Interested in BeagleBoard / PandaBoard - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey peeps.
Was looking at these boards online, does anyone here really use them? If so do you find them usefull for developing ROMs?
Ive never used them before but it looks pretty interesting.
As I understand you could build an Android ROM and boot it up on an SD Card installed in the board plugged into a TV?
Is there any benifit using these over an actual device? Apart from the odd bricking lol

CdTDroiD said:
Hey peeps.
Was looking at these boards online, does anyone here really use them? If so do you find them usefull for developing ROMs?
Ive never used them before but it looks pretty interesting.
As I understand you could build an Android ROM and boot it up on an SD Card installed in the board plugged into a TV?
Is there any benifit using these over an actual device? Apart from the odd bricking lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an engineering buddy who owns a Beagle Board specially the Beagle Bone black and he used it to follow along with a lot of the free-electrons training material, he loved it learned a lot he said allowed him to get a lot more exposure to embedded development at all stages of the process. He also used it experiment with compiling ROM's, which he liked to use more then his phone (He only had one device to develop one) because whenever he would mess something up he could easily re-flash a working image and didn't have to risk his phone. As far as benefits are concerned there easier to work with in-terms of flashing and risk then regular devices, you can do more with them then most phones/tablets (You can flash literally anything on it from different bootloaders and homemade bootloaders, to other cool electronics projects). Overall he said it was great to have around as an all purpose learning board and project board for all areas of Android development and other embedded tasks. The Panda Board hasn't been updated in several years, and while it was good at the time is pretty outdated now. Additionally the Beagle Board is cheaper and has better hardware then the Panda Board.

Related

Real cooking issues

Hello!
I see all these advices on making a ROM. But these advices and the issues they deal with are IMHO not the real issue. If you have a Nexus One phone and want to modify the Android OS there's nothing stopping you. It's "easy". It's all "there".
But what if you have a new Android phone which has proprietary driver code and made by a company that has NO interest in sharing it's code or make it easy for you to root your phone? Making ROMs for these devices is the interesting thing to talk about. Otherwise you can change the name on this forum part to: "Make ROM = *.android.com"
So these two issues are the most important ones IMHO:
1) Devices DO get rooted. So some people must know how to get there. I assume that there is no "one way" of doing this but it would be nice to discuss this and make some sort of a list on what to THINK about.
Many devices will never get rooted because the brand is despised here. That is why it would be good to have some general knowledge so others that ARE interested in these despised brands can take action.
2) You have a rooted device. You load a standard Android OS ROM. All proprietary drivers are lost and thus many features and maybe whole hardware units are unavailable to you. How do you locate and use unsupported hardware in your ROM?
I understand why many "elite" devs have a Nexus One since there are no propietary driver code in that one and rooting was easy. So the doorway to the Nexus One Kitchen is wide open. But what about the rest of the new Android phones that are out and will come. Why don't you discuss and explain the general thinking in rooting a device and finding/using hardware/features that are lost because of proprietary driver code.
Thanks for your time
BR
Robert
Wow, you really need to do some reading is all I will say.
carz12 said:
Wow, you really need to do some reading is all I will say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. i don't even get his problem tbh.

[Q] Owner of RAZR, What's with these devices ?

Hello Xda,
I'm a new owner of a european XT910.
Former owner of a Nexus S.
What's with these Motorolas ? Everything seems very confusing...
1.Locked bootloader...
2.Specific fastboot needed to flash specific roms ?
3.What about recovery mode ? Backup's not working, storage mounting not working..
I will soon post a screenshot of my system's info.
I really think there should be a FAQ thread discussing all matters from CDMA-GSM differences, to different fastboots the phones are shipped with and how to get started on software modification on these babies.
Surely that's a noobie question but if the noobs can't have it, then the world can't have it.
Millions are in the forum but few are willing to get further in developing.
Lets help someone (like me) who wants to understand the pyramid of modding and developing on this phone e.g.
Hi new guy. It's very simple. All of the information can be found on the forums, as well as using google. If you can't be bothered to do a simple search, or read through stuff, then don't root your phone.
Surely that's a noobie question but if the noobs can't have it, then the world can't have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And besides, noobs can have the phone. Just don't root your phone, and come crying in the forums when something goes wrong, cause you don't bother reading up beforehand.
SoulStripper66 said:
Hello Xda,
I'm a new owner of a european XT910.
Former owner of a Nexus S.
What's with these Motorolas ? Everything seems very confusing...
1.Locked bootloader...
2.Specific fastboot needed to flash specific roms ?
3.What about recovery mode ? Backup's not working, storage mounting not working..
I will soon post a screenshot of my system's info.
I really think there should be a FAQ thread discussing all matters from CDMA-GSM differences, to different fastboots the phones are shipped with and how to get started on software modification on these babies.
Surely that's a noobie question but if the noobs can't have it, then the world can't have it.
Millions are in the forum but few are willing to get further in developing.
Lets help someone (like me) who wants to understand the pyramid of modding and developing on this phone e.g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like it would have made more sense to get answers to those questions prior to your purchase.
Great phone, locked down.
Welcome to the forums!
As i already stated, the droid razr is a great phone but is locked down with motos iron fist.
I purchased at launch in canada and was happy... was happy. Untill i started to see the news of the locked bootloader and other issues. Ive been a fan of moto phones since my first v3x and was pleasntly surprised to see an update to the line.
Like was said earlier, its been 6 months since launch and you probably should have done the research, but not everyone has the insight to do deep research about their next phone beyond the physical specs.
That said, moto has locked this thing down and unless you really need more than root its a whole different horse to ride when compared to others like htc, lg and samsung.
Moto basically marketed this thing as a business phone for the fashion crowd. And it is. A slim and fast, solidly built android powered guchi handbag. Not much more.
This is a disappointment. And one we are going to have to live with or find a device that's more friendly to the feint of heart.
Eun-Hjzjined said:
Welcome to the forums!
As i already stated, the droid razr is a great phone but is locked down with motos iron fist.
I purchased at launch in canada and was happy... was happy. Untill i started to see the news of the locked bootloader and other issues. Ive been a fan of moto phones since my first v3x and was pleasntly surprised to see an update to the line.
Like was said earlier, its been 6 months since launch and you probably should have done the research, but not everyone has the insight to do deep research about their next phone beyond the physical specs.
That said, moto has locked this thing down and unless you really need more than root its a whole different horse to ride when compared to others like htc, lg and samsung.
Moto basically marketed this thing as a business phone for the fashion crowd. And it is. A slim and fast, solidly built android powered guchi handbag. Not much more.
This is a disappointment. And one we are going to have to live with or find a device that's more friendly to the feint of heart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I disagree with. A locked bootloader is undesirable, admittedly, but there's still tons of things you can do with the Razr. Custom ROMs? Check. Custom governor? Check. Custom I/O scheduler? Check. Overclock/underclock/undervolt? Check. I have all the above on my Razr. (Except for the governor, doesn't seem to work on Gummy)
Don't get me wrong. I wish Moto would unlock our bootloaders as well, but ultimately, what we are suffering from is a lack of developers. Kholk, kejar, J.Y.Daddy are doing their best, but how many things can they push out? Especially since the Razr isn't their dedicated phone.
The Razr is a good phone, don't let one single locked bootloader ruin the whole package. Although honestly, given the chance to change phones, I would (who wouldn't want the HTC One X?). But really, there are tons of things you can do with your phone as it is.
Most people here misunderstood me.
Asking nooby questions does not make one a noob.
I've been a computer programmer for years and I would like to contribute in the RAZR development, though I do not know how to start cause I was only mid-to-advanced user of mobile phones.
All I needed is someone to show me the way on this motorola. I'm not trying to make myself tiring to you though most people here should learn to show some respect and not snub people who ask.
As for "Searching" the forums, since the RAZR development is going slow, forum threads are also cruising at a low speed. So do not blame me for asking something that is not very clear to most "common" RAZR users and owners.
Friendly as hell.
Spectral1991 said:
Now that I disagree with. A locked bootloader is undesirable, admittedly, but there's still tons of things you can do with the Razr. Custom ROMs? Check. Custom governor? Check. Custom I/O scheduler? Check. Overclock/underclock/undervolt? Check. I have all the above on my Razr. (Except for the governor, doesn't seem to work on Gummy)
Don't get me wrong. I wish Moto would unlock our bootloaders as well, but ultimately, what we are suffering from is a lack of developers. Kholk, kejar, J.Y.Daddy are doing their best, but how many things can they push out? Especially since the Razr isn't their dedicated phone.
The Razr is a good phone, don't let one single locked bootloader ruin the whole package. Although honestly, given the chance to change phones, I would (who wouldn't want the HTC One X?). But really, there are tons of things you can do with your phone as it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spectral thanks for joining this conversation. I've done a lot of research and already know that custom roms, governors and over/underclocking is possible.
Though it seems that device software differs from one phone to the other and I can't make up the differences. Maybe someone should start a thread regarding different Fastboots and to which devices they are installed to for example.
hi OP,
have u seen the Development forum? not the General forum.
there are tons of info to answer ur questions (sorry im not as capable) there. so u dont even need to search. just see the titles.
good luck.

Native Linux in an Atrix, possible?

My Atrix got it's case cracked and the touch-screen display died, and given I already got a replacement phone I feel a bit adventurous. I wanted to see if I could build my own computer with what remains, so I wanted to run Linux natively (no Android). Given that there's a Linux 4 Tegra from Nvidia:
Is there a chance that I could build my own distro based on that?
Should I use another kernel (like the one currently used in gingerbread or CM7)?
Please note that I'm not trying to do webtop.
I thought of building my own handheld with the Atrix, or what remains of it. So any tips on how to get started would be great.
Cheers!
wrong section
ovitz said:
wrong section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm... what section would you suggest other than Q&A?
It was moved. Sorry 'bout that. I was under the impression that development questions were on the other forum...
"Android development" is in the description. I think they keep that forum just for Android-specific things, even though Android is just a flavor of linux.
tonglebeak said:
"Android development" is in the description. I think they keep that forum just for Android-specific things, even though Android is just a flavor of linux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're being way too literal. It's been used for all sorts of non-Android dev multiple times. Right now, Boot2Gecko is right there. The fact of the matter is that when it pertains to dev questions, this post would most likely be answered there. I'm pretty sure it'll die here on this forum with barely any useful answer, if at all.
The development section is mostly for things that are "in progress", ie. with "something to show". Questions, discussions and ideas go elsewhere.
As for your question, I believe I've seen a thread about this already, and quite recently too.
ravilov said:
The development section is mostly for things that are "in progress", ie. with "something to show". Questions, discussions and ideas go elsewhere.
As for your question, I believe I've seen a thread about this already, and quite recently too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've checked a few that I've found on the forum, but most had no answer and were about other devices. With regards to the Atrix or the Tegra, I've only found threads about webtop.
Not to argue too much about this too much, but I've seen threads that started with nothing in the dev section. Like the Kernel porting project that started as a mere placeholder for the project. Point is, I've done my research and found no pointers to the questions I have. I made it in case another dev had an idea about it. I may have missed something, but that's why I asked in the first place. If I believed I had covered all grounds by myself, I wouldn't have asked in the first place.
Lugaidster said:
I've checked a few that I've found on the forum, but most had no answer and were about other devices. With regards to the Atrix or the Tegra, I've only found threads about webtop.
Not to argue too much about this too much, but I've seen threads that started with nothing in the dev section. Like the Kernel porting project that started as a mere placeholder for the project. Point is, I've done my research and found no pointers to the questions I have. I made it in case another dev had an idea about it. I may have missed something, but that's why I asked in the first place. If I believed I had covered all grounds by myself, I wouldn't have asked in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you're looking to do seems similar to this question: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2110161
The difference between the webtop and a stand alone installation of Linux won't be that different, mainly it would just be where on the device the OS is installed and how video is handled. That said, I'm not sure about the kernel, specifically the video drivers, since they're intended for Android and may not be compatible with X. AFAIK, Wayland is closer to Android than X is, but Wayland isn't quite ready.
Anyway, assuming you did succeed, what you would end up with would be less like a true desktop (as you'd be pretty much locked into a specific kernel, and therefor any packages limited by it, but it doesn't invalidate the effort), and more like a persistent live CD, since the OS would be installed to an area mounted as read-only (to prevent flash wear), with access to an area that has read/write access, like in Android where you store apps and user files. Overall, it could be fun if you enjoy a challenge and aren't intimidated by soldering and using the JTAG connector.
lehjr said:
What you're looking to do seems similar to this question: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2110161
The difference between the webtop and a stand alone installation of Linux won't be that different, mainly it would just be where on the device the OS is installed and how video is handled. That said, I'm not sure about the kernel, specifically the video drivers, since they're intended for Android and may not be compatible with X. AFAIK, Wayland is closer to Android than X is, but Wayland isn't quite ready.
Anyway, assuming you did succeed, what you would end up with would be less like a true desktop (as you'd be pretty much locked into a specific kernel, and therefor any packages limited by it, but it doesn't invalidate the effort), and more like a persistent live CD, since the OS would be installed to an area mounted as read-only (to prevent flash wear), with access to an area that has read/write access, like in Android where you store apps and user files. Overall, it could be fun if you enjoy a challenge and aren't intimidated by soldering and using the JTAG connector.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I might have to do soldering anyway. I'm not really intimidated by it and don't really care all that much for phone functionality and such. I'm not even interested all that much in X as my project is more towards transforming it into a handheld gaming (more like emu) device. I don't mind compiling software specifically for the system. The question is pretty low-level in that regard for me. I want to know if I have to do anything with regards to the kernel since it's specific to Android. Given that most emus I know that would run acceptably in a tegra 2 don't really need the GPU, I don't mind just using framebuffer so HW doesn't really interest me.
Lugaidster said:
Actually, I might have to do soldering anyway. I'm not really intimidated by it and don't really care all that much for phone functionality and such. I'm not even interested all that much in X as my project is more towards transforming it into a handheld gaming (more like emu) device. I don't mind compiling software specifically for the system. The question is pretty low-level in that regard for me. I want to know if I have to do anything with regards to the kernel since it's specific to Android. Given that most emus I know that would run acceptably in a tegra 2 don't really need the GPU, I don't mind just using framebuffer so HW doesn't really interest me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, it's going to be one of those areas where you'll have to make an educated guess, since as far as we know, no one has successfully pulled off a straight Linux implementation on the device.
That said, nVidia does have both Android and Linux images for the Ventana dev kit, so it should be possible. In my case, I would compare the source code for their Linux kernel vs the stock Linux kernel vs their closest Android kernel vs the stock Android kernel. The biggest thing is how the the device specific files translate from one kernel to another, because you'll likely need to translate the device specific files for the Atrix in the same manner. The changes may be subtle or they may be drastic. The main thing is to just be able to set the pins properly so you don't release any "magic smoke". Unfortunately, I see no source code for any of nVidia's kernels.
Anyway, that's how I would do it, but I do suspect that someone with more knowledge could find a much simpler approach and hopefully they'll chime in, but this part of the forums isn't the thriving hub of activity it used to be, so I don't know if that will happen any time soon or at all.
lehjr said:
nVidia does have both Android and Linux images for the Ventana dev kit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atrix is a Whistler, not a Ventana.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33289027#post33289027
ravilov said:
Atrix is a Whistler, not a Ventana.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33289027#post33289027
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up and the link! :highfive:

[Q] Designing a Custom Android Device

I'm looking into building a custom android device to be embedded in a project I'm working on. I won't need GSM/cell service, so this would be more of a 'tablet' with wifi that's the size of a phone. The first version of this project used some lower level embedded controllers, but for a better user experience (capacitive touch screen, full featured app, etc), I'm looking into using an embedded android device and having a friend (who told me to post here about this) write an app to run on it for me. This project is starting to scale, so buying a cheap tablet and tearing it apart isn't really a good option; I'll need to build something from the ground up. My problem is that I'm more of a microprocessors guy, so I don't really know where to start with this kind of hardware.
I found this thread which was a good start, but the info is like 3 years old now.
Has anyone tried to do something like this? Should I be trying to find a manufacturer who already does this type of thing to work with? If so, how do I find someone like that? If I am going to do the design myself, what kind of processors can run an Android OS? Where's a good place for learning that type of info? Are there any reference designs out there I can use to get started? Is running Android on RaspberryPi a good starting spot, or is that simply not scalable?
Thanks for the help, I hope I'm in the right spot. Apologies if not!

RK3066 Lollipop 5.1.1 possibility ?

Is there any chance that a Lollipop 5.1.1 rom will be developed for the RK3066? Will it even run on the older HUs?
TIA
ffwd4490 said:
Is there any chance that a Lollipop 5.1.1 rom will be developed for the RK3066? Will it even run on the older HUs?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After finding in other thread that LP for 3188 is in fact 'Frankenstein' 4.4 with LP API level 20 (something used for Android Ware) I guess that there may be possibility to use existing 4.4 kernel of 3066 and just add same API classes.
no..
mtcB will not get real lollipop
RK3066 will not get even the fake lollipop
you need to upgrade to RK3188
doctorman said:
no..
mtcB will not get real lollipop
RK3066 will not get even the fake lollipop
you need to upgrade to RK3188
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you know?
He asked 'is there a possibility'. Yes there is a possibility someon who is true developer to build it. The same way Chinese's did it for rk3188 - using old kernel and adding new API and apps. Only real difference is on kernel level as it is only thing tied to HW (CPU). And as LP is supposedly 'lightier' than KK, even 2 core rk3066 would be good enough and even work better. So technically there is no limits.
So, as I said, there is possibility. If there is true devs to step in instead of these who are just patching and repainting over Chinese's ROMs.
Here on XDA you may find lot of true custom ROMs which are true original development from the scratch instead just cosmetics over stock ROMs.
But I truly doubt that will happen. Here we have no true original ROM development. And thus I may agree with you that rk3066 LP is not possible. Even it technically is.
pa.ko said:
How do you know?
He asked 'is there a possibility'. Yes there is a possibility someon who is true developer to build it. The same way Chinese's did it for rk3188 - using old kernel and adding new API and apps. Only real difference is on kernel level as it is only thing tied to HW (CPU). And as LP is supposedly 'lightier' than KK, even 2 core rk3066 would be good enough and even work better. So technically there is no limits.
So, as I said, there is possibility. If there is true devs to step in instead of these who are just patching and repainting over Chinese's ROMs.
Here on XDA you may find lot of true custom ROMs which are true original development from the scratch instead just cosmetics over stock ROMs.
But I truly doubt that will happen. Here we have no true original ROM development. And thus I may agree with you that rk3066 LP is not possible. Even it technically is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said it before and I was almost proven wrong by the fake lollipop mtcB ROM but it came out that I was fake.
I worked closely with Joying on this.. they tried and no matter what they did they could not get lollipop loaded on RK3188 mtcB.
considering there is no source code for these around I doubt anyone else spends time on this specially on Rk3066
doctorman said:
I said it before and I was almost proven wrong by the fake lollipop mtcB ROM but it came out that I was fake.
I worked closely with Joying on this.. they tried and no matter what they did they could not get lollipop loaded on RK3188 mtcB.
considering there is no source code for these around I doubt anyone else spends time on this specially on Rk3066
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that is where the PK is wrong..
He keeps harping on about fake developers and no one has the skills..
Yet he himself is not a developer.. and is not taking into account that the source code is not released for either the MCU or the layer of Android being used..
It's fine to harp on that there are real developers on XDA ( which as we have not seen any of your work you are not one and there have no credit or the right to bag anyone pulling apart ****ty code)..
So until there is transparency from bottom up by the developers of these machine, then those that are doing their best to at least improve it should be given some credit..
There are numerous examples of **** box's released that have never had code released, as an example the atv1200 .. no kernel codes, and very limited Android core codes released.. thus development was never going to take off and they died a natural death as you can only do so much..
You only have to look over to the tf700 thread and see what Tim has achieved by having SOURCE CODE/DRIVERS..
Actually, comes to mind.. didn't we have a guy doing a crowd funding for some units he was going to make.. how that go?
Anyway PK..you keep banging away on your drum and there are plenty here waiting for you to step up to the plate and provide a true working Fresh ROM for peer review.. or are you just a lurker that had no real skills apart from dropping snide remarks around the threads?
Yes Im developer but not amateur and thus not doing anything here on XDA. Here I just like around and look how some areas are going, looking for new ideas and technical hints. So I don't bite your provocation to provide you something good for free.
From the beginning this all thing was managed wrong. Starting from Chinese crappy product and with that young and inexperienced guy Malaysk who did it all wrong. And you and few others like you helped him to waste time and get to this dead end.
Instead pushing him to learn true Android skills, to learn reverse engineering and spend year or so in truly mastering this units, you applauded him and encouraged him in cosmetics in wasting time on visual appearance and other wasteful and functionaly irrelevant things. And he wasted too much time to face with inevitable: there always will be someone whose taste is different. And we know how emotional he is about his totally amateurish boot logo...
So you helped him to fail. And now you are angry as we all see this is dead end. Yes, LP is Frankenstein full of bugs and empty of functionalities. And he is incapable solving that. As you wasted his enthusiasm on crap.
I tried to help him understand what he should do and what way to go. But he had no capacity to understand and few of you helped him to go wrong way by small donations and loud applauding.
I wonder if you are short-sighted or just like someone else here is working for Chinese's?
Only they have interest noone reverse engineer these units and allow people with existing HW get good new ROM! Which is technically possible. And yes I know that as I'm very profound in such things.
Great...
If you have ever run a team of coders then you know the time and effort it takes..
And yes, we are in agreement on that the 'Original' base is full of bugs..
So leave it alone and move on as until you put forward your own fix's then carry no cred but come off of just another keyboard warrior..
And yes, I have worked in Silicon valley and China with coders so I am comfortable calling you out on your attitude in these forums.. as you are carrying on with personal attacks on the only developer that has put forward any work on these forums in English and dared to open himself to guys like yourself.
Fine you have posted other Russians work and thats all good too..
Fundamental rule ... learn by mistakes .. and keep on learning..thus this is what these pieces of equipment are..
As stated in other threads.. good things are happening in this area so a few years from now your ranting is mote..

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