Related
Hello all
As a relatively new user of the G1 it raised some questions in my mind about its design.
The thing is that all the exciting things are there but some basic things are missing.
First did the designers intention was to enable only English speaking users to use it? Why there is no built in multi language support? Even if the user itself speak English but he is a Japanese and wants to comunicate with friends and relatives not speaking English - he can not.
Second - did the designers realy thought that 256MB of internal memory will not run out of space very quickly, when the whole idea of the phone with the Market is to download applications for it? Why not give the user to choose where to install the application at the installation time? It is like that on my Nokia E65.
What about all the trivial little things that I was so sure they are there, that I did not bother to ask about them, things like choosing where user data - like contacts etc - will be saved, copying the contacts and other user data to the SD card weather or from the SD card to backup or restore them. Again my Nokia has it and it is basic function on any Hand Held device.
When you mount the phone on a PC what do they have to hide when showing only the SD card content?
What is the result - talented people here and else where like JF are trying to Hack/Fix/Go around all these flaws in the design - and realy doing a great job - instead of focusing on developing new and exciting applications for us the users of the phone.
Does any body have an explanation for these design flaws?
Have a good day and thanks to all the developers out there fixing the designers poor design (at least on some basic functionality).
Ophir
New os, first device running the os, they just wanted to present something. The first car ever produced sucked too, it just happens.
ophirb said:
When you mount the phone on a PC what do they have to hide when showing only the SD card content?
Ophir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you mount the phone to the PC, it only mounts the SDcard. No ones hiding anything, but if you're using a stock G1 then thats all you really have access to anyways, and thats prolly the way google intended it, considering the OS is open source, so im sure while android was being developed they couldnt figure the need to hack a device thats already open source. So why would they make it to where any everyday user can just hook up the phone, delete the whole system "accidently", and then have a $400 brick? Cuz you know thats what everybody would do if they could...theyd go deleting things that they dont know what the hell they even do, then go whining to google or tmobile when their phone is ruined. Who wants to shell out all the money to replace all the phones that were bought by complete and utter MORONS who will settle for nothing less than to go messing with stuff they dont understand until they've rendered their phone completely USELESS? Not me, and surely not google, either. So if you want to have the phone mount the whole system, then make your own build and add that functionality. Thats the beauty of an open source platform, they made it SAFE FOR ALL USERS, and then advanced users who actually know what theyre doing can change it any way they want. So dont complain about the way android was released because it is, by no means, a finished product. So if you dont like it, CHANGE IT. Or pay someone else to change it for you. Whatever. But the point and the beauty of this OS is that YOU CAN change it, you arent just stuck with ****ty functionality, you can change whatever you want to make your device do whatever you want. Dont just sit around crying about the current state of android...get out there and make it better, for yourself, for all of us, or accept it the way it is and leave it alone.
-BMFC
Mine is multilingual... Under regional settings I change the language to spanish.
RSchmauk said:
Mine is multilingual... Under regional settings I change the language to spanish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. Even though the hardware keyboard is English, there are plenty of alternative Virtual Keyboards on the market that have multi-language support, including middle-eastern and Asian ones.
Re: 256MB int memory... That's a huge "WTF" in my book. This phone should've had HTC Hero's specs of 512MB RAM and 256MB ROM.
Installing apps to SD card can be accomplished with custom ROMs. For everything else - "there's an app for that".
Keep in mind that Android is still in its infancy. As the OS and SDK mature, you will see all those features, and many more.
CBowley said:
New os, first device running the os, they just wanted to present something. The first car ever produced sucked too, it just happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your saying the Ford Model A sucks? haha
What Should have been
The first car though did have four wheels an engine a steering wheel etc all teh BASIC stuff where there.
Today we have all the other goodies AC, ABS, Stereo etc.
In the G1 it is like they started with the goodies and left the basic out.
Since the OS is open source it can be modified, but if installing a modified ROM, it voids the warrenty.
So if you spent a lot of money buying the G1 discovered these flaws in the design and wants to rectify it by using a modified ROM you loose your warrenty.
Bare in mind that this is not a cheap device and so is expected to perform and have MORE functionality then a cheap device.
I whould not even bring all this up if it was a cheap device.
ophirb said:
Since the OS is open source it can be modified, but if installing a modified ROM, it voids the warrenty.
So if you spent a lot of money buying the G1 discovered these flaws in the design and wants to rectify it by using a modified ROM you loose your warrenty.
B
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always just flash with stock firmware and perform a hard reset.
Don't get me wrong, in general I like it, it is just that it seems to me careless not to include those basic features. They, as a professional designers should be able to figure out the design better and it is not that they did not have anything to rely on, many smart phones are out there to learn the good and the bad from.
ophirb said:
it voids the warrenty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you come up with THAT nonsense?
If you change the software and the LCD quits, the LCD is STILL under warranty.
Hi,
I was wondering, can I put a code on my contacts and my messages?
I just dont like it when people are playing with my phone, how easy it is for them through my contacts and messages.
Never had this problem with previous phones (well it isn't a REAL problem, just a hindrance), cause there you had to go through at least 2 or 3 clicks to see them.
Anyone know any software I can install for this? Or how I can enable it?
Im running the stock rom btw, should it matter...
Put the main pin code in Settings & Lock or...
...don't give other people your phone!
I've never heard of something which locks just the items you mention, sort of goes against the point of an easy to use, easy to access phone UI.
I think I saw a Samsung phone which had it, everything was open on the phone, just the text messages required a pin. I saw it and loved it.
And its mainly now that I have a new phone that everyone wants to see it and use it, and I don't want to be prick and say no =)
As for a main PIN, I do have that.
what you got to hide!?
yes samsungs (well at least use to) enable you to set codes for individual programs. eg texts, pictures, videos etc etc. not seen another phone that does that though. tbh its good with have a lock code at all as alot of phones dont even have that!
best thing to do is turn touch flow off so its just the windows today screen, then they have to scroll trough your programs etc to get to contacts/msgs
Hi. Here's the deal...my elderly parents are travelling this winter in another country. International roaming is expensive, as is international travel, and we're looking for as many ways as we can to save money. One of the ways we've considered to deal with both of these problems is to buy a sim card where they are at, rather than bringing their phone from home and paying outrageous international roaming charges. This is where Hero comes in...I have an unlocked HTC Hero that I could let them use. The problem is, they are intimidated by technology, and having a capable phone with lots of features is overwhelming to them. I was wondering if there's a way I can lock the phone down so it goes to the dialer and nowhere else. No lock screen, no email, no Android market, no text messages sent or received, none of that, just the dialer to make and receive calls. Ideally, I'd like to be able to return it to normal functionality when I get it back, but if this is a one-way thing, that's OK, too. It is currently running Elelinux-7.1-Hero-v3.6-Light.
I apologize profusely if this is a silly question...I'm new at all of this.
Tired_ said:
Hi. Here's the deal...my elderly parents are travelling this winter in another country. International roaming is expensive, as is international travel, and we're looking for as many ways as we can to save money. One of the ways we've considered to deal with both of these problems is to buy a sim card where they are at, rather than bringing their phone from home and paying outrageous international roaming charges. This is where Hero comes in...I have an unlocked HTC Hero that I could let them use. The problem is, they are intimidated by technology, and having a capable phone with lots of features is overwhelming to them. I was wondering if there's a way I can lock the phone down so it goes to the dialer and nowhere else. No lock screen, no email, no Android market, no text messages sent or received, none of that, just the dialer to make and receive calls. Ideally, I'd like to be able to return it to normal functionality when I get it back, but if this is a one-way thing, that's OK, too. It is currently running Elelinux-7.1-Hero-v3.6-Light.
I apologize profusely if this is a silly question...I'm new at all of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's kind of easy what you want...but not every thing can be erased
1ownload eles ROM
2. Open the archive with WinRar or other app that you use
3. Go to /system/apps and you will find all the app there with the extension .apk
4. Delete what you think that they won't use (but be very careful): for example market.apk (you said that they don't need it)
4. Close the program and you will see that the rom is more lighter
5. Flash the rom
6. Enjoy
For the part with the lock screen i don't think i can help you...
Hope you get work done
Stefan
The lock screen part is really the important part. The other apps can still be installed, just abstracted away from my parent's eyes, if they're locked into the dialer. I guess I wasn't clear enough when I described what I was looking for. I want to make it so that the dialer program is the only program accessible to the user...when they press the home button, I want it to go to the dialer rather than to a launcher. When the screen goes off due to inactivity, I want it to go to the dialer right away when any button is pressed rather than showing a lock screen. On iPhone (sorry, it's a platform I'm more familiar with), there's a jailbreak app called IncarcerApp that can do this...is there anything similar for Hero?
Lockscreen
Hi there! If you want to get rid of the lock screen what you can do is go into settings on the phone then Cyanogen mod settings then tablet tweaks and in there, there is a tick box or similar that you can press to disable the lock screen!
Hope that Helped
Thanks for the tip, PP337, but that's still not what I am looking for. I did some Googling last night, and I found a lot of developers refer to what I am looking for as 'Kiosk Mode'. Unfortunately, everything I found on that is in the context of creating a new app, rather than using an existing one.
I'm obviously not making myself clear enough, but I'm not sure how I can phrase it more clearly. I really hope we won't have to go buy a junky SIMlocked Nokia phone that we'll have to throw out in three months when they come home.
i can't understand one think....why is it so hard to unlock a phone??? especially when it's so simple...
Stefan
Unlocking a phone is indeed simple, for you and I. But for an elderly person, particularly one who is unfamiliar with technology, being confronted with a screen full of app icons can be intimidating. I tried to get my mom to use the Android phone as it is, and she is terrified of breaking something or doing something wrong, to the point where she won't use it for those fears.
I have to say, I hadn't expected it would be this difficult to make this 'open platform' do what I want it to. If it were iPhone, I'd be done by now. Disappointing.
Could you not just remove all the homescreen icons? Can't remember which launcher comes with that ROM, but if you install launcher pro for example, you can remove all the icons even the dock. You can then choose to have just one homescreen and just the dialer icon. Or you could leave it blank to just select the dialer button to make calls. Then disable the lock screen as described above. Would that be ok for them ?
Tired_ said:
I have to say, I hadn't expected it would be this difficult to make this 'open platform' do what I want it to. If it were iPhone, I'd be done by now. Disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how old are your parents that you say that they "can't unlock" a phone... Both my parents use android on their phones and don't have any problems....
Don't want to be rude or things like that but it's easy on android...
Stefan
stefpaul said:
how old are your parents that you say that they "can't unlock" a phone... Both my parents use android on their phones and don't have any problems....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She's 72, and in the early stages of Alzheimer's. He's 70 and has a severe learning disability.
I tried the suggestion someone posted about LauncherPro with only one icon. She accidentally long-pressed an empty space and the menu came up and she didn't know what to do. I was able to tell her what to do because I am here now, but if that had happened when I wasn't around she wouldn't have been able to cope at all, for fear it was dialing some 1-900 number or doing something else she didn't want. I'm shocked that it isn't possible to lock Hero into a single app, but it seems it simply isn't. Thanks anyways for all your help.
Tired_ said:
She's 72, and in the early stages of Alzheimer's. He's 70 and has a severe learning disability.
I tried the suggestion someone posted about LauncherPro with only one icon. She accidentally long-pressed an empty space and the menu came up and she didn't know what to do. I was able to tell her what to do because I am here now, but if that had happened when I wasn't around she wouldn't have been able to cope at all, for fear it was dialing some 1-900 number or doing something else she didn't want. I'm shocked that it isn't possible to lock Hero into a single app, but it seems it simply isn't. Thanks anyways for all your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are they traveling alone? That sounds like something you should worry about more then just having a phone for them
You could use adw and lock the desktop by pressing menu and choosing 'lock desktop'. That would prevent any accidental menus popping up. You could also hide the status bar from adw settings and disable the lockscreen from cm tweaks menu. You could also download a dialer widget (https://market.android.com/details?id=dialer.impact) and set that as a widget on a single homescreen and lock the desktop on adw launcher.
Hope that helped
Car Home may help
As the title says. I'm looking to try out a wm7 phone. I have been on android and never used a wm phone before. Is it easy to flash roms onto them? (has anyone made a guide?). Also any opinions from you experience with the phone would be greatly appreciated.
It depends.
skathed said:
As the title says. I'm looking to try out a wm7 phone. I have been on android and never used a wm phone before. Is it easy to flash roms onto them? (has anyone made a guide?). Also any opinions from you experience with the phone would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all depends how open minded you are for radical changes in some aspects, Android is a more messed up OS, you have plenty of options(many of which you never use) on the other hand WP7 is a more restrictive OS, you can't do many things here without a full unlock or in other cases (like notification center) even a full unlock won't help(well there is a notification center in the workings on this site(www.windowsphonehacker.com), but i'm on WP7 from the beginning and actually never quite needed one as live tiles are very functional and are capable of storing great amount of information(of course if the developer wasn't lazy and implemented this).
All in all, a fully unlocked device will give you the kind of freedom( sideloading apps, even installing apps from the browser, storing apps in the internal memory of the phone, messing up with the background colors, tiles of the screen, lockscreen customization, creating folders with apps on the start screen, changing values inaccessible for non unlocked devices(like adding *never* option to the lockscreen timeout, and many others).
But you will find and many things that you didn't experience on android, like the search experience, the integrated office experience(a very useful thing if you work with documents), facebook, twitter, linkedin and mail integration and the feeling of security you don't expect from another OS, no bloatware and the stability no other OS can offer, as the speed of the system isn't changing over time )).
Thanks that helps heaps. Im getting less confident in Androids safety since they have the largest slice of the consumer pie. I have ordered one from overseas (dont sell this model in my country) and hope to see it soon.
Some help.
skathed said:
Thanks that helps heaps. Im getting less confident in Androids safety since they have the largest slice of the consumer pie. I have ordered one from overseas (dont sell this model in my country) and hope to see it soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Well i can give you some useful advices )) , when creating your live id select your country as US or UK as this setting determines your marketplace region and if the marketplace isn't present in your country you will literally have no apps to install ))
2) As you get your device, don't bother with official updates, install a custom bootloader from here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1485569 , but BEWARE --> check your device revision( 1.3 or 1.4) if you get a 1.3 revision device you're lucky as these usually get more custom love )) and after you install the bootloader you can install this great rom for revision 1.3 : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2016769
or this rom for 1.4 : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024825
3) In settings of the device there is the Region+Language option, there you select your region for correct date/time/currency and other stuff BUT for the Browser & search language select English United States as this setting will give you the full Search experience( i mean Local Scout/Music/Vision and Voice, these functions are very neat, you'll understand ( search youtube for WP7 search )
4) Make sure you install these great homebrew apps :
- Bazaar
- Bt File transfer
- Blue Manager(requires the previous to work)
- Call Manager
- File Manager
- Folders( www.windowsphonehacker.com )
- Marketplace Config( helps changing marketplace settings so you can download other OEM's goodies )
- Nokia apps( must have)
- Program Manager
- WPH tweaks ( again www.windowsphonehacker.com )
5) The device has a microsd slot, but BEWARE, not any microsd will work for it, you will find a list of working cards here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Focus , i myself added there the A-Data 16GB Class 4 (AUSDH16GCL4-RA1) as this is what i use now in my Focus, and it's working fantasticly well for 2 years already.
And there is one more thing you need to know about the microsd, it will not work as it used to work on android phones, here you must install it from the beginning because the OS formats it and it merges with the internal memory, so in the end it behaves like one unified memory, you can't access it aside from your device, and you can't swap cards, ass swapping cards requires HARD REST of the device, so if you plan to put a microsd card doit from the beginning.
Well, good luck ))
If you really can't wait for a Windows Phone 8, Samsung Focus is still available on eBay for about $125. It's worth the money without doubt. The only problem is that it comes with no warranty whatsoever.
Wait and get a WP8?
skathed said:
As the title says. I'm looking to try out a wm7 phone. I have been on android and never used a wm phone before. Is it easy to flash roms onto them? (has anyone made a guide?). Also any opinions from you experience with the phone would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Focus is a solid phone (I'm still using mine and I've gone through 3 custom ROMS - I'm currently using Voluptuary's clean WP7.8 ROM), and it's pretty simple to root it and install a custom ROM on it. That said, it's probably worthwhile to get a WP8 device if you can manage the extra cash. Nokia has some cheaper WP8 offerings, if I'm not mistaken. I think the Lumia 620 is $250 or so.
Ok, so I got an old Nook Simple Touch. In part because they can be had for such a cheap price on eBay these days and in part because they're among the few eInk based devices that run on Android and can actually be unlocked and more done with them than the manufacturers intended (I've used an old Kindle and man I hate how locked down and generally useless they are.) Actually, I was hoping I could do some neat stuff like setup daydream with weather info and a clock and all on it while the screen was "off" but I guess I forgot that this is a relatively new thing and it looks like it's based on a really really old Android version? Either way, I'm so used to CyanogenMod and its relatively near to AOSP nature that this thing is feeling horribly limiting and unpleasant to use for me.
Anyway, I've been searching around for various guides and such. I've found tools for rooting and putting the Google Market (yeesh, I forgot they used to call it "Market" ages ago.) It seems I needed to update the system to 1.1 for this (I had bootloops until I did, so clearly you have to have the right system version.) It seems there is a newer version or two beyond this though, but I didn't see root tools (I'm still hoping I can do more with this that might require root access to actually do.) Should I be updating beyond that? Namely, are there tools to actually root and all if I do?
Also, in the meantime, I'm running into troubles with the plain and simple fact that neither Google Market nor Amazon's app store installed by these tools work which may not be fixable. The thread on here says to add an account through Youtube first, then go to gmail and manually refresh over and over until it eventually crashes. After probably 15 minutes of this my hands were too tired to continue though. I just don't think it's supposed to take 15 minutes though. When I start the market it doesn't crash like that guide mentions either. Is there any other way to fix this? Is there any point? Obviously the market app is quite old, so perhaps it's simply never going to work? Is there some alternative way to find stuff that actually works on the NST? I thought to do F-Droid, but even it requires a newer SDK version apparently (I'm getting kind of curious what version of Android its base corresponds to. Does it predate 2.2? If so I may be in trouble since I don't think any of the stuff I was hoping I could put on there will go lower than 2.2.)
For this matter, is there a better way I can do stuff like loading apps? I was hoping to at least have a file manager to be able to use do stuff, but they didn't include one. I'll probably have to track down an apk. For now I'm having to actually use the network adb (I installed the version of the tools that was supposed to do adb over USB, but it doesn't even show up as an adb device at all for me to even so much as install a driver, so I guess it's not doing adb over USB as it should. The network method seems to work, though I'm not a big fan of leaving it wide open like that on principle really, yet remembering to manually change it on and off is a pain too.)
I realize this is a really old device and probably it is very limited what I can really do with it, but I was hoping I could at least squeeze a bit of use out of it. In particular, I'm going to need a much better reading app even if I use it for its intended purpose only. When I looked it up I had thought it was a close enough to stock Android that I'd be able to load up most apps I guess and I didn't think it would be so hard to even get anything on it.
Whew!
OK, let's start with basics. You didn't say how you rooted it but if you're working from 1.1 you probably are not getting the best out of the device. 1.21 is the final stock version. If you can get your NST back to stock, I would recommend doing so. Considering what you seem to have done already probably the easiest way to go is to use the NookManager route. Go here. Follow the instructions. There is info there for adding a Gapps package after rooting. But first get yourself back to 1.21 stock. Once that's done you can either use the Search Market tool from the Gapps package, or find apps on your computer and have them show up on the NST via the PlayStore, or side-load apps from the SD card or via ADB (default on that is WiFi with NookManager--you can install the ADB Konnect app and it works fine). There are plenty of alternate readers that run on the NST. I happen to like the stock reader very much, but to each his/her own.
When all that's done, everything depends on what your expectations are and what you want from your NST. There are a variety of kernals out there as well as USB host/audio mods. Although the Android system is old and the display limits what you can do, there are many apps that run well on the device and I personally get a lot of use out of mine, even more now that I have audio. Check out what I've done (second post) and look at what others have done (in the same thread).
There's a lot of good info in this forum on modifications, apps that run well (and don't) and many tips and tricks.
I think I have most of what I need with that actually, yes. I didn't realize from the guides I initially found that you could root or install third party components with a > 1.1 system version. With that stuff I do have a semi-working Google Market now and can actually install a lot more stuff than I thought. I see also my favorite reader app not only works, but apparently knows I'm running it on a device with an eInk screen and defaults to having eInk adaptations turned on.
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)
Nazo said:
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you are having CM lockscreen widget withdrawal
Actually that seems like a job for Tasker. But it would be potentially messy. You'd need to:
1. Clear image in custom screensaver folder
2. Turn on wi-fi
3. Open weather/whatever app to update info
4. Take screenshot and save to custom screensaver folder
5. Close app
6. Turn off wi-fi
At that point when the Nook goes to sleep the info will be displayed on the lock screen. The question is whether Tasker can wake up the Nook and repeat this at desired intervals when you're not using it.
Also, have a look here for something along the same lines. Maybe you'll get an idea.
Ironically on my phone and tablet I keep it really simple. It's just that the eInk screen of the Nook can essentially be "always on" so to speak without draining the battery like mad (since it would only actually need to wake up every half hour or so for a frequent update schedule.)
But, all that said, it just doesn't sound like this is really worth all the effort. I guess I'm actually more used to newer versions of Android mostly rather than CyanogenMod specifically as they just have more power in what these things can do. With the Nook -- even unlocked and opened up -- it really sounds like the amount of time and effort required to even remotely approach such a thing is orders of magnitude higher. Well, that's fine. I had initially thought that I might maybe just use it as some sort of really neat "smart clock" type thing (at $35-ish on eBay you won't find many clocks that could come close to doing what an Android device could theoretically do) but in the end I don't think this is really all that realistic and definitely not worth the effort. On the other hand, now that I'm able to get more stuff actually running on it and open up its capabilities more I'm thinking I could maybe use this thing for something more akin to its original intended purpose: reading. From time to time I want my tablet to be able to do a bit more and I think this can do pretty well everything I care about beyond the basic reading stuff, so maybe I can stop carrying my tablet around all the time. (And for stuff like music I have a dedicated multimedia phone courtesy of eBay that's much better off really.)