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Not sure where else to put this but as its a viewsonic product ill try here. Has anyone got or played about with the viewpad? 10" capacitive screen runnign windows 7 and android 1.6.
Quite interested in it but cant seem to find that many reviews, hands on guides to it.
Mainly interested in the windows side of it if it works well enough really for installing windows programs with the android side for apps. Unfortunate its only 1.6 though and not at least 2,1.
skimminstones said:
Not sure where else to put this but as its a viewsonic product ill try here. Has anyone got or played about with the viewpad? 10" capacitive screen runnign windows 7 and android 1.6.
Quite interested in it but cant seem to find that many reviews, hands on guides to it.
Mainly interested in the windows side of it if it works well enough really for installing windows programs with the android side for apps. Unfortunate its only 1.6 though and not at least 2,1.
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't think you'll find too much interest/help in this section as though Sears Mis-stated that the tablet we bought ($379) was a VP 10 it's actually a GTab10... the difference being the VP10 is a an Atom (Proc.) Based tablet shipped with Windows and Android 1.6 vs. GTab being an ARM/Tegra2, Malata SMB-A1002 Proto design hybrid running a yet fully baked Android 2.2 version... so this new section is for GTabs and the 2 tabs with similar names are totally incompatible beasts
I did try a search and found soem new interesting news for the VP10... it's getting 2.2 update it seems...
http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f27/viewsonic-viewpad-10-android-2-2-update-coming-41795/
jtbnet said:
Unfortunately I don't think you'll find too much interest/help in this section as though Sears Mis-stated that the tablet we bought ($379) was a VP 10 it's actually a GTab10... the difference being the VP10 is a an Atom (Proc.) Based tablet shipped with Windows and Android 1.6 vs. GTab being an ARM/Tegra2, Malata SMB-A1002 Proto design hybrid running a yet fully baked Android 2.2 version... so this new section is for GTabs and the 2 tabs with similar names are totally incompatible beasts
I did try a search and found soem new interesting news for the VP10... it's getting 2.2 update it seems...
http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f27/viewsonic-viewpad-10-android-2-2-update-coming-41795/
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Click to collapse
I'm thinking about getting it today, first time seeing it, love the dual boot feature, was looking to either get the tab or a windows tablet, but now I want this, has anyone tried it out yet?
got one
I have a vpad10 (with the official froyo update installed) and can give you my experience...
First one returned with faulty touchscreen, second one fine, both suffer from dubious build quality (creaky joints etc). Screen is good, nice and bright and responsive (2nd time round anyway). Speakers are rubbish... my phone one's are better!
Runs windows 7 well, as well as an atom netbook (which it essentially is). Windows is surprisingly touch friendly, but not a patch on Android. Good for work though as still can't get goodies like MS Office on other tablets. Screen rotates automatically, but is more annoying than useful as I never use it portrait.
If you want it for Android forget it... Android is just a bit of a toy on an x86 processor... can't install all the Google Apps including calendar/contacts. If I keep mine I will probably change partitions to give the whole SSD (a very limited 16gb) to Windows.
In summary, this tablet is not the best of both worlds, rather the best compromise you'll find. Windows won't run on tegra chips, and Android won't play well with Intel (yet).
I'd be happy to answer any other questions anyone has.
I've been using my almost every day since I got it luckily for Christmas last year and love it. Viewsonic has recently updated Android so it can run 2.2 (Froyo) I would link you but I don't have 8 posts.
I'm use it everyday for my work and lifestyle.
jabuzan said:
I have a vpad10 (with the official froyo update installed) and can give you my experience...
First one returned with faulty touchscreen, second one fine, both suffer from dubious build quality (creaky joints etc). Screen is good, nice and bright and responsive (2nd time round anyway). Speakers are rubbish... my phone one's are better!
Runs windows 7 well, as well as an atom netbook (which it essentially is). Windows is surprisingly touch friendly, but not a patch on Android. Good for work though as still can't get goodies like MS Office on other tablets. Screen rotates automatically, but is more annoying than useful as I never use it portrait.
If you want it for Android forget it... Android is just a bit of a toy on an x86 processor... can't install all the Google Apps including calendar/contacts. If I keep mine I will probably change partitions to give the whole SSD (a very limited 16gb) to Windows.
In summary, this tablet is not the best of both worlds, rather the best compromise you'll find. Windows won't run on tegra chips, and Android won't play well with Intel (yet).
I'd be happy to answer any other questions anyone has.
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Click to collapse
Just pulled a Viewpad 10PI from ebay with Windows 7. I can't get it to boot into windows unless I have a keyboard installed. Is there a way to make Windows the default OS?
Thanks.
tomlogan1 said:
Just pulled a Viewpad 10PI from ebay with Windows 7. I can't get it to boot into windows unless I have a keyboard installed. Is there a way to make Windows the default OS?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Mine is the original vpad10, but sounds like your grub loader is the problem. Suggest reinstalling everything - android first then Windows 8 to get the fancy new Windows bootloader screen.
** To update everyone reading my original revue, the latest build of android x86 works brilliantly on this tablet, including all google apps and access to the play store. Windows 8 loads up but due to low screen resolution, will not load metro apps (unless you do a quick reg hack to stretch the screen - google it). After nearly 2 years use and a few drops, it's still going strong, good battery life, and upgraded hdd to 32g is much better.
Hey everyone.
Honeycomb is out and it is really amazing. I was wondering since the new Toshiba Folio is coming out, which comes preloaded with Honeycomb 3.0, according this video: youtube (.) com / watch? v=mF-OD6fO0ys&NR . Can you we port it to our tablet when it comes out?
aram94 said:
Hey everyone.
Honeycomb is out and it is really amazing. I was wondering since the new Toshiba Folio is coming out, which comes preloaded with Honeycomb 3.0, according this video: youtube (.) com / watch? v=mF-OD6fO0ys&NR . Can you we port it to our tablet when it comes out?
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Click to collapse
I think everyone is waiting for Honeycomb to be properly released by Google.
Since the same Tegra 250 platform which is used by the Folio 100 also is used as the reference platform when developing Honeycomb I think there will be no problem running Honeycomb on our Folio 100.
Even if Toshiba doesn't propose Honeycomb for our Folio 100, it's easy to compile a custom version. The only problem is NVidia being really slow to release sources and their "blobs"
I'm not sure if it's possible to mix Honeycomb custom version and blobs from Froyo. I tried to compile kernel from Tegra Gingerbread branch and some NVidia .h files are missing (related to OpenMAX) However, it's possible to comment out theses new changes (mainly to support .avi, .wmv and .asf videos playback).
Kervala said:
Even if Toshiba doesn't propose Honeycomb for our Folio 100, it's easy to compile a custom version. The only problem is NVidia being really slow to release sources and their "blobs"
I'm not sure if it's possible to mix Honeycomb custom version and blobs from Froyo. I tried to compile kernel from Tegra Gingerbread branch and some NVidia .h files are missing (related to OpenMAX) However, it's possible to comment out theses new changes (mainly to support .avi, .wmv and .asf videos playback).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now we wouldnt want that left out , would we...
most of us use the folio occasionally if not mostly to watch videos. native support for these things are quite important!
Honeycomb will be a great nice to have OS for our tablet, but I am fine with froyo as long it support the upcoming games.
well what formats u prefer if not the ones mentioned....
btw what abt android 2.4 ? worth using on folio or still prefer to get 3.0 ?
Android 2.3+ will be needed for upcoming games because there are a lot of now native API exposed (OpenSL ES, EGL, etc...) and these games are using them, but like mentioned by a Google developer, Android 3.0 is 99% similar to Android 2.3
Yes I believe that 2.3+ will be the logic aproach for folio. I must say that honeycomb, apart for some fancy graphic effects didn't impress me much.
More important are support for games and apps and of course speed. I'm sure that the most if not only important APIs are already in place with 2.3.
This makes me remember when Vista hit the market, fancy graphics, better gizmos, but after all most people stay with XP and get seven instead.
At core level 2.3 is possible the same as 3.0, but it sure will miss the problems that the gizmos and fancy graphics will bring.
Like every new software it need aging to get the better possible performance output. This is why space shuttles computers don't get last OS versions . After all they are made to fly to the star without exploding or crashing not to have fancy new gizmos.
In my option tablets are like space travel machines if they crash to much they are useless This is specially true for phones, I had a few dozen of mobile phones, but I still use my first nokia when I'm oncall, this is because battery last longer and it doesn't crash all the time.
Lets hope I'm wrong and 3.0 would be a great and solid OS right out of the box.
We also shouldn't forget that the sucessor of Win CE and apple iOS 4.3 are on there way and Google is rushing up to get it on time.
If apple's new iPad get the new A5 and 4.3 iOS with a camera and more costumization features, before 3.0 arrives Google is in deep trouble! Even for those who don't like Apple, this the new iPad will be a eye catcher!
Hey all, Just bought the g-tab as my first android device. I liked playing with the Xoom and iPads in the store, but wanted the same experience for cheap and knew that I would have to root this g-tab thing to unleash that awesome hardware value. So far I've easily put TNT Lite 4.2 and it really is much faster and more usable then the Tap N Crap that viewsonic shipped. Thanks a bunch devs for fixing what should have never been modded in such a crappy way.
My question is will there every be Android 3.0 available for the gtab? I just read an article about how google is trying to ensure oems don't mess up the UI like viewsonic did to protect their reputation. Since the gtab wasn't even an official android device, I'm wondering if Honeycomb will even be available to viewsonic or devs here to put on the gtab.
I totally agree with this article. Google shouldn't be as totalitarian as Apple, but this lack of quality control is making Android look bad in the public sphere (not to hackers of course) So did I just buy a dead end device?
As a new user - I still can't post links, so here's the pasted article from pc world:
Why Google's Tighter Control Over Android Is a Good Thing
Limiting availability of Android 3.0 code and apparent tightening of Android smartphone standards means that Google finally gets it about the platform.
By Galen Gruman, Infoworld Apr 6, 2011 11:30 am
Last week, Google said it would not release the source for its Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" tablet to developers and would limit the OS to select hardware makers, at least initially. Now there are rumors reported by Bloomberg Businessweek that Google is requiring Android device makers to get UI changes approved by Google .
As my colleague Savio Rodrigues has written, limiting the Honeycomb code is not going to hurt the Android market . I believe reining in the custom UIs imposed on Android is a good thing. Let's be honest: They exist only so companies like Motorola, HTC, and Samsung can pretend to have any technology involvement in the Android products they sell and claim they have some differentiating feature that should make customers want their model of an Android smartphone versus the umpteenth otherwise-identical Android smartphones out there.
[ Compare mobile devices using your own criteria with InfoWorld's smartphone calculator and tablet calculator. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights via Twitter and with theMobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. ]
The reality of Android is that it is the new Windows : an operating system used by multiple hardware vendors to create essentially identical products, save for the company name printed on it. That of course is what the device makers fear -- both those like Acer that already live in the race-to-the-bottom PC market and those like Motorola and HTC that don't want to.
But these cosmetic UI differences cause confusion among users, sending the message that Android is a collection of devices, not a platform like Apple's iOS. As Android's image becomes fragmented, so does the excitement that powers adoption. Anyone who's followed the cell phone industry has seen how that plays out: There are 1 billion Java-based cell phones out there, but no one knows it, and no one cares, as each works so differently that the Java underpinnings offer no value to anyone but Oracle, which licenses the technology.
Google initially seemed to want to play the same game as Oracle (and before it Sun), providing an under-the-hood platform for manufacturers to use as they saw fit. But a couple curious things happened:
Vendors such as Best Buy started selling the Android brand, to help create a sense of a unified alternative to BlackBerry and iOS, as well as to help prevent customers from feeling overwhelmed by all the "different" phones available. Too much choice confuses people, and salespeople know that.
Several mobile device makers shipped terrible tablets based on the Android 2.2 smartphone OS -- despite Google's warnings not to -- because they were impatient with Google's slow progress in releasing Honeycomb. These tablets, such as the Galaxy Tab , were terrible products and clear hack jobs that only demonstrated the iPad's superiority . I believe they also finally got the kids at Google to understand that most device makers have no respect for the Android OS and will create the same banal products for it as they do for Windows. The kids at Google have a mission, and enabling white-box smartphones isn't it.
I've argued before that Android's fragmentation, encouraged by its open source model, was a mistake . Google should drive the platform forward and ride herd on those who use it in their devices. If it wants to make the OS available free to stmulate adoption, fine. But don't let that approach devolve into the kind of crappy results that many device makers are so clueless (or eager -- take your pick) to deliver.
So far, Google's been lucky in that the fragmentation has been largely in cosmetic UI areas, which doesn't affect most Android apps and only annoys customers when they switch to a new device. The fragmentation of Android OS versions across devices is driving many Android developers away , as are fears over a fractured set of app stores. Along these lines, Google has to break the carriers' update monopoly, as Apple did, so all Android devices can be on the same OS page.
It is true that HTC's Eris brought some useful additions to the stock Android UI, serving as a model for future improvements. But the HTC example is the exception, and Google's apparent new policy would allow such enhancements if Google judges them to be so.
More to the point is what the tablet makers such as ViewSonic, Dell, and Samsung did with their first Android tablets. Their half-baked products showed how comfortable they are soiling the Android platform. For them, Android is just another OS to throw on hardware designed for something else in a cynical attempt to capture a market wave. The consistently low sales should provide a clue that users aren't buying the junk. But do they blame the hardware makers or Google? When so many Android devices are junk, it'll be Google whose reputation suffers.
Let's not forget Google's competition, and why Google can't patiently teach these companies about user experience: Apple, a company that knows how to nurture, defend, and evangelize a platform. Let's also not forget the fate of Microsoft and Nokia , who let their Windows Mobile and Symbian OSes fragment into oblivion. And let's remember that the one company that knows how the vanilla-PC game is played, Hewlett-Packard, has decided to move away from the plain-vanilla Windows OS and stake its future on its own platform, WebOS , for both PCs and mobile devices. In that world, a fragmented, confused, soiled Android platform would have no market at all.
If Google finally understands that Android is a platform to be nurtured and defended, it has a chance of remaining a strong presence in the mobile market for more than a few faddish years. If not, it's just throwing its baby into the woods, where it will find cruel exploitation, not nurturing or defense.
I didn't read your 1000 word post, but I read your topic. HC on GTAB has NOTHING to do with Google. It has everything to do with Nvidia abandoning GTAB.
The media has an idea in their head but they are shooting the messenger. Google has no choice when Nvidia stops producing source for the proprietary elements of the system.
Nvidia simply does not care about Harmony which is the hardware reference legacy devices are built on.
So this device is going to be left behind when it comes to the new android stuff?
It is interesting that you ask. With 318 posts here you have to have followed some of the threads discussing this before. At this point in time I don't think anyone knows. Lots of speculation, lots of pent up desire and the best Devs ever so I am sure there will be improvements, Will it ever make full HC who knows?? If you read your article carefully, even the stuff out there ( Zoom and Transformer) does not have complete Honeycomb.
I wonder what Honeycomb will bring to the picture that we don't have already. I have my gtablet rooted and running TnT 4.4 and it's sufficient for almost all my tablet needs. Yesterday I was reading Kindle books to the kids, streaming movies/music from my media center PC, watching youtube and browsing the net, all with nary a hiccup. I even got a cheapo keyboard leathercase to use for editing documents. If it's the UI, the current Launcher Pro Premium and GO Launcher EX are pretty nice alternatives.
I have played with the XOOM tablet at Best Buy and thought other than some pretty UI and a nicer screen, functionally I wasn't getting much for double the price.
samaruf said:
I wonder what Honeycomb will bring to the picture that we don't have already. I have my gtablet rooted and running TnT 4.4 and it's sufficient for almost all my tablet needs. Yesterday I was reading Kindle books to the kids, streaming movies/music from my media center PC, watching youtube and browsing the net, all with nary a hiccup. I even got a cheapo keyboard leathercase to use for editing documents. If it's the UI, the current Launcher Pro Premium and GO Launcher EX are pretty nice alternatives.
I have played with the XOOM tablet at Best Buy and thought other than some pretty UI and a nicer screen, functionally I wasn't getting much for double the price.
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Thats interesting. What ROM are you running? Most of my video is choppy, and I read in the dev forum this has to do with no video acceleration yet for the Gingerbread versions.
Good point - if it does what you want it to do then so what if it's not the newest... I'm a little embarrassed, but still rockin out to my first gen iPod nano a the gym
Guess I still wanted whatever tablet specific ui improvements that honeycomb was expected to bring.
nitefallz said:
Thats interesting. What ROM are you running? Most of my video is choppy, and I read in the dev forum this has to do with no video acceleration yet for the Gingerbread versions.
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Click to collapse
As I mentioned in my post, my ROM is TnT Lite 4.4 with Clemsyn's kernel (v9). I can stream 700 MB avi files with no stuttering or choppiness. I use GMote app on the tablet and the GMote server in the media PC. My video player is Rockplayer, which is free from the market.
I too was just at Best Buy bout a week ago and messed around with the Xoom for a little bit. Quickly I realized why its been a couple years since I've been to this store (prices?!?!), not to mention the help asking me if I had any questions and if I was looking to buy the Xoom (they left me alone after proclaiming I was completely satisfied with my gtab).
The only real difference I could notice (which in my eyes was a big one) was the interface. Its definitely more "flashy" in looks and prettier for eye-candy, but no real difference outside of that, actually seemed to lag a bit; almost comparable to the gtab out of box.
Me personally, I'm in no hurry to see any kind of honeycreams equivalent make its way to the gtab. I'm more anxious to see gojimi release their vegan ginger Beta more than anything right now. Been counting the days (sometimes hours) since reading their update about him coming back from vacation, lets do this!
Closing thread - see this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1026411
So I'm an iPhone developer looking to start writing some Android apps. I know what I can get away with in terms of actual device testing in the iOS world, but not the Android world. I don't want a contract or monthly service (so no new phones). I'll initially be building apps targeted for mobile phones, but if possible, I would like to avoid owning a phone just for development, so if I can get away with a tablet, then that would be perfect because I can use it for other things.
With that said, is that a smart idea? I figure I need the following:
- Used, to keep costs down
- wifi since I won't have cellular service.
- 2.1-2.1 for development.
- Used Phone with no contract to save on price.
- hdpi screen for maximum compatibility testing (according to android dev site, looks like 75%+ phones in use are hdpi)
- Not too old, so that with some upgrades my phone doesn't become unbearable to use.
If I were to get a tablet, am I better getting something with 2.1 or 2.2? Or if I got something with 3.0, would I be able to test compatibility with apps targeted for 2.1 or 2.2? On an iPad for example, I can install iOS5, but build apps targeting iOS4 and test on an iOS 5 device.
I'd like to keep my purchase under $300 either way...obviously less would be even better if I can get away with it...
Anyways, any tips would be great!
I'm partially in your shoes, but going the other direction after a few projects (i.e. Android to iOS). I have a Droid X phone and will probably be getting an iPad...just need to sell a few more apps
Android runs on a multitude of devices and none of them are the same. I think the last app I published said it would be compatible with over 200 Android devices. A far cry from iPhone/iPad and just 2 devices.
I would think the phone would be the cheapest path to go....look on ebay. Luckily I have a friend with a xoom tablet and he can test stuff for me. If you're going to be in this (Android) for the long term, I might suggest a tablet as the better way to go
3.0 is only on tablets at this point and the Android SDK will let you set your release level down as required. Android phones should have just gotten an upgrade to 2.2.3
Objective C to JAVA and xml files....lucky you LOL
Is objective C harder?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Tablet. We need more tablet developers and tablet optimized apps.
Rootstonian said:
I'm partially in your shoes, but going the other direction after a few projects (i.e. Android to iOS). I have a Droid X phone and will probably be getting an iPad...just need to sell a few more apps
Android runs on a multitude of devices and none of them are the same. I think the last app I published said it would be compatible with over 200 Android devices. A far cry from iPhone/iPad and just 2 devices.
I would think the phone would be the cheapest path to go....look on ebay. Luckily I have a friend with a xoom tablet and he can test stuff for me. If you're going to be in this (Android) for the long term, I might suggest a tablet as the better way to go
3.0 is only on tablets at this point and the Android SDK will let you set your release level down as required. Android phones should have just gotten an upgrade to 2.2.3
Objective C to JAVA and xml files....lucky you LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated! I'm definitely leaning towards tablet, unless I hear of any reason why it's a bad idea! Again, coming from an iOS world, I'm worried about displays, and things looking their best, and acting properly...but as long as a tablet device can give me a reasonable enough device for testing that isn't an emulator, then I'll be happy...I figure the longer I do this, then much like my iOS development, I will build up a collection of test devices...fortunately for iOS developers, that collection doesn't have to be too big!
iynfynity said:
Is objective C harder?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a former C# and Java developer, I will say that Objective C is generally "harder"...not necessarily because of the language...but because of the environment...Objective C has come a long way, and definitely is getting better, but I would guess that any C based language is generally harder to pick up successfully compared to more managed languages like C# or Java...
Now when it comes to device development, I can't tell you yet if writing Java for Android devices will be easier or harder...but give me a few months and I'll let you know!
SwiftLegend said:
Tablet. We need more tablet developers and tablet optimized apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll say this, I do love writing code for the iPad,...tablets are fun, and open up a world of opportunity...with that said, I'll initially be writing for mobile phones, but I'm sure that will expand eventually to tablets...
Well, I was in your situation just an year ago an I did:
1 - I bought an HTC Magic used from ebay, rooted at 2.2 (payed 150$ more or less)
2 - I used all the suggestions on the web to improve my java coding using Eclipse (i suggest you stackoverflow guys)
3 - Now, I'm looking for a tablet to enlarge the opportunities of my apps.
The emulator sucks, leave it as soon as you can for a device. You will boost your coding and debug.
If you know people with android phones, ask them to test your app. Unfortunately, it seems that the unique manner to be sure your app will work on all devices is to test it everywhere
I can confirm that emulator is ver slow, but as a last resort is ok.
If I were you a would have bought phone first. You don't want to develop applications that work perfectly on tablets that have 1% of a market share only to find out that after publishing they don't work on more popular devices.
Buy one of most popular phones (for example Samsung Galaxy S) and you will be in good shape.
get google development phone from google
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
Android tablet
Here is a cheep android tablet to start dev on http://conamee.com/products/wm8850-android-4-0-cortex-a9-1-2ghz-tablet-pc-7-inch-4gb-coffee
I usually do not start threads and hang in the shadows here on xda, but I love the site and all the awesome development.
With that said:
Please do not close this thread - This is not a question, or a discussion about a computer. The new Samsung Chromebook with the ARM chip is basically an Android tablet built like a laptop running chrome. It has a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, so this falls under Android development and HACKING for devices that do not have a forum on XDA.
So I have this device and I have to say, it's very well built for the price. The only negative is that it runs Chrome. Now - I'm not here to bash on Chrome OS and I don't need a discussion on the pros and cons of it...
The point of starting this thread is to get Android ported over to this thing. I actually went out and purchased it at Best Buy because I knew that I could go to xda-developers a week later and someone will post instructions on how to install Android. Didn't happen. Not sure why.
So please chime in on ideas on how to get the ball rolling. Who do we have to buy a Chromebook for to make this happen? Do we start a bounty?
Let's keep the xda-developer community going strong! Thank you.
Like you, I did the same.
dalethefarmer said:
I usually do not start threads and hang in the shadows here on xda, but I love the site and all the awesome development.
With that said:
Please do not close this thread - This is not a question, or a discussion about a computer. The new Samsung Chromebook with the ARM chip is basically an Android tablet built like a laptop running chrome. It has a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, so this falls under Android development and HACKING for devices that do not have a forum on XDA.
So I have this device and I have to say, it's very well built for the price. The only negative is that it runs Chrome. Now - I'm not here to bash on Chrome OS and I don't need a discussion on the pros and cons of it...
The point of starting this thread is to get Android ported over to this thing. I actually went out and purchased it at Best Buy because I knew that I could go to xda-developers a week later and someone will post instructions on how to install Android. Didn't happen. Not sure why.
So please chime in on ideas on how to get the ball rolling. Who do we have to buy a Chromebook for to make this happen? Do we start a bounty?
Let's keep the xda-developer community going strong! Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As this is arm based I thought for sure there would be an android build for it, a cheaper asus transformer.. its a perfect platform really for Android - I am surprised there isn't more discussion on getting JB ported to this chromebook. Is there any interest?
It has the same Exynos 5 SoC as the Nexus 10, so it seems like it should be possible to get something working for it if it can be hacked to boot another OS. Seems like a kernel based off the Nexus 10 source would be possible.
Google doesn't want Android to be a desktop style OS which is part of the reason they ended the Motorola lapdock after they took over Motorola. But if this thing had Android on it for $249 its a pretty good deal considering it has an Exynos 5.
Samsung Chromebook A15 Exynos
There has been much progress porting Ubuntu Raring Ringtail and Quantal Quetzal to this thing. I look forward to being able to choose between running stable Android and stable Ubuntu (or other distros, even).
With that said, I think that although this device is selling out I'm not sure that enough of these users will be aware of how close this device is to being a true, first Android laptop. From benchmarks I've seen on Phoronix.com the Exynos Dual in this Samsung Series 3 XE303 Chromebook is at least twice as fast as the Tegra 3 Quad in processing and graphics tasks.
Many people don't seem to see the value of Android as a fuller OS that would flourish within a laptop hardware suite. I argue that it is because they do not see the possibilities that software such as ParanoidAndroid would allow for with it's per-app DPI settings and ability to force a Phone, Phablet, or Tablet UI for every single app you run. These features are core to getting the most productivity out of a Samsung XE303 running Android.
I do enjoy the ChromeOS/ChromiumOS interface much because it is simple enough to have a low learning curve, yet it has enough options available to it to be somewhat powerful in the productivity department. It is indeed lacking in its offline capabilities, though. And Android would fix those and then some.
I guess I should also mention that the latest 4.2.1 Android ninja tweaked the native support for gamepads including Sixaxis controllers and Xbow controllers. Now you can game with them for apps that support the controllers. Neat.
Android can be kind of awkward with mouse/keyboard input only. But its the app compatibility of Android which is the biggest selling point. Since it contains a very capable ARM SoC this thing should run all of the latest games on Android no problem.
I'm fairly sure that there are a large number of ASUS Transformer + Dock users that would say they are quite happy with the touchpad/keyboard input on Android 4+.
As for the touchpad and and keyboard on the XE303, it is STELLAR under ChromeOS. Getting it to match under Android is simply a matter of hardware tweaking.
All the Android apps and games I've purchased deserve to be utilized on this device.
+1 for this idea - just got my chromebook today!
disynthetic said:
There has been much progress porting Ubuntu Raring Ringtail and Quantal Quetzal to this thing. I look forward to being able to choose between running stable Android and stable Ubuntu (or other distros, even).
With that said, I think that although this device is selling out I'm not sure that enough of these users will be aware of how close this device is to being a true, first Android laptop. From benchmarks I've seen on Phoronix.com the Exynos Dual in this Samsung Series 3 XE303 Chromebook is at least twice as fast as the Tegra 3 Quad in processing and graphics tasks.
Many people don't seem to see the value of Android as a fuller OS that would flourish within a laptop hardware suite. I argue that it is because they do not see the possibilities that software such as ParanoidAndroid would allow for with it's per-app DPI settings and ability to force a Phone, Phablet, or Tablet UI for every single app you run. These features are core to getting the most productivity out of a Samsung XE303 running Android.
I do enjoy the ChromeOS/ChromiumOS interface much because it is simple enough to have a low learning curve, yet it has enough options available to it to be somewhat powerful in the productivity department. It is indeed lacking in its offline capabilities, though. And Android would fix those and then some.
I guess I should also mention that the latest 4.2.1 Android ninja tweaked the native support for gamepads including Sixaxis controllers and Xbow controllers. Now you can game with them for apps that support the controllers. Neat.
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Who exactly is making progress and how do I sign up. How do we get a dedicated forum fired up for this? Let's get this party started, my chrome book should be in in Monday!
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------
OK I answered my own question. The Ubuntu port instructions can be found here... http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
I'd still love to see a JB port.
dbdrop said:
Who exactly is making progress and how do I sign up. How do we get a dedicated forum fired up for this? Let's get this party started, my chrome book should be in in Monday!
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------
OK I answered my own question. The Ubuntu port instructions can be found here... http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
I'd still love to see a JB port.
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Me too... I was reading about the Chromebook and thought... ARM CPU needs Android. The games on ChromeOS look pretty damn awful and Android would also bring many emulators to life.. Amiga, Atari, DosBox, Nintendo... And you could do what ChromeOS does in Android but with all the Android extras.
If there was Android for the XE303 Chromebook I'd buy one tomorrow.. maybe two!
Texting
I do a lot of texting, hundreds and hundreds of messages a day.
The only tolerable way used to be Google Voice, but they recently lowered their daily sms limit (that limit is only imposed if you txt through a computer). So my new solution is this: tether my phone to a tablet that has TabletTalk and a keyboard and go at it from there. The Chromebook seemed like a good alternative to that route.
Please don't ignore the community that needs this.
I think JB on the chromebook would be beast. From the score ubuntu is beast! lol. I cant wait till its outta beta. I have had my CB for almost a week, Already bored with the OS. Cant do anything hardly. Time to flash already. Please keep the thread going as we keep it updated more will see and hopefully a dev will step up and tame this beast from the inside out. Thank you for starting this thread. :good::good:
Started working on this already seems the BOOT partition needs to be rewritten to work with UEFI...Anybody wanna help..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1951114&page=2
I wouldnt bet on a 12" ARM chromebook, rumors say some people at google are getting tired of the chromebook not getting enough traction and are thinking about axing the project, perhaps even the OS itself.
Personally I wouldn't care since they might finally realize the potential of android on laptops and launch a "Nexus 12"
Anyway, any news with the port?
MGREX said:
I wouldnt bet on a 12" ARM chromebook, rumors say some people at google are getting tired of the chromebook not getting enough traction and are thinking about axing the project, perhaps even the OS itself.
Personally I wouldn't care since they might finally realize the potential of android on laptops and launch a "Nexus 12"
Anyway, any news with the port?
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I don't think they would put Android on a laptop seeing as it's not optimized for that type of hardware, but don't get me wrong it would be sweet, however the OS might be able to take advantage of of certain Input controls such as Keyboard, Mouse, Flash Drives etc... most 3rd party apps wont support it or be optimized for it. However a Hybrid ChromeOS/Android may work very well where you have a Standard Chrome OS base with the Ability to run certain android Apps that have been written to take advantage of such input devices. As far as the OS itself it's actually Open source so in theory it should be possible to allow the running of android apps without Google them selves implementing it. it just might be a little challenging.
Figured I'd bump and share.
Got my CB a week or so ago and so far it's been a pretty good device for when I instantly need a new tab open in a desktop format so I can use a full site and keyboard. Today I loaded up the alpha Ubuntu 12.04 build and so far I'm thrilled that I got this full fledged desktop OS on a 250 dollar solid state machine. I might get another 1 or 2 lol
Android could make it even better, especially PA since it has the different layout settings.
Linux + Chrome + Android - $250 = dope laptop
theduce102 said:
Figured I'd bump and share.
Got my CB a week or so ago and so far it's been a pretty good device for when I instantly need a new tab open in a desktop format so I can use a full site and keyboard. Today I loaded up the alpha Ubuntu 12.04 build and so far I'm thrilled that I got this full fledged desktop OS on a 250 dollar solid state machine. I might get another 1 or 2 lol
Android could make it even better, especially PA since it has the different layout settings.
Linux + Chrome + Android - $250 = dope laptop
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I'm waiting for Ubuntu to come off of beta and then I'm there!!!! Lol. Its badass for 250.00
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Anyone fancy attempting to get RISC OS running on this, as an alternative desktop OS?
trevj said:
Anyone fancy attempting to get RISC OS running on this, as an alternative desktop OS?
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Would be nice....However got my hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB..does look very interesting I might add.
rawtek said:
Would be nice....However got my hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB..does look very interesting I might add.
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Less posting, more developing!!! Seriously though, waiting and watching patiently... Good luck!
rawtek said:
hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB
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I expect you'll get there sooner or later - keep at it!
..does look very interesting I might add.
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It should fly on this thing, even only using a single core.