Google Android OS

[en480c4]

This post brought to you by the Viewsonic G Tablet.

So, was the stock UI as bad as you expected? Already rooted?

[n_maher]

I booted into the stock UI exactly twice, just long enough to root and install a new ROM. It's going pretty well so far, with just a few minor issues.

[jinp6301]

Awesome Nate. I've been using a cyanogen-ed nook color for a bit. Besides the sluggishness that it sometimes gets, it's pretty nice.

[Dreadhead]

cool on all the tablets. I'm currently pretty pissed about the Motorola caused Atrix bug where I can't use anything that uses the microphone... hope they fix it soon. I would like to be able to skype in Toronto in a few weeks.

[MexicanDragon]

Nice Nate!

@Shelly... You should look into getting slightly inebriated and stumbling down to the Sprint store and czech out the Kyrocera Echo. I thought it was a joke at first, but it seems to actually be getting reviewed fairly well.

G2x wise. The thing is 98% vanilla Froyo, dual core Tegra 2, 4" WVGA, and just BLAZING fast. I need to place an order for a mini-HDMI cable now. Oh... I also have sometimes access to a G-Slate now. I know two people with one. The one I got to play with had a live wallpaper on it, and it was distracting enough to where I couldn't really get into the whole Honeycomb experience without being distracted. Tried doing a video call from G2x to G-Slate, but the slate's app kept force closing. Did a CR-48 to G-Slate GChat call, though... worked great!

**BRENT**

[deepak]

Nice Nate, fight the man*!

*Apple

[Iron_Dreamer]

I see what you're saying, Brent, and I'm sure I'll be ready for an update by Dec 2012 when I'm next eligible. But for now I love the Thunderbolt, and since I didn't have a smartphone of any sort before, I couldn't just keep waiting ad infinitum. LTE rocks!

[MexicanDragon]

Oh, LTE is fantastic, and you have an ACTUAL unlimited plan, IIRC. That's fantastic. I don't think you're going to really notice THAT much of a different over new phones for the next 4-6 months... in a year, though, it'll be noticeable. Then again, in a year, my dual core tegra 2 1ghz with 512MB ram isn't going to be uber snappy either.

I think LTE is a decent trade off. Make sure you get the "app" that is an LTE switch. There was nothing to cut it off in the stock build (which is ridiculous), but it could quite possibly help you out on battery life, especially if you aren't in a place with really strong LTE signal.

**BRENT**

[shellylh]

Ok, decided that I wanted a keyboard so I went to the Sprint store yesterday and got an Epic.

Some thoughts:

- Not sure I really like the call quality (although the epic is supposed to have good call quality), there is sometimes a bit of static and voices sound a bit digital. I am guessing the speaker is kinda crappy. I wonder if it is just my phone or is this true of most of them.

- Android is so much nicer than WebOS.

- The phone is HUGE. It is nice to have the large screen and keyboard but I am not sure it is really pocketable for me. It is a bit of a stretch for me to reach to the middle keys on the keyboard with my thumbs. If I take it back and want something slightly smaller I could go for the Shift (I didn't like the feel of how the shift keyboard slid and can I am not sure how well swype works on Shift).

- The screen is really beautiful-

- I don't like the plastic feel of the phone. Also, I don't like how you can wiggle the top and bottle portions of the phone (because of having the sliding keyboard). I am afraid that the sliding keyboard will lead to more static in calls because connections will come loose but perhaps this is something I shouldn't worry about. Also, I worry about having more moving parts because these are always the first to break on a phone.

- Swype is awesome! I think I could probably live with a physical keyboard.

So I haven't decided whether I am keeping the phone.

Options:

1) Keep the phone - has a big screen and keyboard

2) Get another phone

- Get the Evo Shift. The keyboard is more my size but I the phone is older and I am not sure the processor is quite as fast but maybe this wouldn't matter in real time, I am not sure Swype would work as well. This would be more more pocketable since the length of the phone seems the biggest problem for me. Also, I have read that the call quality on the Shift isn't great.

- Wait for the Nexus S. All google phone so no bloatware and no keyboard would make it thinner. Would be the first for upgrades to Android. Still would be just as tall as the Epic so maybe it would still not be so great in the pocket.

Edited April 23, 2011 by shellylh

[MexicanDragon]

Hey Shelly,

Glad you finally got something, and are digging Android.

I just went from a Blackberry as my main device to a G2x (all touchscreen, 4" 800x480 screen, same as yours, running stock Android.) I love it. I'm not even using Swype right now, but they keyboard is rather fast. At 4", touchscreen keyboards aren't bad at all. I'd give your phone til near the return period, see after a week or two how it works for you. If you're still torn, take it back and wait for the Nexus S. It will be thinner/more pocketable, and having all the updates first would be rather nice. If you put the Nexus S top down in your pocket, the "bulge" at the bottom would be at the entrance of the pocket, making most of the phone feel even skinnier than it is.

Just some thoughts.

**BRENT**

[n_maher]

Nice Nate, fight the man*!

*Apple

This is mostly an inexpensive trial to see if something like the Xoom or other one much more expensive tablets coming out later this year would be worthwhile/useful/etc. So far, I'm pretty impressed but I do have a few thoughts.

1. I think Apple does have it a bit more "right" with the non-widescreen aspect ration screen. This might be less true on a device with a better screen, the G Tablet is much (and justifiably) maligned for a pretty crappy screen. Portrait viewing is not great with this narrow a screen.

2. Apple had better get off their ass or hope that Google has really effed up Honeycomb and won't release the source code soon. The G-Tablet is way faster than a stock iPad (perhaps not the 2) and I haven't even overclocked it yet. Also, once developers for Android get a little motivated to make more tablet-centric apps the race should get really interesting.

2a. Google had better get off their ass and finish it up already and get it out there. They've got manufacturers lined up and ready to go and they need to pounce on the incremental update that was the iPad 2. They also need to work hard with content providers like Netflix to bring that service in line with what Apple is already able to offer. Hell, partner with Amazon and tell Netflix to piss off if you want to but get a streaming paid media app on your stuff now.

3. Being able to add a sdcard is sweet. All told I'm into this for $330 shipped and it's got 32GB of storage, not too shabby. It is limited in how it can use the sdcard because it's running a hacked OS but even as bulk storage it's great. No idea why apply avoids this other than wanting to charge $100 for 16GB of memory. It's always stuck me as odd that the price point between the 16, 32 and 64 was an even $100 despite the memory bump being twice as much (better value?). What it really means is that Apple is making more $$ on the first two, probably.

4. Widgets rock. I don't get why Apple is so slow to adopt something like this. Even if Apple just did a few, in house widgets to start with it'd be to their benefit. The ipad with its pages and pages of apps all neatly lined up as individuals or folders just looks old-tech to me now. Again, once tablet focused widgets start rolling out for simple things like Twitter, Facebook and news type stuff it's going to be even more obvious how much of an advantage this is for google.

That's it for now, more later as I continue to tweak and do a little comparing with Ian's iPad next week.

[manaox2]

Nice Nate, I'm interested in seeing what you do with. If you haven't gotten gingerbread on your DX yet, you don't know what your missing. Its really really something. Verizon is rumored to be releasing the official build officially on May 10th. The overall speed difference and functionality is greatly improved, even the benchmarks are consistently about 1/3rd faster then on Froyo without overclock.

[shellylh]

Hey Shelly,

Glad you finally got something, and are digging Android.

I just went from a Blackberry as my main device to a G2x (all touchscreen, 4" 800x480 screen, same as yours, running stock Android.) I love it. I'm not even using Swype right now, but they keyboard is rather fast. At 4", touchscreen keyboards aren't bad at all. I'd give your phone til near the return period, see after a week or two how it works for you. If you're still torn, take it back and wait for the Nexus S. It will be thinner/more pocketable, and having all the updates first would be rather nice. If you put the Nexus S top down in your pocket, the "bulge" at the bottom would be at the entrance of the pocket, making most of the phone feel even skinnier than it is.

Just some thoughts.

**BRENT**

Thanks for the "thoughts" Brent. I am getting used to the size and having a physical keyboard is nice especially when walking and typing. I am most concerned about the call quality since I think I may have a bad phone. I think I will take to the Sprint phone and see if I can switch it out and if that helps. It sounds like the sound you would get from a speakerphone on a phone, not the handset. Also, the phone seems to be picking up too much background noise from the other callers side and it makes a kind of rustling annoying noise that I know will drive me crazy in the end.

Edited April 23, 2011 by shellylh

[deepak]

This is mostly an inexpensive trial to see if something like the Xoom or other one much more expensive tablets coming out later this year would be worthwhile/useful/etc. So far, I'm pretty impressed but I do have a few thoughts.

1. I think Apple does have it a bit more "right" with the non-widescreen aspect ration screen. This might be less true on a device with a better screen, the G Tablet is much (and justifiably) maligned for a pretty crappy screen. Portrait viewing is not great with this narrow a screen.

2. Apple had better get off their ass or hope that Google has really effed up Honeycomb and won't release the source code soon. The G-Tablet is way faster than a stock iPad (perhaps not the 2) and I haven't even overclocked it yet. Also, once developers for Android get a little motivated to make more tablet-centric apps the race should get really interesting.

2a. Google had better get off their ass and finish it up already and get it out there. They've got manufacturers lined up and ready to go and they need to pounce on the incremental update that was the iPad 2. They also need to work hard with content providers like Netflix to bring that service in line with what Apple is already able to offer. Hell, partner with Amazon and tell Netflix to piss off if you want to but get a streaming paid media app on your stuff now.

3. Being able to add a sdcard is sweet. All told I'm into this for $330 shipped and it's got 32GB of storage, not too shabby. It is limited in how it can use the sdcard because it's running a hacked OS but even as bulk storage it's great. No idea why apply avoids this other than wanting to charge $100 for 16GB of memory. It's always stuck me as odd that the price point between the 16, 32 and 64 was an even $100 despite the memory bump being twice as much (better value?). What it really means is that Apple is making more $ on the first two, probably.

4. Widgets rock. I don't get why Apple is so slow to adopt something like this. Even if Apple just did a few, in house widgets to start with it'd be to their benefit. The ipad with its pages and pages of apps all neatly lined up as individuals or folders just looks old-tech to me now. Again, once tablet focused widgets start rolling out for simple things like Twitter, Facebook and news type stuff it's going to be even more obvious how much of an advantage this is for google.

That's it for now, more later as I continue to tweak and do a little comparing with Ian's iPad next week.

I'm going to keep my eyes out for some of the cheaper devices that come out. I'd rather spend 40% less than their major competitor if all I'm doing is email, internet, controlling my Squeezebox Touch and digital attenuator.

I appreciate your objective views.

[shellylh]

Took my Epic to the store and the woman said that it was normal. I listened to her Evo and it sounded similar. Perhaps I am just too picky. The phone is starting to grow on me.

[manaox2]

Fancy widget pro is amazons free app of the day. I bought it a while back, fancy home and fancy forecast is great.

[dsavitsk]

No idea why apply avoids this other than wanting to charge $100 for 16GB of memory. It's always stuck me as odd that the price point between the 16, 32 and 64 was an even $100 despite the memory bump being twice as much (better value?). What it really means is that Apple is making more $$ on the first two, probably.

Used to be that Apple was a hardware company that created an OS to sell the physical units. Now, Apple is actually a memory company that makes all sorts of loss leading products to sell it.

One question -- anyone have any insight into running Xterm on an Android tablet? I was thinking that a *BSD music server/player with a remote interface would be just the sort of music system I have been looking for, and not finding, for years. Best I've come up with is an RDP client on a laptop to control an XP box, but it's not ideal and is way too cumbersome ... and I hate the squeezeserver, so that has ceased to be an option.

Edited April 25, 2011 by dsavitsk

[grawk]

from my research, you need to go with vnc instead of X11 for android...but iX11 works great if you upgrade to an apple device

[dsavitsk]

I am generally opposed to anything Apple (though I do enjoy Olympic Decathlon on the old ][+), but if that works, I could definitely see having an iPad as a Xterm to control a FreeBDS box. I'd prefer an Android, though.

VNC is worse than RDP.

[manaox2]

Connectbot is similar to xterm and comes with the options you need perhaps. Ssh, ftp, whatever for your server. Check it out.

Edited April 25, 2011 by manaox2

[jinp6301]

I'm going to keep my eyes out for some of the cheaper devices that come out. I'd rather spend 40% less than their major competitor if all I'm doing is email, internet, controlling my Squeezebox Touch and digital attenuator.

I appreciate your objective views.

deepak, check out the nook color if you want to spend less. Its not very speedy but it can do email/internet/some apps very easily. It should cost you ~$200 on ebay or $225 refurb.

[dsavitsk]

Connectbot is similar to xterm and comes with the options you need perhaps. Ssh, ftp, whatever for your server. Check it out.

Looks like I mistyped -- I meant that I wanted an android device to be an X terminal, a thin client that does the display part of programs running on the terminal server. So, not an "Xterm".

So, what I really want is an interface on a tablet that looks like the Winamp media library and play list that controls the actual application running on the FreeBSD box across the room. RDP and VNC are both cumbersome ways to accomplish this, but it seems like making X do what X was designed to do in the first place should not be so hard ...

Edited April 25, 2011 by dsavitsk

[manaox2]

Screenshots from gingerbread on Droid X: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9858066/1/Droid%20X?h=522ba3

Looks like I mistyped -- I meant that I wanted an android device to be an X terminal, a thin client that does the display part of programs running on the terminal server. So, not an "Xterm".

So, what I really want is an interface on a tablet that looks like the Winamp media library and play list that controls the actual application running on the FreeBSD box across the room. RDP and VNC are both cumbersome ways to accomplish this, but it seems like making X do what X was designed to do in the first place should not be so hard ...

oh, VNC would be your best bet on the cheap then I suppose. There is this also: http://sourceforge.net/projects/winampdroid/ which you can use as just a remote.

[dsavitsk]

oh, VNC would be your best bet on the cheap then I suppose. There is this also: http://sourceforge.net/projects/winampdroid/ which you can use as just a remote.

There were a couple of winamp controllers, but Winamp sent them cease and desist letters for trademark infringement. I guess one is back up (aWARemote). Possibly an option, but the requirement to run windows on a basically headless computer and to keep winamp running all the time is aggravating.

Digging around, finding a way to do seamless remote windows is really tricky. Citrix has a solution, but it is expensive. Windows server 2008 can do it (via RDP 6), but again, it is expensive. RDP is the way that you can run seamless applications under a windows virtual machine on windows 7, but it does not look like you can do it across a network w/o the server version. There is a version of VNC that can, but it is only windows, and would require being logged in on the remote computer. There is also NX or NeatX but probably no Android client (even though the latter is a Google product) as you still need X11.

But, I think there may be a good solution in MPD. There are a couple of Android clients out there, or I may dust off Eclipse and write my own. But, it looks like it could run on a headless BSD box w/o X installed.

[shellylh]

Traded in the Epic for the Nexus S today. The Nexus S is pure google awesome. One thing I would like to do is install Swype on it. Is there any (security) risk to doing this?