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Hey there i have a general question or a thought that came to me.
While using my tablet to check my email, searched the web play a quick game. never at any point did it look like or even feel that i was using a phone. I have a nexus one and love that too..... anyway. Question is if great devs like , Rothic, Roebeet, and Gojimi can mod O.S's and apps like office HD, and the kick ass launcher fitted for tablets, is Honeycomb, or even waiting for honeycomb for our tabs necessary?
Being that the "phone" versions of android are well developed, if modders and devs can make tablet specific apps pre Honeycomb why wait for Honeycomb? I remember reading that Homeycomb is a version 1 so it would be starting over again why not just stick with and maximize the 2.3.3 or froyo?
Just thinking out loud, but if Homeycomb is a version of Android that makes a tablet "look" like a tablet, with the ability to customize our tablets the way we want them, why not just develop or mod the HELL out of 2.3.3 or even froyo. Its supposed to be "optimized" for tablets but the apps that i use seems to not have an issue with the screen....I've seen great screenshots of peoples home screens and they look awesome... anyway sorry for long post...
Big up to the G tablet devs again.... thanks for making this tab the best bang for my bucks i have ever spent!!!
Is it Necessary? Probably not. As you said, we've got some pretty good toys right now.
However, you wouldn't be on this site if you weren't always seeking (like a bad habit), the latest and greatest... the newest 'eye-candy', etc.
One of the things that no OS/Launcher can completely fix is that many apps were developed with phones in mind, and they just don't scale or fir right on a tablet screen.
While HC won't just up and fix those problems, the increased exposure and focus on tablets will help convince developers to keep both platforms in mind when coding.
Now, let me get back to my latest CM RC7 with Tablet tweaks install while I wait for HC
Hey all - I am VERY loath to ask any of these questions, as I pride myself on doing research and figuring things out for myself, but I've come to the point where I just need to ask this community. I purchased the Gtab as part of the Woot fiasco, and immediately replaced stock firmware with Vegantab. From a general perspective, it works fine, with all the know quirks. However, this is my first Android device. I've been modifying windows phones and working with jailbroken iphones and other fiddly things with computers for a long time, so I'm not faint-hearted at tweaking. Anyway, my questions are these:
Given the hardware this thing sports, the performance ROTS. Is it because the OS is just not polished? It's slow to shift from screen to screen. It often delays in recognizing my touch when trying to scroll icons that it thinks I actually am trying t launch an app. In general, it just feels inferior in speed and snappiness of, for instance, iOS (I understand it is much easier to have a single platform to put an OS on and optimize it). I get the program not responding screen, wait or close way too frequently for my tastes.
Then there's the fact that every app installed seems to want to run itself in the background at all times. I'm constantly using the task manager to kill everything, which frees up a ton of RAM and then the tab runs better for a little while. I can't seem to find a way to prevent these apps from doing this. There is probably something very obvious that I am missing, but Facebook should not just decide on its own to run in the background when I haven't launched it.
Any thoughts on any of these things, or can someone point me to an obvious FAQ that I'm missing that answers all my questions?
In theory Android OS should free up RAM as you need it. Google will swear up and down that task killers are unnecessary, and the user doesn't need to manage background processes. That said, I have advanced task killer widget on my home screen and use it whenever things get a little sluggish. I don't use the Facebook app, but most apps have the option in the in-app settings to disable background updates. There are task manager apps that claim to prevent other apps from launching at start up, or kill them automatically, but these will usually end up eating more resources than they save.
As far as home screen switching, I'm not a fan of the stock froyo launcher on a tablet this size. It always seems that the device is expecting a much larger swipe that should be necessary to switch home screens. I use Launcher Pro and it feels faster and more responsive than the iPad 2 for going between home screens.
The scrolling/ inadvertent selecting issue I can relate to. If your coming from iOS, there is this an expectation that the device will always tell the difference between a scroll and a tap. That expectation isn't unreasonable, because Apple is stellar at making scrolling interfaces feel perfect. They have whole sessions at WWDC about implementing scrolling lists into apps. Android on the other hand requires a more deliberate scrolling. Android has gotten a lot better over time, but it often requires a much more deliberate scrolling action by the user. "Flicking" like on the iPad usually doesn't register perfectly for me.
One thing you may notice on the G Tables is that pinch and zoom is wildly unreliable when pinching on the same x or y axis. I'm pretty sure this is a universal issue with the screen. It has trouble recognizing multitouch input when the points of contact are on the same axis. Pinching at an angle is the only way I can zoom reliably.
brettdwagner said:
In theory Android OS should free up RAM as you need it. Google will swear up and down that task killers are unnecessary, and the user doesn't need to manage background processes.
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It's like automatic garbage collection, isn't it? Really useful, but sometimes you want to explicitly free things.
There is a way to kill foreground apps on Android. Settings > Applications > Development > Stop app via long-press, will kill the foreground app if you "long-press" the Android back key. Background apps you can either kill using task-managers or not start at all using tools like Autorun Manager from Market.
One thing you may notice on the G Tables is that pinch and zoom is wildly unreliable when pinching on the same x or y axis. I'm pretty sure this is a universal issue with the screen. It has trouble recognizing multitouch input when the points of contact are on the same axis. Pinching at an angle is the only way I can zoom reliably.
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Yeah, I've noticed this too. Pinch-to-zoom at the same y-axis is hopeless. Same x-axis works okay, but, at an angle works best.
I actually appreciated your post. You knew the limitations of hte device before buying it...you didn't comment on the atrocious screen (and accepted what was to be)
The biggest downfall with the G-Tablet itself was it's software. You admitted that you immediately flashed VeganTab. When I bought mine, it came with TNT Lite, to which I then immediately also flashed to Vegan 5.1.1. I never experienced the stock rom, and actually considered myself lucky, due to the reviews I've read.
I think that some of our issues may actually be due to the fact that we're using software that wasn't specifically designed for OUR devices. Yes, they are all android, yes, they should all work fine, and do, at times, but if using a froyo or gingerbread rom, we're using software designed for phones. I haven't tried the Alpha version of HC (BOS) yet, but even in Alpha stages, people are raving about it, even with it's limitations.
I just recently started using Brilliant Corners. In the flash process, I had to have Stock 4349 (1.2 stock firmware) on the system. I can honestly say that it really wasn't that bad. The response seemed a tad better, I never got the "Forceclose : Wait" option when a process was "thinking." things would just pop up. I can only think that as bad as it is, it manages itself better than some of the ports and mod's we are using, simply becuase they were MADE for the G-Tablet. Yeah, it's ugly, and you can do half of what I can do on BC.
What I find intolerable at times is that Angry Birds: Seasons (only that one, no others) will have really choppy graphics. I haven't found a way to fix it, I've overclocked, though I didn't think that would help, I've uninstalled, and installed, I've recovered backups, etc...alas, rebooting will fix it...it's weird. Not one other game will do that, except for AB:S.
What I find intolerable at times is that Angry Birds: Seasons (only that one, no others) will have really choppy graphics. I haven't found a way to fix it, I've overclocked, though I didn't think that would help, I've uninstalled, and installed, I've recovered backups, etc...alas, rebooting will fix it...it's weird. Not one other game will do that, except for AB:S.
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It works for me, although the birds do take off on their own from time to time. Have you tried downloading from a different source? I pulled my angry birds from Amazon. I'm running Vegan-Tabs 7.0.0
Please don't be offended, as I do believe your question is being asked in good faith. However, I have to admit that I haven't experienced any of the problems you're describing. I've had an iPod Touch since gen 1, and I haven't noticed any difference in the responsiveness. My g Tablet responds the same to flicks as it does to slower swipes, without interpretting them as taps.
I also haven't experienced the slow downs you're referring to when running multiple background apps, though that may have to do with the particular apps you have.
I have not had an issue with zooming in and out by pinching along either the x- or y-axis
Finally, I at least don't feel like the swipe to change screens is excesssive, but then again that could be personal taste or because I'm using a Gingerbread-based ROM.
The one issue I do have is with the on-screen touch keyboard. I feel sometimes that it fails to register letters if I type too fast; I haven't had this issue with iOS, but at least I think I can get used to it, and for serious typing I'll probably use a physical keyboard.
Incidently, I'm using Cyanogenmod 7, which seems to be the "pet ROM" of these forums, for better (it's a solid ROM with a large developer community) or worse (it's not nearly as innovative as mods being developed by some "other users" *ahem*roebeet*cough). I'm not saying this is the reason why I have not experienced these issues; maybe they aren't so striking to me or maybe I've been lucky?
EDITTED: Most typos are due to annoyances with using an on-screen keyboard with the g Tab.
Tablet has been fine to me. Screen responsiveness is on par with iphone/ipad/my htc evo screen.
Vegan tab rom is fresh...all .my functions work sure my wifi drops out after sleeping for a while (yes changed sleep settings) but hey I spent 250 not 500 and I have flash sd and usb....all of which I use everyday.
Thanks for all the responses. I rather expected to get somewhat of a range of replies from "I agree with you" to "you're crazy, mine is fine". To be very clear, I'm not trying to rip on the device at all. I knew I was rolling the dice a little and I know that Android really hasn't matured for a Tablet just yet (in my eyes).
I guess I've sort of had my questions answered to some degree.
scyld - I'm not offended in the least. I have an iphone 4 and many of my coworkers use iPads every day. They are definitely more responsive (to me). However, the stock iOS wasn't on my iPhone. Now that I have it jailbroken and can control which apps suck up memory, it behaves flawlessly. What I believe to be the scrolling/flicking issue is actually that the OS interprets spaces IN BETWEEN icons to be part of those icons, where Apple's OS does not. If I tap between icons on the Gtab, it will launch the one closest to my finger. iOS will not do this. That alone may be why the scrolling seems to be more accurate. I may well try Cyanogen. I mostly don't care about bells and whistles - just responsiveness and usability.
I wasn't aware that Google used the same line about memory usage that Apple swears - in fact, my friend and I stopped in the Apple store because she was having a problem with docking her iphone in her car... The tech ran a scan and told her incidentally that she was out of app memory and told her how to 'kill those pesky tasks' by tapping the little red minuses on all the apps in the app dock. I couldn't stop laughing.
I guess what we're dealing with is the result of an open source open hardware landscape. By having such a fractured base of developers, manufacturers, varying hardware specs, etc, it is much harder to optimize any particular build for any particular device. I did use the stock firmware for a few days and simply found it too limiting. Not to mention the lack of a market, etc. Apple's success is in large part due to the way it's app store works. Every device has it. The app warns you what it will work on and what it will not. Application updates tell you what the update fixes or adds (which Market does only very rarely). I appreciate that there are multiple markets for Android, but they should stick to some established rules for the information given.
I'm writing a novel - sorry - All this being said, I love the idea of Android (and hate iTunes with a passion) and I'm looking forward to a generation or two down the road of the tablet ROMs. I'll give the other ROMs a shot and see if there is improvement. I really appreciate the developers work on the platform thus far. I'll keep reading and messing with settings, tips, tricks to improve what I can.
My question concerns all of the apps (though there weren't too many, it seems) aimed specifically at Honeycomb tablets. With ICS supposedly unifying phones and tablets, what becomes of the tablet-specific apps? Should a person on a newly-bought Transformer Prime w/ICS on it still buy Splashtop HD over the regular version, or will the latter run just as well (in terms of maximizing screenspace, etc.)?
thats a really good question . I too would like to hear what others think.
No one? Really?
Most HC apps run just fine unchanged on ICS. They may look ugly on phones, though, but unless the dev blocks based on screen size, they'll run there.
App developers should write universal apps that run anywhere, adapting dynamically to screen size, and the ICS framework tries to make that easy (Fragments, for example), but app developers can do what they want.
I've been trying to figure out how many apps there are for Android tablets and it has been really hard to find out, which in itself hints that it ain't good. But the best estimates I could find online pin it at around 1000-2000 apps. Didn't iPad 1 release with more than that? What is wrong with Android? I sincerely believe that this OS is better with its Widgets and customizations and all. But does it not bother you that after a whole year we have so few apps? I may as well go for an iPad at this rate. I mean i have all the apps i need now, but still some apps are meant for the phone, like Facebook.... still I feel it is worth investing in a device that actually has proper support... you are paying $500, shouldn't you expect more then just thousands of apps? And don't argue that the new iPad with its hi res display will have few apps. That is only temporary... it too will soon surpass the android tablet app tally...
Took me 5 seconds to google that-
http://phandroid.com/2011/03/14/android-app-count-rapidly-gaining-on-ios-chart/
and its year old, so the number is bigger by now.
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
I have over 200 apps on my Ipad. I have just as many on my prime and have found majority of my Ipad apps n AAndroid and have them on my prime now. So there's still slot of apps out there. Tablet only apps, yes Android has less but its steadily growing. Phone apps already caught up to apples.
Plus you won't catch many here wanting to switch to IOS over apps. Especially not me. I've already did the Ipad experience for 2 years n glad I came to android. I'm satisfied with what's available. It isn't like you can install all of them at once. Android has great apps n always could use more. But Android users generally know the deal when it comes to the apps. Apple needs apps to do things android does out the box by itself. My Ipad has alot of really good apps on it but I have them all ln my prime also. Majority being better on Android. So expect your poll to show love for Android and its ecosystem. Most try to stay away from limited features n capabilities of Ipad. Depends on what floats your boat the best.
That is Android Market on the whole. I've been talking about tablet optimized apps.
demandarin said:
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
I have over 200 apps on my Ipad. I have just as many on my prime and have found majority of my Ipad apps n AAndroid and have them on my prime now. So there's still slot of apps out there. Tablet only apps, yes Android has less but its steadily growing. Phone apps already caught up to apples.
Plus you won't catch many here wanting to switch to IOS over apps. Especially not me. I've already did the Ipad experience for 2 years n glad I came to android. I'm satisfied with what's available. It isn't like you can install all of them at once. Android has great apps n always could use more. But Android users generally know the deal when it comes to the apps. Apple needs apps to do things android does out the box by itself. My Ipad has alot of really good apps on it but I have them all ln my prime also. Majority being better on Android. So expect your poll to show love for Android and its ecosystem. Most try to stay away from limited features n capabilities of Ipad. Depends on what floats your boat the best.
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All in all, it would be comforting to see a good recent estimate regarding android "tablet" Apps. As of now, I have apps to watch movies, socialize, a great browser, to read PDFs and eBooks and to take notes. I still feel that quality is lacking and I hope what you said about ICS unifying things will help devs dev more. But it bugs me that say Facebook has no tablet app, etc. Thankfully I don't game a lot though!
READ up on Ice Cream Sandwich Android version and see what its supposed to mean. Soon there will be no more need for tablet optimized apps as all will be optimized for whatever device its being used on.
If you want to get an Ipad that's cool, but I hope you didn't think most here would vote in favor of getting one. You will see soon most are happy with Android. Yes it could always get better but still love it regardless. I'd never switch back to Ipad. Seen so much more with Android now. Going back to IOS would be moving backwards in features and capabilities of a tablet.
---------- Post added at 01:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------
litetaker said:
All in all, it would be comforting to see a good recent estimate regarding android "tablet" Apps. As of now, I have apps to watch movies, socialize, a great browser, to read PDFs and eBooks and to take notes. I still feel that quality is lacking and I hope what you said about ICS unifying things will help devs dev more. But it bugs me that say Facebook has no tablet app, etc. Thankfully I don't game a lot though!
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I always see people complain about Facebook on android. Why? I have it and works great for me. I have like 3-4 different Facebook apps on my Ipad. Plus here is a reality check. The official Facebook app on Ipad isn't even the best one. It took them so long to bring it out that the 3rd party ones are the best now. The official app sux on Ipad and is buggy still. I have it and other ones on Ipad. You just have to search more. I have tons of great tablet apps on prime.
Here's a tip. If you want to look for android tablet app only marketplace, look for an app called Tablified. Its an marketplace that showcases all tablet only or optimized apps for Android. Its really good and apps must pass strict guidelines to be considered to be viewed in that app. Its a free app. A MEMBER here actually created it. It has a great look to it also.
demandarin said:
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, until we see many more ICS devices, developers won't focus on it and thus we'll not see apps that make good use of tablets because of it. It's true that right now the number of really good tablet apps is low, and it's frustrating. I'd think that 5-10 million Honeycomb or ICS tablets in the wild would be enough to generate more developer interest.
I honestly think developers are gun shy about spending the time on tablet apps because the press on the Android tablet market has been so universally horrible (and the hype on the iPad so universally and nauseatingly high). Those developers who've made tablet-optimized apps have done a great job with it, but really the iPad has a HUGE, HUGE advantage here. Even I find myself sometimes wanting to switch because of all the excellent iPad apps, and I can't stand Apple.
You can find a good tablet app for a most typical uses, and in many cases the phone apps work fine (because they scale better in many cases than iPhone apps scale to the iPad), but it remains a limitation. It's also another area where Google has done a bad job, either of making it easy to make tablet-optimized apps (I don't know either way) or of providing incentives for developers to make them.
I really don't get the fascination and need for all these "apps". I hate that word too, sounds so gay.
Give me a good browser, some good media players and you're pretty much good to go.
There is no need for a Facebook program at all. No need for XDA program, a Twitter program. You don't use them on your Windows desktop do you? The browser is all you need for all that.
I just don't get it. I don't even have one homescreen filled on my tablet.
litetaker said:
That is Android Market on the whole. I've been talking about tablet optimized apps.
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Android doesn't longer have seperate Apps. Since ICS and fragments well written Apps will deliver an optimized layout for phones, tablets as well as Google TV. One App for all, that was the approach of Android and that's why the Google Play / Market doesn't have an extra Tablet section (beside the editors choice for tablets).
In the last years there was really a lack of good apps for tablets, but most of the new Apps make use of this new fragments and offer a great tablet ui.
New 8track app, tweetcaster, new official TED app, Astrid since their last update - just to mention a few.
In my opinion this will be the first serious year for Android Tablets and Apps which was also the reason for me to finally buy the Prime.
MysteriousDiary said:
Android doesn't longer have seperate Apps. Since ICS and fragments well written Apps will deliver an optimized layout for phones, tablets as well as Google TV. One App for all, that was the approach of Android and that's why the Google Play / Market doesn't have an extra Tablet section (beside the editors choice for tablets).
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Click to collapse
One think I've always wondered is: do fragments work on Android versions previous to ICS? Because if they do, then I wonder why more developers aren't using them. If they only work with ICS, then it makes sense--ICS is still only about 1% of the total Android population, and only on the Prime and Xoom in tablets.
And seriously, it should be MUCH easier to find tablet-optimized apps. While there are a handful of decent tablet-optimized apps, they're relatively hard to find and that fact alone contributes to the perception (real or imagined) that this is a real weakness of Android tablets.
Download Tablified Market
/thread
Here's a good reference for tablet apps...
http://www.tablified.com/
And yes, many popular apps do suck on a tablet and will continue to until ICS reaches critical mass.
litetaker said:
I mean i have all the apps i need now
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What's the problem?
I guess the question is what do you want to do with your Prime that would be fulfilled by an app? Or somewhat sarcastically; what could you do app-wise with an iPad that you want to do with your Prime? I suggest asking if your searching has yielded nothing suitable.
While it's fun to have lots of apps available, what if they are all crap?
Bye.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Well, I got a solution. Buy an ipad 3 and a tf700 later in the year. All problems have been solved. Except for money.
jdeoxys said:
Well, I got a solution. Buy an ipad 3 and a tf700 later in the year. All problems have been solved. Except for money.
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You got banned? Just recently?
Developer here...
Even with older OS versions the only difference between a phone and tablet app is the layout. Android already has some pretty killer tools for handling that. ICS makes it easier with some new tools (fragments), but by no means is it necessary. Few devs will target ICS for awhile. There are just too many older devices.
So... the biggest inhibitor is time. It takes a great deal of work to develop an app that makes both screen sizes happy. It also takes some practice. Since Android is behind compared to iOS, and the Android tablet market is smaller, we just have to wait. People have to learn how to take advantage of all this extra space.
By the way, its not really any easier to develop an iOS tablet app. In fact, even using the older versions of Android, its easier to deal with different layouts than on iOS.
I think as long as theres fragmentation most app devs are not gonna put as much effort with android. Why when there are so many ipad users and they only have to develop for 1 single platform and can concentrate on making it better rather than concentrating on making it more compatible across every different android devices. ICS was supposed to be the answer but not all ICS compatible app will work on all ICS devices. Then google is supposedly now gonna come out with jelly bean? Whats gonna happen then? So if i was a dev right now I wouldnt want to develop even for ICS not knowing what road block jelly bean will bring when apple is more guaranteed. The return profit is just not as good on android tablets right now. Until we match apples ecosystem I dont think we will ever have the benifits that ipad users have.
demandarin said:
You got banned? Just recently?
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Click to collapse
Yes, why?
10char
facepalm...
Do you remember when blueray players first came out, you could only get a handfull of movies for it? and now you can get damn near everything in blueray.
Remember a year or so ago when there was like, maybe 5 tablets total on the market? and now you cant turn the corner without finding yet another manufacturer of them?
Tablets are the fastest growing consumer trend in north america giving Apple a good run for their money. Considering this boom in the last year or so, developers are scrambling to try to support everything and find standards for how graphics will be displayed, etc. (which is why theres so many different versions of the same gameloft games)
Give it a few more months if you cant find what your looking for, it will be here then.
Also considering that ICS is still relatively new and developers need to make sure their apps work well on it before they release it, test, etc. its not surprising that there is limited support for ICS. If you want something thats tried, tested, and true then get the TF101. If you want to live on the edge like with the 201 then you have to expect some bugs along the way.
Give it time, it will come. Guaranteed.
Since the launch of this device is still a couple of weeks away, I assume it's ok to be posting this here (Mods, please move if necessary.) since it will obviously be a hot topic in every custom ROM thread that will appear in this forum after Nov. 11th.
There are obviously three opinions on the matter. Some people like the UI, some people don't care otherwise, and then there's those of us who have been using Android tablets since they first came out (like me. Have had a XOOM from day one) and HATE the change from what we consider a perfect tablet UI for efficient navigation on a 10in landscape orientated tablet.
But, I'm not here to kvetch about the loss of the tablet UI in Android. I'm here to discuss what the options are as far as restoring it to the Nexus 10 (and other tablets going forward) from a development standpoint. Will custom ROM developers have to jump through hoops to bring back all (or even some) of the efficiency (and some of that space wasted by the top bar) back to our 10 inch slates? Of course, this all depends on weather the tablet UI may or may not be hidden in the code giving us the ability to turn it on or off with a little bit of hackery. Unfortunately, it looks like they've phased it out completely, which probably rules out that idea.
I've watched all of the videos and looked at the photos trying to think of ways it could be done. So far, the only idea I can come up with for bringing back a little bit of the magic is forcing the softkeys from the middle of the navigation bar to the left side of the navigation bar (that's something even I could do with a simple edit to an XML file.) This might actually be enough to make things make sense again, and moving the clock could probably be done fairly easily with a few tweaks here and there (I love how big and easy to read the clock is on the current tablet UI). But what about notifications? The way the new setup is, you have notifications on the top left and on the top right you have quick settings (which I don't consider very quick since they buttons just take you to the settings screens. Lame, Google. Lame.) This is where it obviously gets tricky and is beyond my very limited knowledge of Android code.
Any developers care to weigh in? Do any of you already miss the tablet UI and wish to bring it back even for your own use? What are your thoughts on the difficulty of implementing such changes (probably not even a valid question since the source hasn't even dropped yet, but, meh) and is it worth spending time on?
The Nexus 10 should obviously have AOSP support. This should make it pretty simple to add to CM10. Then, Paranoid Android should be pretty easy to compile for this device which brings many tablet mode features so you can have as much or as little tablet mode as you want.
con247 said:
The Nexus 10 should obviously have AOSP support. This should make it pretty simple to add to CM10. Then, Paranoid Android should be pretty easy to compile for this device which brings many tablet mode features so you can have as much or as little tablet mode as you want.
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Click to collapse
That's what I'm getting at. Is the tablet UI code still even going to be in AOSP from 4.2 forward? It looks as if it's not. That's going to mean extra work for the devs, right?
arrtoodeetoo said:
Since the launch of this device is still a couple of weeks away, I assume it's ok to be posting this here (Mods, please move if necessary.) since it will obviously be a hot topic in every custom ROM thread that will appear in this forum after Nov. 11th.
There are obviously three opinions on the matter. Some people like the UI, some people don't care otherwise, and then there's those of us who have been using Android tablets since they first came out (like me. Have had a XOOM from day one) and HATE the change from what we consider a perfect tablet UI for efficient navigation on a 10in landscape orientated tablet.
But, I'm not here to kvetch about the loss of the tablet UI in Android. I'm here to discuss what the options are as far as restoring it to the Nexus 10 (and other tablets going forward) from a development standpoint. Will custom ROM developers have to jump through hoops to bring back all (or even some) of the efficiency (and some of that space wasted by the top bar) back to our 10 inch slates? Of course, this all depends on weather the tablet UI may or may not be hidden in the code giving us the ability to turn it on or off with a little bit of hackery. Unfortunately, it looks like they've phased it out completely, which probably rules out that idea.
I've watched all of the videos and looked at the photos trying to think of ways it could be done. So far, the only idea I can come up with for bringing back a little bit of the magic is forcing the softkeys from the middle of the navigation bar to the left side of the navigation bar (that's something even I could do with a simple edit to an XML file.) This might actually be enough to make things make sense again, and moving the clock could probably be done fairly easily with a few tweaks here and there (I love how big and easy to read the clock is on the current tablet UI). But what about notifications? The way the new setup is, you have notifications on the top left and on the top right you have quick settings (which I don't consider very quick since they buttons just take you to the settings screens. Lame, Google. Lame.) This is where it obviously gets tricky and is beyond my very limited knowledge of Android code.
Any developers care to weigh in? Do any of you already miss the tablet UI and wish to bring it back even for your own use? What are your thoughts on the difficulty of implementing such changes (probably not even a valid question since the source hasn't even dropped yet, but, meh) and is it worth spending time on?
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I am guessing Google is among for an unified code and even the code is not removed for tablet ui in 4.2, its only a matter of time; the tablet ui presents a learning curve for most android users ( who are mostly smartphone users) thus like the iPad, unified ui would mostly make android tablets more accessible to general public; the reality is most people are not tech savvy like us ( otherwise everyone would been xda) thus casting to their needs would make androids expansion in the tablet market easier ( an endeavor which have been daunting for android and with w8, competition is more fierce than ever)
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i just wrote the same in another topic of that nature ...
1. the codebase was really, really old. dominated by honeycomb. it got tiny touch-ups with ics but thats it. the whole thing is a complete mess, though.
2. they hid tabUI from sight for the nexus7, lifting the layouts from 600dp (where the UI was situated traditionally) to 720dp, just enough for the nex7 to ignore it.
3. nexus10 will be 720dp or higher. the screenshots make it a fact that they have done something to these layout. either putting them higher still or killing them for good. i believe the second case is more likely, judging from the code.
i believe this is a transition. KLP will probably introduce a new systemUI. the old one is the worst part of the entire android framework. a messy spaghetticode something, breaking their own sdk.
Almost 400k pixels is used by... three buttons on Nexus 10. And you can't even hide them. This is ridiculous. Also I feel offended by what they said about microSD causing confusion - they treat as like idiots.
yeah, the tablet ui like it was has been perfect for tablets!
paranoidandroid for the nexus 10 would be awesome ... love it so much on my HOX. On my xoom I hide the navbar and use gestures to navigate, which is in my opinion the best way to fully use the screen's full potential. The new UI wasts precious space with a navbar AND a statusbar...
Personally I have never like the basic android User interface, it's thin and empty to say the least, it's has not a the beautiful view or a friendly user interface. Indeed I have never understood people running in search of Cyanogen ROM which are basically android base rom ported on other devices. The point of those nexus devices is having a very light ROM so you can have massive use of the play store and install 1000 apps including a better launcher for the home. Actually there is no match in beautiful and usability between android base interface and HTC sense 4.x for exemple ( which in my opinion is the best one out there and now it's also anymore that weight to run for the system ).
molesarecoming said:
i just wrote the same in another topic of that nature ...
1. the codebase was really, really old. dominated by honeycomb. it got tiny touch-ups with ics but thats it. the whole thing is a complete mess, though.
2. they hid tabUI from sight for the nexus7, lifting the layouts from 600dp (where the UI was situated traditionally) to 720dp, just enough for the nex7 to ignore it.
3. nexus10 will be 720dp or higher. the screenshots make it a fact that they have done something to these layout. either putting them higher still or killing them for good. i believe the second case is more likely, judging from the code.
i believe this is a transition. KLP will probably introduce a new systemUI. the old one is the worst part of the entire android framework. a messy spaghetticode something, breaking their own sdk.
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I hope you're getting one! Big fanboy here
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It's just me or anybody else feels like they should get rid of the design of on screen buttons? It think it's a waste of space and has a very bad design, wich is not the case of holo theme that was clearly well concepted.
Any devs been able to poke through AOSP today? How's it looking for options on modifying the UI?
I like the current tablet UI, but will give the new layout an open minded evaluation. The navigation area doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me, but maybe I am just unaware of some settings to customize it.
If you have rooted device you can now hide soft keys (and keep notification bar) without modifications and reboots. Just try my new app:
GMD Hide Soft Keys
It also adds Quick NavBar - soft keys that can be opened with simple swipe from bottom and then autohide when not needed.