• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Android Hardware Thread - 2009 Edition

Status
Not open for further replies.
I wish there was an option to have the keyboard rotate the other way. For one, I'm tired of my thumb being off center when I hit space with my right. The other reason is the damn headphone jack. It's kicking my ass right now. PEACE.
 
Cirekiller said:
Damn the Xperia X10 looks so awesome..any idea how much it'll cost? I see people selling imports for like $1200. Hopefully it's not that much.
Click to expand...

Droid looks much better if only for the fact it has a phisic keyboard.
 
  • http://phandroid.com/2009/11/15/zii-android-phone-event/

    Apparently the Creative Zii EGG was a test to see which tech bloggers liked more, Plaszma OS or Android. Unsurprisingly, Android won. Zii Labs is announcing a "Mobile Phone platform" (among other things like a piano keyboard, e-book reader, and netbook) on December 1st and 2nd in China. They claim "Zii Optimized Android" includes the following:

    • Phone with Fully featured Android Platform
    • OpenGL ES 3D graphics
    • 1080p HD video output
    • Accelerated video, graphic and imaging
    • Full integration with SurfaceFlinger
    • High Quality Audio
    • Enhanced User Interfaces
    • Image Processing
    • Accelerated Web Browsing

    Nice. I wonder if they tinkered with the Android interface any, and if they finally were able to license Google's apps (previously, Android on the Zii EGG was just stock Android.)

  • http://phandroid.com/2009/11/15/xperia-x10-launching-february-10th/

    xpic2.jpg


    xpic4.jpg


    Phandroid said:
    If you love Android and Android loves you, perhaps you can consummate your relationship with an early Valentine’s Day gift by purchasing the Xperia X10 on February 10th. That’s right folks – in their UK Sony Ericsson Store has an announcement that the Xperia x10 should be available on February 10th and you can pre-register for information about the device as well.

    But that’s not all: we’ve also recently been blessed with a couple promotional videos and samples of pictures and videos taken with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
    Click to expand...

The camera on the X10 is a beast! Wow. The example video taken is also ridiculously high-quality. Let's hope the lag of the early videos is removed in the final release.
 
Fuck me, those photos look delicious. I wish the camera on the HD2 wasn't so shitty.
I don't like the design of the X10 at all though unfortunately...

And Creative is announcing a phone? Goddamn... Maybe I should wait...
 
I said the main reason I wanted an Xperia was for that camera, right? Damn, I hope it comes to Sprint. That phone is so cherry.... PEACE.
 
Pimpwerx said:
I said the main reason I wanted an Xperia was for that camera, right? Damn, I hope it comes to Sprint. That phone is so cherry.... PEACE.
Click to expand...
I know you've probably been told this but I'm gonna repeat it so you dont get your hopes up, SE doesn't make CDMA phones so it will never come to Sprint...and yeah, I'm as disappointed as you.
 
Keyboardless version of the Samsung Moment officially announced, coming to US in 2010, by year end in other markets. Stock android with DivX support out of the box.

egza5l.jpg


Engadget said:
Samsung unveils Android-equipped Galaxy Spica i5700

The long-rumored little brother to the Galaxy, the i5700, has finally been made official by Samsung -- and sure enough, it'll go by the trade name "Galaxy Spica." Sammy's latest Android-powered set clocks in at 13.2mm thick and comes equipped with a 3.5mm jack (which, frankly, every smartphone in the world should be including at this point), an 800MHz core (presumably the same as the Moment's), and an Android first: built-in DivX support. This one appears to be a no-frills Google Experience device considering the number of times that "Google" is mentioned in Samsung's press release, but for some Android connoisseurs, the purest, unskinned look and feel is preferred. Sammy says it's already out in Europe and the CIS and will be coming to the Middle East and Asia shortly.
Click to expand...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/15/samsung-unveils-android-equipped-galaxy-spica-i5700/
 
I'm pretty happy with my Hero and looking at my mate's Magic I can't really go back to vanilla android after the awesomeness that is SenseUI. I think I'll hang onto my Hero until the Passion/Dragon comes out, which might be sometime this year according to the rumours. Then again, with the integrated contacts and the like that Android 2.0 apparently has I might look at the X10 next year. I am a little concerned that SE won't theme android as extensively and brilliantly as HTC have tho....
 
Keep in mind that just because it's GSM now doesn't mean it can't go to Verizon or Sprint, they could simply create a CDMA version like the Hero...that didn't go to T-Mobile or AT&T. But with SE, staying GSM is a safe bet. Just reminding that the way it's announced isn't the way it always gets offered.

And the Galaxy Spica is the nicest Samsung Android phone yet, imo.
 
santouras said:
I am a little concerned that SE won't theme android as extensively and brilliantly as HTC have tho....
Click to expand...

I don't think you have to worry about that...

jonnybryce said:
Keep in mind that just because it's GSM now doesn't mean it can't go to Verizon or Sprint, they could simply create a CDMA version like the Hero...that didn't go to T-Mobile or AT&T. But with SE, staying GSM is a safe bet. Just reminding that the way it's announced isn't the way it always gets offered.

And the Galaxy Spica is the nicest Samsung Android phone yet, imo.
Click to expand...

Hrm, I dunno. Moment is mostly the same and it has a decent keyboard.
 
Bad_Boy said:
I doubt it. I don't think I've ever seen a Sony phone on Verizon.
Click to expand...
yea you right

im on the market for a new phone. Im probably with get the Droid, but wanted to see what other Androids are coming to Verizon.
 
BlueMagic said:
Hey guys,
Droid > Hero in every way, right?
Click to expand...

You clearly haven't used the Sense UI, from it's 7 homescreens you fill with HTC widgets to the browser with flash + multitouch.

So Droid > Hero in some ways
Hero > Droid in some ways

Skittleguy said:
Hero has the Sense UI, which could be the only thing it has over the Droid. Otherwise, yeah.
Click to expand...

Well it has the multitouch zoom(in the picture albums and browser for example), which seems to be a desired feature on the Verizon Droid. It also has some other cool things, like the ability to link your contacts to Facebook to have updated pictures, birthdays and other info in your phonebook. It's definitely deeper than just a nicer homescreen, and I don't think a lot of people realize that the customization goes deep.

Andrex said:
I don't think you have to worry about that...



Hrm, I dunno. Moment is mostly the same and it has a decent keyboard.
Click to expand...

Yes but the Moment is mega thick :/ Even the Sprint reps were calling it a brick.
 
Skittleguy said:
Hero has the Sense UI, which could be the only thing it has over the Droid. Otherwise, yeah.
Click to expand...

There's also the fact that one is Sprint, and the other is Verizon- similar plans on both phones would cost you almost half as much with the Hero.
 
How does updating the OS work on Android devices? If you are running a phone which has the basic Android OS running, and no custom UIs over the top (ala Sense) then are you free to update the phone to the latest version of the OS when it is available? Or have you got to wait for the manufacturer to release it themselves?
 
sionyboy said:
How does updating the OS work on Android devices? If you are running a phone which has the basic Android OS running, and no custom UIs over the top (ala Sense) then are you free to update the phone to the latest version of the OS when it is available? Or have you got to wait for the manufacturer to release it themselves?
Click to expand...

You have to wait for the manufacturer to create it and the carrier to release it OTA (or in Sprint's case, release it for sideloading.) If you have rooted your device, you can flash it with whichever ROM (official or custom) you want.
 
jonnybryce said:
You clearly haven't used the Sense UI, from it's 7 homescreens you fill with HTC widgets to the browser with flash + multitouch.

So Droid > Hero in some ways
Hero > Droid in some ways



Well it has the multitouch zoom(in the picture albums and browser for example), which seems to be a desired feature on the Verizon Droid. It also has some other cool things, like the ability to link your contacts to Facebook to have updated pictures, birthdays and other info in your phonebook. It's definitely deeper than just a nicer homescreen, and I don't think a lot of people realize that the customization goes deep.



Yes but the Moment is mega thick :/ Even the Sprint reps were calling it a brick.
Click to expand...

The Facebook thing happens on the Droid too, and the Droid Eris on VZW is exactly the same as the Hero on Sprint (actually a bit better, it's lighter).
 
The X10 UI is doing nothing for me at all. It's very simple and blue, and the ideas it does have, like the Facebook updates on cards, are mildly interesting but I wonder what that will look like real world. SE finds these pictures of peoples faces, but real pictures can be longer body pics or actually have colors in them...can you see the text over most default pictures, will is be squeezed or cropped making most pictures of the card unrecognizable or messy...I want to know!

Maybe it's smart enough to show the face, on my Hero is detects faces for when I want to assign a picture to a contact...we'll see.

Matt said:
The Facebook thing happens on the Droid too, and the Droid Eris on VZW is exactly the same as the Hero on Sprint (actually a bit better, it's lighter).
Click to expand...

Yeah I like the touch buttons on the Eris. It's different on the Hero though, within the phonebook you can view status updates and such, and within the photo album app you can see all of your Facebook friend's photo albums and pictures. I don't believe it's like that on the Droid or other Android phones, could be wrong.
 
jonnybryce said:
It's different on the Hero though, within the phonebook you can view status updates and such, and within the photo album app you can see all of your Facebook friend's photo albums and pictures. I don't believe it's like that on the Droid or other Android phones, could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Ah, didn't know that. I meant just in terms of Facebook syncing with your contacts (adding in info, making their profile picture their contact picture, one button access to their profile, etc).
 
jonnybryce said:
The X10 UI is doing nothing for me at all. It's very simple and blue, and the ideas it does have, like the Facebook updates on cards, are mildly interesting but I wonder what that will look like real world. SE finds these pictures of peoples faces, but real pictures can be longer body pics or actually have colors in them...can you see the text over most default pictures, will is be squeezed or cropped making most pictures of the card unrecognizable or messy...I want to know!
Click to expand...

Blue is awesome, I like blue. I don't know why the photos and text are all faded and stuff though, the mockup videos were more.. opaque and nicer.

Aside from the photos, I don't think the card interface is a bad idea, it's great especially for brief updates like tweets and it's not hard to view the full message or to scroll to items further down history. I has certain advantages over the current UIs we're using at least, plus you don't have to force yourself to use it.

nubbe said:
X10 is all over my face
Click to expand...

Nice, looks like there's some built in customization settings for the UI, the icons/bar has been switched to the top while still having app shortcuts on the bottom in the ui video.
 
jonnybryce said:
Yeah I like the touch buttons on the Eris. It's different on the Hero though, within the phonebook you can view status updates and such, and within the photo album app you can see all of your Facebook friend's photo albums and pictures. I don't believe it's like that on the Droid or other Android phones, could be wrong.
Click to expand...
The Hero does that. I prefer the way it shows FB albums in thumbnail view, tbh. I think with a bit better interface (for posting status updates and browsing), it would be the best FB app available. As it is now, I use it together with the FB app from the Droid. Those two together give me a lot of control now. PEACE.
 
Andrex said:
You have to wait for the manufacturer to create it and the carrier to release it OTA (or in Sprint's case, release it for sideloading.) If you have rooted your device, you can flash it with whichever ROM (official or custom) you want.
Click to expand...
got ya, was wondering how similar it was to 'normal' phones. Suppose its best to go for a big manufacturer who will support the phone after release, so you do get an updated os.
 
sionyboy said:
got ya, was wondering how similar it was to 'normal' phones. Suppose its best to go for a big manufacturer who will support the phone after release, so you do get an updated os.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Right now it's hard because we don't know which variables signal which phones get updated on a timely basis. The most consistent so far has been T-Mobile and HTC with the G1 and MyTouch 3G, the former of which got 1.5 after a couple weeks and both of which got 1.6 very shortly after it was released by Google.

Come to think of it I don't think any other US phone has gotten updated like that yet. Sprint is iffy because, as I said, for some reason they're requiring their Android phones owners to sideload updates (whenever they may come), sideloading meaning plugging your phone into your PC, manually downloading it from Sprint.com or wherever, and installing it that way. Much less elegant than T-Mobile's OTA (over-the-air) method, and quite hypocritical considering Palm Pre updates are OTA. Very strange.
 
Skittleguy said:
2.0 could be harder due to some issues with Qualcomm libraries in the source tree (or at least from what I heard).
Click to expand...

Really? Interesting. Those rumors of Google rushing 2.0 for the Droid might be true...
 
I am baffled as to why the X10 is coming out with 1.6 instead of 2.0. Can someone give me an explanation? If it's still 1.6 by now, I seriously doubt it will ever officially have 2.0 on it.
 
Bboy AJ said:
I am baffled as to why the X10 is coming out with 1.6 instead of 2.0. Can someone give me an explanation? If it's still 1.6 by now, I seriously doubt it will ever officially have 2.0 on it.
Click to expand...

We don't know the chipset it's running so it's possible that it could be having problems with 2.0, as Skittleguys pointed out.

However, most likely, Sony-Ericsson has been working on this skin for a looooong time. I think it was March they mentioned their Android plans officially. The UI Walkthrough that's linked in the OP's card of the X10 (X3) was almost definitely running 1.5. Most likely, it takes a lot of fine tuning to make sure the new versions of Android don't break these elaborate skins (see: HTC skipping 1.6 and just opting for 2.0), so S-E probably said "Screw it, we'll do it live!"

I think it was reported recently S-E had a very weak fiscal quarter or year, so they probably really just want to get this out there. Plus, they know anyone following Android has been salivating over it for months. Why delay it when 1.6 provides everything they need? To be honest I don't see what 2.0 could add to UX. Native Exchange support maybe?
 
Andrex said:
We don't know the chipset it's running so it's possible that it could be having problems with 2.0, as Skittleguys pointed out.

However, most likely, Sony-Ericsson has been working on this skin for a looooong time. I think it was March they mentioned their Android plans officially. The UI Walkthrough that's linked in the OP's card of the X10 (X3) was almost definitely running 1.5. Most likely, it takes a lot of fine tuning to make sure the new versions of Android don't break these elaborate skins (see: HTC skipping 1.6 and just opting for 2.0), so S-E probably said "Screw it, we'll do it live!"

I think it was reported recently S-E had a very weak fiscal quarter or year, so they probably really just want to get this out there. Plus, they know anyone following Android has been salivating over it for months. Why delay it when 1.6 provides everything they need? To be honest I don't see what 2.0 could add to UX. Native Exchange support maybe?
Click to expand...
Thanks. I can understand SE wanting to just get this out of the gates to sell. But knowing SE's history of support, I don't think 2.0 will ever be on it if a market rush is the reason 1.6 is on it. That said, I'm still very much looking forward to this thing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Should I get Android tablet vs iPad?
14
659
Meicyn replied
Best 2025 Android phone ? (upgrading from S24 Ultra)
32
3K
Trilobit replied
What is the best web browser for android?
39
5K
DavidGzz replied
Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year
46
5K
Pejo replied
NBA Thread 2026: There will be ballin'
6
253
MaestroMike replied
Top Bottom