The Epic Android Thread - Page 462 - maemo.org

Dave999 | # 4611 | 2015-01-01, 21:11 | Report

Originally Posted by pycage View Post

My Nexus 7 is already slow with Kitkat. Überslow would be totally unbearable. I guess that means that I won't update.

Over the years, Google made me fear OS and app updates. Their software became worse and worse with every update since 4.0.

https://code.google.com/p/android/is...?id=79729#c239

Good read and could be a reason for ... Slow lollipop.

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Kangal | # 4612 | 2015-02-22, 03:07 | Report

Originally Posted by Kangal View Post

Another thing I want to bring up to discussion are about bringing Android to the TV. Those little dongle sticks have become popular, and are much better alternatives to SmartTV interfaces, GoogleTV, AppleTV, Roku and etc etc.

It was 16 months ago (Nov 2012) when AlwaysInnovating solely created this concept, and I must say I was and still am impressed by it.

I want to know what you guys think about this subject, there's several devices that took my attention:
- MK808 (most popular stick, $44, with Native Linux support!)
- MK818 (based on 808, $80, but fits snugly on-top of your TV and looks great for Skype and free internet calls. Perhaps it evolves into Kinect ?)
- OUYA (not that interesting, $99, though it would be handy to "shake up" the industry and get developers start targeting their apps for gamepad controlling. And a decent 4th running to the console wars is most welcome)
- GAMESTICK (worse ecosystem but better software than OUYA, $79, innovative "portable" design)
- MiiPC (A "PC" that's great for kids. $99. Interface looks handsome on a HDTV. The box is heaps better looking than the OUYA)

What are the future implications?
I'm thinking of a really compact dongle like the Measy U2C which has all the essentials and a decent HD cam for Skype. Also a (universal?) gamepad that can slot the dongle like the GAMESTICK for easy portability. With a intuitive User Interface like the MiiPC and The MOD'ed Multi-Window feature. And a much more powerful (like a Core i3 Ultrabook) thanks to newer chips and a more optimized Android Operating System.

...
...
...anybody remember this post ?

Has anyone bought an Android Board or HDMI stick?
What are your thoughts?

Kangal | # 4613 | 2015-02-22, 03:37 | Report

Another thing I want to discuss is Android Lollipop.
A year ago, I was right about the features of Android Lollipop.

But one thing I was wrong about was the underlying Linux Kernel.
I believed it was going to be based on Linux Kernel 3.9.

Android had been stuck on an outdated version of Linux Kernel 3.0-3.1 for a long time now.
It made it tricky to get native Ubuntu/distro compatible on Android devices using the provided kernel.
I believed Google was going to push Android 5.0 to support a modern version of Linux.
Linux Kernel 3.7 was very probable (some experimentals were leaked).
However, Linux Kernel 3.8 was designed to bring in multi-platform. So it was more hopeful.

Since Linux 3.8 was a short-term release, sort of like "Beta", I believed Google was going to adopt Linux Kernel 3.9

Version 3.10 was still in RC stage, so I thought that wouldn't be adopted.
Even though Linux 3.10 was supposed to overtake 3.9 and become a Long-Term support... making it suitable for chip manufacturers to target. Also making it easy to cross-compile SailOS, UbuntuPhone, openSUSEarm, and other distro's straight to Android devices.

So what has happened instead?
Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop Operating System supports Linux Kernel 3.14
https://android.googlesource.com/pla...onic/+/38062f9

That's the twelfth (and latest) long-term support... and quite a modern version (latest short-term is 3.19).

That's the good news. Here's the bad news:
- New devices like the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 are shipping with older kernels such as 3.8/3.10.... Why????!
- Devices updated to Lollipop are still on outdated kernels. Some are on v3.1, most are on v3.4, and few on v3.8

Even the BeagleBone Black had the 3.8 Kernel version, and that's before Lollipop was rolled out.

Why the hold up?
Well, because kernel development is a really difficult task... and they rarely add a must-have feature. Plus, SoC and OEMs only make small upgrades for security purposes. Android system was designed in a way, where the kernel can remain relatively the same and the updates made to the overlying system (ie the ROM).

This might actually be one of the reasons for Lollipop's very slow upgrade status. There are more and more bugs to fix for Lollipop if one is to try and use and old kernel. So it seems to most OEMs and Developers, simply much better to stick to Android 4.4.4

With the release of the HTC One M9, Samsuck Galacheese S6, SGS6 Edge, LG G4, Moto X3, NOTE 5, Next Nexus, Android Wear 3 and Android TV... the leap should be made.

I think late 2015 / 2016... we're going to see more devices on modern linux versions. And that's a great thing for TMO and Open Source community.

Last edited by Kangal; 2015-02-22 at 03:50.

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whayong | # 4614 | 2015-05-12, 20:44 | Report

So many years later and Android still laaaaaags. I purchased a Note 4 from TMobile. It came with Kitkat, updated it to Lollipop. Disabled the bloat. Used Touchwiz. Used Nova Launcher. It just insane how Android still lags with hardware like that. I can live with lag from a mid-tier device but not from a "flagship." i returned the Note 4 just before my 2 week trial period ended.

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endsormeans | # 4615 | 2015-05-12, 21:11 | Report

Oh yeah...
Thanks man...
just reinforces my opinion of i-pwn and an-dread...
There are few decent options other than maem

mscion | # 4616 | 2015-05-12, 23:56 | Report

Originally Posted by whayong View Post

So many years later and Android still laaaaaags. I purchased a Note 4 from TMobile. It came with Kitkat, updated it to Lollipop. Disabled the bloat. Used Touchwiz. Used Nova Launcher. It just insane how Android still lags with hardware like that. I can live with lag from a mid-tier device but not from a "flagship." i returned the Note 4 just before my 2 week trial period ended.

Thats odd. I have a Tmobile Note Edge with a kit kat custom rom by sbreen and I'm using ss launcher. Very rarely do I find it "laggy". Camera is great, can open apps in floating windows, Xposed modules add much functionality. Love the pen. Can have access to a lot of stuff with a simple swipe on the edge. Can also chroot fedora. Multitasking is not up to par with, say, N900 I would worry more about security related issues than lagginess. But overall it is the best phone I've ever owned.

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pichlo | # 4617 | 2015-05-13, 08:26 | Report

Originally Posted by mscion View Post

Thats odd.

I find it odd too. Got my daughter a low-cost Android tablet a few months ago. It has "only" 1GB RAM and 16 GB storage, just like the Jolla phone. And it works absolutely fluently, with no lags whatsoever. Makes me wonder why my Jolla with no Android support keeps running out of memory and killing apps when a bloated OS such as Android running on the same resources does not.

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whayong | # 4618 | 2015-05-15, 16:02 | Report

Originally Posted by mscion View Post

Thats odd. I have a Tmobile Note Edge with a kit kat custom rom by sbreen and I'm using ss launcher. Very rarely do I find it "laggy". Camera is great, can open apps in floating windows, Xposed modules add much functionality. Love the pen. Can have access to a lot of stuff with a simple swipe on the edge. Can also chroot fedora. Multitasking is not up to par with, say, N900 I would worry more about security related issues than lagginess. But overall it is the best phone I've ever owned.

Maybe I'm just nit-picking because I just don't expect a device that costs this much, ,and with this hardware to have those sort of hickups. Beautiful hardware. I found that I rarely used the S-Pen. Battery life was a disappointment after coming from a Lumia 1520. How is Windws Phone such a tough act to follow for my use case?

Dave999 | # 4619 | 2015-05-28, 16:13 | Report

We Have A Countdown...16 min to go

https://events.google.com/io2015/#

Kangal | # 4620 | 2015-05-29, 04:07 | Report

Originally Posted by Dave999 View Post

We Have A Countdown...16 min to go

https://events.google.com/io2015/#

Wrong thread, see countdown thread.