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Android Hardware Thread - 2009 Edition

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The Interrobanger said:
Getting a new phone in a couple days and still not sure which bandwagon (Android or iPhone) to jump on.

- Is there somewhere that lists/explains all available apps for Android?

- How many music related apps are there (synths, sequencers, etc) for Android compared to the iPhone?

Whichever one has the most musical function or potential is what I'm gonna jump for.
Click to expand...

I'd bet the iPhone has more. A quick Google search found this, which should give you an idea of what Android has going on in the music department. iPhone obviously has a lot more going on, you can check out this list.

Do you have iTunes on your computer? It would be best to go onto iTunes, click the app store and check out the Music section to see all the different apps. The Android Market has a website but it's not as useful to browse.
 
The Interrobanger said:
Getting a new phone in a couple days and still not sure which bandwagon (Android or iPhone) to jump on.

- Is there somewhere that lists/explains all available apps for Android?

- How many music related apps are there (synths, sequencers, etc) for Android compared to the iPhone?

Whichever one has the most musical function or potential is what I'm gonna jump for.
Click to expand...


Not really a listing but Cyrket.com will allow you to search the market from your desktop
 
The Interrobanger said:
I don't want an iPhone purely for the vast majority of morons that have one. Idiocy by association if you will. But I've used quite a few cool music apps on it and want to replicate those experiences on an Android phone...most likely the HTC Dream.

I heard the Android API kits are lackluster when it comes to audio/video app development and I want to ensure the apps aren't gimped.
Click to expand...

Eh, they could be better, but I think they became really decent when 1.0 launched. Besides, they wouldn't really stop a programmer from doing what they wanted.
 
thankgod just installed the update for the hero, sooooo much snappier. It was, to be honest, before the update 'a bit shit' just sluggish all over. Seems MUCH better now.
 
The Orange said:
ooooh yeeessss. Still no word on what type of screen?
Click to expand...

I think someone in this thread said that he used his fingers when testing it? But I guess fingers could include nails as well though. :)
 
So after playing with the hero(Sprint Rep brought one under lock and key), i'm not getting it at all. Very letdown as far as what I was expecting. Slow, and felt odd in my hand. I'm just gonna hold out for a 3.5" device since ill be paying full price for one any way.
 
alternade said:
So after playing with the hero(Sprint Rep brought one under lock and key), i'm not getting it at all. Very letdown as far as what I was expecting. Slow, and felt odd in my hand. I'm just gonna hold out for a 3.5" device since ill be paying full price for one any way.
Click to expand...

Slow navigating, opening things up, how? The reviews said it was actually pretty snappy.
 
I currently own an iPhone, but I'm looking at other options for my upgrade next year, and Android looks very interesting. Too bad AT&T doesn't have too many options available for Android. Any chance that by April of next year (when my current contract expires) AT&T will have some kickass Android phones to lure me away from Apple?

I guess I'll keep my options open for WinMo as well, if there will be any awesome phones available for that time frame.
 
Phandroid's been pretty kickass today.

http://phandroid.com/2009/09/21/xperia-x3-unboxed-and-beautiful/

xperia-x3-unbox4.jpg


xperia-x3-render.jpg


xperia-x3-render9.jpg


xperia-x3-render4.jpg


xperia-x3-render14.jpg


An announcement is probably coming within a month (my own estimation.)



http://phandroid.com/2009/09/21/htc-tattoo-launching-on-vodafone-with-donut-fm-radio/

vodafone-tattoo-550x363.jpg


Note, that screen size is wrong.



http://phandroid.com/2009/09/21/htc-magic-with-htc-sense/

htc-magic-sense.jpg


The Spring HTC Hero is a "with Google" phone, so anything could happen at this point.



http://phandroid.com/2009/09/21/10-motorola-android-phones-in-10-months/

Phandroid said:
This time it is Trip Chowdhry from Global Equities Research making the call, saying Motorola plans to launch at least 10 Android Phones in the next 6 to 10 months.
Click to expand...

That would be interesting to be sure. A flood of low-to-mid range Android handsets would definitely give Android a much needed push against other phone OS's in terms of market share.



The Orange said:
ooooh yeeessss. Still no word on what type of screen?
Click to expand...

WVGA capacitive is the last word.
 
The X3 looks beautiful, design wise. I want to see the UI in action and how it compares with MOTOblur and HTCSense. I also want to know how much the thing is gonna cost. I remember when the X1 came out, not to mention the X2... o_O I'm glad Android is getting high end phones, but $800 - $1000 is crazy!
 
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Sprint-4G-Smartphone-Rumored-to-Run-Android-761401/

eWeek said:
The 4G smartphone Sprint has in the works is likely to run Google's Android OS and take advantage of Sprint's WiMax investments with Clearwire. By the end of 2010, Clearwire will likely exceed 100 million U.S. subscribers, creating a solid customer base.

Sprint has a 4G smartphone in the works, and it’s believed to run Google’s Android mobile operating system, be made by Samsung and debut in 2010, according to reporting from PC World.
Click to expand...

Whoo. Now we have a rumored late 2010 Android device rumored. Pretty soon we'll be seeing 2011 and 2012. :lol But good for Sprint and Samsung, and everyone interested in 4G.

El Papa said:
The X3 looks beautiful, design wise. I want to see the UI in action and how it compares with MOTOblur and HTCSense. I also want to know how much the thing is gonna cost. I remember when the X1 came out, not to mention the X2... o_O I'm glad Android is getting high end phones, but $800 - $1000 is crazy!
Click to expand...

There was a leaked UI walkthrough linked in the OP, check it out.
 
Andrex said:
There was a leaked UI walkthrough linked in the OP, check it out.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I saw that when it came out and it looks very pretty. I want to see more though, like how it integrates with social networking and such, like Sense and Blur. I'm sure it will probably by similar.

All these new Android phones are making my wallet cry. Haven't even had my G1 for a year yet and I'm itching for one of these new ones. :lol
 
El Papa said:
Yeah, I saw that when it came out and it looks very pretty. I want to see more though, like how it integrates with social networking and such, like Sense and Blur. I'm sure it will probably by similar.

All these new Android phones are making my wallet cry. Haven't even had my G1 for a year yet and I'm itching for one of these new ones. :lol
Click to expand...
Almost a year? I envy you. I've had an Instinct, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, iPhone and currently a Pre since last July :lol
 
El Papa said:
Yeah, I saw that when it came out and it looks very pretty. I want to see more though, like how it integrates with social networking and such, like Sense and Blur. I'm sure it will probably by similar.

All these new Android phones are making my wallet cry. Haven't even had my G1 for a year yet and I'm itching for one of these new ones. :lol
Click to expand...

At least you have an Android phone... :lol
 
I just flashed the newest cyanogen Donut build, shit is BLAZING fast! Trying to customize it to my liking, there's a few things missing that I like from the Rogers Cupcake builds.

The new Market is a vast improvement to the old one. The Universal search is pretty neat too.
 
El Papa said:
I just flashed the newest cyanogen Donut build, shit is BLAZING fast! Trying to customize it to my liking, there's a few things missing that I like from the Rogers Cupcake builds.

The new Market is a vast improvement to the old one. The Universal search is pretty neat too.
Click to expand...

And this is just a .1 increment. Imagine what 2.0 will be like... I imagine they'll be upgrading the default UI quite a bit to compete with Sense and Blur.
 
I haven't even heard what they're trying to do with 2.0, have you? I could only imagine, hopefully we'll get BT file transfer. :)

The 1.6 build I'm on lost the slight transparency of some of the widgets, which is a minor bummer, but overall it's pretty kickass.
 
El Papa said:
I haven't even heard what they're trying to do with 2.0, have you? I could only imagine, hopefully we'll get BT file transfer. :)

The 1.6 build I'm on lost the slight transparency of some of the widgets, which is a minor bummer, but overall it's pretty kickass.
Click to expand...

Nope, nothing on 2.0. We've heard some things on Eclair and how it supposedly has much better media capabilities, but other than that nothing.

I liked the transparency. :( In fact the search box on the Cliq makes me sad.
 
After having my myTouch for a few weeks, here's stuff I'd like (in no particular order):

1. faster hardware
2. multitouch (make screen more responsive)
3. some sort of task manager that lets me force stop/kill background apps
4. a standard widget theme (for uniformity, but I doubt it'll happen)
5. a faster browser and flash, dammit...flash support
6. scientific (or even graphing) calculator integrated into calculator app
7. more widgets (so many apps don't have one when they should)
8. make the built-in smilies 2-characters instead of 3-characters
-for a mobile OS, this seems to be a huge oversight. :-) is no better of a smiley as :). the hyphen is a waste of texting data. fine by me since i have unlimited texts, but it seems like a really stupid decision. none of them need 3 characters.

I'm forgetting some stuff, but those are my main concerns. I'm loving the phone and Android, and my next phone should be that Xperia (if it doesn't cost a fortune). PEACE.
 
My only android related wish was that the Samsung Galaxy would be announced for T-Mo already. And to not be redesigned as a pile o' poop either, like the Hero. Damn the Hero was a sexy phone, and they had to screw it all up on the way over here.
 
After having my myTouch for a few weeks, here's stuff I'd like (in no particular order):

1. faster hardware - Would be nice
2. multitouch (make screen more responsive) - Multitouch is available for rooted users and the newest Donut kernel supports it.
3. some sort of task manager that lets me force stop/kill background apps - On the Market, almost definitely need root
4. a standard widget theme (for uniformity, but I doubt it'll happen)
5. a faster browser and flash, dammit...flash support -Flash is on Hero builds, need root. You can try one of the alternative browsers on XDA, or flash a newer ROM based on Donut code, browsers on the XDA roms are pretty fast from my experience.
6. scientific (or even graphing) calculator integrated into calculator app - On the Market
7. more widgets (so many apps don't have one when they should) - There's a lot of widgets, what are you looking for specifically?
8. make the built-in smilies 2-characters instead of 3-characters
-for a mobile OS, this seems to be a huge oversight. :-) is no better of a smiley as :). the hyphen is a waste of texting data. fine by me since i have unlimited texts, but it seems like a really stupid decision. none of them need 3 characters. - I would prefer 2 as well.

I'm forgetting some stuff, but those are my main concerns. I'm loving the phone and Android, and my next phone should be that Xperia (if it doesn't cost a fortune). PEACE.
Click to expand...

Glad you're diggin it. btw, if you have the Barcode Scanner installed, you can scan the QR codes in the Cyrket Android Market links I gave you and it will instantly take you to the app on the Market.
 
Husker86 said:
Slow navigating, opening things up, how? The reviews said it was actually pretty snappy.
Click to expand...

I dont know. For the time I played with it, I just didnt get what the reviews were talking about. Opening apps took between 2-3 seconds, powering on took about 25 seconds, browsing maps and internet wasn't easy as everytime I would scroll around, the phone would choke as it redrew.

Overall Id give it a C+/B-.
 
Papa I'm pretty sure you don't need root for the task managers. Pimp be sure to check it out and confirm. :lol
 
alternade said:
I dont know. For the time I played with it, I just didnt get what the reviews were talking about. Opening apps took between 2-3 seconds, powering on took about 25 seconds, browsing maps and internet wasn't easy as everytime I would scroll around, the phone would choke as it redrew.

Overall Id give it a C+/B-.
Click to expand...
It might have had too many apps running in the bg. I can't quite compare to a 3GS, but my myTouch is almost as responsive as my iPhone 3G was. T-Mobile's 3G network sucks balls compared to AT&T's, so loading data takes about twice as long for me. But as far as sheer speed is concerned, apps open and close with the same speed as my 3G, if not slightly faster. Browsing isn't as nice without "pinching" and the screen isn't as sensitive as the 3G's. But I think the GPS unit seems more accurate, battery life is better, and the screen is brighter. I've replaced pretty much every app I used on my iPhone, except for the games. Android needs to work on that aspect IMO. Otherwise, the seamless integration of the OS features into various apps combined with the multitasking make is a better phone OS IMO. You should probably have reset the phone and tried it out when there aren't already a bunch of apps running. It's better than I expected before I first held one. PEACE.
 
jonnybryce said:
Wasn't Memphis canned?

Either way I suggest you get a hold of the Magic and try it out yourself. I text, email and post on the web heavily and I do it from my iPhone with ease, there's a slight learning curve and then off I was. I always thought I would need a physical keyboard but you really get used to it, you should give it a shot before deciding based on what you think might happen.

Does Rogers have a return policy like most other carriers? If I were you I would take the maximum amount of time allotted to decide if you can type on the Magic. Get it, know that the first few days will probably feel awkward and see how you feel on day 30. The Magic is much better than the G1 in my opinion, and a big part of that is because how much more solid it is.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this.

Sounds like a glowing recommendation for touch keypads.

More than the tactile feedback I liked the idea of the keypad because I can see the screen completely without my thumbs in the way. I figured I'd see more info on screen and stuff.

The G1 seemed like a mini-PC with the monitor up top and the keyboard right below it. With a mouse to the right.

I talked to the Rogers people and decided I'd wait until the right Android phone came along. As I said I'm a phone newbie and my phone is your standard low end model from 2005. Before that I had one that had a monochrome screen that lasted me years. So I'm willing to wait for this patiently.
 
http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=7587

344890.jpg


ZDNet said:
I recently got the chance to get hands-on with Motorola’s major smartphone debut, the touchscreen-QWERTY slider smartphone called CLIQ.

My take: Motorola’s CLIQ is a game-changing device for T-Mobile.

The CLIQ is a Google Android smartphone with a 3.1-inch touchscreen display and a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard. Building on the timid path that the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G (both built by HTC) laid before it, the CLIQ combines the best elements of those Android-based devices and improves on the worst.

To me, the CLIQ is a power user’s dream phone: it combines touch and keyboard for choice of input; it offers Microsoft Exchange support as well as built-in Google services integration; it’s got robust support for images, audio and video; it offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G GSM connectivity.

[...] The CLIQ isn’t a revolutionary device the way that Apple’s iPhone was, but that’s part of its appeal. A clever refinement of the Android platform, the Motoblur-powered CLIQ manages to pair the robust feature set of a BlackBerry with the smooth visual interface of an iPhone.

Together, that adds up to a compelling smartphone that could, if not poach users from other carriers, please T-Mobile customers immensely.
Click to expand...

Glowing reviews already? Well alright. :D

Edit- I gotta post some more images of this thing, they are SEXAY

344901-480-320.jpg


344900-480-320.jpg


344894-480-320.jpg


344898-480-320.jpg


November is much much too long to wait for this. Why is the US always so slow with this stuff? Euroland is getting it in less than a month. :(
 
alternade said:
Looks thick, but after having a rumor 2 for so long im used to it. I will never understand the dpad being on the left though :/
Click to expand...


for games? why would you possibly want it on the right side?
 
It may be a good phone, but my God that looks awful :lol How is it that such a design makes it past the sketch fase, absolutely hideous
 
Nobiru said:
for games? why would you possibly want it on the right side?
Click to expand...

So used to using my right hand for using the dial/trackball for Blackberries I've used for work. It's like using a mouse too...and I'm a right handed mouse user.

I'll have to read that review but I wonder why they went with a d-pad instead of a trackball or a mouse like solution. An analog stick in the style of the PSP even.

Are there any Android apps out there that interface with Xbox Live? Can you see your friends list and who's online?

Glad to see I wasn't the only one that thought the phone looked ugly. I don't want to harp on its looks because I'm looking forward to its functionality but if I could change the way it looks I would.
 
Quick question, I've just flashed to MoDaCo 2.2 rom, do I need to flash a custom radio too?

I guess you do it the same way, radio into SD card root, rename, and run update?
 
Level 8 Boss said:
Quick question, I've just flashed to MoDaCo 2.2 rom, do I need to flash a custom radio too?

I guess you do it the same way, radio into SD card root, rename, and run update?
Click to expand...
If it works the same as Windows mobile, which it sounds like it does, you don't really need to flash a custom radio unless there are radio features being added (like going from disabled GPS to enabled). But you may get better signal from a different radio.
 
Just got my HTC Magic today.

What's the latest/best firmware?

It seems like adding/removing widgets is a massive hassle on the software I have (1.5) and things could be much more faster/intuitive all around.
 
The Cliq looks like shit. But I'd be real interested in playing with the OS; sounds great if that review is to be believed.

That experia (that a mockup?) is hot though.
 
http://www.androidguys.com/2009/09/24/first-sony-ericsson-app-in-the-android-market/

sonyEricson.jpg


AndroidGuys said:
While checking new apps coming into the Android Market (via androlib.com RSS feed), I came across the 1st app from Sony Ericsson called AmbientTime Lite 1.0.

If this is to get a taste of the design of the apps going to be included in the upcoming Sony Ericsson Android devices, it is promising. It is only a clock and will mess up with HTC TouchFlo, so be warned before installing it.
Click to expand...

:D
 
Well the Cliq is exactly what I want in an android phone... Just for Verizon.

Guess i'll see if that Sholes phone pans out soon. My contract will be up and I can switch but i'm happy with Verizon's service in my area.
 
Ok, question:

HTC Sense = Multi-touch

Donut = Firmware 1.6

Does Donut include multitouch? Is Donut/Sense being officially released for all HTC android phones or is it something existing users will have to manually update?
 
Would trade in my G1 for the Blur in a heart beat, ahhh its soooo nice.


Also any word of if donut is coming to g1 or not? I hope we still get updates, would hate for the phone to be obsolete already :(
 
The Interrobanger said:
Ok, question:

HTC Sense = Multi-touch

Donut = Firmware 1.6

Does Donut include multitouch? Is Donut/Sense being officially released for all HTC android phones or is it something existing users will have to manually update?
Click to expand...
I'm curious this myself if I should be waiting for a download or do it myself for MyTouch/TMobile.
 
From what I understand, the code for multitouch is present in the kernels for all current Android phones, but was not enabled due to some kinda legal fears between HTC and Google and Apple or something.

As a result, once HTC developed their own UI, they enabled multitouch since it wasn't an issue anymore. For the time being, Sense is on the Hero and Tattoo only, and is coming to the Magic later. I don't believe there are plans to bring Sense to the Dream/G1, as it has barely enough memory to run optimized ports on XDA without the need for compcache/swap. In addition to this, Donut code elements are not in any of the current Sense roms available (since HTC probably has to rebuild the UI from the ground up to make it work).

As for Donut and the Dream/G1, there isn't much info available. You'll probably get the best Donut roms for the time being from XDA (CyanogenMod is pretty good for this).

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=539744

The latest experimental CyanogenMod has Donut code (camcorder, ported widgets, etc.), multitouch, and a BFS enabled kernel.
 
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