Is there any known way of cracking the NAND protection on this phone yet?
Or if not, does anyone know where I should look for the latest news on rooting this Japanese-only phone?
I've been looking all over the internet for months and turned up nothing. I could really do with some help here please guys!
I am also interested in an answer to this question. I have been in talks with a few of the Japanese users currently trying to figure out the phone, and I would like to post a bit about what we know, what progress has been achieved and why this is important for other people outside of Japan.
First and foremost, Sharp has every intention of getting their 3D phones into the hands of overseas users. Now, I could be patient and wait for this to launch, and then for the teams to get to work and crack the bootloader open properly. But why not get an early jump on the work so that the phone can arrive, on the Western shores, fully ready for custom roms and root permissions? The three major 3D phones Sharp currently is pimping (the IS03, the 003SH and the SH-03C) are essentially the same phone with minor tweaks. Serious progress on one could lead to a bit step forward for all! And as the Lynx is currently stuck at 2.1 (and won't be 2.2 till "summer"), it's in the greatest need for an upgrade (the 003SH is already 2.2, and the IS03 goes to 2.2 this week). I know that I'm being a little selfish in this endeavor, but I also know I'm not the only one with this phone, and not the only one interested. Perhaps I'm just the most vocal.
Now, for a quick rundown:
rageagainstthecage: doesn't work, freezes up, phone must be hard rebooted with battery removal.
psneuter: offers root access, but cannot modify /system due to NAND protection/locked bootloader.
SuperOneClick: see above.
Z4root: see above.
Universal Androot: doesn't work. Attempts to root, gets the "no good fuu~~" response.
Visionary: crashes when attempting soft root.
Unrevoked apk: fails immediately. No harm to the phone, but no success either.
gfree: No luck, can't toggle S-off but that may be due to the fact that the phone is definitely not the G2.
Unrevoked app: can't recognize the phone.
I'm hoping that someone in the UnrEVOked community is willing to try and work with me/us on this. We're not a large group by any means (and a majority of the users don't have an expansive English grasp) but we are dedicated, and I'm trying something new everyday. Sharp has even released the kernel as open source, so, if an exploit can be found, work can begin immediately. This could be something big, something wonderful. If anyone could please contact me and let me know, I'm really hopeful.
And sorry for hijacking your thread Eliott.
Sent from my SH-03C using Tapatalk
Sharpen3d said:
I am also interested in an answer to this question. I have been in talks with a few of the Japanese users currently trying to figure out the phone, and I would like to post a bit about what we know, what progress has been achieved and why this is important for other people outside of Japan.
First and foremost, Sharp has every intention of getting their 3D phones into the hands of overseas users. Now, I could be patient and wait for this to launch, and then for the teams to get to work and crack the bootloader open properly. But why not get an early jump on the work so that the phone can arrive, on the Western shores, fully ready for custom roms and root permissions? The three major 3D phones Sharp currently is pimping (the IS03, the 003SH and the SH-03C) are essentially the same phone with minor tweaks. Serious progress on one could lead to a bit step forward for all! And as the Lynx is currently stuck at 2.1 (and won't be 2.2 till "summer"), it's in the greatest need for an upgrade (the 003SH is already 2.2, and the IS03 goes to 2.2 this week). I know that I'm being a little selfish in this endeavor, but I also know I'm not the only one with this phone, and not the only one interested. Perhaps I'm just the most vocal.
Now, for a quick rundown:
rageagainstthecage: doesn't work, freezes up, phone must be hard rebooted with battery removal.
psneuter: offers root access, but cannot modify /system due to NAND protection/locked bootloader.
SuperOneClick: see above.
Z4root: see above.
Universal Androot: doesn't work. Attempts to root, gets the "no good fuu~~" response.
Visionary: crashes when attempting soft root.
Unrevoked apk: fails immediately. No harm to the phone, but no success either.
gfree: No luck, can't toggle S-off but that may be due to the fact that the phone is definitely not the G2.
Unrevoked app: can't recognize the phone.
I'm hoping that someone in the UnrEVOked community is willing to try and work with me/us on this. We're not a large group by any means (and a majority of the users don't have an expansive English grasp) but we are dedicated, and I'm trying something new everyday. Sharp has even released the kernel as open source, so, if an exploit can be found, work can begin immediately. This could be something big, something wonderful. If anyone could please contact me and let me know, I'm really hopeful.
And sorry for hijacking your thread Eliott.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all, thanks for the great info!
As crazy as it might sound, one thing I recommend doing is to continue monitoring other roofing methods that aren't exactly for the sh-03c and seeing what happens. Recently a new method for the Thunderbolt has been unveiled, and I have every intention to try it out. Obviously the likelihood of it working is slim, but it's a ton better than running z4root over and over and hoping for different results.
Sharpen3d said:
As crazy as it might sound, one thing I recommend doing is to continue monitoring other roofing methods that aren't exactly for the sh-03c and seeing what happens. Recently a new method for the Thunderbolt has been unveiled, and I have every intention to try it out. Obviously the likelihood of it working is slim, but it's a ton better than running z4root over and over and hoping for different results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a bit hesitant to use untested methods. This is my first Android phone and I have never rooted a phone before so it would be wise for me to wait for someone else to find a reliable way first.
I have flashed many older phones and PSPs in the past but this scene is quite new to me.
I am still checking many Japanese sites daily for news of a root. I will send you a PM if I find anything
figured to bump the thread as I`m also a Lynx3D owner looking for root access and a way around the NAND protection. I would be nice to free up this phone .
I'm still searching daily but it seems to be impossible, I'm not sure if it will ever be rooted.
Never mind though, at least we get android 2.2 this month
Recently there's been some success for the IS03 since receiving their 2.2 update. A new process labelled is03break has apparently been great for soft rooting. It hasn't worked on the SH-03 due to it still being on 2.1, but perhaps there will be a breakthrough after our update drops in June (July?).
Additionally, certain other blogs (specifically the Japanese blog Androot) has reported a failure in attempting all conventional root methods, confirming that the Japanese teams are on the same page we are. Both good and bad, as it does give us a baseline, but I refuse to accept there isn't a solution yet.
Sharpen3d said:
Recently there's been some success for the IS03 since receiving their 2.2 update. A new process labelled is03break has apparently been great for soft rooting. It hasn't worked on the SH-03 due to it still being on 2.1, but perhaps there will be a breakthrough after our update drops in June (July?).
Additionally, certain other blogs (specifically the Japanese blog Androot) has reported a failure in attempting all conventional root methods, confirming that the Japanese teams are on the same page we are. Both good and bad, as it does give us a baseline, but I refuse to accept there isn't a solution yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That certainly gives me hope, looking forward to 2.2 even more now!
And Docomo have announced that 2.2 is coming this month (May). It has been widely reported and they confirmed it in the Docomo shop this morning for me
Despite my better judgement, I went ahead and ran the is03break on my phone yesterday. Not only was it not successful (ran until it timed out) but it managed to adjust my settings enough that my phone wasn't able to see the cellular network, effectively destroying it's "phone" capabilities. I was able to hard reset it through psneuter/adb and now it's back to normal, but it was definitely a bit of a scare.
When 2.2 comes out, I may give it another go, but in the meantime I'll just play nice. Docomo staff confirmed 2.2 is coming before the end of May, and there's a chance we'll need to do it through the PC like the AU folk had to.
Looks like the update may well have been delayed until next month -
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DG75%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ja&twu=1&u=http://juggly.cn/androidrumors&usg=ALkJrhgmfYRu8El9AjAHz_UeNb1s85EhZw
This is getting a bit much now. 6 months I've been waiting for them to update this phone. I'm considering taking it back and demanding a refund.
For what it's worth, even if there's a delay, at least it's a bit more definitive than things have been. Way back in March when the Quake hit, we were told it was being delayed from March to "Summer." Then they really brought it forward for May, which I don't really consider summer. That rumor blog (and remember, the key word there is rumor) suggests it will be delayed until early June. Worst case scenario, that means that, instead of getting it this week, we receive it in two weeks. I agree it's a pain in the ass, and the fact remains that, stuck at 2.1, we can't use a lot of conventional rooting tools (not to mention run flash, do App2SD, JIT, etc). But returning the phone at this point accomplishes next to nothing. The summer Docomo lineup is a bit underwhelming, in my opinion. You're paying for the camera, and the phone is attached to that. Even if you get the Galaxy S (a really nice phone, no doubt) it's starting to become a bit older. IF we can hold on till SH-03C receives 2.2, I honestly believe a world of possibilities open up. This community may not be large, but we can still tout a 3D phone proudly, and getting 2.2 really legitimizes its abilities.
Just be patient man.
Yeah, you are right.
I'm just getting frustrated at having to keep deleting applications. I'm really looking forward to using flash, bumping up the CPU and trying out that new Tegra app for playing Tegra games!
I'm just really hoping for App2SD. This is getting severely limiting. Additionally, I'm pretty sure that rooting will become significantly more likely once we're up on 2.2. I'm confident that, once we get to Froyo, our phones might be able to piggyback on methods utilitized by other NAND locked phones (example: EVO) that have been successfully rooted.
I just want to uninstall that stupid 3D golf game. It takes up so much memory it's insane.
This sounds promising -
"May 27, 2011
The previous model, LYNX 3D SH-03C in Android 2.2 update seems to be out soon. The details will be announced separately, "there is no update, that will never" Yes."
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D5Ye%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26biw%3D1120%26bih%3D927%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ja&twu=1&u=http://ch00288.kitaguni.tv/e1805281.html&usg=ALkJrhgPutM5T2orqoipGRQTi3kSISqnlg
The woman at the Docomo helpline, having started to recognize my voice, totally leveled with me. The update was planned for the end of this month, and they got screwed in timing. They hope for the first weeks of June, but it may be even later than that. Truth be told, I bought my SH-03c aftermarket, so I can't return it even if I wanted to. But I'm not bailing. I'm confident we will see the update before the 15th, and, really, as long as it doesn't start malfunctioning, I can wait.
More rumors, looks like July 7th is the day -
"NTT DoCoMo's "Galaxy S SC-02B", "Galaxy Tab Sc-01C", "LYNX 3D SH-03C" on the OS version is effective from June 7, "will" is a rumor.
According to rumors, the version of June 07, Galaxy S Tab and the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) to, LYNX 3D SH-03C is Android 2.2 (Froyo) is going to be provided.
LYNX 3D SH-03C
Changes as part of the Android 2.2
-Flash Player 10.1 or later for
- Micro SD card can move the app (the app only support)
- Respond to voice the character input
- Application for Automatic Updates to bulk update
- The application "search" and "News and Weather," in some of the sharp changes in their own additional
- Launch applications list "end all" button added
- Power management notification bar menu (Wi-Fi or BT) is added
- Supports multi-line display in the profile email address and telephone chat
- Added ability to integrate similar contacts in the phone book
- Added the ability to transmit infrared applications infrared receiver
- Change the background color
- Change display Antenapikuto
- Text resize cursor display
- Improved slightly phenomenon events
How to update, download the update tool from the site WEB Sharp, PC and USB connection seems the only way to do. "
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://maruta.be/news_japan_2100/828&ei=Pq7jTdb4DYuSuwP4x_D0Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CG4Q7gEwBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlynx%2B3d%2B2.2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Dvf4%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R1GGHP_en-GB___JP427%26biw%3D1120%26bih%3D927%26tbs%3Dqdr:d%26prmd%3Divns
That makes a ton of sense. June 7th is when Nintendo is launching a huge update for their platforms as well, and Japan seems to like to do a ton of updates all together.
I want this so badly, I can't believe it's going to be another week.
The product page for the SH-03C over at nttDOCOMO just went 404. I really hope it's because they're busy updating with new information, and not because I'm going to be furiously angry.
Related
OK, so I've been using a Kaiser/Tilt with Eclair on it for awhile. I've spent countless hours drooling after the Nexus One. When AT&T finally got the "Backflip" from Motorola, I just couldn't resist. I took the plunge.
I should've known better. I have plenty of AT&T horror stories, and this is the same carrier that wont allow you to tell your Java apps NOT to ask for permission more than once (making Opera mini a PITA but the only usable browser for non-smart-phones).
There is NO option to install applications from untrusted sources. This means anything on your SD card, downloaded from the web or over your wifi at home WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, you also cannot use the "su" command in terminal.
Motoblur is nice I guess, but the uninstallable AT&T paid apps, the limitations of 1.5 firmware (ie: no google navigator, no voice search) and the locked-to-yahoo-search-bar are enough to get me to say NO to any further AT&T abuse.
With the Kaiser's bloatware, they removed/hid apps from you so you wouldn't try to use them and replaced them with their crapware.
AT&T does not know the meaning of "open" and they do not understand Android. You are not buying an Android phone when you buy from AT&T.
You are buying a device LOCKED to a market with a smaller number of applications than the iPhone (I don't use Apple products either ) forced to use a lesser search engine for your most convenient option and subject to losing any application that was once on the market but then removed. You can't install your own apps or even test them on your device. Period.
Also on my first day of using it I got a number of "Force Close" messages including on the built-in applications (ie: Motorola's flavor of the desk clock).
It's decent hardware, it feels pretty zippy to me, but this is exactly why I WONT buy an iPhone.
Screw you, AT&T. I will make sure that everyone I know is properly informed about this crippled device that is nothing like the Android experience is supposed to (expected to!) be.
/endrant phew, going to go breathe for awhile.
EDIT: I will add:
- Set "orientation" on this phone when you tilt it and somehow it gets stuck in one orientation or the other (who knows maybe this one is just me, not seen any other backflips) if you set it back to just when you open/close it it's fine again though
- The desk clock can't be launched manually and is tricky to get to appear trying to get the phone in that perfect angle to display it
- I don't have a separate camera on me right now to show you the menu but to back up with sources:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/1910...n_atandt_not_the_full_android_experience.html
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/121849
Don't buy this phone. Stay away from AT&T, stay away from Motorola (IMO or at least the motorola backflip).
This is pretty horrible.
I have two questions, though.
1) Can you take a screen cap of the Settings > Applications screen so we can see the lack of Unknown Sources option? That'd really help people see the validity of this issue.
2) I hope you have some kind of 30-day money-back guarantee when buying a handset from AT&T like Sprint offers. Otherwise, ouch =/
I haven't tried to install an apk from astro or anything, but i have pushed a few with ADB which seems to work fine. It kinda sucks, but I really hope that we can figure out root access soon! I don't care for blur, but I like android. Hopefully we don't have to wait to long. Here is an ADB guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=643866
I wonder if Apple suddenly took over AT&T because this kind of behaviour is more common to them
... It's not only AT&T who manages to confuse their customers about an OSS... Don't forget who decided to lock down an open software system boot-loader for everyone *cough*Motorola*cough*
Apple made them an offer they could not refuse!
nuff said
I spent some time with one yesterday.
Ouch, even my Fuze running eclair is faster.
They really broke this machine.
I am worried about other att phones!
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mines as well. i hope they dont. i know its off topic but is there an officail release date for the x10 on att? i hear it may be april/may
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
IConrad01 said:
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming the software running on the Backflip is the same software they released the source to on opensource.motorola.com, there may be hope of that. I'll dig into it when I get time.
Wow. I am surprised that this was picked up by Gizmodo. Do we have anyone corroborating this? Doesn't this somehow violate Google's terms of service?
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine too! Just means to spend the couple extra hundred dollars and get an unlocked unbranded one.
I got the Backflip just because I am moving on from my jailbroken iPhone and I wanted something neat and shiny.
I can say that there is a lot of smack talk here, but give these guys a chance here to root the phone and get some things working on it.
It's been two days since the release and I can already say, that I like the phone a hell of a lot more today then I did on Sunday. I've been able to install untrusted sources using the Droid Explorer, a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's okay, considering that if I want Android, then this is the only way to go for now.
But I have faith in someone out there... Someone will figure this out.
I just hope it's within my 30 day return policy.
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
This may just be my unit but the A2DP doesn't work right, it starts playing music then begins to fast forward whatever you are watching or listening to. Did a hard reset, no luck. Looks like I already need a replacement lol.
Squeaky369 said:
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
nutcake852 said:
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh; fail on my part. It's mostly a cosmetic fix. I didn't actually test it, but when you click on it, it changes to "Yahoo".
So my bad on that one.
God, I hate Yahoo. Ever since that stupid ass cowboy did that commercial, it's ate away at my soul...
I don't know why...
To think we were all worried about how Verizon was going to cripple android only to have ATT do it instead. At first I was amazed and then I realized that any android phone would have outshown their prized phone...oh well one more reason to love being on T-Mobile. ;-)
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Help i ****ed up my phone
So i just rooted my g1 to get the nexus one features to it and now all it is doing is foreclosing instead of going to the home screen if anyone can help can you please email me at [email protected] thank you
Xodium said:
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do think though that this is going to end up to be a decent phone.
I know I am a little pro for that comment, just because I bought one. But lets look at every phone that ever comes out. There is always some sort of challenge that we have to overcome.
And; with all the threads I've been reading about this; it looks like it was BOTH AT&T and Motorola that are to blame for locking this phone down. ATT cause they don't want us to install from anything but an "App Store" and Motorola because they don't want their devices used for what "there were not intended to be used for," is the wording I've seen floating around the internet.
But in all seriousness. I am coming from an iPhone 3GS which I had jailbroken. So I am coming from a phone that I had everything and anything on to this, and I am, overall, happy with it. Although it's only been 5 days, I can say I don't think I'll change my mind in the next 25 days.
But that's just my two-cents.
Hi folks,
I'm thinking of picking up the galaxy s, the samsung vibrant from t-mobile to use on my carrier.
i had a few questions and hope you fellas can help me out.
1st, what would be involved in unlocking it? Would I have any problems getting it unlocked?
Also i'm a total noob to android but i've been reading up. What exactly is "rooting"? will rooting allow me to put a stock 2.2 on it? is that even possible and is it recomended on this phone?
and lastly from people who have been using this phone, do you recommend getting it?
thanks
oh snap! i posted this in the wrong board. it should have been in the "Galaxy S I9000 General"
sorry mods.
Rooting allows you to get access to parts of the phone you otherwise wouldn't have access to. Compare it to having administrator rights on windows, you can access more files, do more stuff. Programs can perform more actions when your phone is rooted.
Putting 2.2 on it is completely seperate from that and at this moment is not possible. However, Samsung already stated that the first 2.2 update will be somewhere in august (not for euro/usa regions though) so perhaps withing the month after that it will also be available for other regions. Samsung has officially announced that it WILL be updated though, so no need to worry about that.
Without the 2.2 update it's already pretty damn fast though (with some tweaks its faster then the Nexus one WITH 2.2) so I would certainly already recommend it.
This is my first android phone (after symbian, windows mobile and more) and it's really easy to get used to and works just great. The screen is beautiful (good colors, vibrant although reading text on it is a less great experience) and it's very fast. Also feels light, in a good way, great screen, etc. I can totally recommend it.
ps. No idea what the status on unlocking is, mine was unlocked already so never looked into it.
you might want to make sure the frequency bands of the one you acquire will work on the carrier you want to use it on
if not, it may not work at all, or may not give you 3G data svc
personally i didnt think any phones are locked down anymore, at least not in the UK?
you should buy the phone, its the best ive owned, not saying its the best on the market but id like to hear of an arguement for why it isnt.
rooting was done on this device even before release, and with already 300k sales in south korea alone it looks like its going to have some great support and updates in the future
Thought I'd share this with you guys. I recommend sending out a similar email so that they know that there are serious concerns about the phone. I did it online at the Contact Us page on the Samsung website.
Here's what I wrote:
Hello,
I recently purchased a Samsung Captivate. Overall, I am quite pleased with the device. However, there are a few things that irritate me about it that I was hoping you could comment on:
1.) There is a serious lag issue. Do a quick google search and you'll find that this is a universal problem with the phone.
2.) The GPS does not work. Also a universal issue.
3.) No 2.2 Froyo.
4.) No last.fm scrobbling support for the default music player (which I love by the way!)
5.) Drivers for Windows 7 x64 do not work well. After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it. Again, a universal issue.
A lot of people complain about the TouchWiz UI, but I personally enjoy it, as long as the lag issue is taken care of. Also I'm pleased with the phone call quality, and almost all other aspects of the phone.
I appreciate your time, and hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
[thecoolestcow]
Here is the response:
Dear [thecoolestcow],
Thank you for your inquiry.
Regarding the GPS on the phone, Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.
We advise you to use assisted GPS powered by your service provider.
We still don't have any update regarding the release of the Android 2.2 for the Captivate and the drivers that will be compatible with Windows 7 64bit.
We will forward your report of this behavior along to the appropriate parties for additional review and consideration.
We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.
Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.
Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.
Should you desire additional assistance resolving this, we invite you to call Samsung Customer Support by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357 between the hours 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
Thank you for choosing Samsung.
Sincerely,
Technical Support
thecoolestcow said:
Thought I'd share this with you guys. I recommend sending out a similar email so that they know that there are serious concerns about the phone. I did it online at the Contact Us page on the Samsung website.
Here's what I wrote:
Hello,
I recently purchased a Samsung Captivate. Overall, I am quite pleased with the device. However, there are a few things that irritate me about it that I was hoping you could comment on:
1.) There is a serious lag issue. Do a quick google search and you'll find that this is a universal problem with the phone.
2.) The GPS does not work. Also a universal issue.
3.) No 2.2 Froyo.
4.) No last.fm scrobbling support for the default music player (which I love by the way!)
5.) Drivers for Windows 7 x64 do not work well. After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it. Again, a universal issue.
A lot of people complain about the TouchWiz UI, but I personally enjoy it, as long as the lag issue is taken care of. Also I'm pleased with the phone call quality, and almost all other aspects of the phone.
I appreciate your time, and hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
[thecoolestcow]
Here is the response:
Dear [thecoolestcow],
Thank you for your inquiry.
Regarding the GPS on the phone, Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.
We advise you to use assisted GPS powered by your service provider.
We still don't have any update regarding the release of the Android 2.2 for the Captivate and the drivers that will be compatible with Windows 7 64bit.
We will forward your report of this behavior along to the appropriate parties for additional review and consideration.
We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.
Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.
Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.
Should you desire additional assistance resolving this, we invite you to call Samsung Customer Support by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357 between the hours 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
Thank you for choosing Samsung.
Sincerely,
Technical Support
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Click to collapse
man I just dont see this lag yall are talking about... Had the phone since day 1, no lag fix and its fast as my n1 on 2.2. about.. Wierd...
Also GPS does work, just not reliably all the time, some works fine, others not, others sometimes.. So saying it dont work is exadurating. I just dont want people that dont have one think that the GPS dont work. It does and I use it everyday without issue. No fixes or anything, mine and some others works...
2.2 froyo will be here soon. Hold your horses on and it will be here next month I will bet...
I didn't see the lag either for a while, but I see it in most of the Samsung native apps, like Messaging and the screen unlock.
GPS also used to work amazingly. It just stopped completely now for me.
It's good though that they acknowledged in the email that they were going to release a fix for it.
thecoolestcow said:
I didn't see the lag either for a while, but I see it in most of the Samsung native apps, like Messaging and the screen unlock.
GPS also used to work amazingly. It just stopped completely now for me.
It's good though that they acknowledged in the email that they were going to release a fix for it.
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Click to collapse
Yea, Well Im certain it will be fixed. The samsung epic 4g is rumored to have a working GPS (more testing needs done for me to believe it for sure) and if we have the same hardware gps wise as the Epic 4g we should definatly see a fix...
Nice, Engadget confirms.
engadget.com/2010/08/18/samsung-says-gps-is-tested-and-validated-on-epic-4g-our-testi/
There is most certainly lag. Like you guys, it wasn't a big deal until I saw the lag fix.
Long story short, I've been running the lag fix about a week, then borked my phone with another tweak and had to revert back to stock. HOLY COW was that thing slow... I never really knew any different until I had seen greener pastures
I will say I don't think the DEFAULT lag is worse than any other phone on the market. But it is capable of much, much faster.
Also you forgot to include the complaint that MMS doesn't work on EDGE, only 3G.
TexUs said:
There is most certainly lag. Like you guys, it wasn't a big deal until I saw the lag fix.
Long story short, I've been running the lag fix about a week, then borked my phone with another tweak and had to revert back to stock. HOLY COW was that thing slow... I never really knew any different until I had seen greener pastures
I will say I don't think the DEFAULT lag is worse than any other phone on the market. But it is capable of much, much faster.
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Click to collapse
Which lag fix did you use? I saw several. I haven't rooted my device yet because I'm a little girl. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible first.
thecoolestcow said:
Which lag fix did you use? I saw several. I haven't rooted my device yet because I'm a little girl. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible first.
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Click to collapse
Well I did all my tweaks manually the first time. However when I borked and started over I used this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=751934
That will do all necessary tweaks at once. Just download the update.zip file to the root of your INTERNAL card, reboot into recovery mode (ask if you don't know how... easiest way is to use ADB), and select "reinstall packages" and you're done.
Just check the post I linked to, but it'll remove all the ATT crapware, remove the loud startup sounds, install root, block ads, etc.
After it's ran you then can go into the app it adds and run the lag fix... After you run that script it needs a reboot... And then you've got a lag fixed phone that runs twice as fast. ROM Manager, for instance, takes like a whole freaking minute it seems to open un-lag-fixed. Lag-fixed it takes several seconds max.
TexUs said:
Well I did all my tweaks manually the first time. However when I borked and started over I used this: forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=751934
That will do all necessary tweaks at once. Just download the update.zip file to the root of your INTERNAL card, reboot into recovery mode (ask if you don't know how... easiest way is to use ADB), and select "reinstall packages" and you're done.
Just check the post I linked to, but it'll remove all the ATT crapware, remove the loud startup sounds, install root, block ads, etc.
After it's ran you then can go into the app it adds and run the lag fix.
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Click to collapse
Holy crap, how did I miss that one? Excellent, thank you. I will likely be doing that in the near future!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
thecoolestcow said:
Holy crap, how did I miss that one? Excellent, thank you. I will likely be doing that in the near future!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
NP.
I'm happy with 2.1 right now... I mean the Captivate at 2.1 runs faster than anything else on the market, including the N1 2.2......
So I can live with 2.1 until Samsung releases 2.2
Once you see how much faster it is with the lag fix, you'll start to wonder how much faster 2.2 will be. The Captivate will be untouchable.
There is definitely significant lag on the stock firmware - most notably for me with the marketplace but s also for some other apps when they are loading data. I haven't applied any fixes yet as I'm waiting for a decent firmware update before I do too much with my phone.
JH2/3 are looking like good bets, but I would suspect that an official firmware is right around the corner given the few changes between JH2 and JH3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Why wait? It takes 5 minutes to vastly improve the usability of your phone.
And worst comes to worst, you use the Odin3 one-click to restore it to stock. Seems pretty awesome. I'll probably be "super-rooting" tonight!
Also to note you should only be doing that super-rooting from stock to start with... It's the most reliable method anyway. You can try it from what you've got but- if there's issues you just need to do it from stock.
Hm. And there's no way to back up my apps/data right?
thecoolestcow said:
Hm. And there's no way to back up my apps/data right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, download ROM Manager but you need to be rooted first I think... So you can root your phone only (same process but it just does rooting: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=725555), download/install ROM Manager (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734163). Then when you reboot into the ROM Manager recovery screen there's nandroid backup utility that'll back up everything.
If you like selective backups of stuff you can also use Titanium Backup (also requires root).
smashpunks said:
man I just dont see this lag yall are talking about... Had the phone since day 1, no lag fix and its fast as my n1 on 2.2. about.. Wierd...
Also GPS does work, just not reliably all the time, some works fine, others not, others sometimes.. So saying it dont work is exadurating. I just dont want people that dont have one think that the GPS dont work. It does and I use it everyday without issue. No fixes or anything, mine and some others works...
2.2 froyo will be here soon. Hold your horses on and it will be here next month I will bet...
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Click to collapse
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.
derek4484 said:
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're about a month after release and have Vanilla Android 2.1 ROMs, so chill out. Have some patience, I'm sure we'll see them for 2.2 as well.
derek4484 said:
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works and so do others in those thousands of people threads. If you would like I can copy n paste them for ya...
Its directed me to many places perfectly so it works, its just unreliable and not the best, hence needs to be optimized ...
now post a link where samsung admitted using incorrect drivers? I've never saw that...
*****WARNING*****
THIS IS AN OPINION THREAD. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT AGREE BUT THIS IS ALL OPINION!!!
*****WARNING*****
I usually get about 3 questions per day about my phone (Captivate) and why I picked it over an iphone. I'm a travelling warranty rep and so I'm on my phone a lot, and come across dozens of people a day with my line of business. This is usually one of the more frequet questions, and I decided I would just post this on my facebook as well.
I want feedback on this little short story I wrote about why I picked my Droid device over an iphone, and I figured this would be the best place to put it. I want feedback! Yes I am a little biased, but not without valid reason.
If you can actually point out a valid legitimate claim that I am at fault on, then please do so. That may be a little hard to do as this is just an opinion thread, and boy am I full of them. Flame or follow, go right ahead.
-----------------------------------------
Here's a quick comparison of apple vs Android software.
When Apple releases a new OS, whether a minor update or an upgrade, you have to wipe out all of your data (or rather, it does it for you). Of course, you can just sync your phone with itunes and then do a restore. Sure, it's easy enough.
The next thing is though, that when you do sync with itunes, you have to resync every single file and piece of music, each picture, etc, all over again, even after you've done it once. Considering all of those syncs I've done on others phones have taken well over 20 minutes to sync, for just a couple hundred songs and maybe 50 pictures, it's a pain when you want to go back and add ONE thing and have to do it all over again. Fun, huh?
There are other ways to go about adding individual files and such to iphones, but that involves jailbreaking and setting up custom networking interfaces with your phone, which typical iphone users wont know how to do.
Droid really has all that to begin with. Want to add a file? Just connect the phone to your PC via USB cable (I had 2 included with mine) and tell the phone to mount the storage, I did this by dragging down the menu bar and hitting one button that said "Select to copy files to/from your computer." That makes it show up in the PC as a standard flash drive or removable storage device. Add files accordingly, without having to spend 30 minutes syncing just to get one file. Drag, drop, and you're done.
Next, is jailbreaking. apple programs all of their OS's to fix exploits that have to be programmed in order to jailbreak their phones. If you have the newest version of apple software on your phone, chances are you'll be waiting for quite some time in order to be able to jailbreak. Then, IF the jailbreak is any good (and you don't brick -- or kill) your phone, you can generally unlock it (use it on a different carrier, which is usually the sole reason to jailbreak it) assuming they ALSO have a working unlock for it. You may be able to jailbreak it, but you wont always be able to unlock it.
There's a similar thing you can do for Droid phones, it's called rooting the phone. There's a very large difference though, in what is actually done. Jailbreaking an iphone basically requires new code to be injected into the software in order to bypass restrictions that apple specifically put in place to keep "malicious" software off of their devices. In other words, according to apple, jailbreaking is malware (something apple is supposed to be immune to also according to them). Jailbreaking is frowned upon by apple because it gives you power over your device to do things they don't want you to. Of course, you have to basically bust it out of jail (hence the term jailbreaking) in order to do so to free it from its bonds of restriction apple forces upon its devices. Rooting a Droid phone is nothing more than enabling administrator mode on your device. Its basically if you log onto your computer, you need administrator privledges to be able to do certain things... this is root. Root is a Linux term, basically meaning root controlls everything. No restrictions. Logon as administrator, and that is the same as root pretty much. No needing to jailbreak, no bonds needed to be freed, nothing. Jailbreaking = your friend is in jail, and you have to bust him out. Rooting = You're a CEO and you just took over the whole company. Root is God mode, jailbreaking is rescue mode. Got the difference? Good.
So what about Driods? When you flash a new OS (install an updated/upgraded operating system), does it erase everything? Well, in the past day I've flashed 3 different OS's including having gone back to the stock ROM that AT&T included with all their phones, rooted, unrooted, updated and reverted several times today and I have yet to lose any information. I haven't synced, backed up, done anything to preserve my data, and I've gone from 2.1 to 2.2 to 2.2.1 to 2.2 to 2.1 back over again and haven't lost a thing besides the call history and my text messages. And if I REALLY wanted to, I could have backed those up as well.
So what's all this about OS versions and everything? Well, if you're an iphone user, your OS version probably wont be anything more than a number and a couple of features, unless you jailbreak. Minor bugfixes and such, fixing exploits so people can't jailbreak as easily, and maybe adding a couple shiney new features and that's really about it. The flavor is, well, apple pie. The next version of the apple OS will still be apple pie, maybe with a little more cinammon. The next version will be apple pie, maybe with more apple. The next version will be apple pie and it may even include a worm, removed (or maybe even left in there) with the next batch. It'll always be apple. With Droid, there's not so much apple. I had an OS earlier today that was strawberry. My next was chocolate. After that was grape, then orange, then a giant chewy moist brownie with vanilla ice creamed drenched in chocolate syrup and whipped cream. With apple, all you get is pie. With Droid, you get eclairs, ice cream and more, and you get it how you like it. How about some Gingerbread now? There may even be pickled herring for those that want it later.
---------------------------------------------------------
Remember this was just an off the wall comparison, I didn't go as far in depth and be as technical as I'd like to have, but I did have to be a little redundant as most all of my iphone using friends need things explained to them several times before they understand. If I missed any points, feel free to share. Sorry if I hurt your feelings over anything (this was an opinion thread, remember?)
I would enjoy an orange flavored one myself.
I'm enjoying my froyo (frozen yogurt for those of you that don't know...and if you don't........) for now but when i get the chance I'll probably enjoy a bit of gingerbread .
The best of 3 worlds
I´m enjoying my Windows Mobile Leo with the chance to use Froyo/Gingerbread and soon WP7 as well
dbzfanatic said:
I'm enjoying my froyo (frozen yogurt for those of you that don't know...and if you don't........) for now but when i get the chance I'll probably enjoy a bit of gingerbread .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my little bit about ice cream at the later part though I probably should have said yogurt.
Sent from my I-897 with GT-I9000 kernel and froyo stuff with gingerbread kb and other nifty little tweaks using XDA App
orb3000 said:
I´m enjoying my Windows Mobile Leo with the chance to use Froyo/Gingerbread and soon WP7 as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am glad to see some windows users are doing that as well, I had a windows mobile phone and I completely juggled the idea of going to linux on my phone for quite some time until I just ended up deciding against it (back when I hadn't even flashed my first ROM) because I needed it strictly for work. Now I have some room to play around. My biggest concern was the lack of functionality on my device, which is always the kicker. WSince I still have the phone laying around and it's still completely functional, I may have to try it now
I recently bit the bullet and goldcarded 3.14 onto my Leo, partly as I was fed up waiting for O2 to release it, and partly to dabble with Android again (I'd done it on my Blackstone and found it meh).
I run SPB MS on the Leo which I find the best interface.
Now I can easily flip between the two, still prefer WM but then SPB MS5 isn't out for consumers yet (dammit pull your finger out!).
Prefer huff n puff to angry birds, but AB has more levels.
So if I fancy playing any games or using any apps that are only available on android I can now use them, but as for it replacing WM as my main OS, it's still too "clunky" for my liking.
Either way, at least both started the year with working alarm clocks, unlike iphones
Hi,
I have plans to buy a Sidekick LX 2009 for use in Belgium.
Now i have read about that when i root my Sidekick that i can use the GPRS network from all the world is this correct can i send emails and surfing on the internet with my Data plan ?
Thanks.
Greetings,
Rudi
There is a lot wrong with that question. First, the LX 2009 was not on android, it was on Danger's proprietary firmware. This means that it's not a rootable scenario, as there's no root to get. I believe what you're talking about it getting it Unlocked which would have to come from Danger/T-Mobile, but I'm not sure if they're still giving out unlock codes for that phone, as it's now old and no longer made.
I wonder if you are still reading this but I think this link may help http://wiki.sidekick.com/thread/4481508/Registering%2FActivating+an+unlocked+sidekick+3+on+other+networks
[email protected] said:
Registering/Activating an unlocked sidekick 3 on other networks
Feb 20 2011, 12:14 PM EST
after u by bass the screen by holding the button with the three bars and the L button holding at same time for like 2 sec after ur at the main screen hit the menu button thats the one with the three bars go to settings network options scroll down to network APN now click the change network apn and erase the tmobile one thats there leave it blank then hit the menu butten and click done with in a few seconds or instantly like it did for me it will activate and u make a new user name or use one u have if u do that is and my email started up and the download catalog worked and my sidekick 3 said i was registered text me at 9736104730 (im on att) or email me at [email protected] it took me like 6 days to get my phone to activate and i was getting mad and i did this by mistake and im glade it works now lol att pay as you go on sidekick 3 loving it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that trick doesn't work. I wonder if we can flash the Sharp Jump (offered by Cincinnati Bell) firmware onto this device? Then someone would have an old copy of the Danger SDK lying around and it would become grey territory in terms of legality of the use of the SDK.
sorry to bump an old ars tread but my SK4G **** on me.... and back to the LX 2009 anyone know how to at least get internet running? apn settings are limited on this device and epc.tmobile.com is a no go
try unlocking the device. if tmobile wont give you the code, then find an unlocking service. ebay is probably cheaper than a regular service. either way, get the code and put a non tmobile sim in and unlock. then put your sim card back in, find the apn settings, delete whatever apn is there, and then put tmobiles current apn in. if that doesnt work, nothing will.
Danger-based Sidekicks ran everything through their proprietary Back-End Servers which were shut down back in May of 2011. After that time, NO Danger-Based Sidekicks have been able to access the internet. Sharp has since tweaked their remaining LX09 stock and re-marketed the devices (complete with an Opera Browser with Internet services and a non-Sidekick name) to other carriers (including Mobility Wireless and Cincinnati Bell). their tweaks were not made public to be applied to T-mobile branded devices.
ncmacasl said:
Sharp has since tweaked their remaining LX09 stock and re-marketed the devices (complete with an Opera Browser with Internet services and a non-Sidekick name) to other carriers (including Mobility Wireless and Cincinnati Bell). their tweaks were not made public to be applied to T-mobile branded devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If someone can extract the flash through a JTAG or other flash reader, then the Sidekick LX scene may explode; if the hackers can bypass legal measures.
Danger's agreement for developers was very restrictive.
To get any kind of modding started on the Hiptop, you would need some leaks directly from former Danger employees... Not only is that unlikely, the trail has gotten awfully cold. The Hiptop (and all its kin) has been pink and dead for a long time. Some ho killed it.
Agreed. Regardless, the LX is a lost cause now.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Matarick said:
Well that trick doesn't work. I wonder if we can flash the Sharp Jump (offered by Cincinnati Bell) firmware onto this device? Then someone would have an old copy of the Danger SDK lying around and it would become grey territory in terms of legality of the use of the SDK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u have a copy of Danger SDK..?? is there any way i can get it?? i have a SHARP PV300(almost same as sidekick lx2009) but cannot install any new apps into it.. i just want to install a few apps in it. there is GPS on the device.. but it is useless as it comes without an application,.. is there any way u can help me..??
nitthin21 said:
do u have a copy of Danger SDK..?? is there any way i can get it?? i have a SHARP PV300(almost same as sidekick lx2009) but cannot install any new apps into it.. i just want to install a few apps in it. there is GPS on the device.. but it is useless as it comes without an application,.. is there any way u can help me..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The short answer is no.
There always were two different builds of Danger OS's. There was a developer build that was used by Danger employees and a production OS that required a developer's code to install 3rd party apps.
There's a good chance they still have two builds of the OS for your device. Sharp likely has a developer build they use in house--and you have a consumer version.
Because the catalog is dead and gone, I don't see any reason why they would have maintained the ability to "unlock" devices for devs. The whole dev code feature may have been deleted.
Even if there still is a way to unlock the device, I believe the developer codes were produced using a hash against the device IMEI. But, that doesn't help much because I don't know of anyone that ever cracked Danger's crypto method.
The Danger development website was capable of generating codes for approved devs, but it has been gone for years. So, you can't get the algorithm directly or produce more examples for evaluation...
And, you should be able to copy your device's location to the clipboard and use it in the browser. It's not completely worthless...
orange808 said:
Danger's agreement for developers was very restrictive.
To get any kind of modding started on the Hiptop, you would need some leaks directly from former Danger employees... Not only is that unlikely, the trail has gotten awfully cold. The Hiptop (and all its kin) has been pink and dead for a long time. Some ho killed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFL - great multi-pun replay!!!
It's great to see the old-school Sidekicks get talked about. I still have my SK3 and SK2008. The SK3 was a personal favorite of mine. As far as hacking them is concerned, I'm sure there's a way to root them as the basis for the OS was a Java VM running on Linux if I remember correctly. Microsoft would have to fork over the code for the open source parts of it. The SK LX 2009 was a new start for the Danger OS and ran NetBSD as the base of the OS. The old SK's are CHEAP to pick up nowadays given their limited utility, but they would be the ultimate hacker's challenge as far as modding and breaking into the OS. One guy managed to do it and got hired by Danger waaaaaay back in the earliest days of the Hiptop/Sidekick. Unfortunately, it seems his work isn't available to download anymore. HOWEVER, someone else used his work for the basis for trying to get Android running on the old Sidekick devices: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/android-beginners/acUqRd9ZuRY
It doesn't look like it got very far, but there's some interesting information there. Anyway, I'm rambling a bit here.
Yep. That was jgeorge...
He took over running the developer website after Danger hired him...
Ever wanted to have spell check and autocorrect running from a single dictionary across your entire device?
Gee. I bet Apple will market the heck out of that "new" feature next.
Yay.
Come to think of it, where is that feature, Google?
You going to let an old Sidekick trump you?
P.S. Real Sidekicks don't drop keypresses.
Does yours drop them too? I thought it was just mine. Though, the problem has largely subsided with the most recent ROMs like RAGE4.0 and GOv3.2Bulky (which I'm running now.). still, it hasn't totally been eliminated. This thing will show flashes of what made the old Sidekicks great, but the execution by Samsung and T-Mobile wasn't what it needed to be. Still, this device shows that Android is really Hiptop OS 2.0 (sort of). There's so much in Android that first was in Hiptop.
<sigh> I really wish MS hadn't bought Danger.
orange808 said:
Yep. That was jgeorge...
He took over running the developer website after Danger hired him...
Ever wanted to have spell check and autocorrect running from a single dictionary across your entire device?
Gee. I bet Apple will market the heck out of that "new" feature next.
Yay.
Come to think of it, where is that feature, Google?
You going to let an old Sidekick trump you?
P.S. Real Sidekicks don't drop keypresses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft wasted their money. But, Danger was doomed when the Hiptop 3 arrived. That design failed to innovate and move forward.
The Hiptop, Hiptop Color, and Hiptop 2 were all incremental improvements on the same core experience. At the time, it was ok because they met general expectations.
But, the Hiptop 3 needed to be something special--and it wasn't. That hurt.
The other problem was the closed platform. Danger had trouble getting development off the ground. The whole thing was a powered with a proprietary Java-based (aka slow) platform. They added MIDP support later, but that just encouraged quick and dirty ports--they needed native quality apps.
Danger's (Apple copied the idea) app approval process and catalog was a great idea to guarantee stable software and boost revenue. But, the closed platform also discouraged developers. Somewhere in the middle of the Hiptop 2's lifespan, Danger sued over Hiptones (a grey market app) and stopped giving most people dev codes. That chilled any enthusiasm that may have existed and effectively killed the device with most devs.
Microsoft still could have saved the platform. But, Danger shot themselves in the foot long before that by locking out devs and failing to innovate.
I agree it was a stupid purchase by Microsoft. $500 million was just ridiculous to spend. I really wonder what they thought it would get them. The owners of Danger made out like bandits presumably.
I've heard that things like more advanced Bluetooth profiles like A2DP were kept off the SK3 because of carrier requests. It was also very odd how long it took to add support for MMS to say nothing about the issue of locking down the ability to add your own ringtones. I know someone suggested to T-Mobile that they make dev keys available as a premium download in the Catalogue, but that went nowhere.
Speaking of 3rd party stuff, I wonder to this day what else could be put on an SD card to open up features besides just the themes. There had to have been more to that which could have been done to gain further access to the devies. I tried one time with a friend to hack into the SK3 with my linux desktop via USB, but that didn't go anywhere.
Well, T-Mobile owned half of Danger. Their "requests" and (shortsighted) hunger for a few dollars in ringtone revenue were very costly in the long term.
For years, there was a special T-Mobile flavor of the OS with missing features. That didn't end until the LX 09.
Many other features failed to appear bcause Danger wasn't taking the future seriously. For instance, the devs had software to store our emails on sdcard. The software was around forever and we all downloaded and used it, but it never made it into the OS... Somewhere around the release of the Hiptop 3, Danger stopped taking email seriously. Did they really think the LX 09 would attract a wide range of users with a dinky little mailbox?
We also had proof of concept for video decoding that ran all the back to the Hiptop 3. But, again, it went nowhere for years.
So many missed opportunities..
I made a few bucks back in the day by making themes and custom ringtones for the lx and lx09 I still have my 09 with like 100 custom ringtones and its unlocked but till I can find a way to override the danger server dependancy it will sit in its box in my closet gathering dust I loved that thing. I'm upset now that I sold my sk3 and sklx and only kept the 09 lol
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