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Hi all, I've been using WM since ages.
The X10 mini pro is tempting me to commit hersy and buy and android phone
May you help me with some questions I have:
- Is a FULL file explorer preloaded ??
- Can I download/EDIT/save office docs ??
- Can I hot auto check my hotmail ??
- A win live mesenger is present ??
- Can I easily change the UI or is it "closed" ?? (sort of the xperia "panels")
THANKS in advance
gtrab said:
Hi all, I've been using WM since ages.
The X10 mini pro is tempting me to commit hersy and buy and android phone
May you help me with some questions I have:
- Is a FULL file explorer preloaded ??
- Can I download/EDIT/save office docs ??
- Can I hot auto check my hotmail ??
- A win live mesenger is present ??
- Can I easily change the UI or is it "closed" ?? (sort of the xperia "panels")
THANKS in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey
1. there is no file manger installed but you can download one from marked
2. you can buy doc to go then you can edit doc
3. you with exchange
4. there is many good msn apps in marked
5. you can use any home's from marked like adw launcher
gtrab said:
Hi all, I've been using WM since ages.
The X10 mini pro is tempting me to commit hersy and buy and android phone
May you help me with some questions I have:
- Is a FULL file explorer preloaded ??
- Can I download/EDIT/save office docs ??
- Can I hot auto check my hotmail ??
- A win live mesenger is present ??
- Can I easily change the UI or is it "closed" ?? (sort of the xperia "panels")
THANKS in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Following on from the previous answer
1) Not pre-installed, but you can easily download and install a free one directly from the Market (i.e from the phone itself) - ASTRO File Manager and ES File Explorer are two good ones, but there are plenty to choose from
2) Again, not pre-installed, but you can download a free app called "Documents to Go" that will let you read office docs. http://www.dataviz.com/ - You'll need to buy the full version (currently $15) to be able to edit docs too
3) Googling suggests that you can probably make it work using pop3 - I don't use hotmail, so I can't try it out
4) Nothing pre-installed, but there are lots on the market. I'm currently using Trillian which works nicely (free beta, will probably become a paid app)
5) Yes - there are lots of alternative launchers, so if you're not happy with the S.E. "4 corners" homescreen, you can easily switch for another one - most of these are free, too
So, it sounds like you might have to fork out some cash to be able to do everything you want
I use maildroid for all my email accounts including Hotmail. Just download it for free in market
Sent from my rooted X10 mini PRO using XDA App
THANKS for your replies.
Let me see if I get it right:
OK so Android looks like a different approach (more iPhone-esque than pocketPC-esque) but able to expand to more advanced capabilities with some investment
(and the market looks pretty ample)
One final Q:
Front camera for video call ??
(I could just check pdadb.net for that one, but sometimes having the phone in-hand brings on some surprises)
No video calling afaik, though I suppose some app could potentially do it via the front camera.
Although the launcher can be changed easily, the OS theming requires the phone to be rooted and a system file to be replaced to change, so you'll have a lot of blue until the phone is rooted.
There are thousands of apps on the market and also around on the web, some are junk, some are great (including a lot of free ones), you shouldn't have too much trouble finding software to fill whatever needs you have.
Android is a pretty fantastic phone OS, I don't think you'll be dissatisfied with it, the user experience is much the same across different phones, so really it's about getting it on hardware that can fill your needs.
front cam ??
so it DOES have a front camera
thanks for the info
good news !!
aPaullyG said:
No video calling afaik, though I suppose some app could potentially do it via the front camera.
Although the launcher can be changed easily, the OS theming requires the phone to be rooted and a system file to be replaced to change, so you'll have a lot of blue until the phone is rooted.
There are thousands of apps on the market and also around on the web, some are junk, some are great (including a lot of free ones), you shouldn't have too much trouble finding software to fill whatever needs you have.
Android is a pretty fantastic phone OS, I don't think you'll be dissatisfied with it, the user experience is much the same across different phones, so really it's about getting it on hardware that can fill your needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gtrab said:
front cam ??
so it DOES have a front camera
thanks for the info
good news !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not seen a front camera on the mini pro, and the one i have has not a front camera
No front camera in mini pro
Sent from my rooted X10 mini PRO using XDA App
Hey gtrab,
I was just like you, I always swore bt WM. And never wanted to try anything new. But while I was on a trip, my dash was bugging out on me and I needed a new phone. I went for the x10 mini pro cuz it was cheap.
Now my view has changed, android took a while to get used to from wm. Not a lot of things were intergrated like wm, I needed an app for every little thing. Just to get a comm manager thing going, I needed to download like 6 widgets for it. And there was no folders to organize the apps. Things weren't in abc order. But installing a new launcher solved it.
The thing about the x10 that is making me stick with android and ditching wm6.5 (maybe untill wm7 comes out) is there is no crashed. Android runs smooth and stable. I havent soft reset my phone in 2 months. Even tho a wm rom was stable it still has issues and I needed to soft reset it once a week just to get something to work again. Even my girl friend likes my phone, she always hated my wm phones cause it was hard to use, and it would always mess up on us when im talking to her over the phone. It would always go like, "the comm manager isnt loading, I need to reset the phone to turn on the bluetooh, ill call u back"
Because of this I think im going to stick with android now.
Sent from my U20i using XDA App
Thanks for your words Ray_Jai
I am 100% sure to go Android as soon as possible, my only concern is "which" phone to choose
The X10 mini pro is an amazing little phone, the only thing stopping me from buying it is the screen res 'cause I do a lot of web navigation, and the older android version (Froyo has flash 10.1 web support)
The newest Desire Z and Moto droid 2 world edition are tempting me
Np,
The small screen is a killer for me too, but I do most of my web reading from RSS readers, so it's ok for me. I only use the phone for email and light web surfing, I rarely play games or watch movies on it. I tried to install some games, but many of the games weren't supported. so if you're into that, it might not be that good. but for everything else, it does a pretty good job.
Hi all,
I am from India and while I was in Bangalore I picked this little android phone. I was in a dilemma which phone to pick, my budget was not too good for any 1gig - android phone so I had to pick this one (backflip from moto or wildfire from HTC was my other options -).
From the very first day that first thing I noticed that I am not that satisfied with the phone apart from the fact it's an android( which I needed badly) and (look of the phone -). I felt no one has used/ experienced / tested this phone before releasing. It's like a B-grade hindi movie, you like the title and then you like nothing.
Even they did not pay a little attention to make icons in a same pattern, games are horrible, I cannot access the market or any other app/widgets with manual configured apns (vodafone, india)--- its like worse dream of my life. I myself hate copy paste but I think people from sony (graphics as well as the developers) need to know this copy paste funda. I was very angry and posted all these in "Update on updates" as MINI PRO USER (may be now lost as around 2000 comments are there).
I don't how come they marketed this one with horrible calling feature, when I try to call or receive the call, the screen goes and needs unlock to find somewhere in the screen a tiny rectangle (if u use any other launcher, opps u even can't find it). Then messaging, in my life this is the first phone which takes ages to show the letter when u use the soft keyboard.
And how come they can make they make "CA gold rush" or something like that with a **** like icon? It's unbelievable, no tester with sony ? or HE is non sense.
Anyway I know I can easily download lots of apk's from here and there (as android market does not work) and make things better. But when is it desirable to purchase a Nike shoe and very first day then go to other painter to do some painting???
I really don't get enough time for doing stuff like changing icons or changing colors of the framework-res.apk. then also I had to spend 2 days to find icons like iphone (please iphone hater don't be angry, we all know the pattern of iphone icons are really good and almost every phone-maker tries to make something like that) or some good png icons and put then all the apk's that came with this and other apps that I needed. Now the phone looks like a phone. But I don't know when SONY will come up with a update that will make this a real phone (at least when I will be able to use the GPRS, Market etc and will be able to pick a incoming with minimum effort, those "SOFTWARE GUYS" made a slider with incoming phone that's like picking a needle huh.......b e a u tiful )
phone is nice and fast... works good. i got adw launcher and i rooted it so i could uninstall alot of pre-installed junk...
its fast, smooth im happy with it.
I know, my phone is also rooted and I changed all the icons through out, and using a launcher customized for me (I made a simple launcher for me) some time. I know we can do a lot of things in android that is one the reason I looked for android device, not WM phone. But my point was when someone is selling (marketing) some product, they should test it thoroughly. Why should the users take the pressure to find a decent launcher or call app??
I really like the phone but:
1- SE support SUCKS.
2- Upgrade to Android 2.1 delayed (Sucks)
3- No news about upgrade to android 2.2 (double sucks).
4- Turn on/off problems :
http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/3671?tstart=30
http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/5957
http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/6260?tstart=0
If the phone would work as it should, and the SE updates where in date, it should be one of the best phones for me.
My biggest disappointment, coming from WM, is the Android app market...
Yes: ,000's of android apps, but very few well-developed ones. My X1 is a bit like a Swiss Army Knife (without accelerometer, fast CPU etc etc), but the applications out there are plenty, and well designed. Also the WM apps are pretty expensive, comparatively but at least they exist.
The X10 Mini Pro itself, I'm OK with it. A lot of the minor flaws can be remedied by small apps like the SMS Handcent, adding a launcher, that sort of thing...
Biggest issue for me is the Android-wide problem of not being able to modify font size at system level. What were these guys thinking of?
Seems I have a bigger problem with Android, than with the X10 Mini Pro
I'm very pleased with my little "tamagochi" aka X10 mini
The point is i'm coming from a HTC Hero, and I loved it a lot, but the last time sometimes it got frozen i don't know why. I gave a X10 mini to my girlfriend and i got very impressed about the phone and finally I decided to get another one for me, so she and I have the same mobile.
First of all I have to say that the mobile is REALLY fast. Faster than my Hero on a 2.1 android version. Sony Ericsson has done a very good job about that even it running 1.6 android version. The kernel is very light, but for that reason some things doesn't work (i.e. tethering via root).
Good things: fast, very light, small, excellent camera (even better than other high models), excelent touch response
Bad things: BATTERY! (the worst), Android 1.6 and some stuff like launcher (aaaargh), the contact list, Timescape (I hate it) and the facebook links
For me the display isn't a bad thing cuz if not, it wasn't a small phone, and i like the small phones.
Some stuff inside is bad, but you can change perfectly. I mean the awful keyboard... that's very easy to fix with a keyboard from the market. I'm very happy with "Smart Keyboard pro". Nothing to say about the SE launcher... is totally a CRAP, you have to change it inmediately! "ADW Launcher" for 1.6 (on market) is really really good, once installed it, your phone is a true android mobile . Other stuff i didn't like was the SMS app from SE, so I changed it by "ChompSMS" and it works excellent on my X10 mini.
Other point is that some apps don't appear in the market because of the screen resolution. Anyway, I got most of them via Apktor (Aptoide), and they work perfect... I don't remember now what were them.
I want the update to 2.1 ASAP cuz I hope that SE improves the facebook links to the contacts (they said that in their blog) and also to install some apps that need android 2.0 or above, like Whatsapp and new google stuff.
So that's all, I'm very happy with it !!!
Just loving it !!!
It has got style and design features are so good that it is very easy to communicate with just one hand. It's a basic smart phone, great for the basic user. Internet, music, calls, text, chat, e-mail and apps to pay your bills.
The 5MP camera on the X10 mini performed admirably. It was quick to focus even in low light with very low shutterlag for a camera phone. The flash worked quite well for low light portrait shots. Images showed good colors and satisfactory details.
I just love this phone and really can't think a day without it.
Hope to read good reviews from respected community members about this phone......
Regards
Don Zone
My x10 mini is the best phone i've ever had. I have it since about 3 months now. It does everything I need and is very loveable. I have access to app market with no problem. I use the 3g connection as the much as the wifi, use the gps for driving (with google nav).
At first I thought the battery life was awful, but after uncharging completely and recharging fully 3 or 4 times, now I have 2 days of life. The only problems I have for now is not being able to copy text from sms, and cant find a descent azerty keyboard. I am please to know we will get 2.1 by the end of this month so I didn't take the time to fully customise the start screen with a launcher.
My old phones : htc 9100, touch diamond, htc snap.
Sent from my E10i using XDA App
For the SMS try ChompSMS, it's much better than the native app from SE, you can copy texts and much more, also you can write in landscape, with the original app you can't.
For the keyboard, try smart keyboard pro, I like it a lot, it has a very good algoritm and it can learn words you usually use, etc.
Both of them are in Apktor (Aptoide) for free. I think they are a MUST.
darfito said:
For the SMS try ChompSMS, it's much better than the native app from SE, you can copy texts and much more, also you can write in landscape, with the original app you can't.
For the keyboard, try smart keyboard pro, I like it a lot, it has a very good algoritm and it can learn words you usually use, etc.
Both of them are in Apktor (Aptoide) for free. I think they are a MUST.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
smart keyboard pro Hmm is not free it's a paid app
Hey I'm also from India..I Just love my "little fella"..battery is a big problem though
Take a look to Apktor or Aptoide app on google, I can't say anything else... hehe
I'M also from India.
Now I'm having xperia mini pro.
My dad having xperia x10.
Before this I had HTC tattoo.
I sold HTC tattoo because there is no 2.1 rom with camera working.
Xperia have official update.
Very nice and small size phone.
Nice hardware for that cost.
Really happy with phone.
Waiting for update......
Sent from my U20i using XDA App
I have had the x10 mini for a week and generally I like it. Its compact and lightweight and has many features.
There is a few annoying things that I dont like.
- Low resolution which doesnt look good.
- Cant have homescreen in landscape mode like the pro (this is very annoying)
- When inputting messages in landscape mode it can be quite unresponsive on occasions.
- The back cover of the phone feels very cheap and creaky.
- Battery life needs to be improved.
- Screen is a smudge magnet and is plastic not glass?
X10 Mini is perfect small phone with lots of features
Background data question
Hi,
I'm planning to buy the Mini Pro but I'm worried about battery life issue.. How does the background data and synchronisation system work on Android? If I want an e-mail and some other apps to be automatically synchronised e.g. once in an hour, does it require data connection to be switched on all the time? If I disable background data from the settings, are all the apps able to turn it on when needed (when it's time fo sync)? Just like it works on Symbian devices.. Only 3G connection will be used in my case, not WiFi..
And how about GPS, do I have to manually turn it on before I launch Google Maps? Or does the Maps turn the GPS on automatically when needed?
Hello to you all people of XDA, firstly I must state that I've scoured the forums far and wide and have yet to find some valuable info regarding my problem.
So what we're doing is developing (or trying to, as is obvious from this post) a custom rom for the Galaxy S2 which would be used for a single medical application for sensor tracking and the processing and displaying of said data on the SGS2, while at the same time sending it to his/her doctor.
What we need to be able to achieve with this rom is to put it into the hands of the end-user (a chronical patient which will in turn be able to stay at home instead of being hospitalized) and be able to completely lock down the phone for his use (I know, it sounds terrible) so that he loses the phone/sms/games/youtube/internet functionality as we need the phone to run as stable and for as long as possible without any additional battery stress (the constant sending, processing and processing of data seems enough of a problem for now).
I've searched into some custom roms but we eventually came up with the need for a stock Samsung rom which could be modified as we want to.
See this is where the problem begins, we can't seem to get the phone rooted, the ROM customized and then unrooted again so that the phone can't be fiddled with anymore, except when it's completely dead and we need to fix it.
So to cap it all up:
It needs to allow for a custom load and bootscreen (I almost got this to work)
It needs to be completely locked down for the end user.
It has to have full BT, NFC and WiFi functionality
It has to be able to call out and reciev calls, but only to/from specific numbers (911, doctor, etc..)
It has to basically allow for 2-3 programs to be running, while the others simply don't exist on the phone.
I am terribly sorry if anything like this has been asked about before, I swear I put 2 days of me life into researching already.
Any help, any help at all, ideas and solutions, but mostly links are welcome.
Thank you and good day to all.
Just a detail, but the SGS2 doesn't have the NFC functionality. Project seems to be possible, I would look into CyanogenMod sources if I was you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Why are you afraid of leaving the phone rooted and in hands of the patient?
Is he so uncritical that he can search the web and find means of unrooting a mobile phone and then get around to actually doing it?
LucLucLuc said:
Hello to you all people of XDA, firstly I must state that I've scoured the forums far and wide and have yet to find some valuable info regarding my problem.
So what we're doing is developing (or trying to, as is obvious from this post) a custom rom for the Galaxy S2 which would be used for a single medical application for sensor tracking and the processing and displaying of said data on the SGS2, while at the same time sending it to his/her doctor.
What we need to be able to achieve with this rom is to put it into the hands of the end-user (a chronical patient which will in turn be able to stay at home instead of being hospitalized) and be able to completely lock down the phone for his use (I know, it sounds terrible) so that he loses the phone/sms/games/youtube/internet functionality as we need the phone to run as stable and for as long as possible without any additional battery stress (the constant sending, processing and processing of data seems enough of a problem for now).
I've searched into some custom roms but we eventually came up with the need for a stock Samsung rom which could be modified as we want to.
See this is where the problem begins, we can't seem to get the phone rooted, the ROM customized and then unrooted again so that the phone can't be fiddled with anymore, except when it's completely dead and we need to fix it.
So to cap it all up:
It needs to allow for a custom load and bootscreen (I almost got this to work)
It needs to be completely locked down for the end user.
It has to have full BT, NFC and WiFi functionality
It has to be able to call out and reciev calls, but only to/from specific numbers (911, doctor, etc..)
It has to basically allow for 2-3 programs to be running, while the others simply don't exist on the phone.
I am terribly sorry if anything like this has been asked about before, I swear I put 2 days of me life into researching already.
Any help, any help at all, ideas and solutions, but mostly links are welcome.
Thank you and good day to all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Block all internet access apart from ones you want or you can just setup iptables rules, shouldnt need root apart from when setting it up
As far as removing programs, just delete the apks from the zip, or before you remove root. My sig has a list of all apks in a upto date rom and what they do.
You can use gemini app manager to control autoruns (stop them etc) also to block (hide and disable apps)
As far removing root, your best bet is to once you are done, use adb (from the android sdk) to remove the superuser.apk then flash the stock kernel back, as far as I know without superuser apps cant grain root permisions.
OR
This app will allow you to block any app behind a password
This app will block incoming and outgoing sms and calls on white and blacklists
Custom boot logo (the first screen before the animation)
Custom boot animation need to go into system/media, I am not sure about the format but there are loads around, like this thread has loads, stock kernel should support them.
I hope that helps
Most of that is easily possible.
If you listed the apps needing removed, the apk files just need deleted.
To control calls, you can use a third party app from market for that.
It's possible to have the custom rom unrooted, and easily flashed, regardless of how badly the phone gets rooted
Boot animation is easy anyway... If you can provide it in a zip like other ones (zip containing numbered png's) then it's a piece of cake.
A little bit of clever firewall stuff would prevent any web traffic, in or out, except to your defined server, which is obviously a concern when a phone is handling sensitive medical info.
genieass said:
Why are you afraid of leaving the phone rooted and in hands of the patient?
The phones are going to be used by around 500.000 people in a year, it's not that we want to take anything away from the user, it's more about not having any problems with the firmware - like ever.
Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
genieass said:
Why are you afraid of leaving the phone rooted and in hands of the patient?
The phones are going to be used by around 500.000 people in a year, it's not that we want to take anything away from the user, it's more about not having any problems with the firmware - like ever.
Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LucLucLuc, not sure where you live, but you're entering the patient confidentiality minefield with big, big boots.
Apart from the legal considerations, your question is definitely OS related and not device related.
I see what you want, but legally - where I live anyway - it's too much of a grey area to get involved with.
I use call recording a lot for referrals and info from other doctors, but I've always asked the other party if they're OK with it. I won't record patient conversations, and I won't accept any files whatsoever that have seen RIS or PACS first - not worth it.
Can't see it's worth your while, but I'd appreciate it if you keep me informed should you decide to work on it.
Big boots indeed
We are from Slovenia, Europe.
I'm actually just a student doing the research and some basic Android programming, thank god I wasn't let into the bigger of the projects
But yes, this project is a colaboration of several european firms and you can read more about it at chiron-project.eu - it's a very very interesting project afaic.
I don't think we'll be swimming with lawyer piranhas soon though, the project uses sensor data (which sorta is a privacy issue) which will be monitored on a tablet running Android (currently testing the Galaxy tab 10.1 - we were lucky to order one before Steve had another one of his fits), proccessed in real time and then stored on the central server, from where it will only be accessible by the patients doctor.
Patient consents are dealt with before we even start talking about mobile hospitalizations.
It's very encouraging to see some actual interest, if anyone wants to know more about anything related to this project contact me at [email protected]
Thanks again for all the help.
Alright, So we've seen Firefox running on Android Wear, however we can't enter any menus due to no softkeys on the device. I have been trying to install apps such as "Virtual Button Bar" and SoftKeys for Root Users onto the watch and they install and run. But only the home button works. Neither the back or menu button seems to work in any application.
Has anyone else attempted to get some softkeys for controls in unsupported apps that may be able to enlighten me more on why these keypresses seem to be ignored by the OS..
ShadowEO said:
Alright, So we've seen Firefox running on Android Wear, however we can't enter any menus due to no softkeys on the device. I have been trying to install apps such as "Virtual Button Bar" and SoftKeys for Root Users onto the watch and they install and run. But only the home button works. Neither the back or menu button seems to work in any application.
Has anyone else attempted to get some softkeys for controls in unsupported apps that may be able to enlighten me more on why these keypresses seem to be ignored by the OS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With LMT all the keys that can get on-screen are working just fine in apps that support them but the problem is the app can't be launched (FC-most probably because it has an action bar) so you can't edit the buttons or the size of them, they just work but are over sized.
Ranomez said:
With LMT all the keys that can get on-screen are working just fine in apps that support them but the problem is the app can't be launched (FC-most probably because it has an action bar) so you can't edit the buttons or the size of them, they just work but are over sized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if you can install LMT on your phone, customize it first, then go to /data/data/... or an appropriate location to grab the config and push it into the watch.
I'm also considering buying a GW, so if this somehow works, please let me know.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
AndyYan said:
I wonder if you can install LMT on your phone, customize it first, then go to /data/data/... or an appropriate location to grab the config and push it into the watch.
I'm also considering buying a GW, so if this somehow works, please let me know.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes ofc it will work but the problem with that is that it will take a lot of time to customize the settings right for the watch and each time you copy the files to data/data remember that you will need to set the right permissions, owner and SELinux context for each and every file and considering that currently SELinux contexts can differ from one device to an other and from one ROM to an other that will be really time consuming and hard as you will have to find an app on your watch that has the same types of files to see the SELinux contexts for each of them.
To say it short yes you can do that but it will probably take you at least 1 day and I don't have the time or patience to do that and I doubt many people on this forum will but ofc if you do buy a G Watch have a go at it and tell us just how much time you've wasted.
Ranomez said:
Yes ofc it will work but the problem with that is that it will take a lot of time to customize the settings right for the watch and each time you copy the files to data/data remember that you will need to set the right permissions, owner and SELinux context for each and every file and considering that currently SELinux contexts can differ from one device to an other and from one ROM to an other that will be really time consuming and hard as you will have to find an app on your watch that has the same types of files to see the SELinux contexts for each of them.
To say it short yes you can do that but it will probably take you at least 1 day and I don't have the time or patience to do that and I doubt many people on this forum will but ofc if you do buy a G Watch have a go at it and tell us just how much time you've wasted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I doubt it would take that much effort, because I've tried manually moving config for some other apps without even touching the permissions, and they seem to fix that automatically. System apps don't like that way, though.
But seeing how Android Wear hates ActionBar, thus making many of my apps unavailable, I don't know if I'd still buy one. Yes I do want something Android on my wrist, but if it's just time-telling and Google Now (which is not even available here in China), then I'm not paying that chunk for it.
What apps do you have, then?
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
AndyYan said:
Hmm, I doubt it would take that much effort, because I've tried manually moving config for some other apps without even touching the permissions, and they seem to fix that automatically. System apps don't like that way, though.
But seeing how Android Wear hates ActionBar, thus making many of my apps unavailable, I don't know if I'd still buy one. Yes I do want something Android on my wrist, but if it's just time-telling and Google Now (which is not even available here in China), then I'm not paying that chunk for it.
What apps do you have, then?
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you are talking about moving configs to the same phone I guess? Also if not were you on android 5.x+ cause if yes SELinux has became really strict, to the point that if you mess up some contexts on any file in the data partition you could even get a bootloop (happened to me) or have all your apps disappear and be unable to install any app until you fix up the SELinux context (again happened to me), which you will have to do using adb in that state if you don't happen to have and file manager with root capabilities installed in /system/app or /system/priv-app.
Also to answer your question: yes most normal android apps don't work but there are some that do, even some games and some are even really playable, moreover there are enough useful android wear apps out there, I don't know what you plan to use your watch for but for me it does way more than enough, after all it's a watch, it's not like I'll ever want to spend a lot of time looking at it doing anything but I can do some fast reading on it when I need (not like I'll ever read a whole book on it, that's why I have an android e-book reader or even my phone in the worst case scenario), browsing the internet fast (ofc it needs to be connected to a phone with a data connection), receive and send messages, reject calls, even some light or not so light gaming, even things as Temple Run 2, can play music when I don't have my phone using a bluetooth headset/speaker), the only thing I miss is a full office suite, really, I am writing a novel at the moment and never know when I get some inspiration and have to write down what I have in my mind pretty fast so I don't forget, would love to just be able to write on the watch and not have to take out my phone for that.
Also I would suggest that if you have the money you should go with a watch that has wi-fi like the G Watch R or Urbane cause then you will be able to use the internet without a phone, also the screen of the G Watch is really bad in the sun, I had a Sony Smartwatch 2 before and that was way more limited software wise (and for that reason had a battery life of over 1 week) but the screen was miles ahead, I could see everything in powerful sun light without even setting the brightness to the maximum, on the G Watch I can barely see anything with the brightness at maximum in not so powerful sun light.
Does LMT contain the menu button by default? I could care less if it's a little oversized (as long as it's not to big for 150-175 DPI), but I'm about to reset my watch using the restore tools because I screwed up root while trying to get SoftKeyz (EDIT: I believe was the name of the softkey app I was trying to make work, can't remember and just finished resetting) to work correctly.
Ranomez said:
Well you are talking about moving configs to the same phone I guess? Also if not were you on android 5.x+ cause if yes SELinux has became really strict, to the point that if you mess up some contexts on any file in the data partition you could even get a bootloop (happened to me) or have all your apps disappear and be unable to install any app until you fix up the SELinux context (again happened to me), which you will have to do using adb in that state if you don't happen to have and file manager with root capabilities installed in /system/app or /system/priv-app.
Also to answer your question: yes most normal android apps don't work but there are some that do, even some games and some are even really playable, moreover there are enough useful android wear apps out there, I don't know what you plan to use your watch for but for me it does way more than enough, after all it's a watch, it's not like I'll ever want to spend a lot of time looking at it doing anything but I can do some fast reading on it when I need (not like I'll ever read a whole book on it, that's why I have an android e-book reader or even my phone in the worst case scenario), browsing the internet fast (ofc it needs to be connected to a phone with a data connection), receive and send messages, reject calls, even some light or not so light gaming, even things as Temple Run 2, can play music when I don't have my phone using a bluetooth headset/speaker), the only thing I miss is a full office suite, really, I am writing a novel at the moment and never know when I get some inspiration and have to write down what I have in my mind pretty fast so I don't forget, would love to just be able to write on the watch and not have to take out my phone for that.
Also I would suggest that if you have the money you should go with a watch that has wi-fi like the G Watch R or Urbane cause then you will be able to use the internet without a phone, also the screen of the G Watch is really bad in the sun, I had a Sony Smartwatch 2 before and that was way more limited software wise (and for that reason had a battery life of over 1 week) but the screen was miles ahead, I could see everything in powerful sun light without even setting the brightness to the maximum, on the G Watch I can barely see anything with the brightness at maximum in not so powerful sun light.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for compiling such a long response for me :thumbup:
As my signature says most of my devices are on 5.1. Moving some game saves across devices works nicely, though moving contacts database involves modifying owner and permission, but not SEL context - to be honest, I don't even know that ever matters.
Sure I don't have many things in mind when it comes to "what to do with GW"... Back when I was using the Gear, I had quite some apps on it, but most of the time I use it as a timekeeper. But not being compatible with ActionBar is so shocking - I can't imagine how many apps I've used on the Gear so nicely won't work with GW, the most important of which are Greenify, LMT and Root Explorer. Looks like I still have to do much research before I decide on a purchase.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
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AndyYan said:
Thanks for compiling such a long response for me :thumbup:
As my signature says most of my devices are on 5.1. Moving some game saves across devices works nicely, though moving contacts database involves modifying owner and permission, but not SEL context - to be honest, I don't even know that ever matters.
Sure I don't have many things in mind when it comes to "what to do with GW"... Back when I was using the Gear, I had quite some apps on it, but most of the time I use it as a timekeeper. But not being compatible with ActionBar is so shocking - I can't imagine how many apps I've used on the Gear so nicely won't work with GW, the most important of which are Greenify, LMT and Root Explorer. Looks like I still have to do much research before I decide on a purchase.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
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Click to collapse
I just looked at your signature and now I know why you had no problem with moving data from one device to an other: all your devices are running CM so they will all use the same security contexts but CM's security contexts are different from normal stock AOSP's contexts and both are different from the contexts used in Samsung TW ROM's, I can bet that if you try to move the data to a stock nexus or some other device running a manufacturer ROM or an other custom ROM than CM (most do use the same contexts but some don't) you will get into problems. SELinux contexts seem to be now just as important as permissions, sometimes you can get around with the wrong owner but if you have wrong Permissions or SELinux contexts you might mess up more than what you were changing.
Also about the app compatibility thing....I don't really miss many apps that I run on my normal devices, the only one I can actually think of is Titanium Backup (and an office app as I said), I found a good replacement for root explorer in MiXplorer, greenify is totally un-needed and wouldn't be too useful even if it worked (I'm actually not sure if it does or not, to me that layout looked like the action bar is either a non-default implementation so it might work without it) because the xposed installer doesn't work (FC-same reason, action bar) but I think xposed could work if someone adapted the installer (doesn't seem to me that the OS-level differences are so big, it's more of the framework), didn't yet try but just for a lol will flash the xposed lollipop zip and see if I can still boot.
An other option for you might be to buy a Gear S, as far as I can see there is some development going on towards running (initially) android wear on it and further afterwards full android.
Ranomez said:
I just looked at your signature and now I know why you had no problem with moving data from one device to an other: all your devices are running CM so they will all use the same security contexts but CM's security contexts are different from normal stock AOSP's contexts and both are different from the contexts used in Samsung TW ROM's, I can bet that if you try to move the data to a stock nexus or some other device running a manufacturer ROM or an other custom ROM than CM (most do use the same contexts but some don't) you will get into problems. SELinux contexts seem to be now just as important as permissions, sometimes you can get around with the wrong owner but if you have wrong Permissions or SELinux contexts you might mess up more than what you were changing.
Also about the app compatibility thing....I don't really miss many apps that I run on my normal devices, the only one I can actually think of is Titanium Backup (and an office app as I said), I found a good replacement for root explorer in MiXplorer, greenify is totally un-needed and wouldn't be too useful even if it worked (I'm actually not sure if it does or not, to me that layout looked like the action bar is either a non-default implementation so it might work without it) because the xposed installer doesn't work (FC-same reason, action bar) but I think xposed could work if someone adapted the installer (doesn't seem to me that the OS-level differences are so big, it's more of the framework), didn't yet try but just for a lol will flash the xposed lollipop zip and see if I can still boot.
An other option for you might be to buy a Gear S, as far as I can see there is some development going on towards running (initially) android wear on it and further afterwards full android.
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Click to collapse
Hmm, you got a good point there. I also move data between one of the CM phones and the TF300TL tablet, but SEL is nonexistent in Android 4.2, so I guess you're right.
Gear S is way out of my reach - if I had that cash I'd buy a ZenWatch, a 360 or even an Omate TrueSmart without hesitation. But thanks for letting me know all this anyway - I choose not to look at GW and Android Wear at this moment.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
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AndyYan said:
Hmm, you got a good point there. I also move data between one of the CM phones and the TF300TL tablet, but SEL is nonexistent in Android 4.2, so I guess you're right.
Gear S is way out of my reach - if I had that cash I'd buy a ZenWatch, a 360 or even an Omate TrueSmart without hesitation. But thanks for letting me know all this anyway - I choose not to look at GW and Android Wear at this moment.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM12.1
[WARNING: XDA Premium 4.0.13+ lacks Signature function - do not update]
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You could instead look at a Gear Live then, it at least has a heart rate sensor and a way better screen for outdoors and at least in my country it is in the same price range as the G Watch (actually cheaper) but yes, I can't totally recommend android wear as it is right now, it's good enough (at least for me) but I can also see why a normal pure android watch could be way better yet I have faith that this will change.
Also I really can't recommend the Omate or any other MediaTek smart watch as 1st most of them have no resistance to water whatsoever, 2nd they have no support from and 3rd the firmware on them has so many security holes and other flaws it looks like a schweizer.
EDIT: I forgot to say that if you want full android you could search for a SmartQ Z-watch, as far as I know that is a pretty good one and also pretty cheap (on pandawill when it was on "last time sale" it was sold for 30$ and I am talking about the normal not the lite one, the lite one isn't worth it) but I don't think it will be updated anymore, yet android 4.4 is pretty good compared to other android smart watches.
Ranomez said:
You could instead look at a Gear Live then, it at least has a heart rate sensor and a way better screen for outdoors and at least in my country it is in the same price range as the G Watch (actually cheaper) but yes, I can't totally recommend android wear as it is right now, it's good enough (at least for me) but I can also see why a normal pure android watch could be way better yet I have faith that this will change.
Also I really can't recommend the Omate or any other MediaTek smart watch as 1st most of them have no resistance to water whatsoever, 2nd they have no support from and 3rd the firmware on them has so many security holes and other flaws it looks like a schweizer.
EDIT: I forgot to say that if you want full android you could search for a SmartQ Z-watch, as far as I know that is a pretty good one and also pretty cheap (on pandawill when it was on "last time sale" it was sold for 30$ and I am talking about the normal not the lite one, the lite one isn't worth it) but I don't think it will be updated anymore, yet android 4.4 is pretty good compared to other android smart watches.
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Click to collapse
Z Watch? No thanks, I've tried that *before* the Gear, and I sold it within a week and lost $15 in the process - crappy 1GHz MIPS which is not only slow but also lacks compatibility for almost everything I throw at it - not even a custom launcher or a weather app would work. Omate's MTK is indeed unfavorable, and that's why I haven't already got one. And there aren't many people who sell Gear Live here. Which leaves me zero feasible choice.
I guess I could call it an end to my hunt of smartwatches, until something like Neptune Pine (but thinner and lighter) shows up. Thanks for helping me analyze the situation all this time!
AndyYan said:
Z Watch? No thanks, I've tried that *before* the Gear, and I sold it within a week and lost $15 in the process - crappy 1GHz MIPS which is not only slow but also lacks compatibility for almost everything I throw at it - not even a custom launcher or a weather app would work. Omate's MTK is indeed unfavorable, and that's why I haven't already got one. And there aren't many people who sell Gear Live here. Which leaves me zero feasible choice.
I guess I could call it an end to my hunt of smartwatches, until something like Neptune Pine (but thinner and lighter) shows up. Thanks for helping me analyze the situation all this time!
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Click to collapse
Well the compatibility thing has changed as ingenic released a compatibility layer (something like libhoudini for intel CPU's) so as far as I can see from a friend's Z Watch it can run almost anything one would throw at it (ok, anything a bit rational, only apps that can actually be useful on a watch) but yes that CPU is not the fastest and the firmware is not really optimized enough so you would need a custom ROM and perhaps some RAM management script like L Speed to get it lag-free yet I can say my friend's z watch behaves pretty well on Dj Droid, it wasn't really lag-free the 2 weeks time we exchanged watches so I could test it but that's just cause I was using xposed and quite a few modules and also had about 100 apps installed, the lag wasn't really the problem for me, the annoying thing for me was the app load times, it would take me up to 1 minute to launch a 3d game.
This being said I would still recommend you to wait for something better, smartwatches right now are good but I see a lot more potential and I am sure in a few years we will see amazing ones, perhaps as good as our older phones in regards to app compatibility and flexibility, who knows, perhaps they'll even be as powerful as our current phones (as far as it goes phones in 1 year will probably be much powerful than our current phones so anything's possible).
EDIT: I also forgot to say that many apps have been adapted for MIPS since then so even without the compatibility layer there are enough apps working on the Z Watch.
Hi
What are the problems/ issues of using an old version if the phone is only used for calls/ texting/ email (not GMail)? After rooting a device and removing Bloatware and Google what's the potential issues in using the device? I only use my phone for calling and texting and keeping notes, some photos, few emails. No banking/ shopping apps, no social media. I like having a very basic phone, so most of the upgrades in the UI would probably not be important to me. I plan to upgrade at some point but I need to have a phone with a 4" or smaller display and it's got to be around $50 used.
I have a couple of older Samsungs that are small, which I prefer. One is running 4.4.2, is rooted and is in the process of removing most Google apps ( I have installed the Brave browser but limited data use) and the other is even older running Gingerbread that I plan to re-purpose for a signal generator but might consider using as backup.
New to Android and still learning, so any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
PS. I was planning on moving to Lineage but I managed to buy a Samsung with an unlockable bootloader so just rooted it and started removing stuff I don't need. Seems to be OK for the most part.
kellyvotrenom said:
Hi
What are the problems/ issues of using an old version if the phone is only used for calls/ texting/ email (not GMail)? After rooting a device and removing Bloatware and Google what's the potential issues in using the device? I only use my phone for calling and texting and keeping notes, some photos, few emails. No banking/ shopping apps, no social media. I like having a very basic phone, so most of the upgrades in the UI would probably not be important to me. I plan to upgrade at some point but I need to have a phone with a 4" or smaller display and it's got to be around $50 used.
I have a couple of older Samsungs that are small, which I prefer. One is running 4.4.2, is rooted and is in the process of removing most Google apps ( I have installed the Brave browser but limited data use) and the other is even older running Gingerbread that I plan to re-purpose for a signal generator but might consider using as backup.
New to Android and still learning, so any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
PS. I was planning on moving to Lineage but I managed to buy a Samsung with an unlockable bootloader so just rooted it and started removing stuff I don't need. Seems to be OK for the most part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
there might be some downsides, one of them being that your device doesn't have the latest security patches implemented. Another one is that some apps might not work anymore as their minimum API version is higher than your current OS.
Beside this, there are no real downsides of running an older Android version. If you got your device setup according to your needs, then there is no real issue at all in case you don't store any sensitive information (bank account username/password for example, but this applies to all mobile devices in my opinion) on your device.