N00B question! - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Morning all,
I'm a bit of a hussy - I'm in bed with both Android (Nexus 6p) and Apple (iPad 3). I'd like to move over to an Android tablet I can play around with, learn about ROM's and potentially (hopefully!) even get into the hacking space myself...
So my N00b question is this; what is the best, cheapish, Android tablet that has decent community support and a good amount of tutorials, tips etc that I can really play around and learn on?
Thanks

Related

Android Development Book Recommendations.

Hi guys.
I have been programming for iOS for a while now and I want to learn Android development.
Now I have seen many threads that ask for books recommendations, but I have checked a few of them and none of them suit my needs.
I am in no way a beginner. I have been programming for 5 years, 1 year dedicated to iPhone development. So I'm not looking for "For Dummies" books.
Ideally, I want the most complete Android development book. Or a progression of books (you can avoid Java books altogether, I would prefer if you focused in Android Development books).
Thanks for any help!

[Q] Uses For Under Powered Tablets Like My Cruz t301

I, like many other suckers, fell for the Velocity Cruz T301 Woot offer a month or two ago... shamefully, I bought 2 of them.
Since I have had the tablets, I have rooted them, put 2.2 on them, installed market, and a few other things that were mentioned in a few threads here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1151050).
What I'm finding, however, is that this tablet is just too grossly underpowered to be USEABLE (much less, useful) even for basic web browsing… and I can’t even get it to play movies (Rock Player is not compatible).
So… what other uses are there for underpowered tablets (besides teaching the virtue of patience)? Could I turn it into a touchscreen monitor for a laptop via USB (would be great for controlling media player at work)?
OR, am I just out my $79.99 per unit and I should just donate the rotten things to [insert suggestion here, but don’t say “school” because they all seem to have iPads]?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
I suppose the lack of reply suggests that this is now an $80 paperweight. Live & learn!

[Q] Bought the Samsung GTab 10.1 today, have a few questions about it?

Hey guys!
I just ordered the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (P5100) 10.1" today via Flipkart (Indian Online Mega-Store) and it is expected to arrive in a few days. I'm really excited that it's going to be my first tablet, but mostly because it'll be the first Android device I own. I've been living with my Nokia N8-00 (Symbian Belle) for about 2 years now and I finally have a replacement.
Along with the excitement, I had a lot of questions about the device. I'll just list them below, so it'll be easier for you guys to answer them
1. Have I made the right choice?
The first thing I thought to myself after I pressed the 'Buy Now' button. I bought it mostly for watching movies and the TV shows that I regularly download from the internet. Some rigorous browsing, downloading of music, and mostly showing off my photos to other people (I'm a photographer and having a portfolio on-hand is a good idea). I haven't demoed the device before, but my friends have all said theirs works wonderfully (granted, they own the 7" version).​
2. What is rooting? Do I need to root my device?
My friends keep talking about this rooting thing. I'm a new android user, so I lack the basic knowledge of these terminologies. Will I need to root my tablet? Is it safe to do so? What will I benefit from this procedure?​
3. What are the best apps I can download?
I want to know what are the best apps I can install on my device for my particular needs (mentioned above). I also wanted to know how I can customize my device to the fullest extent. When I had an iPod Touch, I jailbroke it and installed WinterBoard to use custom themes and icons of my own choice. What is the procedure to replicate the same on an Android device?​
4. Is Android App Development easy?
What language is it generally coded in? I have a basic understanding of HTML/CSS & PHP, a firm grasp on C# and .NET (from Windows 8 Development). I'd like to try my luck in the Android App genre, how many have tried the same and do you feel it is easy for a beginner/intermediate?​
I'd really love it if you guys could help me out starting with this new journey of Android! Thank you all!
Amruth Pillai said:
Hey guys!
I just ordered the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (P5100) 10.1" today via Flipkart (Indian Online Mega-Store) and it is expected to arrive in a few days. I'm really excited that it's going to be my first tablet, but mostly because it'll be the first Android device I own. I've been living with my Nokia N8-00 (Symbian Belle) for about 2 years now and I finally have a replacement.
Along with the excitement, I had a lot of questions about the device. I'll just list them below, so it'll be easier for you guys to answer them
1. Have I made the right choice?
The first thing I thought to myself after I pressed the 'Buy Now' button. I bought it mostly for watching movies and the TV shows that I regularly download from the internet. Some rigorous browsing, downloading of music, and mostly showing off my photos to other people (I'm a photographer and having a portfolio on-hand is a good idea). I haven't demoed the device before, but my friends have all said theirs works wonderfully (granted, they own the 7" version).​
2. What is rooting? Do I need to root my device?
My friends keep talking about this rooting thing. I'm a new android user, so I lack the basic knowledge of these terminologies. Will I need to root my tablet? Is it safe to do so? What will I benefit from this procedure?​
3. What are the best apps I can download?
I want to know what are the best apps I can install on my device for my particular needs (mentioned above). I also wanted to know how I can customize my device to the fullest extent. When I had an iPod Touch, I jailbroke it and installed WinterBoard to use custom themes and icons of my own choice. What is the procedure to replicate the same on an Android device?​
4. Is Android App Development easy?
What language is it generally coded in? I have a basic understanding of HTML/CSS & PHP, a firm grasp on C# and .NET (from Windows 8 Development). I'd like to try my luck in the Android App genre, how many have tried the same and do you feel it is easy for a beginner/intermediate?​
I'd really love it if you guys could help me out starting with this new journey of Android! Thank you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you're in the wrong forum. This is the original galaxy tab forum. Might want to post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1596
Our tablet here is laggy and slow, so you're not going to get proper opinions
1. It really depends on if you have a desktop computer or a laptop as well. If you don't? Sure, it's good for browsing and some other things. But I find watching video on it to be awful, the screen is just too tiny in comparison to an actual monitor, nevermind a TV screen.
2. Rooting allows you to access commands and run apps that you normally wouldn't be able to do. Most of the time, on this forum anyway, it also involves flashing another rom like Cyanogenmod to get even more functionality and remove some of the bloat and crapware that comes with the tablet (like touchwiz).
3. I use Firefox, Apollo and Android's built in gallery. The Android Market also has top paid and free app listings
4. Apps are written in Java and aren't too complicated if you have knowledge of the language and device.

Teclast m89 and other devices (I'm here to start studying I don't know from where)

Hi all, I'm Rafael and I'm a noob.
Some weeks ago I've started to look at devices in a different way, and discovered a big world inside it; I've seen a lot of useful things that you can learn and do with an old device or with the device that unfortunately I bought:
a teclast m89.
This last is the reason because I want to study and learn what can I do with a device sold and reviewed like the best of the best and after a month of conscious use I've discovered that i want to destroy it.
Why?
Minimum brightness of the screen is the maximum brightness of a standard device;
80% of the ? drain go to the screen;
Battery autonomy, 3/4 videos on Amazon video, little web surfing and that's all. connect the cable.
Amazon video? you have a 2k display but you can't see a video in HD.
You want to read a book? don't worry you can't relax in your bedroom with the lights off because the screen is a navy seal torch!
You want security patches? Don't worry we sell you a new tablet instead! (Who cares about customers and pollution).
You want gestures? Android 7 and no mayor updates it's enought for the price you paid!
Native Dark mode?
Random shutdown? Yes we offer it, specially if you're working on something of unsaved and important from several hours.
What teclast m89 is good for? Anything outside of the box except using like a cutting board.
But looking on custom ROMs, modding, and a lot of things I thought that this device have a potential. Yes, I think that is not possible to solve all the problems I mentioned above but I hope for the best possible result.
So I've looked tons of videos and red a lot of webpages but I'm continuing to feel ignorant and unsure about Android things, I saw a lot of videos where people saying how fantastic the root is but at the end of the video I don't understood what a root is (maybe is my fault).
Something about me:
I have a Windows background, ms-dos and commodore 64 (experience at 4 years old), I'm able to Use a Bios and change settings without do a disaster or install Ubuntu without destroy the PC, able to fix a broken display in simple devices, upgrade a laptop or build a rig...but I'm a completely noob
So the question to the community is this:
How can improve my knowledge regarding android and move the first steps into install custom ROMs? how can i become aN aware user? From where you start?
Thank you very much
Cheers
Rafael
Other devices LG G3, Samsung S3, Honor 9 lite.
P.S. I hope it's all right with rules and section, sorry in advance.

Are there any recent budget or midrange tablets you can install a (near) stock ROM on?

I've got an old Nvidia Shield tablet running LineageOS, but the thing is over 7 years old, it's just about completely dead; even keeping it plugged in, the battery drains. Replacing the battery would require soldering skills and tools (I don't have either), or paying several hundred dollars (which doesn't make sense for a tablet this old).
I want a budget or midrange tablet released in the last year or so that I can put a stock or near stock ROM on. I'm not looking for much, just a microsd card slot and USB C. All I wanna do is streaming, reading books, basic web browsing, watching videos, and reading comics on it. No games. LineageOS's latest supported tablet is 3 years old, and can't be found for cheaper than $300 used, which is pretty ridiculous for such an old tablet that was midrange 3 years ago. I was considering one of the Fire tablets, but since OTA updates can't be blocked anymore, there's no guarantee of even being able to put Google Play Services and the Google Play store with the Fire Toolbox in the future.
Does anything like this exist? I know the Android tablet market is pretty bare in general, but I'm hoping there's something I missed.
MultiKoopa said:
I've got an old Nvidia Shield tablet running LineageOS, but the thing is over 7 years old, it's just about completely dead; even keeping it plugged in, the battery drains. Replacing the battery would require soldering skills and tools (I don't have either), or paying several hundred dollars (which doesn't make sense for a tablet this old).
I want a budget or midrange tablet released in the last year or so that I can put a stock or near stock ROM on. I'm not looking for much, just a microsd card slot and USB C. All I wanna do is streaming, reading books, basic web browsing, watching videos, and reading comics on it. No games. LineageOS's latest supported tablet is 3 years old, and can't be found for cheaper than $300 used, which is pretty ridiculous for such an old tablet that was midrange 3 years ago. I was considering one of the Fire tablets, but since OTA updates can't be blocked anymore, there's no guarantee of even being able to put Google Play Services and the Google Play store with the Fire Toolbox in the future.
Does anything like this exist? I know the Android tablet market is pretty bare in general, but I'm hoping there's something I missed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello and good afternoon, @MultiKoopa
Prior to your next posting please read the guidances that are stuck on top of every forum like
[Read Before Posting]QUESTIONS DO NOT BELONG IN GENERAL
Hello Everybody, In order to attempt to keep this forum neat and tidy the moderation team is asking you to post your questions into the Questions and Answers (Q&A) forum and not into the General section. You can find the Q&A forum by clicking...
forum.xda-developers.com
and the others. I've moved the thread to Android Q&A.
Thanks for your cooperation!
Regards
Oswald Boelcke
Senior Moderator

Categories

Resources