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Android |OT2| - Patent pending

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Groof

Junior Member
Or maybe there was enough new stuff for it to be more than just a 0.0.1 upgrade (hint: there was; you're being ridiculous).

The problem with 4.2 wasn't that it had bad ideas and a bold clock face, but it was that it was unstable. My Nexus 7 got a huge performance hit and suffered lag, reboots and freezes regularly. The Nexus 4 handled it better, but still had a few hitches here and there. 4.2.2 fixed most of that though.
 

mturco

Member
The problem with 4.2 wasn't that it had bad ideas and a bold clock face, but it was that it was unstable. My Nexus 7 got a huge performance hit and suffered lag, reboots and freezes regularly. The Nexus 4 handled it better, but still had a few hitches here and there. 4.2.2 fixed most of that though.

I feel like that last sentence undermines your whole point. 4.2 (like every other major version of Android) had bugs. And they were fixed. How is this unique to 4.2?
 
Just like they do for every version of Android... You can level this criticism at Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, ICS, Jellybean 4.1, Jellybean 4.2... but that wasn't your point. Your point was that nobody wanted 4.2. Which isn't true.

There were genuine concerns about performance degradation on the Nexus 7 and Bluetooth, mostly fixed by 4.2.2 (and a lot of the problem turned out to be something funky going on with Google Currents) though the tablets biggest problem is the shitty I/O of the Tegra 3. The rest of it was hyperbolic nonsense about the clock widget font on the lock screen.

No. None of that stuff required a full point update. It could easily have been stuffed into 4.1.3 or 4.1.4, Google wanted to give it a full point update to sell Nexus phones and tablets. That's all it is. Pretending otherwise is foolish.
 

Groof

Junior Member
I feel like that last sentence undermines your whole point. 4.2 (like every other major version of Android) had bugs. And they were fixed. How is this unique to 4.2?

Well yeah, if we're looking at 4.2 as a whole, sub-numbering et al, then yes, it's not worth hating on it. Just that the first two iterations weren't great, and some of the problems still aren't fixed that's probably conjuring up all this hate from people. I'm fine with 4.2.2, but it's noticeable that things could've been better.
 

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
OMFG LG

WWzUFVm.jpg


Kill your UI team right now
 

mturco

Member
No. None of that stuff required a full point update. It could easily have been stuffed into 4.1.3 or 4.1.4, Google wanted to give it a full point update to sell Nexus phones and tablets. That's all it is. Pretending otherwise is foolish.

Are you trolling? 4.2 features:

- new camera app
- new clock app
- new gesture-typing keyboard
- lockscreen widgets
- notification toggles
- Google Now improvements
- miracast (screen streaming)
- multiple users (tablet-only)

And one nobody talks about (maybe because they don't know):

- group texting support (I think only stock devices didn't have this before, but still)
 
No. None of that stuff required a full point update. It could easily have been stuffed into 4.1.3 or 4.1.4, Google wanted to give it a full point update to sell Nexus phones and tablets. That's all it is. Pretending otherwise is foolish.

But we've been over this, that wasn't your point. Your point was that nobody wanted 4.2. Now you're trying to alter the terms of the discussion to say that people did want 4.2, but it should just have been called 4.1.3. Which is not the same thing at all.

To be honest the naming/numbering of Android versions is just a strawman argument you are trying to put up. Nexus devices are now launching on an annual cycle and given the nature of the devices (hint: developer devices running the latest version of Android with the latest set of API's to help developers test apps that use those API's in a non simulated environment) it was always going to make sense that 4.2 would launch alongside new Nexus hardware rather than wait months til Samsung/Sony or HTC updated their own software. Unless you are suggesting they shouldn't have bothered releasing the Nexus 4 and should have just sallied on with the Galaxy Nexus. In which case I just think you are being obtuse.
 

Groof

Junior Member
I love that Google is developing its own fonts for Android. The Roboto suite of fonts is really nice and it's one of the most noticeable things when you see screenshots of older versions of Android.

Yeah I really love the Roboto typeface. Clean, simple and elegant. I've been wanting the slab font from Keep since it's release.
 
Are you trolling? 4.2 features:

- new camera app
- new clock app
- new gesture-typing keyboard
- lockscreen widgets
- notification toggles
- Google Now improvements
- miracast (screen streaming)
- multiple users (tablet-only)

And one nobody talks about (maybe because they don't know):

- group texting support (I think only stock devices didn't have this before, but still)

1/2 of those work on 4.1 and another 1/3 already exist in 3rd party handsets or 3rd party apps

the only standout is multiple users (tablet-only)
 
1/2 of those work on 4.1 and another 1/3 already exist in 3rd party handsets or 3rd party apps

the only standout is multiple users (tablet-only)

If you factor in 3rd party apps and 3rd party skins such as custom roms, then the majority of improvements in Android (beyond performance improvements) have already in one way or another been implemented. That doesn't make the improvements in stock Android any less true however.

And the first half of the list made Android worse.

- new camera app
- new clock app
- new gesture-typing keyboard
- lockscreen widgets

New camera app, full screen, HDR, and photosphere as standard. Worse than 4.1 camera? Nope.

New clock app. Built in timer and stopwatch. Some different font and stylistic choices. At worst, no better than 4.1, but certainly not worse.

New gesture typing keyboard. You can still type normally, or use gestures. This is by no sensible assertion worse and the gesture typing is solid.

Lockscreen widgets. Made a widget called dashclock possible. Is Android worse because of it? Nope. The lockscreen is now what you want to make of it.

Honestly it's valid criticism to say that the lock screen needs further refinement, but it's a definite improvement on the non customisable screen in 4.1.

There's a whole lot of cognitive dissonance going on if you are saying that 4.1 is an improvement over 4.2.
 

Nakazato

Member
so gaf could be possibly see new nexus 10 at I/O.

Thinking the 7' might be to small for me since Im likely going to use the tablet as my laptop as well.
 

RM8

Member
I officially own an Android phone now! Go me! I decided to buy the Xperia P I mentioned, it was a pretty nice deal. Updating to ICS right now.

I'm used to sync-ing my music with iTunes (iPod) and Zune (Lumia), what's the closest I can get for my phone? Media Go is what got installed on my PC automatically, but it doesn't display foreign characters for some reason. Suggestions would be welcome!
 
I officially own an Android phone now! Go me! I decided to buy the Xperia P I mentioned, it was a pretty nice deal. Updating to ICS right now.

I'm used to sync-ing my music with iTunes (iPod) and Zune (Lumia), what's the closest I can get for my phone? Media Go is what got installed on my PC automatically, but it doesn't display foreign characters for some reason. Suggestions would be welcome!

Download music manager for Google Play on your computer. Automatically syncs your music to Play, which you can access from the app on the phone.

Welcome aboard. :p
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
so gaf could be possibly see new nexus 10 at I/O.

Thinking the 7' might be to small for me since Im likely going to use the tablet as my laptop as well.

That would be nice, but for some reason I just think it is to early. A S800 chip set in the Nexus 10 would be zomg pimp though.
 
If you factor in 3rd party apps and 3rd party skins such as custom roms, then the majority of improvements in Android (beyond performance improvements) have already in one way or another been implemented. That doesn't make the improvements in stock Android any less true however.

i'm not saying that they're less true. just that they're not so impressive, especially when they get butchered in transition, like the shortcuts.
 

3phemeral

Member
You guys heard of Action Launcher before? It's a launcher replacement by Chris Lacy the guy who developed Tweet Lanes, or at least until Twitter decided it didn't want 3rd party clients. Anyway there's an update to it today which adds a killer feature called "Shutters" which I don't think has ever been available in any other launcher or even a custom rom before (could be wrong, I haven't tried every one) It's a brilliant idea and should probably be part of stock. I'm not going to spoil the surprise, watch the video first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GJJynAG3jQQ

You can find the Launcher here, though I don't think the latest update is live yet.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrislacy.actionlauncher.pro

I've been using this in place of Nova for the past month now to get s feel for it and I'm quite liking it so far. It's obviously slim on features, but I was under the assumption it's meant to be lightweight and speedy overall, with some minimally invasive but significant changes to the content to make navigation easier. I think this new feature is pretty intriguing, so I'm updating now so I can tinker with it a bit to see how useful it is. Seems like a good way to avoid the whole page-sized widget, further simplifying the screen, but it also serves to negate the original purpose of a widget: to show app-related data in a single glance without user interaction.

We shall see how this fares.
 
so i'm reading the GSM Arena Flagship Battle and this part

In the individual tests, the HTC One matched the Galaxy S4 in two out of three and beat it in the third one. It's the relatively high battery drain in standby mode that brings down the numbers.

DAT LOW IDLE
 
Lol you hate the fact that the One is actually giving the S4 a run for its money don't you? And it didn't need to look like a Fisher Price toy to get there.

despite the glaring flaws in their hardware design and software customization, i wish HTC all of the best. they were my first and i wish them all the best.



How cheap do you think last years Nexus lineup will get this year after the next round of devices hit?

knowing Google, they will short the stock levels of current models and the price will rise due to lack of availability. remember the Galaxy Nexus?
 
Well it's androidandme which basically means hit or miss. On one hand they have been right before, on the other hand they've been VERY wrong. But they're usually upfront when something is from a bullshit anonymous tipster or when something is from an actual source.

Guess we'll see on this one. You should not stay home from work lol. Anyway I expect lots of x phone leaks around now and april. I mean it's being announced mid may and released a bit later so it wont be long before it's out there. I'm more curious about how google plans to handle it business wise rather than the phone itself lol.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
knowing Google, they will short the stock levels of current models and the price will rise due to lack of availability. remember the Galaxy Nexus?

True, and the Nexus 4 and to a lesser extent the Nexus 10 has had problems staying in stock.

That being said the Nexus 7 is sold like everywhere these days. I could easily see that going cheap even if Google doesn't make it so just because other physical and online retailers have stock.
 
I officially own an Android phone now! Go me! I decided to buy the Xperia P I mentioned, it was a pretty nice deal. Updating to ICS right now.

I'm used to sync-ing my music with iTunes (iPod) and Zune (Lumia), what's the closest I can get for my phone? Media Go is what got installed on my PC automatically, but it doesn't display foreign characters for some reason. Suggestions would be welcome!

Congrats! You can use MediaGo from Sony, but it's pretty terrible. Otherwise you can just drag and drop stuff.

Also, try to keep your usage light over the next week or so, Sony are pushing down 4.1.2 very, very soon and the cleaner your phone is in terms of apps/data the better it will run post-update.
 
I officially own an Android phone now! Go me! I decided to buy the Xperia P I mentioned, it was a pretty nice deal. Updating to ICS right now.

I'm used to sync-ing my music with iTunes (iPod) and Zune (Lumia), what's the closest I can get for my phone? Media Go is what got installed on my PC automatically, but it doesn't display foreign characters for some reason. Suggestions would be welcome!

try iSyncr or doubleTwist to sync your iTunes playlists or if you want to transfer your Zune playlists, try Zunplex.
 

iapetus

Scary Euro Man
Is there a free/demo version of Action Launcher? I like the idea of it, but not sure I want to pay good money just to try it out.
 
Is there a free/demo version of Action Launcher? I like the idea of it, but not sure I want to pay good money just to try it out.

Unfortunately not. There are a bunch of YT videos but mostly of the old version. Of course, you always have the 15 minute refund window. It's a solid launcher, but has less customisation options than Nova. For example custom icon for apps are a no no.

EDIT - Thusly if you are big into heavy customisation via icon packs and the like, this is not the launcher for you. It is original though without being ridiculously ostentatious like SPB Shell or whatever those crazy £10+ launchers are called. Here's some pictures from my Nexus 7. The three lines next to selected apps represent that that app has a shutter (ie widget) that can be peered into by swiping up from the app.







 
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