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Android Software Thread - Tasty Desserts, Tastier Apps
- Thread starter ThatObviousUser
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Randy Lanzarote
Member
Is there any sat-nav software for Android where you can pre-install the maps, as opposed to relying on an internet connection to receive map data?
Driving home recently and went through parts of the country where mobile reception does not exist, Google Maps wasn't so handy then!
Driving home recently and went through parts of the country where mobile reception does not exist, Google Maps wasn't so handy then!
jonnybryce
Member
I vote for Hot Chocolate.
I read a rumour somewhere that Google is planning to remove custom manufacturer UI's with Gingerbread - does anyone know how valid this is? To me it makes sense, as their biggest development hurdle right now is fragmentation, removing custom UI's could make it easier for Google to develop updates for pretty much all the phones.
Randy Lanzarote
Member
The only thing that worries me with getting an Android phone is being left behind when it comes to OS updates. My gf has the Hero and given that its still stuck on 1.5 (not for much loger hopefully) its annoying how many new features she is missing out on.
I'll probably be getting the Desire come July/August, but rooting and installing plain ol' Android is something I'll look into if I feel I'm being left behind in the OS stakes. Stopping custom UIs would be one way to ensure people stay up to date, but of course then you have the dreaded operator's custom firmwares to deal with!
I'll probably be getting the Desire come July/August, but rooting and installing plain ol' Android is something I'll look into if I feel I'm being left behind in the OS stakes. Stopping custom UIs would be one way to ensure people stay up to date, but of course then you have the dreaded operator's custom firmwares to deal with!
Dommel said:
It is a shame that manufacturers such as HTC most likely won't let go, I hope there will be a way for us to simply choose in the future whether we want to use stock or desire rom, in an official way, rather than getting custom made roms, because sense ui isn't worth delayed updates
Pimpwerx said:
I like Swype and I left it installed but I ended up going back to the Sense keyboard. I'm really fast with it and with the time I was having to "swype" across the screen and then tell it what word I wanted half the time I could have already been done with the sentence with the regular keyboard. It definitely seems faster in certain cases, and yeah, portrait is definitely one of them.
ChackanKun
Member
ChackanKun said:Any opinions on the Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700? I've read really good reviews but would like to see a user review. Looks like a good phone to enter the Android world
Nothing?
J Tourettes
Banned
ChackanKun said:Nothing?
No experience myself, try the android hardware thread.
ChackanKun
Member
J Tourettes said:
So many threads omg, thanks!
If they're going to attempt to marginalize the importance of manufacturer UIs, then I imagine that they'd have to do it through incentives and building the OS in such a way where the UIs will be more of a customizable skin and won't interfere with the ability to upgrade the OS.
That's all in an ideal world, anyhow.
That's all in an ideal world, anyhow.
soulja224466
Member
sionyboy said:
yeah, im curious on this too
LivetoFollow
Member
The problem isn't the UI's, it is the changes the companies make the the framework. If they would just do Blur or Sense similar to how the replacements in the Market work there wouldn't be a problem. Unless I am way off base.
jonnybryce
Member
Pimpwerx said:
I'm getting used to swype and liking it a lot. I can be pretty fast and it's nice to type one handed. Sometimes it defeats the purpose, since I proofread or it messes up and I have to try again or do some editing...but I'm not giving up. I really like it, and I was very hesitant and resistive to the idea before. Good thing I gave it a shot. It feels like the future, I want it for my PC somehow.
The Friendly Monster
Member
Swype is so good. Showed it to work mates in the pub and they were absolutely blown away.
Not sure it's been posted before but mozilla has been doing nightly builds of Fennec: http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mobile/nightly/latest-mobile-trunk/
There's even a Windows version, so try it to look for changes before installing! I'm currently rocking the build from a couple days ago and it's much better than the original one from April.
There's even a Windows version, so try it to look for changes before installing! I'm currently rocking the build from a couple days ago and it's much better than the original one from April.
IcebergSlim3000
Member
skybaby said:
Can you explain what this does better that the Dolphin browser..
The Friendly Monster said:
Try typing the word "someone" with swype. It's so fun it's like you're doing laps around the keyboard once you get fast enough.
ChackanKun
Member
Please...help! Any T9 keyboard on the market?!?!
Trying the Handcent one but I can't deactivate the predictive text :S
Trying the Handcent one but I can't deactivate the predictive text :S
Mustaphadamus
Member
question,
I went to a restaurant and they had a sticker with a boardcode looking thing on it for you to scan. It said "find us in your favorites" with google in big words on the stick as well. What app on the phone are you supposed to scan the barecode with and how does this work exactly?
I went to a restaurant and they had a sticker with a boardcode looking thing on it for you to scan. It said "find us in your favorites" with google in big words on the stick as well. What app on the phone are you supposed to scan the barecode with and how does this work exactly?
Mustaphadamus
Member
Either that or give us the option to disable the manufacturer stuff and go full on with the Android OS.Kinitari said:
jonnybryce
Member
Mustaphadamus said:
Probably a QR code, which you can use Barcode Scanner or Google Goggles for.
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
Kinitari said:
Absolutely no chance that's happening.
VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
So iphone owners get their new firmware and still no sign of froyo for me.
What the hell google.
What the hell google.
Has Froyo improved general performance on powerful devices?
I used 2.1 over the weekend on an overclocked Droid and I've used a Nexus One and both of them seem to struggle with smooth scrolling. Simply flicking through home screen pages, scrolling along webpages or maps, or doing any other OS tasks is a choppy experience.
It looks nice and I like the functionality, but the high refresh rate of the iPhone makes it feel so much snappier.
Does Froyo actually improve such performance on such devices? Are there any Android phones capable of proper 60 fps scrolling? Phones like Nexus One seem quite powerful (more so than the iPhone 3GS, for instance), but the OS appears to be holding it back.
I used 2.1 over the weekend on an overclocked Droid and I've used a Nexus One and both of them seem to struggle with smooth scrolling. Simply flicking through home screen pages, scrolling along webpages or maps, or doing any other OS tasks is a choppy experience.
It looks nice and I like the functionality, but the high refresh rate of the iPhone makes it feel so much snappier.
Does Froyo actually improve such performance on such devices? Are there any Android phones capable of proper 60 fps scrolling? Phones like Nexus One seem quite powerful (more so than the iPhone 3GS, for instance), but the OS appears to be holding it back.
ChackanKun
Member
ChackanKun said:
Forget the T9 request, what I want is this:
Dunno what it's called :S
Battersea Power Station
Member
Lord save us.ChackanKun said:
tfur
Member
dark10x said:
Froyo is much faster than 2.1. It was a night and day difference for me, but I use my phone constantly... so others may not notice that much difference. Remember that Froyo made the full 512MB of RAM available on the Nexus One. I believe the 30fps cap is only on the Evo. Also, AMOLED screens will have a faster response than LCD.
Here is a little clip from the dev conference, showing javascript/web browser performance. Froyo on the left, 2.1 in the middle, and an ipad on the right. Froyo really shines with web browsing. I have also found the Flash support to be really useful, especially during e3 and world cup. You just have to use flash "on demand" plugin use, so as to only load what you want and not 10 adds per page etc.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/20/android-froyo-speed-ipad/
From my observations, the battery life with Froyo has improved.
dark10x said:
Yes it has. Not by a country mile, but a noticeable improvement.
Home screen still isn't as snappy. But Launcher Pro (free on the Market) fixes this and makes home screens and the app list very smooth and fast.
I recommend everyone with an Android phone get Launcher Pro. It's that good.
IcebergSlim3000
Member
junkster said:
I already tried that mess. It took minutes to add apps to the home page and often force closed when going in between apps and moving to landscape. I experienced problems that I never had while using the stock launcher. I unistalled it and wont be using any others.
junkster said:
thanks, works great - one issue i have with it is due to the style of my scrolling through the app drawer.. i'll flick, but keep my finger on the screen - with stock (ie. sense) it didn't do anything, but with launcher pro, it thinks i'm trying to 'pick up' an app to put it on the home screen, i guess i can used to that though
Tinkered with Froyo for an hour or so just now. It's neat. The 3D menu is awesome. I thought 2.1 was supposed to have that. I can't wait for that. The speed increase I only noticed in the browser, but I didn't stick around long enough really. No camera means I'll wait longer. I'll stick with a custom 2.1 ROM instead. Gonna flash the wireless-n patch now. PEACE.
jonnybryce
Member
Thoughts on the Kobo app? It's disgustingly iPhone, from it's squished low res section buttons to the also low res iPhone style search bar, and seems to have some performance issues (can be slow turning pages, for one) but I didn't have issues like force close or trouble getting it to turn pages like others say in the app store.
I was going to use it to buy a book for tomorrow (girl with the dragon tattoo) but I don't know if I trust it. It's clearly an afterthought app, slapped together in less than a week for Android but it's not like I have Kindle or Google Editions to choose instead right now.
Gamble on quality or not...
P.s. After a few more days with Swype...when it works, it really works. Not only is it fast, it's just so convenient to type messages without having to lift your thumb, one handed. But a lot of times it gets words wrong and I spend time correcting it, or I think it's all good but don't trust it so proofread my messages (and often have to make a correction or two) which kind of defeats the speed and ease of use purposes. Giving it more time to see how it works out, but I don't feel like it's complete or ready for primetime.
I was going to use it to buy a book for tomorrow (girl with the dragon tattoo) but I don't know if I trust it. It's clearly an afterthought app, slapped together in less than a week for Android but it's not like I have Kindle or Google Editions to choose instead right now.
Gamble on quality or not...
P.s. After a few more days with Swype...when it works, it really works. Not only is it fast, it's just so convenient to type messages without having to lift your thumb, one handed. But a lot of times it gets words wrong and I spend time correcting it, or I think it's all good but don't trust it so proofread my messages (and often have to make a correction or two) which kind of defeats the speed and ease of use purposes. Giving it more time to see how it works out, but I don't feel like it's complete or ready for primetime.
ChackanKun said:Forget the T9 request, what I want is this:
Dunno what it's called :S
Do you have Sense UI? It has the phone keypad style keyboard built into it, with or without predictive text.
If not, search around android forums or XDA for the HTC_IME. It's a version ported to non SenseUI android phones.
I use ADW.Launcher. It's pretty awesome, highly customizable, and the dock option is really handy.
There's a Market version and a version you can flash over your current launcher (I use the flashable one, get it at the xda link above the AnderWeb's site below).
I like ADW.Launcher better than Launcher Pro, for what it's worth.
ADW.Launcher Blog and changelog
There's a Market version and a version you can flash over your current launcher (I use the flashable one, get it at the xda link above the AnderWeb's site below).
I like ADW.Launcher better than Launcher Pro, for what it's worth.
ADW.Launcher Blog and changelog
ChackanKun
Member
Killthee said:
Can't find it in the Market.
Muerte_X said:
I tried, but it always crashes after installing :|
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