I haven't read many posts that actually describe how people use their GTabs. I have the impression that most people are using them for entertainment. I need to use mine for business purposes, mostly because all of my colleagues are using iPads but I couldn't bring myself to join Appleland. I'm still wondering if I made the right decision.
Anyway, what I did to make this work for my day to day needs is the following:
1. Installed Clockwork Mod to reset the partition as people in this forum have written.
2. Flashed NVFlash which removed Clockwork Mod and put me back into stock mode. I assume (but don't know for sure) that it preserved the partition sizes.
3. I added the Stock Enhancement mod listed elsewhere in the forum.
4. I added the Market Fix which is listed here elsewhere too.
5. I added Documents to Go which costs a few bucks but seems to be the best product for creating, editing and viewing Microsoft documents, PowerPoints, etc. I also use this on my DroidX.
6. I added Touchdown by NitroDesk which costs a few bucks too but is what I'm using on my DroidX to keep my mail synced with my office Exchange server.
7. I added the Kindle application because I think it's the best for tablet, plus I use it on my DroidX too and it allows multiple devices to be configured to a single account, letting me share my books with myself on these 2 devices.
8. I put my DroidX in Hotspot mode when I need a wireless connection and none is available or what's available costs too much. The GTab connects to it without a hitch so it's almost like having built-in 3G.
9. I have a Freedom Universal Bluetooth keyboard that I got for my DroidX which also works fine with the GTab. To be redundant, I also have a silicone USB keyboard which works fine with both devices too.
10. I have the dock so I can situate the tablet more conveniently but I have to say I don't use it much as it doesn't have a charging capability and the leather case I got from iTSteve (www.electroniccrap.com) puts it in a similar position and looks professional.
This seems like a lot of changes when I list them but they really were pretty easy to put in place and they allow me to do everything others do with their iPads.
I have concluded that nobody will ever catch up with the iPad in terms of users as they had more than a full year headstart on all competitors and grossed something like $20 billion in sales. But my GTab can do all of the things the iPad can do and more and more quickly. People complain about the GTab's screen but it's been like anything else I have in that I just position it so I can use it properly and I'm all set. It doesn't seem to be a detriment.
If there are other business users reading the forum who have figured out other ways they can use their GTab as laptop and iPad replacement, I'd be happy to read their postings here.
There are several threads including mine that talk at length about using our gTabs in a professional setting in this forum. I have a monster Dell Covet laptop with maxed out specs that I use at the office. Trouble is the fact the laptop and power adapter weigh in at around 30 pounds and taking it on business trips was wearing me out. So I started to leave my laptop logged in at the office and access it remotely from my gTab using LogMeIn Ignition when on business trips. So far this has worked great for me.
One thing I forgot to add was that the company issued me an iPad and the only time I use it is when my wife and I take the kids out with us to eat. It has Netflix which our gTab does not (without paying for PlayOn) and my little boys LOVE Shaun the Sheep.
I have a very similar setup.... Almost exactly the same as the first post. I also use logmein. The only thing I don't see posted is that I use sticky notes.... A LOT.... To remind myself what I promised to my clients once I get back to my office.
I love the fact that I have mobile hotspot in my pocket and with an m1 case from electronic crap.com, my gtab looks like I'm carrying a nice leather journal. My clients are always a little surprised when I open it up and flip it on to take notes....
Best 360 bucks I've spent in quite a few years.
Nokia as a wireless hotspot
Citrix for RAS into client work sites
Notion Ink Quick Office and Mail'd (and keyboard) - thanks to Gojimi
+1 for similar setup. Except I use noteverything. It lets me type, sketch a note or make a voice note all from a clean looking 4X1 widget.
Also, if you haven't tried it, find the galaxy tab mail client apk in a thread in apps and themes. It's the best email client I have ever used because it is totally centered around juggling multiple email accounts.
I deal with a lot of PDF documents and am using adobe from the market to view them. It is the best app I have found for working with large files. It is just lacking the ability to make drawn notes on the PDF such as circling, highlighting, blackking out. If I could do my revision remarks and editing from my gtab... damn I really would not need to use my work computer again, no seriously, ever
Sent from my Chromatic Magic using XDA Premium App
What are the options for connecting to exchange? I don't think the galaxy or Adam apps support it. How does touchdowns tablet interface work?
Sent from my UPC300-2.2 using Tapatalk
MSU_Sparty said:
I haven't read many posts that actually describe how people use their GTabs. I have the impression that most people are using them for entertainment. I need to use mine for business purposes, mostly because all of my colleagues are using iPads but I couldn't bring myself to join Appleland. I'm still wondering if I made the right decision.
Anyway, what I did to make this work for my day to day needs is the following:
1. Installed Clockwork Mod to reset the partition as people in this forum have written.
2. Flashed NVFlash which removed Clockwork Mod and put me back into stock mode. I assume (but don't know for sure) that it preserved the partition sizes.
3. I added the Stock Enhancement mod listed elsewhere in the forum.
4. I added the Market Fix which is listed here elsewhere too.
5. I added Documents to Go which costs a few bucks but seems to be the best product for creating, editing and viewing Microsoft documents, PowerPoints, etc. I also use this on my DroidX.
6. I added Touchdown by NitroDesk which costs a few bucks too but is what I'm using on my DroidX to keep my mail synced with my office Exchange server.
7. I added the Kindle application because I think it's the best for tablet, plus I use it on my DroidX too and it allows multiple devices to be configured to a single account, letting me share my books with myself on these 2 devices.
8. I put my DroidX in Hotspot mode when I need a wireless connection and none is available or what's available costs too much. The GTab connects to it without a hitch so it's almost like having built-in 3G.
9. I have a Freedom Universal Bluetooth keyboard that I got for my DroidX which also works fine with the GTab. To be redundant, I also have a silicone USB keyboard which works fine with both devices too.
10. I have the dock so I can situate the tablet more conveniently but I have to say I don't use it much as it doesn't have a charging capability and the leather case I got from iTSteve (www.electroniccrap.com) puts it in a similar position and looks professional.
This seems like a lot of changes when I list them but they really were pretty easy to put in place and they allow me to do everything others do with their iPads.
I have concluded that nobody will ever catch up with the iPad in terms of users as they had more than a full year headstart on all competitors and grossed something like $20 billion in sales. But my GTab can do all of the things the iPad can do and more and more quickly. People complain about the GTab's screen but it's been like anything else I have in that I just position it so I can use it properly and I'm all set. It doesn't seem to be a detriment.
If there are other business users reading the forum who have figured out other ways they can use their GTab as laptop and iPad replacement, I'd be happy to read their postings here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was using mine as a business tool before I loaded firmware 5.0 aka brickware on to it. Now I have a flashlight that throws me the bird when I turn it on.
Avoid 5.0 brickware, I fell for the Viewsonic firmware line thinking it was a mere UI enhancement, driver and other hardware component tweak instead beta crapware. I've been computing along time and never had a piece of firmware brick a device.
Hopefully when the store I bought it from gets it back they aren't able to unbrick it. My c-panel info was in it for easy access along with other proprietary info. G Tab had turned out to be quite a good business tool. Notice I used pass tense. It's done because of firmware lol 5.0.
It is not fair you blame 5.0. No one forces you to update to this ROM, and there are a lot of warnings in the first post of the thread.
I understand you are frustrated but Devs are doing a great job and at the end allowing us to have a Gtab usefull for business
BR
First of all it said "firmware" not rom. I do know the difference and it said exactly "viewsonic firmware update." Before I touched it I read the entire post. I wasn't looking to change my rom, however, firmware is something different. It usually enhances the use-ability of the product. This is not my first rodeo.
Not frustrated--pissed. Let me know when you are beta testing on me. Don't wrap it in another blanket and expect me to feel cozy. Some of the post do say "experimental or bleeding edge." Everyone gets that.
Now I have to take the brick back to the store I got it from and get another. I was smart enough to get their extended warranty plan.
ecejdt said:
It is not fair you blame 5.0. No one forces you to update to this ROM, and there are a lot of warnings in the first post of the thread.
I understand you are frustrated but Devs are doing a great job and at the end allowing us to have a Gtab usefull for business
BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI not mad at the devs, I walked right into that door. On my new one I won't be. Whatever is on there is what I will be using. This was a learning experience. I emailed them about being a little clearer on what they are offering up. Some people here may not be able to eat the cost or go get another one under warranty.
I'm pissed because I had it nicely tweaked as a business tool. This was the last thing I would have expected as a result of a firmware update. Knowing it was a ROM I would have optioned out.
I am using VEGAn 5.1.1 and it has the android exchange sync built in unlike the stock rom. I was using Docs to go but switched to Quick office due to the dropbox access and Docs to go does not use my headers in my bid forms correctly and Quick office does. I use Synctoy to sync my docs to Dropbox so I can get them on my Evo or my Gtab.
opnsrcaddict said:
What are the options for connecting to exchange? I don't think the galaxy or Adam apps support it. How does touchdowns tablet interface work?
Sent from my UPC300-2.2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TouchDown offers either automatic push or manually initiated synchronization between your device (GTab, Phone, etc.) and the Exchange server. It uses whatever connection you have--WiFi or 3G or other. Obviously on the GTab, it's WiFi.
You have all of the typical options available to treat what happens on your GTab as independent from the desktop, superior, subordinate or totally synced. There are tons of options for notifications and display settings too.
There are 2 specific reasons I got Touchdown. It supports pinch and spread to change the size of email text and you can mark appointments as private. Neither of those options exist on the standard mail client--which I think is a pretty stupid omission. Whether it's really worth spending money on, I don't know but it's worked for me.
If you visit the Nitrodesk web site, you can read more details about the product. They let you try it out for 30 days for free with all functions turned on. After that, you have to delete or purchase the unlock key.
Good luck.
edirector said:
FYI not mad at the devs, I walked right into that door. On my new one I won't be. Whatever is on there is what I will be using. This was a learning experience. I emailed them about being a little clearer on what they are offering up. Some people here may not be able to eat the cost or go get another one under warranty.
I'm pissed because I had it nicely tweaked as a business tool. This was the last thing I would have expected as a result of a firmware update. Knowing it was a ROM I would have optioned out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aren't you the same guy who basically threatened this website for being 'Rude'. that you would post about your experience here on your 'High traffic website' and complain to viewsonic??
Quite frankly, you should learn to take a little more time and *READ*. You should *START* with the title of the thread ... you know... where is says '[STICKY][ROM]...'
/Rant
Then you can move on to the fact that this is an enthusiasts and development site. Not VS customer service. nor is it the official repository for any VS software. if you can't be bothered to read all of the instructions and warnings of toying with these devices, then don't blame anyone but yourself.
I would venture to say that nearly everyone on this board had bricked or screwed up their device in one way or another. We did so knowing of the possibilities, and in nearly all cases, we read up enough on the process to fix it.
/Rant
Wow... talk about a thread hijacking.
Now back to the OP's post. I could link up my corporate Exchange account with the default mail client in VEGAn b5.1.1 but in the end I decided not to on the gTab as this allows the corporate admins to access your gTab remotely "for security purposes". I did set the corp Exchange account on my Droid X though. And even though the company issued me an iPhone 4 (along with the seldom used iPad) I can't deal with that small screen on the iPhone after I've been using my Droid X with it's much bigger screen.
As for Steve at electroniccrap.com, he has been a great source of gTab accessories and I plan on buying one of the new "clip" style folio cases when they arrive. Even though it's white it seems like a really elegant case on par with cases for iPads.
edirector said:
FYI not mad at the devs, I walked right into that door. On my new one I won't be. Whatever is on there is what I will be using. This was a learning experience. I emailed them about being a little clearer on what they are offering up. Some people here may not be able to eat the cost or go get another one under warranty.
I'm pissed because I had it nicely tweaked as a business tool. This was the last thing I would have expected as a result of a firmware update. Knowing it was a ROM I would have optioned out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to hijack further, but by "them" he meant me. So I will respond here, since I hadn't seen this thread until just now.
I think my post is VERY clear. I do use firmware and ROM interchangeably, that's true. Firmware is probably the better name, but the bottom line here is that this is not an official Viewsonic update, it's a altered firmware where you are taking the risk and there is no guarantees that something might not go terribly wrong. I state this clearly in my TNT Lite post, so in all honesty I don't know what else you would have liked me to do other than just pull TNT Lite completely.
I'm sorry to hear that your device is bricked and you cannot get it fixed. But if you've been reading the posts from the last several days I've probably spent more time on supporting TNT Lite than supporting my day job. So when I hear comments that I'm not making my TNT Lite post clear enough, I just have to scratch my head. There are a lot of very smart users on the board and they have been able to help ME out when my own knowledge is lacking, such as with Windows 7 nvflash instructions. My first post is long, but it's long for a reason and when I wrote "If you have any doubts, please consider holding off instead of just throwing caution to the wind" and "Use At Your Own Risk", I don't know how much clearer you want it than that.
It seems like your beef is that calling this a ROM makes this more risky than calling it firmware, in your eyes. I couldn't disagree more. If we want to nitpick on wording, firmware usually resides in a ROM and altering it is ALWAYS a risk (even from a supported vendor). They usually make you agree to that nice big EULA before you proceed, for example. ROM is more hardware based but I've used it interchangeably given how it's worded here in XDA. TNT Lite really doesn't replace the ROM, it is a firmware change - bootloader, kernel, system etc. But again, that doesn't mean it's not risky.
I'm a sysadmin - I update firmware all the time on servers. Don't tell me it's not risky because HP would disagree with you - they have redundant firmware built into their servers because sometimes things go wrong. If you don't want to take on any risk, please do not use my alternate firmware when you get that GTAB replacement - you might want to just stick with stock.
roebeet said:
Not to hijack further, but by "them" he meant me. So I will respond here, since I hadn't seen this thread until just now.
I think my post is VERY clear. I do use firmware and ROM interchangeably, that's true. Firmware is probably the better name, but the bottom line here is that this is not an official Viewsonic update, it's a altered firmware where you are taking the risk and there is no guarantees that something might not go terribly wrong. I state this clearly in my TNT Lite post, so in all honesty I don't know what else you would have liked me to do other than just pull TNT Lite completely.
I'm sorry to hear that your device is bricked and you cannot get it fixed. But if you've been reading the posts from the last several days I've probably spent more time on supporting TNT Lite than supporting my day job. So when I hear comments that I'm not making my TNT Lite post clear enough, I just have to scratch my head. There are a lot of very smart users on the board and they have been able to help ME out when my own knowledge is lacking, such as with Windows 7 nvflash instructions. My first post is long, but it's long for a reason and when I wrote "If you have any doubts, please consider holding off instead of just throwing caution to the wind" and "Use At Your Own Risk", I don't know how much clearer you want it than that.
It seems like your beef is that calling this a ROM makes this more risky than calling it firmware, in your eyes. I couldn't disagree more. If we want to nitpick on wording, firmware usually resides in a ROM and altering it is ALWAYS a risk (even from a supported vendor). They usually make you agree to that nice big EULA before you proceed, for example. ROM is more hardware based but I've used it interchangeably given how it's worded here in XDA. TNT Lite really doesn't replace the ROM, it is a firmware change - bootloader, kernel, system etc. But again, that doesn't mean it's not risky.
I'm a sysadmin - I update firmware all the time on servers. Don't tell me it's not risky because HP would disagree with you - they have redundant firmware built into their servers because sometimes things go wrong. If you don't want to take on any risk, please do not use my alternate firmware when you get that GTAB replacement - you might want to just stick with stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently you did not read my post. Had no issue with you the developers, just the clarity of the post. I was on here one day when an official Viewsonic post was posted here. It stated such. Only found out about this site from their support site. Don't have an android phone but a smart phone and I belong to that community forum. However, I sourced it out, there is no manufacturer link nor a manufacturer posting comments to that forum.
In addition, they were giving out tips and tweaks, jail breaks and everything else but I bought my phone jailbroken. That being said, thanks on the clarity of what you do. Most of the time it is clear cut in the heading. I didn't have a custom rom because I didn't want one but there were still some other good reading and tips. By the way, nice forum. My cell forum takes a slightly different approach. Everything is seriously laid out in no uncertain terms. The best clear cut approach I have ever seen for a forum.
The problem if there was one, is with VS giving this link. I've read a few posts were the ambiguity was apparent. We are being lead to believe there is some interconnectivity. Despite the fact they are driving up your site traffic they should be paying you at least a stipend for all your work in progressing their product. You spend more time "babysitting and coddling" their customers then they do. I agree there is always some risk with change of any kind. I was thinking drivers and use-ability change not ROM. Thanks for your post.
edirector said:
Apparently you did not read my post. Had no issue with you the developers, just the clarity of the post. I was on here one day when an official Viewsonic post was posted here. It stated such. Only found out about this site from their support site. Don't have an android phone but a smart phone and I belong to that community forum. However, I sourced it out, there is no manufacturer link nor a manufacturer posting comments to that forum.
In addition, they were giving out tips and tweaks, jail breaks and everything else but I bought my phone jailbroken. That being said, thanks on the clarity of what you do. Most of the time it is clear cut in the heading. I didn't have a custom rom because I didn't want one but there were still some other good reading and tips. By the way, nice forum. My cell forum takes a slightly different approach. Everything is seriously laid out in no uncertain terms. The best clear cut approach I have ever seen for a forum.
The problem if there was one, is with VS giving this link. I've read a few posts were the ambiguity was apparent. We are being lead to believe there is some interconnectivity. Despite the fact they are driving up your site traffic they should be paying you at least a stipend for all your work in progressing their product. You spend more time "babysitting and coddling" their customers then they do. I agree there is always some risk with change of any kind. I was thinking drivers and use-ability change not ROM. Thanks for your post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, in the space of a few posts, you managed to go after a developer on this site, the content of his posts and the site itself.
People like you amaze me and are indicative of the problems with society today. How about taking some responsibility for your own actions. You chose to do something. Too bad it didn't work out, but you have no one but yourself to blame.
To blame Roebeet is absurd. Frankly, to blame anyone but yourself is incredible. I have been on this site for quite a while through at least three phones. I have always known that flashing could brick my device. To say you didn't understand the consequences means you are either fooling yourself or you are plain stupid.
ptgptg said:
So, in the space of a few posts, you managed to go after a developer on this site, the content of his posts and the site itself.
People like you amaze me and are indicative of the problems with society today. How about taking some responsibility for your own actions. You chose to do something. Too bad it didn't work out, but you have no one but yourself to blame.
To blame Roebeet is absurd. Frankly, to blame anyone but yourself is incredible. I have been on this site for quite a while through at least three phones. I have always known that flashing could brick my device. To say you didn't understand the consequences means you are either fooling yourself or you are plain stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is what I post to Robeet your business? Stay in your lane. Stay in your lane. Read the other posts. Let's not be disingenuous here. We get that with "bleeding edge and experimental" being clearly outlined.
What part of Viewsonic didn't you get? Why even link from their site to this one? What happened to their own legitimate after purchase product support site?
You have a self esteem problem, it is evidenced by your posts. And, what does the manufacturer providing adequate after purchase support have to do with you? How is this site always the victim? Must be guilt you are adding into your responses. Get a grip.
What I am reading is product owners trying to better their products and find solutions.
MSU_Sparty said:
TouchDown offers either automatic push or manually initiated synchronization between your device (GTab, Phone, etc.) and the Exchange server. It uses whatever connection you have--WiFi or 3G or other. Obviously on the GTab, it's WiFi.
You have all of the typical options available to treat what happens on your GTab as independent from the desktop, superior, subordinate or totally synced. There are tons of options for notifications and display settings too.
There are 2 specific reasons I got Touchdown. It supports pinch and spread to change the size of email text and you can mark appointments as private. Neither of those options exist on the standard mail client--which I think is a pretty stupid omission. Whether it's really worth spending money on, I don't know but it's worked for me.
If you visit the Nitrodesk web site, you can read more details about the product. They let you try it out for 30 days for free with all functions turned on. After that, you have to delete or purchase the unlock key.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you get the beta, I don't think stable works with gtab
Sent from my GTablet-TnT-Lite using Tapatalk
Using any tablet for business is funny stuff.. Quit dragging ass and get back into the office.. for remote administration stuff.. my G2 kicks the **** out of the gtab.. because it has a keyboard.... which can be mapped correctly (unlike using a windows based usb kb on a gtab).
Related
So, i had an interview this morning for a job, and have an opportunity to earna great deal of brownie points with the business owners!
They were thinking of purchasing some sort of electronic signature capture device (like fedex or UPS has when you sign for a package) for invoices.. BUT.. I also mentioned my Droid Eris and how it can do so much... Turns out, both of the Owners have DROIDs lol..
Anyways.. I want to know if anyone has seen some sort of application that can capture signatures, and either save an image to be emailed, or email directly from the app..
OR does anyone know a DEV that could create something as simple as this, that I can talk to and relay updates on the APP to the owners of this company..
They seemed really interested in it, and I'm pretty positive it will show a good bit of initiative in saving their company money from the get-go (on my part)
It would be AWESOME to maybe have a custom app built, specifically for their company, but anything at this point (instant gratification method) would help!
Thank you guys in advance!
EddieVersatile said:
So, i had an interview this morning for a job, and have an opportunity to earna great deal of brownie points with the business owners!
They were thinking of purchasing some sort of electronic signature capture device (like fedex or UPS has when you sign for a package) for invoices.. BUT.. I also mentioned my Droid Eris and how it can do so much... Turns out, both of the Owners have DROIDs lol..
Anyways.. I want to know if anyone has seen some sort of application that can capture signatures, and either save an image to be emailed, or email directly from the app..
OR does anyone know a DEV that could create something as simple as this, that I can talk to and relay updates on the APP to the owners of this company..
They seemed really interested in it, and I'm pretty positive it will show a good bit of initiative in saving their company money from the get-go (on my part)
It would be AWESOME to maybe have a custom app built, specifically for their company, but anything at this point (instant gratification method) would help!
Thank you guys in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a good idea but it seems like it would be difficult to sign on a capacitative touch screen.
Yeah i understand that part, but I think "finger signing" wouldn't be too bad.. Would there be a way to use some sort of "stylus" maybe with a specialized tip that would actually work on the capacitive touch screen?
I'm mainly just wondering.. I think it would be cool to be able to save thousands of dollars on expensive equipment by using what they already have, and just didn't know they could use it.
Signing would be doable if a person could write one letter at a time. I only really know this because of the google expressions application.
They have styluses for cap screens, My mom has one for her iPad. It was really cheap too
<goes to see if it works with nexus one>
Actually you can build your own. (I tried to post you a link to a how to, but I am not permitted to do so)
mooch
I like this idea, and I think I will work on it. I can't make any promises though, if I choose to do this I will start screwing around with it in the next few days. If you have any feature requests go ahead and post them here. Or you can email me at burlyskink (at) gmail dot com
I have seen a local cable install company use moguls for this purpose
There is a signature capture library available for Android. Search for 'biz.binarysolutions.signature' on the Market. I am not allowed to post links, but the developer's site is hiding behind bit.ly / scfahp
Was wondering what my favorite dev community thinks about this Editorial by Nilay Patel of Engadget...
Excerpt:
...But hacking can definitely go too far, and Google doesn't provide any way for you to return to the original Android experience that shipped with your device -- you're at the mercy of the manufacturer and the carrier. Some manufacturers are better than others -- HTC provides updaters for many of its phones -- but some, like Motorola and Samsung, provide nothing at all. Once I left the reservation and installed that leaked 2.2 build, I was gone for good -- no official path back to the fold exists. That's not true on other platforms: if I was running a jailbroken iPhone, I'd just restore it with iTunes, and it would be factory-fresh with known software. That's simply not the case with Android, and it's a problem -- Google can't keep implicitly condoning Android hacking and trading on the enthusiasm of its community unless it requires manufacturers to provide restore tools for every device. Sometimes you just want to go home again.
In my ideal world, consumers would be able to download official stock Android builds for their devices directly from Google, but I'm not ignorant of the carrier- and manufacturer-driven reality we live in. For better or worse, Android's only "open" until the carriers get their hands on it. But Google should insist that every Android manufacturer and carrier release images of their customized firmware for every device as well as tools for easy restoration. It's the only fair way to treat the people who are hacking the platform and giving it the amazing momentum it has, and the only fair way to continue promoting the platform as "open" when in reality the carriers and manufacturers are doing everything they can to lock it down.
Go check it out at Engadget...
He's an idiot. That is all.
Interesting article I thought, and not really any kind of negatives against Android, more against the carriers I thought - like this bit (emphasis mine):
In my ideal world, consumers would be able to download official stock Android builds for their devices directly from Google, but I'm not ignorant of the carrier- and manufacturer-driven reality we live in. For better or worse, Android's only "open" until the carriers get their hands on it. But Google should insist that every Android manufacturer and carrier release images of their customized firmware for every device as well as tools for easy restoration. It's the only fair way to treat the people who are hacking the platform and giving it the amazing momentum it has, and the only fair way to continue promoting the platform as "open" when in reality the carriers and manufacturers are doing everything they can to lock it down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link for those interested:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/editorial-the-dark-side-of-android-hacking/
I will agree it is interesting, I won't agree that his "Editorial" isn't anything negative against Android. He is directly attacking Google and inferring that Google should be held responsible for backups to stock is a phone is bricked amongst other little nuances...
I have been reading Engadget for years, and if there's one thing I am sure of, Nilay Patel is a gigantic Apple/iPhone proponent and it looks to me sometimes he is forced to write articles about Android. He took the picture of that DROID X being operated on with his iPhone 4 FFS... If it quacks like a duck. Topolsky needs to do some better delegating.
Sounds like someone screwed up their phone and isn't happy about it. I doubt they have that many custom roms for phones in India anyways.
PTown599 said:
Sounds like someone screwed up their phone and isn't happy about it. I doubt they have that many custom roms for phones in India anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure if that was a joke or not (haha if so).
If not, Nilay is not in India, he is in Chicago and works for Engadget which is an AOL owned Gadget Blog...
Either way, haha!
He bricked a review unit and then goes onto crib about it.lol
Here is what i want to post there but can't as am in office and not able to login to post a comment.
Dude you bricked a review unit and then you are cribbing about it. what a joke. people have bricked there only unit and got away with it like you did, this is the support of the devs out there.
Also, the title should be "Motorola not supporting devs" , and if you read the forums you can actually go back to the original factory shipped firmware on most of the android phones.
All the devs also publish a warning that you may brick your phone, I have bricked mine a lot of times and got it back to life always.
And you saying that you do not trust your device anymore is like lmao stuff because the same devs and the same forum unbricked your phone.
Last point - Why did you want to upgarde to 2.2 when it was a leaked build and not approved by the manufacturer. I'll tell you why because it was a review unit provided to you free of cost
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JustinDroid said:
I am not sure if that was a joke or not (haha if so).
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Yes, only joking.
I was reading that article and was almost getting mad that he would write something so awful and illogical. He mentions that the droidx has a battery bug because it drained while flashing and he had to hotwire it. He then claims on boot his battery was 70% the entire time.
He failed to realize he was charging his battery during the hardwire. /slaps forehead.
His foolishness is astounding. His reputation just went into the toilet. He should retract this article to save whatever reputation he has left.
I like android more than ios, but i would never expect apple or google to provide a safety net for those trying to bypass the security manufacturers place on a device.
However, I do wish all devices were open and allowed the end user to do whatever they please.
Idiot, yes; idiotic idea...? Not so much... Let's just take this for what it is, an excellent reminder to make an initial post-root nandroid backup and guard it like the Crown Jewels of England lol. For those that didn't hear the agtn show, he's as ignorant on the phone as he is in print and I think it's safe to say he won't be writing anymore editorials for a little while lol. Back to his point though, I think it would be awesome if the carriers and manufacturers showed some love and would post the most current and up to date handset/carrier-specific flashable recovery tool. Google shouldn't be held accountable, that's like saying gas companies are responsible for fuel economy and performance. It's not the fuel's fault, its the car... Same here, Google gives our beloved devices the fuel they need to run, its the manufacturers and carriers that add their own blend of herbs & spices to the mix, making for totally unique end user experiences. Just my opinion though
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I usually refrain from commenting on such articles as they're there to solicit and incite a response so many times intentionally cooked with stupidities and false exaggerations. The article was sensationalist. But I was honestly about to just post this link and mention the guy should either step outside into the real world for a few moments to achieve some balanced realistic perspective or just quit writing such if he can't control his urges to make an official article out of every useless and flawed thought that crosses his brain. He is twisting the best features into the worst. Dark side?
The article is riddled with extremely petty pedantics of few individuas being exploded into a major Android issue. Every individual does this at their own expense and is repeatedly told so and how to get back exactly to what we started with. This is Step 1 knowledge on here. What's so difficult for him to understand? It looks to me like absolutely nothing but a typical cheap shot at Androids revolutionary and unmatched development, flexibility and customizability, and one that is clearly false. The whole reason Android is shooting for the stars is due to consistent development finding solutions for each users problems and niggles.
That's called FUD, and it's trying to detract lay users from Android and its tweaking.
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -
I don't even own an Android phone yet, but my first thought upon reading that was, "why didn't this idiot do a NANDroid backup?"
check out the author Nilay Patel at androidguys podcast.
the link
http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/shows/show_1223038.mp3
listen from 32 mins onwards...
If ANYONE isn't responsible enough or capable of simply backing up their device then they are in no position to install leaked ROMs, etc. Much less to complain when something goes wrong!
I feel allot of engadgets articles are like this! I really can not stand the site at all.
Its constantly apple this, apple that. As if no other phone exists!
daverobson08 said:
If ANYONE isn't responsible enough or capable of simply backing up their device then they are in no position to install leaked ROMs, etc. Much less to complain when something goes wrong!
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Well said. If your going to be using leaked ROMs always back up first! Simples.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
munchy_cool said:
check out the author Nilay Patel at androidguys podcast.
the link
http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/shows/show_1223038.mp3
listen from 32 mins onwards...
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Someone else said, before the server crash ate their reply, that this "podcast" sounds like a bunch of immature kids being stupid and talking over each other randomly without a coherent thought at all. I have to say I agree.
Chanced across this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5uhnJxmKqU
Shows how BAD the stock rom (even its successors) are. Tablet lagged, wifi failed, browser didn't load and something force closed during its show case.
But the guy said "we are expected to be on gingerbread and honeycomb by mid year." Good news?
They should just hire the developers her on XDA (roebeet, rothnic, pershoot, gojimi) to get even a chance.
Actually, the way viewsonic operates looks more like communism than anything else. We know what they came out with doesn't work. They know what they came out with doesn't work. And yet, they insist on continuing to do the same damn thing over and over. It's like having a 5 year plan on top of a 5 year plan over and over even though millions people are starving. They (viewsonic) insist on continuing with TapnTap UI even though it caused the biggest return rate they ever saw. Communism!
The xda community is like capitalism. This is an open market environment where people who are capable contribute what they have and users are presented with many different choices to choose from. Take OC, for example. We can either use Persh's or we can use Clem's kernel.
We've learned from history that communism simply doesn't work. Why? Because people have no choice. What's given to people to use isn't the best but rather what the originator could present to the premiere. We all know how sucky TapnTap UI is, but the fact of the matter is TapnTap has access to the premiere, aka Viewsonic's board. It doesn't matter if TapnTap suck ass. Just like that submarine called the widow maker. It doesn't matter if people keep dying from radiation exposure and all of that good stuff. The premiere says people have to use it and people use it. That's how communism works.
Not to turn this into a political thread, but we have never witnessed pure Communism.
What we have witnessed in history are Authoritarian governments using the term Communism or Socialism and even Democracy, as a way to deceive the people into supporting them, until the people realize too late; that they have given away their freedoms.
Many countries claim to be democracies, except they rig the ballot box and 'disappear' people who oppose them. Communism, Socialism, Democracies; the labels don't matter, the results do.
Does Apple or Microsoft allow end users the ability to easily 'root' their devices or even offer their code to the community, like ViewSonic has? If not, are they communist-like?
ViewSonic has created a truly bad UI. That's because they're not in the UI business and unfortunately have made several bad choices. Do you really believe they wanted to take back all those devices and receive the bad press? They have paid for those choices in market-share and reputation, just as the free market demands.
Further, they have responded to recent user demands and have in the past released their code, which allows the 'capitalism' on XDA you cheer about. Without code, you can have no choice. Without Nvidia releasing their drivers, Gingerbread will be doomed not to have hardware acceleration. If they don't release their code, is Nvidia communist-like?
A truly Authoritarian company would not have responded to the emails, tweets and phone calls of average users and they certainly wouldn't have offered any code or tried to deal with the users on this forum.
Try getting that response from Apple or Microsoft.
What you are witnessing in ViewSonic is not some take on Communism, but the typical results of a business that merely 'rebrands' merchandise with no real understanding of what the device does and more importantly what it should do.
It's no different than a company sending a job lot of talking Barbies to South America and not bothering to check if the dolls spoke English or Spanish. Bad research? Yes, but if I have razor thin profit margins, do I really invest more money into the hole I am already in or do I just fill it in and start digging somewhere else?
I guarantee you, someone looked at the numbers involved in this mess and decided to band-aid just enough to shut the community up, while positioning the community to help them push their next product.
You have to remember that for the average user and there are many on the board who have said so, the latest TNT UI, is 'good enough' and that's all ViewSonic needs to produce... Good enough.
jholmes5 said:
Not to turn this into a political thread, but we have never witnessed pure Communism.
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I completely agree. I was using the word communism to avoid this very thing... a political debate. That said, I was comparing one specific aspect of these communist/authoritarian/goo-gaga/hoogabooga (call it whatever you want) to what we're seeing in VS in regard to the gtab.
Everyone, including VS, knows that TapnTap UI simply is sluggish and doesn't do the gtab's hardware justice. And yet, VS continues to use the TapnTap UI.
It's like the 5 year plan on top of the 5 year plan that starved millions of people. Everyone knew that those plans never worked, and yet those communist/authoritarian/goo-gaga/hoogabooga (call it whatever you want) kept using those plans. Sure, they eventually improved upon those plans to a "good enough" state.
Does Apple or Microsoft allow end users the ability to easily 'root' their devices or even offer their code to the community, like ViewSonic has? If not, are they communist-like?
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No, but you're forgetting something. By law, VS had to release the source code under the GNU license. There have been companies completely liquidated because they broke this law.
ViewSonic has created a truly bad UI. That's because they're not in the UI business and unfortunately have made several bad choices. Do you really believe they wanted to take back all those devices and receive the bad press? They have paid for those choices in market-share and reputation, just as the free market demands.
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And again, I was comparing this one aspect of the whole gtab return rate fiasco to those communist/authoritarian/goo-gaga/hoogabooga (call it whatever you want) regimes. Do you think those regimes wanted to see millions of their people starve to death? And yet there they were kept making the same mistakes over and over. We're seeing the same damn thing with VS. They don't want to see those high return rates, and yet here we are with VS continuing to use TapnTap UI.
Further, they have responded to recent user demands and have in the past released their code, which allows the 'capitalism' on XDA you cheer about. Without code, you can have no choice. Without Nvidia releasing their drivers, Gingerbread will be doomed not to have hardware acceleration. If they don't release their code, is Nvidia communist-like?
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I've a different comparison to this one particular thing as well. The gtab to VS seems to be that one child that the parent wanted to become a doctor but then he ended up being an engineer so the parent is ashamed and doesn't want to mention him at gatherings. When it comes to it, the parent proclaims that he hasn't disowned his son. That said, he isn't fond of his son either.
The gtab is very popular because of the hardware. And yet VS continues to shy away from the device. They only mention it once or twice when they are pressured to do so by the community.
A truly Authoritarian company would not have responded to the emails, tweets and phone calls of average users and they certainly wouldn't have offered any code or tried to deal with the users on this forum.
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Oh, please, a truly anything wouldn't do a lot of things. A truly android tablet would have market right out of the box. A truly dog wouldn't eat vegatable (my dog last year went through and ate all my veg in the garden). A truly cat wouldn't come when you call it (my friend's cat comes when you call her). What's your point?
Try getting that response from Apple or Microsoft.
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I never said those companies don't resemble communist/authoritarian/goo-gaga/hoogabooga (call it whatever you want) in certain areas. Take windows vista, for example. To this day after update after update and service pack, it's still a piece of crap.
What you are witnessing in ViewSonic is not some take on Communism, but the typical results of a business that merely 'rebrands' merchandise with no real understanding of what the device does and more importantly what it should do.
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No, what I'm witnessing is you not seeing my point in comparing just one aspect of the matter and instead nitpick other things. For example, suppose I say "Like you, I need to use the bathroom on a daily basis." Imagine how annoyed I'd be if you respond with "But you're not like me because I was born here and you weren't." Sure, I can't dispute that, but that's not what I was talking about.
Ok guys.... let's get back to the topic of the OP or else we'll close this thread
I was quite happy with my stock G tablet until this latest update. Back to being sluggish at least on web surfing.
If this was Apple they would try to shame you for believing anything is even wrong.
Woah haha...we've digressed quite a bit eh. Anyway, i think Viewsonic or the OEM just contracted TapnTap to do this for the g tab. Can't really blame VS for everything -> if the startup was a little more capable, everything would be fine.
amusedkid said:
Woah haha...we've digressed quite a bit eh. Anyway, i think Viewsonic or the OEM just contracted TapnTap to do this for the g tab. Can't really blame VS for everything -> if the startup was a little more capable, everything would be fine.
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Why can't we blame them for everything? They were the one who decided to put that terrible TapnTap UI. And even after that initial mass returns because of the sluggish UI performance, all they did to try to fix it was change all the later ones to classic view.
In engineering, we call this the no-common-sense engineer. Do something, see that it doesn't work, try to do it again and again and again.
Go ahead then.changes nothing though.
Sent from my GTablet-TnT-Lite using Tapatalk
amusedkid said:
Go ahead then.changes nothing though.
Sent from my GTablet-TnT-Lite using Tapatalk
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I know it changes nothing. VS doesn't seem to feel bad about keep putting the TapnTap UI on there, so it doesn't matter what we think.
goodintentions said:
I know it changes nothing. VS doesn't seem to feel bad about keep putting the TapnTap UI on there, so it doesn't matter what we think.
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There are plenty of tablets out there without the TapnTap, why do you stick with it?
As far I'm concern, that TapnTap makes the ViewSonic WAF capable tablet. I have mine on the Fidge and she can't live without it now. This is a great software, not perfect yet but lot more user friendly than the majority at this price tag. If we have a tablet today, it's because of TapnTap, that about it.
I feel you will be better served with an Android no name tablet that you can dismantle and hack the way you want.
Again, this tablet is not for you.
Charles
cjean said:
There are plenty of tablets out there without the TapnTap, why do you stick with it?
As far I'm concern, that TapnTap makes the ViewSonic WAF capable tablet. I have mine on the Fidge and she can't live without it now. This is a great software, not perfect yet but lot more user friendly than the majority at this price tag. If we have a tablet today, it's because of TapnTap, that about it.
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And yet the high return rates because of TapnTap tells us otherwise. In this case, TapnTap decided to sacrifice speed and efficiency for the sake of user friendliness.
goodintentions said:
And yet the high return rates because of TapnTap tells us otherwise. In this case, TapnTap decided to sacrifice speed and efficiency for the sake of user friendliness.
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like the "Evolution" of Windows....
Reading the other forums for similar HTC devices, ie incredible s, sensation and evo 3d makes me realise how lucky we are. Those devices and therefore forums may be more popular than this one.
But, I find it quite surprising how many of those people that bother to respond to threads on the other device forums, respond with attitude and negativity. Without intentionally bashing other members, by comparison we seen a more considerate bunch, with less "know it alls". Lets keep it that way.
I think that we are very lucky in that sense and should endeavour to continue the good spirit and sense of community.
on the same note do remember that there is a search button which should always be used prior to posting new threads, also remember that when creating a new thread if the tags added aren't any good then it will never be found by others when searching.
As another member says....peace and lets try to carry on the good attitude
Swyped from HTC Desire S using XDA Premium
DITTO. Other phones might have more ROMs, but no support. The sensation forum has so many posts, that one's question would be buried behind 50 others rather than 1 reply
I think it probably has a lot to do with the desire s not being a stand out when it comes to features, but what it does offer is a high quality handset with very reasonable performance.
But I will agree with the quality of posts in other forums, although this isn't an overly active forum, what it lacks in activeness it gains in quality.
I wouldn't worry about a lack of support as we have some great users (proxuser?) porting ROMs almost non stop, LBC for his fantasic ROM and the Virtuous team for their more in depth multi handset ROM.
I really have to agree here. This part of the forum is awsome. Every member gives a hand when needed, developers are close to users, and there is no extra off topic that drives me crazy.
I congratulate me everyday for picking this phone instead of Nexus S !
That, and the nexus s is basically a phone made of happy meal toy plastic ;-) as I have been saying to the three black sheep that are at school with me who all got one in a matter of a week .
zeekiz said:
I wouldn't worry about a lack of support as we have some great users (proxuser?) porting ROMs almost non stop, LBC for his fantasic ROM and the Virtuous team for their more in depth multi handset ROM.
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we mustn't forget superkid who seemed to start our ROM porting gold rush! madmax without whose super recovery EXT4 we would have very sore fingers and damaged volume buttoins along with everyone else Marylandcookie and many more I can't remember right now!!
yeah, superkid, proxuser, LBC, Virtuous Team, and others like ben_pyett (who has provided non-stop support in the genreal section) have made this forum what it is
I have a Desire S. My loyalty was tested when my sister recently gave me the Incredible S for my birthday. It was so tempting and I HEAVILY contemplated migrating to it. I went on youtube watching reviews, read reviews, checked out the development community over at xda. After a long struggle of choosing between the two, I gave away the Inc S. I had a choice, and at the end of the day my loyalty stays strong to the Desire S. I couldn't get away from its robustness and slender design. Aren't you all proud?
My point is what kept me clinging was this community of developers. To put it simply, I didn't wanna leave you guys for the very same reasons stated by ben. The Inc S had more ROMs but most of them were abandoned. I stuck around because I am a fan of LBC and have great hopes and belief for it.
And Ben, you're one of the most active members on this development I've seen so the props go to you mate.
Seriously, this device is so underrated. The Inc S may be bigger and slightly better but I feel most comfortable with the DS. It's so adequate, perfect and extremely well designed. I just love the look and feel of it in my hand. Everything is just the right amount.
In terms of size, 3.7" is perfect for me. 4" is tolerable. But 4.3", Jesus Christ. Who else is not diggin' the new trend for smartphones getting bigger and bigger? Not me. Unless its gonna do my laundry for me, I don't a mini tablet as a phone.
"Who else is not diggin' the new trend for smartphones getting bigger and bigger? Not me. Unless its gonna do my laundry for me, I don't a mini tablet as a phone."
Totally agree mate and yeah Ben deserves major Kudos ,he helped me a lot at the start when I thought I had bricked my Desire S and getting the LBC rom
THANKS
Many Thanks gentlemen, but, stop it you're making me blush.
Honestly I didn't create this thread for praise, just simply to point out the differnce between this and the majority of previously listed forums attitudes, just try reading some of the posts from the other forums for yourselves and you'll see exactly what I mean.
I try to put in as much as I can, as I too am only a beginner, this being my first Android device and I figure sooner or later I'll need some real help. I also benefit from the time and effort that's put in by the various ROM cooks and figure that this is the only way that I can give back.
Not escaping the fact that I'm ultimately a bit of a geek who likes this stuff and is always keen to learn (Even at my ripe old age).
shrome99 said:
yeah, superkid, proxuser, LBC, Virtuous Team, and others like ben_pyett (who has provided non-stop support in the genreal section) have made this forum what it is
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+1,i totally agree
this forum & all the members are really great
& the community is also getting really big now,thanks to all the hard work of the devs
& also a BIG thanks to Ben for spending so much time here on the forum, helping all of us
edit:
ben_pyett said:
I try to put in as much as I can
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that is what we are thanking you for
This really is a live and warm forum ....
Thank you very much ben_pyett
Indeed this really is a live and warm forum
I got responses and advises here and there throughout the threads within.
Thank you all and keep it rolling
The phone (I call it a Disaster S now) is one of the worst I have ever experienced. I won't bore you with the details, just that I'm with all those who moan some of its even basic features are unpredictable and unreliable at best.
So I too like this forum. I just come here for therapy now ;-)
WibblyW said:
The phone (I call it a Disaster S now) is one of the worst I have ever experienced. I won't bore you with the details, just that I'm with all those who moan some of its even basic features are unpredictable and unreliable at best.
So I too like this forum. I just come here for therapy now ;-)
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LOL
<cut n paste from our other thread>
I believe that either you have a massive dud unit, or it's about time that you took the chance and moved to a custom ROM!
I've has this phone since April and have the exact opposite opinion! I've used LBC Mod since it was first available after I S-OFF'd and rooted my phone, I have tried the other ROMS all of which offer different things, depending on what you're looking for, but, for me coming from a WM Sense background I'm very happy with a "working" close to stock ROM that's stable reliable and ideal for daily use.
I'm also on T-mobile UK. Happy to point you in the right direction - if needed.
Well, I don't want to brick my phone (even reports of frying internals just by removal/reinsertion of battery!) or have warranty problems. Already had motherboard replaced once...
Let me count the ways... Some are these things may be Android platform related, some the Disaster S (hardware), some the stock firmware, or network incompatibility.
- Before the motherboard was replaced, phone would spontaneously reboot seeming triggered by being in poor reception areas when it was going in/out of coverage. It also managed to crash my car radio (and itself) when connected to the car radio via Bluetooth (no other phone has done that)
- Now it randomly fails to tell me about market updates, randomly stops notifying of incoming SMSs properly, some settings in some (standard/built in) apps seem to revert for no reason, it occasionally refuses accept an incoming call when there's indicated coverage. I recently had random emails delayed by over an hour (but I wasn't told by the market there was a GMail update)... yada yada
My all-time record up time before doing a restart to (temporarily) fix one thing or another is about 10 days. Normally it's 5 or less. The worst thing is it's unpredictable. I never know when something's going to break and I'll miss calls, emails or txts, or it will get stuck in a syncing loop draining battery (Exchange contacts sync in the HTC Email app gets turned on somehow, even though I keep deselecting it).
It's just a toy really. Something to show your mates down the pub. Not really fit for purpose. And I'm fed up of looking for workarounds or apps to replace in-built functionality that's supposed to work. Blackberry may not be so pretty, but in my experience they tend to do 'exactly what they say on the tin'. I will prob be back to RIM when I can...
wrong thread.
WibblyW said:
Well, I don't want to brick my phone (even reports of frying internals just by removal/reinsertion of battery!) or have warranty problems. Already had motherboard replaced once...
Let me count the ways... Some are these things may be Android platform related, some the Disaster S (hardware), some the stock firmware, or network incompatibility.
- Before the motherboard was replaced, phone would spontaneously reboot seeming triggered by being in poor reception areas when it was going in/out of coverage. It also managed to crash my car radio (and itself) when connected to the car radio via Bluetooth (no other phone has done that)
- Now it randomly fails to tell me about market updates, randomly stops notifying of incoming SMSs properly, some settings in some (standard/built in) apps seem to revert for no reason, it occasionally refuses accept an incoming call when there's indicated coverage. I recently had random emails delayed by over an hour (but I wasn't told by the market there was a GMail update)... yada yada
My all-time record up time before doing a restart to (temporarily) fix one thing or another is about 10 days. Normally it's 5 or less. The worst thing is it's unpredictable. I never know when something's going to break and I'll miss calls, emails or txts, it will get stuck in a syncing loop draining battery (Exchange contact sync in the HTC Email app gets turned on somehow, even though I keep deselecting it).
It's just a toy really. Something to show your mates down the pub. Not really fit for purpose. And I'm fed up of looking for workarounds or apps to replace in-built functionality that's supposed to work. Blackberry may not be so pretty, but in my experience they tend to do 'exactly what they say on the tin'. I will prob be back to RIM when I can...
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Ouch...I feel your pain, although that sounds like you should get a replacement unit under warranty, or move back to something that you'll be happier with.
ben_pyett said:
Ouch...I feel your pain, although that sounds like you should get a replacement unit under warranty, or move back to something that you'll be happier with.
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Indeed. Hence my comment about RIM. Ironic that my main reason for going Android was the tighter integration with all things in the Google cloud, but in real world terms I've found RIM do that more reliably. Go figure?!?
I don't actually think it's a hardware problem with the Disaster insofar as the nature of the probs makes me think it's firmware and the way I use it. For example I use Exchange, 802.1x wireless authentication, 4 Google apps accounts, etc. I'm sure others do too but maybe not in the same combination. Whatever. Sadly I frequently seem to find what become confirmed bugs in products that others don't.
zeekiz said:
wrong thread.
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Yeah, sorry. Maybe we need a 'therapy' forum anyway lol. Or a new topic "Unlucky to have the Disaster S, lucky to have this forum"
Not everybody is lucky.
I really think that you've got a bad/defective unit. Everybody around here enjoys this phone and squeezes every bit of performance and eyecandy out of it.
Hello all. First time post. Let me start off by thanking you for accepting me into this fine community.
I had to chuckle while reading some excellent posts on the good and bad points when it came to some of the performance and features of the Infinity.
The reason for the chuckle was because I had this forum opened in one tab of my browser, and Amazon opened in another. I had actually been looking over the contents on my shopping cart. In it was one(1) ASUS Infinity tablet. I placed the item there a few days ago, but for some reason I couldn't get myself to hit the "Submit Order" button. Something just didn't feel right about the purchase. The decision over which tablet to choose is becoming more and more confusing. With talk about what may or may not be available in the not too distant future re: New iPad, Windows 8, etc etc really has me hesitating at this juncture.
My two daughters each purchased the new iPad so at least I have an opportunity to get a feel of what that product has to offer. Unfortunately, detaching them from their new toy has been a struggle all its own. One of the main reasons for my looking at products other than Apple is that their products seems SO proprietary.
In any case, I think that I will keep visiting this forum for a while longer before I make a final decision as to which tablet to choose. My apologies for the long-winded post. Peter
Hi Peter,
Deciding what Tablet you want for yourself is a very personal decision. If you really don't care about the environment (iOS vs Android) and are just a casual user - I do have a recommendation. At the risk of being flamed, I would say to get an iPad.
It comes down to this: Apps make the ecosystem. While android is gaining in applications and games, and just put out a huge checklist for Tablet developers, apple has a better application and gaming experience for the average user. You are absolutely subject to the proprietary OS, but most people don't care. It's good enough.
I love android (and I suspect that many others do as well) for a few reasons. It's mine. It's fully customizable and I can but really cool community built OS's Recovieries, etc on it. I've learned a lot about how devices work and the things most people don't see. That said, I've had my share of problems too. Many users don't know enough and brick their devices trying to do something that sounds cool but they don't fully understand. If you're a casual user there is no need to get caught up in it. Apple does in fact set the standard for hardware and Android will briefly surpass it, but it's always a tight race. Also, there are a lot more accessories for the iPad then any tablet device. I also love it because I enjoy pushing the envelope and making things better. Finally I love the community around android. It's awesome that I see the same usernames popping up across our little section of XDA helping each other out, supporting each other, joking around, and disagreeing even. It's fun.
Also, for the casual user you can go to a nearby apple store and get your issues fixed if you mess something up.
The first decision you make should be an ecosystem/environmental one. Also, if you don't have itunes there is a bit of a learning curve. I don't think that Apple products have that "intuitive feel" everyone claims. Android just seems harder because there is more customization that can take place.
Before I get flamed - I'm not advocating for Apple or the iPad, but I am advocating for really thinking about what kind of device you want and what you want to get out of it before you make your decision.
Good luck and if you have you have more questions, we're happy to help!
Osteele said:
Hello all. First time post. Let me start off by thanking you for accepting me into this fine community.
I had to chuckle while reading some excellent posts on the good and bad points when it came to some of the performance and features of the Infinity.
The reason for the chuckle was because I had this forum opened in one tab of my browser, and Amazon opened in another. I had actually been looking over the contents on my shopping cart. In it was one(1) ASUS Infinity tablet. I placed the item there a few days ago, but for some reason I couldn't get myself to hit the "Submit Order" button. Something just didn't feel right about the purchase. The decision over which tablet to choose is becoming more and more confusing. With talk about what may or may not be available in the not too distant future re: New iPad, Windows 8, etc etc really has me hesitating at this juncture.
My two daughters each purchased the new iPad so at least I have an opportunity to get a feel of what that product has to offer. Unfortunately, detaching them from their new toy has been a struggle all its own. One of the main reasons for my looking at products other than Apple is that their products seems SO proprietary.
In any case, I think that I will keep visiting this forum for a while longer before I make a final decision as to which tablet to choose. My apologies for the long-winded post. Peter
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Click to collapse
You are welcome here, whatever you decide, but if you go with another tablet or OS, please don't come and tease us about how much better/faster/cooler yours is than ours. that really gets on my nerves, lol!
But I'm sure you would never do that.
I would advocate that if you are interested in customising your tablet, the Infinity is a good one. First of all, it has a beautiful screen, will continue to receive firmware/OS updates and is finally starting to be well supported by some of the best developers in the Android ecosystem. Personally, I don't care about iOS on any level. It's far to closed a system for me, too limited. My Infinity , running CleanROM v1.3 with TWRP 2.3.0.0. recovery absolutely flies. It is super fluid and very powerful. I keep it connected to its keyboard dock and I take it off the charger at 5:30 a.m. and never have to charge again though 17 hour day of almost constant use. Much of that use is internet browsing and with the CleanROM tweaks, the stock browser performs incredibly well. I also have a flawless tablet and dock. Never any problems. I also take care of it, but nothing out of the ordinary...just keep it in its case...don't drop it or spill on it.
I've been using it instead of a laptop, and it just about replaces my desktop. Browsing is actually faster on the Infinity, and watching videos is a lot nicer. I haven't used the HDMI port, so I can't comment on it, but having the micro sd, the fullsize sd and full size USB ports means I never have to worry about not having enough storage...my 750GB WD Passport works perfectly in the USB port. That's a lot of movies.
Well, I know some people are worried about unlocking and voiding their asus warranty in order to flash custom software, but I found that a 2 year square deal warranty with accidental damage coverage works better for me anyway. It cost me $99, but I found out later that with a coupon I could have saved $30. Oh well.
Anyway, good luck with your decision!
wolfman87 said:
Hi Peter,
Deciding what Tablet you want for yourself is a very personal decision. If you really don't care about the environment (iOS vs Android) and are just a casual user - I do have a recommendation. At the risk of being flamed, I would say to get an iPad.
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Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the quick response wolfman87. I wish that I could say that you've helped me move closer my ultimate decision. But of course you are absolutely right about that decision being a very personal one.
I suppose that there are so many factors that one may have to consider. It's so bizarre because I have been in IT for quite a while now and whenever a client asks for a quote on a new piece of hardware for example, the first question that I ask is: What exactly do you plan on doing with this new piece of hardware?
A liitle bit about myself:
Spend most of my time in a Windows client / server environment. (For better or worse my clients have dictated my skill-level)
Which is probably the reason that I am always looking to learn new things. Lately that has been:
Ubuntu desktop and server.
Virtual PBX (freePBX and Asterisk and PIAF)
Video Tutorials. Everything from Linux, jQuery, ASP .NET, Visual Studio, javascript.
Some of the things that I would like for a tablet to be able to do for me:
Receive and send email. Multiple Microsoft Exchange accounts required.
Connect remotely to client machines.
Browse the internet (many sites still require Flash)
Read all of the epub and pdf material that I now have sitting on my HP laptop
Would like to use a SIP client in order to dial thru my home based PBX with a secure VPN tunnel.
I enjoy recording music on my SSL Soundscape DAW.
Things that I found interesting about the Infinity:
Connectivity eg. HDMI - External storage - Dock
So far, I do not think that the iPad can offer any of these things. Unless I am wrong of course !!!
Once again, let me apologize for this long-winded response as well.
I thank you so much for your time and input. It is greatly appreciated.
Peter
okantomi said:
You are welcome here, whatever you decide, but if you go with another tablet or OS, please don't come and tease us about how much better/faster/cooler yours is than ours. that really gets on my nerves, lol!
But I'm sure you would never do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are absolutely right okantomi, I would never come back to do such a thing. By the way, thank you for the great response. I suppose that some of the negative stuff that I read in certain sections of this forum got me a little nervous. I should know better. We don't live in a perfect world, and no ONE item is going to please everyone. This phenomema is what brings about change and improvement.
I will give it another day or two, discuss the purchase with my better half, then see what we come up with.
Have a great weekend. Peter
Here's my two cents... Above, someone mentioned apps... Basically, an iPad is just that - an interface to run apps. On the other hand, Android does so much more. Besides running apps, the OS itself is actually useful and a great productivity tool. The widgets that run on your desktop are simply awesome. Just by looking at my home screen, I can see my upcoming appointments, the time, the date, the weather, my Gmail account and my work email account (exchange). I can do all of that simply by turning the device on! When you turn on an Ipad you see icons - that's about it.
Add to that the features of the Transformer series, such as a keyboard dock with an extra battery, a trackpad, memory card readers, HDMI-out and a USB port and I think you can see just how powerful a Transformer running Android can be. I actually started out with an iPad 1 (as it was basically the first tablet available) - it was a great device - until I stumbled upon Android and the Transformer line! You really can do so much more with a Transformer than you can with an iPad. Hell - even this post - just try typing this on an iPad - it would take forever with the on-screen keyboard!
Like had already been stated - it all depends on what you want the device to do. For me, the iPad is just way too limiting. It may have more apps (for now - although that's beginning to change), but that is literally all that you can do with it - runs apps. There are no widgets. There is no way to expand upon the hardware (I.E. extra ports). It's very "basic".
Anyway, good luck deciding - I have a feeling that we'll be seeing you around these parts soon enough though!
By the way, don't let the "complainers" in this forum scare you off - it's mainly just so same few posters complaining over and over again. Or, it's folks that don't even own the TF700! It is deceiving - there are *many* happy TF700 users out there!
Sorry for the long post - it's just so easy to get long winded when you have a real keyboard to type with!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
Osteele said:
Thank you so much for the quick response wolfman87. I wish that I could say that you've helped me move closer my ultimate decision. But of course you are absolutely right about that decision being a very personal one.
I suppose that there are so many factors that one may have to consider. It's so bizarre because I have been in IT for quite a while now and whenever a client asks for a quote on a new piece of hardware for example, the first question that I ask is: What exactly do you plan on doing with this new piece of hardware?
A liitle bit about myself:
Spend most of my time in a Windows client / server environment. (For better or worse my clients have dictated my skill-level)
Which is probably the reason that I am always looking to learn new things. Lately that has been:
Ubuntu desktop and server.
Virtual PBX (freePBX and Asterisk and PIAF)
Video Tutorials. Everything from Linux, jQuery, ASP .NET, Visual Studio, javascript.
Some of the things that I would like for a tablet to be able to do for me:
Receive and send email. Multiple Microsoft Exchange accounts required.
Connect remotely to client machines.
Browse the internet (many sites still require Flash)
Read all of the epub and pdf material that I now have sitting on my HP laptop
Would like to use a SIP client in order to dial thru my home based PBX with a secure VPN tunnel.
I enjoy recording music on my SSL Soundscape DAW.
Things that I found interesting about the Infinity:
Connectivity eg. HDMI - External storage - Dock
So far, I do not think that the iPad can offer any of these things. Unless I am wrong of course !!!
Once again, let me apologize for this long-winded response as well.
I thank you so much for your time and input. It is greatly appreciated.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might be a jumble of thoughts - sorry in advance:
That's really good information actually. From the first post it sounded much more casual. Since the needs that you have are more technical I would lean towards the Android side of things (I think that there are more IT based applications for Android). You can definitely set up exchange accounts (not sure how many, but I know you can). You can also remote into other machines (VPN, I think RDP, etc.). Of course web browsing comes standard, even on the base model
If you are going to be doing a lot of emails the dock absolutely is worth it. for ~$100 (if you get the 201) you get basically a netbook KB and the extra battery life. I have a friend who uses a bluetooth KB for his iPad and it lasts a while itself, but doesn't increase the tablet uptime.
Also a few people are working on getting a distro of linux up on this. It's harder since the bootloader isn't the same as the older models, but I don't think that it's something you can do on the iPad.
If you aren't running any iDevices right now it makes sense to stick with Android/Windows as an ecosystem. My other advice is go to play.google.com and look around at the apps, specifically for what you want to do: (for example: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=SIP&c=apps). This will help you get a feel for what is out there and what you can do.
For hooking up to HDMI - I actually may have blown the port on mine recently - I still haven't tested it again. But I got the Square Trade warranty through amazon (2 years plus accidental damage) for about $75. They're a solid provider and while I hope I don't have to use them, they don't care if you voided your ASUS warranty with unlocking, etc.
If you you and your better half will be using the tablet, I would say to stick to the infinity since the screen is super crisp (I assume that for emails, PDF's, remote PBXing, you aren't worried too much about the resolution) and it gets bright in the outdoors (IPS+). I have an iPad 2 for work and it really is much better than even that screen. Not as good as the iPads, but the best on the market for android.
If you really don't care about the screen, there are other good models out there. The Infinity rocks in terms of horsepower and as I mentioned the screen. Those are probably the two BEST things about it. I figure (for me) it will last at least 2 maybe 3 years. (hopefully more)
Oh, as a note - try before you buy. The headset jack is a bit weird and if you do a lot of audio it takes a bit to get used to holding it closer to the top.
Oh, and no need to apologize for being long winded
To all you great folks who have taken the time to respond to my lenghty posts, my heartfelt thanks. I have to be very honest, and I hope that this doesn't come off sounding strange, I am not a huge APPS kinda guy. Maybe I am not up to speed with that whole apps thing, but I just can't see why some folks put so much emphasis on the procurement of apps. Let's face it, how many are you really going to need / use. Once you find the ones that do exactly what you need for them to do that should pretty much do it.
Well, that's just me talking of course. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that most of the time I am using my machines for work and not so much for play.
Have yourselves a safe and enjoyable weekend!
Thank you
Peter
Osteele said:
I wish that I could say that you've helped me move closer my ultimate decision.
[...]
It's so bizarre because I have been in IT for quite a while now and whenever a client asks for a quote on a new piece of hardware for example, the first question that I ask is: What exactly do you plan on doing with this new piece of hardware?
[...]
Ubuntu desktop and server.
Virtual PBX (freePBX and Asterisk and PIAF)
Video Tutorials. Everything from Linux, jQuery, ASP .NET, Visual Studio, javascript.
Some of the things that I would like for a tablet to be able to do for me:
Receive and send email. Multiple Microsoft Exchange accounts required.
Connect remotely to client machines.
Browse the internet (many sites still require Flash)
Read all of the epub and pdf material that I now have sitting on my HP laptop
Would like to use a SIP client in order to dial thru my home based PBX with a secure VPN tunnel.
I enjoy recording music on my SSL Soundscape DAW.
Things that I found interesting about the Infinity:
Connectivity eg. HDMI - External storage - Dock
So far, I do not think that the iPad can offer any of these things. Unless I am wrong of course !!!
Once again, let me apologize for this long-winded response as well.
I thank you so much for your time and input. It is greatly appreciated.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If web browsing is a must -- and for most of us, it is -- then pretty much any Android machine wins over any iDevice because of Flash support (even with the support detracted on JB devices, you can still sideload the apk and it will still work).
Shell connection has several (free) apps available. I do that from home, mostly, so I do not have really extensive experience with them.
EPub and PDF -- Mantano all the way (I use it for both technical reading (medical and biochemical literature, mostly) and leisure reading (although that is non-fiction as well, mainly (astro)physics, quantum dynamics, archeology -- the high resolution screen REALLY helps in that corner, for it renders formulae, graphs, tables, and such just beautifully!).
To me, given both private and work use, TF700 hands-down, but as has been said oftentimes on this thread already, it's your choice. And indeed you are welcome in here anyway.
Osteele said:
[...]I am not a huge APPS kinda guy. Maybe I am not up to speed with that whole apps thing, but I just can't see why some folks put so much emphasis on the procurement of apps. Let's face it, how many are you really going to need / use. Once you find the ones that do exactly what you need for them to do that should pretty much do it.
Well, that's just me talking of course. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that most of the time I am using my machines for work and not so much for play.
Have yourselves a safe and enjoyable weekend!
Thank you
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does make a major difference whether you use the 700 for work alone or also for leisure activity. I have two kids, aged 4 and 2, and they love tablet -- and they're ever handier than me. :S The app thingy is an ongoing search for the best-performing launcher, the best-performing office application, etc. -- and a lot of it is hoarding (I have enough games purchased-but-not-played-yet to last me for the next decade-and-a-half, hahaha!).
(Oh, and sometimes, an app is really good for all things it does, but it doesn't incorporate a feature you need. You then find another app that does, but that one either has a clunky interface (preventing everyday use) or misses some feature the other app did provide... and so on, and so on. )
Jtrosky already tackled this, but I wanted to emphasize it a bit: currently, only a small minority has devices that display major faults. Don't let the few posts about them detract you from trusting the TF700.
I was one of the many that noticed low I/O performance, which is the one issue that is faithfully reproducible, I guess -- and although not eliminated entirely, it has been greatly improved upon by recent updates. I was one of the instigators of the "I/O pressure" -- I unashamedly admit -- and I think we did the right thing in being so vocal. I love my 700, though, and I am easily standing up against the many friends carrying iDevices around (with regards to both screen quality, battery life, physical keyboard, and connection options (main USB, (micro)SD cards)...
Have a good and merry weekend yourself as well!
MartyHulskemper said:
If web browsing is a must -- and for most of us, it is -- then pretty much any Android machine wins over any iDevice because of Flash support (even with the support detracted on JB devices, you can still sideload the apk and it will still work).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good morning Marty, and thank you for your valuable input. Undoubtedly, you seem to be getting the most out of your trusty tablet. I am happy to hear that.
I am going to take in all I can about tablets in general this weekend. I know that can probably set me a back a while. I am currently delving into a little .NET programming. So, there is always WIndows 8 tablets.
Came across this article last nite:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010050/leaked-windows-8-tablet-pricing-suggests-asus-is-targeting-big-spenders.html
Will most likely add to my confusion though. No one is holding a gun to my head, right?
Have a wonderful day wherever you may be!
Peter
Osteele said:
Good morning Marty, and thank you for your valuable input. Undoubtedly, you seem to be getting the most out of your trusty tablet. I am happy to hear that.
I am going to take in all I can about tablets in general this weekend. I know that can probably set me a back a while. I am currently delving into a little .NET programming. So, there is always WIndows 8 tablets.
Came across this article last nite:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010050/leaked-windows-8-tablet-pricing-suggests-asus-is-targeting-big-spenders.html
Will most likely add to my confusion though. No one is holding a gun to my head, right?
Have a wonderful day wherever you may be!
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, no, you're only in as much hurry as you put yourself in -- that Intel-based ASUS tablet is priced outrageously high -- 1399 dollars for a tablet? Meh. The people that would pay that )to include the dock accessory) would rather pay 1100 dollars for a really good laptop instead. I'd that swell, and I'd gain Windows gaming in the process (Borderlands 2 on the train commute ftw, hahaha! ) and a crapload of ecosystem apps that have been refined over many years instead of the 2 years we have had Android tablet apps and 0, nada, zilch for Windows 8 tablet apps.
If they price it lower, though, it might even be very tempting (especially when they do not break compatibility with Windows 7 applications -- I haven't been paying much attention to Windows 8. I guess I have some catching up to do...
And as far as your catching up goes: yes, I'd expect you to be busy reading for a week or two, at least. As we say in Holland: it will, at the very least, keep you off the streets.
MartyHulskemper said:
Oh, no, you're only in as much hurry as you put yourself in -- that Intel-based ASUS tablet is priced outrageously high -- 1399 dollars for a tablet? Meh.
If they price it lower, though, it might even be very tempting (especially when they do not break compatibility with Windows 7 applications -- I haven't been paying much attention to Windows 8. I guess I have some catching up to do...
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Click to collapse
Hello again Marty. I was under the impression that the pricing was somewhere in the vicinity of:
Pricing for Asus' Vivo Tab RT will start at $599
As was mentioned here as well:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/12/3495334/asus-vivo-tab-rt-pre-sales-begin-first-windows-rt-tablet-starts-at
IT's going to take more than a tablet to keep me off the streets. :laugh: :laugh:
Have a wonderful day. Peter
Osteele said:
Hello again Marty. I was under the impression that the pricing was somewhere in the vicinity of:
Pricing for Asus' Vivo Tab RT will start at $599
As was mentioned here as well:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/12/3495334/asus-vivo-tab-rt-pre-sales-begin-first-windows-rt-tablet-starts-at
IT's going to take more than a tablet to keep me off the streets. :laugh: :laugh:
Have a wonderful day. Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Peter!
Yes, it did say that in the article, but the RT versions of Windows 8 are the versions that carry ONLY the Metro interface, and are able to run ONLY apps that have been specifically programmed to run on that particular version (although I might have understood all that totally wrong, in which case somebody will undoubtedly be so friendly as to point me to my errors. The more usable versions will cost you significantly more, and the dock will set you back even more...
MartyHulskemper said:
Hi Peter!
Yes, it did say that in the article, but the RT versions of Windows 8 are the versions that carry ONLY the Metro interface, and are able to run ONLY apps that have been specifically programmed to run on that particular version (although I might have understood all that totally wrong, in which case somebody will undoubtedly be so friendly as to point me to my errors. The more usable versions will cost you significantly more, and the dock will set you back even more...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha !!! Gotcha. Thanks to you, I will be going to bed a little smarter this evening. Thank you. Peter
Update
Well folks, I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I took the plung today at approx 18:00. After spending a considerable amount of time scouring the internet and reading reviews ad nauseam, I finally decided upon the Infinity. Should arrive in a few days and I must say that I am excited. Nice to feel like a kid again.
There is a good possibility that I may have a few questions once I have spent a little time with the unit. Hope you all don't mind if I post those questions here on this forum.
Thank you all again for being so helpful. I hope that I have made the right decision.
Peter
Osteele said:
Well folks, I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I took the plung today at approx 18:00. After spending a considerable amount of time scouring the internet and reading reviews ad nauseam, I finally decided upon the Infinity. Should arrive in a few days and I must say that I am excited. Nice to feel like a kid again.
There is a good possibility that I may have a few questions once I have spent a little time with the unit. Hope you all don't mind if I post those questions here on this forum.
Thank you all again for being so helpful. I hope that I have made the right decision.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bring it on bro.....We are waiting!!!
buhohitr said:
Bring it on bro.....We are waiting!!!
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Click to collapse
Thank you Sir. I really appreciate that.
Congrats! Welcome to the club
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Welcome to the Infinity family.
As a .NET Developer myself, I find this device comes in handy sometimes with the supernote it saves alot of papers and keep them all in one place. I use Supernote for writing pseudo code, brainstorming, UML diagram etc. Maybe you will find this method useful or maybe not. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the infinity!
Cheers
Osteele said:
Well folks, I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I took the plung today at approx 18:00. After spending a considerable amount of time scouring the internet and reading reviews ad nauseam, I finally decided upon the Infinity. Should arrive in a few days and I must say that I am excited. Nice to feel like a kid again.
There is a good possibility that I may have a few questions once I have spent a little time with the unit. Hope you all don't mind if I post those questions here on this forum.
Thank you all again for being so helpful. I hope that I have made the right decision.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope so, too, Peter -- you'll find out soon enough, I guess. ; ) It does come pretty sudden, so after your initial resolve to wait it out and inform and inform and inform. I know the feeling of waiting, however, mostly gets the best of me -- I guess us gadgeteers are not the most resilient to marketing and spec sheets. Hahaha!
Welcome to the club, and don't fret about posting your questions. It's not your type of user we get fed up with, and to be honest, I think you'll be fine with the guides that have sprung up -- at least as far as unlocking woes, Nvflash, custom recoveries and custom ROMs, etc. go. It's going to take a fair bit of Play Store scavenging to find apps that suit your needs and style optimally, but we'll get there. Relish the kid feeling, and don't lose the fun in finding your way.
By the way: I assume you ordered it with the dock?