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[Android] Motorola Backflip - DON'T BUY, HERE'S WHY!

OK, so I've been using a Kaiser/Tilt with Eclair on it for awhile. I've spent countless hours drooling after the Nexus One. When AT&T finally got the "Backflip" from Motorola, I just couldn't resist. I took the plunge.
I should've known better. I have plenty of AT&T horror stories, and this is the same carrier that wont allow you to tell your Java apps NOT to ask for permission more than once (making Opera mini a PITA but the only usable browser for non-smart-phones).
There is NO option to install applications from untrusted sources. This means anything on your SD card, downloaded from the web or over your wifi at home WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, you also cannot use the "su" command in terminal.
Motoblur is nice I guess, but the uninstallable AT&T paid apps, the limitations of 1.5 firmware (ie: no google navigator, no voice search) and the locked-to-yahoo-search-bar are enough to get me to say NO to any further AT&T abuse.
With the Kaiser's bloatware, they removed/hid apps from you so you wouldn't try to use them and replaced them with their crapware.
AT&T does not know the meaning of "open" and they do not understand Android. You are not buying an Android phone when you buy from AT&T.
You are buying a device LOCKED to a market with a smaller number of applications than the iPhone (I don't use Apple products either ) forced to use a lesser search engine for your most convenient option and subject to losing any application that was once on the market but then removed. You can't install your own apps or even test them on your device. Period.
Also on my first day of using it I got a number of "Force Close" messages including on the built-in applications (ie: Motorola's flavor of the desk clock).
It's decent hardware, it feels pretty zippy to me, but this is exactly why I WONT buy an iPhone.
Screw you, AT&T. I will make sure that everyone I know is properly informed about this crippled device that is nothing like the Android experience is supposed to (expected to!) be.
/endrant phew, going to go breathe for awhile.
EDIT: I will add:
- Set "orientation" on this phone when you tilt it and somehow it gets stuck in one orientation or the other (who knows maybe this one is just me, not seen any other backflips) if you set it back to just when you open/close it it's fine again though
- The desk clock can't be launched manually and is tricky to get to appear trying to get the phone in that perfect angle to display it
- I don't have a separate camera on me right now to show you the menu but to back up with sources:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/1910...n_atandt_not_the_full_android_experience.html
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/121849
Don't buy this phone. Stay away from AT&T, stay away from Motorola (IMO or at least the motorola backflip).

This is pretty horrible.
I have two questions, though.
1) Can you take a screen cap of the Settings > Applications screen so we can see the lack of Unknown Sources option? That'd really help people see the validity of this issue.
2) I hope you have some kind of 30-day money-back guarantee when buying a handset from AT&T like Sprint offers. Otherwise, ouch =/

I haven't tried to install an apk from astro or anything, but i have pushed a few with ADB which seems to work fine. It kinda sucks, but I really hope that we can figure out root access soon! I don't care for blur, but I like android. Hopefully we don't have to wait to long. Here is an ADB guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=643866

I wonder if Apple suddenly took over AT&T because this kind of behaviour is more common to them

... It's not only AT&T who manages to confuse their customers about an OSS... Don't forget who decided to lock down an open software system boot-loader for everyone *cough*Motorola*cough*

Apple made them an offer they could not refuse!
nuff said

I spent some time with one yesterday.
Ouch, even my Fuze running eclair is faster.
They really broke this machine.
I am worried about other att phones!

My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.

HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mines as well. i hope they dont. i know its off topic but is there an officail release date for the x10 on att? i hear it may be april/may

Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.

IConrad01 said:
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming the software running on the Backflip is the same software they released the source to on opensource.motorola.com, there may be hope of that. I'll dig into it when I get time.

Wow. I am surprised that this was picked up by Gizmodo. Do we have anyone corroborating this? Doesn't this somehow violate Google's terms of service?

HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine too! Just means to spend the couple extra hundred dollars and get an unlocked unbranded one.
I got the Backflip just because I am moving on from my jailbroken iPhone and I wanted something neat and shiny.
I can say that there is a lot of smack talk here, but give these guys a chance here to root the phone and get some things working on it.
It's been two days since the release and I can already say, that I like the phone a hell of a lot more today then I did on Sunday. I've been able to install untrusted sources using the Droid Explorer, a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's okay, considering that if I want Android, then this is the only way to go for now.
But I have faith in someone out there... Someone will figure this out.
I just hope it's within my 30 day return policy.
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...

This may just be my unit but the A2DP doesn't work right, it starts playing music then begins to fast forward whatever you are watching or listening to. Did a hard reset, no luck. Looks like I already need a replacement lol.

Squeaky369 said:
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?

nutcake852 said:
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh; fail on my part. It's mostly a cosmetic fix. I didn't actually test it, but when you click on it, it changes to "Yahoo".
So my bad on that one.
God, I hate Yahoo. Ever since that stupid ass cowboy did that commercial, it's ate away at my soul...

I don't know why...
To think we were all worried about how Verizon was going to cripple android only to have ATT do it instead. At first I was amazed and then I realized that any android phone would have outshown their prized phone...oh well one more reason to love being on T-Mobile. ;-)

I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)

Help i ****ed up my phone
So i just rooted my g1 to get the nexus one features to it and now all it is doing is foreclosing instead of going to the home screen if anyone can help can you please email me at [email protected] thank you

Xodium said:
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do think though that this is going to end up to be a decent phone.
I know I am a little pro for that comment, just because I bought one. But lets look at every phone that ever comes out. There is always some sort of challenge that we have to overcome.
And; with all the threads I've been reading about this; it looks like it was BOTH AT&T and Motorola that are to blame for locking this phone down. ATT cause they don't want us to install from anything but an "App Store" and Motorola because they don't want their devices used for what "there were not intended to be used for," is the wording I've seen floating around the internet.
But in all seriousness. I am coming from an iPhone 3GS which I had jailbroken. So I am coming from a phone that I had everything and anything on to this, and I am, overall, happy with it. Although it's only been 5 days, I can say I don't think I'll change my mind in the next 25 days.
But that's just my two-cents.

I emailed Samsung about a few things, here is the response

Thought I'd share this with you guys. I recommend sending out a similar email so that they know that there are serious concerns about the phone. I did it online at the Contact Us page on the Samsung website.
Here's what I wrote:
Hello,
I recently purchased a Samsung Captivate. Overall, I am quite pleased with the device. However, there are a few things that irritate me about it that I was hoping you could comment on:
1.) There is a serious lag issue. Do a quick google search and you'll find that this is a universal problem with the phone.
2.) The GPS does not work. Also a universal issue.
3.) No 2.2 Froyo.
4.) No last.fm scrobbling support for the default music player (which I love by the way!)
5.) Drivers for Windows 7 x64 do not work well. After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it. Again, a universal issue.
A lot of people complain about the TouchWiz UI, but I personally enjoy it, as long as the lag issue is taken care of. Also I'm pleased with the phone call quality, and almost all other aspects of the phone.
I appreciate your time, and hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
[thecoolestcow]
Here is the response:
Dear [thecoolestcow],
Thank you for your inquiry.
Regarding the GPS on the phone, Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.
We advise you to use assisted GPS powered by your service provider.
We still don't have any update regarding the release of the Android 2.2 for the Captivate and the drivers that will be compatible with Windows 7 64bit.
We will forward your report of this behavior along to the appropriate parties for additional review and consideration.
We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.
Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.
Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.
Should you desire additional assistance resolving this, we invite you to call Samsung Customer Support by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357 between the hours 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
Thank you for choosing Samsung.
Sincerely,
Technical Support

thecoolestcow said:
Thought I'd share this with you guys. I recommend sending out a similar email so that they know that there are serious concerns about the phone. I did it online at the Contact Us page on the Samsung website.
Here's what I wrote:
Hello,
I recently purchased a Samsung Captivate. Overall, I am quite pleased with the device. However, there are a few things that irritate me about it that I was hoping you could comment on:
1.) There is a serious lag issue. Do a quick google search and you'll find that this is a universal problem with the phone.
2.) The GPS does not work. Also a universal issue.
3.) No 2.2 Froyo.
4.) No last.fm scrobbling support for the default music player (which I love by the way!)
5.) Drivers for Windows 7 x64 do not work well. After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it. Again, a universal issue.
A lot of people complain about the TouchWiz UI, but I personally enjoy it, as long as the lag issue is taken care of. Also I'm pleased with the phone call quality, and almost all other aspects of the phone.
I appreciate your time, and hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
[thecoolestcow]
Here is the response:
Dear [thecoolestcow],
Thank you for your inquiry.
Regarding the GPS on the phone, Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.
We advise you to use assisted GPS powered by your service provider.
We still don't have any update regarding the release of the Android 2.2 for the Captivate and the drivers that will be compatible with Windows 7 64bit.
We will forward your report of this behavior along to the appropriate parties for additional review and consideration.
We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.
Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.
Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.
Should you desire additional assistance resolving this, we invite you to call Samsung Customer Support by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357 between the hours 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
Thank you for choosing Samsung.
Sincerely,
Technical Support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
man I just dont see this lag yall are talking about... Had the phone since day 1, no lag fix and its fast as my n1 on 2.2. about.. Wierd...
Also GPS does work, just not reliably all the time, some works fine, others not, others sometimes.. So saying it dont work is exadurating. I just dont want people that dont have one think that the GPS dont work. It does and I use it everyday without issue. No fixes or anything, mine and some others works...
2.2 froyo will be here soon. Hold your horses on and it will be here next month I will bet...

I didn't see the lag either for a while, but I see it in most of the Samsung native apps, like Messaging and the screen unlock.
GPS also used to work amazingly. It just stopped completely now for me.
It's good though that they acknowledged in the email that they were going to release a fix for it.

thecoolestcow said:
I didn't see the lag either for a while, but I see it in most of the Samsung native apps, like Messaging and the screen unlock.
GPS also used to work amazingly. It just stopped completely now for me.
It's good though that they acknowledged in the email that they were going to release a fix for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, Well Im certain it will be fixed. The samsung epic 4g is rumored to have a working GPS (more testing needs done for me to believe it for sure) and if we have the same hardware gps wise as the Epic 4g we should definatly see a fix...

Nice, Engadget confirms.
engadget.com/2010/08/18/samsung-says-gps-is-tested-and-validated-on-epic-4g-our-testi/

There is most certainly lag. Like you guys, it wasn't a big deal until I saw the lag fix.
Long story short, I've been running the lag fix about a week, then borked my phone with another tweak and had to revert back to stock. HOLY COW was that thing slow... I never really knew any different until I had seen greener pastures
I will say I don't think the DEFAULT lag is worse than any other phone on the market. But it is capable of much, much faster.

Also you forgot to include the complaint that MMS doesn't work on EDGE, only 3G.

TexUs said:
There is most certainly lag. Like you guys, it wasn't a big deal until I saw the lag fix.
Long story short, I've been running the lag fix about a week, then borked my phone with another tweak and had to revert back to stock. HOLY COW was that thing slow... I never really knew any different until I had seen greener pastures
I will say I don't think the DEFAULT lag is worse than any other phone on the market. But it is capable of much, much faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which lag fix did you use? I saw several. I haven't rooted my device yet because I'm a little girl. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible first.

thecoolestcow said:
Which lag fix did you use? I saw several. I haven't rooted my device yet because I'm a little girl. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I did all my tweaks manually the first time. However when I borked and started over I used this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=751934
That will do all necessary tweaks at once. Just download the update.zip file to the root of your INTERNAL card, reboot into recovery mode (ask if you don't know how... easiest way is to use ADB), and select "reinstall packages" and you're done.
Just check the post I linked to, but it'll remove all the ATT crapware, remove the loud startup sounds, install root, block ads, etc.
After it's ran you then can go into the app it adds and run the lag fix... After you run that script it needs a reboot... And then you've got a lag fixed phone that runs twice as fast. ROM Manager, for instance, takes like a whole freaking minute it seems to open un-lag-fixed. Lag-fixed it takes several seconds max.

TexUs said:
Well I did all my tweaks manually the first time. However when I borked and started over I used this: forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=751934
That will do all necessary tweaks at once. Just download the update.zip file to the root of your INTERNAL card, reboot into recovery mode (ask if you don't know how... easiest way is to use ADB), and select "reinstall packages" and you're done.
Just check the post I linked to, but it'll remove all the ATT crapware, remove the loud startup sounds, install root, block ads, etc.
After it's ran you then can go into the app it adds and run the lag fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy crap, how did I miss that one? Excellent, thank you. I will likely be doing that in the near future!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

thecoolestcow said:
Holy crap, how did I miss that one? Excellent, thank you. I will likely be doing that in the near future!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NP.
I'm happy with 2.1 right now... I mean the Captivate at 2.1 runs faster than anything else on the market, including the N1 2.2......
So I can live with 2.1 until Samsung releases 2.2
Once you see how much faster it is with the lag fix, you'll start to wonder how much faster 2.2 will be. The Captivate will be untouchable.

There is definitely significant lag on the stock firmware - most notably for me with the marketplace but s also for some other apps when they are loading data. I haven't applied any fixes yet as I'm waiting for a decent firmware update before I do too much with my phone.
JH2/3 are looking like good bets, but I would suspect that an official firmware is right around the corner given the few changes between JH2 and JH3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Why wait? It takes 5 minutes to vastly improve the usability of your phone.

And worst comes to worst, you use the Odin3 one-click to restore it to stock. Seems pretty awesome. I'll probably be "super-rooting" tonight!

Also to note you should only be doing that super-rooting from stock to start with... It's the most reliable method anyway. You can try it from what you've got but- if there's issues you just need to do it from stock.

Hm. And there's no way to back up my apps/data right?

thecoolestcow said:
Hm. And there's no way to back up my apps/data right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, download ROM Manager but you need to be rooted first I think... So you can root your phone only (same process but it just does rooting: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=725555), download/install ROM Manager (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734163). Then when you reboot into the ROM Manager recovery screen there's nandroid backup utility that'll back up everything.
If you like selective backups of stuff you can also use Titanium Backup (also requires root).

smashpunks said:
man I just dont see this lag yall are talking about... Had the phone since day 1, no lag fix and its fast as my n1 on 2.2. about.. Wierd...
Also GPS does work, just not reliably all the time, some works fine, others not, others sometimes.. So saying it dont work is exadurating. I just dont want people that dont have one think that the GPS dont work. It does and I use it everyday without issue. No fixes or anything, mine and some others works...
2.2 froyo will be here soon. Hold your horses on and it will be here next month I will bet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.

derek4484 said:
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're about a month after release and have Vanilla Android 2.1 ROMs, so chill out. Have some patience, I'm sure we'll see them for 2.2 as well.

derek4484 said:
GPS does NOT work. It barely functions, so it does not work. Anybody that says it does is just trying fool themselves into thinking they didnt make a mistake. GPS absolutely does not work. Its been documented by numerous sources and tens of thousands (or more) vibrant and captivate users here in the US. For Christ's sake, even Samsung has admitted that it doesnt work. They've used incorrect drivers from Broadcom, so it can't possibly work.
Samsung may release Froyo to the carriers toward the end of next month, but it'll be quite a while before AT&T releases it to us. They have to go through and add all their crapware and remove any functionality that's in the stock rom that they can charge money for (this really pisses me off I REALLY, want that wifi hotspot functionality!!!) and they have to cripple the kernel and radio so there'll be no HSUPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works and so do others in those thousands of people threads. If you would like I can copy n paste them for ya...
Its directed me to many places perfectly so it works, its just unreliable and not the best, hence needs to be optimized ...
now post a link where samsung admitted using incorrect drivers? I've never saw that...

Sidekick LX 2009

Hi,
I have plans to buy a Sidekick LX 2009 for use in Belgium.
Now i have read about that when i root my Sidekick that i can use the GPRS network from all the world is this correct can i send emails and surfing on the internet with my Data plan ?
Thanks.
Greetings,
Rudi

There is a lot wrong with that question. First, the LX 2009 was not on android, it was on Danger's proprietary firmware. This means that it's not a rootable scenario, as there's no root to get. I believe what you're talking about it getting it Unlocked which would have to come from Danger/T-Mobile, but I'm not sure if they're still giving out unlock codes for that phone, as it's now old and no longer made.

I wonder if you are still reading this but I think this link may help http://wiki.sidekick.com/thread/4481508/Registering%2FActivating+an+unlocked+sidekick+3+on+other+networks
[email protected] said:
Registering/Activating an unlocked sidekick 3 on other networks
Feb 20 2011, 12:14 PM EST
after u by bass the screen by holding the button with the three bars and the L button holding at same time for like 2 sec after ur at the main screen hit the menu button thats the one with the three bars go to settings network options scroll down to network APN now click the change network apn and erase the tmobile one thats there leave it blank then hit the menu butten and click done with in a few seconds or instantly like it did for me it will activate and u make a new user name or use one u have if u do that is and my email started up and the download catalog worked and my sidekick 3 said i was registered text me at 9736104730 (im on att) or email me at [email protected] it took me like 6 days to get my phone to activate and i was getting mad and i did this by mistake and im glade it works now lol att pay as you go on sidekick 3 loving it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Well that trick doesn't work. I wonder if we can flash the Sharp Jump (offered by Cincinnati Bell) firmware onto this device? Then someone would have an old copy of the Danger SDK lying around and it would become grey territory in terms of legality of the use of the SDK.

sorry to bump an old ars tread but my SK4G **** on me.... and back to the LX 2009 anyone know how to at least get internet running? apn settings are limited on this device and epc.tmobile.com is a no go

try unlocking the device. if tmobile wont give you the code, then find an unlocking service. ebay is probably cheaper than a regular service. either way, get the code and put a non tmobile sim in and unlock. then put your sim card back in, find the apn settings, delete whatever apn is there, and then put tmobiles current apn in. if that doesnt work, nothing will.

Danger-based Sidekicks ran everything through their proprietary Back-End Servers which were shut down back in May of 2011. After that time, NO Danger-Based Sidekicks have been able to access the internet. Sharp has since tweaked their remaining LX09 stock and re-marketed the devices (complete with an Opera Browser with Internet services and a non-Sidekick name) to other carriers (including Mobility Wireless and Cincinnati Bell). their tweaks were not made public to be applied to T-mobile branded devices.

ncmacasl said:
Sharp has since tweaked their remaining LX09 stock and re-marketed the devices (complete with an Opera Browser with Internet services and a non-Sidekick name) to other carriers (including Mobility Wireless and Cincinnati Bell). their tweaks were not made public to be applied to T-mobile branded devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If someone can extract the flash through a JTAG or other flash reader, then the Sidekick LX scene may explode; if the hackers can bypass legal measures.

Danger's agreement for developers was very restrictive.
To get any kind of modding started on the Hiptop, you would need some leaks directly from former Danger employees... Not only is that unlikely, the trail has gotten awfully cold. The Hiptop (and all its kin) has been pink and dead for a long time. Some ho killed it.

Agreed. Regardless, the LX is a lost cause now.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Matarick said:
Well that trick doesn't work. I wonder if we can flash the Sharp Jump (offered by Cincinnati Bell) firmware onto this device? Then someone would have an old copy of the Danger SDK lying around and it would become grey territory in terms of legality of the use of the SDK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u have a copy of Danger SDK..?? is there any way i can get it?? i have a SHARP PV300(almost same as sidekick lx2009) but cannot install any new apps into it.. i just want to install a few apps in it. there is GPS on the device.. but it is useless as it comes without an application,.. is there any way u can help me..??

nitthin21 said:
do u have a copy of Danger SDK..?? is there any way i can get it?? i have a SHARP PV300(almost same as sidekick lx2009) but cannot install any new apps into it.. i just want to install a few apps in it. there is GPS on the device.. but it is useless as it comes without an application,.. is there any way u can help me..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The short answer is no.
There always were two different builds of Danger OS's. There was a developer build that was used by Danger employees and a production OS that required a developer's code to install 3rd party apps.
There's a good chance they still have two builds of the OS for your device. Sharp likely has a developer build they use in house--and you have a consumer version.
Because the catalog is dead and gone, I don't see any reason why they would have maintained the ability to "unlock" devices for devs. The whole dev code feature may have been deleted.
Even if there still is a way to unlock the device, I believe the developer codes were produced using a hash against the device IMEI. But, that doesn't help much because I don't know of anyone that ever cracked Danger's crypto method.
The Danger development website was capable of generating codes for approved devs, but it has been gone for years. So, you can't get the algorithm directly or produce more examples for evaluation...
And, you should be able to copy your device's location to the clipboard and use it in the browser. It's not completely worthless...

orange808 said:
Danger's agreement for developers was very restrictive.
To get any kind of modding started on the Hiptop, you would need some leaks directly from former Danger employees... Not only is that unlikely, the trail has gotten awfully cold. The Hiptop (and all its kin) has been pink and dead for a long time. Some ho killed it.
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Click to collapse
ROFL - great multi-pun replay!!!

It's great to see the old-school Sidekicks get talked about. I still have my SK3 and SK2008. The SK3 was a personal favorite of mine. As far as hacking them is concerned, I'm sure there's a way to root them as the basis for the OS was a Java VM running on Linux if I remember correctly. Microsoft would have to fork over the code for the open source parts of it. The SK LX 2009 was a new start for the Danger OS and ran NetBSD as the base of the OS. The old SK's are CHEAP to pick up nowadays given their limited utility, but they would be the ultimate hacker's challenge as far as modding and breaking into the OS. One guy managed to do it and got hired by Danger waaaaaay back in the earliest days of the Hiptop/Sidekick. Unfortunately, it seems his work isn't available to download anymore. HOWEVER, someone else used his work for the basis for trying to get Android running on the old Sidekick devices: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/android-beginners/acUqRd9ZuRY
It doesn't look like it got very far, but there's some interesting information there. Anyway, I'm rambling a bit here.

Yep. That was jgeorge...
He took over running the developer website after Danger hired him...
Ever wanted to have spell check and autocorrect running from a single dictionary across your entire device?
Gee. I bet Apple will market the heck out of that "new" feature next.
Yay.
Come to think of it, where is that feature, Google?
You going to let an old Sidekick trump you?
P.S. Real Sidekicks don't drop keypresses.

Does yours drop them too? I thought it was just mine. Though, the problem has largely subsided with the most recent ROMs like RAGE4.0 and GOv3.2Bulky (which I'm running now.). still, it hasn't totally been eliminated. This thing will show flashes of what made the old Sidekicks great, but the execution by Samsung and T-Mobile wasn't what it needed to be. Still, this device shows that Android is really Hiptop OS 2.0 (sort of). There's so much in Android that first was in Hiptop.
<sigh> I really wish MS hadn't bought Danger.
orange808 said:
Yep. That was jgeorge...
He took over running the developer website after Danger hired him...
Ever wanted to have spell check and autocorrect running from a single dictionary across your entire device?
Gee. I bet Apple will market the heck out of that "new" feature next.
Yay.
Come to think of it, where is that feature, Google?
You going to let an old Sidekick trump you?
P.S. Real Sidekicks don't drop keypresses.
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Click to collapse

Microsoft wasted their money. But, Danger was doomed when the Hiptop 3 arrived. That design failed to innovate and move forward.
The Hiptop, Hiptop Color, and Hiptop 2 were all incremental improvements on the same core experience. At the time, it was ok because they met general expectations.
But, the Hiptop 3 needed to be something special--and it wasn't. That hurt.
The other problem was the closed platform. Danger had trouble getting development off the ground. The whole thing was a powered with a proprietary Java-based (aka slow) platform. They added MIDP support later, but that just encouraged quick and dirty ports--they needed native quality apps.
Danger's (Apple copied the idea) app approval process and catalog was a great idea to guarantee stable software and boost revenue. But, the closed platform also discouraged developers. Somewhere in the middle of the Hiptop 2's lifespan, Danger sued over Hiptones (a grey market app) and stopped giving most people dev codes. That chilled any enthusiasm that may have existed and effectively killed the device with most devs.
Microsoft still could have saved the platform. But, Danger shot themselves in the foot long before that by locking out devs and failing to innovate.

I agree it was a stupid purchase by Microsoft. $500 million was just ridiculous to spend. I really wonder what they thought it would get them. The owners of Danger made out like bandits presumably.
I've heard that things like more advanced Bluetooth profiles like A2DP were kept off the SK3 because of carrier requests. It was also very odd how long it took to add support for MMS to say nothing about the issue of locking down the ability to add your own ringtones. I know someone suggested to T-Mobile that they make dev keys available as a premium download in the Catalogue, but that went nowhere.
Speaking of 3rd party stuff, I wonder to this day what else could be put on an SD card to open up features besides just the themes. There had to have been more to that which could have been done to gain further access to the devies. I tried one time with a friend to hack into the SK3 with my linux desktop via USB, but that didn't go anywhere.

Well, T-Mobile owned half of Danger. Their "requests" and (shortsighted) hunger for a few dollars in ringtone revenue were very costly in the long term.
For years, there was a special T-Mobile flavor of the OS with missing features. That didn't end until the LX 09.
Many other features failed to appear bcause Danger wasn't taking the future seriously. For instance, the devs had software to store our emails on sdcard. The software was around forever and we all downloaded and used it, but it never made it into the OS... Somewhere around the release of the Hiptop 3, Danger stopped taking email seriously. Did they really think the LX 09 would attract a wide range of users with a dinky little mailbox?
We also had proof of concept for video decoding that ran all the back to the Hiptop 3. But, again, it went nowhere for years.
So many missed opportunities..

I made a few bucks back in the day by making themes and custom ringtones for the lx and lx09 I still have my 09 with like 100 custom ringtones and its unlocked but till I can find a way to override the danger server dependancy it will sit in its box in my closet gathering dust I loved that thing. I'm upset now that I sold my sk3 and sklx and only kept the 09 lol
Sent from my HTC Ruby using xda app-developers app

ICS kills speed dial, criples voice dial

ICS so dangerous it should be illegal
No cell maker or seller should be allowed to market a mobile phone without true hands free voice dialing. The voice dialer on my GN is a joke. If I have to look closely at the phone to confirm the correct choice and then actually touch it to dial, it's a joke and too dangerous for public safety. What are these makers and carriers thinking?
How can they release something so retro? I need and am used to leaving my phone in my coat pocket while I drive and making bluetooth calls without ever looking at the phone. I need audio confirmation before calling just like I had on my old DX for 2 years and my WinMo for 2 years before that. I don't see any apps that fit the bill either. Anyone know of a ROM that included that feature?
And what about voice dialing's older sister, speed dialing? That is gone altogether. I had forty #'s available 20 years ago. That's gotta be why Motorola hasn't gone to ICS. They have lots of customers who do business on the phone first and use it as a toy second.
I'm enjoying the horsepower of my new GN but ICS is not ready for safe mobile use and should not have been released for such use. Especially in this day of thousands of tickets being issued for handheld phone use not to mention wreckage.
I wonder why I haven't seen more discussion on these forums on this topic. I think I'll be ebaying my new GSM GN and getting stuck with another Big Red contract and a Maxx. I'm so sick of contracts.

Rabble rabble rabble

Voice dial works great for me and there are dozens of speed dial apps on the market. Chill pill: try one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA

You shouldn't talk on your phone while driving...
Studies show that this isn't good since you are diverting attention from a work that requires quick reflexes...
No matter how experienced multitasker/skilled driver you are...
(In fact, its even illegal in my country, India)
Typed using a small touchscreen

Flintlock said:
ICS so dangerous it should be illegal
No cell maker or seller should be allowed to market a mobile phone without true hands free voice dialing. The voice dialer on my GN is a joke. If I have to look closely at the phone to confirm the correct choice and then actually touch it to dial, it's a joke and too dangerous for public safety. What are these makers and carriers thinking?
How can they release something so retro? I need and am used to leaving my phone in my coat pocket while I drive and making bluetooth calls without ever looking at the phone. I need audio confirmation before calling just like I had on my old DX for 2 years and my WinMo for 2 years before that. I don't see any apps that fit the bill either. Anyone know of a ROM that included that feature?
And what about voice dialing's older sister, speed dialing? That is gone altogether. I had forty #'s available 20 years ago. That's gotta be why Motorola hasn't gone to ICS. They have lots of customers who do business on the phone first and use it as a toy second.
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Click to collapse
I have never used an GN before, so not sure about your complaint. Voice dialing and Bluetooth commands in general work great on my HTC Sensation. My eyes never leave the road for me to make a call. This is a good thing since you can get a big ticket for using your phone while driving from where I'm from (that is, if you aren't using some sort of handsfree device).

ICS does seem kind a slow to me too!
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

Call Recording Capable Phones

Hello,
My new employer is going to suit me up with the latest and greatest from either Blackberry or Apple. Can either of these devices sucessfully call record a two-way conversation? If not please recommend a cutting edge phone that can do it and is proven to work.
I remember reading that neither BB or Apple can get it done because of problems at the hardware level. Perhaps someone has written around it.
I am currently holding onto my HD2 for this reason.
Thanks a bunch!
Scott

BUMP

burlroof said:
Hello,
My new employer is going to suit me up with the latest and greatest from either Blackberry or Apple. Can either of these devices sucessfully call record a two-way conversation? If not please recommend a cutting edge phone that can do it and is proven to work.
I remember reading that neither BB or Apple can get it done because of problems at the hardware level. Perhaps someone has written around it.
I am currently holding onto my HD2 for this reason.
Thanks a bunch!
Scott
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC Rezound/Verizon no special kernel needed. Only ICS firmware and root....

Galaxy S2 with litening ROM. It has call recorder included and it works great.

NICE! Thanks guys. I really appreciate it!