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Stop killing android, carriers.

Cnet just put up a review of the Motorola Atrix, one of the most anticipated smart-phones. AT&T has blocked the ability to download 3rd party apps . "You can't install third-party apps" and goes on to say "No change of heart on third-party applications, as that feature is disabled on the Atrix."
Google's(andy rubin) response is to say let me market decide. I truly agree with this statement but when the carriers are in power (two year contracts) it doesn't let the market work. General consumers dont know know the difference between android phones. Consumer assume since they are getting an android phone, all android phones are the same. This blocking of 3rd party apps creates a bad user experience and users will blame android and not the carriers.
( http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/motorola-atrix-4g-at/4505-6452_7-34468396.html?tag=rvwBody )

Nice find. With that in mind, RIP Motorola.
Sent from the future.
__________________________
The quality of my life would be greatly reduced if I did not have nostrils.

Agree. Its a disgrace. Its a open source os yes. but dont kill core functionalities. Its giving people a bad view on android. Apple would scream bloody blue murder if that happened

That's AT&T for ya!

tangstang said:
That's AT&T for ya!
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various other carriers around the world too.

But they're going to try and make the bootloader dev friendly, right? Don't make me lols.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

TheForgotten said:
various other carriers around the world too.
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I see the rogers in your avatar.... oops, I'm current on the US carriers but as far as the other carriers around the world I'm not 100% up to speed. So screw all those carriers too!

Yea it sucks when they do it but, well you know they must get a cut from doing it.
If they didn't there wouldn't be so much fragmentation on the market.
Captivate 2.2.1 Paragon

With that in mind, always buy unlocked phones!

unbelievable how can they come with such a thing
"- boss I have an idea to boost sales: let restrict users from installing third party apps..."
"- this is a stoning idea! let's do it... "

This is pretty horrible when you buy a phone and expect it to function like every other phone that has the same OS.
With maybe Telecom's actually trying to invent their own App stores, this may be ATT's push into that direction.

copius said:
This is pretty horrible when you buy a phone and expect it to function like every other phone that has the same OS.
With maybe Telecom's actually trying to invent their own App stores, this may be ATT's push into that direction.
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sure, in Europe orange is doing the same.

BazookaAce said:
Nice find. With that in mind, RIP Motorola.
Sent from the future.
__________________________
The quality of my life would be greatly reduced if I did not have nostrils.
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RIP Motorola indeed. I bought the original Droid day it came out...Now I have the X and it's not the same experience (Of course until I changed Roms and multiple other things). But I was perfectly contented with the original, but in order to get that I HAD to change it. Verizon force fed me apps that I simply did not want. So it's also not just ATT.

and that is why we have XDA Developers... right?

Omnichron said:
and that is why we have XDA Developers... right?
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Amen my friend! Before this forum I was lost and confused. XDA provided me light and guidance in the land of the lost known as MotoBlur. I found a map to the world of FlyX and apeX and others.
Thank you XDA. Thank you so much.

RIP Motorola

We can get past this.

What's with all the " RIP Motorola " Hackers, modders, overclockers etc probably account for less then 4% of the market. They are going to make money regardless with the Atrix being the first Dual Core phone released...it will do plenty well, no need to worry guys, lol.
As for the 3rd party apps being locked, honestly, how many people here who will (most likely won’t) admit that you bricked your phone doing something silly and then used the “ manufacture’s warranty “ to replace it? Good for them for locking it down if noob’s jump in head first without knowing what they are doing. It might even bring the cost of phone’s down and bring down that ETF! I don’t care to pay for anyone else’s mistakes. Download the app to your computer and transfer it to your phone if you want it that bad.
Motorola is not going anywhere and they have top quality devices. In my opinion, best on the market! Don’t be mad because you can’t afford one

Carriers are taking over Market billing and earn their cut, hence why they're blocking non-market apps. That said, it won't be long before Atrix is rooted and sideloading enabled.
Have little patience and faith in xda community, will ya?

I simply can't believe how US carriers get away with 2 year contracts. It's simply retarded how they take advantage of their customers.
Sent from my Legend using XDA App

[Q] Japanese Input, GUI for use in America? (USA Cell Providers, Android Phones?)

Here's the scoop.
I have a friend who's Japanese, but living in America. After his time in Japan, he's been wanting a smart phone.
Downside, as you can guess, he needs to interact with Japanese media a lot-- EG: Twitter, forums, e-mail, projects, etc.
So as you can guess from the above, he needs the ability to input Japanese text on a mobile device, as well as read it.
Keep in mind that I've rooted a few android phones, as well as flashed a custom rom on them-- so I have a bit of experience if I need a ROM out there that'd do this.
On the other side, though, I've heard iPhones do this already. Is this a compromise he'll need to make with regards to provider? I think I heard Blackberries may have the same strength, too..
Thanks for your help.

[Q] Language settings

I was recently in Japan and the Transformer was on sale at several large electronic chain stores. When I looked in the Settings-->Language & Keyboard screen the version in Japan only offered Japanese and English. There is a significant Korean minority and a huge diaspora of Chinese students in Japan. Could they somehow add languages so it would be available in Settings? In other words, available throughout the UI.
Perhaps a tad OT, but I also noticed that despite being in Japan I couldn't access some apps on Market that my Japanese friends had installed on their Android devices. How do you circumvent something like that?

You could try a program i used on my evo.
Called "more locale 2"
When i brought it it was hacked to work in china.. But half the controls still pooped up in chinese..
So it wasnt until i got control of it with the above program i was able to start flashing english only roms..
Check it out and see if it fits your situation..
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Interesting that the maker doesn't make solutions available on their HP. In a globalized world they are still thinking localized. I don't have any particular problem, my setups are fine. I was just thinking of all those potential customers that comes from different cultures and languages but live in a country other than thier original. In Sweden we have a lot of people who would probably benefit from Arabian/Farsi setups, but it isn't an option on any of my Swedish bought devices. I didn't really think about it until I was faced with it while in Japan. I believe, no proof though, that the Japanese distributor of ASUS probably only requested Japanese and English as factory installed, thus depriving himself of a potential market segment.

[Q] Google Now voice 'Personalized Recognition' in UK

Hello!
I recently purchased a Nexus 10 (And have a Nexus 5 on its way being posted tomorrow from the Play store ). I live in the UK and after reading online realized that you can use the Google Now voice features if you set the language to English(US). I have been playing around with this for a few days and its pretty cool. My only issue is that it seems to get several words wrong (my accent is quite plain, clean and distinguishable, although distinctly British), particularly when asking for directions etc where the words may not be of common use.
I read online that about 2 years ago, Google released a 'personalized voice recognition' feature but that this feature is only available to Google customers in the US (Google stated other 'languages' would soon be supported). Does anyone know whether this feature will be enabled after rooting the device? Has anyone from outside the US rooted their device and had the settings>voice>'personalized recognition' box appear? or used market enabler and had it appear?
There is no way Google would ever be able to produce a single voice model to encompass the entire UK regional dialects (Geordie, Scouse, Broad Yorkshire, Cockney, West Country etc.) henceforth it would seem this feature would be particularly pertinent for Google's UK customers, and other English based dialects for that matter (Australia/New Zealand etc.).
Cheers

Contacted Google tech support
They would only tell me that officially the Google Now app is only supported in the US. That's some help. . . . Its one of the defining features of the new OS. Maybe they should stick to selling their products in the US . . . .

QuirkyGord69 said:
They would only tell me that officially the Google Now app is only supported in the US. That's some help. . . . Its one of the defining features of the new OS. Maybe they should stick to selling their products in the US . . . .
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If you're really interested in voice commands and such, you might like utter!. It can recognize any accent.
Sent from my Nexus 5

PhilipTD said:
If you're really interested in voice commands and such, you might like utter!. It can recognize any accent.
Sent from my Nexus 5
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Thanks PhillipTD, I'll check it out.
It turns out quite a few people are complaining about this to Google on their forums. If you are an android user AND English speaker AND live outside the US AND want to use the 'Personalized Recognition' service you can show your support on the Google forums here:
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/nexus/f912lYp8Ea0/FiX-_SfZHS4J
Lets be honest, the more people who complain, the more likely it is you will get the service. You opinion matters!

Sending personal data to china

Anyone have more details on this?
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...out-user-consent-or-disclosure-300362844.html
More specifically which phones?
Thanks

Dizzee said:
Anyone have more details on this?
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...out-user-consent-or-disclosure-300362844.html
More specifically which phones?
Thanks
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And that's why I'd never buy a Chinese phone! The Chinese Communist Party have their finger in everything mostly to control their own people (it could get very messy when their huge credit bubble bursts, but that's another story). But they would also leverage back doors for industrial espionage. Other governments should ban all their staff as well as their military from using such phones! Big multinationals too?
The worry for me is how much security testing are the likes of Google doing who are getting their phones like the Pixel built by Chinese companies? Are there any Chinese made chips or alterations made to the Google design at the factory? Is anyone checking? Probably not. Is Pixel affected? Why are they telling Google but not other large internet players? Makes me think it could be related to Google products. A very scary thought!
Those holes in the Baidu apk still have not been fully patched, that suggests to me it's state sponsored hacking! And so many apps like ES File Exporer had it, many still do. I just find it very strange that so many people go nuts about Google, Apple, Microsoft gathering personal data and yet stuff like the Baidu apk are hardly mentioned, this well be the same no doubt!
Rant over! Now to try and find some more details.
---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 AM ----------
Blu R1 is one device affected
https://arstechnica.com/security/20...oor-on-hundreds-of-thousands-of-phones/?amp=1
Their lawyer says "they are a private company who made a mistake" wtf!!!
---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 AM ----------
LOL, we'd never do anything that blah blah
http://blog.gsmarena.com/adups-responds-fota-misbehavior-micromax-smartphones/

....just sniff the traffic of ES File Explorer fir a while and this chinese story just gets a few more million participants

Some with good Android security abilities, pkease check out this thread. com.adups.patch on my phone this morning.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gen...oming-mtk6737-64bit-t3385210/page39?nocache=1

IronRoo said:
And that's why I'd never buy a Chinese phone! The Chinese Communist Party have their finger in everything mostly to control their own people (it could get very messy when their huge credit bubble bursts, but that's another story). But they would also leverage back doors for industrial espionage. Other governments should ban all their staff as well as their military from using such phones! Big multinationals too?
The worry for me is how much security testing are the likes of Google doing who are getting their phones like the Pixel built by Chinese companies? Are there any Chinese made chips or alterations made to the Google design at the factory? Is anyone checking? Probably not. Is Pixel affected? Why are they telling Google but not other large internet players? Makes me think it could be related to Google products. A very scary thought!
Those holes in the Baidu apk still have not been fully patched, that suggests to me it's state sponsored hacking! And so many apps like ES File Exporer had it, many still do. I just find it very strange that so many people go nuts about Google, Apple, Microsoft gathering personal data and yet stuff like the Baidu apk are hardly mentioned, this well be the same no doubt!
Rant over! Now to try and find some more details.
---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 AM ----------
Blu R1 is one device affected
https://arstechnica.com/security/20...oor-on-hundreds-of-thousands-of-phones/?amp=1
Their lawyer says "they are a private company who made a mistake" wtf!!!
---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 AM ----------
LOL, we'd never do anything that blah blah
http://blog.gsmarena.com/adups-responds-fota-misbehavior-micromax-smartphones/
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The difference is that those apps are made by and for the people of China where personal privacy is not a factor. Of people outside of China decide to use these apps then it is up to them to be smarter about what they install.

zelendel said:
The difference is that those apps are made by and for the people of China where personal privacy is not a factor. Of people outside of China decide to use these apps then it is up to them to be smarter about what they install.
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The Chinese are doing exactly the same things their Western counterparts are. So, a good starting point is: if you live in the West, buy a smart phone with a Chinese chip. If you are in China, buy Qualcomm...

optimumpro said:
The Chinese are doing exactly the same things their Western counterparts are. So, a good starting point is: if you live in the West, buy a smart phone with a Chinese chip. If you are in China, buy Qualcomm...
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Lol
NOT a bad idea at all ...

optimumpro said:
The Chinese are doing exactly the same things their Western counterparts are. So, a good starting point is: if you live in the West, buy a smart phone with a Chinese chip. If you are in China, buy Qualcomm...
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Not even close. IF that is what they have to believing then well all I can say is look into it yourself. Also buying a China based device in the west doesnt always work out as many security protocols have china devices blocked for things like GPS and connection to some satellites. Some countries even have out right bans on where and if someone can own a china based device. Like my job. OEM like Xiaomi are banned from ownership or use. Hwauwei was also on that list for many years, to the point that they couldnt even connect to a gps sat if the device was in the states.

zelendel said:
Not even close. IF that is what they have to believing then well all I can say is look into it yourself. Also buying a China based device in the west doesnt always work out as many security protocols have china devices blocked for things like GPS and connection to some satellites. Some countries even have out right bans on where and if someone can own a china based device. Like my job. OEM like Xiaomi are banned from ownership or use. Hwauwei was also on that list for many years, to the point that they couldnt even connect to a gps sat if the device was in the states.
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I didn't say to buy a Chinese branded device, but a device that has a Chinese chip. That's a big difference. Also, those restrictions are software based and could be reversed.
Xiaomi and Huawei are banned in some places in the US (mostly in companies that cooperate well with the US 3-letter-agencies), because they know that Chinese designed chips are "provisioned" (read backdoored) to be exposed to Chinese intelligence, while Qualcomm et all have US addresses. So, from the point of view of a privacy oriented Western consumer, it makes sense to have a device with a Chinese chip and certainly Not devices branded for your Country...

optimumpro said:
I didn't say to buy a Chinese branded device, but a device that has a Chinese chip. That's a big difference. Also, those restrictions are software based and could be reversed.
Xiaomi and Huawei are banned in some places in the US (mostly in companies that cooperate well with the US 3-letter-agencies), because they know that Chinese designed chips are "provisioned" (read backdoored) to be exposed to Chinese intelligence, while Qualcomm et all have US addresses. So, from the point of view of a privacy oriented Western consumer, it makes sense to have a device with a Chinese chip and certainly Not devices branded for your Country...
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So you would rather a foreign country have the info then your own?
Not just them. As an example. The town I live in is home to a nuclear missile silo. Most business in the town have banned device lists and both of those are on it. You are right it could be reversed but it won't happen. Mainly not now with the current issues with China. I bet we start to see major import restrictions. Heck Trump already plans on increasing taxes for American companies that have outsourced to other countries. He wants to cut as many ties with China as he can and removing manufacturering plants from American companies will go along way.
Privacy is a joke these days to be flat out honest. People scream about privacy yet they post their public lives all over the Internet, they give their privacy away to companies like FB, Google and all the others.

zelendel said:
So you would rather a foreign country have the info then your own?
Not just them. As an example. The town I live in is home to a nuclear missile silo. Most business in the town have banned device lists and both of those are on it. You are right it could be reversed but it won't happen. Mainly not now with the current issues with China. I bet we start to see major import restrictions. Heck Trump already plans on increasing taxes for American companies that have outsourced to other countries. He wants to cut as many ties with China as he can and removing manufacturering plants from American companies will go along way.
Privacy is a joke these days to be flat out honest. People scream about privacy yet they post their public lives all over the Internet, they give their privacy away to companies like FB, Google and all the others.
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I agree that privacy is a joke for those who post their lives on social networks and I am not talking about them. I am talking strictly about hardware backdoors (the ones hidden inside the chip). So, if I have no privacy, live in the West and know that my data is going somewhere, then I would rather it go to Chinese agencies, as opposed to domestic ones.. Or if I live in China, I would go out of my way to buy a phone with a US designed chip...

optimumpro said:
I agree that privacy is a joke for those who post their lives on social networks and I am not talking about them. I am talking strictly about hardware backdoors (the ones hidden inside the chip). So, if I have no privacy, live in the West and know that my data is going somewhere, then I would rather it go to Chinese agencies, as opposed to domestic ones.. Or if I live in China, I would go out of my way to buy a phone with a US designed chip...
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That makes no sense really. You would rather a communist country monitor your data instead of your own that does it already anyway and wouldnt be learning anything they dont already know. You would be amazed at how much the US gov really knows about the average person. All it really takes is less then a day to learn every single thing about a person without ever touching their device. I mean heck Windows has more backdoors then a porn flick, and if people think they cant get into a linux setup as well then.......Here is my stance. My country does monitor me, I know this, I accept it. Its part of living in the country. Now do I want some other country knowing what I do? No not really.

zelendel said:
That makes no sense really. You would rather a communist country monitor your data instead of your own that does it already anyway and wouldnt be learning anything they dont already know. You would be amazed at how much the US gov really knows about the average person. All it really takes is less then a day to learn every single thing about a person without ever touching their device. I mean heck Windows has more backdoors then a porn flick, and if people think they cant get into a linux setup as well then.......Here is my stance. My country does monitor me, I know this, I accept it. Its part of living in the country. Now do I want some other country knowing what I do? No not really.
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I disagree. I don't use social networks and the last time I used Windows was at least 10 years ago. I use software that I compile myself (including Linux). So, if my country is monitoring me, they have somewhat limited info. Also, I don't think China has any interest in monitoring me, as a private citizen who lives in the West. I know my country monitors everybody, but I don't accept it and to the extent I am able, I make their "work" more difficult...