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[Q] Why there is no uninstall feature in Android?

I have about two weeks experience with Android OS and as a software developer I will be interested to know the technical details behind the Android OS.
I have already noticed this is possible to upgrade applications ported with the handset's ROM i.e. the Market app. This raised the question to me why can't I uninstall applications from the ROM without rooting or risking my handset's warranty to achieve this?
Is my expectation as a user of computers for 20 years unreasonable to think in 2010 with all software development and technological advances the uninstall feature should have been in Android OS from day one?
This is not exactly like Google is the first company in the world developed an OS to just the lack of experience with what users would want. From what I have seen so far in world of Android is that, the first thing users would want to know how to root their handset to remove packages that they have no use for.

My guess is that Google doesn't want users removing Systems apps. I'm assuming that they think that these applications are core and thus don't want you removing them. Remove the market, no more apps... or way to get it back etc.
Applications installed by you can be uninstalled, I'm just thinking it is the same as in windows, you can't uninstall the task manager etc (Bad example but meh =P)

Very simple - to prevent lay users from removing critical components.
Can you imagine the service costs involved in reparing devices that that have been damaged by people trying to remove bloatware?

They still give you the option to restore.

OK DISREGUARD THIS AS I MISSED THE PART ABOUT NEEDING TO ROOT!
They can be removed but its not recommended to do so without know EXACTLY what your removing and weather is vital to your phones operating system.
BUT in order to do so your phone needs root access, and root explorer installed. There are several forums on just about all android support sites that explain how to root, install the manager, and which apps/files NOT to remove.

J_HaX said:
They can be removed but its not recommended to do so without know EXACTLY what your removing and weather is vital to your phones operating system.
BUT in order to do so your phone needs root access, and root explorer installed. There are several forums on just about all android support sites that explain how to root, install the manager, and which apps/files NOT to remove.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ye u can remove almost every stock app but this may affect the stability of your phone, modifying your phone always comes with the option restoring it back to default. If something goes wrong with moding (something really hard and extraordinary rare ) u can restore it. Browsing through Xda might solve many questions, we all didn't wanted stock rom (not because it was bad, because we can have s omething better. This community has VERY VERY good developers.
Androids own!!!

One thing I still don't get is...
How can Google upgrade Market app without the su privilage but the rest of the world has to root their phones to remove bloatware such as 'amazon mp3'?
@ftgg99: How much bloatware in Windows cost Microsoft or PC manufacturers? None in fact they get paid to include them with your hardware. However, I see an issue with mobile devices. You have already paid for the ROM storage, the bigger ROM size is the more expensive your handset would be, then the manufacturer uses your already paid ROM to make even more money by installing bloatware. I would be a fool to think manufacturers would pass on a percentage of the bloatware earnings by reducing the cost of their products to the consumers in this model.
The way I see it, the burden has been put on the communities such as xda. Users wouldn't ask the manufacturers how to root their handsets and this is left to the dedicated individuals to overcome the mess compnies normally leave us with. I'm not going to say the mess is a cost saving measure by companies.

The thing is that there are a lot more people buy and use phones than computers. After someone buys a smart phone with intention to use for calls, text, web and to use some apps, they realize the possibilities of the smart phone, they start digging in to the files, therefore Google blocked the root folder from modifying, otherwise Google would have to repair warrantied phones that didn't have to end up there just because people didn't know or care what they did. But if you got passed ROOTING, you must know what you are doing and from this point you can modify files and apps, but now ROOTING becomes too easy.
Basically just because too many juveniles got their hands on the equipment.

CSharpHeaven said:
One thing I still don't get is...
How can Google upgrade Market app without the su privilage but the rest of the world has to root their phones to remove bloatware such as 'amazon mp3'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also very interested to read the answer for this one!

CSharpHeaven said:
One thing I still don't get is...
How can Google upgrade Market app without the su privilage but the rest of the world has to root their phones to remove bloatware such as 'amazon mp3'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RAMMANN said:
I'm also very interested to read the answer for this one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer, from my point of view, is quite simple: they just upgrade the application on /data/app ON TOP of the /system/app default Market version. So, you can always go back to your "default" version just by "uninstalling updates".
Summary: they do not upgrade the Market form ROM, just install the new version on top.

CSharpHeaven said:
I have about two weeks experience with Android OS and as a software developer I will be interested to know the technical details behind the Android OS.
I have already noticed this is possible to upgrade applications ported with the handset's ROM i.e. the Market app. This raised the question to me why can't I uninstall applications from the ROM without rooting or risking my handset's warranty to achieve this?
Is my expectation as a user of computers for 20 years unreasonable to think in 2010 with all software development and technological advances the uninstall feature should have been in Android OS from day one?
This is not exactly like Google is the first company in the world developed an OS to just the lack of experience with what users would want. From what I have seen so far in world of Android is that, the first thing users would want to know how to root their handset to remove packages that they have no use for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried to work with iPhone(don't know about iPhone 4)? They build fortress around their system and even the apps you install cannot be uninstalled until you gailbrake it and use 3rd party installer to uninstall. And not talking about the "MONOPLY" they run with AT&T.

Altek A14 Leo section?

Hey
The first (Android) smartphone with camera that can really compete with the digital cameras and no section for it?
Modding it would be great
Altek A14 Leo

Altek Leo Section
regarding the serious problems the Altek Leo has, as no google apps, not even market, no rooting published, no adobe flash, firefox will not install and so on,
a section would be useful for the distessed owners of this camera phone which
is more a fumble phone than a smart phone. Its advantages are a very good lens, an outstanding CCD chip, a xenon flash and professional camera software.

True, is buggy
I bought one actually and despite it being pretty buggy, I just absolutely love the camera.
Definitely needs some software love though:
1) Interface is pretty sluggish and 2.1 isn't helping, the latest android performance improvements would be nice.
2) Touch-screen is strangely inaccurate. Swype was a must for me.
3) Battery life is pretty bad (not certain how much a newer Android would help, but any amount of powersaving fixes would help).
4) Buttons/widgets to lock the screen (e.g. Extended Controls) don't work.
5) The camera button doesn't open the camera when the phone is locked (debatable I guess, but imo, the camera button should just open the camera, period).
6) Default alarm clock doesn't ring randomly.
7) Not to mention apps randomly crashing, strange animation bugs in the Album viewer, no google apps, terrible GPS, etc.
But despite those, I've managed to work my way round them and am in love with it.
Alex

I have one of these and I do like the quirkyness .
I would love to improve the experience by modding.

Quirkyness fits well
To continue the list (more than enough for a forum)
- Backups by Titanium, AVG or Nandroid do not work because i have no idea
how to root the Altek Leo.
- WLAN range is still very short and does not always an automatic reconnect.
- I could not manage to make any browser play flash files, but the moboplayer
plays flv files well.
- Apps like soundhound say the microphone is blocked.
About half of the apps i need are not available because they will not install
or they are exclusively available over google market and getting them from
file hosters seems a bit risky to me. Most of this problems seem to be caused
by the small software space of 120 MB for files and 83 MB for running
applications.
But i will keep the Altek Leo and use it because the camera prooved itself
as outstanding among mobile phones.
- I use the application stores Applanet, Amazone Appstore, Handango,
SlideMe SAM and the tools Memory Booster Lite, Android Tweak.
Does anyone discovered any other useful helpers for this half of an
ANDROID device ?
"We do not need any adobe flash, we have got a real xenon flash."

Where To Buy
Does anyone know where to pick up/order one of these units?

Here To Buy
Search at Ebay, you will need a Paypal account.
I bought mine from Wifigadget.
Eason of Yupitek provides International Customer Service,
have a look at the facebook pinwall.

Thanks for the tips! Really like Memory Booster and Swype.
If you're on a mac, the "missing sync" from markspace is well worth the buy - particularly given that there does not seem to be a way to add a Google account under accounts and sync - it's missing on my altek leo! Anyone elses too?
Also recommend "Lookout" if you're worried about virus from no easy way to get apks other than file sharing sites.
Despite the quirks, very happy with this all-in-one device - music player + phone + camera - 3 down to 1! Fantastic!

Vignette
Sidenote, 'Vignette' is the perfect app for this device.
It doesn't fix any of the quirkiness, but it's a photo manipulation tool which complements the fantastic camera perfectly.
You can take your pics and then touch them up making the phone a studio for all things photography.
You can purchase it from the AndAppStore.

By poor battery life, how many days do you get out of it?

root and market
Has anyone tried the Gingerbreak exploit? I heard it might work on older devices. Also, if you don't trust file sharing sites and want stuff from the market. You could try running an emulator and installing the Market on that, then sideloading the APKs. I haven't tried it myself yet, but it seems there are a lot of people doing this. Here's one HOWTO which is specific to Mac but I think it's prety much the same or at least you should be able to use the same system image. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1387830/how-to-install-android-market-app-on-the-emulator there are lots of other links if you google "android market emulator" I don't have the Leo yet because they're sold out in Taiwan, but I've got mine on order. I'm most interested whether the google apps work at all if they're sideloaded. I've just sort of bricked my older Cyanogen device. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Oh, here's a Windows specific link - http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/10004/accessing-android-market-from-android-sdk/
and be careful with Gingerbreak!

There's also UniversalAndRoot to try http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=747598
and SuperOneClick http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682

Poor battery-life
@rocky7st
It depends on usage. Light usage is ok. Any sort of medium/heavy usage won't get you through the day.
I bought it from an ebay seller which sent me 2 batteries which was helpful:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230614421067
It's is useful since it allows me to occasionally geek out with the camera, playing with apps or using the GPS (i.e. 2 hours straight) and and it'll completely run out of juice by late afternoon.
I usually wait till I get home to recharge it on those occasions, but it's been very useful to be able to switch to the backup battery if I'm out and about and I really need to use the phone.
@everyone_else
On the topic of side-loading apps, my gf has an Android phone with a market on it, so I use the "Astro" file manager which allows you to "Backup" the apks, and then I transfer them to my phone via email.

I've been unable to get my device to show up with adb, so not far enough to try SuperOneClick.
UniversalAndRoot says something like "unable to root"
Z4Root says "running root exploit" and does not progress..

That's bad news but good to know at the same time. Hopefully there will be a method soon. Still waiting on mine but I unbricked my older one. Seems to be an almost total lack of hands-on reviews (outside of a trade show) so I thought someone might be interested in this one. Also, I emailed the author to see whether and how he installed the Market app.
http://120x160.com/old-entries/216-hardware-review-altek-leo-a14-camera-phone

Cheers for the reply jackflap. Do you guys know anything about the Android 2.2 upgrade, I've heard Altek is meant to be releasing it next month.

Okay, I got SuperOneClick working so I have root. ADB worked in windows after installing the Altek software.
ADB in linux still cannot find the phone..
So I tried installing various vending.apk files but keep getting MISSING SHARED LIBRARY or out of date SDK.

@daktak I've been trying to develop for the Leo but have not been able to get ADB to work in windows. Where did you obtain the Altek software?

Hi All,
I am a complete noob here and non technical.
Recently bought an altek leo with the sole purpose of loading an app called Passport Photo Plus and using the device to create passport photopgraphs and to send by Bluetooth to a compatible printer.
We have been doing this on other android smartphones but wanted to use the altek due to its camera features.
It appears that our desired app is ony avaiable on Market.
Being non -technical we have tried and failed to find a way to install this app on our leo.
I'm sure there may be other apps available but we specifically want this one due to it's features.
Does anybody know if this can be done, and if so how? Can anybody point me in the right direction (in easy to understand non tech terms please!)
Would happily pay a small fee for succesful step by step instructions (not sure if I can post that here, if not please ignore / mods pls delete).
Many thanks in advance.

[Q] android help anyone?

Well I got my galaxy s2 on release day and being a former crackberry addict I have no idea what to do with android. I understand that there are endless possibilities but I have no idea where to begin. Anyone know some stuff I can do to make my android experience simply better?

in same boat
i am not only new to andriod, i am new to smart phones. that said, i have had my andriod for a month. i have done a lot to it just by reading posts here and in andriod central. andriod central seems easier to navigate by phone choise than xda.
my wife is still a blackberry adict. after gettting my phone she wined about how much i could do. she still likes the blackberry and has found ways around the issue or boasted about something she could do that i cant.
this is just from reading about backberry so feel free to correct me if i am wronge. the PC device manager allows you to modify your phone. ie change theme, apps, ect.
the biggest issue most andriod owners have is that they cant get rid of the carriers apps(bloatware). most of these apps take up space, run when not in use, use up your ram. as far as i am aware the only way is to root(gain administrator acess) the phone. then you can get an app that will freeze the unused, unwanted apps(titanium backup,pay for version).you can also delete them, but i read it could be hazardes. recomend reading manual. i wont do it any justice, so info on rooting is everywere, i do suggest andriod central.
if you dont care about the apps then dont root. you cant get multiple home launchers,ie go launcher, launcher pro, adw launcher, theres more. i prefer go launcher, it lets you customize the most, ie change icons, the way the app drawer functions, the way icons function, different functions for the direction you slid your finger on the desktop.
with a rooted phone you can get custom roms to change the look and feel of the phone. what i understand flashing a rom to be is installing a new operating system, its like someone took andriod OS striped it down to just the OS and then added what they feel should be there for apps. generaly they just get rid of the bloatware, optimize the system, and a few usefull tools.
i have rooted my phone. sadly no custom roms yet. freezed most of my bloatware, freed up a lot of space. changed my desktop. got a wifi tether app so i can hotspot my phone with out having to pay for the data plan. any way i hope this helps. if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

to expand on the topic about rooting (assuming that you take this route), here are some rooting methods (android version-specific):
z4root (2.2/2.2.1)
SuperOneClick (2.2/2.2.1)
Gingerbreak (2.2.2)
everything you can possibly discover about your phone (roms, kernels, themes, etc) can be found in the sgsII's forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1055

[Q] Install and configuration automation

Hi guys
Mad respect for this community, until now i have only been a read only user, but now i need help, and i am on killer deadline so i registered.
While my first post is more like being request for help instead for contributing i hope there will be someone ready for helping me on this one. :fingers-crossed:
Here is the deal. I work in a small software company and me and my college got the task of being in charge for installing and configuring apps for 1000 tablets.
Few days ago around 500 tablets arrived and we had to pair them all manually with BT device that we developed.
So now i am looking for quickest solutions and I ask you guys for any kind of help or advice how can I automate tasks or do this the easiest way instead of using brain damaging, painfully slow, manual method.
For every tablet ( Huawei Mediapad 7 Lite) i need to:
1. Configure System settings
2. Install apps (2 non-market apps)
3. Install some kind of App locker (I need blacklist functionality, maybe some kind of free solution for configuring restrictions)
All 1000 tablets need to be left unrooted, so I need some kind of solution like creating backup image for
apps (app data too, if possible) and system settings, or maybe some ADB software from which i can automate this while connected to PC?
Thanks ahead!

Cry for help
Is there a way to create and restore backups (with app and system settings) on unrooted tablet?
Please guys help me out, I have 1000 tablets to install before x-mas?

!
I figured it out! Me, myself and google that is. I automated process using adb shell commands, backup feature and send key events . Wrote a batch script , bought large ass hub , connected 8 devices and gathered small army of people for helping me pack all damn tablets back to box.

is it for zageb taxy company?
and btw. is there a way to root these tablets?

[Completed] Search terms for non-phone ROMs

Good day!
I recently upgraded my phone, and I want to hold onto my old device and use it as a media player, mainly for listening to podcasts. The phone is an HTC One M8 from Verizon.
I have been searching the forums and I believe I'm ready to root the device and install a custom ROM. I mainly want to get rid of the Verizon/HTC bloatware and strip the phone down to just what's needed to play podcasts and perhaps audiobooks from the library and such. I will do all of this over WiFi. Basically, I'm wanting an Android version of the iPod Touch.
My question is, how do I search for a ROM that doesn't treat the device as a phone? I've tried searching for the term "media", but that gets me way more than I need, with all kinds of bells and whistles for turning the phone into a multimedia device.
Thank you very much for your time, and for creating this newbie-friendly forum. I really appreciate all the work that xda does.

Hi !
Your request looks kinda unique here on xda , basically the developers are focused on improving and expanding the device`s functionality rather than reducing and eliminating it
I can say that there is no rom closer to your request but what you can do is some modifications by yourself
- block all radios by turning on the airplane mode
- remove the google account
- from settings/apps you can disable any unwanted application and re-enable it at anytime
Alternatively you can root the device and install Titanium backup which helps you to go deeply and freeze more apps or to flash an AOSP rom for your device and along with minimal gapps to reduce the bloatware , also using Titanium Backup
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/orig-development
Good luck !