Technology Android

[masta247]

Yeah I think that right now 600-800mhz is really enough for most people granted the efficiency of current processors. 500mhz might feel sluggish at times.
I would gladly replace my phone for a device with a new gen 600mhz that would drain less energy though, even though in theory it would look like a very stupid thing to do. I've never had any issues with performance, I don't need more. However I'd really love longer battery life.
That's why I'm all for ultra low voltage processors and new AMOLED displays. After all it's mostly because of processors and displays (and gps/wifi/gprs modules) that smartphones are known for rather short battery life, despite packing 1500mAh beasts. Fortunately with Android everything changes quickly.

 

[Casey]

People are saying the G2 is getting an update that enables tethering/mobile hotspot and adds wifi calling too. So now it could definitely be considered an "Experience" device being that it's stock Android and there aren't any missing features.

 

[masta247]

Anyone using Skype for Android? I use it for phone calls to stationary networks all the time and I'm surprised that it's so quiet about it. It works over Wifi, 3g and even Edge and quality is very good.
Aren't Skype calls like.. free in the US and Canada? Or unlimited just for a very little fee?

 

[masta247]

I really like this Motorola mid-end:

Rugged Motorola DEFY hits it off in Germany, yours for 350 euro - GSMArena.com news

Looks very cool and features are very decent for that price. And it's small considering the 3'7 display. The bezel around it is small.
Oh, did I mention that it's also waterproof, scratch-proof and the display is made of bulletproof gorilla glass?

 

[dilla]

Rumor: Android Gingerbread SDK To Drop Next Week | Android News, Reviews, Applications, Games, Phones, Devices, Tips, Mods, Videos, Podcasts - Android Police)


CM 3.0 ROMs?

Edit: No source code, it says. So probably not.

 

[ARon]

I'm gonna make the same point I've made several times.

It's critical to differentiate between "Google Experience" devices, and all other Android devices.

Google has almost literally nothing to do with non-Experience devices. Carriers go here:

Welcome to Android | Android Open Source

They download that source, compile their own ROM to match the hardware they've built, then when it's finished, they'll pay Google a license fee so they can include proprietary stuff like Gmail, Gtalk, Android Market, YouTube.

You want a proper Android device, get a Google Experience device. G1, N1, Droid1 have all been in this category.

There will always be at least 1 Google Experience device in every generation of phones. Right now it's still the N1, but there'll be a new one within a few months. We'll know what it is soon enough. My best guess is that it'll be the new Droid with the Tegra 2 that is rumored to be announced at CES 2011, which runs Jan 6-9. That would place it almost exactly a year after the N1 was announced.

It seemed that the G2 was going to be an an experience device, but given that T-Mobile refused or disabled a feature (tethering), it isn't.

Why do you always go off on tangents. I'm being very simple. Carriers are taking the nilla android and ruining it by doing whatever they do to it and fucking us, the consumer. That is find and dandy that the carrier get's the open source android from the source, but that means shit since it is us the consumer that gets fucked in the end. I* know all the little bullshit about it is open yadda yadda, but I dont care about that, I care about what the consumer receives, and right now every good phone that comes out receives shit.

 

[ARon]

Anyone using Skype for Android? I use it for phone calls to stationary networks all the time and I'm surprised that it's so quiet about it. It works over Wifi, 3g and even Edge and quality is very good.
Aren't Skype calls like.. free in the US and Canada? Or unlimited just for a very little fee?

I don't use it cus i have a cell phone, lol. The only time I'd think i'll need a service like that in the future is for video calls. I do use skype on my pc though

 

[dilla]

Why do you always go off on tangents. I'm being very simple. Carriers are taking the nilla android and ruining it by doing whatever they do to it and fucking us, the consumer. That is find and dandy that the carrier get's the open source android from the source, but that means shit since it is us the consumer that gets fucked in the end. I* know all the little bullshit about it is open yadda yadda, but I dont care about that, I care about what the consumer receives, and right now every good phone that comes out receives shit.

Are you talking about stuff T-Mobile puts on your phone? I dunno what T-Mobile puts on their phones exactly, but for Verizon they toss on Amazon MP3, Visual Voicemail, etc.

Or are you talking about custom UIs like Sense? That goes back to what Casey said and top-tier Android phones. Examples would be the G1, Nexus One, and the MyTouch 3G and all variants. And the Droid. They run stock Android and don't have crap like Sense widgets and overlays to slow them down in performance and for updates to new firmwares.


If you're talking about my first point, the Visual Voicemail kind of stuff that carriers put on their phones, that has nothing to do with Android and, yes, is the carrier being a bitch by putting their bloatware on their phones. My Droid has it, and while I'm not sure about the Nexus One having carrier-specific bloatware, I'm pretty sure it has it too, to some extent. The good thing is that you can delete all these bloatware apps really easily. Just download Titanium Backup and, assuming you're rooted, just click on the app you want gone and uninstall it.

I have heard it has minimal benefits, but it doesn't matter. It frees up room for more apps and stuff. I think it does make the phone faster, even if it is just a placebo.

 

[dilla]

Some girl in my class just got a Fascinate. Didn't know how to open the battery cover. Still, including me, there are four people with android phones in this class on 20 or so.

 

[Casey]

Why do you always go off on tangents. I'm being very simple. Carriers are taking the nilla android and ruining it by doing whatever they do to it and fucking us, the consumer. That is find and dandy that the carrier get's the open source android from the source, but that means shit since it is us the consumer that gets fucked in the end. I* know all the little bullshit about it is open yadda yadda, but I dont care about that, I care about what the consumer receives, and right now every good phone that comes out receives shit.

How is that a tangent?

You complained about carriers messing with shit.

Carriers can't mess with top-tier Google Experience devices.

It wasn't that hard to understand.

 

[Casey]

So I was just in a Sprint store.

Holy fuck, the Epic 4G is nice. I take back anything bad I ever said about Samsung. This shit is my dream phone right now. It's basically a Galaxy S with the most awesome physical keyboard on any phone. It's easily the best hardware keyboard I've ever used. 5 rows, well spaced keys, really responsive and raised up, unlike the flat keyboard on the Droid.

I really wish Samsung would release this phone internationally. I'd get one for sure.

I know not many of you guys are into hardware keyboard, but seriously, if you get a chance, go to a Sprint store and check this bad boy out. I was very, very impressed. Photos don't really do it justice, so check one out if you can.

 

[ARon]

I always thought the Epic was the best phone out til the g2 came out. You can argue for anyone. Galaxy S with a keyboard and front facing cam is yay

 

[dilla]

Girl that had the Fascinate today in class sat one row ahead of me to the far right. I was looking at that AMOLED screen from far away and noticed it was a bit different looking, especially since she was holding it at an angle. I can't remember the pros and cons of AMOLED, but it looked nice.

 

[dilla]

Just installed 2.2.1. Gonna see how it runs.

 

[masta247]

Girl that had the Fascinate today in class sat one row ahead of me to the far right. I was looking at that AMOLED screen from far away and noticed it was a bit different looking, especially since she was holding it at an angle. I can't remember the pros and cons of AMOLED, but it looked nice.

There are actually only pros. It's a cure for all of LCDs cons. Limited viewing angles, black levels, blurring and limited contrast don't bother AMOLED screens at all.
Then Super AMOLED is even cooler. Most of all colors look more vivid and it's more efficient. Also there's only a single glass cover over it instead of numerous layers which makes it look even more awesome. Imo Super Amoled is the ultimate, most awesome display technology at the moment.

The main con of AMOLED is that it's a tad inferior in direct sunlight because it's not backlit, it produces light itself. Also its life span is shorter but that doesn't matter in a mobile phone unless you want to keep it constantly turned on for a few years.
People who want to search for problems would tell you about a "weird" pixel structure or a minor color distortion but that's not a con for a casual viewer.
So I would say that all of AMOLEDs cons except of that sunlight thing don't really matter.

 

[Casey]

Just changed the fonts on my G1 to the new Ubuntu font for some consistency between my phone and laptop.

If you have root, you can easily change fonts by using the "Type Fresh" app from the Market. Simply download fonts on your PC and create a folder called "fonts" on your sdcard and put the fonts you want to use in there, then use the app to install them.

 

[Casey]

/\ Ignore that. My phone failed to boot after I did that, I had to fix what I did from the terminal in recovery mode.

 

[dilla]

There are actually only pros. It's a cure for all of LCDs cons. Limited viewing angles, black levels, blurring and limited contrast don't bother AMOLED screens at all.
Then Super AMOLED is even cooler. Most of all colors look more vivid and it's more efficient. Also there's only a single glass cover over it instead of numerous layers which makes it look even more awesome. Imo Super Amoled is the ultimate, most awesome display technology at the moment.

The main con of AMOLED is that it's a tad inferior in direct sunlight because it's not backlit, it produces light itself. Also its life span is shorter but that doesn't matter in a mobile phone unless you want to keep it constantly turned on for a few years.
People who want to search for problems would tell you about a "weird" pixel structure or a minor color distortion but that's not a con for a casual viewer.
So I would say that all of AMOLEDs cons except of that sunlight thing don't really matter.

I see. She was holding it at a downward angle towards her, and I was sitting to the far left of her, a row back, and I could see everything she was doing. I remembered that much of the info. from an informative piece you posted earlier. That it looks like the icons are "popping out" when seen from an angle.

 

[dilla]

Hmm, G2 owners must be happy: 3DMarkMobile GPU showdown: Adreno 205 vs PowerVR SGX540 – Android and Me)

Analyst Eightball: Android Tablets Will Be More Popular Than iPad

Just a quick bit on the iPhone 4 glass breaking issue. Proves we just have stupid people, not stupid products. Apple-hate myth: ‘Glass-gate’ makes headlines | 9 to 5 Mac Apple-hate myth: ‘Glass-gate’ makes headlines | Apple Intelligence)

 

[dilla]

Shit's gonna get rough for consumers now. WP7 looks pretty legit and could fit simple needs for simpler people. I think RIM may go down.

Not based on any facts, just gut feelings. This market is getting too crowded for even two top-dogs. Three is gonna be rape.