Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?
I completely agree! I am greatly disappointment in the direction Android is going. Leaving everything to 3rd party developers and then locking root access, yeah, really smart move! As soon as T-Mobile USA releases a 3G pocket pc, I am so gone. I would have left my HTC Wizard behind for another device (and G1) but I'm stuck with this strange 3G AWS frequency and no real option for a WM device except what my provider offers. Google still has a chance to fix this issues for Android but I am very impatient with things in general. One day, it could be a great OS but as of right now and the way the road looks ahead is a dismal path to possible destruction. My suggestions to Google would be to jailbreak all devices, create your OWN soft keyboard so all programs can be used with it, ADD SOME KIND OF OFFICE SUPPORT, add support for your own software (built in) to be able to control all settings (like speed racer mentioned), video recorder, better camera options, and better Marketplace support. Again, this is a new mobile OS and it will evolve somewhat but if things continue to happen in the same path or pattern, failure is practically the only option.
gospeed.racer said:
Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, download Locale or Power Manager.
I have seen both, and they are good....but they dont do what I am asking.
NATIVE support. Its like Google has all these different departments, and none want to work with the others. Everything needs to be streamlined together, maps should be able to turn on and off resources....instead of me doing it with my keypad. Who chooses to leave GPS on all day? Same with Wifi?
I am fed up with Google thinking everyone needs to do the grunt work. They cant even get their own software working properly (for example, try using the search function in maps, then try to get directions to that search...good luck!) and instead of USEFUL updates, we get updates that RESTRICT us.
gospeed.racer said:
for example, try using the search function in maps, then try to get directions to that search...good luck!
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Hmm... seems pretty easy for me? Open maps application, start typing your search (e.g. "starbucks mountain view"). List of locations comes up. I tap one, it shows location on map. Tap on the address and it brings up menu. Choose Directions to this Address and click Route button.
true...but if you simply click on "directions" and type in the exact same items you searched before, it suddenly forgot how to search.
For example, if I search for "pdx" or "gresham" on the maps, no problem. But, when I click "directions" and type in the same thing, it cant find it. It cant do a search and come up with a list of results? Google cant? LMAO. Seriously? I guess I need to do a search, write down the results. Then do another search, get directions, and type in the previous location that I wrote down. Pretty handy if you ask me!
Never had this issue with the desktop version of google maps. I can type in "gresham" and "PDX" and it can get me there. On the phone, it cant figure it out.
Apparently no one can read or understand what has been said. Google hasn't left it to 3rd parties, they are working on these things as we speak. It is in their "roadmap"
OK so it doesn't do everything your home computer can. Why can't you give it time. Why did you buy something that is brand new if you weren't ready to be patient? That is like the people who claim Vista sucks just because they used the beta version and had problems.
Give it time. As for directions are you talking about Gresham, OR? I get directions just find typing pdx and then gresham, or
Obviously you have to type the state for the city, also that little bookmark icon can be usefull... just search for the two things you want first (PDX then do a search for gresham) then use the history bookmark to add those to the direction. Worked simple that way too.
And guess what... I also can use copy and paste too... wow I guess there are many ways to do it you just have to figure it out.
gospeed.racer said:
Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?
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Click to collapse
No, it's not an open source phone (and I don't think google or T-mobile have said that the G1 would be), but the _software_ is. If you want a totally open phone, you should be looking towards the openmoko platform, or the dev version of the G1 that google have now announced.
neoobs said:
OK so it doesn't do everything your home computer can. Why can't you give it time. Why did you buy something that is brand new if you weren't ready to be patient? ....
... wow I guess there are many ways to do it you just have to figure it out.
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Click to collapse
If Google was up front and said that it wasnt ready yet (why are WE the beta testers?) that would be one thing, but the way it is marketed in commercials and on the website, this is a phone that is ready for mass use. It is very much still in beta.
The problem with your "its not a home computer" logic is that is CAN do the functions I am referring to. It just doesnt. I used bad examples- try using something like "denny's" instead. In a search it will pull them up, but in the "directions" it will not. Apparently if there are more than one result it gets confused. My example was bad.
I have been patient, the updates so far have done nothing (for my phone at least) but fix problems and patch loopholes. There has been nothing updated that improves functionality that I have seen yet. I found their roadmap- Looks like some soft keyboard functionality next year, and more supported languages. Who hoo.
gospeed.racer said:
If Google was up front and said that it wasnt ready yet (why are WE the beta testers?) that would be one thing, but the way it is marketed in commercials and on the website, this is a phone that is ready for mass use. It is very much still in beta.
The problem with your "its not a home computer" logic is that is CAN do the functions I am referring to. It just doesnt. I used bad examples- try using something like "denny's" instead. In a search it will pull them up, but in the "directions" it will not. Apparently if there are more than one result it gets confused. My example was bad.
I have been patient, the updates so far have done nothing (for my phone at least) but fix problems and patch loopholes. There has been nothing updated that improves functionality that I have seen yet. I found their roadmap- Looks like some soft keyboard functionality next year, and more supported languages. Who hoo.
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Click to collapse
Don't get mad a google for marketing... the commercial doesn't even say that it is google's OS... it just says Powered By Google. It blows for them.
And for the maps... I haven't been able to get either the phone or desktop to map the locations for me. Besides that doesn't it make more sense to figure out where the dennys is before getting directions to it?
It hasn't even been a month in a half yet and you think you are patient. I don't remember any significant updates to any OS in the first month it was out.
I guess my point is that tmobile (not Google apparently) released a phone that isnt ready for the general public. It should be in beta still, until the bugs (like a battery that lasts half a day under light use, calls that do not ring through, messages that dont show up, and ringtones that sometimes work and sometimes dont) are fixed. There are many problems with the phone and the OS and if you cant admit that I dont know what to say. If you are happy then fine, but not all of us are. We did NOT sign up for beta testing, if we had then there is no issue.
Sounds to me that someone should have done a little bit of research before purchasing their phone? I mean, come on! It hasn't even been 2 months yet. Maybe a razr would fit your likings more? Tmobile has plenty of those.
I say if you aren't gonna get out there & learn to write your own apps to make it the phone you want it to be, don't complain. No one held a gun to your head & said buy the phone or else. You bought into the hype. Deal with it.
No one is perfect the first time out the gates. You should have known this if you came from a windows mobile device previously. Microsoft has been at it for how many years & they still haven't gotten all the bugs & kinks out. If you think you can do better than google, I'm all in! Lets see what you got. Till then, buy a phone that doesn't have all the hype you want. Then you won't be setting yourself up for disappointment.
I haven't had any issues with this phone. So you can't save apps to the SD (YET) but that can be fixed. So your battery isn't the best (YET) but that can be fixed. Give it time. You didn't come sprinting out your mothers womb did you? Didn't think so. Let Android learn to crawl before you expect it to run hundred yard dashes
gospeed.racer said:
I guess my point is that tmobile (not Google apparently) released a phone that isnt ready for the general public. It should be in beta still, until the bugs (like a battery that lasts half a day under light use, calls that do not ring through, messages that dont show up, and ringtones that sometimes work and sometimes dont) are fixed. There are many problems with the phone and the OS and if you cant admit that I dont know what to say. If you are happy then fine, but not all of us are. We did NOT sign up for beta testing, if we had then there is no issue.
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That is funny... I had all those issues on my wing... guess I should go complain in the herald forums about my beta testing that device too.
I admit it has errors... but that doesn't mean it is the worse phone ever made like you make it out to be.
Yeah go complain at the Herald forums! They'll just tell you that you're an idiot and to unlock your phone and flash a new ROM on it. Oh wait... you can actually do that with a wing and not this pos and it actually ends up being a decent pda. That's the difference... and yes a lot of this anger comes from people with stock RC30. Also, to the dude who wipes his ass with money, lol, a lot of tmo. customers didn't have much of a choice for pdas with 3g. It's not a matter of not having the facts but the expectations were very high for this os and phone seemed to have fallen quite short. I'm not going to repeat what the shortcomings are... for they have been hammered into our skulls enough already but Google basically copied a lot of things from different mobile OS and seem to have forgotten the basics and left them out. They other thing is they won't admit any mistakes were made but simply state that they will be left to 3rd developers. After that, a security update was pushed out that locked root. How will or why should this affect developers? Well, there are several applications that only be used on rooted devices and this number will continue to rise. Several developers have quit trying to port over a few applications because of this and the crappy java layers used on android. And finally, T-mobile, google, and htc all claim that this is an open source device and os. It used to be.... the security flaw was announced on every tech blog and web site so basically google (yes google!) Sent a quick patch to fix it and now open source is dead essentially. I guaranty that root will be locked down on every other android device released next year. I know we will find a way to unlock everything here but it's just bs and you guys know it. Of course, no fanyboys will admit it while having their lips firmly placed on google's ass. It's not open source and it won't be until we unlock root ourselves. And now one can argue with me until the next android device comes out. Yes, it is its infancy but it really seems more like a beta. Just disappointed like many others. It's such a stable OS and has a lot of potential but a lot of basic things have been left out, nothing less or nothing more...
I'm sorry, can you show me where T-mobile and HTC claim the G1/Dream is an "open source device" please? I haven't seen anything from either company stating that the G1 would be open source. Android, on the other hand _is_ open, and while, yes I will agree that it's frustrating that you need to "hack" the device to be able to use it to it's full potential, Google have addressed this by releasing the "dev" handsets. Ultimately, as a previous poster has pointed out no-one forced you into picking up the G1, and as you've discovered, frustration often comes with picking up bleeding edge hardware.
So basically your mad at htc/google/tmobile cuz you neglected to read the specs on their websites? Damn my headlight just went out on my car. I'm gonna go yell at chrystler for not putting a better bulb in it! Your forgetting to realize what I stated before, no one forced you! You can piss & moan all you want but again as I stated before, make your own apps to make it the phone you want it to be! So you want 3g? Why? Cuz its faster? Umm I forgot where htc/google/tmobile said this was a laptop? Can you show me? Cuz last time I checked, it was still a cell phone. 3g is a novelty. I don't live in a 3g area so maybe I'm just speaking on deaf ears. I by no means am a fanboy of htc. If tmobile got that touch blackberry, i'd be all over it like white on rice! Be angry but all your gonna get is white hairs & wrinkles. Its wasted energy. Take a seat & wait for android to grow & then you may speak. Or go out & do it better than google. Make your own os. Let's see how you do your first time out
And as far as the unlocking & flashing, how long did it take for that to be a reality? I wasn't there from the start of windows mobile but I'm pretty sure people weren't able to do that right out the box. It is a skill that needed to be learned, as with Android. Maybe you'll research your device better next time.
so I can write apps that will make me not to miss calls when they dont ring through? Will help battery life? Will keep me from missing messages?
I AM TALKING ABOUT THE ROOT GOOGLE SOFTWARE not just apps. Have you heard me complain about a video recorder? A video player? no, because those CAN BE FIXED. How do we change the way Google maps works? WE dont...Google does.
The OS itself is very nice. Coming from WM6.1 the stability is great. I dont need to reboot daily, constantly shut down programs, etc. I understand that WM has been around forever, I had a tmobile PPC2003, so I have been around this stuff for a bit. Android is new, given time it will get better. But I am missing calls NOW. I am constantly charging my battery NOW. These things are important as it is a "phone" after all. The roadmap addresses NONE of these things, just some multi language support and a keyboard.
I am quite sure that there will be many more replies to how f'd up my thinking is, but I am done. I am at the point where all I can do is repeat myself. Its NOT ready yet, and there are MAJOR things that need fixes.
gospeed.racer said:
so I can write apps that will make me not to miss calls when they dont ring through? Will help battery life? Will keep me from missing messages?
I AM TALKING ABOUT THE ROOT GOOGLE SOFTWARE not just apps. Have you heard me complain about a video recorder? A video player? no, because those CAN BE FIXED. How do we change the way Google maps works? WE dont...Google does.
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Click to collapse
No, you DO fix the problem - you file a bug with google, and if you have the skills, a patch that fixes the problem, if it's all ok, then it'll get accepted into the source and fixed.
The only problem is, that as T-mobile have (I assume) insisted that the G1 is locked, google need to compile the release for you.
please, go read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source and, if you can return your G1, I don't think it's the phone you want.
As a new Asus Transformer owner and first time Android Market customer I have to say that I am utterly disappointed with the current state of the Android Market. The android market ap is a joke. The website is a little better, but desperately needs a better way to filer aps by tablet/non-tablet or hd/sd aps.
There is no legitimate reason that the market couldn't have a specific section dedicated solely to tablets. Or at least better filter/sort functions that allow you to filter in a more effective way. I was going to post a list of what is bad about the marketplace, but there is just too much. I'm sure that everyone who owns a honeycomb tablet is well familiar with the problem(s) by now. Anyway, just wanted to vent. /rant
Use appbrain (google it), it's much nicer and lets you filter your search.
see here for compatible tablet apps: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1032381
el_brio said:
As a new Asus Transformer owner and first time Android Market customer I have to say that I am utterly disappointed with the current state of the Android Market. The android market ap is a joke. The website is a little better, but desperately needs a better way to filer aps by tablet/non-tablet or hd/sd aps.
There is no legitimate reason that the market couldn't have a specific section dedicated solely to tablets. Or at least better filter/sort functions that allow you to filter in a more effective way. I was going to post a list of what is bad about the marketplace, but there is just too much. I'm sure that everyone who owns a honeycomb tablet is well familiar with the problem(s) by now. Anyway, just wanted to vent. /rant
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Click to collapse
There actually sholdnt be a tabletsection at all. If a dev programs oroperly their app will work fine on any size screen. Thats the benefit of the way the xml layout in the sdk work. Locations all become relative. You say x is next to y andbelow z. Then let the device sort it out.
crater said:
There actually sholdnt be a tabletsection at all. If a dev programs oroperly their app will work fine on any size screen. Thats the benefit of the way the xml layout in the sdk work. Locations all become relative. You say x is next to y andbelow z. Then let the device sort it out.
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Click to collapse
Not necessarily true, especially as Honeycomb introduces new layout elements that many app developers want to and should take advantage of to make their apps more tablet friendly. It might still all end up in the same APK in the end, but the developer still should do some tablet specific work to make it more user friendly. It would still be nice to know which APKs have been "tablet-optimized".
They do have a "Featured Tablet Apps" section, which as far as I can tell is just a list of all/most of the APKs that have been optimized for tablets.
I thought some of these issues were fixed with 3.1 according to xoom owners.
I think it's because they don't want people to see how few apps there are optimised for tablets.
case0 said:
I think it's because they don't want people to see how few apps there are optimised for tablets.
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Click to collapse
+1 internets
I agree
There should be a tablet filter. Even amazon apps suck at it. I download some apps and it FC on me.
You say all apps should work on tablet? Well that's not the case for many apps so there should be some kind of distinction. But, I hear some problems will be fixed in 3.1.
The pop down add won't be popping down anymore, it will just be there when you open it up, more catagories, and when you view an app and go back, it suppose to remember your location.
Be nice to be able to add reviews, but I didn't hear anything about that.
as a poor uesr from china pr
i need an app like market access lol
No no no... there is nothing about an Android app that says "I'm a tablet app" unless it just happens to be written for _only_ the Gingerbread API level (and that will be false the second the next version of Android comes out) which is pretty bad practice.
Using 3.0 classes is possible via reflection while remaining compatible back to 1.6, given that you can have a specific layout for x-large screens you can use 3.0 layout elements there even if your app targets a lower API level. Fragments are available all the way back to 1.6 now.
There is no "Tablet version" switch to detect, nor should there be.
It is up to the devs themselves to support the use cases they want to target, not specific devices, with freedom comes responsibility.
there should't be a tablet filter..android is different from iOS in terms of the layout design and ideally all apps should just run just fine on hc.
I remember reading that Google were going to put extra layers/levels into the current market to provide better touch browse/navigation - which might be nice.
But I don't really have any problems with the current one and the other sites do a good job at simplifying searches anyway.
It will never please everybody, but will continue to get better I am sure.
magicpork said:
there should't be a tablet filter..android is different from iOS in terms of the layout design and ideally all apps should just run just fine on hc.
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Click to collapse
It's not whether or not they run fine, it's whether or not they are optimized for a tablet, like the CNN app. So I agree, a filter for apps that are tablet-optimized is a must. Until then, I just rely on the Featured Tablet Apps to see if anything new has been added.
magicpork said:
there should't be a tablet filter..android is different from iOS in terms of the layout design and ideally all apps should just run just fine on hc.
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Click to collapse
yes ideally they should, but theyre phone apps. When they do work correctly, they just stretch. Everybody makes of the ipad saying its a giant ipod touch, but the apps that are optimized for it look amazing. So yes there should be a tablet filter.
Ok so I did a lot of searching and have not been able to find anything for this... I found a couple of threads started by people asking if it is possible or if there is one that exists but those did not receive any real responses so I'm hoping that one of the amazing devs here can help please. I'm debating making a thread in the general Android Development forum so that maybe I'll reach a wider audience.
So what I'd like is a homescreen widget, or possibly a Live wallpaper, which shows the live cards from Google Now.
There are countless Google Now themed UCCW skins that people have put out. I don't want that.
I also found a way to create homescreen icons that LOOK like Google Now cards. But all those do is launch apps, they do not update with live information from Google Now.
I'm not sure why Google Now wasn't created with a widget. It just seems to make sense. It's kind of annoying that you have to open the app to get all this information, instead of having it right in front of your face on your homescreen where you can access other apps quickly as well. I mean the point of google now is to present you with information before you need it right? How is that possible if I can't get the info without opening the app.
So I'm hoping there is, if anything, some sort of work around here.
Maybe someone knows of a way to create a widget with desktop visualizer that will show the live Google now cards and update them.
I'm hoping for a scrollable widget that will be almost exactly like Google Now (i.e new cards will pop up as they do in the app, you can scroll up and down to view all of the cards you currently have, you can swipe to remove cards - (come to think of it you probably won't be able to swipe to remove cards, but maybe a double tap or something?))
It would probably be best if this widget did not include the google search bar and simply showed the google now cards.
I remember hearing about an app in the past that could overlay live wallpapers on each other. Is there a way to overlay an app into a live wall paper? so that you could see Google Now as your live wall paper, even if maybe you can't actually interact with it this way?
For now I'm going to try setting up something with tasker, so that google now will automatically open every morning when I turn off my alarm, and possibly at other points (maybe when a new card pops up or something). Something similar to this could probably be done with the smart actions app if people are interested in trying that out. But honestly I feel like this is not the best solution because I'd rather not have tasker running constantly, eating my RAM and therefore my battery.
So I don't know if the reason there is no widget already is because it simply is not possible. And if it's not possible could someone please explain why?
Also, so that I can try to work on this myself - can someone please help me by telling me which files Google now uses for getting and updating cards? (i.e. the file names I would see in Titanium or under Settings>Apps or in a file explorer where they would be located - I'm guessing somewhere in the /system/ folder) If I can access these I can play around with them and try some things out
TIA to all who reply...
Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<
EdwardN said:
Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<
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Click to collapse
I got a Razr Maxx HD because I don't want to worry about battery drain. It's been something holding me back with every other phone I ever owned. I hear that the regular Razr HD gets pretty amazing battery life as well. I'm not looking for reasons why I wouldn't want this. I'm looking for reasons why it would not be possible or a way to make it possible.
Sorry to hear about Rogers...
But if you are rooted you should be able to install Google Now for ICS
This might work http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1983337
And I just found this http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-news/232046-gnow-handlebars-easy-solution-google-now-ics.html
I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.
dhigby said:
I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.
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Click to collapse
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S
dhigby said:
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. It works from any app and it only takes a second to load.
Let me say first this- is NOT a tinfoil hat-style thread. I know data gets collected and that is not really the concern I have here. I am more interested in what seems to be an attempt at monopolizing users' devices. What I am trying to start a discussion on is the recent changes in just about every Google-produced apk update and the changes these updates implement into the Android environment. Take GBoard for example....this recent update took an excellent keyboard and added several features to it that are frankly, redundant and unnecessary. Rendering is better in Chrome or Firefox and with "Now on Tap", Google search widget, Google Now, and the browsers themselves this redundancy is borderline meaningless and seems more like bloatware intended to promote people to use google over any other search engine. Android System Webview is almost as meaningless. There is no reason to have an un-configurable web interface coded into every app when it makes more sense to just use a browser with more feature-rich abilities. I could see it maybe useful on slow devices, but anyone with a Qualcomm dual-core or better should not need it.
Then on the other end of the spectrum they have Google Now Launcher, which has not been updated in over a year and is extremely boring in its customizability. NowLauncher has been ignored even though it's the core of the interface. It's as if they are just bored and instead push updates in order to make people feel like things are new, when in fact many of these updates are really downgrades in functionality by causing the operating system to feel schizophrenic.
Now I am certain some will agree and probably more will disagree, but I am finding myself simply disabling or uninstalling more and more of google's totally revamped "upgraded" apps. The level of device synergy they are trying to accomplish appears to be doing the opposite and creating solutions for problems that really didn't exist. These things may pose security issues, but again that is the least of my concern.
It kinda makes me feel like Google's change in direction since the drop of the Nexus line has caused further alienation of those who loved Android for being simple yet customizable. Does anyone out there agree that Google needs to calm down a bit with these changes and maybe consider that add-ons are not improvements? I know one thing for sure- it's beginning to drive me towards AOSP and third party alternatives. I appreciate any and all input. Thanks.
The Now Launcher hasn't been updated because they moved to the Pixel launcher, I guess.
I honestly kinda like the Pixel launcher a lot better than Now launcher, though I don't use either of them. I did try them, but I prefer Nova still.
As for the keyboard, I think what they did was to make stuff more convenient, or at least try it.
The keyboard browser wasn't made to replace an actual browser. It's just for really small searches.
I also find it kinda neat.
I myself don't use Google Now, nor Google Assistant. I don't even have the Google app installed.
So being able to do a quick search right from the keyboard could prove useful in this scenario.
And I'm pretty sure I saw a switch to turn off the search option, so you can still have the old-school keyboard while still having the new features (multilingual predictions).
But I'm not using their keyboard either. It doesn't really have what I need.
Most Google apps don't suit my needs, so I opt not to use them. And that's everybody can do. They aren't forced to use them. Sure, they may come pre-installed on devices, but I'm almost certain that you can disable them if you don't need of use them.
I am getting fed up it seems they make a new version of android twice a year and are starting to add very little, instead they are taking away or changing things that were working perfectly well. I just installed lineage os android 11, they took out the downloading icon so when I press download on any file it doesn't show a icon in the notification bar???
WHY??
Instead you have to swipe the notification bar down to see the download, so they added an extra swipe for no reason. I end up pressing on the file to download twice because I think it didn't register, then swipe only to see its downloading multiple files!!!???
Also who else is annoyed that they changed the open app overview button (square one) since nougat, in nougat it was a stack of all your open apps and you can instantly see ALLL open apps and press on one quickly, because it was like a pile/stack with the headers and names showing on top like a pile of documents on a desk. You would swipe up and down to go through them all and left or right to close them. It worked perfectly and gave an edge over the Apple way of doing it.
Now they made it so you can only see one open app at a time and have to swipe left or right through them, its very unintuitive and awkward on my thumb, if you swipe fast you cannot even see what is open as they fly past like building out the windows of a fast moving car. And you swipe up to close them. The whole thing is very un intuitive and painful almost on my thumb.
I feel like they are not looking at improving things they just change it, so they can release new versions of android and peole want it. Like planned obsolescence the only reason for its existance is to make people want a new phone.
They added one feature of note in android 11 the dark mode. That is all.
Also all the symbols and fonts are so tiny now its hard to quickly swipe down the notification bar and press on the settings cog, its literally hald a centimeter large...
Anyway I thought I was going to be happy with lineage 17/ android 11 and it was a total waste of my time... Now trying to find an older lineage for my moto g5, android 7 or 8. As long as the over view is a pile not only one open app on screen at a time..
And who do I even complain to? It is impossible to get in touch with anyone at these huge corporation and they have no customer service anymore.
This world is a **** show, no one wants a quality product its just all about looking cool and spending cash.
WE ARE DOOMED!!!
At this point, Samsung is taking more responsibility for Android than Google is.
Generally I share the sentiment. Change for the sake of change every few months, both in the OS and apps. Options disappear, reappear, change for the worse, and sometimes for the better. Also the GUI, with its ever changing look du jour, is an always moving target, in many cases for the worse. Another problem, new Android versions sometimes break compatibility or start disallowing certain options, usually for the sake of "security".
But non-stock Android variants may look or work differently. Some allow more tweaking. And for certain things you can use third party apps, or launchers, to fix the GUI or add (back) missing features. I haven't used vanilla Android much but the little I tried wasn't impressive. It seemed more limited and primitive than manufacturer variants.
By the way, a new version of core Android is only once a year. Luckily?
hkjo said:
Generally I share the sentiment. Change for the sake of change every few months, both in the OS and apps. Options disappear, reappear, change for the worse, and sometimes for the better. Also the GUI, with its ever changing look de jour, is an always moving target, in many cases for the worse. Another problem, new Android versions sometimes break compatibility or start disallowing certain options, usually for the sake of "security".
But non-stock Android variants may look or work differently. Some allow more tweaking. And for certain things you can use third party apps, or launchers, to fix the GUI or add (back) missing features. I haven't used vanilla Android much but the little I tried wasn't impressive. It seemed more limited and primitive than manufacturer variants.
By the way, a new version of core Android is only once a year. Luckily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I find stock/Pixel Android hilariously under featured now.
I mean, Apple has a built-in automation app (Shortcuts) that is good-enough.
Android users would have to download a 3rd Party app unless they choose a Samsung device with Bixby Routines (fantastic app by the way).
I don't mean app-level stuff, but more the global UI and real core functionality.
Yeah nice you all raise good points and I dunno if its just be getting old but a lot of the time things change for the worse! It just seems to be for the sake of "change" itself. I dunno why that app overview has been changed it is so awkward and hard to use now hahah. It was perfection in android 7, it seems like they did that just to copy apple? Strange as the previous method (stack or pile as it were) was a pretty unique and easy to use alternative making android stand out more. But no they just copy apple again and again so its more "cool"? I dunno I thought it was meant to be competing with apple not copying it!!
I agree, the only reason I went from 7 to 10 was for dark theme and latest security patch, and to get rid of all the Samsung bloatware. It really is all down to marketing, newer latest higher numbers is better in most peoples eyes.
I really think google could add new features into existing builds rather than having to flash a new install.