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Hey guys,
so one day I was wondering that we should start a thread on the main issues of the Nexus One and Android. I thought it would be nice if everyone posted an issue or an idea that would be relevant to Google to implement on the next version of Android. I've named some (I am on stock FRF91 btw, so some issues may not affect all users):
Nexus One Specific:
-enable custom trackball and led colors notifications without the need to root (there's an app called Trackball Alert by lilHermit [see http://www.appbrain.com/app/uk.co.lilhermit.android.TrackballAlert ] that does exactly what I mean but you need custom roms to use it)
-720p video recording (already achievable with Cyanogen's mod, but could use Google's help with the drivers and to up the overall quality of the video)
-fix multitouch (I know ClearPad 2000 is not very good at dealing with multitouch but there is room for software/driver optimization)
-improve touchscreen subtle delay after touch (again, maybe a ClearPad 2000 issue, not sure about it)
-trackball wake and unlock for non-rooted users (is it THAT hard to implement?)
General Android:
-enable horizontal homescreen without having to use a dock
-improve kinetic scrolling on the maps app (not really an android issue, it's app-specific)
-isolate images and video files of apps from the gallery app (it is really annoying to see completely unrelated pics from apps in the middle of the pics you've taken with ur camera or copied from ur pc)
-remove the ****ty compression from the pictures on the gallery, contact pictures and album covers
-make the gallery 24 bit colors again (it was 24 bit on 2.1, but they screwed up on froyo [even on FRF91])
-improve the music player (much needed)
-add swipe left and right gestures to switch between emails, songs (just like in the stock news app)
-smoother transition between homescreens and smoother launcher (improve overall FPS rate on the system)
-better live wallpaper performance (using LWP generally slows the system down)
-tabbed browsing (like Dolphin Browser), better history and bookmark handling (bookmarks synchronazation with firefox, chrome, safari and maybe even ****ty ie)
-both the gmail and the email apps need an overhaul, 1st: it is SLOW. It takes AGES to open an email with images even on a fast wifi connection. 2nd. threaded view. C'mon one of the great things about gmail are threaded emails but you cant take advantage of it on your android phone? 3rd. UI overhaul.
-itunes-like, offline backup, firmware updating, music, photos and video syncing (ok, I know I'm prolly getting flamed for this one, but I honestly believe that even with all the efforts from Google to make everything clound-based, I still see the necessity of having an offline organization tool)
-custom account sync time (set a schedule for auto syncing contacts, agenda, etc...)
-enable online browsing and managing of apps, music, photos, contacts, call log... all in a single website, like Microsoft wants to implement on Windows Phone Series 7 (see http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/13/windows-phone-live-to-offer-remote-wipe-location-and-sync-for/ )
-Keyboard and Languages:
-tweaks on the keyboard including multitouch support (like the Droid X)
-make the keyboard not take the whole screen (eg. you can see the actual app you're using while typing instead of seeing only the text box - really needed for chatting apps)
-portuguese dictonary (I'm from Brazil, but I mean adding more languages to Android's dictionary) [the OS is already available in portuguese]
-more voice commands (like the iphone) with support for more languages
-Marketplace:
-better looking games and apps (this issue goes much deeper then just the UI)
-isolate the CRAPPS (soundboards, sexy japanese girl wallpapers, 50 cent ringtones, etc) in a different category
-create an approval process (completely debatable, but if it's ever created, it should not ressemble apple's flawed approval process and should not run away from Google's open philosophy)
-improve developer finantial gains with their apps (see: http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/07/05/report-over-half-of-all-android-apps-are-free/ ; http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/0...gaming-on-android-and-how-openfeint-may-help/ ; http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010 ; http://nanocr.eu/2010/06/27/googles-mismanagement-of-the-android-market/ )
-find a way of reducing pirated and stolen apps (for example, blocking backing up paid apps: today, users can simply buy an app from the market, back it up using astro or some other tool, then they uninstall it to get a refund then they'll install the backed up app and keep both the money and the app)
-better organisation of cateories and better browsing and searching (search suggestions)
-GODDAMN GOOGLE MAKE THE MARKETPLACE PAID APPS AVAILABLE IN MORE COUNTRIES
-The comment below was copied from Android Central, originally posted by credo on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 12:08, as I thought he had some great insights on the market from a developer's point of view (see: http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010#comment-47392)
" 1) Being able to purchase an app off the web. The big reason I have for this is marketing -- currently there's no good place for me to link a banner ad or other promotion to. This means the user has to manually search for my app in the marketplace to buy it, or scan a QR code. Not exactly impulse-purchase friendly. This is being taken care of with 2.2, but it won't be something I can rely on for a long time after that (the vast majority of the phones would need to be on 2.2).
2) Better descriptions in the listings. Not even much longer necessarily, but a dedicated changelog space (for example) would be fantastic, especially if it maintained history. Dedicated space to link to a video, or a free/paid version, etc could help a lot.
3) Tagging for the listings ("aquarium", "live wallpaper", "fish", "etc"). Currently, not only am I limited to 325 characters (about 30 of which have to go to my current changelog entry) but that couple of sentences I DO have had better include as many relevant search terms as I can manage! A place to enter a dozen or so tags would go miles to making the description space good for actual description. Come up with a big list of standardized tags and put them in a drop-down to help keep it organized.
4) The ability to respond to comments. I mean really, if I'm the developer let me post comments/replies freely. I'm thinking the eBay feedback mechanism here. It's agonizing to see somebody post a blatantly wrong negative comment and there's nothing meaningful I can do about it.
Personally, I've been doing okay with the market overall, but that's because I've focused on something of a niche with some definite consumer appeal (I've made several live wallpapers, like Silhouette, Galactic Core, City at Night, Aquarium Live Wallpaper, etc. Check here if you're interested.). It IS hard to find things on the market and with only the 325 character description to convey ALL your information, it's hard to explain all your features even when the customer does find your item."
That's it guys, hope you like the idea. Waiting for users input.
EDIT: Mods, please feel free to move this post if deemed necessary. I was not quite sure about where I should post it.
Wow. I like the ideas but to this point Google hasn't exactly been interested in acting upon any request, no matter how obvious, necessary or simple, and that's an ass load of requests. But sure I agree 720p recording and all the rest would be great.
wholeheartedly agree with you on every point...
Google is a few major DUH points from having a relatively perfect OS...some things just make zero sense whatsoever...like not having a simple add button and a check box contact list to send a text to more than one person in the stock app...1.0, 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.2 and still this simple feature has not been implemented.
also the music player is ridiculous...seriously...like for real...wtf?
Hey so you're Kittehface.
Good list.
Please add:
-GODDAMN GOOGLE MAKE GOOGLE VOICE/GOOGLE NAVIGATION AVAILABLE IN MORE COUNTRIES.
Granted more countries are having navigation but most Asian countries are still left in the dark.
Launcher pro transitions is so much smoother between home screens, it must be hitting 60 fps easily. Google could easily fix their stock launcher to match it
fiuza91 said:
-both the gmail and the email apps need an overhaul, 1st: it is SLOW. It takes AGES to open an email with images even on a fast wifi connection. 2nd. threaded view. C'mon one of the great things about gmail are threaded emails but you cant take advantage of it on your android phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No threaded view? Uh, what?
fiuza91 said:
-fix multitouch (I know ClearPad 2000 is not very good at dealing with multitouch but there is room for software/driver optimization)
What exactly is wrong with it. i havent had any issues, but other people seem to
-improve touchscreen subtle delay after touch (again, maybe a ClearPad 2000 issue, not sure about it)
same as above
-trackball wake and unlock for non-rooted users (is it THAT hard to implement?)
this is more of a feature. the trackball is pressed easier than the power button, meaning the screen can be turned on by accident and use more battery
General Android:
-isolate images and video files of apps from the gallery app (it is really annoying to see completely unrelated pics from apps in the middle of the pics you've taken with ur camera or copied from ur pc)
This is the fault of the app developer. They need to a) use googles API for external storage and b) they need to put a .nomedia file so it doesnt show up in in gallery or music player
-better live wallpaper performance (using LWP generally slows the system down)
i personally havent had an issue with this either
-tabbed browsing (like Dolphin Browser), better history and bookmark handling
i personally dont think tabbed browsing is that great on mobile devices. i would like a dedicated button to show open windows next to the bookmark button though
-both the gmail and the email apps need an overhaul, \ 2nd. threaded view. C'mon one of the great things about gmail are threaded emails but you cant take advantage of it on your android phone?
AFAIK threaded emails have been there since atleast 1.5. I have it on FRF91 for sure
-enable online browsing and managing of apps, music, photos, contacts, call log... all in a single website, like Microsoft wants to implement on Windows Phone Series 7 (see http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/13/windows-phone-live-to-offer-remote-wipe-location-and-sync-for/ )
This is coming with gingerbread
-Keyboard and Languages:
-make the keyboard not take the whole screen (eg. you can see the actual app you're using while typing instead of seeing only the text box - really needed for chatting apps)
froyo has this in browser, i think other apps have to be updated for this not sure
-more voice commands (like the iphone) with support for more languages
there are a lot of voice commands that work fine with the voice dialer (but they still require manual confirmation)
-Marketplace:
-better looking games and apps (this issue goes much deeper then just the UI)
lol if its about looks then its about UI. Android has already added opengl libraries. devs just need to use them now
-create an approval process (completely debatable, but if it's ever created, it should not ressemble apple's flawed approval process and should not run away from Google's open philosophy)
cant be open AND have an approval process
-improve developer finantial gains with their apps (see: http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/07/05/report-over-half-of-all-android-apps-are-free/ ; http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/0...gaming-on-android-and-how-openfeint-may-help/ ; http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010 ; http://nanocr.eu/2010/06/27/googles-mismanagement-of-the-android-market/ )
Just because they are free doesnt mean that there is no incentive to have paid apps on market, people will buy better products. i do agree that they could be better paid for ads though
-find a way of reducing pirated and stolen apps (for example, blocking backing up paid apps: today, users can simply buy an app from the market, back it up using astro or some other tool, then they uninstall it to get a refund then they'll install the backed up app and keep both the money and the app)
This is already implemented......
-The comment below was copied from Android Central, originally posted by credo on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 12:08, as I thought he had some great insights on the market from a developer's point of view (see: http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010#comment-47392)
"
2) Better descriptions in the listings. Not even much longer necessarily, but a dedicated changelog space (for example) would be fantastic, especially if it maintained history. Dedicated space to link to a video, or a free/paid version, etc could help a lot.
dedicated changelog space is provided in the version area of the market. most devs dont know how to use it though =/
4) The ability to respond to comments. I mean really, if I'm the developer let me post comments/replies freely. I'm thinking the eBay feedback mechanism here. It's agonizing to see somebody post a blatantly wrong negative comment and there's nothing meaningful I can do about it.
gingerbread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree with most of the points though
trackball wake and unlock for non-rooted users (is it THAT hard to implement?)
this is more of a feature. the trackball is pressed easier than the power button, meaning the screen can be turned on by accident and use more battery
- True, but we should be one to decide that right? At least give us the choice.
fiuza91 said:
-horizontal homescreen (you can have it with custom launchers, but would be nice to see Google implementing it with some cool transitions)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Horizontal homescreen is already in stock standard android 2.2. Without any custom launcher. It is just that you need to dock the N1 in the car dock, before it will activate. Point is - it is there - issue is that you cannot activate it outside the car dock.
4) You CAN post comments on your own application and you have been able to on every version of android. It's a bit messy but it works:
Firstly, log in to your google account on your phone and try to purchase your own application. It should say something about it failing. Then, close and re-open the market, navigate to your app and, hey-presto, you can comment
I noticed that most of your points are not "issues" but "suggestions for improvement".
If so please change the post title.
Paul22000 said:
No threaded view? Uh, what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's threaded view on the Gmail app, but not on th email app. I know threaded view is something from Gmail but it would be nice if implemented on the email app (I don't know if requires any server-based modification so I don't know if it's possible)
logger said:
Horizontal homescreen is already in stock standard android 2.2. Without any custom launcher. It is just that you need to dock the N1 in the car dock, before it will activate. Point is - it is there - issue is that you cannot activate it outside the car dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right. Edited my post.
Meltus said:
4) You CAN post comments on your own application and you have been able to on every version of android. It's a bit messy but it works:
Firstly, log in to your google account on your phone and try to purchase your own application. It should say something about it failing. Then, close and re-open the market, navigate to your app and, hey-presto, you can comment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you think there should be a way of doing it "natively"? I'm sure it would help devs out a lot.
britoso said:
I noticed that most of your points are not "issues" but "suggestions for improvement".
If so please change the post title.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right. Call me an idiot but I can't see any way of changing the thread title. And, "suggestions for improvement" suggest there's something not quite right about whatever, so it is an issue nonetheless.
fiuza91 said:
You're right. Call me an idiot but I can't see any way of changing the thread title.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click Edit, then change the title.
---
In any case, the only issues I see with the Nexus One are the touch screen is terrible (have to turn off/on to recalibrate lower right corner of screen; multi-touch axes snap together) and the four soft buttons are not aligned correctly with their respective labels.
Other than those two, the Nexus One is downright amazing in my eyes. Everything else is software, which can and will be fixed over time, either by Google or by developers like Cyanogen. ie Nexus One first to receive 2.2, probably the first to receive Gingerbread etc.
Aside from the touch screen being subpar, almost everything else you mentioned is more of a suggestion rather than an issue, as britoso mentioned.
I'm not sure if they can even fix the screen issues with the nexus one. Because I don't really see anything wrong with the phone except for the horrible touchscreen.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Mokurex said:
trackball wake and unlock for non-rooted users (is it THAT hard to implement?)
this is more of a feature. the trackball is pressed easier than the power button, meaning the screen can be turned on by accident and use more battery
- True, but we should be one to decide that right? At least give us the choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol if we had a choice for every little setting in android, then we would be flooded with the amount of settings available in the ROM. people are already complaining about how you have to have a "PhD in Computer Science" (i call BS. I only have a bachelors in SE ) to use android...adding more options will make people think WTF
most people want someone else to take care of everything for them and give them a product that "just works" (i hate you steve jobs)
Paul22000 said:
Click Edit, then change the title.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had already clicked edit, but I can't change the title.
By the way, thanks for the input everyone! This is part of what makes a community like XDA great.
fiuza91 said:
I had already clicked edit, but I can't change the title.
By the way, thanks for the input everyone! This is part of what makes a community like XDA great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
make sure you not hittin quick edit lol. it should be under title
flybyme said:
make sure you not hittin quick edit lol. it should be under title
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found it. I had to click "edit post" twice actually. I know that me not being able to change a simple title sounded noob, but I was just blind or something lol
logger said:
Horizontal homescreen is already in stock standard android 2.2. Without any custom launcher. It is just that you need to dock the N1 in the car dock, before it will activate. Point is - it is there - issue is that you cannot activate it outside the car dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can someone write application to emulate that the phone is in car dock without physically being in the dock?, this will enable the horizontal stock features
Hi guys,
I thought i share my thoughts and experience with people who have not decided which phone to buy. Maybe my input will make the decision easier (or maybe it will confuse you even more hehe).
Also I am hoping people with Android experience maybe can assist me with some of my negative bullets. I'm very new to Android so i apologies for my mistakes in my so called review/comparison.
And lastly i dont want to start any fanboy android vs iOS. This is just my personal view of the two phones/OS'es. Its maybe a bit unfair since i been using iPhone for the last 3 years and Android for only a week but still some of the bullets are independent of that. Any how lets dig into it, First i take the negative side of SGII and next the positive sides.
(maybe my topic is a bit misleading but below some of the items are compared against iPhone but i wont write all the plus/negative for iPhone since the SGII list is already pretty big and i want to focus on SGII which i hope can replace my iPhone)
- When i exit USB mode (where i can access the SD card) i cant find a way to reconnect it without cable unplug->plug. Is there a way i missed?
- Browser doesnt word wrap the text/column so good on table tab. I had a side by side comparison with my iPhone4. On iphone the whole article including images are resized and the text is fully readable. On Galaxy S2 images are not resized and text is readable but just barely. So the whole screen real-state is not fully utilized with the lower resolution and bad browser formatting.I have tested Opera also but the whole word wrapping experience left a very bad taste in my mouth. It was the worst experience ever, the article jump up and down every 5 sec or so, i think the browser got confused for some reason and couldnt decide how to format the page (this was when double tapping).
- Default browser crashes (go to qj.net where i usually visit to read about games).
- Text selection is a pain sometimes. First problem is that in every app it behaves differently. Second problem is that the process to select a text isnt so smooth.
- Confused about task and background proceses that start magically! When using taskmanager i can see mostly 2-3 tasks there and this makes sense. Now using other task killers suddenly they show 10-15 tasks. I understand these are background task but its beyond me why some of them suddenly are there. Like Kies, this should never be started unless i am using Kies. I can see now why my battery goes dows so fast (well compared to iPhone again). Why is there so many tasks started and why cant i control them from vanila Android. This should be a must. I dont want to root my phone to do the basic settings.
- Pretty much all application is downloaded can only be installed on phone memory. Why doesnt Google enforce developers to adapt to new versions of Android is beyond me.
- I havent found a way to backup everything on the phone (including applications and their save data) to my pc/mac. Without this i dont like to experiment rooting and other shizzles.
- Apps are not as smooth and functional on GS2 compared to iPhone4. Ex: Tunein Radio, i cant skip to next song. Ex2: ign app (iphone) allow for daily videos while the Android version is very poorly done and dont have any videos. Feels like Everything works just a little better on iPhone compared to Android phones.This is something most people cant understand if they havent had iPhone for a long time i think.
- Slow battery charging. I usually start charing at around 20% battery left. In one hour GS2 reaches around 40-50% while iPhone goes to 80%
- Headset lacks volume + next/back track when playing music.
- Creating folder through Kies Air not possible. for ex in media make a folder called movies.
- Drag&Drop in Kies air missing.
- When uploading a file through Kies Air there should be a progress bar, now it just looks busy and you dont know if its uploading or it hangs.
Ok now to some good sides on the Galaxy S2:
+ Brilliant screen (even if i think resolution could be better)
+ Flexibility and open market for every sort of application. Much like windows here you can add more functionality and make the phone very personal.
+ Excellent codec support. It plays pretty much everything i through at it. Well done Samsung.
+ Very good camera (even better then iPhone i admit)
+ Very good video recording (also better then iPhone)
+ Very light
+ Feels pretty good in your hand (even though i’m afraid one day the backvocer will break, i had a Nokia N95 and one day the smal plastic edges broke when i was opening the cover. Same thing will happen ti GS2 i’m sure)
+ Expandibale uSD.
+ Very cool fearure called Kies Air where i can access most studd through browser. (this can also be added to minus since it doenst work perfectly everytime i tested but the potential is there)
+ Nice features like pinch effect for desktop + many nice widgets.
+ I think you can make proper call recording on SGII (CallRecorder) but havent confirmed myself yet.
Lastly i like to say SGII is a wonderful phone and i really really want to use it as my primary phone. The one thing i hope Samsung fixes that will make me more loyal to Android is the default browser. The text wrapping must be improved and the browser more stable. I like the smoothness of the default browser and this is the most used part of the phone and so far my iPhone is better but i hope 2.3.4 update maybe can improve this.
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
4) Android issue =/
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw. Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
Cheers for the answers and help. I write the comments inline below.
bilboa1 said:
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
A: i did test this mode but it asked me to unplug the cable also, same thing for MTP. Dont you get that?
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
A: As mentioned i already tested this. Opera does some things better and some things worse. For instance visiting one of my favorite sites like Engadget.com the whole page jump up and down when i zoom in a little. To be honest the stock + Opera feel very bad compared to iPhones browser. I hope Opera or Samsung improve on this area. This is the most used feature for me.
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
A: Lets hope so
4) Android issue =/
A:
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
A: Yes true, i think Android just shows to much info for regular user. I have to see past the background tasks perhaps. Also some appz you can not remove like the hubs and such. Sure i can root and hack but i'm not so interested to do so just yet. Maybe when i'm a bit more user and understand Android better
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
A: Actually i got over 12Gig of Appz on my iPhone so 16Gig (or actually 12Gig which is free) isnt all to much when you have navigator (3,5Gig) and games and blogs and such. But sure its enought for a time to come. The bottom line is Google must be tougher with the market otherwise the fragmentation will just grow.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
A: Thanks for the tips, i will write it down. As said i dont dare yet to mess with hacking but soon i was actually considering using the TitaniumB , hear its easy to use.
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
A: I'm noob on what is there on the market so i'm sure there are many awesome apps on Android but when comparing the same app on Android vs iOS the Android was inferior. That was what i was comparing.
Another thing i dont really experience is the speed. To be honest i dont see such a huge speed difference when using my Wlan at home. But maybe you are right
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
A: I guess your right. On the other hand it could be possible a fw update could adjust some values for the current input, this could be a software limitation also i think. Lets hope
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
A:Thanks for the tips will test this. Actually this is same thing as the copy/paste issue. I expect the behaviour to be the same no matter application (coming from iOS) but here it seems its application to application. This offer more freedom to developers for sure but it will also generate crapy software and result in a bad user experience. It would be so much better if there were a set of rules that all developers should follow on certain areas (this one is one such area).
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
A: hehe true but this is the official way so i thought it should have been well tested and all
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw.
Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
A: Will do.
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
A: Strange, have to test again on IE which i hate, i use Firefox only. Also tested Safari on my mac.
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Click to collapse
Thanks again for your input mate. Back to play more with my GSII
Applications can also be installed on the external sd card.
Applications and I also believe their user data are backed up on google server. So if you factory reset the phone and sync with google, it will download all previous apps.
About the slow charging - are you on old firmware version or do you charge over USB?
Creating a folder through kies air is not possible, that is correct. To be honest I am happy that there is even an app which allows to copy media etc. over wifi, you know there are phones which don't have that, for example the iPhone.
All apps I am using are working fine. If an app is not stable it's developer's fault, not the phone.
Ios is from 2007.. android 09.. 1-2 years between them. just think how far android have gone the last year.. give it 2 years and then compare it to iphone 4 in it current state.. well yes i know android is older.. but the initial realse was around 08-09 and IOS june - 07.
and yes.. so far iphone fits those who just want it to work better.. that means ppl not that used to computers etc.
and currently i dont own an iphone but i got a first generation ipod touch.. and yes even that stoneage IOS thing does alot of things better then my S2..
bah but this iphone vs android is getting old its a subject that can go on forever and ever..
well ill stick with my laggy android.. well i've been told by my iphony friends that its laggy.. i just dont see it
vampyren said:
Hi guys,
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
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Click to collapse
Nice overview.
IMO S2 is the best phone on the market now. But due to appl's hype, n matter what hardware specs they release, the iphone will always be superior to ANY phone. They could release an iphone with 1st gen hardware, and it will still make more sales than sgs2.
But, slowly more and more ppl are moving towards androi, and apple are losing sales. they even copied bb and android in ios 5..
Also coming from an iPhone 4 to the GS2 I can safely say that I don't miss the iPhone at all which I thought I would.
Having owned a Nexus S in the past and feeling a bit bewildered as there was a lot of stuff within the OS which felt unpolished and unfinished and now 2.3.3 is like night and day for that and it feels much more like a complete OS to me.
@OP give it time there will be a lot of things you can do with your new phone which would require rooting on your iPhone 4
The world of apps and widgets and customization is at your finger tips so jump right in and enjoy
My phone is running ADW Launcher EX with 90% icon dock size, 5x5 grid for homescreen, transparent drawer and miui weather
The only thing you might miss is the app store and iTunes integration (if you use it), other than that the Galaxy S II has it beaten quite comfortably.
@zxz0O0:
OOH that is cool , i think some option about it but didnt think it was what i thought it was nice to have it confirmed. Then this is pretty much what Apple is adding into iOS now with the cloud thing. Pretty cool Android has it already. By the way why do people use program like TitaniumBackup when there is google sync ? is there any limitation to the cloud backup? will all games data, programs data, settings be backed up or just Android OS stuff?
About FW i use the latest i think KE7 i think its called but i read there is a new one coming out next week so hoping for better battery life.
And your last point is something we can debate about for a long time but my view is that if you dont have strict rules developers do what ever they want and can let their app go without update. On the other hand if Google enforce some guideline like having option to install to SD card developers must go by that or their application is removed from market. In the end users will benefit and the platform will grow. But this is my view alone.
@olyloh6696:
I dont think its just hype really. I mean we are comparing a year old phone to SGII here and they are pretty much head to head in most scenarios i tested. But i see your point and i do agree that Android has a charm about it. I love the moving background, i love the whole flexibility to do what you want with the interface. Specially SGII's support for codecs so i dont have to spend 2 day re-encoding all my movies etc. So there are definatley benefits with Android but iOS has the benefit to be easy and working perfectly with the functions it offers from the get go. I think its a matter of preference and more advanced users will move to Android (a bit like me).
@daleski75:
Yupp i think i just need to play with it more and get used to the eco system
I think i will harass Opera developers to fix the formatting thing on the webpages now
Thanks for your input guys, gonna go out and take a walk now, later.
There are also many other good browsers, xscope, miren and dolphin hd to name a few, they all have their own way to format the page and all are pretty good many have different options too for formatting and text wrapping (I believe the default samsung browser also has some options)
also I believe google sync doesnt save all app data (eg angry birds progress is not saved)
That is correct...Google Sync doesn't backup app data (like your Angry Birds scores). This is where Titanium Backup (commonly abbreviated to as TiBu) comes in. It "sort of" does cloud backup (via Dropbox), but its strength really shows when you start installing/changing/updating custom ROMs. Typically, it's used to backup your apps and their data to a folder on your SD card. I can also do some pretty advanced stuff that you probably wouldn't use much (if at all). In my view, the strength is it's ability to deal with batch jobs. For example, before installing a new ROM, I backup all user installed applications (non-protected ones, anyway) with only a couple clicks. Restoring is just as easy, provided you have the paid version (it allows for hands-off batch restore of your apps). Another cool feature it has is "freezing" apps. Say you root your phone and may want to clean some carrier crapware off of it, but aren't *totally* sure. You can freeze those apps...they stay installed and can be defrosted at any time, but they won't be available for use until you do.
Also, I agree with you that a lot of iOS apps are much better than their Android counterparts. I believe this is the case for one main reason: there are tons of people using Android and tons of people on iPhones...you can essentially count on one hand the number of iOS phones Apple has to support, and they are all sold by Apple. Now, look at the number of Android phones and devices and their individual specifications...that makes developing apps for Android pretty complicated. Devs have to take into account different CPUs, memory limitations, and the biggie--SCREEN DIFFERENCES! However, I like being able to run an app developed for a phone on my Honeycomb tablet. Yeah, it may be ugly (not necessarily), but it almost always works! I have a network tool I use that only shows up on about 1/6th the screen of my tab, but I don't care...it still does the job.
Don't forget another important aspect of the Android vs. Apple thing...Apple has control of their devices and their operating systems, and the cell phone carriers don't have control over when Apple releases an update. On the Android side, you have some manufacturers that are prompt with getting an update ready, and those who abandon their devices after they leave the store shelf. Not only that, but those who do release updates, and most do, have to deal with the likes of AT&T and Verizon and everyone else here in the US. Each company wants a ROM customized only for them, and sometimes the manufacturers actually have to pay the cell companies to push out updates. This is what causes the splintering of Android, but openness is what gives it its strengths.
As a general rule, I find that the more "techy" people like the Android OS, since you can customize it and tweak it like crazy. Those who aren't quite as savvy will probably like iOS more (there's less to screw up and they all look the same). Please don't flame me for saying that...it's just a general observation that has many exceptions.
Well that's my two cents. Maybe it will be helpful in some way? <*schrugs*>
Brad
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
There is no practical comparison possible between the mentioned phones.
Appreciate the explanation brad, TB is a nice tool indeed
Just one point, In regard to customization i can pretty do anything also when i jailbreak the iphone which is even simpler then rooting Android and what all techies do anyway with their Android phones
But i agree Android has its charm with the more open eco system.
The 2 area i wish to have before it gets perfect is the browsing and more resolution for the big ass screen (4.3)
hi, since I've been using honeycomb in my A500 and got to used the Xoom and Galaxy tab I noted that I can only have 5 apps on the multi-task buttom.
Is there a way that i can increase the number of apps on the multitasking buttom like Xoom and Glaxy Tab??
3.1 includes an update to show your last 18 apps in place of the 5 currently in 3.0
As far as I know, that button only shows recently opened apps, not running apps... but I too am looking forward to being able to see more.
To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.
WereCatf said:
To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.
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Bump. Needs a built in logical easy to use task manager that clearly shows what is running and offers options to close/disable said app.
Not really the way android works, I find keeping a copy of atk around on my rooted device helps a lot - remove the crap that you don't use, keep an eye on running tasks and free ram.
It would be nice if they would put in a little icon to indicate which apps are open in the recent app menu, maybe even on the app icons themselves on the home screen or whatever. I don't think it'd be that hard to implement.
lord_voldemort666 said:
It would be nice if they would put in a little icon to indicate which apps are open in the recent app menu, maybe even on the app icons themselves on the home screen or whatever. I don't think it'd be that hard to implement.
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Even something as simple as a small green sphere -- with 1px or 2px black edge around it for clarity -- next to the running applications' icons would already help. You'd still have to jump through hoops to shut them down though if they don't offer such a menu option themselves.
All in all, Android is terribly confusing and definitely isn't all that end-user-friendly. Like for example, there is no kind of help menu in any of the built-in apps, only a select few 3rd party apps offer such, meaning that it's tough for a Jane the Newcomer to figure out what's what. Then the aforementioned multitasking mess. Not to mention the fact that Android Market is a total mess itself too; Google doesn't have any kind of a validation system in place so there's all kinds of scam apps and crapware there, and apps are not even always in the correct category either. Inconsistency on controls is also a hindrance as I think Google should create very specific guidelines for basic UI management and controls. And don't get me started on topics about how things are under the hood..
Jocis said:
hi, since I've been using honeycomb in my A500 and got to used the Xoom and Galaxy tab I noted that I can only have 5 apps on the multi-task buttom.
Is there a way that i can increase the number of apps on the multitasking buttom like Xoom and Glaxy Tab??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn the tablet to the portrait orientation and you will see 7 apps.
WereCatf said:
To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i thought. Google have some big mess in all their android devices.
I didn't knew if it was right to call the recently open item a multitasking because it was somehow confusing and I think I read in the android developer page for honeycomb explains that as multitasking.
I hate the store in Puerto Rico, I'm using market enabler to get some apps because I can't see a full market and even download some apps for country limitations. I don't even have the Tablet section
[redacted]
Some cool ideas there. A few comments (posted here because I don't see a way to leave feedback on the site):
1) I'd put the Charms bar on press-and-hold of a button, probably Search (which doesn't currently have any Hold action assigned). Double-tapping is an action that literally nothing else on the Windows Phone OS uses, and especially a button that is sometimes capacitive and sometimes physical (depending on phone model) it's not something I advocate adding now. I like the idea a lot, though, especially for its tie-in with Win8. One thing to add to the Charms bar though: as on Win8 (where it shows a bunch of status info when you open Charms), the Status Bar at the top of the screen should be always visible when showing Charms.
2) There's already a way to get to the task switcher; while it's OK to have multiple methods for achieving the same goal, it seems like there might be something more useful to do than duplicating functionality through a more round-about approach.
3) There should be a more visible cue about the notifications center. Either have something drop down from the top (perhaps a "you have <X> notifications" bar with an appbar-like pull indicator?) or add a button specifically for notifications (two-level Charms bar? Move it to the right edge of the screen? Not sure how best to handle that).
4) I know the whole "swipe down to close an app" thing is very commonly requested, and comes from WebOS, and vaguely resembles Win8, and... I still don't know if I want it. Closing an app is pretty close to literally never needed; backgrounded apps are not generally allowed to use any system resources (they may hold onto some RAM, but the system will take it from them if a foreground app needs it). Closing an app the "usual" way - by switching to it if needed, and then tapping Back until it goes away - also works, although it's more actions. My biggest concern would be that right now, it's not really possible to ever do the wrong thing on the task switcher view. Closing an app, though, is a destructive behavior - you lose the app's current state - and is something that would need to be carefully implemented to make sure it never happens by accident... or perhaps make it optional entirely.
5) The Xbox Music feature looks pretty good, although the drop-down switch between Albums/Songs/Artists/etc. might be a bit too... background. Also, the really basic problems of the new UI - things like songs getting duplicated when they exist both on the phone/SD card and on the "Music Cloud" - really need to be addressed. Highlighting the Search thing - I know you mentioned it earlier with global search, but it's good to have more focused search capabilities too - as the current lack of Search in the music app is a Problem.
6) "Windows and Windows Phone share the same store" is way, way more complex than anybody might be realizing. Leaving aside the fact that most Windows Store apps aren't written for the resolution or aspect ratio of Windows Phone and would therefore possibly look kind of crappy if they were usable at all, and the fact that app models of the two OSes are pretty different (for example, Windows Store apps are allowed to request filesystem access and are required to implement the Settings charm, while WP apps have neither of those things), the APIs are just different. WP8 can use a sort-of-subset of WinRT (the API for Win8 apps) but it's not the same thing (and Win8 can't run WP7 apps at all, not even close). Finally, there's the issue that even the most powerful WP8 are half as powerful as even the lowest-end WRT tablets, and that's going to make a lot of things that perform fine on things like Surface RT be unacceptably slow on a Lumia 920 and impossible to run on anything with lower specs.
7) IE11 is coming for sure. The sync feature would definitely be nice. I'd also like to see some version of (desktop) IE's feed reader (shared with desktop Outlook) get integrated into WP8.
8) Integration with photo services, in the same way as other parts of the phone are integrated with Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter and so on... that is an excellent idea. Come to think of it, Facebook pictures are already integrated (a feature I never really use) so adding others should definitely be possible. It would be cool if apps could integrate that kind of stuff without explicit OS support, but that may be aiming too high.
Thanks for the good feedback!
Hmmm, concept by who?
that'd be me.
The sync of bookmarks from Desktop IE to WP IE has already been confirmed for a future version of WP. They didn't say which one exactlly so it might take until WP Blue.
I personally don't like the idea of having the icons in the settings - at least not at the end, just looks kinda weird. Perhaps it would work better if you put them in front and aligned them properly on a grid.
Camera settings actually return back to the defaults when you relaunch the Camera App (and didn't save your changes as defaults).
As for the charms bar - I like the idea of a universal sharing and search feature but I don't particularily like the implementation of it with the charms bar on Win8 and I really don't see it work well on WP.
I like it but MS always let's its users down and dismisses the best ideas and concepts. WP will go now where higher that where it currently is now because of MS's ignorance. The next 2 updates for Luminas that includes the Amber and the GR2 or whatever its called don't really bring much to WP at all; who cares about another clock on the screen or data sense? Or more camera tricks...? Really now!!
@sinister1: Does that post really help? Come on, there's no value in just being negative everywhere.
Also, you call Microsoft "ignorant", but I guarantee that they know far, far more about the smartphone market than you do. If you want to be persuasive, you need to come up with arguments that have more substance to them than effectively just calling MS names.
@KlausWidraw: I think I'm with StevieBallz on the suggestion to have the Settings icons be left-aligned; they do make the items easier to identify, but having a consistent horizontal position to look for them at would help. That said, the ability to re-order the options would be huge; I use some all the time (like Cellular, which is annoyingly just off the bottom of my screen) and others not at all (like "lock screen", "tap+send", or "theme") once I've set them up initially, and would like them out of the way to make room for the options that I care about.
GDR2/Amber as well as GDR1 before it and GDR3 after it are mere maintenance releases. No one expects an Update from Android 4.2.0 to 4.2.1 or 4.2.2 to bring major new functionality. No one expects updates from iOS 6.0 to 6.1 to bring major new features. Somehow everyone (contrary to all reporting on those topics) expects those maintenance releases in WP to do just that. Really new functionality will only arrive with WP8.1/Blue and this has been known pretty much since the WP Blue name first appeared in leaks.
GDRs mainly serve the purpose of fixing some bugs and enabling new hardware functionality that is required for device launches. It has been the same with WP7. There were updates like Tango that served to enable LTE. GDR2 now mainly serves to enable the new capabilities that Nokia required for their Lumia 925 and Eos Camera phones and to keep Google Mail usable. GDR1 was mainly bugfixes, GDR3 will enable new hardware like even higher resolution screens.
Amber then is bundled with the GDR2 update rollout but IS NOT a WP update. It is a device specific capability update like we have seen them by all OEMs in the past.
If there are two things I would change about WP (from a user perspective) those are:
1) A clock tile that updates real time, like the HTC one (srsly want one).
2) Battery saver profiles that let me choose what i want to remain active (bluetooth, wifi, mobile data, background tasks)
That's about it.
From a developer point of view, things are very, very different xD
GoodDayToDie said:
@sinister1: Does that post really help? Come on, there's no value in just being negative everywhere.
Also, you call Microsoft "ignorant", but I guarantee that they know far, far more about the smartphone market than you do. If you want to be persuasive, you need to come up with arguments that have more substance to them than effectively just calling MS names.
@KlausWidraw: I think I'm with StevieBallz on the suggestion to have the Settings icons be left-aligned; they do make the items easier to identify, but having a consistent horizontal position to look for them at would help. That said, the ability to re-order the options would be huge; I use some all the time (like Cellular, which is annoyingly just off the bottom of my screen) and others not at all (like "lock screen", "tap+send", or "theme") once I've set them up initially, and would like them out of the way to make room for the options that I care about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for being so negative but this is really how I feel and what's wrong with that? I know that not everyone will agree with my views or me with views of others but my negative feed back is feed back just like positive feed back is also feed back. I'm pretty sure that you have your gripes with other things.
I'm just feed up that devs come up with some of the brightest ideas and MS simply ignores them. Tell me what is so hard for them to open the OS just a little more for people to be creative? Seriously? Now the truth is the best substance. And of course if you still don't agree with me that's okay; I won't hold it against you because those are your opinions and the way you feel. Please don't take any of my rants personal as all they are, my personal opinions.
sinister1 said:
I'm just feed up that devs come up with some of the brightest ideas and MS simply ignores them. Tell me what is so hard for them to open the OS just a little more for people to be creative? Seriously?
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Click to collapse
I have to agree with you on this one. There are some understandable things for security's sake, but its ridiculous how complicated it is to customize Windows Phone 8 or even WP7. With WP7, you could only have a static lockscreen (ignoring LockWidgets from WPH) and couldn't set a custom text notification sound (besides MS' and HTC's.) I could add a custom ringtone, but it was a pain to do, period. With WP8, its a tad easier. You can just copy and paste ringtones, lock screens are customizable, and alarm can be customized as well, as well as the battery percentage can be pinned to the lockscreen/start screen. But compared to the other 3 platforms (Andriod, iOS, and now discontinued Symbian) could virtually anything could be changed. I remember when the 7.8 Beta was out and there were swapped fonts in the roms. Its something that no one had even thought about modifying until it was an issue.
I do have to say the native apps ability is appreciated, but it seems that Interop is still an issue (except I have no idea how problematic it still is). I do have to say I don't know much of whats been going on, due to jumping ship getting Verizon's Trophy late in the game (like when I first signed up here) and then finally moved to WP8 with their 928. So I'm kinda in the dark as to what has been added from the GDR1, Nokia's supposed Amber update, whats in GDR2, future FM support, ect. I really just wish that MS would be a little more verbal about whats in WP8's updates. They were bad with WP7 and they aren't any better now.
Another feature that MS is completely missing is Xbox Video. Seems stupid for them to say their experience is coherent between all their devices when its clearly not.
Can u guys tell me ....which phones will get windows 8.1 update .????
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda app-developers app
Some people don't like customization.
Customization comes with the cost of performance. I had an android with "customization" and whenever i "customized it" it became really, really, really slow.
In order to even have customization working, the system has to waist a lot of CPU cycles on stuff like checking 1000000000000000 settings to figure out what it should render next, swap a gazillion artifacts from storage to memory etc etc.
I want my phone to do what I tell it to do. I don't give a damn about more customization than it already has, and so are 99% of all windows phone users, whom increase in numbers day by day.
If you are going to give feedback disguised as QQ, then you should head over to microsoft's site and make your voice actually count. You complaining here all day, on a freeking developer/hacker forums, will not help!
Windows 8.1 blue will probably loosen up the developers a bit, if they are going to implement all our suggestions. Which will come for all windows phone 8 phones.
@mcosmin: The conecpt the you trade performance for customization really isn't true. Yes, the phone could eke out a trivial amount of better performance by hardcoding its UI styles, but they don't do that. Things like accent colors, background colors, text styles, etc. are all stored in the registry; you don't have to modify a single line of system code to modify or create themes of your own, and they'll run just as fast. Other forms of customization, such as replacing some of the builtin libraries with custom ones, might be slower in certain circumstances, but only if the custom library either added new features (not just new customizations, but actual functionality that wasn't present before) or is simply very poorly coded. The first of those is a tradeoff, the second is easily fixed if people just share their source code.
@sinister1: It's not that I don't agree with you - I do, in fact, and frequently quite vociferously - I just don't see what value you're adding to this conversation by proclaiming it. This thread is to discuss mockups of UI changes to WP8, not to complain about OS lockdown in WP8 and Microsoft's apparent unwillingness to implement some requested changes.
GoodDayToDie said:
@mscosmin: The conecpt the you trade performance for customization really isn't true. Yes, the phone could eke out a trivial amount of better performance by hardcoding its UI styles, but they don't do that. Things like accent colors, background colors, text styles, etc. are all stored in the registry; you don't have to modify a single line of system code to modify or create themes of your own, and they'll run just as fast. Other forms of customization, such as replacing some of the builtin libraries with custom ones, might be slower in certain circumstances, but only if the custom library either added new features (not just new customizations, but actual functionality that wasn't present before) or is simply very poorly coded. The first of those is a tradeoff, the second is easily fixed if people just share their source code.
@sinister1: It's not that I don't agree with you - I do, in fact, and frequently quite vociferously - I just don't see what value you're adding to this conversation by proclaiming it. This thread is to discuss mockups of UI changes to WP8, not to complain about OS lockdown in WP8 and Microsoft's apparent unwillingness to implement some requested changes.
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Click to collapse
And how many people do you think will be able to do proper customization? Windows Phone shouldn't be Android with squares instead of rounded edge widgets.
And solid colors like the ones WP uses will always be faster than a image on the background, or some sort of gradients or whatever they they propose to have around the phone.
How many people will do "proper" customization? As many as want to. Who are you to say what is or is not "proper" for how I want my phone to look?
Of all the things wrong with Android (the battery drain due to background services not exiting automatically, the more stuttery UI on all but the highest-end phones due to poorer optimization, the ability for malicious apps to send premium SMS completely invisibly to the user, etc.) you choose to pick on the customizations? Nobody is suggesting that we want Android with WP-like tiles; in that case we would have bought Android phones and installed one of the several Metro-style home screen customizations. On the other hand, if I want a Windows Phone with "rounded edge widgets" and am willing to put in the effort to develop them, I see no reason I shouldn't be allowed to.
WP uses the graphics processor for its UI. Those "solid colors" are just textures like any other. A gradient, an image, a partially translucent image... they're all the same to the GPU. The performance cost would be unmeasurably small.
GoodDayToDie said:
How many people will do "proper" customization? As many as want to. Who are you to say what is or is not "proper" for how I want my phone to look?
Of all the things wrong with Android (the battery drain due to background services not exiting automatically, the more stuttery UI on all but the highest-end phones due to poorer optimization, the ability for malicious apps to send premium SMS completely invisibly to the user, etc.) you choose to pick on the customizations? Nobody is suggesting that we want Android with WP-like tiles; in that case we would have bought Android phones and installed one of the several Metro-style home screen customizations. On the other hand, if I want a Windows Phone with "rounded edge widgets" and am willing to put in the effort to develop them, I see no reason I shouldn't be allowed to.
WP uses the graphics processor for its UI. Those "solid colors" are just textures like any other. A gradient, an image, a partially translucent image... they're all the same to the GPU. The performance cost would be unmeasurably small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not about the GPU.
It's about the CPU. The more complex the image is, the bigger the size, the more time wasted for CPU to process it.
Add to that the fact it needs to purge/load from memory several times a day (in the case of a background wallpaper for startscreen), and the performance loss and battery drain is suddenly no longer unmeasurably small.
You're talking about a difference of microseconds. Not milliseconds, microseconds. Several times a day. And telling me that this is *not* below the noise threshold of any measurement system we have today, never mind human perception?!?
Also, consider people who use apps (with their own tiles, not just system tiles that are mostly blank and therefore rendered as mostly a solid color) on their lock screen. You know, the whole "meet <person>" advertising campaign Microsoft has been running for this OS? Those app tiles take just as long for the CPU to decode and send the texture to the GPU as the customized tiles we're talking about here...
Except, customized tiles aren't even the point. If you don't want to customize your tiles because saving a few millionths of a second per day - a saving which will never amount to a whole second over your entire lifetime, much less that of the phone - you don't have to. The rest of us want features; customization is merely one of those features. It gets a lot of discussion because:
A) It's an obvious feature to have. MS advertises personalization. People like being able to change how things look, be it their clothing or their front yard or their Windows background. For some reason, though, they can't change their Windows Phone background.
B) It's really, really simple to implement. I mean, there are tons of third party apps, some rather sophisticated, to do this. Microsoft doesn't have to jump through the crazy hoops that we did, and they have the documentation on how the OS works as well.
c) It really does not affect performance. There's no cost. Look at the custom themes and custom system tray icons and so forth on WP7, and try telling me with a straight face the percentage by which it impacts performance to use them.
GoodDayToDie said:
You're talking about a difference of microseconds. Not milliseconds, microseconds. Several times a day. And telling me that this is *not* below the noise threshold of any measurement system we have today, never mind human perception?!?
Also, consider people who use apps (with their own tiles, not just system tiles that are mostly blank and therefore rendered as mostly a solid color) on their lock screen. You know, the whole "meet <person>" advertising campaign Microsoft has been running for this OS? Those app tiles take just as long for the CPU to decode and send the texture to the GPU as the customized tiles we're talking about here...
Except, customized tiles aren't even the point. If you don't want to customize your tiles because saving a few millionths of a second per day - a saving which will never amount to a whole second over your entire lifetime, much less that of the phone - you don't have to. The rest of us want features; customization is merely one of those features. It gets a lot of discussion because:
A) It's an obvious feature to have. MS advertises personalization. People like being able to change how things look, be it their clothing or their front yard or their Windows background. For some reason, though, they can't change their Windows Phone background.
B) It's really, really simple to implement. I mean, there are tons of third party apps, some rather sophisticated, to do this. Microsoft doesn't have to jump through the crazy hoops that we did, and they have the documentation on how the OS works as well.
c) It really does not affect performance. There's no cost. Look at the custom themes and custom system tray icons and so forth on WP7, and try telling me with a straight face the percentage by which it impacts performance to use them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't compare the WP7 theme mods and stuff like that which were made by hackers that knew what they were doing.
If Microsoft allows this officially on the marketplace, it will be flooded by poor apps.
Anyway, we seem to not be talking about the same thing. We should let it rest.
A genuine question - we get 4.4.2 so whats so great ?
Looking at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history#Android_4.1_Jelly_Bean_.28API_level_16.29 I'm seeing some optimisation, camera UI and multi-user profiles, sure also less susceptible to viruses but did I miss anything major ? Am I wrong to think that the biggest change might be whatever Samsung add on the top ?
Here's a list of what changed on the note 2 with 4.3 now our device is very similar to the note 2 and there will be even more features/fixes added with 4.4.2.
- GALAXY GEAR Support
- TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
- Samsung KNOX
- Samsung Wallet (Pre-loaded)
- ANT+ Support
- Improved TouchWiz Launcher (Much less launcher redraws and less lag)
- Better RAM management
- Core UI elements updated to the ones on the Galaxy S4 (Galaxy S4′s theme all over)
- New Samsung Keyboard
- GPU drivers have been updated (Higher GPU benchmark scores)
- New Lockscreen: Multiple Widgets, improved ripple effect than Android 4.1.2, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
- New screen modes (From S4): Adapt Display and Professional Photo
- Daydream
- Driving mode
- Actionable notifications
- Move-to-SD-card feature
- New Camera mode : Sound and Shot
- New Additions in Notification Centre
- Completely revamped Settings UI (Tabbed interface – Exactly like the Galaxy S4)
- Implementation of Voice controls (Let’s you control various parts of the phone using voice commands – Galaxy S4 feature)
- New Samsung Apps: Browser, Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Gallery, Music
- Full screen Samsung apps
- New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4)
- Samsung Wallet comes pre-loaded
- Minor UI tweaks (Contacts app, Flashlight Widget, dialog boxes etc)
- Android 4.3 features – widget lockscreen, daydream
Trim is already there... But support for smart extension apps - most of them use API-level we don't yet have and that's why those apps wont work on our 4.1.2. Biggest thing is to get the device work with smart accessories well and use the full potential they have.
will all this be available to the wi fi models?
elzeus said:
Here's a list of what changed on the note 2 with 4.3 now our device is very similar to the note 2 and there will be even more features/fixes added with 4.4.2.
- GALAXY GEAR Support
- TRIM Support (Makes the device much faster)
- Samsung KNOX
- Samsung Wallet (Pre-loaded)
- ANT+ Support
- Improved TouchWiz Launcher (Much less launcher redraws and less lag)
- Better RAM management
- Core UI elements updated to the ones on the Galaxy S4 (Galaxy S4′s theme all over)
- New Samsung Keyboard
- GPU drivers have been updated (Higher GPU benchmark scores)
- New Lockscreen: Multiple Widgets, improved ripple effect than Android 4.1.2, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
- New screen modes (From S4): Adapt Display and Professional Photo
- Daydream
- Driving mode
- Actionable notifications
- Move-to-SD-card feature
- New Camera mode : Sound and Shot
- New Additions in Notification Centre
- Completely revamped Settings UI (Tabbed interface – Exactly like the Galaxy S4)
- Implementation of Voice controls (Let’s you control various parts of the phone using voice commands – Galaxy S4 feature)
- New Samsung Apps: Browser, Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Gallery, Music
- Full screen Samsung apps
- New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4)
- Samsung Wallet comes pre-loaded
- Minor UI tweaks (Contacts app, Flashlight Widget, dialog boxes etc)
- Android 4.3 features – widget lockscreen, daydream
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that all will be made available thru the different carriers.
Yeah...I noticed a lot of excitement about the 4.4 update. Like some not-so-tech-savvy folks, I'm afraid that updates could break more than they fix. I didn't even upgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2, even though my father really wanted to update it for me - now I won't let him touch it. xD I don't want Samsung to add any new "bloatware" or extra apps I don't want and can't uninstall. I've used my mother's Note 3, and I don't like the different outlay of things. I don't use my tablet as a phone at all, so any updates to do with that are irrelevant to me.
Though my tablet hardly lags, the only benefit I could get from an update is if it made everything run even faster and more smoothly. Oh, and if the notification bar were moved to the top of the screen like on the 2014 Note 10.1, so I don't need to keep accidentally hitting it when I draw. All in all, though, I highly doubt I would install this update even if it became available to me.
MissStreelight said:
Yeah...I noticed a lot of excitement about the 4.4 update. Like some not-so-tech-savvy folks, I'm afraid that updates could break more than they fix. I didn't even upgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2, even though my father really wanted to update it for me - now I won't let him touch it. xD I don't want Samsung to add any new "bloatware" or extra apps I don't want and can't uninstall. I've used my mother's Note 3, and I don't like the different outlay of things. I don't use my tablet as a phone at all, so any updates to do with that are irrelevant to me.
Though my tablet hardly lags, the only benefit I could get from an update is if it made everything run even faster and more smoothly. Oh, and if the notification bar were moved to the top of the screen like on the 2014 Note 10.1, so I don't need to keep accidentally hitting it when I draw. All in all, though, I highly doubt I would install this update even if it became available to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ever heard about root? I'm pretty sure that all the "so-tech-savvy-folk" are having root on their tablets, and if not, they don't complain about bloatwares or other things. With the right apps, you can uninstall all these apps, install tweaks or other superb apps like Adblocker or something. You can even change the notification bar if you want. A new update is always good and I think everyone should have the opportunity to test it. And if you don't like it, there is still a chance to go back to 4.1.1 or an older firmware. And please don't tell me this all is complicated, there are a lot of great tutorials here on xda and a great community who are ready to help anyone.
I'm really impatient for this update and I will welcome all of samsung's bloatware with little friend titanium backup ^^
Simply the fact 4.4 finally adds some proper support for printers is reason enough for me to stick to cm-11, even though tethering does not work in the current build for my LTE note.
I might go back to stock once Samsung releases this, so I can have everything working again without losing the new features.
19bjk03 said:
Ever heard about root? I'm pretty sure that all the "so-tech-savvy-folk" are having root on their tablets, and if not, they don't complain about bloatwares or other things. With the right apps, you can uninstall all these apps, install tweaks or other superb apps like Adblocker or something. You can even change the notification bar if you want. A new update is always good and I think everyone should have the opportunity to test it. And if you don't like it, there is still a chance to go back to 4.1.1 or an older firmware. And please don't tell me this all is complicated, there are a lot of great tutorials here on xda and a great community who are ready to help anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard about root, but no, I like my device the way it is. I didn't complain about having bloatware now, only that I was afraid there would be bloatware AFTER the update, like I heard some people had extra apps installed on their devices after an update that they said didn't change much else. Thank you for being informative, however.
Also, I never said nor was it ever my intention to imply that other people shouldn't have the opportunity to test it. In fact, I think it's great that folks are getting what they've wanted for so long. I was merely expressing my opinion about not wanting updates, which I have as much right to state as anyone who does want their updates.
Exactly what I did when I bought two of these (2012 version) sometime ago. I rooted mine and with Titanium I froze all the bloatware apps. You don't need to be rooted to disable bloatware... Just go to your application manager and disable your apps from there. You should be able to disable most of them. Probably all bloatware, but I don't do it that way so I can't confirm. Still, I always root just because I like installing Titanium, Root Explorer, Xposed Installer, AdAway, etc. Also install a custom recovery so I can backup my image and be able to restore if anything happens.
The device has been rock solid since I got it and I use it daily. The only way I wouldn't upgrade to KitKat is if it came with a locked bootloader. Even then that wouldn't exactly be a showstopper as i don't really play with custom kernels on it. I save that for other devices and computers I use and own. I also wouldn't necessarily expect that on a Wifi only device.
Sent from my Galaxy S4
The biggest thing for me is native apps 2 sd support. I have my 16gb tablet loaded with apps using the storage swap script however it's not perfect as those who use it know, at some point you get a low space warning even when you have plenty of space left. I hope this would no longer be an issue when not running this script.
If you don't care about the update, then don't update the tablet, simple as that. On the other hand, I'm very excited. A lot of things have changed with android between 4.1 and 4.4 and it's a much smoother experience.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
lost disk space fix
PsycloneTW said:
The biggest thing for me is native apps 2 sd support. I have my 16gb tablet loaded with apps using the storage swap script however it's not perfect as those who use it know, at some point you get a low space warning even when you have plenty of space left. I hope this would no longer be an issue when not running this script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First sorry for off topic. but this should help you
The low disk usage warning can be fixed..
download a app called disk usage from play store. It will show you Exactly where your data has gone. The data (GHOSTE DATA) is likely a app you use a LOT. look for cache files that are large.
Once you find the app with large amounts of cache. Go to settings / Applications/ FIND THE APP That is the issue. Clear its cache files as needed.
GOOGLE + Seems to be the one that Gives us the most troubles.. But its a app we use a lot. others like maps facebook apps and so on can do the same..
Good Luck.. :good:
MissStreelight said:
Yeah...I noticed a lot of excitement about the 4.4 update. Like some not-so-tech-savvy folks, I'm afraid that updates could break more than they fix. I didn't even upgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2, even though my father really wanted to update it for me - now I won't let him touch it. xD I don't want Samsung to add any new "bloatware" or extra apps I don't want and can't uninstall. I've used my mother's Note 3, and I don't like the different outlay of things. I don't use my tablet as a phone at all, so any updates to do with that are irrelevant to me.
Though my tablet hardly lags, the only benefit I could get from an update is if it made everything run even faster and more smoothly. Oh, and if the notification bar were moved to the top of the screen like on the 2014 Note 10.1, so I don't need to keep accidentally hitting it when I draw. All in all, though, I highly doubt I would install this update even if it became available to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A custom rom with supercharge scripts would give you all the smoothie goodness you ever wanted. And you can put it on stock too!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18703418&postcount=5021
good luck!