Technology Android

Flipmo

VIP Member
Staff member


The upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and arc are not the only devices that will be running OS 2.3 Gingerbread. The Xperia X10 Mini Pro never did make it to Canada but more pictures have surfaced online of the next generation of the Android-powered slider. This device is codenamed Xperia SK17i “Mango” and comes with a 3-inch HVGA display with a resolution of 320 x 480, runs OS 2.3, 1GHz Qualcomm processor, 5 megapixel camera with flash and a four-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Source: PocketNow
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I'm looking forward to the normal Xperia PRO:


This might be my new phone if the price is right. Hopefully it'll be targeted a bit lower than Desire Z (similar specs but Xperia PRO is a SE and it's a single core in the age of dual-core beasts) but somehow I doubt that. I really like the fact that despite having the most customized UI SonyEricsson still delivers all Android Updates (X10 went from 1.6 all the way to upcoming 2.3).
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
/\ It takes them fucking AGES though and they skip updates, which I could never tolerate.

My uncle has an X10 and it was on Android 1.6 for the LONGEST time. Then got 2.1 about 8 months after it was released into the AOSP. Skipped 2.2 completely and now they're saying it will get 2.3, but IN JULY. I've been running Gingerbread on my G2 since February. The Nexus S was released with Gingerbread in December. So basically the X10 will be updated in July to an OS version that will be 7 months old at that point.

And in all likelihood, Ice Cream/Ice Cream Sandwich/Ice Cream Sundae will be out by then. It's on track for an unveiling next month at Google I/O and they'll almost certainly start pushing it out to some devices in June or early July.

That's why I can't fuck with Sony. Too slow. If you look back at this thread, the X10 was first announced in early 2009 if I recall. And didn't even come out until March 2010 in the UK and freakin AUGUST 2010 in the US. That's SLOW by any standards.

They're making some good devices - Xperia Play is cool. Arc is cool too. And I'm sure they'll be speeding up their update schedules since it does seem they are pretty committed to Android at this point. But they have a lot of catching up to do before they're on the level of HTC, Motorola, LG or even Samsung.
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Anyway, the latest rumor regarding Ice Cream Sandwich/Sundae is that it will converge the three versions of Android - phone version, tablet version and Google TV. Don't know if this is gonna be true, or how they're planning to do it, but it's something that needs to be done.

I guess the OS will be able to detect whether you are using a phone, a tablet or Google TV and arrange the UI accordingly while booting.

I also predict a Google Music release announcement next month at Google I/O.

But I feel like there's going to be a big announcement of something new as well. It's gonna be interesting to say the least.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yeah they are slow with updates but they make them, while most other developers stop supporting their phones after a few months from their release date (apart from very popular models).
I don't know if there's any other Android 1.6 device that had an official update to 2.3 though. Most developers issue an update or two and that's it.
Being a few months behind doesn't really bother me knowing that I will get that update in the end, just a few months later. Also SE are cutting down on customizations so hopefully that would mean faster upgrades. And their new Xperia line have the newest Android on board, X10 was late at its launch already.
I agree that it would bother me if I had 1,6 when there was 2.2 already. However a friend of mine owns a X10 and he really couldn't be bothered to update to 2,1. I had to convince him and then he wouldn't even see a big difference because the UI is so customized that the only noticeable difference was that some apps didn't work on 1,6 and the update came with hd video recording.

Also don't forget that apart from HTC no other developer would issue more than 1 software update at the beginning of their Android adventure. Samsung i7500 started with 1,5 and ended with 1,6. i5700 started with 1,5 and Ended with 2.1 (barely). Galaxy S was their first model that had bigger support because it was still generating huge profit.

I really respect Sony because they support their phones for a long time and in my opinion they have the best customer service, at least here. I remember when I had my K800i I could count on them even after 3 years of use. I have very huge respect for Sony's mobile phone division but I didn't really like their Androids though (design, UI). However this Xperia Pro looks cool mainly because of a comfortably-looking QWERTY and I decided that my new phone should have a hardware qwerty keyboard after all, and I'm not a fan of Desire Z and Milestones. There are barely any new interesting qwerty models around.
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yeah that's why to date both my Android phones have been HTC. Root is usually very easy (although rumor suggests they might lock down their devices more in the future) and they have great customer service and support. Not that I've ever waited for an official update since 1.5, I've had root and custom ROMs since then. But it's a good selling point for lots of non-tech-savvy people I know who don't care about root etc. Most of the people I know have HTC phones, another cousin of mine just got a Desire and another friend is looking at the Incredible S.

It's true there's only a few decent QWERTY models out. I'm still pissed at Samsung for not releasing the Epic 4G in a GSM model.

But I think there's gonna be some better QWERTY Android phones coming out very soon.

What do you think about the Sidekick 4G? It's manufactured by Samsung. No idea if it will come out outside of the US, but it is GSM so could be imported. I much prefer it to the Xperia Pro. The keyboard is beautiful.

 

THEV1LL4N

Well-Known Member
i think i'll be sticking with my G2 for a few years even if it means not having the latest version of android. i can sit back and watch it develop (unfortunately not by first-hand experience) and eventually get a new phone. but im comfortable taking that option because i know devs like cyanogen and his team can push those phones and their life cycles to the limit (and even past that) when they were long overdue. it'll save me money by continuing to be on a £10/month contract.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
That new Sidekick looks like it'll be quite big, no? Also, I don't think that it'll be available here. We never even had a single sidekick here in the past.

Do you think that any new Android devices will get announced anytime soon? I thought that most of them would be shown in Barcelona during that phone congress there, at least those that are scheduled for a release during the first half of 2011.
 

THEV1LL4N

Well-Known Member
So now Google TV could be making its way to Ice Cream (Android 2.4) it seems... I am all for this. I want Google TV. How great would it be if i could hook my phone up to my TV and display Google TV on my TV? That being said, being able to access Google TV without paying for any peripherals. It's a possibility. Hopefully it'll get a major push, some promotion and eventually make its way to the UK where it should have been launched already by now.
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
That new Sidekick looks like it'll be quite big, no? Also, I don't think that it'll be available here. We never even had a single sidekick here in the past.

Do you think that any new Android devices will get announced anytime soon? I thought that most of them would be shown in Barcelona during that phone congress there, at least those that are scheduled for a release during the first half of 2011.
It doesn't seem big to me.

 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The Sidekick is ugly. I don't know anyone who is going to get or even interested in one besides you Casey lol.
You also thought the G2 was ugly.... so ya know. We're just on different pages. I think the G2 is stylish and classy. The Sidekick.... well it basically looks like every other Sidekick. It's cool. It has a sick-ass motherfucking 5-ROW keyboard. It trumps the G2 by having a FFC. And there's people all over my FB and Twitter feeds loving it. A lot of cats who had SK2's, SK3's SKLX's back in the day.

T-Mobile might continue to push the celebrity angle which means I might be able to bag it for free, like I did with the SK-Slide when they gave me one in exchange for doing an advert for 'em in the UK and putting the Slide in a music video.

But, we'll see. I'm kinda into the pure Android experience at this point. The custom UI they've done here is about a million times better than Sense, Motoblur, TouchWiz etc but it's still a custom UI. If they put the customised apps they've made into the Android Market as well as the Launcher, and there's an easy root, and decent ROMs, it might be worthwhile. But Samsung's devices are usually more complex than they need to be and I'm not fucking with that Odin and Kies shit.

I might also start rocking with VZW or Sprint. Cos wifey wants to switch to one of those two next month, so if it's easier for me to be on the same carrier as her then obviously I'll go with something else. And given that Ice Cream Whatever might be unveiled next month at Google I/O, depending what new shit goes into it, it might be worthwhile to look for something with a dual core CPU.

I don't see anything else right now with a better QWERTY. I want HTC and Samsung to come out with more QWERTY devices.... I woulda BEEN rocked the Epic 4G if there was a GSM variant.
 

Pittsey

Knock, Knock...
Staff member
The sidekick must be popular in the uk or europe or something. No one used em here
I don't know anyone who has/had one. I'm in the UK..!

I thought Paris Hilton and Vida Guerra had them. That's how the personal nudies got leaked 5 years or so ago.


rookie question how do i upgrade my galaxy s to android 2.2
Through Kies.... Or by rooting and installing a custom rom.
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The sidekick must be popular in the uk or europe or something. No one used em here
Untrue. I was in LA twice in 2006. Vegas twice in 2007 and 2008 and Portland three times in 2008. Up until Android started getting popular.....EEEEVVERYYYBOODDDYYYYYYYYYYYYY was rocking them on the West Coast. Ask Gotti how many of them he saw in Seattle also. I also know they were the most stolen electronic device in New York, I saw mad newspaper articles about it. So maybe it was a coastal thing. Also very popular amongst rappers and celebrities. Snoop rocked 'em, so did DJ Clue. Chingy, Chris Brown, Xzibit, Tony Hawk, Dwayne Wade. And then the likes of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Nicole Richie, Anne Hathaway etc. They had mad heavy product placements deals in music videos and movies. I seem to remember when they launched here that they referenced movies like Superbad and Devil Wears Prada where characters were seen using them.

They were somewhat popular in the UK, some EU countries and Australia (Rukas also had them) but nowhere near as popular in the US.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the original Sidekicks running Hiptop OS were the proto-Androids. First cellphone with an always-on data connection. First cellphone with an integrated application market (in 2002 - SIX YEARS before Apple launched the App Store). The OS was invented by Andy Rubin (the creator of Android), and largely designed by Mateas Duarte (now head UI designer on Android).

It was also the first device that stored your contacts, notes, photos and app download info in the cloud, again all the way back since 2002. When I got a SK3 in 2006 there was literally nothing like it. We take it for granted now but at the time there was no other device that if you lost it and got a new one, you simply signed back in and all your information, contacts, pics etc re-synced down from the cloud servers.
 

Casey

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Xperia Play looks like it will be a hit. Seeing a LOT of blog posts around the internetz like this one from Tumblr:



So I got this beauty yesterday, It’s my first Contract phone. I get
  • 750MB Mobile Internet
  • 900 Minutes
  • Unlimited Texts
For £25 a month, Not bad. The phone so far is amazing. I love it, Feel free to ask me any questions.
With good deals like that and the strong Playstation branding..... I smell a big seller with this one.
 

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