All Things Android - Apps, Phones, Tablets - Discussion

It seems like my og droid has finally found a worthy successor.

 

The only thing is, I don't like the color scheme. The electric blue color. It feels like they're taking the Tron-esque look a little too far, and it's looking a little too gaudy to me.

 

You have to remember what type of screen technology they're using. The colors are meant to pop. It's meant to be contrasty and bold.

I think it's a big step in the right direction compared to Honeycomb, which I admit I was not a fan of.

EDIT: From Matias Duarte

“Across the board Google and Android is taking design a lot more seriously,” Matias says, and points out that Roboto is used throughout the system. “There’s this thing that’s happening right now in user interface design that I find kind of shackling. The faux wood paneling trend, and the airport lavatory signage trend.” He laughs when he says this and pulls up a slide on his computer, a split screen of an Atari 2600 and… airport lavatory signage. It’s an obvious dig at both Apple and Microsoft.

“The biggest problem behind these trends is not anything about the aesthetic quality about them, but rather the framework that they impose on everything else,” he opines. “Right now if you look at all of these applications that are designed in this real-objecty, faux wood paneling, faux brushed metal, faux jelly button kind of thing… if you step back and you really look at them, they look kind of juvenile. They’re not photorealistic, they’re illustrations.”

 

Indeed, I like it overall.

WP7 was never meant to be photorealistic though. It's as abstract and "authentically digital' or whatever the heck microsoft calls it, as most OS's get IMO.

I can't help but wonder if the 720P screen requirement is hardcoded, or whether it'll scale to different resolutions for software upgrades.

 

Why do the latest Nexus phones have no SD memory slot?

 

Well he also said this:

I don't think that could have been put any better. I feel 100% the same.

Because they want storage to be transparent... like in iOS, webOS, WP7. IMO, there are ways of making it transparent without making it overly complicated. But I don't work at Google.

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You can still do that and support an external storage system.

I think part of why Apple does it is to get more money out of you (it shouldn't cost you $100 per GeeBee jump)... but one of the big reasons I like Android is the flexibility of removable storage.

 

After reading it more, I agree.

People are going to love this:

 

That is a killer feature. I think they saw what was happening and they didn't like it... so they drop that bombshell.

http://www.google.com/nexus/

 

Google confirms Nexus S will get Ice Cream Sandwich -- for real this time (Gingerbread devices, too) -- Engadget

 

A naive question probably - Does this mean ICS can also be installed/will also be available for Samsung Galaxy S2 running gingerbread?

 

Yeah, I'm excitedto see a timeline on these updates. you'd think newer phones would get it first... well, I hope so.

 

Sure. The Galaxy S II is probably the only device out now that might outclass the Galaxy Nexus in performance...

 

Thanks @ Tree, HAL... Yeah, I'd love to have an ICS soon, on my Galaxy S II...

From ARS Technica:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...ng-unveil-galaxy-nexus-android-4-at-event.ars

 

Cannot wait!

I see that this has att 3g bands which means... goodbye $600 dollars and hello Galaxy Nexus

 

That's one thing that surprises me about iOS. For all the work they did on the industrial/mechanical aesthetic of the phone, with clean lines and a minimalist look, they go and design these apps that have a wood grain and green felt background. It strikes me as cheesy. I am holding a computer in my hand, I want it to look every bit like a computer.

I wasn't expecting ICS to be such a big change from Froyo/Gbread. I like it.

 

Is that definitely the case?

I'm seeing some places listing it as having a card slot and the places that don't don't seem to be expressly stating it doesn't have one.


edit: and, to add to the confusion, the quiz I just completed on Samsung's UK retail training website says it's 8GB + microSD - that's just wrong, right?

 

Ahah! 8Gb would be crazy, I currently have 32Gb and I am struggling...
So how long do I have to wait until 4.0 hits the legacy SGS?

The pictures don't show any SD card slot..

 

I contacted the facebook account for the Samsung site and they confirmed the question was incorrect - they're stating 16GB is the internal memory.
I've asked for clarification about the memory card slot too.

 

Have you seen a picture of the inside of the battery bay? The card slot would be in there, if there is one.

 

Yes, Engadget has some good pictures. I saw a card slot but I am 95% sure it's a Sim card slot.

 

I think I may want that Galaxy Nexus. The camera isn't anything special but it's a pretty nice looking phone. Back could be nicer.

I dunno what to do. T_T

 

Samsung got back to me and are saying 16GB internal, no card slot.
Maybe that means the 32GB model won't be available in the UK, they'd be sticking to form if that's the case - the 16GB Galaxy S and 32GB Galaxy S2 were never officially released here and Samsung's own training site doesn't even acknowledge their existence.


The Galaxy Nexus is awesome but I'm edging towards the Galaxy Note - bigger battery, stylus, memory card slot.
It's the size and weight that would be the only potential issues though...

Here's the head-to-head - what do you guys think?



edit: @Kaelang: it's a great handset and the new UI etc are lovely but only you can say whether you'd be happy with it or not - no Siri

 

Android's baked in voice commands are fine, that's one of the things I really miss from my old Android phones. Sure it's not witty and won't help me hide a body, but it gets the job done.

I don't know what makes me happy anymore. When I got Android I missed iOS. When I got iOS, I missed Android. I'll still have my iPad in any case, so I'll still have a tie to iOS and all the apps that I've downloaded.

I'm interested in seeing how the Galaxy Nexus handles music and media, since that's something I do with my iPhone daily. The android phones I had before were pitiful excuses for media players.

 

I'm still finding it strange that there is no external storage.

Whether it's for speed or transparency... it seems like they should offer a 64GB model too.

I understand everyone is going to "cloud" storage, but with bandwidth limits, you still have to have reasonable local storage. Even Apple with its push for iCloud added a 64GB to their lineup. It stopped me from getting a Nexus S... and it might make some people hesitate on the Galaxy Nexus.

 

Well personally I'd go with the Galaxy Nexus, I would love to have a nexus, you get the latest update and a solid hardware.
Although 8Gb is really not enough for such a nice phone, and the cpu on the Note is clocked faster..
Iunno, it's a matter of preference, but I'd go with the Galaxy Nexus.

I agree, a 64gb version would be very nice. Like I said earlier, 32gb is not enough for me on my SGS.

 

This is one of the things that stopped me from ditching my iPod when I got my Droid. As a music player, it's not great.

 

From Android Ice Cream Sandwich

A summary (full article in the link above) of Android 4.0 (ICS) and this...

 

Just got my Galaxy Player 5.0 Today! WOOT!

Although a bit bummed that Galaxy on Fire 2 says my machine isn't compatible. I was looking forward to something like this on my device. Any alternates to Galaxy on Fire 2?

Also, any tips on rooting this device? Thanks.

 

My thoughts are that with the Galaxy Note, it's bound to get ICS soon - either officially or unofficially.
Also, given the hardware similarities to the Galaxy S2, I'd hope for decent CyanogenMod support too.

The difference in CPU clock speed is negligible, the fact that the Note uses the 4210 Exynos and not the 4212 with the same GPU as the Apple A5 SoC is a much bigger issue - if it were using the 4212, there'd be no contest.

The stylus thing is interesting though, it could be really neat if done well but at the same time it could just be gimmicky and useless.

 

Does anyone know what DAC the Galaxy Nexus is going to use?

 

Gah, any help in rooting this thing? I found this: [ROOT APP] Updated: 15/10/11 - S2 Root v1.5.1 - One Click Root and UnRoot! - xda-developers

But it says I need to install an insecure kernel but have no clue what my kernel is. I thought people said this was a simple process, it looks quite involved and requires multiple files and programs to get it working right.

 

And what DAC does Motorola use? Damn Motorola/Verizon and their locked bootloader too!

 

I understand your frustration. I tried rooting my Cliq XT but it was way more involved than I was willing to get.

 

I just tried oneclick and it didn't work either. Maybe I just need to wait a bit and see if anyone successfully manages it.

 

Given the hardware similarities, you'd be best off checking out rooting methods for the original Galaxy S as opposed to the Galaxy S2.

Other than that, given how little time it's been out, you may need to wait a wee while before it can be rooted.

 

But isn't Galaxy S 2.2?

 

So when you put ICS on the phones that already have buttons... do the screen buttons not appear (even when you rotate the screen) and do you get that extra real estate back?

I wonder how that is going to be implemented.

 

Good question. Be kind of silly and more waste of space if you had the soft buttons and hard buttons there at the same time.

But who am I kidding? I can't even get my device rooted, how the heck am I supposed to get ICS?

 

Did you try SuperOneClick? That's what I use every time..

@Step: I guess it's wait and see then huh?

 

Hmm...the CM7 thread for the Triumph said MMS was working fine, but I'm sitting here right now failing 20 times in a row to download a photo message; it just keeps saying "Download of message from **** was unsuccessful". >:/

 

I'm sure the software buttons won't appear.

 

Yes, but it sits there and spins for ten minutes and doesn't do anything past "Step #5". More reading it seems 2.3.5 hasn't been cracked yet.

 

Download superuser to see if it worked. I remember having issues with SuperOneClick, although it always ends up working!

 

Thanks. How do I use superuser to know if it worked? I have it installed, and shows me a blank log screen when I start it.

 

Alternatively, download "terminal emulator" and type in:

su

The prompt should return:

#

^Then you know you have root.

 

Thanks. SU response: "su: not found"

 

What is your firmware version? It should be in settings under "About Phone"... you may not have a baseband version since you don't have a cellular baseband, but if you could list off some stuff that you see there, I can tell you what root apps will work for you.

 

Anyone know what the "Freq. Step" option is exactly in SetCPU > Advanced?

 

Model Number: YP-G70
Firmware Version: 2.3.5
Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7-G70UEKI8-CL566269 / se.infra?@SEP-49 #2
Build Number: GINGERBREAD.UEKI8

Thanks.