Related
New to Android. But long time user of Linux/RH/Fedora. Are there “distro's” on Android? Can users easily add/remove software with a RPM type management system? In Linux if you don't like TnT you would just uninstall it. Viewsonic g tablet seems to be ok if you manually change a few things. I'm assuming that this is generally a temporary problem due to Viewsonic being behind in their updates. But what I would like to know is there going to be any long term “distro” type leadership going forward? When the new Android Tablet OS is released will it work with most hardware (Viewsonic) like a Linux distro or are we depended on Viewsonic. If Viewsonic let us down can we divorce them and go directly to Android or someone else for automatic updates? Thinking about buying. Can wait for Flash update hopefully in December. Don't see screen as a problem, basically the same as most laptops/netbooks. Can add market manually till it become official with new OS.
.
Sears - Save $5 off $50 with code SEARS5OFF50 at cart
Android is not like normal distros.
Being primarily an OS aimed at mobile devices (IE phones) with limited memory and proprietary layouts and internal set-ups, all drivers can not be provided in one overall install. Confliction between drivers would be an issue as well. Also look at many phones (like the nexus one) the Firmware controlling the cellular radio also controls the camera and encoding of videos and images. There is some common ground, but one ROM will not work on all devices without tweaking for the perticular device. CyanogenMOD ROM is a good example, it works on many devices but you must install the proper version for the device you have.
Also remember that we do not have Root on these devices out of the box, 99% of the time we must find an exploit to gain full access to the device. The Nexus one and the G tablet are the only devices I know of off hand without locked down bootloaders. Cellular carriers want the devices looked down so the users can not use the device in ways that the carriers do not want. (like free tethering)
We are dependant on the manufacturer often times to release source code for the device so Devs can rip out the proper drivers and framework for the device. Often times drivers cross over between android versions making updating easier for the ROM devs.
If you want a device that you can truly tinker with, stick to devices that Google has as Developer models. The old G1 the Nexus One and the upcoming Nexus S. Maybe they will release a Dev tablet as well.
The N900 is more open in that regard as far as being like a true Linux, though the future of that branch seems uncertain. It will defiantly be more niche.
Thanks for the reply. I guess I was thinking Android was Linux lite. Not sure where I stand on a tablet now. Think I want a Linux pc in a tablet form. Fedora on a tablet would be fine for me. Like you say tablets with MeeGo (Intel/Nokia/Linux Foundation) may or may not appear any time soon. Have to wait and see what happens.
tktim said:
Thanks for the reply. I guess I was thinking Android was Linux lite. Not sure where I stand on a tablet now. Think I want a Linux pc in a tablet form. Fedora on a tablet would be fine for me. Like you say tablets with MeeGo (Intel/Nokia/Linux Foundation) may or may not appear any time soon. Have to wait and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android is running on top of Linux, and given programs compiled for ARM you can install about anything, but there's no X... Framebuffer stuff could potentially work..
But no, if you're looking for a typical Linux desktop environment, this isn't the place to look. Although some of the dual boot Windows/Android tablets makes me wonder how difficult it would be to get it Linux/Android.
Thanks for the additional information.
Tried to search for this but couldnt find anything is it possible to get a mango ROM working on an android tablet?
There are loads of 7" Android tablets out there for under £60 not the biggest fan of android but would like a cheap tablet for quick browsing of web and showing photos to friends etc.
Would be cool if could get a mango ROM flashed onto one of those 7" tabs
That's a good question. I'd also be interested if it were possible to drop Mango onto a tablet that started out life as an Android. It'd have to be a 7" screen, and it'd have to have a capacitive screen
jasongw said:
That's a good question. I'd also be interested if it were possible to drop Mango onto a tablet that started out life as an Android. It'd have to be a 7" screen, and it'd have to have a capacitive screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does it have to be 7"? Resolution?
mcorrie1121 said:
Why does it have to be 7"? Resolution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we're pretty much locked to 800x480 resolution, which I suspect would look horrible on a 10" tablet
Yea but im sure if it possible to port people will figure out a way around that like a regist edit or something. Actully maybe on a bigger screen more tiles would be visible instead of only 8 tiles or 6 it would be like 12 or 14
That is an interesting question. I was wondering the same thing, which is how I found this thread...
First of all, it would have to be a tablet with a WP7-compatible CPU. Unlike most x86 chips used in PCs, different ARM chips may have incompatible kernel-mode interfaces, so the core of every OS must be built for that chip. Linux (and therefore Android) can be built to run on pretty much any ARM chip. In theory, the same is true of Windows CE (the kernel that WP7 is built on), but without kernel sources (and no, the CE6 and CE7 sources available from MS aren't quite the same) we can't build custom kernels like that.
Second, and much harder, would be finding the drivers for the hardware. Every single WP7 device comes with a bunch of OEM code, the "firmware", that interfaces the kernel to the hardware. This is different from device to device (thus why, if you do something like flash a Samsung Omnia 7 ROM to a Samsung Focus, or even a Focus r3 ROM to a Focus r4, the phone won't work correctly afterward). Android has something similar, but again it has two benefits: the kernel is open-source, and there are Linux drivers for almost every piece of computing hardware (although not always very good ones). For WP7, porting to a new device is very hard because of this. The HD2 worked because
A) it originally ran a CE-based OS (an older one, but still CE based)
B) it's very similar in hardware to the HD7 (not enough to run HD7 ROMs, but enough to pull some drivers from HD7 ROMs)
C) an early firmware for the WP7 kernel was developed for it and leaked.
None of those things are going to be true for the typical random Android tablet.
GoodDayToDie said:
First of all, it would have to be a tablet with a WP7-compatible CPU. Unlike most x86 chips used in PCs, different ARM chips may have incompatible kernel-mode interfaces, so the core of every OS must be built for that chip. Linux (and therefore Android) can be built to run on pretty much any ARM chip. In theory, the same is true of Windows CE (the kernel that WP7 is built on), but without kernel sources (and no, the CE6 and CE7 sources available from MS aren't quite the same) we can't build custom kernels like that.
Second, and much harder, would be finding the drivers for the hardware. Every single WP7 device comes with a bunch of OEM code, the "firmware", that interfaces the kernel to the hardware. This is different from device to device (thus why, if you do something like flash a Samsung Omnia 7 ROM to a Samsung Focus, or even a Focus r3 ROM to a Focus r4, the phone won't work correctly afterward). Android has something similar, but again it has two benefits: the kernel is open-source, and there are Linux drivers for almost every piece of computing hardware (although not always very good ones). For WP7, porting to a new device is very hard because of this. The HD2 worked because
A) it originally ran a CE-based OS (an older one, but still CE based)
B) it's very similar in hardware to the HD7 (not enough to run HD7 ROMs, but enough to pull some drivers from HD7 ROMs)
C) an early firmware for the WP7 kernel was developed for it and leaked.
None of those things are going to be true for the typical random Android tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, long story short, probably not gonna happen. Gotcha. At least I know some of the work that is takes, for I am sure that it will take much more work.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app
yea your not gonna get arm wp7 on an android tablet , however there are many simulations of wp7 in android tablets , so if you want wp7 on an android yes thats the way to do it , but why?
I have a prototype that a friend of mine is creating for a slate device but he wants to put android or linux on the device. I am not a programmer or developer by trade, im a network engineer so I really dont know what I should be doing first to get an OS installed on this device. There's a very basic OS on the device that the company created as of right now. The company that created the prototype has gone bankrupt and the one contact that I have was the PM for the project and he cant get in touch with any of the developers to tell me how to go about flashing an OS on the device. Below is the hardware thats being used, I just need to get an OS installed/flashed on the device for testing purposes. If anyone could help or point me in the right direction it would be appreciated. I have done research and have pretty much came up empty handed.
Processor: rockchip rk2738
Flash memory is a: Hynix 256mb
It also has a Infineon chip, not sure if that helps or not lol.
The board was custom made so there are no markings or serial numbers. Thats pretty much all thats visible on the board.
Bump.
I checked out the specs of the newly-announced $249 chromebook, and I realized what an awesome android device it would make, if only android was successfully ported to it....
I know at the same price point we can get a n7 32gig, but the larger 11.6" LED HD tempts me, though the res at 1366 x 768 is not that great. also, all the hands-on reviews have heaped a lot of praise on the high-quality keyboard-touchpad on the device, which is even more tempting and would make up for the lack of touch input on the device...
Its config is pretty identical to a flagship android phone/tablet with two cortex-A15 cores on the Exynos 5250, 2gig RAM and 16GB onboard storage with an expandable mem slot, 2 full usb ports and a full HDMI out, with the usual WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.
I'm a noob when it comes to creating ports and ROMS, but I guess it would not be such a difficult task for the awesome dev community out here to manage that feat. Maybe we need to wait for an actual android device with the exynos chip inside to release, whose android ROM we could use as a base to port to the chromebook...
windows 8 RT would be more awesome, but seeing that its a licensed OS, porting it might amount to piracy/illegal hacking, so its not something that I would discuss/encourage here....
Chromebooks boot with UEFI (Basically a modern BIOS), so the Android source code would have to be heavilly modified to be bootstraped from UEFI. Not to mention drivers and custom kernels (which isnt much of a pain if the hardware has documentation, all eyes on you Samsung.)
And I dont think we will ever see Windows on a chromebook unless someone creates an emulator for ChromeOS... Which I dont think is possible, but dont quote me on that.
i know it would take a ton of modding to find a workaround for it, but enabling the developer mode on the chromebook allows booting of an unsigned linux installation off the external memory (eg. gentoo ubuntu) on the x86 chromebooks currently available (Cr-48 etc..)
trying something similar for booting android off an image on the mem card might be a possible way...
UPDATE : https://plus.google.com/109993695638569781190/posts/b2fazijJppZ a google employee has already begun work on porting ubuntu..!!
drivers would be difficult, esp for the SoC as there is no device currently on the market with it. but maybe after Samsung releases a couple of phones/phablets running the A15's, porting of the drivers could be attempted...
I was wondering the same thing and figured I would come here to see if anything was planned. I just ordered the new one and was curious if there would be much interest in modding this thing. Guess in due time!
rumors say the upcoming google nexus 10 tablet is running identical hardware (exynos 5 dual omap15 / 2gig ram) which is gonna run android 4.2
once its out, MAYBE porting the ROM to the chromebook may become a teeny bit easier...
the_crazy_devil said:
rumors say the upcoming google nexus 10 tablet is running identical hardware (exynos 5 dual omap15 / 2gig ram) which is gonna run android 4.2
once its out, MAYBE porting the ROM to the chromebook may become a teeny bit easier...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I'm not wrong Nexus 10 will have exactly the same processor than the new Samsung Chromebook. If someon manage port android to this new latop I won't hesitate to buy it.
there is a developer board with same hardware and as far as I know it has android source codes, you can check the website http://www.arndaleboard.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Wasnt this done a while back with the CR-48 thanks to Hexxeh?
http://hexxeh.net/?p=328117655
Just got to find a way to port it over to the new Chromebook, then port Android.
Since Android was ported to the HP Touchpad I'm pretty confident that it can be ported to this device... I mean the touchpad was the last thing I thought Android would run on and it runs like it was made for it... COME ON DEVS!
Following this thread with anticipation.
Well seeing as this device uses the same SoC as the nexus 10 i would be hopeful someone will manage to port android. I for one would be keen to have this option!
Touch Chromebook?
If this article on Android Community turns out to be accurate and Google release a touch chromebook any time soon, I would throw some money at a kickstarter to get android on it. Would be cheaper than an N10 - and probably quicker than waiting for a keyboard dock...!
Can't link because I'm new... androidcommunity.com/google-reportedly-plotting-12-85-inch-touch-chromebook-20121126/
Very hopeful!
^ here's a +1 form me
started..
OK...I was able to get into the uboot portion of chromeos and managed to load uvboot ( unverified boot )which will allow the booting of non chrome os kernel's. however it seems its looking for something else. I already got Ubuntu loaded on it so maybe I'll try to get it booting off the SD first so I don't brick my cb.....keep you guys posted.
rawtek said:
OK...I was able to get into the uboot portion of chromeos and managed to load uvboot ( unverified boot )which will allow the booting of non chrome os kernel's. however it seems its looking for something else. I already got Ubuntu loaded on it so maybe I'll try to get it booting off the SD first so I don't brick my cb.....keep you guys posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great work! i'm still waiting for my chromebook the stock's very erratic, and i cant find anyone willing to ship it to my country...will try to help as soon as i lay my hands on one!!
Ok ... DD'd the system.img from the stock N10 factory image and created a new BOOT partition. Booting the Chrome OS kernel worked ( which should be fine due to the fact that the CB and N10 have the EXACT same ARM SOC ) it seems the boot partition need to be re-written to work with the UEFI. im going to keep digging until I find something ( or someone lends some expertise dealing with UEFI and BOOT ).Happy New years !!
Kernel boots..just has a hard time mounting the ROOTFS...any want to shed some light on this.
Thanks
Super stoked for this!! Have been thinking this would be good to have Android on from the minute I got it!! Looking forward to this!!
Hello, I'm really new to Android devices. In fact, this is my first Android-based device ever. But I do have a lot of experience with Linux and Windows, and it's weird how locked down ARM-based hardware actually is. Android isn't as bad as Apple, but it's still a lot less freedom than I'm used to having. I'm getting the impression that installing custom ROM would be almost as much of a pain as installing the Homebrew Channel on a Wii.
Anyway, one thing that I should point out about my device is that it has no touchscreen at all. It has a touchpad and a keyboard in a laptop form factor, but it runs Android. It has SD card slots, USB ports, and an Ethernet port. It's a netbook with smartphone hardware. I'm curious what I can do with it, and I wouldn't be losing much if I bricked it.
If it were possible, I'd be interested in figuring out how to compile a custom version of Linux for it and flash it to ROM. I really think X with a light Window manager would work well on that hardware. If I can't, though, I would be content with a newer version of Android. It's currently running Jelly Bean and I'm wondering what the new versions are like.
The only thing I've been able to find out about the device is that it's based on a WonderMedia Prizm WM8880, has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 1.5GHz Cortex A9 processor. Mali-400 Graphics. In Google Play, the device is listed as No Carrier WonderMedia GA-1311F. I did a search for GA-1311F, and I found no results.
Note that I don't have an actual Manufacturer or model number, everything I can find digging around leads back to the chipset manufacturer, WonderMedia or some company called WMT. It seems like WonderMedia has ties to VIA technologies, and that they definitely don't make the device I'm using. So that means I have no idea who the manufacturer is.
Is any of this information helpful, or is my device unable to be hacked simply because the manufacturer is too obscure?
Sorry to bump my own thread, but I thought I would mention that I've managed to find out about a method called KingRoot that often works on Android 4.2. I managed to install the APK, but the program got to around 60% and then said my device couldn't be rooted.
I'm not crazy about most of the other methods because they require a USB cable that I don't have. Most Android phones or tablets would presumably have a mini-USB port with a small end for the phone and a large end for the computer, like my Windows Phone does. This machine only has regular-sized USB ports, however, and thus I would need to buy a USB male A to USB male A cord that's capable of performing the same function. I hate to waste the money on it not knowing if it will even work, though. I'm also wondering if I need to worry about crossover vs. patch cables like I would with Ethernet, etc. It's starting to seem like more trouble than it's worth.
There was another method I tried called OneClickRoot, but they told me that I needed to have that same dreaded cable hooked up to my PC, AND pay them $20 on top of it. I'm pretty sure that's ridiculous.
I'm probably going to figure this out eventually, but I'm really frustrated that this is tougher than hacking my Wii was. Embedded systems with non-standard hardware are an amazing pain to deal with.
EDIT: Even thoughc it said it failed, all of a sudden BusyBox installed successfully after I restarted the computer. I think I may have done it, although I'm not sure. Apparently I have a Linux kernel on here already somehow... is that the part of Android that's based on Linux?
imgur.com/HiRyqW2
Still, there's not much I'm finding that tells me how to set up anything much better than using a terminal and a VNC viewer within Android to view a Linux system running on top of it. I guess that could be useful if I had a beefier Android device, but with this it's only useful for a command line.
Hi,
Thanks for using XDA Assist.
Try asking your question in the General Q&A forum:
Questions and Answers
Good luck & welcome to Android