jusst update but with the Fire TV we are stuck with whatever Amazon gives us, which is fine, but they need to realize that the Fire TV needs to be up to date.
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why does it need to be up to date though with the latest LP build....?
Your response to the questions asked of your first post seemed to have been answered with generalisations and vagueness. I do not see, in the context of the AFTV, that JB is on its last legs at all nor that the update, based on 4.2.2 is a major fail. It meets the needs of what Amazon wanted from its device and also meets my own needs when using Kodi, which it was not designed to do but does it for me very well.
Great news that Amazon is still pushing out updates and my AFTV continues to performs very well, since version 15 of Kodi has been released it seems even more responsive, might be just a placebo effect though...?
vimesUK said:
why does it need to be up to date though with the latest LP build....?
Your response to the questions asked of your first post seemed to have been answered with generalisations and vagueness. I do not see, in the context of the AFTV, that JB is on its last legs at all nor that the update, based on 4.2.2 is a major fail. It meets the needs of what Amazon wanted from its device and also meets my own needs when using Kodi, which it was not designed to do but does it for me very well.
Great news that Amazon is still pushing out updates and my AFTV continues to performs very well, since version 15 of Kodi has been released it seems even more responsive, might be just a placebo effect though...?
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A device performing well has nothing to do with it. I can install Windows 95 on an old laptop and it will perform well. The Fire TV is more than just a device for running Kodi. I use the Fire TV as it was meant to be used and not just to steal free streams from Kodi. I do use Kodi, but the Fire TV does way more than run Kodi.
Also Amazon has even lost native Fire TV apps because they started requiring Android 4.4, so anyone that says compatibility issues are not an issue, knows very little. It will keep gettin worse, cause everyone is starting to require Android 4.4. For some reason in the past six or so months companies have wanted to keep their apps fresh and only running on the latest software. This is the first time I have seen so many apps require such a new version of Android. Its not Amazons fault, but they need to realize that everyone is moving to newer software and they need to as well. I think all of the companies that make android devices have finally realized that the Apple way may be the best. Apple keeps every device up to date then drops support for devices after a couple years so that people will have to get the newer version. Like when the iphone 4 came out, Apple basically took every ios device from two years before and dropped support for all of them forcing people to buy the new one. It seems like thats where Android is headed in terms of software updates. Google has already basically ordered companies to stop putting SD Card slots and removable batteries on phones, so its clear they are trying to make Android devices be more like the iphone, so why not also copy the way Apple updates their devices as well. The Fire TV does need to be upgraded to Android 4.4+, cause it cannot be used to it full potential running Jellybean. Sure it can run a lot of apps, but as time goes by less and less apps will be compatible.
Its crazy that Apple has one device that outsells over 200 Android devices by itself, but its little things like software updates that tell me exactly why the iphone has a lock on the industry. Android is barely the market share leader, but the chart is extremely laughable, cause ios has three devices on the chart and every Android device combined isn't even outselling three Apple devices by a whole percentage point. Updates were the worst part of windows mobile devices and I believe that having no kind of structured upgrade system for Android devices, is one of the major drawbacks of Android devices, cause its like having windows mobile all over again. Just browse through XDA and you will see thousands of threads where people are compaining that their device came out a month before but the newer device got the upgrade first and so on. Androids major flaw is no structured upgrade system. But like I said above, I believe that is where Google will take Android and have some kind of upgrade system like Apple does with their devices.
That the good thing about Apple, if you have newer Apple devics all of them will get the same major update at the same time. Android needs to catch up.
quote " I use the Fire TV as it was meant to be used"
lol! listen to yourself, you clearly do NOT. Why do you keep contradicting yourself?
Now cut the bs and answer the question, what twenty apps have you lost compability with?
You my friend is what is called a freaking uber troll.
The only thing I see this streaming box (yes its meant for steaming and casual gaming, NOT running productivity apps) could gain from lollipop is clearly 24p and the autoswitch of refresh rate to match the video.