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I recently purchased a Nordic Track 9500 Elite Pro. This bad boy has a 10" android tablet built in. They really don't want you messing with the android part much, but I am sure there are plenty of other users out there like me that want to do more!
This is my first post so I am unable to show the pictures via the link. Hopefully you can copy and past the text to view the images. I will try to repost on my website so it all flows.
I don't see where a post like this would go, I am not sure if at some point it would gain it's own device forum... That would be exciting. So for now I will post here. I will also post my initial findings for others in the community that may want to purchase this treadmill and can't find any information regarding the built in Android Tablet with WiFi.
This image shows the version information. From what I can tell it looks like they purchase an APAD from someone and then stick it inside of their device. They also must have wrote some special drivers and software to interface with the equipment and hardware. I was very happy to see a mainstream current android OS.
Android OS 2.2
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0027.jpg
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Here are the pre-installed apps. Pretty basic. (note: I was able to find an APK and install Last.FM that wasn't included) Also a major bummer to see was that there wasn't a market application.
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0026.jpg
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This is the typical workout screen you see.
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0024.jpg
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I also noticed that the device doesn't have very much memory. This could be due to the built in applications taking up so much space. It only had about 57MB of internal memory free, but it had a built in 2GB SD Card. I have not gotten to the point where I have needed to take it apart yet to see if there is a replaceable SD card. I may wait another 5 years for my warranty to end to do that.
I have tried to install some apps but have not had very much luck. The only app that was I was able to install was the Last.FM.
I tried the follow apps, and they didn't install:
1. Market
2. Angry Birds
3. Pandora
Other disappointments:
1. Designed to not be in the Android Interface. They have an application that runs, and makes it tricky to get to the android desktop. It takes about 3 clicks to get from the main workout screen back to the Android Desktop.
2. The screen is not capacitive, it is resistive. I don't know how much more I need to say about that.
3. Only 3 buttons. Back, Menu, Home. Home takes you to their software not the android home screen. Long press on home does nothing.
4. When i go to the desktop the Time is all over the place. I have tried changing settings in every spot possible but something is telling it what time to think it is, occasionally it is correct... Just don't get it.
Even with the disappointments this thing is sweet. I wish i could install more apps, stream videos from a PC over the WiFi connection and stream music from a PC over the WiFi connection. Maybe with the help of the community we will figure some of these items out... Or I will be the only one who has this that knows about this website!
ntsteele,
How is your experience up to now with your 9500? I am looking at getting the c1250, which is the same as the 9500, but with a smaller motor and no decilne. Is the 10" screen worth it? The rep at Nordictrack told me the only differcence between the 7" screen is the web browser, the google maps display, and some basic apps. But overall the workout system is the same as the 7' display of the 1750 commercial and that you can view the google maps by logging in on ifit.com. Thanks for the info and screen shots.
iFit Android App
Have you or has anyone else been able to pull the apk files off of the NordicTrack Elite 9500 Treadmill. I would be interested to see if it works on any adroid phone to view the menu system.
I played with this today at Google IO. The rep said that the integrated tablet was rev 1 and that they wanted to eventually let users connect their own devices.
what do you need to press to get to the android home screen?
Where I work at there is a Proform Trailrunner 4.0 treadmill that has 10" Android tablet screen. From what I have been told nordic track and proform are made by the same manufacture or something. It was returned because of a broken display unit. Of course I wasn't going to let them throw the old one away so they let me keep it. I trashed the main display and now I have the 10" tablet but cannot power it because the treadmill doesn't operate without a magnetic key. How could I power this thing and see if it works?
I got the new incline trainer x9i which has the 10 inch android interface. I am interested to get in and try installing apps as you have but I am unable to even get to the android home screen. The only time I see it is when I turn the machine on and it is booting up, the screen comes up for a few seconds to where I can hit on the applications button and see what is on it. But within a second after I see the apps it automatically gets routed into the machine exercise interface and I have not figured how to get back to the android home screen from there. How did you do it? It would sure be nice to install a different browser. I hate the fact that I cannot create my own shortcuts. Anyway, love the machine.
How to get to the Android Home Screen
Any luck finding out how to get to the Android Home Screen? I am wanting to do that also. I was able to get to it one time accidentally, but haven't figure out how to stop the machine interface from loading since.
Home Screen
Ok, same question. I just got a C2150 which is a similar model to the 9500. Slightly smaller motor and belt, but same basic thing with the 10" tablet. I believe it's capacitive now, but still not great as far as that goes.
I too have hit the setup icon when it's booting and it goes to the Android setup screen for a second and then continues to boot into the Nordictrack IFit proprietary stuff.
So I can't believe the posts with the images and no explanation of how you got there? Please share with the rest of us.
Also, my console has a USB connector at the top of the thing. Any idea what if anything that'll let me do?
Thanks!
Anyone figure this out? Seems a shame to have a 10' screen and not be able to install apps on it. There must be some button combination that the Icon service team would use to stop the auto load of the iFit interface.
Internal Pictures
I took the tablet apart to see what information can be gathered. Apparently, HANNSTAR (TAIWAN) manufactures the board (HANNSTAR J MV-7); which uses a Samsung ARM8 CPU(5PV210AH-A0 1044); has 512MB; and a 4GB SANDISK FLASH (SDIN2C2-4G).
I haven't been able to find sufficient info to track a compatible ROM, yet I can't imagine for the life of me that HANNSTAR would design this just for Nordic. I am posting some pics hoping that someone might be able to id the hardware, which in turn might help point to a more fruitful search for a workable ROM.
Try to upload pics but not sure if it worked. It's late, and I can't figure out how to do it smoothly yet.
I'm gonna do another bump. I have a similar treadmill (or maybe the exact same one, I lost the the manual with product name). It is of the X9i series and when I saw it in the store, I had to go for it. I was a bit irritated to see that you are locked to the iFit application and you cannot return to the launcher. I need a male to male USB cable to see if I can get a bit of ADB on it.
From the (crappy) performance of it, I can tell it has about 512 MB RAM, a dated CPU clocked at around 600-800MHz, the screen looks like a crappy TFT display at 1280x700. Lastly, this thing runs Froyo. Mine features a full USB port and an Audio in port. Not much to screw around with. Downloads are disabled in the browser, and the Menu key does nothing.
I think something can be done though. The application that controls the treadmill can't crash as it is, and if it ever does FC, the motor shouldn't stop. NordicTrack doesn't have a recovery image up for some reason (thanks, NordicTrack -_-) so that's even less to work with.
Nevertheless, something can be done. It's not really a fun thing for an Android enthusiast to pick up an Android device with such dated hardware (the tredmill itself, as just tredmill is amazing).. Plus, it was $2,100 at Sears.
---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------
here is a video of the Treadmill and the board;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyf6MHIefk
USB and Audio in is on the right side of the console.
I've had my Nordictrack 9500 Pro for about a year now. Still working well for the most part (I do have messed up deck tension adjuster that I need to call support about).
Would love to be able to unlock the Android device to at least install Netflix, Pandora, etc.
I have had one over the air firmware upgrade that went pretty smoothly. Was hoping more updates would come from Nordictrack, but it has been a long time since that one.
Has anyone else noticed that the Speed Calibration utility under the iFit controls says that it isn't enabled yet? Maybe there's hope for future updates.
fanVrARCHITECT
Greetings,
I have been following this thread as a 9500 owner as well, and looking at what has been posted and see if there is any follow up.
1.) like everyone else what startup combinations may have disabled Nordic Tracks proprietary software.
2.) the usb socket on the top of the console, has anyone had anyluck attempting a usb male to male connection on a laptop? If so what has been tried?
3.) any idea of maybe porting something over via the Ifit updates or account? I noticed the HDvideo inside of the program is pretty descent from what I've seen, and looks like the video plays in the center of main app..just a thought.
I'm looking at getting the male to male usb cable and trying to interface it with the below. .. at least curious if the cable will talk, and most likely this unit is not root so view only but maybe a start if it works.
//www*howtogeek*com/howto/42491/how-to-remote-view-and-control-your-android-phone/
Cheers,
devmo
Did anyone figure out how to get android home screen????
I read somebody was able to email themselves an apk and install it? The tablet enables sideloading? Ding ding ding! I'm going to try sideloading launcherpro or any other replacement launcher to attempt to hijack the home screen
Update: Didn't work on my c2150's tablet. Bastards.... I did however get my c2150's to boot into "safe mode" which I have no idea what that entails. While it was powering on, I held down home and back I believe was the combo.
Update: SUCESS!!! So by booting into "safe" mode, you can hit the preferences launcher while the device is booting to interrupt the ifit loading. From there, go enable unknown sources. Then launch the browser and google "z4 apk" and download it and run it. Did permanent root on mine and it worked.
ENJOY
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
jsteelm said:
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
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Sorry - can you tell me the exact steps involved here. How do I get to safe mode and then what? I tried Home Back while powering on and it still goes to the ifit screen
You know I'm really not sure what trick it is to make it stay. I had good luck getting it to stay in android rubbing home/back/menu while it booted and as soon as I saw the android home screen, hit the preferences launcher and then grabbed the top menubar and half pulled it down. All I know is that when you get it to stick in android, its always in safe mode which is triggered by some combination of those buttons on boot. Even then it will boot into iFit, but if you go to the settings first, in safe mode, it wont exit that screen.
Nordictrack commercial 2150 Android Safemode
Very simple folks. Turn treadmill on and once you see ANDROID appear in the center of the screen, begin pressing the dashes button that is between the home and back buttons on the console. Not sure if holding down works any better. An "unable to load widget" will be seen in middle of screen once the I-FIT software has stopped and safe mode will appear at the lower left hand corner. You'll then be able to check out the various Android options etc for your tablet. Be careful in editing anything unless you know what you are doing! Wouldn't want to brick your treadmill unnecessarily. It took awhile to find the key to safe mode access, due to limited info out there, but I hope users will continue to make some progress on exploiting this device and maybe we'll be able to use it to our liking. I would like to stream my dish television to the tablet like I do on my i phone or i pad. Being able to install the dish app via google app store is what I'm looking forward to. I want to be able to watch tv on my treadmill while exercising. Please keep this thread going! I'm sure that future software updates may allow for a better user interface. The challenge is certainly in the storage capabilities in the tablet itself and the sd card inside.
I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
Sent from my Sapphire/dream using XDA App
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
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So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
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have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
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I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
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Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.
Ok so. I've been really wanting so much to like this new Nokia Lumia 920. I've had been waiting to get rid of this IPhone 4 because I remember the days of my brick HTC Tilt and how customizable Windows 6 phones were. So far, I'm am disappointed. It isn't that I hate the phone. It is just that I expected more. I was expecting a lot out of this phone and it has not met the high standard that I (they) set for it.
The first major complaint is the camera. Are we being fooled into thinking it is that much better in low light. Yes, from what I've seen in reviews, it is better, but in my own experience, it isn't that much greater (I have tried auto and night mode). Am I too used to SLR pictures? The camera was supposed to be a big selling point! We have already been fooled once by Nokia about their "Pure View." (http: // articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/06/business/la-fi-tn-nokia-fake-ad-20120906) I wonder if all of this is just a scam. Now it seems that Nokia is owning up to more camera flaws (http: // pocketnow.com/2012/11/05/nokia-lumia-920-camera-fix). I really hope that this isn't a hardware issue and that they fix it right and not try any tricks. It isn't that the pictures/videos I take are bad, but they aren't that much greater(if they are greater) than the competition. Duped?
Battery life: I just switched from an IPhone 4 with no 4G LTE so i'm unaware of the battery consumption of 4G LTE but I have noticed that the battery sure does drain a lot quicker. I'm used to being able to go a couple of days without having to charge. I have noticed ways of getting the phone to last longer. Ff you run Nokia Drive beta, the GPS stays on in the background even when it is closed (you will notice a target at the top status bar remains on). You can turn the background option off, or you have to restart your phone to turn off the GPS and it can consume your battery. Yes, this should be an easy fix, but think about all the people that have to deal with this. Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
Here are some other small complaints (Maybe some XDA developers could help cook up some changes.... I have paypal ).
No separate volume for ringer and music.
Internet explorer is limited when you search through Google
It is easy to accidentally press the back or the search when using the phone with one hand and reaching across the screen.
No apparent way that I have found to get the Nokia Drive Beta to repeat the last spoken direction.
No seeking option in visual voice mail. You have to listen to the whole thing all over again to get to one point in the voicemail.
Bottom line. This phone seems rushed and unpolished. I got it that some of these issues are OS issues, but come on! Am I expecting too much or isn't this the phone that Nokia was making such a large deal about? 10 more days to give this a try before my return policy expires. Come on Nokia and Microsoft. Change my mind!
Camera taking blurry pictures is a SW issue, as you probably know from having read about it, which hopefully theyll have sorted out fast in an SW update. The nighttime pictures Ive taken are very nice, though, so I dont know whats going on there.
Battery for me is fine, Ive only had my phone for a day, so I cant really say much, but the way its worked so far it seems about the same as my SGS3 in that department. Which is quite good. But of course, I need more time for that.
Voice commands I never was a big user of, since I feel like a moron walking around yelling commands in english (especially when Im in a non-english speaking country). But Im sure its annoying.
Volume thing I agree on, that should be an easy fix for MS to make, really.
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
The accidental pressing is much like on the SGS3, really. Just a habitual thing, youll get used to handling the phone so you eventually dont mispress.
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
i'm not sure what you were expecting from the camera, but the low light shots are some of the best i've ever taken with a smartphone. and i've had my share of smartphones (this year i've probably had between 8-10 different handsets from various oem's) the daytime shots are a little bit soft, but on par with some of the better smarphone camera's i've used, and it's something that is completely possible to fix via firmware updates (as in, it's not a hardware flaw, but rather a software one)
battery is pretty good for me, on par with my SGS3, it's so much better than my 4s on iOS6 though. there are a couple quirks that are causing the battery to drain rapidly, but people haven't been able to point the blame completely yet. some people have had google accounts getting stuck on syncing constantly and that is killing the battery and the only solution for now is a hard reset. it's an odd issue since it wasn't present in wp7.x and afaik the method wp8 uses to sync is the same as before. it's something that will most likely be fixed via software updates as well
limited voice commands are something that wp8 has the ability to deal with but i'm also bummed they didn't add more voice controls to the built in apps. music in general seems like a really rushed revamp in wp8 which is surprising since the zune software was quite well done in 7.x and was also a major feature which i liked a lot about windows phone. they're changing a bunch of stuff though so it's something that will probably be updated over time. personally i don't like voice commands outside of when i'm driving because i feel like it's faster to just use my fingers, but i understand your disappointment.
volume is something i agree on as well, why microsoft hasn't figured out this is something people have been wanting since 7.0 is beyond me, it really seems like a pretty simple change to make, especially when one is rewriting the entire OS.
accidental pressing is something that will lessen with muscle memory, i always have a lot of issues with button presses and a lot of typos when switching phones, but after a couple weeks you learn to do it a lot less.
i remember getting drive to repeat the last direction, but for the life of me right now i can't figure out what i did. if i figure it out, i'll post it.
the OS isn't for everyone, but for people who like the curated user experience a semi-closed system provides, but don't like apple's 1 handset philosophy it's a good platform.
i admit, i get bored sometimes and end up going to android, but almost always, after about a month of whatever the latest and greatest android handset, i always come back to windows phone. once you figure out your workflow on it, it's really the most efficient and fluid mobile OS out there.
Slai said:
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
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Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
vangj said:
Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
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Click to collapse
This will happen if you have the 'defaul view' as desktop, if you select 'mobile' they will display fine, it is annoying, what I did was install the Google app and I just use that for my search and browsing.
Slai said:
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
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Click to collapse
Ok so it does text wrap well if you choose the mobile option for internet explore. I for one do not like the mobile version and chose to set my settings to desktop (sorry still a newbie so i can't post links)
ht tp://postimage.org/image/w6w5t09ml/
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option. If you search with Google in Desktop mode, you can scroll to the bottom to get to the desktop site but it can be a hassle.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/5zuyx1rct/
Like I said, I like the desktop mode because I can zoom in and out and make great use of this huge screen.
Hoping google releases Chrome.
Yeah normally I like using desktop mode myself, but my most visited website works really well in its mobile form, so I figured "what the hell".
Would be interesting to see Chrome for WP8. I dont see why not, it is available for W8.
vangj said:
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
http://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option.
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Click to collapse
If you look at the URL of the page in your sample image, the URL is one on Google.com. It seems that Google recognized that you're on a phone and gave you a search results page that contains modified URLs that point back to Google itself (not to xda-developers.com) and that Google then proxied it for you, reformatting things to fit your phone.
Your complaint seems to be with Google for forcing you in to a "mobilized" view. Unless Google can't tell which "website preference" you're set to (mobile or desktop). I don't know how that preference gets conveyed in HTTP requests. Sorry.
vangj said:
Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
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My Rogers variant has the "max speed" option to shut off LTE. The AT&T one doesn't seem to have that... so this is an AT&T issue, not a Nokia one. And if AT&T is doing this on Windows Phone, I'd assume they are customizing their Android phones similarly, no? (I have no experience with Android.)
vangj said:
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
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This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
EShy said:
This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
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Click to collapse
Uhm, you could always launch ANY app with your voice, even on WP7.
Those new apps support voice commands for other things. For example, from your start screen you might be able to say, "Urbanspoon, find nearby burgers" and it'll launch and go straight to finding burger restaurants around you. I have no clue what their apps actually support, but I know that it's possible to make an app that does that!
Obviously im excited for Android N. I havent tried any of the preview versions. But I am pretty excited for the new notification system and the split screen and picture in picture.
Im pretty excited for the 2 new messing apps. Allo and Duo. I REALLY REALLY hope "Allo" is Googles answer to iMessage in that i can send files (of any kind), high res photos, GIFs, typing notifications, and read conformations. I thought Hangouts was gonna be Googles answer to iMessage but its a sad mess. From the demo though im not very optimistic. And the new features like drawing on your photos and the whisper shout seems pretty dumb. This will make Googles 4th messaging app (all of which are still current) Im not sure why Google just cant make ONE awesome messaging app. Its almost like they have 4 different messaging teams working at google making 4 different products instead of one team
Duo also looks pretty cool and will allow me to uninstall Hangouts as video calls were the only reason i still left it on my phone.
Android Auto on any android device. This is really cool to me since I took my car stereo out and and mounted a Nexus 7 2013 LTE in its place. Currently i have a mix of apps like Tasker to take care of all the "car stuff" but if i can run the entire Android Auto interface that would be awesome.
Android Wear 2.0 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me run Spotify with out my phone having my watch connected to WiFi. And i hope the first gen watches like my Moto 360 1st gen dont get left behind with this update.
Google Home Hub (i think is what its called) Basically the Amazon Echo competition thing. This seems cool I dont know if ill get one. It depends on the price. If i can have it connect to my Belkin WeMo devices and if it has support to connect to the Logitech Harmony Hub theni might get one.
I dont really care about VR at this time and dont really see it going "mainstream" at this point.
Insta Apps seems cool but i dont really see installing an app to be a burden. This feature would be cooler on Chrome OS i think.
What are you guys most excited for and why?
Hi all,
Hope I'm posting this in the right place. If not, please move.
I have Remix_OS_for_PC_Android_M_64bit_B2016072603 installed as a virtual guest in Virtualbox 5.0.24_Ubuntu r1083 with Xubuntu-core 16.04 as the host machine. Using a Toshiba Satellite Pro L510. Took me four days to nut out how to get to this point, but installed and booting and stable now.
My issues:
1/ Location: When I try to run an app from Play Store it thinks I'm outside of Australia/New Zealand (the app I'm trying to run is specific to those regions). I'm in Australia, the app works fine on my phone (am logging in exactly the same way).
(* Update: I installed GPS Status and it tells me GPS is not switched on. Was hoping to then change the location with Fake GPS, which I also installed. It won't do anything with same message: GPS not enabled or similar.)
2/ Resolution: The screen defaults to portrait, as expected I suppose, but I have a 1366x768 monitor and it doesn't fit in the screen. Consequently, I have a scroll bar because as Virtualbox Guest Additions is not compatible with Remix OS at this point there is no mouse integration (I need to hit Right Control to use mouse in host and same to use in guest again). I need to press a bunch of keys to just scroll the screen up and get back to where I was going. :|
Other than that, all working great, Remix OS is great, thanks to the team that created it. The main reason I was wanting to use it is to use this one app on my computer (AFL Live) and plug my computer into the TV. I don't use my phone for anything other than that one app, SMS and the occasional call so I am by no means an Android junky. In fact, before this, I knew very little about it (but a lot about Linux/Ubuntu).
This install has been a quest, a learning curve, and these are my last two hurdles so I'm calling for help if it's out there. Trawled the net, tried some things, but have hit a brick wall with these two problems.
My first post so not sure of the protocol. If these two issues should be the subject of two separate threads, mods please advise and I will edit accordingly and create a new thread.
Tnx in advance.
(* Further update: Just having a read of this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/remix/remix-os/remix-os-installation-rooting-t3293769
Wondering if rooting the device would allow me to change any of these, in particularly, the location to Australia where it should be, or switch on GPS so my app can see where I actually am. I'm presuming it thinks I am in the Cocos Islands or somewhere else!)
(* And further update: The screen resolution was as easy as typing Alt+F1 to launch a terminal then 'wm size 1366x768'. That looked terrible, though, so changed it to 1048x768 (from memory) and it is good enough, though not perfect. I may be able to get closer with further tweaking. Now the last, and most important, hurdle to leap: How do I get Remix OS, and more specifically my AFL app, to know I'm in Australia. Frustration. It's taken about ten days, on and off, to get here and still not quite where I want to be, but hopefully my travails can help someone else along the way ...)
Gave up on it. If anyone comes up with a way of running Remix OS in Virtualbox and setting the location, please post. Guestadditions would probably fix it and maybe one day ROS will be compatible with it.
On the other hand, I did learn a lot more about Android than I cared to know, but am now thinking about buying my first ever Android tablet to do the job with a USB/HDMI adapter.