Database Users

WTF is going on ?? (Calling for death of Nexus One))

http://newstrendstoday.com/nexus-1-...the-3g-screen-problems-on-the-nexus-one/03117
Some users say they have trouble calibrating the touch screen on the Nexus One, the Google smartphone.
The first steps of Google and their Nexus One on the smartphone market does not seem as peaceful as what the Internet giant could wait. After linkage problems encountered on the 3G network T-Mobile in the United States, some users are pointing the finger at the screen of their device.
Android forums on Google, as stated by our colleagues from Engadget, there are reports of problems calibrating the touch screen One of the Nexus. They would start to feel the phone and he would put it to sleep, then on again to resolve them. Google provides to address these problems, they come from a software bug will be resolved by a patch. If the material is concerned, HTC, manufacturer of the Nexus One, might have to intervene under the warranty.
For its first week of marketing, Nexus One has sold 20 000 copies in the United States. A rather low figure who led Google to drop the $ 100 price of the device.
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http://www.nytimes.com/external/gig...m-should-google-kill-the-nexus-one-60352.html
Google this morning postponed the launch of two Android handsets in China in a clear indication that the company’s rift with Beijing threatens its booming mobile business. Meanwhile, the Nexus One has seen lackluster sales amid widespread complaints of technical glitches. So with Android’s future in China uncertain, and problems mounting with Google’s decision to build and sell the ideal Android phone — the Nexus One – is it too early to wonder whether Google will pull the plug on its flagship phone?
Google indefinitely pushed back the launch of two handsets slated to debut tomorrow from China Unicom, dramatically upping the ante in its high-profile showdown with the Chinese government. As Om noted last week, China accounts for more 638 million wireless users, and handset sales are expected to grow by 21 percent this year alone. And the market could be especially ripe for Android given its support by some key players in the region: members of Google’s Open Handset Alliance include operators China Mobile and China Telecom as well as Huawei and ZTE.
While a governmental crackdown could lead to versions of the open-source OS that are far less integrated with Google’s mobile apps, the escalating conflict means that Google will be unable to control the evolution of Android in China. And it surely closes the door on any potential Chinese sales of the Nexus One — throwing yet another roadblock at the struggling handset.
Google appears to have overreached in launching its own branded handset. The search giant was clearly unprepared to deal with the customer service issues that inevitably arise in the retailing business, and splashy headlines of customer backlash are tarnishing its highly respected brand.
The company has obviously overestimated demand for an “official” Google phone, selling just 20,000 handsets in the first week it was out, and its strategy of competing against its handset and carrier partners has limited upside and risks losing the widespread support that has fueled Android’s growth. It may be unfair to predict doom for a handset that came to market just two weeks ago, but it’s becoming clear that taking on the role of mobile retailer was a mistake for Google. It’s too early to predict that Google will kill the Nexus One, but it’s not too early to wonder whether it should.
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Ive been a techy most of my life. Ive been on nerd bomber and geek forums since 97 followed every bit of Tech I could get my hands on since that time.....I am having a miserable time trying to find another piece of consumer electronic with this many "news sources" hell bent on seeing it fail.
Not windows ME , Not XBOX 1 , Not Nextel , Not Wii....nothing.
Im baffled as to wtf is going on.

I thought I was the only one who noticed all the negative attention google is getting. I freakin love this phone. There is nothing that will make me think this isn't the best phone I've had, ever.

It's not about the quality of the phone

rockky said:
It's not about the quality of the phone
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So what is it ?
Is fanboyism that strong ?
Are people THAT pissed at Google for not giving it away free and saving them from telecoms...or
Are Apple/MS/Palm lining writers pockets ?
Im by no means saying Google isnt having a multitude of problems. On 2 big fronts right now....but the tone of these articles is blatantly biased.

Perhaps people are scared of something different. Google is the punk kid to Apple's primp and proper 'young adult'. They must be heathens.

Huh?
its about Google completely miscalculating the process of selling this product via their site.
Its about Google releasing a product not ready for consumption.
Its about a failed marketing ploy....(ie: a lack of, ...trying to create a mystique and engender a word of mouth wildfire.....backfiring, as the word of mouth has been primarily about the issues with the device.
What does fanboyism have to do with any of this?

Personally, I don't think I would "listen" to a website review and analysis that can't even form a proper sentence. That first article was seriously hard to read, and didn't make sense for about 50% of it.
None-the-less some of the tech community loves to hate the phone. Fanboys, or whatever may have you, they are not being fair or balanced in the coverage. Granted, we are a biased community, but we are also one of the most critical as well. I haven't seen such love for a phone on XDA ever! Usually, we are all sitting around saying we can't wait for it to be properly unlocked so we can flash some crazy cooked ROMs so the phone doesn't suck too bad. Instead, many are wondering whether it is even worth rooting the phone(and eventually flashing custom SPLs) because stock already is so damn good!
Here is the deal, IMO, given that Android is bursting onto the scene right now, and starting to hit that tipping point, just ignore it! By the end of this year, over half the available smartphones on the market will be Android. And that is the real reason for the outcry. There is a lot of money at stake, and many tech publications have owners/sponsors they need to keep happy. Google is not known for being a very profitable advertiser for websites(great for small sites, but big ones make much more money off a true sponsor), and Google doesn't and isn't willing to do that.
But those sites will, given time, have to come around. If they do not, they run the very real risk of allienating their following, and in turn losing out on advertising dollars because they are no longer the hot site. Engadget, and the such, have to keep on top of and out in front of the trendy wave, or they are screwed.

rockky said:
Huh?
its about Google completely miscalculating the process of selling this product via their site.
Its about Google releasing a product not ready for consumption.
Its about a failed marketing ploy....(ie: a lack of, ...trying to create a mystique and engender a word of mouth wildfire.....backfiring, as the word of mouth has been primarily about the issues with the device.
What does fanboyism have to do with any of this?
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I'm not talking about Engadget perse an obviously biased review... im talking about say the average daily return of say a google search of Nexus One which brings predominantly a litany of commentary of.the problems google and.customers are having with the device.
That is NOT good and is NOT fanboyism.

For its first week of marketing, Nexus One has sold 20 000 copies in the United States. A rather low figure who led Google to drop the $ 100 price of the device.
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I'm pretty sure Google only lowered the price for an upgraded plan on T-Mobile because of the network issues that were occurring on their service. That statement from the article is misleading because the original prices are still in place aside from a $100 reduction for upgrading on T-Mobile.
I've also noticed a lot of negative publicity, more so than other things. I think with something this big, there's bound to be more scrutinizing going on than usual. You've got the best hardware spec'd phone releasing on the market, on the newest Android platform (basically ready for mainstream consumption), with Google selling it (of all companies).

On the 20,000 N1's sold.
I dont see Google giving up on the N1.
The day Vodafone sold 50,000 iPhones in Europe, the tech-press was quick to jump on comparisons with the 20k N1 sale figure. This is so wrong, it ain't even funny.
The online sales model is
a. New
b. Untested
c. Unique
On account of #a and #b above, Google would not have pegged a very large demand figure for the first month of the N1. The strategy they've adopted will take time to settle in, and I'm sure they're prepared to do that. The N1, as they've repeatedly stated, is the -first- in what will be a long series of phones, and the N1 online sales figure will be viewed as a test case by Google, not as an indictment of the model's success/failure.
Agreed, Google has not hyped up the N1 as much as they ought to have done. As others have pointed out before, the Moto Droid's marketing campaign has done much more for Android than the N1's launch has done, and for that, Google alone is to blame. Forget comparisons to phones of a fruity nature, the N1's launch and subsequent marketing is disappointing even against other Android devices.
Here's something for the tech-press to chew on though.
What would've happened, had Google launched this (admittedly) superphone for $179 in brick-and-mortar stores, whether their own or in T-Mobile's and other networks' stores? What would the number have been then?

I don't see where you're getting the idea that everybody is hell bent on seeing the Nexus One fail.
I've had "nexus one" in the news and weather widget since day one, so I get just about anything with those two words in it as a news article. Yes, there are a few iPhone fan boy web sites out there that just wont admit the N1 is a great phone. But by and large, after the first week, and after other writers have had time to spend with the N1, they always like it, and a few have even dumped their iPhones for it.
The rest (and vast majority) of the articles out there are pointing out Google's major miscalculations with regards to the launch, shipping, and especially support of the Nexus One. They just weren't ready.
Now, since Google and the Nexus One are getting SO much press attention, any little problem the phone encounters, whether it be HTC's fault, Tmo's, or Googles, is getting sent out on BLAST.
It's Google that screwed up. Not the Nexus One. And nobody is calling for it's death, save for a couple loser fan boys.

From what ive seen and heard (like my tech podcasts) lots of people are 'reviewing' the phone with out actually getting their hands on it to test it for themselves. There does appear to be a significant amount of bad press for what seems like no real reason.
Oddly on the GDGT podcast they talk about the nexus one, the first 30seconds of the review they talk about how awesome the phone is and its the best thing they have used since the iphone, and then they spend the remaining 30minutes of the review highlighting all of its faults?! Odd!
Nevermind, think its probably just die hard iphone fan bois coming up with negative press. bah.

There is definitely some biased reviews out there from people obviously bent on not showing the whole truth or just completely stating b.s.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/187147/what_google_must_learn_from_its_nexus_one_troubles.html
When the Nexus One was announced, I was disappointed, since there were just a few improvements over existing Android devices. The fact that Google was selling the device directly over its Web site seemed to be much ado about nothing, given that buyers had to sign a T-Mobile contract to use it. Plus, it's not as if Web sales is a new idea.
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Didn't know buyers had to sign a contract to use the phone. That's interesting.

This is the best phone i ever had. My friends with iphones are shocked by how good it is. Iphone become a history on nexus release. Paid reviews will be popping everywhere against Nexus one.
I never had any problems. Market forces do not want google succeding in delivering a better product than existing technologies of windows and iphone.
You would listen to any lie, and all of them are proved wrong by good people in youtube videos.
Thanks Google and HTC for making such a wonderful phone.

I was suprised how Engadget is attacking it and google...Stopped respecting their news now.

britoso said:
I was suprised how Engadget is attacking it and google...Stopped respecting their news now.
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I haven't visited the engadget site since their review. That review was ridiculous; Especially the browser test. Therefore, I will no longer give them my ad revenue generating views.
htcmagic said:
This is the best phone i ever had. My friends with iphones are shocked by how good it is. Iphone become a history on nexus release. Paid reviews will be popping everywhere against Nexus one.
I never had any problems. Market forces do not want google succeding in delivering a better product than existing technologies of windows and iphone.
You would listen to any lie, and all of them are proved wrong by good people in youtube videos.
Thanks Google and HTC for making such a wonderful phone.
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This has been my experience also. I've had die-hard apple fans gush over my nexus one. No joke. People see it, ask to play with it, and then they want it. Now, if google would only allow family plan upgrades.... I've had multiple friends who have family plans say that they would order it without hesitation if they could use their upgrades.

britoso said:
I was suprised how Engadget is attacking it and google...Stopped respecting their news now.
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britoso, i thought i was the only one. I was following their coverage of nexus launch and where so ironic and nasty about the phone, i couldn't believe it either. I have unsubscribed from their rss in google reader. They are not worth the read for me.
Aslo lots of people proved them wrong about the browsing speed on youtube compared to iphone.

britoso said:
I was suprised how Engadget is attacking it and google...Stopped respecting their news now.
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You won't understand unless you are experiencing the problems. I am not a Engadget fan at all but this time I am very glad that they covered it and put some pressure to Google. I am really frustrated about the touch screen issue.

I would of had ordered the nexus one the day it came out, but had issues with tmobile. Because no one at tmobile had a clue what was going on, and trying to fix my account, so i could order the phone for a reduced cost is not googles fault its tmobiles! i talked to 11 different people including 2 supervisors. they all are to dumb to look at my paperwork in the system to realize i got an upgrade 12 months prior when i got my g1. the people at tmobile store are to dumb to update the system. oops!!!!
i received the phone 5 days after the inital release, thought it was bs to pay 379, but thats what i paid for the g1 and its half of the hardware in the n1. i took it out of the box, started it up to make sure it worked. then rooted it!!!!
there may be a glitch here or there, which is not a big deal. its a brand new version of android, which no other phones have currently. so obviously there will be a few complaints. but when thousands of people are using a new device, they happen to find a few more problems then a few hundred. its just common sence.
those people that have an issue take a chill pill, this phone has great hardware on it, and has a great operating system. my phone has better hardware on it then some of my friends labtops...... and what did i pay..... 279 compared to what they paid for their labtops....
so regardless of what people say, i am a big fan of android!!!! have been since the day i picked it up and found out it was a linux kernal. thats the reason i bought my g1. but it was laggy, and slow, and didn't have a headphone jack. i had to wait a year for the n1 to come out, but it finally did. so everyone that has an issue with the N1 then go f*** yourself!!!!! ill be waiting happily for android 3.0 to come out!!!!

SANTilt said:
I don't see where you're getting the idea that everybody is hell bent on seeing the Nexus One fail.
I've had "nexus one" in the news and weather widget since day one, so I get just about anything with those two words in it as a news article. Yes, there are a few iPhone fan boy web sites out there that just wont admit the N1 is a great phone. But by and large, after the first week, and after other writers have had time to spend with the N1, they always like it, and a few have even dumped their iPhones for it.
The rest (and vast majority) of the articles out there are pointing out Google's major miscalculations with regards to the launch, shipping, and especially support of the Nexus One. They just weren't ready.
Now, since Google and the Nexus One are getting SO much press attention, any little problem the phone encounters, whether it be HTC's fault, Tmo's, or Googles, is getting sent out on BLAST.
It's Google that screwed up. Not the Nexus One. And nobody is calling for it's death, save for a couple loser fan boys.
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Maybe I need to capitalize the N in nexus one. Because my widget and going online has pointed to almost exclusively negative statements about the N1.
There was an explosion of articles based on Engadgets reviews...there was another explosion after that ridiculous screen test ...then another batch with the 3G issues.
Very few places are givig the N1 a fair shake. Ars technica , Diggnation/Kevin Rose , Leo Laporte being the only ones I can name that seemed either unbiased or admitted any bias.
Engadget , Boygenius ,TechCrunch,PC ,World etc have given some bizarre reviews and baseless feedback.

[OT]: Samsung flew bloggers halfway around the world,then threatened to leave them

Let’s pretend that you’re a blogger. You’re given the chance to review new, hot hardware from a major company. All that’s required is that you participate in some tasks, but these tasks would fit into your coverage so you agree. In return you get to be one of the first to go hands-on with devices and give your opinion on them. Sounds like a good deal? Well that’s what a couple of Indian participants in Samsung’s Mob!ler program thought too, until Samsung threatened to leave them stranded in Berlin, Germany.
First let’s start with the facts. Programs such as Mob!lers (or Mobilers, for my sanity) are in place by many companies. In fact, I’ve even participated in one, for a company called STI, where I’ve done reviews of Kia and Mazda cars. But there’s one factor that differentiates programs such as STI from Mobilers – Only one of them expects you to become a shill for the company.
The story that follows is one of those that’s going to be hard to believe. We’ve done our very best to verify the facts, and we’ve heard the same tale from multiple sources and the end result has been the same in each case. That said, let’s go back in time a few weeks....
.....
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Source: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/...oggers-halfway-around-world-threatened-leave/

^^^wondering what you want...

Z3US911 said:
^^^wondering what you want...
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Spreading the word maybe? You want to keep this a secret? You working for Samsung?

Z3US911 said:
^^^wondering what you want...
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Ridiculous act by Samsung.Whatever sympathy they gained after the lawsuit is gone

Your judging the whole company based on the actions of one local branch of Samsung that was based in India.
Samsung are not to blame here but people employed at the Indian branch of theirs.
P.S That's typically the way Indians do business, the workers tend to get abused, they don't care about your rights.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Very very clever from nokia... it was a cheap good advertisement
Gesendet von meinem GT-I9300 mit Tapatalk 2

I would just wear the damn shirt, and stray off to look at other products.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Free flights for wearing a T Shirt?
Heck they are just bloggers. Not even real Journalists. They are lucky they are even given that. I wouldnt give them a free pen with the quality of internet blogging these days.

I am a Mob!ler in the UK and I will not comment on this incident as I do not know anything other than the same evidence you are presented with, however in an effort for you all to get the 'full story' please read this - http://www.amitbhawani.com/blog/samsung-mobilers-ifa-2012/
in summary - the guys would have known fully what was going to happen before he arrived in Berlin.

Why didn't they just wear the damn T-shirt?
Samsung flew them out for free, free accommodation, and these bloggers can't even accept a free T-shirt to promote Samsung???
Although you can't blame Samsung for an individuals actions.
Can you really blame Samsung for this when all that's needed is a verbal warning to an employee for his actions?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

LJE said:
Why didn't they just wear the damn T-shirt?
Samsung flew them out for free, free accommodation, and these bloggers can't even accept a free T-shirt to promote Samsung???
Although you can't blame Samsung for an individuals actions.
Can you really blame Samsung for this when all that's needed is a verbal warning to an employee for his actions?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
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question is not about wearing a tshirt, it was as opposed to being a promoter to them being there as a reporter.

irzero said:
Free flights for wearing a T Shirt?
Heck they are just bloggers. Not even real Journalists. They are lucky they are even given that. I wouldnt give them a free pen with the quality of internet blogging these days.
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Couldn't have said it any better. How ungrateful can you get.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

how about this story? is that a correct way to treat a person?
http://int13.net/france/blog/i-won-a-contest-to-go-to-the-london-olympic-games/
she claim don't know "any information about the trip other than the flight number, the address of the hotel and some vague information about the other ambassadors who I would be meeting."

They new damn well what they were supposed to be doing before they went. They just wanted to go and not have to take part. It's aload of bull.
-JOSH-

LJE said:
Why didn't they just wear the damn T-shirt?
Samsung flew them out for free, free accommodation, and these bloggers can't even accept a free T-shirt to promote Samsung???
Although you can't blame Samsung for an individuals actions.
Can you really blame Samsung for this when all that's needed is a verbal warning to an employee for his actions?
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kofiaa said:
Couldn't have said it any better. How ungrateful can you get.
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-josh- said:
They (K)new damn well what they were supposed to be doing before they went. They just wanted to go and not have to take part. It's a load of bull.
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Maybe some of you should have read the entire article and the one specifically about "Jeff" that followed. It wasn't "just wear a t-shirt", it was them being given the choice of being there as a reporter or a promoter. As bloggers, they stated they would be there in the capacity of reporters. Upon arrival, they were told they would be required to be in a Samsung uniform and work in a booth as a promoter. You have ZERO credibility as a journalist if you're known to have been actively promoting a product. Did you read this?
In the invitation email, Jeff reports that he was asked whether he’d like to attend as a reporter or as a promoter. He was insistent that he would only accept the offer if he was allowed to do so as a reporter.
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I've been to similar events (although not flown overseas) as a photographer. Was I there as a promoter or a reporter. I always choose Reporter. I may not be allowed to some private portions of the event, but I have unfettered ability to give an unbiased account...and not tow some company line.
Until I hear otherwise, I'll take Samsung at their word that this was a huge misunderstanding on the part of the local Sammy reps at the event. Big companies don't pull nonsense like that on journalists. That tends to bite you in the arse when every news site picks up the story.

sRDennyCrane said:
Maybe some of you should have read the entire article and the one specifically about "Jeff" that followed. It wasn't "just wear a t-shirt", it was them being given the choice of being there as a reporter or a promoter. As bloggers, they stated they would be there in the capacity of reporters. Upon arrival, they were told they would be required to be in a Samsung uniform and work in a booth as a promoter. You have ZERO credibility as a journalist if you're known to have been actively promoting a product. Did you read this?
I've been to similar events (although not flown overseas) as a photographer. Was I there as a promoter or a reporter. I always choose Reporter. I may not be allowed to some private portions of the event, but I have unfettered ability to give an unbiased account...and not tow some company line.
Until I hear otherwise, I'll take Samsung at their word that this was a huge misunderstanding on the part of the local Sammy reps at the event. Big companies don't pull nonsense like that on journalists. That tends to bite you in the arse when every news site picks up the story.
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Knowing how Samsung operate these events, no guarantees would have (or should have) been given before they left India as to if they would have been reporters or promoters, Samsung split these roles 50/50 for all Mobilers in attendance and don't decide before everyone arrives who is doing what.
Obviously I cannot comment on what was actually said in this instance or if either party is telling the truth, I can only tell you from what I have experienced myself.
(to any journalists looking at this! THE GUARDIAN! - do not use what I am saying without permission and certainly not if its incomplete or out of context - I do not know the facts of this case and I am merely commenting on my Experience as a Mob!ler which does not match in anyway what has gone on here)

Well, it is all hearsay at this point. Samsung did apparently acknowledge a misunderstanding. With them being in the media spotlight, I'm sure they're gonna do all they can to make this go away.

Who do they think they are? Im too good to wear a samsung T-Shirt? What did they expect to be treated like royalty? LOL
Anyways... Yes the people that worked for samsung at that indian branch may have done some very stupid things and said some stupid remarks and made samsung look bad. But samsung is not at fault I can guarantee you if the big boys at samsung heard this was going on they would of flew them home straight away.

btemtd said:
Who do they think they are? Im too good to wear a samsung T-Shirt? What did they expect to be treated like royalty? LOL
Anyways... Yes the people that worked for samsung at that indian branch may have done some very stupid things and said some stupid remarks and made samsung look bad. But samsung is not at fault I can guarantee you if the big boys at samsung heard this was going on they would of flew them home straight away.
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It's tough these days to really qualify people... "bloggers" for instance. That could be someone who is published regularly at CNET or someone who has a Wordpress blog with 3 subscribers. So, I guess I have to lump them all together and give them the benefit of the doubt.
If you're promoting a product, your credibility is zilch. There's a particular photography review site that was purchased by a large company that sells cameras and lenses. From that point forward, all their reviews are glowing. Because they're selling the products, too. They have zero credibility. I go there for the spec lists and disregard everything else.
So, these 2 dudes wanted to maintain journalistic credibility and I respect that. Say you were this "Jeff". A small-time blogger in India, and you pumped out some really high quality work that caught the eye of some major player like CNET, Verge, etc. They consider adding your stuff to their site. Oops- look, there's pictures of Jeff in a Samsung uniform working a show booth. Dude's a corporate shill. We can't take his work as unbiased. Next!
Like I said, this is all hearsay. And I'm just speculating and presuming the 2 articles were accurate. But IF they're true, maintaining credibility is vital in journalism.

While I agree with Mr. Crane's viewpoint (above), I must say that it is Samsung India that is at fault.
Also, I'd wear the t-shirt and do a bit of promotion work if Samsung is giving it all away for free. If I were a journalist, it would raise my online presence (by being at a special event and covering it myself). Then, after I have my hands on with the product (sometime after the launch), I'd give my full and honest opinion about it.
For example, I absolutely ADORE the S3. It's the best smartphone ever made. Period. BUT I do wish they'd given us more RAM. Is 1.2-1.5 gb of RAM too much to ask? I really don't want crApple beating us on this. Nothing is a match for the Note 2 but it's a tad too big for my taste.

ConsoleOS

There is a project to build a dual-boot version of Android (currently in Kickstarter) which is planned to be release on all the major Windows Tablets. It look interesting, i just wish they had a working beta.

Looking at the video its just Android X86 and a demo/benchmark running on the back.
Typical KS vaporware, and the guy plans to charge you every year to use what's basically a repackaged OS made by the community.
Totally not a scam...

Yeah, making a free OS into a dual-boot paid OS is a non-starter, excuse the pun. The KS video pitch took about 30secs to trigger my BS meter. It's the downside of KS; easy money from the gullible will always attract sharks.
Liliputing has a piece on some Chinese tab vendors offering drop-in Win8.1 FW for Android tabs,
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/chine...ing-windows-8-1-firmware-android-tablets.html
It's not yet dual-boot, but it's probably a precursor, given now that x86 Win8.1 and Android can run on the same hardware base. Kudos to Intel.
The surprising thing about the offer is the link to download Win8.1. As noted in the piece's comments, I'm wondering how the licensing is handled. Despite the fact that 8.1 is now free for small tabs, 8.1u1's licensing scheme still hasn't changed AFAIK. I doubt that the tab in question has an OEM key, so it's probably unlicensed, and needs "creative" means to activate. Regardless, it's a positive step for platform interoperability.
I'm waiting to see what this year's crop of And/Win mini-tabs will be like. Am hoping for improved connectivity (read: more ports), but looks like the improvement will be in price, with median starting price from $150-200, or $100 less than last year. That's a pretty huge drop. Am holding out for at least a dedicated charging port, to free up the USB.

Yeah, consider the irony of Microsoft cutting Win8 licenses to just $15 and making it free for tabs smaller than 9" while this guy pretends to charge you $10 not once but EVERY YEAR for something you can download and install for free right now.
What I don't understand is why the community and the press aren't denouncing this guy, the way things are going he's probably going to reach his goal

OS
Dual boot is pain, if something which is working on Virtual Machine that makes me happy...

>Dual boot is pain, if something which is working on Virtual Machine that makes me happy...
Yes it is, which is why people who want dual-boot is a tiny minority. Console OS purportedly has a hypervisor, which presumably will run beneath both OS'es, and allowing "instant switching." Purportedly, it will be made to run in devices with only 2GB RAM, has "user-friendly" install, is "bulletproof" and "production-ready" Android, and will have access to Google Play, Amazon App Store, etc. Oh, and it'll have all sorts of goodies in the Pro version. Uh, hold on while I switch off my bullsh!t alarm...
I've done a bit more reading on Mr. Price's exploits, and evidence leans toward "scam" status. For example, he is also CEO of iConsole.tv, of which the developer "unit 00" was supposed to ship by Sept 2013. But there is no evidence of it ever shipping, nor its exact specs, yet on the iConsole.tv site it's listed as "out of stock." There are other discrepancies in his work history claims.
The sad thing is that as far as KS is concerned, it's legit, because it needs to only be a "good faith" effort. A failed venture isn't a scam, and malice is hard to prove. But telltale signs of "too good to be true" claims are abundant in this case. Anyone here remember the Adam tablet by Notion Ink a couple years ago? Same MO.
Even if it is a scam, I think it's a good thing, if it serves as a life lesson. First-hand experience (of being scammed) is the best educator. Think of it as a $10 inoculation shot. That's pretty cheap if it can buy you a modicum of prudence and caution.

100% True
I agree with you.. I used one chines tablet which is dual boot; truth i hate the performance and switching..
Yesterday Mr. Gary guided me to install the Android 4.2.2 on my Windows, which is running very decent.. I love the performance till now.. Its working above VM and size around 300MB which is very most important for me.. He said adb, debugging they are working it will be added soon.. looking forward..
I just donated him 12$ for his good work- you guy can reach him at [email protected]
e.mote said:
>Dual boot is pain, if something which is working on Virtual Machine that makes me happy...
Yes it is, which is why people who want dual-boot is a tiny minority. Console OS purportedly has a hypervisor, which presumably will run beneath both OS'es, and allowing "instant switching." Purportedly, it will be made to run in devices with only 2GB RAM, has "user-friendly" install, is "bulletproof" and "production-ready" Android, and will have access to Google Play, Amazon App Store, etc. Oh, and it'll have all sorts of goodies in the Pro version. Uh, hold on while I switch off my bullsh!t alarm...
I've done a bit more reading on Mr. Price's exploits, and evidence leans toward "scam" status. For example, he is also CEO of iConsole.tv, of which the developer "unit 00" was supposed to ship by Sept 2013. But there is no evidence of it ever shipping, nor its exact specs, yet on the iConsole.tv site it's listed as "out of stock." There are other discrepancies in his work history claims.
The sad thing is that as far as KS is concerned, it's legit, because it needs to only be a "good faith" effort. A failed venture isn't a scam, and malice is hard to prove. But telltale signs of "too good to be true" claims are abundant in this case. Anyone here remember the Adam tablet by Notion Ink a couple years ago? Same MO.
Even if it is a scam, I think it's a good thing, if it serves as a life lesson. First-hand experience (of being scammed) is the best educator. Think of it as a $10 inoculation shot. That's pretty cheap if it can buy you a modicum of prudence and caution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

>I just donated him 12$ for his good work- you guy can reach him at [email protected]
Hahah, thanks for the chuckle.

I agree with everything you said e.mote
e.mote said:
Even if it is a scam, I think it's a good thing, if it serves as a life lesson. First-hand experience (of being scammed) is the best educator. Think of it as a $10 inoculation shot. That's pretty cheap if it can buy you a modicum of prudence and caution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
......except this.
You see, most people aren't what you call reasonable, they wont admit they were duped and instead will lash out at any real attempts to bring android to the desktop, which is a shame since google seems increasingly less likely to do it and developer support for linux distros is at the same level that it always was, low.
TBH its very ironic this is happening right after kickstarter lowered its entry requirements to an all time low.

Hi All, its my first post on XDA, and i must disagree with above comments.
10$ for driver optimized distro of x86 Android is awesome. And this guy looks legit. Its good offer for noobies like me. You can disagree, but that's my personal opinion.
check engadget 2013/05/13 iconsole-tv-x86-android-game-console

>10$ for driver optimized distro of x86 Android is awesome
For a con, small amount (and large numbers of marks) is best. People won't bother with due diligence for a paltry few bucks, and once it's sprung, they can brush off the loss and not come after you. Manipulate risk-reward ratio to have high upside and low downside, and you will always net suckers looking for "awesome" deals. Promise them many too-good-to-be-true features, throw in important-sounding buzzwords and jargons, but don't get pinned down on details like the what, how and when. Third, add urgency: buy now to lock in that special deal (free lifetime upgrades).
I'm not saying it's a con, but all the trademark signatures are there.
Here's an exercise in probability for you: Do some reading on hypervisor, and find out how many consumer-level hypervisors are out there (answer: zero). Now, figure on the likelihood of this happening on a 2GB RAM, 32GB flash device--actually, any x86 device--with install as simple as booting from a USB stick, and from a startup with no known tech pedigree and a CEO whose best claim to fame is that he founded a phone blog.
So why not wait until it's shipped, supposedly by year-end? But that means I'll miss out on that "awesome" free lifetime upgrade! Heck, it's only $10. I'll pay it and take my chances.
>check engadget 2013/05/13 iconsole-tv-x86-android-game-console
Check further to find its specs, or evidence of it actually shipping (reported shipping date was Sep 2013). Where's the online support forum? Is it a secret? Please, do tell!

While I agree that this looks like a scam, I'm curious what you consider to be a "consumer-level" hypervisor. That sounds like a very careful attempt to create class that sounds like it should have something in it but doesn't. Is Client Hyper-V not "consumer-level" because it's only in the higher Win8 editions? Is the PS3 hypervisor not "consumer-level" because it's buried in the console and not (supposed to be) tweakable by the user? Is Xen not "consumer-level" because it's on Linux?
Seriously, of all the things that smell wrong with this idea, the hypervisor is the least of my concerns by a large margin. There's no problem with the idea of using a hypervisor here. I'm sure the PS3 isn't the only game console to use one, for example.

>I'm curious what you consider to be a "consumer-level" hypervisor
A better choice of words would be standalone hypervisor, or perhaps (noob) user-installable hypervisor. The examples you mentioned are either baked into the product/OS, or are highly technical undertakings that are outside the realm of normal users, let alone being installable "on a bootable USB stick." I'm not into the console-mod scene, but I doubt there is a thriving PS3 mod community to run alternative OS'es.

Yeah not only its not his "first post" on XDA, but I seen plenty of new accounts on other sites defending this project which I have to say couldn't come up at a better time to ensure consoleos is not debunked, though chris roberts himself seems to have been banned from the androidx86 group last time I checked.
Whatevs, the projects seem to have lost its momentum so I doubt it will reach its goal.

Well I am simply a baker of this thing and was looking for some community comment on it. I have some time to cancel my 10$ input if this turn up to be a scam. I'm from Poland and it's not so small amount of money here. Do not judge people like that MGREX. Bann for looking for looking some more reliable input LOL hope not. I really like to get this conversation going so I can judge if this is worth my money.
Wysłane z mojego Nexus 4 przy użyciu Tapatalka

>Bann for looking for looking some more reliable input LOL hope not. I really like to get this conversation going so I can judge if this is worth my money.
You don't need "reliable input," just exercise some common sense and ask the questions. Do some actual thinking yourself, rather than just rely on others to do it for you.
The supposed startup Multi-Media Ventures (MMV) has a track record to follow. It prominently claimed to have shipped its iConsole.tv ("the most powerful Android console") last year, then look for evidence. Where are iConsole.tv's support forums, developer chatter, downloads (patches / code samples / drivers / documentation / etc), hardware specs? There is nothing on the iConsole.tv site or from a Google search.
The hardware is vaguely said to have a "fourth-generation Core processor with Iris graphics," but won't specify the exact CPU. There isn't even a picture of the shipping unit. On ConsoleOS's KS page, MMV claimed that the hardware is "out of stock," but on the iConsole.tv page, no OOS is mentioned, and it is only too willing to take your $699 (it took me straight to Paypal).
There are other red flags that scream SCAM! for those who bother to dig into MMV and C. Price's history. From Price's linkedin profile, he doesn't have any programming/engineering background. Nowhere on the ConsoleOS page is there any mention of his team, let alone their tech background. The entire site is basically one big sales pitch, with no substance.
Being mentioned on a popular blog is not proof of anything. Blogs don't have the manpower or the investigative expertise to verify in-depth. Most won't even do cursory fact-checking. Their overriding want is content to fill the space and keep the page hits coming. They need massive quantity of content everyday, and perforce quality takes a back seat.
That said, if you want further veracity and can't/won't do it yourself, you can get help from a blog (or blogs). Contact a blogger from a reputable blog, explain your case, along with red flags found in MMV's spiel, and ask if s/he can look further into it. Unmasking a scam would be a pretty good scoop, and as long as it doesn't take too much effort, the blogger will likely accommodate. Suggest Ars Technica, The Verge, and/or Engadget.
ConsoleOS is supposedly pretty far along, with claims of having reached "Developer Release 1" on 25 target platforms. I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for a PoC video from C. Price, do you? Would be nice to see boot-up from one of those said devices, and some of those fancy buzzword features like InstaSwitch and WindowsFlinger in action, no?
Cons work on people's greed for "good deals" and laziness to fact-check, both of which are under your control. Exercise your responsibility.

There *was* actually a pretty big homebrew scene around the PS3 hypervisor (did you miss the whole "OtherOS" fiasco where Sony initially sold it with the ability to run Linux via the hypervisor, then tried to block that feature, then some enterprising hackers added it back and in the process broke the console's security wide open? I don't even have any Sony stuff but it was all over the news I was following ~3 years ago, though admittedly I follow a lot of security news). I haven't heard much about it recently, but the ability to install an run your own Linux system on the console was considered a real plus to some people (hard to get a Cell processor to play with, otherwise).
With that said, while I still don't buy the argument about the technical difficulty of using a hypervisor (seriously, not that hard; hard to write one from scratch, yes, hard to employ an existing one, no), the rest of your comments seems likely spot-on. This is a cool idea and seems like it should be possible (all the best scams are...) but I'm very skeptical that it's actually happening.

I am in the same boat as mcksz. I do hope MMV delivers a dual boot solution for my Asus Transformer T100 (fingers crossed). The idea of Dual boot is very valid. I have tried multiple emulators and have quickly come to the conclusion that dual boot is the only solution for moderately powered Baytrail based 2-in-1. For me "Windows for work and Android for Play" is a very powerful solution.
@MGREX, by Chris Roberts, you mean Christoper Price? if so, he is still very much active on the the Android-x86 forum. Although, he is taking a beating in the Android-x86 forum from some of the skeptics
From my viewpoint, they are a startup and were building a dedicated android console and there was no market for it. Now it appears that they are pivoting to delivering ConsoleOS for the desktop and will try to convince the OEMs to ship dual boot solution. I am skeptical of the overall business plan as well... as both Google and Microsoft have shown no interest in a dual boot solution.
Thanks
Rockmeister
MGREX said:
Yeah not only its not his "first post" on XDA, but I seen plenty of new accounts on other sites defending this project which I have to say couldn't come up at a better time to ensure consoleos is not debunked, though chris roberts himself seems to have been banned from the androidx86 group last time I checked.
Whatevs, the projects seem to have lost its momentum so I doubt it will reach its goal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

>I do hope MMV delivers a dual boot solution for my Asus Transformer T100 (fingers crossed).
The notion of investing--what you're doing--with "fingers crossed" is so adorably naive that I just had to grin a little. As said from the outset, I think it's a good idea for everybody to experience firsthand at being a scam victim, because only then will they learn that not every claim on the Internet is true. In that, I approve of this so-called venture SPECIFICALLY because of its proclivity to go pear-shaped, and $10 is cheap for a life lesson learned.
I wholly understand that there is no argument that can sway you and those like you, because you've made up your mind on the "good deal." Selective input kicks in, and good luck getting through your blinder. Plus, in the absence of hard facts--C. Price had provided zip thus far--you fill in the gaps to fit what you wanted to believe. The best scams let the marks do most of the work.
>From my viewpoint, they are a startup and were building a dedicated android console and there was no market for it.
MMV claims that it shipped the developer "unit 00". Regardless of how good or bad the reception was, the support has to be in place. You don't just ship a dev kit and kiss off your developers because of poor sales. Do you understand this basic concept? This isn't a retail buy. Dev kits REQUIRE support. Yet there is absolutely zilch on iConsole.tv; the site is totally bare. We're not even talking about support, just basic info. Don't you think this is a cause for concern? What does it take for you to open your eyes? No need to answer, that was rhetorical.
Let's assume for the moment that MMV is legit, and iConsole.tv actually had shipped. Would you ever invest in a company that failed so utterly in its first venture that it "skipped town" on existing users, to jump on a second venture? If there's no support for iConsole.tv, isn't that a good indication of the support ConsoleOS will get?
Yeah, I know, whoosh. I hear nothing, I see nothing.
BTW, I don't blame C. Price at all. He's only taking what people gives him. If simpletons want to hand over money for dubious claims, he's more than welcome to it! Heck, checking in now, I see the new goal is $125K! GO CHRISTOPHER GO! DRINK THEIR MILKSHAKE!
The upshot about this is that it's all legal. Before Kickstarter, shenanigans like this are called securities fraud, which can entail major jail time. Now, Price & cohort can simply cop any convenient excuse--"the dog ate my code"--and they'll be in the clear. Personally, I think it's fine. You can't coddle the lazy and the gullible, who thinks "crossing fingers" is the way to invest. Let there be blood.

e.mote
I understand that we are poles apart on this issue. But isn't *all* kickstarter campaign based on certain amount of faith? Hence it comes to whether you have faith in MMV/Christoper Price (or not) in their ability to deliver on the 25 devices for the $50,000 pledge. I am willing to believe that the they would make good on their promise and also provide patches back to AOSP code base.
You think of it as an investment/securities fraud... but believe me, there are others that look at it as an supporting a campaign to get more android devices on the Intel platform of their choice and see it as a win-win. Categorizing other view points as "naive,gullible,lazy and simpletons" does not make you smart.
Currently they are nearing 43K and assuming that they reach their goal, we can revisit this thread in 63 days! Until then I will refrain from responding to this thread.
Peace!!!
Rockmeister
e.mote said:
>I do hope MMV delivers a dual boot solution for my Asus Transformer T100 (fingers crossed).
The notion of investing--what you're doing--with "fingers crossed" is so adorably naive that I just had to grin a little. As said from the outset, I think it's a good idea for everybody to experience firsthand at being a scam victim, because only then will they learn that not every claim on the Internet is true. In that, I approve of this so-called venture SPECIFICALLY because of its proclivity to go pear-shaped, and $10 is cheap for a life lesson learned.
I wholly understand that there is no argument that can sway you and those like you, because you've made up your mind on the "good deal." Selective input kicks in, and good luck getting through your blinder. Plus, in the absence of hard facts--C. Price had provided zip thus far--you fill in the gaps to fit what you wanted to believe. The best scams let the marks do most of the work.
>From my viewpoint, they are a startup and were building a dedicated android console and there was no market for it.
MMV claims that it shipped the developer "unit 00". Regardless of how good or bad the reception was, the support has to be in place. You don't just ship a dev kit and kiss off your developers because of poor sales. Do you understand this basic concept? This isn't a retail buy. Dev kits REQUIRE support. Yet there is absolutely zilch on iConsole.tv; the site is totally bare. We're not even talking about support, just basic info. Don't you think this is a cause for concern? What does it take for you to open your eyes? No need to answer, that was rhetorical.
Let's assume for the moment that MMV is legit, and iConsole.tv actually had shipped. Would you ever invest in a company that failed so utterly in its first venture that it "skipped town" on existing users, to jump on a second venture? If there's no support for iConsole.tv, isn't that a good indication of the support ConsoleOS will get?
Yeah, I know, whoosh. I hear nothing, I see nothing.
BTW, I don't blame C. Price at all. He's only taking what people gives him. If simpletons want to hand over money for dubious claims, he's more than welcome to it! Heck, checking in now, I see the new goal is $125K! GO CHRISTOPHER GO! DRINK THEIR MILKSHAKE!
The upshot about this is that it's all legal. Before Kickstarter, shenanigans like this are called securities fraud, which can entail major jail time. Now, Price & cohort can simply cop any convenient excuse--"the dog ate my code"--and they'll be in the clear. Personally, I think it's fine. You can't coddle the lazy and the gullible, who thinks "crossing fingers" is the way to invest. Let there be blood.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Root?

Is root going to be possible for this phone?
Sent from my SM-G950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Once kernel source is released, it's very likely. Essential said they'd be releasing that soon in their AMA.

gk1984 said:
Once kernel source is released, it's very likely. Essential said they'd be releasing that soon in their AMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for answering I happy to hear it I heard this is great now except for the camera app.
Sent from my SM-G950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

gk1984 said:
Once kernel source is released, it's very likely. Essential said they'd be releasing that soon in their AMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind, Essential said repeatedly, week after week, while the phone was delayed 90 days beyond when they first said it would be released, that it would be "coming soon."
And they said recently that Oreo would come in the next couple months, which they described as "soon."
And the since it went up in May the website has said that the Stellar Grey and Ocean Depths colors would be "available soon." Even though in the AMA they admitted that they had no idea when those colors would be availalbe and in fact they don't even know how to get ceramic to be those colors, with their attempts so far failing (in other words, they said "available soon" for something they don't actually know how to make).
So Essential's idea of "soon" tends to be months and/or never. And, really, Essential seems to just say "soon" whenever anything is not ready, but they don't want people to go away, so instead they say "soon" to the point of meaninglessness, because they are unable to be honest about what's really going on.
I'm not saying they won't release the kernel source. I'm just saying their promises about when something might happen are empty and "soon" is just used as a delaying tactic.

cb474 said:
Keep in mind, Essential said repeatedly, week after week, while the phone was delayed 90 days beyond when they first said it would be released, that it would be "coming soon."
And they said recently that Oreo would come in the next couple months, which they described as "soon."
And the since it went up in May the website has said that the Stellar Grey and Ocean Depths colors would be "available soon." Even though in the AMA they admitted that they had no idea when those colors would be availalbe and in fact they don't even know how to get ceramic to be those colors, with their attempts so far failing (in other words, they said "available soon" for something they don't actually know how to make).
So Essential's idea of "soon" tends to be months and/or never. And, really, Essential seems to just say "soon" whenever anything is not ready, but they don't want people to go away, so instead they say "soon" to the point of meaninglessness, because they are unable to be honest about what's really going on.
I'm not saying they won't release the kernel source. I'm just saying their promises about when something might happen are empty and "soon" is just used as a delaying tactic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The AMA said "a couple days" so it might be sooner than "soon"

I guess expected to much because Andy Rubin was involved. The whole internet is saying essential was released too soon, that they should have worked out all the bugs first.
Sent from my SM-G950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

canynballa said:
I guess expected to much because Andy Rubin was involved. The whole internet is saying essential was released too soon, that they should have worked out all the bugs first.
Sent from my SM-G950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really was. That and them being severely understaffed, not a good combination.

What really bugs me is releasing kernel is a matter of a clicking a button and they have yet to click that upload button. Very frustrating. I have tried reaching out to them on Facebook and Twitter but there has been zero word from essential or Andy since the AMA. Their silence is troubling

I had the phone and really like the build quality.
What disappointed me was that no source released, so no customs recovery.
No image so you could return the phone back to stock.
No cases.
I sent it back and will see what V2 looks like.

hellot1M said:
What really bugs me is releasing kernel is a matter of a clicking a button and they have yet to click that upload button. Very frustrating. I have tried reaching out to them on Facebook and Twitter but there has been zero word from essential or Andy since the AMA. Their silence is troubling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not Android technical but wasn't there mention of proprietary assets mingled it and would need to be removed? Also read somewhere that OnePlus released theirs but it was still hard to create kernels because of the way they released the source. I think it was someone on the AMA thread.
*edit*
C&P from the AMA below. Doesn't specifically mention kernel....
[–]AmirZ 8 points 11 days ago
So, ROM development. Can you commit to releasing ALL of your framework sources like Google does with AOSP and Nexus? One frustration with OnePlus is that their released sources are missing parts and thus work a lot worse than their real OS (OxygenOS).
permalinkembedsavereportgive goldREPLYpocket
[–]EssentialOfficial 13 points 11 days ago
This actually turns out to be really hard technically. We're going to try to do more and more of this over time but ensuring you separate out any close source proprietary bits from the rest, but that things still work well is a big challenge. -Rebecca

flakko86 said:
The AMA said "a couple days" so it might be sooner than "soon"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at it, it actually says, " We'll be releasing our kernel and factory images in the next few days." So, it says, "the next few days." And yet that was eleven days ago.
Another example of playing fast and loose with what I think anybody's idea of "few days" would be. Hopefully it will come soon. My point is only that people should not place much faith in Essential's statements about timing. They have only made promises and failed to keep them, just about without exception. It is not a good track record and part of why after my initial hopes and excitement about Essential, I now view them as an "essentially" dishonest company whose intentions are much less honorable than they claim.
This would all be more or less par for the course, for a big corporation spouting empty PR. But Andy Rubin, when he first introduced the phone, did this whole song and dance about how they were going to be a different sort of consumer friendly company. I no longer believe that at all. I no longer even believe that Rubin believed it when he said it. I think it was PR and nothing more.
---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------
gqukyo said:
I'm not Android technical but wasn't there mention of proprietary assets mingled it and would need to be removed? Also read somewhere that OnePlus released theirs but it was still hard to create kernels because of the way they released the source. I think it was someone on the AMA thread.
*edit*
C&P from the AMA below. Doesn't specifically mention kernel....
[–]AmirZ 8 points 11 days ago
So, ROM development. Can you commit to releasing ALL of your framework sources like Google does with AOSP and Nexus? One frustration with OnePlus is that their released sources are missing parts and thus work a lot worse than their real OS (OxygenOS).
permalinkembedsavereportgive goldREPLYpocket
[–]EssentialOfficial 13 points 11 days ago
This actually turns out to be really hard technically. We're going to try to do more and more of this over time but ensuring you separate out any close source proprietary bits from the rest, but that things still work well is a big challenge. -Rebecca
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I remember this. I was thinking when I first read that: Why don't they just open source the proprietary parts and problem solved? Rubin claimed this company is all about open source. That's part of his legacy with Android. He made a big point about how they are even open sourcing the hardware for module development. In fact, since they claimed the phone runs entirely stock Android I was suprised there even are proprietary parts. So to me rather than being an explanation, that was another example of the discrepancy between Essential's claims about what kind of company it is and the reality of the sort of company it really is.

cb474 said:
Yes, I remember this. I was thinking when I first read that: Why don't they just open source the proprietary parts and problem solved? Rubin claimed this company is all about open source. That's part of his legacy with Android. He made a big point about how they are even open sourcing the hardware for module development. In fact, since they claimed the phone runs entirely stock Android I was suprised there even are proprietary parts. So to me rather than being an explanation, that was another example of the discrepancy between Essential's claims about what kind of company it is and the reality of the sort of company it really is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not good.

cb474 said:
Looking at it, it actually says, " We'll be releasing our kernel and factory images in the next few days." So, it says, "the next few days." And yet that was eleven days ago.
Another example of playing fast and loose with what I think anybody's idea of "few days" would be. Hopefully it will come soon. My point is only that people should not place much faith in Essential's statements about timing. They have only made promises and failed to keep them, just about without exception. It is not a good track record and part of why after my initial hopes and excitement about Essential, I now view them as an "essentially" dishonest company whose intentions are much less honorable than they claim.
This would all be more or less par for the course, for a big corporation spouting empty PR. But Andy Rubin, when he first introduced the phone, did this whole song and dance about how they were going to be a different sort of consumer friendly company. I no longer believe that at all. I no longer even believe that Rubin believed it when he said it. I think it was PR and nothing more.
---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------
Yes, I remember this. I was thinking when I first read that: Why don't they just open source the proprietary parts and problem solved? Rubin claimed this company is all about open source. That's part of his legacy with Android. He made a big point about how they are even open sourcing the hardware for module development. In fact, since they claimed the phone runs entirely stock Android I was suprised there even are proprietary parts. So to me rather than being an explanation, that was another example of the discrepancy between Essential's claims about what kind of company it is and the reality of the sort of company it really is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotta have that special sauce... lol

cb474 said:
Looking at it, it actually says, " We'll be releasing our kernel and factory images in the next few days." So, it says, "the next few days." And yet that was eleven days ago.
Another example of playing fast and loose with what I think anybody's idea of "few days" would be. Hopefully it will come soon. My point is only that people should not place much faith in Essential's statements about timing. They have only made promises and failed to keep them, just about without exception. It is not a good track record and part of why after my initial hopes and excitement about Essential, I now view them as an "essentially" dishonest company whose intentions are much less honorable than they claim.
This would all be more or less par for the course, for a big corporation spouting empty PR. But Andy Rubin, when he first introduced the phone, did this whole song and dance about how they were going to be a different sort of consumer friendly company. I no longer believe that at all. I no longer even believe that Rubin believed it when he said it. I think it was PR and nothing more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol well to look at it in a more positive light, I think the issue is he has a tendency to over promise and leave use twiddling our thumbs. Considering they are a relatively new company and are severely understaffed, the overpromising can be forgiven. However, when missing the said dates, there is barely any follow-up as to why the dates were missed leading to major concern for the customers. I think saying anything is better than silence. Like at least tell us that such and such update promised on such and such date has been moved.
On the plus side, during the AMA, VZW cert was promised and it was certified on the date promised. The recent security patch was released with bug fixes within a day of the Pixel. They have definitely improved thier presence on reddit which I think is a huge plus. They also have said on Twitter a couple hours ago that they are currently working on a Dev page for their website.
https://twitter.com/essential/status/912424863951810560
So calling them dishonest or not honorable or saying they aren't customer friendly I think is a bit of a stretch. I think they are still super swamped after getting knocked down from the initial release and are trying their darndest to get back on their feet so they can stay in the fight. Yes, I am giving them the benefit of a doubt but I think once Essential gets over this initial launch hurdle, promised timings will be a little more "on time" than they currently are.

flakko86 said:
Lol well to look at it in a more positive light, I think the issue is he has a tendency to over promise and leave use twiddling our thumbs. Considering they are a relatively new company and are severely understaffed, the overpromising can be forgiven. However, when missing the said dates, there is barely any follow-up as to why the dates were missed leading to major concern for the customers. I think saying anything is better than silence. Like at least tell us that such and such update promised on such and such date has been moved.
On the plus side, during the AMA, VZW cert was promised and it was certified on the date promised. The recent security patch was released with bug fixes within a day of the Pixel. They have definitely improved thier presence on reddit which I think is a huge plus. They also have said on Twitter a couple hours ago that they are currently working on a Dev page for their website.
https://twitter.com/essential/status/912424863951810560
So calling them dishonest or not honorable or saying they aren't customer friendly I think is a bit of a stretch. I think they are still super swamped after getting knocked down from the initial release and are trying their darndest to get back on their feet so they can stay in the fight. Yes, I am giving them the benefit of a doubt but I think once Essential gets over this initial launch hurdle, promised timings will be a little more "on time" than they currently are.
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Click to collapse
That is a more generous way to look at it.
It's true the Verizon thing is the one thing I'm aware of where they made a promise about when something would happen and did it. I didn't say they never kept their promises. I said they have simply failed to keep them just about without exception. They didn't really promise a specific time on the security updates, as far as I'm aware, but it is good that they did it right away. Anyway, there have been so many promises they have not kept that I'm underwhelmed by the one instance where they did.
But, for me, the thing really is they have been called out repeatedly on tech sites and even in the AMA about their promises and not keeping them. Instead of owning up to that, they just do it again. They have been called out even more on how bad the camera is, especially in low light, and how it's inferior hardware can never live up to the hype. And yet to this day their website still says: "That’s why we put so much effort into developing one of the world’s best phone cameras." And: "This results in stunning images that are rich in color and detail, even in low light." (CNET critized them for keeping this on their website.) The camera was also brought up in the AMA. Rubin's response was hand waving jibberish about "computational photography," which is a technical term for bull**** (isn't, after all, all digital photography "computational"). Rubin also said, " We are pretty happy with the hardware design of the camera," even though the inferior sensors they are using was public knowledge by then. Rubin as recently as four days ago claimed in Time Magazine (http://time.com/4950677/andy-rubin-essential-interview/) that the reviewers received phones with incomplete camera software and that caused the problems, but there have been subsequent updates. This was long after the reviews had been out, the updates had been issued, and all the reviewers said it made little to no difference. This is not honesty. That is engaging knowningly in PR bull and trying to obfuscate something.
It's one thing to overpromise. It's another thing to overpromise and when you are called out on it double down on the overpromising. Further, there is zero way that the engineers within the company who worked on the camera didn't know that they were using sensors that are not as good as the best camera phones, so they knowingly claimed to make "one of the world's best phone cameras" when they knew that couldn't be true. They released the phone with that camera anyway, because there was nothing (much) more to be done.
Lastly, yes they are small and overworked. That seems clear. But even here, in promotional events, over and over, they have hyped the fact that being small makes them more effective and efficient, because there are not a lot of layers of bureaucracy to go through to make decisions and get things done. Yet clearly, being small in Essential's case means there are a lot of things they don't have time to do that well (and may never have time). And they have never said, oh, we're small, be patient. They have said over and over, being small makes us better. So if they weren't out there promoting the benefits of being small in contradiction to the reality, it would be easier to forgive them on this account.
When you add it all up, I just don't buy that it comes down to a simple tendency to overpromise. As they say, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I think they are being knowingly dishonest or, at best, knowingly engaging in PR misdirection to try to mislead people about problems with the phone and company.

cb474 said:
That is a more generous way to look at it.
It's true the Verizon thing is the one thing I'm aware of where they made a promise about when something would happen and did it. I didn't say they never kept their promises. I said they have simply failed to keep them just about without exception. They didn't really promise a specific time on the security updates, as far as I'm aware, but it is good that they did it right away. Anyway, there have been so many promises they have not kept that I'm underwhelmed by the one instance where they did.
But, for me, the thing really is they have been called out repeatedly on tech sites and even in the AMA about their promises and not keeping them. Instead of owning up to that, they just do it again. They have been called out even more on how bad the camera is, especially in low light, and how it's inferior hardware can never live up to the hype. And yet to this day their website still says: "That’s why we put so much effort into developing one of the world’s best phone cameras." And: "This results in stunning images that are rich in color and detail, even in low light." (CNET critized them for keeping this on their website.) The camera was also brought up in the AMA. Rubin's response was hand waving jibberish about "computational photography," which is a technical term for bull**** (isn't, after all, all digital photography "computational"). Rubin also said, " We are pretty happy with the hardware design of the camera," even though the inferior sensors they are using was public knowledge by then. Rubin as recently as four days ago claimed in Time Magazine (http://time.com/4950677/andy-rubin-essential-interview/) that the reviewers received phones with incomplete camera software and that caused the problems, but there have been subsequent updates. This was long after the reviews had been out, the updates had been issued, and all the reviewers said it made little to no difference. This is not honesty. That is engaging knowningly in PR bull and trying to obfuscate something.
It's one thing to overpromise. It's another thing to overpromise and when you are called out on it double down on the overpromising. Further, there is zero way that the engineers within the company who worked on the camera didn't know that they were using sensors that are not as good as the best camera phones, so they knowingly claimed to make "one of the world's best phone cameras" when they knew that couldn't be true. They released the phone with that camera anyway, because there was nothing (much) more to be done.
Lastly, yes they are small and overworked. That seems clear. But even here, in promotional events, over and over, they have hyped the fact that being small makes them more effective and efficient, because there are not a lot of layers of bureaucracy to go through to make decisions and get things done. Yet clearly, being small in Essential's case means there are a lot of things they don't have time to do that well (and may never have time). And they have never said, oh, we're small, be patient. They have said over and over, being small makes us better. So if they weren't out there promoting the benefits of being small in contradiction to the reality, it would be easier to forgive them on this account.
When you add it all up, I just don't buy that it comes down to a simple tendency to overpromise. As they say, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I think they are being knowingly dishonest or, at best, knowingly engaging in PR misdirection to try to mislead people about problems with the phone and company.
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Click to collapse
I remember reading somewhere that someone messaged customer service and the rep said they would try to release the patches within two weeks of google's release.
I agree with you about the camera and how they are handling it. I think the AMA question should have been worded a bit more differently like "You claim to have one if the best cameras in the world but you are using a 2 year old sensor that is known to have problems with capturing images in low light. Other competitors at this price range such as the Google Pixel and the Samsung Galaxy S8 have far superior sensors. Can you really optimize the software that much to compete with them?". Something like that. Anyways, I forgot which reviewer stated it but there's a lot of hubris coming out of this company and I think that's what's causing them to have that "do no wrong" attitude, and Im not a big fan of it.
As for them being a small company, while the downside is not being able to handle handle thousands of orders and customers efficiently especially with a rushed buggy product (of course they will never admit that cuz hubris), im finding more recently that they are starting to frequent Reddit more often and I was assured when I sent the big bug report out, which was responded to in less than a day, that the company monitors the essential subreddit religiously and the software team is and will be referencing that thread. They aren't wrong in their statement about them being a smaller company. They just gotta shoot the issues and suggestions straight to the top making decisions a lot more efficient than a larger company. All I'm saying is let the dust settle from the launch and see how they deal with it the upcoming months

Maybe they'll do better the second time around when they make another phone.
Sent from my SM-G950U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

That's how OnePlus was.... their OPO launch was pretty horrible. They're doing much better now. Still with some hiccups but definitely much better than when they launched their first phone.

canynballa said:
Maybe they'll do better the second time around when they make another phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I agree, what will really be telling will be if they incorporate any of the criticisms of the Ph-1 into the Ph-2 (assuming there is a Ph-2).

I received this reply this morning. No dates, but it sounds encouraging.
Erich T (Essential Products)
Sep 27, 9:32 AM MST
Hi Mark,
Thank you for reaching out.
We are going to support the 3rd party developer community by releasing our kernel and factory images. These will be made available soon, but I don't have a confirmed date at this time.
I don't know at this point where they will be uploaded to, but please stay tuned to Essential.com, and our social media channels for announcements.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Erich
Essential Customer Experience Team

Essential is packing it in!

Damn. Andy Rubin announced that the company is for sale and design for PH2 Will be terminated.
Very sad. I really love this device.
And all the sheeple line up to pay double for their Scamsungs and Crapples.

He should've made at least three attempts, goddamnit. I guess I'll try one plus maybe

I was disappointed when I learned the news. We have a really great phone. I wouldn't have paid $500+ for it though. I the high end phone market must be a tough market to crack into...

n2locarz said:
I was disappointed when I learned the news. We have a really great phone. I wouldn't have paid $500+ for it though. I the high end phone market must be a tough market to crack into...
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Click to collapse
Think how we early adopters feel for paying full price and then got a measly coupon for which many of us never even used it ourselves. I still love the phone though, just hope the custom rom community will continue to support if they ever stop.

I'm disappointed with this.
I wish I had seen another attempt....I think it was a beautiful phone.

Definitely feels like a let down but the initial reports are they are just stopping development. Maybe they will honor the 3 year patch and 2 year OS upgrade promise. I love this phone, flaws and all. If the company sells and the patent portfolio goes, I have zero confidence in any new accessories for this phone. Great idea, poor execution.

While Rubin says Essential will still be around in some form or another, it makes me wonder how much longer they will offer OS/security updates for the phone?
Que triste

chiadrum said:
Damn. Andy Rubin announced that the company is for sale and design for PH2 Will be terminated.
Very sad. I really love this device.
And all the sheeple line up to pay double for their Scamsungs and Crapples.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rumors.
From Andy:
"We always have multiple products in development at the same time and we embrace canceling some in favor of the ones we think will be bigger hits. We are putting all of our efforts towards our future, game-changing products, which include mobile and home products."
Where does that say the company is closing or that PH-2 is dead?

tech_head said:
Rumors.
From Andy:
"We always have multiple products in development at the same time and we embrace canceling some in favor of the ones we think will be bigger hits. We are putting all of our efforts towards our future, game-changing products, which include mobile and home products."
Where does that say the company is closing or that PH-2 is dead?
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Click to collapse
It's all over the news. Sad news indeed...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...hone-maker-essential-is-said-to-consider-sale
https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/24/a...nd-has-cancelled-work-on-its-next-smartphone/
https://www.slashgear.com/andy-rubin-essential-phone-2-cancellation-smart-home-comment-25531970/

mimin0 said:
It's all over the news. Sad news indeed...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...hone-maker-essential-is-said-to-consider-sale
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Click to collapse
From Bloomberg " according to people familiar with the matter."
mimin0 said:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/24/a...nd-has-cancelled-work-on-its-next-smartphone/
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This article refers to the Bloomberg article. --- See above
mimin0 said:
https://www.slashgear.com/andy-rubin-essential-phone-2-cancellation-smart-home-comment-25531970/
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Click to collapse
"Smartphone maker Essential, Andy Rubin’s project to reinvent the Android phone, has axed development of its second device and is considering selling itself off, according to a new report. "
See the first URL.
One story, unconfirmed, and people have lost their minds.
I'll wait for an official source.
Bloomberg ---> " according to people familiar with the matter."
Means rumors and FUD.

i stopped reading at Bloomberg.
JD

JudasD said:
i stopped reading at Bloomberg.
JD
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Exactly.

https://wccftech.com/andy-rubin-email-essential-not-shutting-down/
Hope lives!