Related
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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
I'm sure this is being discussed somewhere on this massive forum, but didn't see it in here, so here it is. This is honestly one of the biggest draw backs in my opinion to buying an Android phone. For instance, my mom bought the Samsung Charge which is still on Froyo. There appears to be no plans to take it up to Gingerbread or ICS. That's just sad. The phone is new and she'll be two OS's behind. I have a feeling we'll not see ICS unless we crack it ourselves.
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
stalked_r/t said:
I'm sure this is being discussed somewhere on this massive forum, but didn't see it in here, so here it is. This is honestly one of the biggest draw backs in my opinion to buying an Android phone. For instance, my mom bought the Samsung Charge which is still on Froyo. There appears to be no plans to take it up to Gingerbread or ICS. That's just sad. The phone is new and she'll be two OS's behind. I have a feeling we'll not see ICS unless we crack it ourselves.
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what the result of having (or at least attempting to have any open platform). There are so many players with so much freedom that fragmentation is unavoidable. This is nothing new to the LINUX community.
Just look at every time Linus Torvalds and his successors release a new LINUX kernel, it can be any where from days to years before it gets implemented depending on what distro you are running.
This disadvantage is easily over come by the advantages that come from an open platform.
A closed echo system has its advantages as well, but given the opportunity apple would be more than happy to control everything you do with your phone. Flash is a prime example, if apple could they would keep you from using flash ever again, not because that is what is best for you, its because it is one way apple can control you and make more money at your expense.
I believe flash is one more reason apple hates Android so much, because Steve Jobs in a maniacally ego driven rant declared flash dead. Now thanks to Android by next year there will be more fully flash capable phones than not, and eventually apple will have to cave.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
What a crock. IOS updates have been laggy failures on old hardware. Siri is not available on old hardware, and other features of IOS have not been made available to older hardware.
Saying it's bad because new versions of android can't run on older hardware is bull****, but trying to say it's not true for IOS is bigger bull****.
And funny, the guy seems to have cherry-picked some of the worst possible Android device examples.
Admittedly, he limits it to US carriers, and - well, they are the worst since they insist on customized devices that often don't get updates their international brethren receive.
Look at the I9000 and I9100 - both are almost identical to the Captivate and I777 respectively, but they get FAR more frequent updates. #*#[email protected])*#[email protected])#[email protected] AT&T.
The only real advantage for Apple is that they can and will tell a carrier that wants to exert control over the handset to go **** themselves. As others have pointed out, in many cases, iOS has serious issues with backwards compatibility - upgrading a non-S iPhone 3G to iOS 4 would cause it to be a laggy piece of ****.
Whereas Android 2.3 was on many devices a performance and battery management improvement, and if it wasn't - unlike iOS nothing prevents you from flashing back.
I could care less about iOS. Granted the article was definitely a hack job at Android from a Apple Fanboi. No matter that though, there is definitely truth to the article as well as setiment stated here that American carriers are asswipes when it comes to updates.
I have an AT&T family plan, with my SGS2 and three Iphone 4s. I wouldn't give up my Android if Steve came back from the grave and begged, but I wouldn't ask my less than tech savvy wife, daughter, or lazy son to give up their Apple. Both have a place, and we each have a preference. I had an original Captivate, which was, for me, absolutely awesome. It wasn't because AT&T made it so, it was because I took the time and effort to learn about Android, and used the tools available to keep up to date with the OS. I sold my Cappy when I got the SGS2, and sold it for more than I paid for it. To me, the fact that the carriers don't keep the OS up to date is just a minor inconvenience. I have the skills, and with Android, the ability, to utilize whatever hardware I happen to own to its maximum capability. Try that with an Iphone. Not gonna happen.
The original article is full of facts, but doesn't really contribute to the truth. Android is only as good as the hardware you run it on. Same with iOS. If you choose not to purchase bleeding edge hardware, you cannot expect the OS to run well. Try running Windoze 7 on a 486 box made for XP...
I see plenty people talking about ICS on the Prime, why doesn't it ship with ICS etc.
well I've been thinking about that a great deal this week. Of course, whatever it ships with, it ships with, but Samsung have a head start on ICS because of their work on the New Nexus.
On the other hand, everyone else is playing catchup because the source code has only just been released. The prime will ship with whatever it ships with and I'll have that.
but I would rather the Prime ship with a rock solid Honeycomb release with optimised apps and let ICS mature for a while before Asus release ICS for it. Asus do regular releases anyway so I'm not put off by lack of ICS at initial shipping.
I do remember reading (if it is true), that Google actually sent some of their ICS engineers to ASUS to help them set up ICS on the Prime. If that is indeed the case, we should have a top notch version of ICS when it does become available. But I won't be upgrading my Honeycomb until there is Flash support for it.
I don't think Honeycomb will ever be called "rock solid" or "mature". The sooner it gets ICS, the better in my opinion.
Ravynmagi said:
I don't think Honeycomb will ever be called "rock solid" or "mature". The sooner it gets ICS, the better in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I have a feeling that Google's been spending the lion's share of their time optimizing ICS rather than fixing issues (particularly low-level optimization) in Honeycomb. As Google has said themselves on numerous occasions, Honeycomb was a stop-gap measure to get _something_ running on tablets. It was meant purely to mark time until ICS is released.
I think the Prime will be very good on Honeycomb. I expect it to be simply awesome on ICS.
You might also note, Nvidia is helping Asus to optimise there Tegra 3 for Ice cream sandwich.
I would rather have Asus, Google and Nvidia working together on the most awesome software available and release it day one on the most awesome hardware rather than have a clucky software made by Asus alone on what could be a tremendous succesfull tablet.
I, personnaly, couldn't care less if the update comes after HC on the Prime, but because I want Android tablet to succeed (more Apps for us in the end) I'm willing to wait a few weeks if that what it takes to give this device all the chances it should have. And I think marketing it with Honeycomb is a really, really, really bad idea cause, even in a shinny box, if when turned on it's the same thing as all other tablet already there but 2-3 times their price that won't appeal much to commun people.
Can be wrong now, but isn't first with ICS that all cores can be used and the Tegra3 power comes to use. Belive that HC can't take advantage of all Tegra3 goodness. Just ICS will give all android devices a good speed boost and the hardware will finally have a software to work "together" with.
For example the scores in Antutu Benchmark from Asus Prime.
HC ~ 6500
ICS ~ 10000+
So would I be Asus I almost don't want to release the Prime with HC. Instead I should wait for ICS so the user performance and feel would be as good as possible and all reviews are being made on the final product and not a product that will gets some updates later on that will make it even better.
For me personally HC or ICS doesn't matter because I now what coming and have used android and several tablets,
but maybe those that are new to Android and tablets will get disappointed to run with HC that isn't so good and have some problems.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
When the Q was first leaked during I/O, I remember thinking immediately that it looked awesome and that I would buy it, as long as it was around $150. Bear in mind this was before it was even apparent of what it actually did, there was just a leaked product image and the notion that it was a Nexus Device. I was dissapointed with the price at first, but can see that Google blew their budget on the design of the Q itself (just read the "Finish" description in the Play Store listing, it makes the device sound AWESOME). I have a couple of questions about the Google's decisions though and some insights on some early common questions I had as well.
First and foremost, my immediate response to the unveiling was the question "Why does it not run Google TV?". This took relatively little time to figure out though. Only days before they announced the new Sony Google TV at $200 and the even more affordable Vizio CoStar at $99. At $300, it was clear that this was not going to compete against them, cool design or not. They also were going for a different direction with this and I also believe they're putting Google TV on the back burner for now as their primary entry point into the living room. This device is obviously more reminiscent of the [email protected] showing that Google had at I/O last year, and is even strikingly similar to the Tungsten Speaker they had demoed last year, down to the LED lights, NFC pairing, and instant streaming from Google Music/What would become Play rather that streaming from the device itself. Also, the amount of testing that this device has been going through if you have been following Google Reports closely which desciribe a Bluetooth Internet connected device that was being tested in private through employees at home; you can tell that they are aiming for bigger things than Google TV with this. Personally, I'm glad as I never understood Google TV; I don't watch a lot of cable and an Android device mirrored on a TV would be more beneficial to me, as I only really want Chrome and Apps.
The second question I had came after I learned about the streamer from News sources, as I can't recall it was in the unveiling. The Nexus Q runs ICS, not Jelly Bean like the other Nexus devices. This puzzled me at first but makes sense when you understand that 4.1 really only brings graphical changes and graphical performance enhancements (seeroject Butter). The advantages of 4.1 would only come in once the Q gets a GUI, but I suppose that the gap less playback support would be useful as well. Either way, I also believe Google will update this device to 4.1 eventually for compatiblility as it is a Nexus after all.
Next, the hardware. I don't really understand why it is essentially the Galaxy Nexus under the hood rather than the Nexus 7. I guess cost would probably be the answer but isn't the Nvidia Kai platform the answer to that question? If they released it with Tegra 3, it would essentially be the Ouya "Elite" (a parallel to the Xbox 360 Elite, down to the black finish and premium features like 25w AMP). In some ways, this could be what Google had in mind when they packed it with 16GB of storage. My speculation is that the reason for this particular hardware is that it's cheaper for them to produce, as the Galaxy Nexus has been in production for so long now. The internal storage is probably because of this too.
The largest question is what Google wants this product to do exactly. Android Police had some interesting ideas that this could become your central [email protected] hub of sorts, and sync with all your other Android powered fixtures in the future (like the bulbs last year at I/O or an Android powered Nest like thermostat). The fact that it communicates directly with Google Play and doesn't rely on streaming also supports this idea, as it means that it is independent and can become the center of your future Android powered home. The superfluous ports and private testing, along with the advertised hackabity makes it seem like they are hoping for a Kinect like response from the Dev community, in which people will find out how to use it in interesting and unique ways. They most likely want to see what UI and applictions others come up with before revealing their own.
Lastly and this is something I've thought only recently is about the off-market price. The device isn't even released yet people are selling the I/O model on eBay for $229. This just speaks to the demand for this product I guess, but it means serious Devs who see potential in this device can pick it up for a relative bargain if they so desire.
So, what are your thoughts?
Jelly Bean is suppose to be coming in a few months as ASUS originally says:
Dear valued ASUS customer,
At ASUS, one of the key commitments we make to our customers is a relentless drive to deliver the best user experience. We constantly strive to achieve this goal through our 'Design Thinking' philosophy that includes regular software and firmware updates for our products.
We are pleased to announce that many of our tablet products are scheduled to receive an update to Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. The ASUS Transformer Pad, ASUS Transformer Pad Prime and ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity are all scheduled to receive Android 4.1 updates in the coming months. We will provide further guidance on our expected timeframes for these updates near their release.
We are still investigating Jelly Bean updates for other devices, but we are not in a position to confirm whether any other products will be eligible for an update at the moment.
Thank you for your continued support.
ASUS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't take that long for something like Jelly Bean to arrive since there isn't a huge difference between ICS. They should focus on the bugs of the screen. I've noticed when playing videos, there is tearing on the sides and sometimes the whole screen. Project Butter wont really make much of a difference since the tablet already has a quadcore. And even Google Now, Voice Search are useless unless the Prime had 3G capabilities. All in all, I think there needs to be more development for tablets and they should take advantage of the Tegra3 processor,
Right now, the only official JB updates are going to Galaxy branded devices. They have like a 4 month 'exclusiveness' that was announced at Google IO. After that, the rest of our devices should start getting official updates.
I have not seen a single screen tear on my prime since I loaded JB. I used to get them ALL THE TIME on the stock rom. I did have an instance where my screen tore when running the NES emulator but that was the program and not the system. A restart fixed it.
As for the 3g thing, it doesn't have it but that doesn't render Google Now useless. As long as you have a WiFi connection, your fine. Worst case scenario, you can just tether your TFP to your phone. But when phones get JB (which a lot do), why not just use that instead?
I do agree that people should be taking advantage of the Tegra 3 stuff, but you also have to think that most app developers make things that will work on a majority of devices. If they made an app for each specific device and processor, they would never get anything done.
I think developers like high end developers (Gameloft, EA Sports and such, basically big companies) should start to work for tegra 3 devices. They can make normal apps for all devices, but if they worked hard. they can make such great apps that we have never seen or got to use before on a tablet or phone. Take advantage of the processor the ram. Like fruit ninja THD looks SO much better than the normal version. If big developers start then it wouldn't be a problem in the future because devices will soon have quad core as a default feature.