Database Info

My Short OTA 3116 Review -- Add Yours!

By the time I got 3116 downloaded, several other people had made varying comments so I didn't really know what to expect.
Here are my observations:
1. Update was flawless and no instability afterward that can see.
2. I wouldn't say it seems "fast" -- but I definitely would call it smoother and more polished.
3. I neither like nor dislike the TnT launcher, but I do appreciate that they put the Android-like option in there. I'll use that more than the stock launcher.
4. They should have put flash in. From a public perspective, it was hugely necessary. And it it was an Adobe holdup, they need to get their PR flacks on line making sure people know they tried!
5. All the apps I have added since the update seem to have loaded and are working fine.
6. I'm still exploring, but I put an SD card in /sdcard2 with a couple of albums on it. Told the music app to start -- it said it was searching -- it found my music and played!!! That was nice. Now will have to test photos, videos, etc.
7. It just runs and that helps!
Summary: Given what's in and not in the update, I suspect this is an effort by the TapNTap people to get out from under the whole situation. It looks to my eye (and I have done a fair amount of programming) like when the furor over the interface started, someone started working real hard to make TapNTap work well. I do agree with somebody that while I am not happy with what came in the package, I believe it probably will be enough to satisfy casual, non-tech users if the VS marketing people can get the word out and generate some interest.
I'd give it a thumbs up with the proviso that somebody better bring some meat and potatoes before long to go with the appetizer!
Rev

I agree.
The stock Android-like launcher is nice. The speed and stability is much improved. We are spoiled with the speed-fix that all the aftermarket roms have in them. I have used TNT lite and Vegan since I got the tab new. I have installed this update and have been usingit for the afternoon. I think it is nice and this can be a mainstream tablet now. The only thing it needs is the flash, which will be forthcoming.
I was one of the people that was very down on the stock firmware. This device is now able to compete head to head with any other android tablet and can go head to head against the Ipad. Once flash is added, this is much better than the Ipad.

It seemed very usable. Pretty nice for people who want something that just works rather than learning how to use Android. The only instability I experienced was some incompatibility with my Exchange mail crashing the mail app every time.

upgrade
Is this the so called 12 19 update??

2insane,
Yes, apparently Roebeet caught it early and D/Led it and posted the link for others who wanted to try it.
There are quite a few posts explaining people's opinions about it.
Rev

A vast improvement.
I only used the new update shortly after install today. I believe for most people purchasing the tablet the update will be enough to keep them from returning the product. It's not going to show the potential of the Tegra processor, but the unit is usable.
The one glaring issue I think is when changing orientation. The gpad is slow and unsure, both the iPad and Samsung tab are instant.
Even though it is a vast improvement it should be more. How is that a few developers on this site can come up with much better software with limited resources and access to key information than the company selling the product?
I had given up my tablet and found the update looking for the stock flash to return the unit. It was fun tweaking it, but I was using time that I really couldn't spare trying to get it work. Not sure I would have followed through with returning yet.
I did a complete wipe and reformat of the system and partitioned the sd card. Installed the update then installed VEGAn Beta 3 without wiping and all I can say fantastic.. Not sure what changed, but VEGAn runs even better now. I have been using my tab for about 6 hours now trying to get it to act up, so far no problems. I have not attempted the Adobe Flash install. Flash would be nice to have, but really is not all that important for my use.
Some of you like numbers, here are some Quadrant scores. Viewsonic Gtablet 2538. My Samsung Galaxy Tab 976. I can assure you that in daily use the speed difference is not as dramatic as the numbers suggest.
To those of you who are frustrated and thinking of returning the unit, you might give it a few more tries. At least give the update a try, it won't run at full potential, but the update appears to make it a very usable device. Even with just the Viewsonic update I have trouble believing that this is the same piece of junk I brought home 7 days ago.
I believe I have a keeper now thanks to the people on this site that share there work and knowledge, with a little credit due to Viewsonic.

[Warning] Don't Flash Kernels for Other Hardware!!..

I know it may be tempting to flash Fascinate or Showcase (or Vibrant, or i9000, etc) ROMs and Kernels especially since the Fascinate is starting to get some Froyo alpha builds. It is also probably a bit confusing as to why (since we PRETTY MUCH have the same hardware) it wouldn't work. [Unless you can confidently recover from a soft brick without breaking a sweat on your palms and are willing to risk the small chance of a hard brick] Don't.
.
I would like to clarify a few things. It takes a perfect combination of Kernel, Ramdisk, and ROM etc. to get a properly booting system. Usually, swapping one or two of these for software from another device will cause your phone to stop booting, but won't cause any irreparable damage. Sometimes the device may even boot or seem to function properly. Or -- you might get a lovely brick. Even with a seemingly functional phone, you will most likely have carrier specific settings and other carrier or device (or radio or filesystem) dependent crap in the ROM that will prevent your phone from functioning 100%.
Let me also say this, what works for someone else may not necessarily work for you. What did the last sentence say? When you flash a kernel you don't format the entire device. The device may retain some old configurations or files; the master boot record is left untouched, etc. Flashing a ROM usually wipes your entire system directory. The point is, the way most of these update packages work, you can get different results simply by changing the order in which you flash things or by starting from a different image (what software was previously on your device). I have found this device to be rather finicky. Sometimes, things don't even work for me when I go through the exact same steps or the seemingly "proper" steps. Sometimes things only work after an Odin restore to stock. Regardless, my interactions have caused surprisingly unpredictable results.
I am sending this message because I have seen a few users recently put themselves in frustrating situations after flashing software for the Fascinate. First, I hope you NEVER flash software for another device altogether (Vibrant, Nesux S, i9000, Droid..). With the Fascinate, there is a little more breathing room because there are strong similarities between the devices, but if you don't know what you are doing, I still strongly advise against it. Even the same hardware can have a different partitioning system, master boot record, configuration scripts, etc!
I would like to let you know, WE ARE WORKING ON PORTING OVER the AWESOME FROYO WORK that has been done on the FASCINATE. I am relatively new to the Android scene so it's taking longer than I would like or than I expected (I've also been rather unlucky and encountered some stupid error or silly mistake almost every step of the way). I know you all are getting antsy, but don't worry, be patient, we are working on it. AND, if worse comes to worse and we can't get an alpha build out to you all, I have no doubt we will get at least a beta and a final Homebrew Froyo out there for you all.
Best,
dcow

Listen to the wise man, for those who are patient get to enjoy the spoils of these great developers work, with the least amount of headaches (not to mention the headaches and time saved from dev's not having to help those who make those bad decisions to begin with).

I wish us showcase guys could get our own section

den0ts said:
I wish us showcase guys could get our own section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But until then you have to sit in our sandbox and play with us.

Idea for a new rating system.

You know.. it's kind of crazy the captivate is as old as it is, and roms are still being produced (at a fairly large rate) for this device.
For some time now, it has become increasingly apparent XDA could use a slight overhaul or at least a new implementation for the end-users.
I would like to see a review system that allows you to browse by device, then shows you the android roms available based on which version you want to use. .....4.1, 4.0, 2.x......
From there, it could be broken down by most recent version vs. previous versions.
It could have different criteria for review such as battery life, lag problems, how "polished" it is, how well "featured" it is.
Maybe, even an optional set of code for any devs who want to include it which standardize some automatic reporting features so there could be "official XDA stats" and then "subjective user stats"
The reason I'm suggesting this is because even the Captivate which is now *old* by any standard has ample roms for it many of which change at a fast rate. If there was a system that let you see what the original problems were, when they were fixed, and what new problems people were having, it would make the process of rom selection a bit easier. Especially since users have drastically different needs from user to user, and different developers often have different priorities.
We could even have a "voting" system or something where if a user loads up CM10 and feel it has sufficient stutter, A user can go check the "current issues" related to that nightly and click "me too!" so that other users can get an idea of how many people are having what issues. This would also allow us to mark which version of a particular rom we are on and it could even have a system which "moves us" if we report going to a new version/go back device to device.
This would be particularly useful for people who want to give feedback about roms/help developers but, don't want to keep reporting already well known issues vainly, as it would prevent having to look back through 20 forum pages or 15 days of change-log to see what is what. It would also keep users from switching to a new rom, hoping it doesn't have X problem and finding out it does.. only to have to go back and recheck and see if they need to report that issue as well.
XDA is all about the developers but, it's important to consider that a lot of us don't mind giving input/helping/beta-ing and using roms and we even decide our next devices based on what things look like here. That is a 500$ purchase some of us make judging by the atmosphere here at XDA. It is a decision that in a lot of ways pays off, we get to use newer versions of android long after manufacturers quit caring.
If I don't care that the front camera is broken, in CM10 nightly X67 and doesn't work for me, but it works for another user.. Then this can be documented in a much easier to read, easier to follow fashion which would save someone else a lot of time if they don't want to gamble on an unstable camera since they scan lots of QR codes. Especially if the camera was in fact working for almost everyone in the nightly before.

Snow_fox said:
You know.. it's kind of crazy the captivate is as old as it is, and roms are still being produced (at a fairly large rate) for this device.
For some time now, it has become increasingly apparent XDA could use a slight overhaul or at least a new implementation for the end-users.
I would like to see a review system that allows you to browse by device, then shows you the android roms available based on which version you want to use. .....4.1, 4.0, 2.x......
From there, it could be broken down by most recent version vs. previous versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how the rating system you spoke of would really work out because just as a problem with a ROM could be caused by an error in the code or build, the same problem could be caused by end-user error and any ratings based on that could cause problems with getting an accurate rating.
However what I very much agree with is your idea to break down the listings by software versions. At least if that was implemented within the Development section it would make navigating so much more efficient.

m1batt1 said:
I don't know how the rating system you spoke of would really work out because just as a problem with a ROM could be caused by an error in the code or build, the same problem could be caused by end-user error and any ratings based on that could cause problems with getting an accurate rating.
However what I very much agree with is your idea to break down the listings by software versions. At least if that was implemented within the Development section it would make navigating so much more efficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do understand your point about it possibly being end-user related, the reason I don't consider this too big of an issue is because there is always a chance for end-user screw ups with any product.
And being totally honest even if it is end user related, it would allow tracking of possible problems people create for themselves.I do my absolute best to read the instructions two or three times and get everything nailed down before I flash a new rom but, I've made mistakes and said "oops" on more than time.
If we can add that much more clarity to end user created problems vs. inherent rom problems, seems like that much more reason to go through with it.
If I can go back and see X is a problem from Y. I would know, "oh I forgot to clear my cache!" go back, repeat the process do it right and wouldn't have to complain to the dev.

[Q] Will a new ROM be all I ever dreamed of....?

Hi all! I'm a noob to the site and a noob to smartphone modifications, so please forgive me for my questions and concerns. I've used forums for years on many topics and found the knowledge base to be incredible, so I hope you guys will help me out, too.
So, while my Skyrocket has generally worked very well for the past 2+ years, I have always felt it's not living up to its potential. I've read numerous threads on many forums to see what my fellow Rocketeers were doing. I think I've come to the conclusion that flashing a new ROM is the way to go, but I am a bit wary since I've never done this nor know anyone who has. My thinking goes along the same lines as my experience with computers... If you buy a Dell, HP, etc., you get the garbage that the manufacturer bundles in along with Windows. If you wipe the HD and install your own clean copy of Windows, you can usually get better performance without all that other stuff. Hence, the idea for a new ROM for the phone.
A few things have me wondering, though... There seem to be more ROMs available than flavors of Linux! I know choice will end up being a personal thing. My goal is really simple... I just want a clean OS that is stable, efficient, and runs the basic functions I am accustomed to. So, I am not looking to experiment or push the envelope. I want a phone that doesn't crash at the worst possible time, and one that can actually make phone calls! I assume that I will still be able to use the Google Play store to download apps (after installing the plugin thingy). My phone is from AT&T and is unlocked. Will it say unlocked after flashing a new ROM? Will Visual Voicemail still work? I occasionally use FoxFi to create a mobile hotspot. Will I still be able to use it? Or do other ROMs already have this feature unlocked (or bypassed)? I use apps on my phone mostly for email (Yahho/Gmail), calendar, FB, Instagram, YouTube, taking photos/video, viewing forums, and the like, besides making phone calls. In other words, what should I expect from a new ROM? How will things be different? I'm really trying to gauge if this is a worthwhile endeavor for me.
Sorry for the long post. I appreciate your opinions and experience.

It's always worthwhile.
The Skyrocket, to me, was always a case of OEM software that limited its potential. If you really sit down and tweak it, custom ROM, new governor, overclock, it's a beast of a phone that can still keep pace today. You'll have to balance performance with battery life--overclocking and switching to a more aggressive governor doesn't do you any favors there, and some ROMs are better about battery life than others. It's a great phone with a lot of life left, though, much more so than the vanilla S2 because the Rocket has LTE capability.
To hit your other questions, any app that is available on the Play Store will work. If a ROM needs a second gapps flash to get the Play Store (along with everything else Google ships) back, that will be made available and is a very easy install. I've never unlocked a phone, but I don't believe that a new ROM would lose that. Wait for someone else to reply, but I'd be shocked if it did. As far as what you want, there's a ROM to suit any desires. Most ROMs are pretty basic and look and feel like you'd expect a Skyrocket to. Some are designed to feel a little more like iOS, some are designed to be stripped-down (and faster as a result), and some are based on stock firmware and very closely replicate the original experience. It's up to you to read through the dev forum for the Rocket and pick the experience that's best for you.
As far as how difficult it is, spend a couple hours reading about flashing, how it works and why it works. Once you have that basic understanding of it and can follow a few simple instructions that are pretty universal across ROMs, you're set.

Well, I'm giving this a try tonight. Fingers crossed!

One piece of advice: when you pick a new rom from "Android development" read the WHOLE thread associated with that rom, with special attention the the first couple of pages. Make sure you understand the process and any potential pitfalls.
First rom I tried I spent probably six hours reading. It was worth it.

Success!!! I now have the latest CandyKat running! It ended up being not too bad at all. Now I need to figure out how things are different from the AT&T Jelly Bean this replaces.
Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone who contributes to the site,

I have Kandykat. It seems to be a good solid rom. The Google Now launcher is buggy though. I changed to Nova launcher. Other than that it's been fine.

Thanks for the tips, Chris. I've been using Launcher3. What's the difference between these launchers? Everything seems to be running fine on my rocket now. Any tips on increasing battery life? Any tips on some nice customization?

Google Now launcher seems to have the annoying habit of forgetting the screen setup (app positioning) during reboot. Launcher 3 also exhibited the same problem. Launchers are a matter of taste, but Nova launcher seems solid and looks right to me. YMMV. It's easy to try a few.

Why is installing CM so incredibly difficult?

Installing CM used to be wonderful! I remember a time when went to get.cm, connected my phone to the computer, clicked one or two buttons and watched everything else happen automatically. THAT was an experience worth noting! Perfectly simply and jaw-dropping!
Nowadays, I have to read through several pages of an article, click multiple links, concentrate heavily on the contents, do EXTRA research on Google, YouTube and other how-to pages, use lots of trial-and-error, endure a bunch of frustration and when I'm lucky, after several hours or sometimes days of work, I can get CM working on a phone.
This is unacceptable to a medium-experience user in the year 2016! (Note that I'm not your cookie-cutter idiot user. I have been able to repair MacBooks and phones using only internet tutorials, I have lots of experience using computers, I understand how to code)
1st experience (back in 2013 on my Nexus 5):
Perfect!
2nd experience (S3 neo, 2014):
Horrible! (got it to work, however)
3rd experience (late 2015 on LG G4):
- waited for a new CM supporting my device forever, although a quick CM had been promised
- read though pages and pages of forum threads
- decided not to risk my warranty and get a bad photo app by installing CM rather than an excellent one from stock LG android
- overall, a bad experience again
4th experience (yesterday on an HTC One M7)
- just as bad as before with the exception that I quit out of frustration
It's absolutely incredible how much effort still needs to be brought the the table in order to install CM! I mean seriously now:
1) Installing adb and fastboot (not idiot-proof on Mac OSX)
2) unlocking dev mode on the phone
3) using terminal commands to move files on sdcard (didn't work for me)
4) using bootloader commands on trwp
…
… and so on and so on (lots of errors and problems on the way)
These are all not things that people don’t know how to do EVEN IF THEY HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE 1 OR 2 YEARS AGO!!!! What happened to all that simplicity from the nexus 5 2013 era? I know what you are going to say in response to this, things like: "Google/Android makes it much harder to unlock bootloaders/root on the phone/and yadayadayaaaa...."
All of this might be true but in reality the user still could be cared for so much mor in the installation process. I mean if you at least provided a proper step-by-step instruction with clean English phrases which explains everything with screenshot and/or a video, that would be acceptable. But the way it work right now takes to much time and effort from users.
Do you not have any benefits from a larger user base? Do you not want to make CM spread to as many phones in the world as possible? Come on now, you can do SO MUCH better than this!
Well, if you want an elite community with only very few noobies bugging you for support, well then I can understand that. But if not, this thing is just annoying and extremely frustrating discouraging a lot of users from adopting an otherwise great OS!

Snüber said:
Installing CM used to be wonderful! I remember a time when went to get.cm, connected my phone to the computer, clicked one or two buttons and watched everything else happen automatically. THAT was an experience worth noting! Perfectly simply and jaw-dropping!
Nowadays, I have to read through several pages of an article, click multiple links, concentrate heavily on the contents, do EXTRA research on Google, YouTube and other how-to pages, use lots of trial-and-error, endure a bunch of frustration and when I'm lucky, after several hours or sometimes days of work, I can get CM working on a phone.
This is unacceptable to a medium-experience user in the year 2016! (Note that I'm not your cookie-cutter idiot user. I have been able to repair MacBooks and phones using only internet tutorials, I have lots of experience using computers, I understand how to code)
1st experience (back in 2013 on my Nexus 5):
Perfect!
2nd experience (S3 neo, 2014):
Horrible! (got it to work, however)
3rd experience (late 2015 on LG G4):
- waited for a new CM supporting my device forever, although a quick CM had been promised
- read though pages and pages of forum threads
- decided not to risk my warranty and get a bad photo app by installing CM rather than an excellent one from stock LG android
- overall, a bad experience again
4th experience (yesterday on an HTC One M7)
- just as bad as before with the exception that I quit out of frustration
It's absolutely incredible how much effort still needs to be brought the the table in order to install CM! I mean seriously now:
1) Installing adb and fastboot (not idiot-proof on Mac OSX)
2) unlocking dev mode on the phone
3) using terminal commands to move files on sdcard (didn't work for me)
4) using bootloader commands on trwp
…
… and so on and so on (lots of errors and problems on the way)
These are all not things that people don’t know how to do EVEN IF THEY HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE 1 OR 2 YEARS AGO!!!! What happened to all that simplicity from the nexus 5 2013 era? I know what you are going to say in response to this, things like: "Google/Android makes it much harder to unlock bootloaders/root on the phone/and yadayadayaaaa...."
All of this might be true but in reality the user still could be cared for so much mor in the installation process. I mean if you at least provided a proper step-by-step instruction with clean English phrases which explains everything with screenshot and/or a video, that would be acceptable. But the way it work right now takes to much time and effort from users.
Do you not have any benefits from a larger user base? Do you not want to make CM spread to as many phones in the world as possible? Come on now, you can do SO MUCH better than this!
Well, if you want an elite community with only very few noobies bugging you for support, well then I can understand that. But if not, this thing is just annoying and extremely frustrating discouraging a lot of users from adopting an otherwise great OS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of those issue are Cyanogen's, they are a result of how the hardware and firmware are designed by the manufacture.
In most cases the Manufacture does not want their devices/firmware hacked, rooted, or bootloaders unlocked.
If you want a custom firmware, do some research first, before buying a device.

rooting right now is fairly difficult too. so to answer your question, installing custom roms needs rooted devices. and whilst installing recovery img is difficult nowadays. you will really find a hard time esp when there's rom mismatch