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Im sure most of you have seen this buy now, but I figured, no harm in posting it. Lucky nexus users......
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/08/open-handset-alliance-member-confirms-android-2-3-is-gingerbread/
Yup.
Saw it here too
http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/mobile/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200423&itc=ref-true
This makes Samsung look lazy..
mymansionisabox said:
This makes Samsung look lazy..
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Click to collapse
Gingerbread landing on Google's own developer phone prior to every other handset makes Samsung look lazy?
hawkeyefan said:
Gingerbread landing on Google's own developer phone prior to every other handset makes Samsung look lazy?
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Click to collapse
Because Samsung has yet to launch 2.2 on their own "premiere" Galaxy S line of phones.
Of course, this is my opinion.
2.2 has been released officially since May 2010.
Droid X was released July 15th, with Android 2.1
Android 2.2 was pushed OTA to Droid X on September 22, 2010
Samsung Captivate was released July 18th with Android 2.1... still no Froyo
I'm not complaining. I'm stating my opinion...
And now.. 2.3 is coming out and I think most of us would agree. If the N1 can handle 2.3, so can the Captivate, the whole Galaxy S line.
So yes.. lazy.. because now they will have to start working on a release for 2.3 and they haven't even finished a 2.2 release. You and I already know Motorola is on top of this.
Maybe lazy isn't the best choice of words.. but.. whatever. I think you get my point.
Ah, in relation to Froyo, gotcha. I agree to a certain extent.
I highly doubt we will see an official 2.3 release...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
hawkeyefan said:
Ah, in relation to Froyo, gotcha. I agree to a certain extent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah haha. I mean I'm not bashing Samsung. I'm just in fear that they might be a bit over their heads now.
They basically are going to have to stay in constant development with this.. They haven't finished 2.2 yet and now 2.3 is about to be released.
I fear that our phones will be left behind FAR before they really should be.
Idk.. I'm a pessimist a guess.
mymansionisabox said:
Yeah haha. I mean I'm not bashing Samsung. I'm just in fear that they might be a bit over their heads now.
They basically are going to have to stay in constant development with this.. They haven't finished 2.2 yet and now 2.3 is about to be released.
I fear that our phones will be left behind FAR before they really should be.
Idk.. I'm a pessimist a guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange...last few time I talked with the Galaxy people at Samsung..it was told to me that 2.2 has been finished at all of the Carriers for some time..This makes this very confusing for me to say the least. Is it really Samsung at fault...or the carriers that are at fault with all of the delays of releasing the 2.2 update stateside ? Is it the us based carriers that are adding to it to be able lock the phones down and change things around on it..or Samsung ?
I can understand where folks are saying Android is fragmented if the carriers are causing this, but I don't understand why there can't be unified coding across all manufacturers lines when it comes to the os of Android.After all isn't it based off of ASOP and Linux and isn't that supposed to be all open source..? I do understand the differences in the various hardware requirements between all of the Android phones..but the core os should be the same shouldn't it ? So...who is at fault..the carriers..or Samsung..or both ? Who is really causing the delays..? Who is going to make the determination if any future development happens..the carriers or Samsung ?
Mac
mymansionisabox said:
Motorola is on top of this.
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Click to collapse
ROFL. Motorola is on top of nothing. Bottom maybe with VZW on top. If not for VZW, I don't know that Motorola would EVER push out updates. Just look at what they did with the cliq/backflip/dext/cliqxt/devour... it took FOREVER, and most parts of the world aren't even officially getting it (2.1).
Probably buying HTC from now on. They get cyanogen and sense, and somewhat timely updates
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
Flash one of the great leaked 2.2 ROMs......problem solved. A Gingerbread based custom ROM will likely follow at some point.
Personally I do not even believe we will see a official release of 2.2 much less 2.3. Unlikely that we will ever see a GPS fix either at&t has their handsfull with the new windows phone. I also think that at&t is to blame.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
larmor19 said:
Personally I do not even believe we will see a official release of 2.2 much less 2.3.
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Click to collapse
And why don't you believe 2.2 will be released? Do you know that the Android developers for AT&T aren't the same ones that work on the Windows phone?
tbong777 said:
Flash one of the great leaked 2.2 ROMs......problem solved. A Gingerbread based custom ROM will likely follow at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be difficult without source from SAMSUNG
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
larmor19 said:
Personally I do not even believe we will see a official release of 2.2 much less 2.3. Unlikely that we will ever see a GPS fix either at&t has their handsfull with the new windows phone. I also think that at&t is to blame.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... obviously, Samsung is working on a 2.2 release. We have already gotten two leaked builds. The official release will be coming. Now with regards to 2.3. I don't think it's going to happen. It seems as though Samsung is focusing their efforts to push new products rather than support old ones.
"Old Ones?" this phone isnt even 6 months old yet and it'll be obsolete soon. if not for the geniuses here at XDA it would already be obsolete. i love my captivate but i think its getting ready to get left in the dust. hope i get proven wrong though.
Left in the dust? How so? 2.3. Is not even out yet. At least we have leaked versions of froyo...which will still be better then an official one. All we need is the source. The devs can handle the rest from there otherwise the devs spend there time unlocking all the crap that Samsung and att locked down
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
This is what I don't like about Android (well not Android itself, but the Android market)...while N1 owners will be playing with 2.3 I will be stuck with 2.1.
F Samsung/Motorola whoever and their heavily modified ROMS. I don't need your Touchwiz/MotoBLUR/etc...just give me the stock ROM so that you save yourself the headache of upgrading and us too.
Samsung originally released their 2.2 back in late September/October to Europe - then was promptly pulled due to it being complete junk.
Now they are re-distributing it this month with a probably still junk release of 2.2. They screwed up so bad due to all the crap they half-assed into these phones (touchwiz, rfs file system etc...)
Samsung really needs to re-evaluate their development team and decide if they are going to be serious about the software side or farm it out to a third party that can program. Because.... their development department is probably the worst out there when it comes to android development.
I mean... there are probably Kirf teams in China that can code better!
Lazy.. no, greedy and not caring about the consumer and not taking pride the end result? Sure I can go with that.
PixelPerfect3 said:
This is what I don't like about Android (well not Android itself, but the Android market)...while N1 owners will be playing with 2.3 I will be stuck with 2.1.
F Samsung/Motorola whoever and their heavily modified ROMS. I don't need your Touchwiz/MotoBLUR/etc...just give me the stock ROM so that you save yourself the headache of upgrading and us too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This exactly.
Android is supposed to be this huge open source project, and while we can root and mod and flash all we like, we should also have the option of just being able to go to google and get the newest version ourselves.
The fact that not only the carriers (which is to be expected) but the manufacturers feel the need to bloat up the software is frustrating and annoying!
I just read this article, a good eye opener for those craving for ICS
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394929,00.asp
Google needs to look to Microsoft as an example of how to get updates right. Compared to the grinding misery of the Android non-update schedule, Microsoft's transition from Windows Phone 7 to Mango is going pretty smoothly.
Like Google, Microsoft has to deal with different OEMs and get its software approved by carriers. Like Google, Microsoft has to deal with different form factors—phones with physical keyboards and without, for instance.
Yes, Apple gets it right too, but that's a little boring; Apple has only one OEM (itself) and a handful of models, so it's much easier to push out updates to iPhones and iPads.
Earlier this year, Google and its OEMs formed a consortium to pledge to deliver prompt updates, but absolutely zero concrete work has come out of that group. Every single U.S. Windows Phone will update to Mango within weeks. Two-year-old iPhones can get iOS 5. But owners of Android phones and tablets just a few months old have no clue when, or whether their gadgets will get Ice Cream Sandwich (or for that matter, sometimes still even Gingerbread.)
Microsoft keeps its Windows Phone line down to one screen resolution and chipset, and doesn't allow manufacturers to skin the OS. I don't want to see Google take on the first requirement, as competition between chip manufacturers has been a major force driving Android's advances. But even if one chipset at a time got Android updates, it would still be a major step forward.
If manufacturer skins are really stopping updates, it may finally be time for Google to find a way to punish OEMs that can't keep up with the pace of change. Google likes to trumpet its openy-ness, but the company has always blessed and punished OEMs by giving or withholding the Android Market and Gmail apps that are necessary to have a decent Android device. Google needs to set a time limit for OEMs to implement changes.
Ice Cream Sandwich looks great. So when can we get it, how can we find apps for it, and how can app developers address the widest variety of Android devices easily? That's what Google needs to answer clearly and concisely.
and it made me think alot.
I'm an android fan, but i feel this author's opinion is quite true.
whats the point of having a good and new OS but its just available on a over priced nexus phone?
android updates are slow (i mean around 6 months or probably never). and silly manufacturers are further delaying it by their custom UI. This is just sad sad news for android.
i better stop reading news about ICS, just to make myself less miserable.
in my country, malaysia, the sgs2 is still at 2.3.3. which is another reason to forget about the ICS.
I agree, that's probably the biggest stumbling block of Android. When Apple fanboys say, "When Apple releases iOS 5, most iPhones (3GS onwards) can join in the party immediately. With Android, you have to wait and you might not even get the update at all", I have no response to that, because they are right.
One thing though, Microsoft controls the hardware specs of WP7 phones very closely. Sure there's differences here and there, but not as far reaching as a Galaxy 3 vs a Galaxy S2.
Well, heres my opinion about this subject:
No, it will not make things worst, i have been using android since donut with an HTC Magic, from which i had tried 2.1 and 2.2. Never resourcing from HTC's official releases.
I'll put it simple, for someone who needs a smartphone, almost every verion of android will do, you get to manage emails on the go, music, photos, market+apps, you get the point.
Now for someone that takes "what version of android i'm running" into consideration, there are solutions to run the latest. Me for example, i do take it into consideration, and i'm running 2.3.5 on a LG2X which only has 2.2 officially.
If this was real reality, what about X86 OS's? i mean, win3.1, win95, win98, win98ME, win2K, winXP, winVISTA, win7 and now win8... And im only talking about microsoft.
Theres no such thing has fragmentation. As for the development problems regarding which target android version will "I" develop to. Cmon, theres good coding or bad coding. OFC theres some API's that are only available since version X of the android version, but still, good coding would prevent the use of this API even if it means having less functionality.
I believe android is in the right track, ICS looks to have some nice improvements, although the main development i saw was design ("Make me awesome"), i believe there has been some improvements regarding stability+smoothness+usability.
Next stop is: "Google needs to look to Microsoft as an example of how to get updates right." Wait a second, google has made the most successful mobile OS and it needs to look to Microsoft for *whatever*?
"Yes, Apple gets it right too" No! if in Sascha's opinion Fragmentation is a problem, Apple is having the same issue, but it is coming later than android, mainly due to the 23454345672384 OEM's android has versus the 1 OEM Apple has! I mean, 1 oem, 1 OS = iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch Xgen, iPad, iPad 2.. FFS! fragmentation? a single oem has made more devices than most android OEM's has! (not true, but quite)
[EDIT] Sorry im berserking.
"Microsoft keeps its Windows Phone line down to one screen resolution and chipset" if this was done in the Android habitat, there would be no sense in making different versions, varying prices, and so on. Fragmentation is good in some aspects, one of them being the different prices devices can get.
As for the version and updates problem, how about attacking the OEM's itself instead of Google? Since google is the main "victim" of this article, google has made all it can do to get it "corrected" (if this is a problem) and it even does not own the OEM's companies! All phones launched by google have had some nice updates, keeping it with the most recent OS all the time. (Yes i'm talking about the nexus lineup, Nexus One is 2 years old, so i guess it will not get ICS, still iphone 2G will not get iOS 5 neither.)
[EDIT2] Now i'm haywire.
Just take a look at the article comments, the writer ends up having no arguments. FFS He's calling WP7 an example for updates! saying that the OS provider has the obligation the get OEM's in line...NO! thats the good thing about Android, it is free, free to use, and free to transform. Every OEM is responsible for what they do with the devices they sell, and the OS they ship it with.
Thats like saying that my Dinossaur pc doesn't run windows 7 and call it Microsoft's fault, because my PC only have 96MB of Ram! Isn't that almost Apple-fanboy talk? The os provider must develop the HW for it to run properly.
Logi_Ca1 said:
When Apple fanboys say, "When Apple releases iOS 5, most iPhones (3GS onwards) can join in the party immediately. With Android, you have to wait and you might not even get the update at all", I have no response to that, because they are right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is true, except for one thing. There is a response.
If you want iOS, you have the choice of black or white. If you want Android then you have the choice of hundreds of different devices. It's a trade-off that I am more than happy with. I prefer choice over regular updates, especially when the OS is already good enough anyway.
Usually you get leaked firmwares before official release anyway. So I don't see the issue.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
drelite08 said:
Usually you get leaked firmwares before official release anyway. So I don't see the issue.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that's a valid point since only a small minority of Android users know about xda and the fact that you can flash ROMs. Every iPhone user in the world will know about OTA updates.
Sorry but there's no apple fanboy like Joshua Toposlky, he is the only one in the world (sarcasm =P) that can see the bright side of both sides of the war.
Archer said:
I don't think that's a valid point since only a small minority of Android users know about xda and the fact that you can flash ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats why i did say that for a smartphone user, every android version will sufice.
Archer said:
Every iPhone user in the world will know about OTA updates.
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Click to collapse
This is almost not noticeable in the android environment because of the OEM's, not google's fault
[EDIT] OMFG! Now this is stupid, this is SO STUPID! Check this out, he makes a table of the new features that the new iOS can do, an compares it to other OS's... so lets start:
Location Based Reminders: Only iOS
Quick Camera Acess: iOS and WP7
Advanced Photo Editing tools: Only iOS
Advanced Voice Commands: Only iOS
My answer to this is: I am not going to open another URL coming from PCmag
The way Android works is that Google do not have that much control over it after the OS is designed, it gets open-sourced then it is down to each individual OEM to build a rom and get their carrier partners to approve it.
Google have deliberately chosen to not do it the more formal way as it will defeat the entire original purpose that android had.
Obviously there is more complicated steps in the process when it comes to the licencing of Gapps....
However google and the other major partners have expressed their wish to reduce fragmentation and move to ICS as soon as possible, but that article was right in that we have not been given any strict words. However any phone currently running android 2.3 and is still getting worked on (i.e. not EOL) should receive an ICS update. I know that samsung are working on very quick timetables and the SGS2 rom should be out very quickly, but based on the past experience companies like HTC may take a very long time.
in WP7 Microsoft give a rom to the OEMS to do very minor tweaks, this is then approved and released.
I think what people are missing
Here guys is the fact that android os is the only open source os out of three three majors!
This means that u don't really need the oems to have latest up to date os version. As we can c clearly in the case of cynogenmod project. Moreover, the android build it's reputation on being the most comprehensive os with most capabilities to consume the most of the hardware. This is a big plus for everybody.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Ray1 said:
in my country, malaysia, the sgs2 is still at 2.3.3. which is another reason to forget about the ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have just read this now, and i must say WTF? what you mean? you want 2.3.7? You have officially the latest released Android version, and you call it "still"?
svceon said:
I have just read this now, and i must say WTF? what you mean? you want 2.3.7? You have officially the latest released Android version, and you call it "still"?
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry i offended you. Please dont get upset.
but the upgrading firmware or version is very frustrating.
i saw in youtube and other tech website that the latest gingerbread is 2.3.5,
2.3.4 suppose to have the video call in google talk
2.3.5 suppose to have better battery life.
(i hope i'm not mistaken)
dont you feel its sad? i spend a big BIG sum of money to buy this phone (RM2099), and naturally i expect it will have good support. OTA updates should be ideal, KIES is acceptable as well, but 2.3.5 is no where to be seen even on KIES.
Ray1 said:
I'm sorry i offended you. Please dont get upset.
but the upgrading firmware or version is very frustrating.
i saw in youtube and other tech website that the latest gingerbread is 2.3.5,
2.3.4 suppose to have the video call in google talk
2.3.5 suppose to have better battery life.
(i hope i'm not mistaken)
dont you feel its sad? i spend a big BIG sum of money to buy this phone (RM2099), and naturally i expect it will have good support. OTA updates should be ideal, KIES is acceptable as well, but 2.3.5 is no where to be seen even on KIES.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ray1, i'm not upset, don't get me wrong =P i just thought you were saying that you wanted ICS now, and that you were frustraded that you didn't had. i'm only upset by PCMAG by it's acumulated stupidity.
As for the updates, there are a lot of 2.3.4/5 roms in the SGSII development sub-forum, why dont you try to flash one?
Another thing about firmware and OEM's updates:
When i buy a car, i dont expect it to be upgraded when the next generation of engines are released. When i buy a car i bought it because i needed it or i wanted it as it was being sold.
If you want the latest hardware in your phones, then don't expect to have the latest software.
linkin85 said:
If you want the latest hardware in your phones, then don't expect to have the latest software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't make a lot of sense
Ray1 said:
I'm sorry i offended you. Please dont get upset.
but the upgrading firmware or version is very frustrating.
i saw in youtube and other tech website that the latest gingerbread is 2.3.5,
2.3.4 suppose to have the video call in google talk
2.3.5 suppose to have better battery life.
(i hope i'm not mistaken)
dont you feel its sad? i spend a big BIG sum of money to buy this phone (RM2099), and naturally i expect it will have good support. OTA updates should be ideal, KIES is acceptable as well, but 2.3.5 is no where to be seen even on KIES.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no Google talk video call in 2.3.4 nor 2.3.5..
the fact that the author wrote "Google needs to look to Microsoft as an example of how to get updates right" made him lose any ounce of credibility that he had (if he had any to begin with.)
they released WP 7 without half of the proven needs on a smartphone (eg. cut and paste), released an "update" which was basically a primer for your phone to be able to OTA update when the new "patch" was released. and it didn't even adress the issues that had people *****ing about the phone. Mango was promised to be released last year, and it's already october 2011. I got rid of my windows phone within 3 months of buying on.
so what if apple releases iOS 5 to all iphone users? half of them probably doesn't even know what's on the new OS. the other half are still marvelling over siri as some technological breakthrough. it has got to be the most boring OS i've seen. everyone holding an iOS phone/tablet/ipod looks the same as the other person holding it. oh great, you can change the wallpaper...whoopdiedoo...and buy a 200 dollar case for it! wowie.
i was a loyal windows mobile user for many many years, having used them since O2 still manufactured awesome products. I loved it for how much I could customize it to suit how I'd like it to be. I'm not paying 1000 bucks and have the company tell me how I should want it to look. I'm sorry, but a homescreen with 16 icons on it just doesn't look appealing to me. I have been blown away by what the android OS can do.
how ICS release can be bad for android users baffles me. I bet the author was wetting himself when apple launched the white iphone.
This ''issue'' can be avoided by installing CM7. This way your phone is like a nexus and has the latest updates.
Umm this isn't really google's fault by any means; whether or not ICS comes to our devices is up to the manufacturers, and it's is up to us as consumers to let them know that we don't want a customized UI, but standard android instead.
Vote with your wallets and send manufacturers complaint letters and you shall have what you wish for. Just look at the locked boot loaders issue as an example of what can be done when enough people complain and commit to a cause.
1) don't rely on Official Roms all the time, plenty of leaks for 2.3.4 and 2.3.5 have surfaced
2) Just because you are not yet on 2.3.4 doesn't mean you won't get ICS, you don't have to go up every single OS step in order...
Again Android liberty. You can pick the OEM. If you want the fastest update buy a nexus. Slower OEMs will sell lesser product in the future. And I didn't get the idea of the article. Is limiting the OSs with resolution and chips a good thing? If so what are we doing here?
Sent from my GT-I9100
Is it just me, or does it seem that the fragmentation of android has finally cost the android rom development community. Many phones have very little development while many developers are jumping ship the first chance they get to move to something like the Samsung nexus. This leaves many android users with limited options and the ability to see what this proud community can do.
There are phones out here that have unlocked bootloaders but yet they still receive very little development. I dont understand that as I've seen a lot of developers complain about locked bootloaders but yet when they move on to a new phone, they don't support some of the phones with an unlocked bootloader.
I understand as more androids hit the market that it will dilute rom development some, but it's grown into something similar to certain phones have developers gathering to them the way apple fanboys gather to iPhone. I'm disappointed in that as I always thought of android as being the anti apple.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Care to give some examples? We're still seeing ROM releases for the G1, even.
The LG revolution is one example. Unlocked bootloader and not too much development.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Guys please understand that this site was built in the believe that if you wanted something for your device then dig in and make it. Only developer you can relay on is the one on the other end of your keyboard.
The knowledge is out there. Don't relay on someone else do make something for your device. That will only lead to disappointment.
How do you think most of us got started?
People are only going to develop for devices they own, which means devices that they like and more often than not they are the same devices which are most popular over-all.
If dev support is what you want then choosing the device with the most support should be part of your decision making process when buying a new phone. If you buy one with little support it's on you!
lol idiots and android fragmentation. Stop speaking of it. Some ****er said something about android fragmentation and the noobs are talking about that without reading any articles, without searching themselves etc etc. There's no such thing. And just because the app drawer icon and the notification bar are placed in different placed on Tablets, doesn't mean the platform is fragmented.
Personally I would love to learn how to do something like porting my own roms onto devices, but of course I would have to be a skilled programmer. Just as a general question, how hard is it to create your own rom for a new device? Do have to do a lot of coding from scratch, or do you just sorta copy and paste a lot of stuff already out there?
Middle East Guy said:
Personally I would love to learn how to do something like porting my own roms onto devices, but of course I would have to be a skilled programmer. Just as a general question, how hard is it to create your own rom for a new device? Do have to do a lot of coding from scratch, or do you just sorta copy and paste a lot of stuff already out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd also like to know this. What would it take to port something like CM9 (something where the majority of the actually ROM is made by proper devs), and port it to something like the Razr dev edition (a device I know won't get any love from the community but should actually be relatively easy to develop on)? What would someone with zero coding experience actually be able to do if they had the phone, the sdk and access to CM's GitHub?
You would most likely start with CM7 and use your stock roms kernel, replacing the userland. By far the hardest part about doing a port is getting a kernel, once you have a kernel that boots the rest is mostly tweaking build props.
Simple solution. If development is that important to you, check out the forum for the device before purchase. And actually support the devs for your device.
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using xda premium
Konstantinos said:
lol idiots and android fragmentation. Stop speaking of it. Some ****er said something about android fragmentation and the noobs are talking about that without reading any articles, without searching themselves etc etc. There's no such thing. And just because the app drawer icon and the notification bar are placed in different placed on Tablets, doesn't mean the platform is fragmented.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe CNET coined this in regards to Android. I saw an interview with one of the CNET "yackers" and Androids big cheese.
Konstantinos said:
lol idiots and android fragmentation. Stop speaking of it. Some ****er said something about android fragmentation and the noobs are talking about that without reading any articles, without searching themselves etc etc. There's no such thing. And just because the app drawer icon and the notification bar are placed in different placed on Tablets, doesn't mean the platform is fragmented.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I certainly agree that "fragmentation" is used too often as a buzz-word to show the instability of Android OS. This use is really misleading. IMO fragmentation does exist in the Android OS, though, in that there are still iterations of Donut and Eclair in usable devices alongside Froyo, GB and the newer, each having it's own device/manufacturer -specific user interface as well.
Seems to me that they all do pretty much the same thing, tho. The Android core (Linux-based, right?) is the software foundation that allows the hardware drivers to work together to do the same thing device to device: make phone calls, access the internet, and play games. (Ok ... run apps)
Since the aOS core is fairly similar across devices, the bigger "fragmentation" comes from the hardware. As hardware changes, the driver support changes as well, and may become obsolete, therefore negating any upgrade options. So, if your device used a video chip from some Asian company that was destroyed in a typhoon, for example, you might never see another driver made, and also never see an upgrade to the next letter of Android.
Fits with what others have said: If you want to upgrade the OS later, either choose a very popular device, or at least one with very common parts.
Even then, there's no guarantee.
I was an iOS user for 3 years. I hacked the hell out of it. Now its been over a month I am a Galaxy Nexus user and I hack the hell out of it too, (still learning tho...) and I love it. Having said that, and having deep knowledge of both platforms, I DO believe that there is fragmentation in the Android platform.
The next step, is each one of us to think for himself what does he mean exactly by saying fragmentation. After we establish a common base, so that we all speak the same language we can continue.
My opinion is that not only there is fragmentation, but it comes in different fields. There is fragmentation in the Android versions still used, there is fragmentation in the UI,there is fragmentation in hardware, software and pretty much everywhere. Why today there are so many versions of Android apps that are still not compatible with ICS. Lazy developers? I dont know. What I do know is that if I was in iOS most of the Apps would got updated before the next version got released...
Anyway I really do not want to start a flame war. I absolutely love my Galaxy Nexus and I will continue to hack it. I also love Android 4.0. But saying whats wrong with what we like is the only way it will get better. By denying it it will only get worse. Is there a possibility I am wrong? Of course. But nevertheless, this is my opinion and I am expressing it.
My biggest gripe with Android is the inconsistency with the UI,which really degrades the experience compared to iOS. Since Google has no review process for apps I find that most Android apps are ugly compared to iOS and since the developers aren't forced to adhere to any UI guidelines there's zero consistency across the board. IMO Google really needs to be a little more evil when it comes to Android otherwise they will be in big trouble once WP7/8 gain traction,which is just a matter of time. I've used every mobile OS out there and to me Android has by far the worst user experience due to inconsistent performance,abysmal battery life and the aforementioned UI inconsistencies.
Fragmentation is exsistent. My little brother bought the LG Marquee as I told him, since the specs are similar to my galaxy S Epic 4G. Despite that, the release hasn't brought much attention since it wasn't well advertised and it paled in comparison to the Epic 4G touch being released. Even apps are fragmented, not over android version I.e. froYo, gingerbread. But over the phones themselves, since the LG marquee has a different GPU than my phone, many 3d games are similar incompatible, despite it being run by a 1ghz processor. And yes the resolution on both phones is the same. It's the only thing I don't like about android, apps take forever to update to support all platforms of hardware and software, while iOS is all the same across the board making updates faster and easier.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
i thought this was common sense
when i wanted to buy a new android i wanted a phone that had a big following in the community
first was the nexus line
then HTC
then samsung
i went with Samsung since it was the smoothest one out there
and then it became the the most popular phone on XDA
Konstantinos said:
lol idiots and android fragmentation. Stop speaking of it. Some ****er said something about android fragmentation and the noobs are talking about that without reading any articles, without searching themselves etc etc. There's no such thing. And just because the app drawer icon and the notification bar are placed in different placed on Tablets, doesn't mean the platform is fragmented.
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Word. Fragmentation isn't the problem... the problem is that every device needs a rom tailored specifically to it, and installing the wrong rom can brick your phone.
Sent from my Hercules using XDA App
fucxms said:
Care to give some examples? We're still seeing ROM releases for the G1, even.
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Skyrocket.
Sure, there are a few ROMs/devs there (seanzscreams is a phenomenal guy). Cyanogenmod? Nothing. MIUI? Nothing. ICS? Nothing. Any word on any of these being available on the Skyrocket? No, with the exception that Samsung will provide and ICS kernel for the Skyrocket eventually. Will there be any ICS ROMs developed for the Skyrocket then? Who knows.
Isn't that basically supporting the notion that Android is "fragmented" on some level, in some area? That you need to custom tailor roms individually to meet the needs of each device (due to drivers, hardware, whatever) under the encompassing umbrella that is Android. Is that not a form of fragmentation? Maybe one that doesn't bother you at all, which is understandable, but has certainly ruffled the feathers of other users?
Aside from that I agree with other elements of fragmentation that members have posted about here sso far. Frag in UI is one that particularly irks me the most.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
How can people say fragmentation is not a problem? Or worse, that it doesn't exist?
I suppose this is why Google is allowed to continue this charade of an open OS.
Sent from my SGH-I897
ICS was released on Oct 19th 2011. It is almost 4 months and still not a single phone was officially updated to ICS. The closest one was Nexus S which had an update that was pulled for being too buggy.
Why is it that android phones are so slow to update while WP7 & iOS have all their devices updated in days after a new update is out.
The wide varity of devices cannot be the reason as the team managing a device don't have to worry about other devices. For example, Galaxy S2 team needs to worry about Galaxy S2 and not other hundreds of devices.
Does upgrading in Android world means buying new phone and not software updaye like in iOS & WP7?
Although In part what you are asking makes sense it is in large part a flawed question and premise. I can not speak to windows mobile as I am not terribly familiar so everything going forward is about android and apple.
Yes we are all waiting to see how much each oem can f up ics with their version of android, whether it is tw or sense or blur etc. ics is a major change in how android handles things unlike ios5 which was in reality a very minor update to the system. And it was delayed by about 5 months from their typical release so when it was officially released it was available to most iOS devices true, but delayed all the same.
The delay for ics is caused by the oems thinking they can improve on it and give their own twist. If it was a vanilla update your premise would be accurate. As to the nexus s although the official release was pulled back there are several quality ports across several devices using it as a base
Though the source code was available previously, the first ICS device (the GSM Galaxy Nexus) was not released until mid-November. As mcord11758 mentioned, ICS is a *huge* updated to the Android system and it takes time to get everything coded to work properly.
I also saw some information last night that the 4.0.4 rollout would resume for Nexus S 4G devices today, so take a deep breath and relax
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
alex2792 said:
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
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I have an iOS device. All ios5 did was eat my battery faster and do a weak job of copying androids notifications. Not sure what your bragging about
What I have always found funny is why independent devs can get roms out quicker. There was recent interview with one of Motorola's top execs that said the reason for delays was all the different hardware used in all the different phones. I am running jokers çm9 ics on my motorola electrify. An independent dev got it out before motorola with all their resources. They could get updates out a lot quicker if they so chose to.
Sent from my CM9 Motorola Electrify
mcord11758 said:
I have an iOS device. All ios5 did was eat my battery faster and do a weak job of copying androids notifications. Not sure what your bragging about
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Well, at least you didn't have to wait 6-12 months to actually be able to update your device.
cdrice15 said:
What I have always found funny is why independent devs can get roms out quicker. There was recent interview with one of Motorola's top execs that said the reason for delays was all the different hardware used in all the different phones. I am running jokers çm9 ics on my motorola electrify. An independent dev got it out before motorola with all their resources. They could get updates out a lot quicker if they so chose to.
Sent from my CM9 Motorola Electrify
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Independent devs get to release ROMs with a "sorry if it doesn't work, but tough sh*t" disclaimer. OEMs/Carriers have to be able to support the ROMs they ship.
Also have to remember that The CM based roms here use open source drivers that dont use the hardware to the fullest. While OEMs use closed sourced drivers built for the hardware. Once they get the update they have to wait for new drivers to be built to work with the hardware to the fullest.
alex2792 said:
It's all that freedom man! It takes time to add bloatware,spyware and hideous UI "enhancements" you know.
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With each post I'm more convinced your an apple employee but I'll bite and ask what spyware you refer to.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
alex2792 said:
Well, at least you didn't have to wait 6-12 months to actually be able to update your device.
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Wait...are you saying you would rather a quick but flawed update rather than a delayed but more stable one?
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
mistermentality said:
With each post I'm more convinced your an apple employee but I'll bite and ask what spyware you refer to.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
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Carrier IQ anyone?
The reason it takes so long is because all the manufacturers have there own UI to make there phones stick out from the others and with major updates like in ICS they have to rewite there UI to work smoothly with ICS.
IamJAX said:
Why is it that android phones are so slow to update while WP7 & iOS have all their devices updated in days after a new update is out.
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I have worked at Microsoft on Windows Phone 7 and on Windows Mobile. Going back pre WP7, updates generally simply didn't get released for phones. Microsoft is trying to improve that, but the software has to go through modification and testing for carriers. I don't think any version was ready for acceptance in less than four months, ever.
I suspect it's worse in Android-land (where my phones live), because at least Microsoft has big teams for their for-profit product. The major manufacturers also have teams on-site at Microsoft, working to do the customizations. And Microsoft controls the hardware more tightly than Android; for WP7's initial release, there were really only two hardware package options (e.g. screen size, resolution, camera, processor, etc.) So less to modify.
And then Moto adds their new Blur incarnation, HTC adds Sense, and so on, each requiring more changes and testing.
So the comparison between WP7 and ICS is off because of profit-driven teams, hardware diversity and software customization that MS doesn't allow.
Idk but isn't this site to get ICS before any update??? Lol
I'm running ICS in my Samsung Captivate and I can promise you ICS will never come to a Captivate ... but guess what I've got it!!!
I can point and laugh at iOS and WP7 for their limited OS and customize my device
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
To be honest I don't even know why people want ICS.
I was one of the unfortunates to get the update and now am desperately trying to downgrade back to stock 2.3.6 OR even better..load Cyanogen Mod on my phone.
The only good thing about the update is it led me to register and start to poke around this forum!
Bugs in ICS on my Nexus S include:
- Phone won't ring even when it should. It will only vibrate.
- Lags heavily and hangs when pulling up and trying to type a text message.
- Have to write text message most times before inputting contact to send to.
- Runs million processes in the background, thus killing my battery life.
When I upgraded it wouldn't let me sync my contacts and erased over half my names in my contact lists. When I turned on sync, it would continue to delete the names I had recently readded.
Since wiping all data from my phone, it works a bit more like it should and is a bit more snappy, but it still sucks. They need to hurry up and re-release ICS in a workable version, or at least let people roll back their phone to previous version like you could in Gingerbread.
Whatsup with naming their OS after generally crappy dessert items? Someobody in their marketing department is a glutton...
i want to up grade to ics... but i want to learn more first from here...
please give me some advice
SASQ!!!!!!
come on la, use your butt and think....
why android take such a long time to release a update.
because android has just tooo many different model....
while apple only got...umm.....1......
and windows.....ummm....less den android....
so think about it.....
maybe one----huawei Honor(U8860)ANDROID 4.0
the second edition of ICS commercial release
no guidelines, no warranty, no quality
now with the source code released for 4.4 and when it says that it the OS can run on lower end devices as well do we have any chances to get 4.4?:victory::angel:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2505910
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app
When they say "low end devices" I do not think they are talking about the EVITA. Even though its going on 1.5 years old, there are still a lot of "budget" phones that are newer than EVITA, but with lower specs. Google is actually saying KitKat will work on phone with as little as 512 MB of RAM, and on "wearables" like Android watches.
Supposedly, Google is trying to make this the Android version for the "next billion users" including developing countries that don't have money for high end smartphones. And Google want to get everyone (or as many as possible, anyway) on the same Android version, including those developing countries where many are stuck on Gingerbread.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/31/android-4-4-kitkat-google/
(not a particular fan of Tech Crunch, but the article sums up Google's goals with 4.4 very well)
If you are talking about an "official" 4.4 ROM from HTC (with Sense, etc.) it has less to do with the phones technical capabilities, and more to do with the the companies financial resources and product focus. "Official" 4.4 seems unlikely, although we can always hope.
A 4.4 based custom ROM (either a Sense port from another device, or an AOSP based) for the EVITA is much more likely. All it takes is one (or more) developer(s) willing to put in the time and effort. Although being from unofficial base, its almost sure to have some hardware incompatibilities that may take time to iron out.
redpoint73 said:
When they say "low end devices" I do not think they are talking about the EVITA. Even though its going on 1.5 years old, there are still a lot of "budget" phones that are newer than EVITA, but with lower specs. Google is actually saying KitKat will work on phone with as little as 512 MB of RAM, and on "wearables" like Android watches.
Supposedly, Google is trying to make this the Android version for the "next billion users" including developing countries that don't have money for high end smartphones. And Google want to get everyone (or as many as possible, anyway) on the same Android version, including those developing countries where many are stuck on Gingerbread.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/31/android-4-4-kitkat-google/
(not a particular fan of Tech Crunch, but the article sums up Google's goals with 4.4 very well)
If you are talking about an "official" 4.4 ROM from HTC (with Sense, etc.) it has less to do with the phones technical capabilities, and more to do with the the companies financial resources and product focus. "Official" 4.4 seems unlikely, although we can always hope.
A 4.4 based custom ROM (either a Sense port from another device, or an AOSP based) for the EVITA is much more likely. All it takes is one (or more) developer(s) willing to put in the time and effort. Although being from unofficial base, its almost sure to have some hardware incompatibilities that may take time to iron out.
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its really good to know that we may be getting KITKAT in some way or the another!
btw a stupid question why is it that even the old nexus devices get ports so soon and often,i know its meant to be a developers phone but still!
You kind of answered your own question.. Google designs android around the nexus devices for the most part. After an update is released by Google, HTC, Samsung, etc. Need to optimize for their own devices which takes time and money and then after that, carriers need to add their bloat ware and deploy ota. Takes time bro.
Sent from my One Xl using xda app-developers app
exad said:
You kind of answered your own question.. Google designs android around the nexus devices for the most part. After an update is released by Google, HTC, Samsung, etc. Need to optimize for their own devices which takes time and money and then after that, carriers need to add their bloat ware and deploy ota. Takes time bro.
Sent from my One Xl using xda app-developers app
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quite silly of me
long back i had heard this news of cyanogen mod becoming an independent OS platform,i guess they have collaborated with Oppo.
wish if they had collaborated with HTC,then probably we could have got everything really soon!
:angel: