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Android Hardware Thread - 2010 Edition

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Looks like the Samsung Moment is going to be getting an Android 2.1 upgrade soon. There are a couple builds that have already been leaked, and folks are already talking on forums about having already moved from Android 1.5, and have played with the leaked version of 2.1 for hours now.
 
Andrex said:
Sprint is getting:

Sprint is basically throwing the EVO 4G at the Palm Pre launch buyers and saying, "Here, take it, you'll thank us later," since June is when everyone that bought a Pre comes up for upgrades.

I'm having a VERY hard time deciding whether I'm going to go EVO or Nexus One. I'm worried about the EVOs size. Ostensibly, the EVO has better hardware, but at the same time I'm worried about the whole HTC Sense thing and how that will affect the timeliness of OS upgrades - something one needn't worry about on the Nexus One probably at least for another year.

While all the cameras are nice on the EVO I can't imagine ever making use of the front facing camera, and the EVO is missing the extra microphone that the Nexus One uses for noise cancellation, so I'm wondering if the EVOs voice search reliability will suffer as a result - something that seems to be high on every N1 user's list of favorite things.

I also don't like how I'll be getting HTC replacements for some of Google's stock apps and can't get these via the Market (someone correct me if I'm wrong). On the other hand, the hotspot feature of the EVO could definitely come in handy, and if it's priced right through Sprint (estimate being $10-$20) I could definitely see using that in some situations.
 
mr jones said:
Looks like the Samsung Moment is going to be getting an Android 2.1 upgrade soon. There are a couple builds that have already been leaked, and folks are already talking on forums about having already moved from Android 1.5, and have played with the leaked version of 2.1 for hours now.

I can only imagine some people's reactions to going from 1.5 one day, then waking up and using 2.1. :lol

It seems that rumor of Google holding off on new versions and pushing everybody to upgrade all their (US) phones is coming true.
 
teiresias said:
Sprint is basically throwing the EVO 4G at the Palm Pre launch buyers and saying, "Here, take it, you'll thank us later," since June is when everyone that bought a Pre comes up for upgrades.

I'm having a VERY hard time deciding whether I'm going to go EVO or Nexus One. I'm worried about the EVOs size. Ostensibly, the EVO has better hardware, but at the same time I'm worried about the whole HTC Sense thing and how that will affect the timeliness of OS upgrades - something one needn't worry about on the Nexus One probably at least for another year.

While all the cameras are nice on the EVO I can't imagine ever making use of the front facing camera, and the EVO is missing the extra microphone that the Nexus One uses for noise cancellation, so I'm wondering if the EVOs voice search reliability will suffer as a result - something that seems to be high on every N1 user's list of favorite things.

I also don't like how I'll be getting HTC replacements for some of Google's stock apps and can't get these via the Market (someone correct me if I'm wrong). On the other hand, the hotspot feature of the EVO could definitely come in handy, and if it's priced right through Sprint (estimate being $10-$20) I could definitely see using that in some situations.
I have a myTouch and a Hero, and the benefits of Sense outweigh the drawbacks. The widgets are worth their weight in gold. If they ever make the widgets available on the market, or the stock build gets more uniform skinning, then Sense has the edge IMO.

That said, I like the Google news and weather app better than HTC's clock widget, but I don't use it because it's not skinned like everything else. I don't know why they alternate colors and sizes so much. The weather app Google has in 2.1 is just fantastic. PEACE.
 
krypt0nian said:
My partner just got a Droid.

Any tutorial YouTube video series or websites he should be following? Keep in mind he is not a power user, to say the least. Technology is something he masters over loooong stretches of time. :lol
Best tip I can think of is that press & hold does something almost everywhere. For instance, press and hold the home screen to add widgets/shortcuts. Press and hold the home button to bring up your last 6 apps. Press and hold an e-mail in Gmail for more options, etc.

It's just a matter of playing around.
 
Ugh after watching the iphone os4 video, im really let down at how unpolished android is and im on a nexus one! not to mention the unresponsive screen and when it goes berserk sometimes when the keyboard comes up.
 
alternade said:
Ugh after watching the iphone os4 video, im really let down at how unpolished android is and im on a nexus one! not to mention the unresponsive screen and when it goes berserk sometimes when the keyboard comes up.

lol seriously? After watching iphone os4 video, all I can think of is how sad it is that all Apple cares about is making things look pretty, and how they don't care to innovate anymore. So they're playing catchup with Android and make icons more shiney, oh no! It's sad.
 
For those who missed the news.

1118ilg.jpg
 
jonnybryce said:
lol seriously? After watching iphone os4 video, all I can think of is how sad it is that all Apple cares about is making things look pretty, and how they don't care to innovate anymore. So they're playing catchup with Android and make icons more shiney, oh no! It's sad.
Apple has a lot of work to do for power users. Google has a lot of work to do in polishing things.
 
teiresias said:
Sprint is basically throwing the EVO 4G at the Palm Pre launch buyers and saying, "Here, take it, you'll thank us later," since June is when everyone that bought a Pre comes up for upgrades.

note that everyone on a 69.99 or higher plan comes up for upgrades after 1 year, also. so it's not just Pre buyers that are the target market here.

I'm having a VERY hard time deciding whether I'm going to go EVO or Nexus One. I'm worried about the EVOs size. Ostensibly, the EVO has better hardware, but at the same time I'm worried about the whole HTC Sense thing and how that will affect the timeliness of OS upgrades - something one needn't worry about on the Nexus One probably at least for another year.

note the moment is also running "vanilla" andoid with no skins and is also late to the 2.1 party. I think the carrier has something to do with pushing out these upgrades, not just the phone.
 
Totakeke said:
Except it's still 512MB rom.

really, who cares. The incredible/Evo 4G are monstrous phones and damn good hardware. I can't WAIT for the ad blitz on these to start- though I fully expect verizon to rename it "droid [something]" sometime soon
 
Manmademan said:
really, who cares. The incredible/Evo 4G are monstrous phones and damn good hardware. I can't WAIT for the ad blitz on these to start- though I fully expect verizon to rename it "droid [something]" sometime soon

The biggest advantage having internal storage is that you don't need stuffs like apps2sd to expand your app storage space? Who really cares about internal storage if it's just the same thing as a sd card. Also they're not renaming it droid something.

Hope I proved you wrong.

Andrex said:
But that report...?

It says there below. Either it is wrong or there's two separate internal storage.


Edit: Wait, I think it means there's a preloaded 8GB microsd card. That makes the most sense. Or not.
 
Any tips about buying an unlocked Milestone (GSM Droid) on ebay for around $500?

I've always wanted a droid but I have another SIM (aside from my current AT&T) that I need to be able to swap in when I travel abroad so I couldnt get a Verizon phone.

-is using an android phone still fun without a data plan?
-the ebay listings are all for unlocked and rooted phones running 2.0. Will I be able to easily update them to 2.1 later on?
-can I still buy apps using this rooted phone over wifi?
-is $500 a fair price for this? Should I be waiting for something else out there coming soon?
-I'm spoiled by Nokia's QWERTY phones that have the raised chubby keys. Will the Droid/Milestone keyboard throw me off?
-My primary non-work email account is Yahoo, does that play nice with android or is it completely missing the point and I should just migrate to GMail? (I've been using this yahoomail account for 10 years at least)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Totakeke said:
It says there below. Either it is wrong or there's two separate internal storage.


Edit: Wait, I think it means there's a preloaded 8GB microsd card. That makes the most sense. Or not.

Unfortunately, that does make sense. :/
 
Totakeke said:
The biggest advantage having internal storage is that you don't need stuffs like apps2sd to expand your app storage space? Who really cares about internal storage if it's just the same thing as a sd card. Also they're not renaming it droid something.

Hope I proved you wrong.

no, not really. why do I need 8 gigs for app space? :lol I haven't come anywhere close to filling up the app space on the Hero yet..and there's tons on that thing so far.

The advantage of 8 gigs of internal storage for me is that I dont HAVE to buy another SD card, or if I choose to use the one I already have, it's 16 gigs or possibly more.

TBH I need huge amounts of space for music and media. not apps. Also: I think its pretty possible that a rename is in the cards, just as the supersonic got renamed to the Evo4g at the last minute

Edit: Wait, I think it means there's a preloaded 8GB microsd card. That makes the most sense. Or not.

yes, that's pretty much what the internal storage is
 
Manmademan said:
really, who cares. The incredible/Evo 4G are monstrous phones and damn good hardware. I can't WAIT for the ad blitz on these to start- though I fully expect verizon to rename it "droid [something]" sometime soon

Well, it will have the same problem that much lesser android phones have - limited app space. Granted, the average app doesn't go over a meg of storage, but some of them are as large as 8-16 megs, and are coded poorly enough that whatever additional data that is also downloaded, is saved within that 512mb box.
 
The Incredible is my next phone. I've been constantly refreshing AndroidForums.com for the last month. I feel like a sicko.

This thing should be out right now! What's with the hold up!?!
 
Manmademan said:
no, not really. why do I need 8 gigs for app space? :lol I haven't come anywhere close to filling up the app space on the Hero yet..and there's tons on that thing so far.

I've already filled up the rom space on my milestone 2 days after I got it. There's probably a lot of carrier crap inside the rom too that contributed to that. Some apps also take 10mb space easily. I'd bet there are more Android users would like more storage space than those who don't care like you.

Wait, did you really ask who cares about having more app storage space? That was one of the main arguments people had about against android especially during the Droid and Nexus One unveiling threads.
 
mr jones said:
Well, it will have the same problem that much lesser android phones have - limited app space. Granted, the average app doesn't go over a meg of storage, but some of them are as large as 8-16 megs, and are coded poorly enough that whatever additional data that is also downloaded, is saved within that 512mb box.

i havent come across something that stores more then 2mb on the internal memory, although this is my experience only. Although for the price of the phones and something like the Nexus One, you'd think it would have 8-16gb on board. Once app2sd is included I'm unsure how things will run on a cheap class 2 microSDHC. Anyone here with root running apps on a class 2 mem card?

the advantage as far as music for me at least is that i run subsonic and the android app allows me to stream my 50gb of music on to the phone (as long as i have 3g or wireless)... so i basically have no music on my mem card
 
The only reason why there seems to be a need for a lot of "stock" app storage space on the phone is for games... especially ones that use a lot of textures and sound. I would love for an epic android-based game to be a possibility for developers. Is there anything else that would take up a lot of space? Can apps use microSD to store data while the app is still stored in the phone?

It might not even matter since we know that Google is developing a system to let apps work in microSD while attempting to prevent piracy.
 
ThaiGrocer said:
The only reason why there seems to be a need for a lot of "stock" app storage space on the phone is for games... especially ones that use a lot of textures and sound. I would love for an epic android-based game to be a possibility for developers. Is there anything else that would take up a lot of space? Can apps use microSD to store data while the app is still stored in the phone?

It might not even matter since we know that Google is developing a system to let apps work in microSD while attempting to prevent piracy.

this was my understanding, but I don't use phones to play games.
 
ThaiGrocer said:
The only reason why there seems to be a need for a lot of "stock" app storage space on the phone is for games... especially ones that use a lot of textures and sound. I would love for an epic android-based game to be a possibility for developers. Is there anything else that would take up a lot of space? Can apps use microSD to store data while the app is still stored in the phone?

It might not even matter since we know that Google is developing a system to let apps work in microSD while attempting to prevent piracy.

most games that are coded well have a 2mb app or so, and then the first launch downloads all the textures, etc to the SD card. So there is only a 2mb hit on the internal memory and the 14-20mb for textures and maps is on the SD card.
 
Apps can dump data to the SD. Just take a look at the folder clutter you have on your SD card sometime. Not all apps use it, and I'm sure there are restrictions.

Anyway, the Incredible is an awesome phone, but since it doesn't seem destined for Sprint, I haven't paid it any mind. PEACE.

EDIT: Beaten by a lot of time. I should refresh after I go off and read articles in the middle of a reply. :(
 
gcubed said:
most games that are coded well have a 2mb app or so, and then the first launch downloads all the textures, etc to the SD card. So there is only a 2mb hit on the internal memory and the 14-20mb for textures and maps is on the SD card.
Alright, that makes sense. It's like how the Left 4 Dead/2 is actually a relatively tiny program, and the rest of the 7GB install is essentially textures, sounds, models, etc. So does Android really follow this model of storing assets in the SD card while having the app stay in internal storage? Anybody developing for the platform?

I would love to see games on cell phones mostly because of ease of access in a public setting and unique hardware features that can't be found on stay-at-home consoles or PCs. The 3G and GPS looks like an interesting place to start, like giving an opportunity to collect anonymous location data and allow clients to compete with others locally with a landscape built from that. I'm sure devs are doing amazing things that I can't even imagine.
 
Pimpwerx said:
Apps can dump data to the SD. Just take a look at the folder clutter you have on your SD card sometime. Not all apps use it, and I'm sure there are restrictions.

Anyway, the Incredible is an awesome phone, but since it doesn't seem destined for Sprint, I haven't paid it any mind. PEACE.

EDIT: Beaten by a lot of time. I should refresh after I go off and read articles in the middle of a reply. :(

With the Evo 4G I don't know why any Sprinters would ever look at another handset. :lol
 
ThaiGrocer said:
Alright, that makes sense. It's like how the Left 4 Dead/2 is actually a relatively tiny program, and the rest of the 7GB install is essentially textures, sounds, models, etc. So does Android really follow this model of storing assets in the SD card while having the app stay in internal storage? Anybody developing for the platform?

I would love to see games on cell phones mostly because of ease of access in a public setting and unique hardware features that can't be found on stay-at-home consoles or PCs. The 3G and GPS looks like an interesting place to start, like giving an opportunity to collect anonymous location data and allow clients to compete with others locally with a landscape built from that. I'm sure devs are doing amazing things that I can't even imagine.

unfortunately not all apps follow that model... but thats the recommended way to accomplish it. I havent really seen ones that take up a ton of internal memory, but i've only had one for 2-3 months. From what i've seen people usually downrate and hammer programs that are over a couple of meg.
 
http://phandroid.com/2010/04/13/more-archos-tablets-on-the-way/

archos-tablets.jpg


Phandroid said:
The line will offer models sized from 3″ to 10″, with ARM Cortex-based chipsets ranging from 800 MHz and 1 GHz. 3D acceleration and multi-touch capabilities will be available on at least one of the devices, most likely the $350 version, which will be the highest price point. On the lower end of the spectrum you can expect the most basic model to retail for around $100.

o_0 Sounds super cheap. Definitely want, if they have the Market.

---​

http://phandroid.com/2010/04/13/lg-lu2300-officially-announced-via-lg-uk-blog/

lg_lu2300.jpg


Phandroid said:
The LU2300 will come with Android 2.1 installed and improves on the InTouch Max’s resistive touchscreen by incorporating a 3.5″ AMOLED display. The highlighted specs:

  • Android 2.1
  • 3.5inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
  • 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
  • 4 line landcape slide QWERTY keyboard
  • DivX support
  • Wi-Fi
  • DMB Tuner
  • 5 megapixel camera complete with geo-tagging

They are emphasizing augmented reality with this new Android, and will be shipping the device with several AR apps installed. The unit is due out in Korea in (late) April or May, and depending on response could get a wider release soon after that.

Looks good.
 
Finally it's coming out but I leave for Europe a couple weeks after it does.... should I wait even longer for the Motorola Shadow? ugh
 
Looks good. They're probably keeping the Droid naming for high-end handsets. Droid Eris is debatable but thanks to Sense it's a lot slicker than it could have been.
 
Looks like I might be be getting a new phone on the 29th. =) I go with Verizon, or should I wait to see what else comes out over the summer?
 
Hmm, guess they're only using the Droid name on their marketing and not on their inventory system. I really like the style, but can't deny this is very similar aesthetically to the Droid. Maybe Verizon is trying to keep the Droid theme consistent?

With the case, it looks awesome-r too.

35ip4ev.jpg
 
This one is looking pretty tasty..

How long did it take for Milestone to hit UK after Droid's release?

(Trying to work out when i'll be able to import this from UK to Australia)
 
tabsina said:
This one is looking pretty tasty..

How long did it take for Milestone to hit UK after Droid's release?

(Trying to work out when i'll be able to import this from UK to Australia)

Motorola =/= HTC. HTC is getting kinda crazy with the number of models they have recently, kinda hard to say. Probably have to check which UK carrier doesn't have a new HTC Android phone lately.
 
Totakeke said:
Motorola =/= HTC. HTC is getting kinda crazy with the number of models they have recently, kinda hard to say. Probably have to check which UK carrier doesn't have a new HTC Android phone lately.

Good point, I just saw Verizon and Droid naming and drew a link in my head between them... oh well.. hopefully it'll be soon, HTC Desire is also a possibility for me
 
jonnybryce said:
Hey y'all.

http://imgur.com/Iz1j8.png[//IMG]

Looks like the Droid naming scheme, which skipped the Devor, is back on.

[url]http://stage.phones.verizonwireless.com/htc/incredible/[/url][/QUOTE]
Its coming to T-Mobile also... I hope.
 
Totakeke said:
Motorola =/= HTC. HTC is getting kinda crazy with the number of models they have recently, kinda hard to say. Probably have to check which UK carrier doesn't have a new HTC Android phone lately.
This phone is a modified version of the HTC Desire, which is already out overseas.
 
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